FM13: Reading FC - Still The Same Ethos Despite Russian Billions

Name: Reading FC

Nation: England

League: Premier League

Founded: 1871

Reputation: National

Finances: Secure

Contents

1. History
   
2. Club Information
   
3. Staff
   
4. 1st Team Players
   
5. Reserve & U18 Players
   
6. Squad
   
7. Reccommended Signings
   
8. Formations
   
9. Hall of Fame
   
10. Getting Started
    

History

The club was founded on Christmas Day 1871 after a meeting organised by Joseph Edward Sydenham, who would become the club's first Honorary Secretary. They were founder members of the Southern League in 1894 and moved to Elm Park two years later; it was their home until they switched to the Madejski Stadium in 1998.

Reading were elected to the Football League in 1920, but seven years earlier went on a famously successful tour of Italy. They beat AC Milan 5-0, the champions Pro Vercelli 6-0 and the national team 2-0. The respected newspaper Corriere della Sera said that "without doubt, Reading FC are the finest foreign team seen in Italy".

The club was in Division Three or Division Three South from 1920 to 1971, bar five years in Division Two between 1926 and 1931. After three short spells in Division Four in the 1970s and 1980s during which, in 1978-79, the goalkeeper Steve Death set a new English record of 1103 minutes without conceding - they finally escaped Division Three through a different door, being promoted to the second tier in 1986. They had started that promotion campaign with 13 consecutive wins, which is still a Football League record.

They only lasted two seasons, although relegation in 1988 was tempered slightly by a crushing 4-1 victory over top-flight Luton in the final of the Simod Cup. Reading had beaten four other Division One sides, including Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest, on the way to the final.

The club went up to the second tier again in 1994 and were so nearly promoted to the Premier League at the first attempt. Reading finished second in the table but were not promoted automatically because of the need to reduce the Premier League from 22 teams to 20. Instead they went into the play-offs and reached the final against Bolton. They were leading 2-0 when Stuart Lovell had a penalty saved; the match ended in a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat.

They finally reached the promised land in 2006 under the management of Steve Coppell. Reading were promoted in spectacular style, winning the title with a haul of 99 goals and a record 106 points. In their first Premier League game they came from 2-0 down to beat Middlesbrough, the start of a memorable season in which they took the league by storm and finished eighth. Second-season syndrome bit hard, however, and Reading were relegated on the final day of the 2007-08 campaign.

After a short spell under Brendan Rodgers, Reading gave the manager's job to McDermott. He oversaw a famous FA Cup victory at Anfield in 2009-10 and then secured a joyously unexpected promotion to the Premier League in 2011-12, again as champions. Having waited so long last time, only to be relegated in their second season in the top flight, you suspect Reading will savour their return to the Premier League more than most.

Kit and Crest

The first crest to appear on a Reading kit was in 1953, it featured a simple letter "R" on a shield, and it lasted for just one season. There was no crest seen again until 1981 when a new crest appeared that featured three elm trees, a reference to Reading's Elm Park ground, and the rivers Thames and Kennet.

This was dropped in 1983 when the Royals adopted a new colour scheme. The new crest, a simple presentation of the colours of the time (Yellow, Sky Blue, Royal Blue, and White), was adopted in 1987 and continued to be used until 1996.

Between 1996 and 1998, the old elm crest was revived. The significance was twofold: 1996 marked the centenary of Reading's Elm Park while 1998-99 would be the season that they would move into a new home.

This fresh start was marked by the introduction of a brand new club badge that featured the club's iconic blue and white hoops, a crown representing Berkshire's status (Windsor Castle is in the county which is often referred to as "Royal Berkshire") and the Maiwand Lion, a prominent local landmark.

