Bristol City

Bristol City v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
Ashton Gate
Friday 19th April 2019

12pm

Journey Time to the ground: 2 hours 45 minutes.  The powers that be had decided in all their wisdom, that the game would be a midday kick-off on Good Friday.  With the weather being glorious, it felt like most of the country was heading towards the South West.  We left home at 9am and managed to get stuck behind a couple of accidents on the M4 meaning that my other half dropped us off outside the ground at 11:45am whilst he continued to drive round looking for a parking space.  He eventually parked up in Raleigh Road about a five minute walk from the ground, but didn't end up getting into the ground until half an hour into the first-half!

Ticket Price: £32

Programme Price: £3.50 

This was my fourth visit to Ashton Gate, but the first since the redevelopment of the ground.  We had tickets in the away end in the Atyeo Stand behind one goal, which is the opposite end to where the away fans used to be housed.  This is an all-seater single-tiered stand.  The leg room was a little tight but as we were stood for the whole game this wasn't an issue.  The stand is wholly given to away fans. 

To the left of the Atyeo Stand is the Dolman Stand, another single-tiered all-seater stand.  Opposite the Atyeo Stand is the South Stand, again a single-tiered all-seater.  To the right of the Atyeo Stand is the Lansdown Stand which is a large two-tiered stand.  This is the main stand at Ashton Gate and houses the team dug-out at it's front.  The only open corners are at either side of the Atyeo Stand as the redevelopment has seen the other two corners filled with seating. 

As this was a fairly local away game on a bank holiday and form had recently picked up, Reading travelled in good numbers for a change.  The first-half was played at typical Championship pace in the blazing sun, with both sides creating a number of good chances.  The closest either team came to scoring was when Matt Miazga headed Josh Brownhill's shot off the line. 

Reading broke the deadlock three minutes into the second-half with a well-executed free-kick routine.  Lewis Baker played the free-kick across the box to Ovie Ejaria, who played a diagonal ball out to Andy Rinomhota on the right-wing.  Rinomhota pulled the ball into the path of Yakou Meite, who stroked the ball underneath Max O'Leary and into the net.  If it had been scored by a top team, people would still be raving on about it now!  The Robins equalised in the 72nd minute when Brownhill nodded home Niclas Eliasson's left-wing cross.  Both sides pushed for a winner, but a point was probably a fair result in the end. 

Attendance: 23,309 with 2,017 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was pretty good.  A full away end always makes a difference and being sat quite close to the home fans in the Lansdown Stand meant there was a fair bit of banter flying between the two. 

Journey Time home: 2 hours.  We made the short walk back to the car and headed towards the M5 to head down to the beach.  Unfortunately it was chock-a-block so we decided to head to Severn Beach instead.  We had a walk along the estuary before heading home via Burger King at Severn View Services and Swindon Outlet.  We arrived home around 7pm.

I enjoyed my trip to Bristol City.  The traffic on the way was frustrating and having been 1-0 up it was slightly disappointing not to come away with the win.  It's always nice watching football in good weather, and despite the views of the Bristol City fans sitting closest to us, I have a feeling we'll be playing each other again next season.

Stoke City

Stoke City v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
bet365 Stadium
Saturday 16th March 2019

3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 3 hours 30 minutes.  We left home at around 10:30am stopping to pick the tickets up on the way.  We had a quick stop at Norton Canes services to get some food from Leon on the way up and parked up in the car park at BFM Europe at a cost of £5.  From here it was a five minute walk to the ground.

Ticket Price: £25

Programme Price: £3.50 

This was my second visit to the bet365 Stadium, having previously tied in a visit with an open day at the nearby Keele University when I was at school.  We had tickets in the away end in the South Stand.  This is a single tiered all-seated stand which is shared with home supporters.  We were on the left-hand side of the stand next to one of the open corners and the wind and rain really blew in at us from this side!  The leg room and view of the pitch from this stand was very good.

