Changes Possible - 27th August

Roddy Slater is likely to make one or two changes for Reading Towns' FA Cup tie tomorrow.

Defender Ashley Watkins, who suffered neck and back injuries in the 2-1 win at Warminster in the last round, is hoping to be fit and there could also be a place in the squad for giant centre back Mike Hancock, who injured his elbow in a pre-season friendly at Newbury

Striker Andy Gray is not available for tomorrow’s game. Town will be up against two of their former players, Chris Grace and Ian Brooks, when they visit Ascot at The Racecourse ground on Monday afternoon

Slater is hoping his side will learn some quick lessons following their first defeat of the season – 4-2 to Kidlington– at Scours Lane on Tuesday. “I saw this game as our first big test and we failed it,” he said. “We showed naivety and that was disappointing. At times we did play some good football and were rewarded with two goals, But we made mistakes. I hope we will learn quickly from them and won’t make the same again. I will be looking for a good reaction from the boys tomorrow.”

A major concern to Slater was how easily Town conceded goals to Kidlington, with all four coming from headers.
“We spoke about that after the game and that is an area where we need to improve,” he said.

Town missed suspended central defender Danny Lingwood and will still be without him when they take on Isle of Wight side Newport in the preliminary round of the FA Cup at Newbury FC’s Faraday Road ground tomorrow (ko 3pm).
This could prove another tough game, as Newport beat Kidlington in the last round. The Oxon side forced three early corners and it was from the third that led to Danny Mason opening their account in the ninth minute on Tuesday.

Looking To Maintain Start - 21st August

Reading Town will be looking to maintain their promising start to the season when they meet Fairford in the Hellenic League Premier Division at Scours Lane today.

League victories over Shrivenham and Old Woodstock, along with a win at Warminster in the FA Cup, have pleased manager Roddy Slater, but he knows a lot of hard work still needs to be done with his new-look team.

Slater will not confirm his side until shortly before the kick-off, but he is likely to keep the team that started Wednesday’s 5-3 win at Old Woodstock. Left-back Ashley Watkins could come into the reckoning after missing the game due to the neck injury he suffered in the 2-1 win at Warminster last Saturday, but Hayden Best deputised well for him in midweek.

Leon Bird is doubtful as he tweaked his hamstring shortly after coming off the bench on Wednesday. Striker Andy Gray wasn’t available at Woodstock and could be back in the squad. Teenage goalkeeper Chris Rackley is set to retain his place, having replaced the unavailable Stuart Gosby at Warminster.

Gosby, who joined from Henley, is already considering his future at Scours Lane. “I think he is looking to leave,” said manager Roddy Slater. “Chris played well last Saturday and I felt I couldn’t drop him on Wednesday.”

Town have another home game next Tuesday (7.45pm) when they take on Kidlington. Then a week tomorrow, Town will meet Newport IOW in the preliminary round of the FA Cup at Newbury Town’s ground. Scours Lane is unavailable as it is being used as the base for the Reading Festival security staff.

Relishing Challenge -30th July

Reading Town manager Roddy Slater is looking forward to the challenge posed by Zamaretto League side Hungerford Town when they visit Scours Lane tonight.

It will be Town’s first home match of the pre-season and will give fans their first glimpse of the new-look squad following Colin Millard’s departure during the summer. Slater will use the fixture to test out his players and whittle down his squad before the season begins on August 10.

Slater said: “In one respect it’s just another pre-season game but in another respect it’s a good opportunity. It will be a nice test to see where we are and where we want to get to because we want to be playing where Hungerford are. It will show us what standard we need to get to.”

He added: “I’m looking forward to it. Local fans will get to see us first hand. It will be interesting to see how we get on.”

Hungerford play in Zamaretto Division One South & West and have installed the new management team of Bobby Wilkinson and former Reading FC player Michael Gilkes. Like Town they have completely overhauled last season’s squad and brought in several new faces. However, the managers are no strangers to each other with both men coming up against each other during their Hellenic Division One East careers. Slater faced Wilkinson when he managed Henley Town and Wilkinson was at Kintbury Rangers and Milton United.