In 1871, at the formation of the Club, Reading did play in hoops. This lasted for only a few years, and upon entering the Southern Football League in 1894 the Club was playing in stripes – possibly so they did not clash with other teams who were already in the Southern League and wore hoops. Reading then reverted to hoops until the beginning of the Second World War, because numbering of shirts became compulsory (in 1939), and the numbers were easier to see against a hooped background. Since then the club have had several more changes. In the mid 1960s they changed the shirts to sky blue, following the fashion introduced by Coventry City. That remained until 1969, when they returned to hoops under the orders of manager of Jack Mansell. Reading have remained in a variety of hooped shirts ever since, apart from the mid 1980s when they played in blue and white panels before hoops returned in 1992.

Club Information

General

Full name: Reading Football Club

Nickname: The Royals

Founded: 1871

Status: Professional

Ground: Madejski Stadium, Reading

Chairman: John Madejski

Chairman Status: Enjoying life at the club

Manager: Brian McDermott

Legends: Phil Parkinson, Trevor Senior, Martin Hicks, Steve Death, Robin Friday,

Icons: Steve Coppell, Maurice Evans, Adrian Williams, Jimmy Wheeler, Michael Gilkes, Mick Gooding, Ronnie Blackwell, Alf Messer, Shaka Hislop, Glenn Little, Graeme Murty, Jimmy Quinn, Ivar Ingimarsson, Nicky Forster, Jamie Cureton, Kerry Dixon, Darren Caskey

Favoured Personnel: Gylfi Sigurdsson, Kevin Doyle, Dave Kitson, James Harper, Nicky Shorey, Shane Long, Steve Sidwell

Fierce Rivals: Oxford (Local), Swindon (Local)

Other Rivals: Southampton (Local), Bristol City (Local), West Ham (Competitive), Wycombe (Local)

Finances: Secure

Estimated Value: £64M

Continental Competition: None

Media Prediction: 20th

Squad Personality: Professional

Captain: Jobi McAnuff

Vice Captain: Kaspars Gorkks

Facilities

Stadium Name:The Madejski Stadium

Location: Reading

Capacity: 24161 all-seater

Year Built: 1998

Owned By: Reading

Stadium Condition: Very Good

Under Soil Heating: Yes

Roof: No

Surface: Grass

Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities

Youth Facilities: Average Youth Facilities

Youth Setup Category: 1

Youth Coaching: Average Junior Coaching

Youth Recruitment: Above Average Youth Recruitment

Corporate Facilities: Good corporate facilities

Affiliated Clubs

The club has 5 clubs affiliated with it currently.

Of these, Boreham Wood and Didcot are there purely to arrange a local friendly during pre-season, while Basingstoke and Salisbury both have player loan agreement in place as well.

Ocean City may sometimes send youth players to train at Reading, and is a long term deal involving an annual friendly match. The presence in the USA should also be of benefit to merchandising.

Finances

Balance: £14.4M

Transfer Budget: £14M (Top half finish) | £12.75M (Mid table finish) | £10M Avoid Relegation

Wage Budget: £425K p/w (Top half finish) | £400k p/w (Mid table finish) | £375k p/w (Avoid Relegation)