To the left of the South Stand is the Franklyn Stand.  This is the main stand at the bet365 Stadium and is a large two-tiered all-seater stand which houses the team dug-outs at its front.  Opposite the South Stand is the Boothen End sponsored by Staffordshire University.  This is a single-tiered all-seater stand almost identical to the South Stand, the only difference being the right-hand side being an open corner.  To the right of the South Stand is the East Stand, another single-tiered all-seater stand.

The game was quite simply awful, with the weather definitely not helping matters.  Mid-way through the first-half Stoke struck the woodwork twice in as many minutes, first Tom Ince seeing his shot from 15-yards cannon off the upright before Sam Vokes looped a header off the cross-bar from Thibaud Verlinden's left-wing cross.

The second-half continued in the same scrappy manner with both teams struggling to create any clear cut chances and the game ended 0-0, which was probably to be expected considering Stoke's recent run of goal-less draws!

Attendance: 24,368 with 669 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was disappointing.  The away end was pretty subdued mostly due to the awful weather and although the Stoke fans did have a go at Delilah a couple of times, the poor game dampened the atmosphere somewhat.

Journey Time home: 3 hours 30 minutes.  As we were cold and wet, we dashed back to the car as soon as the game finished.  We stopped at Warwick Services on the way back down and got some KFC for dinner before arriving home around 8:30pm.

I didn't really enjoy my trip to Stoke.  The weather was cold and wet, the game was awful and the ground pretty bland and unnecessarily intimidating with the visiting fans being held in a cage and subjected to a sniffer dog search before entering the ground.  Not somewhere I'll look forward to visiting again.

Manchester United

Manchester United v Reading
The Emirates FA Cup Third Round
Old Trafford
Saturday 5th January 2019

12:30pm

Journey Time to the ground: 4 hours 30 minutes.  We picked my sister up just before 7am and after a short stop at Norton Canes services to get some breakfast we were parked up in the Lowry Outlet Mall just before 11:30am.

Ticket Price: £45 although Reading Football Club subsidised this to £30, the maximum price away fans are charged in the Premier League.

Programme Price: £3.50

This was my second visit to Old Trafford, although it was my first for a football match having previously seen the Rugby League World Cup Final here in 2013.  As this was a cup game, Reading had an extended allocation so we were sat in the East Stand Upper Tier.  This is not the usual away end and was up quite a few flights of steps which was a little bit of a struggle for me having had an ACL reconstruction a couple of months previously!  It seemed as through Reading fans were in the whole of the Upper Tier with Manchester United fans in the Lower Tier below.  The leg room was adequate and the view from our seats was very good.

To the left of the East Stand is the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand, a single-tiered all-seater stand.  Although this is the smallest stand at Old Trafford, it is the main stand and houses the team dug-outs at its front.  Opposite the East Stand is the Stretford End, which is a huge two-tiered all-seater stand where the most vociferous Manchester United fans tend to congregate.  To the right of the East Stand is the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand which is another huge two-tiered all-seater stand.

The first-half saw a little bit of history for Reading when Manchester United were given a penalty with the use of VAR.  Juan Mata was adjudged to have been fouled by Omar Richards although the decision didn't go down too well with the Reading fans at Mata had laid the ball through to Fred who was in an offside position.  Mata stepped forward and send Anssi Jaakkola the wrong way from the spot in the 22nd minute.  Romelu Lukaku doubled United's lead in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time, latching onto Alexis Sanchez's through ball before rounding Jaakkola and slotting into the empty net.

The second-half was a fairly even affair with both sides creating chances, and although Reading continued to fight, they were unable to grab a consolation goal. 

Attendance: 73,918 with 3,048 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was really good.  The Reading fans were up for the game and were noisy throughout the game.  The Man United fans were also up for the game and right behind the team, now that form has started to pick up since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken temporary charge of the team.

