Reading has endured a frustrating few years, with those frustrations heightening in recent seasons due to off-field problems that continue to trouble the club. The Berkshire-based side is now playing their football in League One, and the days of the Premier League will feel like a distant memory that is a considerable distance away from being repeated anytime soon.
As previously mentioned, the Royals have had their fair share of off-field problems, which have had a negative impact on results on the pitch. They were deducted points from their total last season, which ultimately proved to be the difference between Championship survival and relegation into the third tier of English football, which would have been almost unthinkable for many supporters, who had seen their side make a hugely impressive start to that league campaign.
Some supporters would have hoped that their relegation into League One would have represented somewhat of a fresh start for the club, but their problems only seem to be mounting up. Frustration aimed towards the club’s owner Dai Yongge has been there for all to see, with two recent home matches being temporarily suspended due to tennis balls being thrown onto the pitch in considerable numbers. Further points have been deducted from Reading’s total this season, as well as the club failing to pay tax bills on a regular basis since the new league campaign started. It does seem as though the fans’ pressure seems to be slowly paying off though, with Yongge seemingly looking to sell the club to the right owner, although time isn’t on their side with HMRC still waiting to be paid.
However, Reading isn’t helping themselves on the pitch in terms of their results, particularly their away form. The Royals’ away supporters have traveled in their numbers, particularly in League One this season, but they’re yet to be rewarded for their loyalty. Even without the four points deducted this term, Reading would still be in the relegation zone, and their away form is one of the main reasons why they find themselves in the position they’re in.
They have the worst away record in League One this term, as they’ve lost all six matches on the road, which makes for dismal viewing. This isn’t all though, as Reading are winless from their last 18 league matches dating back to a win over Hull City in the Championship during the 2022/23 season, where they ran out 2-1 winners against the Tigers in November 2022.
It’s a dismal away record that has gone stretched on for far too long nowadays, and given that it’s at risk of threatening their position in League One this season, it’s something that needs to change as quickly as possible, otherwise, Reading could be facing back-to-back relegations. You would have thought that their relegation into League One would have provided a short-term solution to their away day struggles, but that hasn’t been the case, despite the arrivals of the likes of Charlie Savage and Dom Ballard to name a few. For one reason or another, something isn’t working away from home though, and if it’s a mentality problem, then this young Reading team needs to be guided in the right direction by manager Ruben Selles.
The Royals are set to take on Charlton Athletic at The Valley this weekend, which will be a tough ask if they’re to end their poor away record, with the Addicks in the mix for a top-six finish this term. They then have trips to Shrewsbury Town and Wycombe Wanderers over the next month, with the clash against Shrewsbury potentially being a ‘winnable’ game due to Shrewsbury’s poor results of late. Until the mentality in away matches changes, Reading will find it tough for the foreseeable future though.
MyBettingSites have brought to light that Reading is priced at 13/5 to win on Sky Bet for their clash against Charlton, whilst the Addicks are the favorite at odds of ⅚.
Although that isn’t to say that their fortunes can’t change, it’ll be interesting to see if the senior individuals in the first-team squad are stepping up to address their problems on their travels, even those that have been part of the squad during their hugely frustrating season in the 2022/23 campaign. The quality is there at times within this Reading team, as we’ve seen at points during this term, with notable wins against the likes of Exeter City and Bolton Wanderers to name a few, but they’ve got to end their away day hoodoo in the near future, otherwise they run the risk of fans turning on the players even more than they have already in recent away trips.
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