Current Wage Total: £323k p/w

% of transfer revenue made available: 80%

Sponsors: 2 year main kit sponsorship deal at £600k per season. Ends 2013

Staff

Boardroom

Chairman - Sir John Madejski

Director - Nigel Howe

Director - Andrew Obolensky

Director - Christioopher Samuelson

Director - Ian Wood-Smith

Director - Anton Zingarevich

Management

Currently: 1 | Advised: 1 - Director of Football

Currently: 1 | Advised: 1 - Head of Youth Development

Currently: 1 | Advised: 2 - Assistant Manager

Director of Football - Nicky Hammond

Assistant Manager - Nigel Gibbs

Reserve Manager - Chris Cummings

Head of Youth Development - Eamon Dolan

Coaching

Currently: 8 | Advised: 4 - Coach

Currently: 1 | Advised: 2 - Goalkeeping Coach

Currently: 3 | Advised: 1 - Fitness Coach

Coach - Brendan Flanagan

Goalkeeping Coach - Sal Bibbo

Under 18s Coach - Colin Barnes

Under 18s Coach - David Dodds

Under 18s Coach - Graham Dougall

Under 18s Coach - Lee Herron

Under 18s Coach - Martin Kuhl

Under 18s Coach - Geoff Taylor

Player/Under 18s Coach - Brynjar Gunnarsson

Fitness Coach - Ed Franklin

Fitness Coach - Karl Halabi

Fitness Coach - Matt Hirons

Scouting

Currently: 1 | Advised: 6 - Scout

Chief Scout - Steve Shorey

Medical

Currently: 3 | Advised: 3 - Physio

Head Physio - Luke Anthony

Under 18s Physio - John Alti

Under 18s Physio - Steve Cottrell

1st Team Players

Goalkeepers

1 | ADAM FEDERICI

AUSTRALIA | AGE: 27 | POSITION: GOALKEEPER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

21 | ALEX McCARTHY

ENGLAND | AGE: 22 | POSITION: GOALKEEPER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

41 | STUART TAYLOR

ENGLAND | AGE: 31 | POSITION: GOALKEEPER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

------------------------------------------------------------------

Defenders

2 | CHRIS GUNTER

WALES| AGE: 22 | POSITION: DEFENDER (RIGHT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

3 | NICKY SHOREY

ENGLAND | AGE: 31 | POSITION: DEFENDER (LEFT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

5 | ALEX PEARCE

IRELAND| AGE: 23 | POSITION: DEFENDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

6 | ADRIAN MARIAPPA

JAMAICA| AGE: 25 | POSITION: DEFENDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★ ★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

15 | SEAN MORRISON

ENGLAND | AGE: 22 | POSITION: DEFENDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

17 | KASPARS GORKSS

LATVIA| AGE: 30 | POSITION: DEFENDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

23 | IAN HARTE

IRELAND| AGE: 34 | POSITION: DEFENDER (LEFT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

24 | SHAUN CUMMINGS

ENGLAND | AGE: 23 | POSITION: DEFENDER (RIGHT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

------------------------------------------------------------------

Midfielders

4 | JEM KARACAN

TURKEY| AGE: 23 | POSITION: MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

8 | MIKELE LEIGERTWOOD

ANTIGUA & BARBUDA | AGE: 29 | POSITION: DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

11 | JOBI MCANUFF

JAMAICA| AGE: 30 | POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (LEFT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

12 | GARETH McCLEARY

ENGLAND | AGE: 25 | POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (RIGHT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

14 | JIMMY KÉBÉ

MALI| AGE: 28 | POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (RIGHT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

16 | JAY TABB

IRELAND| AGE: 28 | POSITION: DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

19 | HAL ROBSON-KANU

WALES | AGE: 23 | POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (LEFT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

20 | DANNY GUTHRIE

ENGLAND | AGE: 25 | POSITION: MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

26 | BRYNJAR GUNNARSSON

ICELAND| AGE: 36 | POSITION: DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

37 | JORDAN OBITA

ENGLAND | AGE: 18 | POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (LEFT)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

------------------------------------------------------------------

Forwards

7 | PAVEL POGREBNYAK

RUSSIA| AGE: 28 | POSITION: STRIKER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

9 | ADAM LE FONDRE

ENGLAND | AGE: 25 | POSITION: STRIKER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

10 | NOEL HUNT

IRELAND | AGE: 29 | POSITION: STRIKER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

18 | SIMON CHURCH

WALES | AGE: 23 | POSITION: STRIKER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

33 | JASON ROBERTS

GRENADA | AGE: 34 | POSITION: STRIKER

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

Reserve & U18 Players

Goalkeepers

31 | MIKKEL ANDERSEN

DENMARK | AGE: 23 | POSITION: GOALKEEPER

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

- | STUART MOORE

ENGLAND | AGE: 17 | POSITION: GOALKEEPER

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

- | JOHNATHON HENLY

ENGLAND | AGE: 17 | POSITION: GOALKEEPER

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

------------------------------------------------------------------

Defenders

47 | PIERCE SWEENEY

IRELAND| AGE: 17 | POSITION: DEFENDER (CENTRE)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