Journey Time home: 4 hours.  With the game being an early kick-off and finishing before 3pm, we decided to have a look around the Lowry Gallery in Salford Quays which was well worth a visit.  We had a late lunch/early dinner at The Real China in the Lowry Outlet and had a look into a couple of shops before leaving around 4:30pm.  We stopped at Stafford services and Cherwell Valley services on the way home to get fuel and were dropping my sister home around 8:30pm.

 

Although I had been looking forward to the trip to Manchester, I was worried that we were going to be humiliated.  However the team showed some real spirit and if we can carry that into the league then we will stay up.  On both of my visits to Old Trafford I've been slightly disappointed, as although the ground feels big, it doesn't feel as impressive as it should.

Birmingham City

Birmingham City v Reading
Sky Bet Championship
St Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium
Tuesday 23rd October 2018

7:45pm

Journey Time to the ground: 3 hours.  As we had the day off work we left home at 1:30pm intending to go the National Sea Life Centre, but after arriving at 3:45pm and having a quick look, we decided against this and headed to the Bull Ring instead.  We had a look at China Town and a look around the shopping centre before getting some dinner in the Tonkotsu outlet in Selfridges.  We left the Bull Ring around 6:40pm and headed towards St Andrew's, parking up in Jenkins Street at 7:15pm, which was a ten minute walk from the ground.

Ticket Price: £10

Programme Price: £3

This was my first visit to St Andrew's, a ground I had wanted to visit for quite a while and with the ticket prices being so reasonable we decide to make the trip.  We had tickets in the away end in the Gil Merrick Stand Lower Tier.  The leg room wasn't too bad and the view from behind the goal was good.  The Gil Merrick Stand is a two-tiered stand, although the upper tier wasn't open on our visit.  The lower tier is shared with home fans.

To the left of the Gil Merrick Stand is the Main Stand.  This small two-tiered stand houses the team dug-outs at it's front.  Opposite the Gil Merrick Stand is the Tilton Road End which is a large single-tiered stand.  To the right of the Gil Merrick Stand is the Spion Kop which is also a large single-tiered stand.  The most vociferous Birmingham fans tend to congregate in the Tilton Road End.

The first-half was a fairly even affair with both side struggling to create chances in an uneventful opening period.

Reading continued their worrying trend of conceding early goals after half-time when Birmingham opened the scoring in the 49th minute.  Jota's left-wing corner was met by Michael Morrison, who flicked a header into the path of Gary Gardner who stabbed the ball home from close range.  The lead was doubled in the 70th minute when Lukas Jutkiewicz floated a header in at the far-post from Che Adams's right-wing cross.  Reading grabbed a late consolation in the last minute of normal time when Yakou Meite latched on to Andy Yiadom's long ball and slotted passed Lee Camp in the Birmingham goal, however it was a case of too little too late and The Blues held on for the win.

Attendance: 22,126 with 503 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was really good.  The home stands all seemed to be pretty full and the Birmingham fans really got behind their team throughout the game.  The atmosphere in the away end was slightly flat, especially in the second-half with Reading trailing.

Journey Time home: 2 hours 30 minutes.  We left the ground as soon as the game finished and were back in the car around 10pm.  We drive straight back and arrived home at around 12:30am.

 

I enjoyed my day out in Birmingham.  The ground is quite impressive and the atmosphere inside was very good.  It's just shame that Reading are playing so poorly at the moment as it makes games less enjoyable than they should be!

West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion v Reading
Sky Bet Championship
The Hawthorns
Saturday 6th October 2018
3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 2 hours and 45 minutes.  We left home around 11:15am and were parked up in at private car park at Pargat Houseware just after 2pm after a quick stop at Warwick services on the way up.  The cost of parking was £5 and it was a 10 minute walk to the ground straight down Birmingham Road.  We bumped into Frank Skinner in the main car park outside the ground and managed to get a photo with him before heading into the ground.

Ticket Price: £20

Programme Price: £3.50

This was the second time I'd been to The Hawthorns, my first visit was in the early 2000s to see Aston Villa play a "home" Intertoto Cup game.  We had tickets in the away end behind the goal in the Smethwick End.  The Smethwick End is a single-tiered all-seated stand which is shared with home fans.  The leg room was ok and the view of the pitch was good. 