Slater said: “He’s got a very good squad. Hungerford are doing really well. Gilkes is a great coach and they’ve got a great team there."

Slater declared it the “business end” of pre-season and hopes the lads will “knuckle down” with just a couple of weeks till the season starts. He said: “The first couple of pre-season matches is about seeing if they could play and also identifying who would sign and who wouldn’t. Everybody involved from now on will be signed on. We’re down to the business end now. We’ll be getting into August after this and that’s when the season starts so we’ve got to knuckle down.”

Hartley Wintney are the next visitors to Scours Lane on Tuesday (ko 7.45pm) before Town head to Newbury next Thursday (ko 7.30pm).

Experienced Richardson Joins Reading - 23rd July

Marcus Richardson has won league titles with  Farnborough and Windsor & Eton in the last three seasons. Now he’s hoping to bring success to new club Reading Town. The 32-year-old powerhouse striker, who has considerable Football League experience, is one of many signings made by manager Roddy Slater as he looks to build a brand new team at Scours Lane.

Richardson (pictured) will also be part of Slater’s management team. “I’ve got no real coaching qualifications, but I have a lot of experience which could prove useful to the younger players,” said Richardson. “I am very pleased to be joining Reading Town and working with Roddy. We have a lot of good youngsters and I believe we will be in for a good season. Our aim is to play good football and I think we will be an entertaining team. I hope more people will come and watch us.”

Reading born Richardson went to school at Waingels Copse in Woodley and started playing for Woodley Saints and then Central Colts. He went on to play for a host of league clubs, including Torquay United, Lincoln City, Rochdale, Yeovil, Chester and Macclesfield, and even more non-league sides. “Yes, I have had a lot of clubs, as I was always looking to better myself,” he added. “But I made one or two moves that perhaps I shouldn’t  have done. Some lower league clubs gave me better coaching than the bigger ones. Gary Johnson (former Yeovil manager) once told me that if I had received the right coaching at an earlier age, I would have made it to a Championship club. I relied mainly on my power and pace, and I probably learned more towards the end of my league career than I did at the start.”

Richardson, who will be 33 next month, has enjoyed considerable success with Zamaretto League clubs Farnborough and Windsor, helping them to win titles. He is stepping down a few levels to play for Reading Town, but his appetite for the game has certainly not diminished. “We’ve got a whole new team and it is exciting times for the club,” said Richardson.
“Reading Town should be playing at a higher level  and we will be doing our best to get out of this (Hellenic) league.”

Since finishing third last season, Town have lost their management team and most players to Thatcham Town. Only Dave Mills, Mike Hancock and Gordon Ritchie have agreed to stay at Scours Lane. Slater has brought many players with him from his previous club Henley, while other signings include former Reading striker Andy Gray.

With Richardson committed to the Reading Fives tournament, Gray led the attack in Town’s opening friendly at Calne last weekend. He was on target from the penalty spot in a 4-3 win over the Western League side. Danny Brownlie, Brett Rann and Ashaine Murray were the other scorers.

Richardson will be in the squad for their next friendly, away to Spartan South Midlands League Division 1 side London Colney tomorrow.

End Of An Era - 4th June

Reading Town held their end of season presentation evening on Thursday at The Island Restaurant in Caversham, which brought a climax to the end of an era.

With Manager Colin Millard and his coaching team of Glenn Goudie and Rob Wytchard leaving for new pastures at Thatcham Town, most of last seasons squad have indicated that they too will be moving on.

The Clubs Awards were made and went to;
Player of the Year - Michael Buck
Players Player of the Year - Chris Grace (who played in every game in all competitions, 63 in total, keeping an incredible 31 clean sheets.)

Club Captain Dave Mills then made a presentation on behalf of the players to Millard, Goudie and Wytchard.