46 | MATT PARTRIDGE

ENGLAND | AGE: 18 | POSITION: DEFENDER (CENTRE)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

- | JOSEPH MILLS

ENGLAND | AGE: 22 | POSITION: DEFENDER (LEFT)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

------------------------------------------------------------------

Midfielders

- | CRAIG TANNER

ENGLAND | AGE: 17 | POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

40 | LAWSON D'ATH

ENGLAND | AGE: 19 | POSITION: MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

25 | JAKE TAYLOR

WALES | AGE: 20 | POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

------------------------------------------------------------------

Forwards

44 | DOMINIC SAMUEL

ENGLAND | AGE: 18 | POSITION: STRIKER

PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

Squad

In total there are 70 players on the books at Reading, although the vast majority will never make it as a professional at this level. There are a few notable exceptions which have been covered above, but you can see just how manay players are currently on the books and how much strengthening needs doing.

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]

-----------------------------------

1 | Adam Federici

2 | Chris Gunter

3 | Nicky Shorey

4 | Jem Karacan

5 | Alex Pearce

6 | Adrian Mariappa

7 | Pavel Pogrebnyak

8 | Mikele Leigertwood

9 | Adam Le Fondre

10 | Noel Hunt

11 | Jobi McAnuff

12 | Gareth McCleary

13 | Reading Fans

14 | Jimmy Kébé

15 | Sean Morrison

16 | Jay Tabb

17 | Kaspars Gorkss

18 | Simon Church

19 | Hal Robson-Kanu

20 | Danny Guthrie

21 | Alex McCarthy

23 | Ian Harte

24 | Shaun Cummings

26 | Brynjar Gunnarsson

33 | Jason Roberts

37 | Jordan Obita

41 | Stuart Taylor[/TD]

[TD]

-------------------------------------

25 | Jake Taylor

29 | Nicholas Bignall

31 | Mikkel Andersen

32 | Nick Arnold

38 | Charlie Losasso

40 | Lawson D’Ath

43 | Joshua Webb

44 | Dominic Samuel

45 | Ryan Edwards

47 | Pierce Sweeney

- | Joseph Mills (on loan)

- | Karl Sheppard (on loan)

- | Angus McDonald (on loan)

- | Grant Smith

- | Gozie Uguwu (on loan)

- | Michael Hector (on loan)

- | Craig Tanner

- | Brett Williams (on loan)[/TD]

[TD]

--------------------------------------

42 | Jonathon Henly

46 | Matt Patridge

- | Robert Dickie

- | Nana Owusu

- | Tariqe Fosu Henry

- | Dominic Hyam

- | Shpat Ismajli

- | Jack Jeffery

- | Liam Kelly

- | George McLennan

- | Germaine Ofori

- | Conor Shaughnessy

- | Jack Stacey

- | De’Jaune Taylor-Crossdale

- | Aaron Tshibola

- | Bismark Amofah

- | Niall Keown

- | Jake Cooper

- | Shane Griffin

- | Ben Jefford

- | Shepard Murombedzi

- | Andrew Jenkinson

- | Daniel Lincoln

- | Josh Shama

- | Uche Ikpeazu

- | Karl Oliyide

- | Stuart Moore

- | Sean Long[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Recommended Transfers

- | GILBERTO SILVA

BRAZIL | AGE: 35 | POSITION: DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

Value: £210K | Sale Value: £575K

- | LEON BRITTON

ENGLAND | AGE: 29 | POSITION: DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

Value: £2.6M | Sale Value: £3.8M

- | WELLINGTON NEM

BRAZIL | AGE: 20 | POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER (CENTRE)

CA: ★★★★★★★★★★ | PA: ★★★★★★★★★★

Value: £8M | Sale Value: £3.5M

Formations

**Under Construction**

Hall of Fame

**Under Construction**

Getting Started...