To the left of the Smethwick End is the West Stand.  This single-tiered all-seater stand is the main stand at The Hawthorns and houses the team dug-outs at it's front.  Opposite the Smethwick End is the Birmingham Road End, another single-tiered all-seater stand.  To the right of the Smethwick End, the single-tiered all-seater East Stand is the largest stand at The Hawthorns.

Reading opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Leandro Bacuna took a short corner, playing a one-two with John Swift, before firing an unstoppable shot in off the post from just inside the area.  The rest of the first-half was dominated by Reading, playing some of the best attacking football I've seen them playing for a good few years, but unfortunately despite creating a number of good chances they were unable to extend the lead.

This was to prove costly in the second-half with Dwight Gayle equalising in the 49th minute, heading in Tyrone Mear's right-wing cross after it had been left by goalkeeper Sam Walker.  West Brom took the lead in the 65th minute, Gayle getting the faintest of touches after Kyle Bartley had powered a header goalwards from Harvey Barnes right-wing corner.  Barnes got himself on the scoresheet seven minutes later, playing a give-and-go with Jay Rodrigues before slotting into the far corner.  The rout was completed with ten minutes remaining, Kyle Bartley's looping header from Chris Brunt's left-wing corner sailing in at the near post.

Attendance: 22,865 with 907 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere wasn't too bad.  The Reading fans were quite loud for most of the first-half, with the West Brom fans, especially those to the left of the away fans in the Smethwick End really making some noise during the second-half.

Journey Time home: 2 hours 15 minutes.  Having never really been into the centre of Birmingham and fancying a curry, we decided to drive into the city centre and see what we could find.  We had a look around the Bull Ring but didn't find anywhere to grab some food.  We headed back to the car and consulted Google, ending up going to Diwan Balti Restaurant in Moseley.  The food was quite nice and very cheap!  We left the restaurant around 9pm and were back home for 11:15pm.

 

I did enjoy my trip to The Hawthorns despite the result!  The ground is a good size, but I'm not sure about the amount of corrugated metal on display inside as to me it makes it seem unfinished and a cheap fix.

Aston Villa

Aston Villa v Reading
Sky Bet Championship
Villa Park
Saturday 25th August 2018
3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 3 hours.  My sister picked us up just after 11:15am and we met my Dad from work before driving up to Villa Park.  We had a quick stop at Warwick services on the way and parked up in Howarth Way just after 2:15pm.  From here it was a 10 minute walk to the ground and we had a burger from one of the many vans before heading inside. 

Ticket Price: £25

Programme Price: £3

I've lost count of the number of times I've been to Villa Park.  When I was younger my Dad and I used to travel up for games almost once a month, but as I got older and decided to only support Reading this was my first visit for at least six or seven years.  As my Dad had got us the tickets we were sat in the upper tier of the North Stand behind one of the goals.  The North Stand is a two-tiered all-seater stand.  We were sat quite centrally towards the back of the stand.  The view from here was very good although the leg room was a little tight. 

To the left of the North Stand is the Doug Ellis Stand.  This is also a two-tiered all-seater stand which houses the away fans in the blocks closest to the North Stand.  Opposite the North Stand is the Holte End, another two-tiered all-seater stand where the majority of Villa's vociferous support tends to congregate.  To the right of the North Stand is the Trinity Road Stand which is the main stand at Villa Park.  This is a three-tiered all-seater stand which houses the dug-outs at it's front.

Aston Villa were the more dominant side in the first-half and came closest to breaking the deadlock when James Chester's header rattled the crossbar before Alan Hutton blazed the follow-up over the bar.

