Afterwards Steve Coppell hailed his “biggest win” as manager and the mood around the club was ebullient. Reading were 12th in the Premier League and looking like a safe bet to enjoy a third successive season in the top flight, when work was due to start on increasing the stadium’s capacity to 38,000 to facilitate their growing ambitions.
How times have changed. Little more than two years later Liverpool are back at the same venue to face Reading in the FA Cup this evening with rumours circulating that home supporters are planning protests against the chairman, Sir John Madejski. Yesterday’s saviour is today’s villain in the eyes of some Reading fans, who have become frustrated with the club’s direction, decision making and, in particular, a perceived lack of investment.
It has certainly been a year to forget. Three different managers took charge during 2009 and produced three home League wins between them, ending hopes of winning promotion from the Championship last season and raising fears of suffering relegation to League One this term. The latest incumbent is Brian McDermott, who has been given the job on a caretaker basis after Brendan Rodgers was sacked six months into a three-year contract.
“I’m doing everything I can to try to make sure we’ve got a stable situation and I think I’m the right man for the job,” said McDermott, who presided over two encouraging performances, against Bristol City and Swansea City, before Reading’s dismal season plumbed new depths when they suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat at fellow-strugglers Plymouth Argyle on Monday to leave them two places and two points above the bottom three.
No one connected with Reading could have envisaged being in such a position when the club finished eighth in the Premier League, just missing out on qualifying for Europe, in 2007. Back then senior figures at Reading had decided to carry out research into why some clubs regressed in their second season in the Premier League. Yet despite the findings Reading were unable to avoid relegation, going down on the final day even after winning at Derby.
Since then Reading have been costcutting and, while Kevin Doyle, Stephen Hunt and André Bikey remained at the club last season, all three moved on in the summer for combined fees of around £11m. With significant sums also raised the previous summer but little spent, some Reading supporters turned on Madejski earlier this season, chanting “Where’s the money gone?”
Reading later released details of their accounts, stating that £12m was lost in the two seasons prior to promotion to the Premier League and that after their two terms in the top flight the club emerged with a £4.75m deficit. There was a further loss of £6.25m last season despite receiving the first parachute payment. To compound matters, Madejski has experienced his own financial pain, falling asset values estimated to have reduced his personal wealth by £150m in 12 months.
Whether the more disgruntled supporters will take that into consideration tonight remains to be seen, but McDermott has urged the disenchanted to put aside their frustrations against Liverpool. “Do I think a protest helps? No I don’t,” said the former Reading reserve team manager. “We need everyone behind us. It has been a difficult time but we need everyone pulling in the same direction.”
That was certainly the case when James Harper scored Reading’s third goal to vanquish Liverpool the last time the clubs met. “Negativity is really contagious,” said Marcus Hahnemann, who played in that fixture and spent eight years at Reading before joining Wolves on a free transfer in the summer. “Nobody likes to see the club where it is now. But things can change so quickly in football.”