**Under Construction**

Reserved #12

Looking forward to this being completed, looking good so far!

Just got through my first season with Reading, and we finished 6th somehow! I found that I was having little joy down the wings in a 4-5-1 so I took inspiration from a downloadable tactic and simply brought my wingers into narrow positions, having 2 MCs and 3 AMCs. Sold off Kebe, McAnuff and HRK (and felt immediately bad after doing so) to raise some extra funds, and signed a few attacking midfielders. Pogrebnyak is a fantastic poacher and finished on 19 goals for me.

Wellington Nem is an absolute must sign from Fluminense. Looks expensive, but he has a release clause of £3.5m which you'll want to trigger as soon as possible before other clubs come in for him. Value is at £9m at the end of the first season, and he's rated my best player. Managed to get him on a 5 year deal on £20k a week which is very affordable. Can play on either wing, at AMC or up front.

Really nice start mate, quality OP(s)

Very Nice thread.

Quality post.

Started a reading gameon the Beta version, got off to a fantastic stat, 3 seasons and champs league football, I'd also suggest getting in Magnus Wolff Eikrem, quality centre midfielder, as well as wellington nem, also, I find that Feds gets bored and wants to leave after a while, I found Butland to be an excellent ready made replacement.... look forward to following the thread....

Looking forward to this being completed, looking good so far!

Just got through my first season with Reading, and we finished 6th somehow! I found that I was having little joy down the wings in a 4-5-1 so I took inspiration from a downloadable tactic and simply brought my wingers into narrow positions, having 2 MCs and 3 AMCs. Sold off Kebe, McAnuff and HRK (and felt immediately bad after doing so) to raise some extra funds, and signed a few attacking midfielders. Pogrebnyak is a fantastic poacher and finished on 19 goals for me.

Wellington Nem is an absolute must sign from Fluminense. Looks expensive, but he has a release clause of £3.5m which you'll want to trigger as soon as possible before other clubs come in for him. Value is at £9m at the end of the first season, and he's rated my best player. Managed to get him on a 5 year deal on £20k a week which is very affordable. Can play on either wing, at AMC or up front.

Hopefully might get a chance to complete this tomorrow morning, work permitting... Any suggestions on things you would like to see or players/formations to suggest then by all means do. I don't feel that team threads should just be one persons opinion on the team!

I have started my Reading career game (Regular updates will be coming once I settle and get to January) and although it is early days, I too am finding that the 4-5-1 (4-1-2-2-1 or 4-2-3-1) formation is struggling a little at times. I took peoples advice and picked up Wellington Nem who has played well on the right wing as an Inside Forward, and McAnuff has put a few away, but I don't feel I have the defensive stability that I would like yet. There is definitely some tweaking to the formation to be done.

HRK and Kebe are struggling to get a look in, although I want to give Kebe a run as I turned down a £4.3M bid from Everton for him towards the end of August and want let him prove that was a good decision. I have found in my testing games that either Kebe or McAnuff will usually get a bid placed by Everton, as I think they are looking for a winger at the start of the game.

Started a reading gameon the Beta version, got off to a fantastic stat, 3 seasons and champs league football, I'd also suggest getting in Magnus Wolff Eikrem, quality centre midfielder, as well as wellington nem, also, I find that Feds gets bored and wants to leave after a while, I found Butland to be an excellent ready made replacement.... look forward to following the thread....

Congratulations on your great start, I only hope that others can replicate that sort of success!

I haven't heard of Eikrem, but will check him out. Federici hasn't shown any signs of getting bored so far, but I have at times been tempted to replicate real life and replace him with McCarthy, who has shone when called upon and plays consistently well for me. As much as I applaud Federici, if he kicks off, I will have no problems letting him go.