Villa broke the deadlock six minutes into the second-half when Ahmed Elmohamady headed home from Anwar El Ghazi's floated left-wing cross.  Reading missed a golden chance to equalise with eight minutes remaining when Sam Baldock's close range effort from Josh Sims' right-wing cross was somehow tipped onto the bar by Orjan Nyland, who reacted quickly to block Yakou Meite's follow-up effort for a corner.  It looked like Reading were heading for another defeat until the 90th minute when Sims was brought down in the box by Chester.  Up stepped Baldock who fired his penalty straight down the middle to rescue a point for the Royals.

Attendance: 33,405 with 703 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere at Villa Park is generally very good and today was no exception.  The Villa fans really get behind their team although it was difficult to hear the away fans as the Villa fans make so much noise.

Journey Time home: 2 hours 15 minutes.  We got some food from a kebab shop before leaving just after 5:30pm and arrived home at around 7:45pm

 

I enjoyed my trip to Villa Park as it was nice to see us finally pick up a point!  I might be slightly biased as I have visited Villa Park so many times in the past and have even played on the pitch once before, but I think that Villa Park is one of the best grounds in the country.  It is a good size, still highly traditional and the atmosphere is normally very good as Villa are such a well supported team.

Sunderland

Sunderland v Reading
Sky Bet Championship
Stadium of Light
Saturday 2nd December 2017
3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 6 hours 15 minutes.  We left the house at 6am and drove up to South Shields where we were staying with friends for the weekend.  We stopped at the services for half an hour to get some breakfast and arrived in South Shields at 11:30am.  Our Sunderland supporting friend helps to organise a mini-coach that runs from the New Crown Hotel pub in South Shields to the Stadium of Light, so headed to the pub for a few drinks before being picked up at 2pm.  The journey along the coast took 45 minutes and we were dropped off about a five minute walk from the ground. 

Ticket Price: £25

Programme Price: £3

This was my second visit to the Stadium of Light.  We had tickets in The Carling Stand upper tier, the away end, which has been moved since my last visit ten years ago.  After climbing the eight flights of stairs up to the away end, we met up with some friends and decided to head to the back of the stand where we stood for most of the game, although the stand was all-seated.  The view from away end was good, as was the leg room between rows although it did feel like the away fans are a long way from the home fans in the rest of the ground.  The lower tier of the Carling Stand is also all-seater but for home fans.

To the left of the Carling Stand is the East Stand, a single-tiered all-seated stand.  Opposite the Carling Stand is the South Stand which is also a single-tiered all-seated stand.  To the right of the Carling Stand is the West Stand.  This is a two-tiered all-seated stand and is the main stand at the Stadium of Light housing the team dug-outs at it's front. 

The first-half was uneventful until the final minute of stoppage time when Callum McManaman was shown a second yellow for deliberately handling the ball into the net and Sunderland were forced to play the second 45 minutes with ten men.

Reading broke the deadlock eight minutes after half-time when Dave Edwards poked in Sone Aluko's low right-wing cross.  The lead was doubled in the 68th minute when Mo Barrow volleyed in at the far-post from Liam Kelly's right-wing cross.  Barrow made the game safe three minutes later, side-footing in from Yann Kermorgant's hooked cross.  Sunderland did grab a consolation goal with 14 minutes remaining, former Reading loanee Lewis Grabban powering a spot-kick past Vito Mannone after Joel Asoro had been tripped in the box by Leandro Bacuna.

Attendance: 27,386 with 568 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere in the away end wasn't bad with fans enjoying one of the most comfortable away wins in a long time.  However the long suffering Sunderland fans were pretty quiet for most of the game, apart from booing.

Journey Time home: 30 minutes. The mini-coach picked us up where we had been dropped off at 5pm and we headed back to the pub for a couple of drinks, before getting a lift back to our friend's house.

 

I enjoyed my trip to Sunderland.  It was nice to see friends and spend a weekend away by the sea and finally watch a fairly comfortable Reading win!  I did feel sorry for both the Sunderland players and fans, the team are clearly devoid of confidence and their magnificent fan-base deserves to be watching a well-performing top-flight team.