Great thread

Leon Britton & Wellington Nem have aged fast

Good effort as usual Abaddon. I will soon start a save with the victorious (I can say that now!) Royals.

Started a game with Reading (my first game of FM2013).

Just finished my first season where i was relegated.

Anyone recommend any good signings that will shoot me back up?

Leon Britton & Wellington Nem have aged fast

Good effort as usual Abaddon. I will soon start a save with the victorious (I can say that now!) Royals.

Oops, I copied the Gilberto Silva template and forgot to update the age... Now has been updated!

I look forward to your undoubtedly successful career updates.

Started a game with Reading (my first game of FM2013).

Just finished my first season where i was relegated.

Anyone recommend any good signings that will shoot me back up?

What happened in your first season? Who did you sign/sell? What sort of budget do you have to spend and I'll try suggest a few who might be available second season for championship clubs.

Oops, I copied the Gilberto Silva template and forgot to update the age... Now has been updated!

I look forward to your undoubtedly successful career updates.

Not sure it will be successful at all, but when I get on to it I will post back in here. In the meantime I will pass by and read how everyone is getting on.

Just finished my first season, ended up coming 12th. Was a worrying start, but after Christmas things started to come together and we performed much better. We even managed to take some big scalps along the way in the form of a 5-1 win over Arsenal, a 2-1 win over Man City, and a 3-1 win over Liverpool.

Star signing was easily Wellington Nem, even though I do feel he is a well known player for little money. He really does play well on the right side as an inside forward!

I would definitely say that a new striker should be a priority depending on your formation. I was playing a lone man formation and he never offered us much. If your playing two up front you may have more luck with a Roberts/ALF combo, as both performed well when asked, they just didn't suit my tactic sadly.

I shall try to do a full update later.

Finished my first season in an epic 4th Position still not quite sure how I managed it. Probably my greatest achievement on football manager and I've played every game in the series. My success was largely down to the form of Adam Le Fondre who scored 34 goals in 38 premier league games and picked up the European Golden Boot in the process.

I play a standard 4-4-2 formation with an attacking mentality with Pogrebnak as a Target Man (support) and Le Fondre as a Poacher, Taking after Martin O'Neill in his big man little man forward line. The combination between both has been devastating.

In the first transfer window I signed Lee Wallace - Left Back from Rangers, Victor Wanyama - Celtic (an absolute must buy in my opinion) and Tony Watt - Striker from Celtic, one for the future, and Seamus Coleman on loan from Everton.

My Team for the majority of the season was:

Federici

Gunter - Gorkss - Mariappa - Wallace

McAnuff - Karacan - Wanyama - Robson-Kanu

Le Fondre - Pogrebnyak

I was given more money to strengthen in January after changing my expectations and I brought in:

Ademilson - Sao Paulo

Helenius - Aalborg

McCarthy - Wigan

Brown - Celtic

Signings fitted in well but mostly used as rotation options when first team were unfit/suspended. Great form in the league continued and secured 4th spot on the last day of the season with a 2-1 victory at spurs. Typically Le Fondre scoring the winning goal. I'm now on a building mission to create a squad that can hopefully compete in Europe. I've got Sinan Bolat, Christopher Drazan and Andres Ivanschitz coming on free transfers.

I will update my progress as my second season continues.

Started a new game with Reading now as the other one was my first ever save on FM and i just wanted to get used to it (for those interested i did get us straight back up and 2 mid-table finishes in the Premier League followed).

So far i have signed Wellington Nem and Leon Britton and i have gone for a bit of an un-orthodox formation that has worked for me on a network game with a friend.

I'll keep you all posted.

Started a new game with Reading now as the other one was my first ever save on FM and i just wanted to get used to it (for those interested i did get us straight back up and 2 mid-table finishes in the Premier League followed).

So far i have signed Wellington Nem and Leon Britton and i have gone for a bit of an un-orthodox formation that has worked for me on a network game with a friend.

I'll keep you all posted.

I often find that my first save is more a trial and error experiment, and then I really get down to it and get a proper career save going.

What formation are you playing? Wellington Nem seems to be a must buy for every team outside the top-four. He really does perform well.

How are you finding Leon Britton however? I was impressed with his early form but I think he need some specific instructions to get the best out of him.

Good luck with your new save.

Finished my first season in an epic 4th Position still not quite sure how I managed it. Probably my greatest achievement on football manager and I've played every game in the series. My success was largely down to the form of Adam Le Fondre who scored 34 goals in 38 premier league games and picked up the European Golden Boot in the process.

I play a standard 4-4-2 formation with an attacking mentality with Pogrebnak as a Target Man (support) and Le Fondre as a Poacher, Taking after Martin O'Neill in his big man little man forward line. The combination between both has been devastating.

In the first transfer window I signed Lee Wallace - Left Back from Rangers, Victor Wanyama - Celtic (an absolute must buy in my opinion) and Tony Watt - Striker from Celtic, one for the future, and Seamus Coleman on loan from Everton.

My Team for the majority of the season was:

Federici

Gunter - Gorkss - Mariappa - Wallace

McAnuff - Karacan - Wanyama - Robson-Kanu

Le Fondre - Pogrebnyak

I was given more money to strengthen in January after changing my expectations and I brought in:

Ademilson - Sao Paulo

Helenius - Aalborg

McCarthy - Wigan

Brown - Celtic

Signings fitted in well but mostly used as rotation options when first team were unfit/suspended. Great form in the league continued and secured 4th spot on the last day of the season with a 2-1 victory at spurs. Typically Le Fondre scoring the winning goal. I'm now on a building mission to create a squad that can hopefully compete in Europe. I've got Sinan Bolat, Christopher Drazan and Andres Ivanschitz coming on free transfers.

I will update my progress as my second season continues.

Congratulations on your first season success! That is the most successful I have seen anyone be in the first season with Reading so far.

What happened to Jimmy Kebe? Did he not fit in with your plans, or did you find McAnuff to be more rounded and a better option on the right?

Congratulations on your first season success! That is the most successful I have seen anyone be in the first season with Reading so far.

What happened to Jimmy Kebe? Did he not fit in with your plans, or did you find McAnuff to be more rounded and a better option on the right?

Thanks Abaddon to be honest I think I must of fluked it but my results just kept on coming. Kebe picked up an injury at the start of the first season for me which is why I picked McAnuff in front of him and he was pretty consistent throughout the season and he whips in a great corner. When I brought Kebe off the bench he never really impressed so that's why I stuck with McAnuff.

Are you having the same sort of success with Le Fondre? I'm finding him to be one of the most clinical strikers in the game. however when he plays upfront on his own he does seem to be non existent which I found out in my Champions League Qualifier. Unluckily drew Schalke and won the first leg 2-0 in Germany and thought I was certain to go through then got completely outplayed at home and Beat 3-0, so into the Europa League for me which just doesn't have the same shine unfortunately.

Wanyama is turning out to be an absolute class act for me, he is dominating the midfield for me game in, game out even against the likes of Chelsea. He wins pretty much all of his tackles and he is popping up with a good few goals as well. I would seriously recommend him for anyone. Him and Karacan are a brilliant partnership.

How is your second season coming along?

Being in University at Reading I feel it is now time to give them a go! Great transfer budget so can really shape my own team, thinking of getting rid of Pearce, McAnuff, Leigterwood, Hunt and Cummings to give myself even more cash. Going to try and buy as many young British players as possible, can anyone recommend any players from the lower English leagues that have good potential or could cut it in the PL?

It's the wrong day to ask Royals fans because after the Villa result, I'd say you would be best off looking for Championship players ahead of FM14.

However, you could try Tom Ince (real life January target) and Charlie Austin (used to be on the books as a youngster many moons ago) as both should fit your strategy?

sean murray

hoban

will hughes

mason bennett

redmond

tom ince

danny batth

tom lees

joe lewis

mark o'brien

jason steele

adam henley

chris wood

cathcart

chris mccann

rhys williams

charlie austin

trippier

solly

ales smithies

jordan mutch

madine

cresswell

byram

dunk

robbie brady

hyam

jon hogg

matt phillips

bridcutt

mark davies

ben mee

great list Welshace, cheers. Joga Bonito you could well be right and will definitley be looking at Austin!

That's a much bigger list welshace! I've never managed Will Hughes or Danny Batth but I hear good things about their in-game performance and with Ince and Austin too, that pretty much covers most of the positions welshdave was referring to. I would have thought Pearce would be worth keeping, but maybe there is a personal reason for wanting him moved on - like the soon-to-be-expiring contract issue? Le Fondre should do well for you.

Yes partly the contract issue, also an abundance of centre backs at the club, want Morrison to get playing time!

Yes partly the contract issue, also an abundance of centre backs at the club, want Morrison to get playing time!

That's true - but there is an abundance of most things at the club (except for quality). Good luck with it:thup:

So with today's appointment of Nigel Adkins, who is still playing a career game as Reading FC?

Hopefully this is a sign of better things to come and a more attractive style of football. Although McDermott played effective football at Championship level, he was a little one-dimensional at times and seemed out of his depth tactically at times. What style of football have you been playing as Reading FC, and how have you fared so far?

I have been playing as Reading the last couple of days, decided to sign as many young British players as possible, thanks Welshace by the way for the list of players.

Transfers so far.

In

Joel Pohjanpalo - 250k

Roope Riski - 150k

Riku Riski - 250k

Christopher Dibon - 1.5m

Tommie Hobain - 4m

Sean Murray - 7m

Scott Wootton - 650k

Matt Phillips - 7.5m

Enar Jaager - Free

Akos Buzasky - Free

Chris Mccann - 2m

Ben Mee - 5m

Will Hughes - 9.5m

Out

Simon Church 1.5m

Ian Harte - 250k

Mikkel Andersen - 375k

Jason Roberts - 250k

Danny Guthrie - 3m

Kasper Gorkas - 1m

Noel Hunt - 1m

Stuart Taylor - 100k

Shaun Cummings - 250k

So far I am currently 8th in the league with 31 games gone in my first season, Le Fondre is a goalscoring machine getting 22 goals in 29 games in all competitions so far, he is 2nd best goalscorer in the Prem with 19 just beheind Giroud who has 26 league goals.

Alex Pearce is the best player in the Prem with an average rating of 7.90 rating, the surprise package for me is Nick Shorey with 15 assists, best in the prem and an average rating of 7.25.

Will keep you guys posted how I get on.

Hi mate, I haven't yet tried RFC on FM13 but may get to it one day before FM14 launches. How are you getting on or have you also avoided taking your turn in the Mad Stad hot seat?

Hopefully NA will freshen things up without completely binning our traditions. I would expect him to do a fair bit of business (in and out) during the summer and we should be capable of mounting a promotion challenge next season.

I started a game with the original database, but haven't started one with the latest yet. I was doing well, having signed players like Wellington Nem, Mattias Destro and a load of promising youth players, but I have become sidetracked and have started a career save with Crewe to develop youth recently so the Reading save is on the back burner.

I expect Adkins to release quite a few in the summer. A lot of our players were good with a direct style of play, but Adkins seems to prefer and attacking style of football with a great deal of passing - something we haven't been too great at lately. Hopefully he doesn't try to change things too quickly and do a Rodgers... Time will tell.

So I have started a game with Reading and the start of the season is upon me so I will tell you what I have done so far pre-season.

First thing I did was to sort out my tactics:

1st Tactic: This is one is for teams similar reputation to ourselves

Formation: 4-5-1

Style: Fluid

Stratgey: Standard

Passing Style: More Direct

Creative Freedom: More Expressive

Closing Down: Stand Off More

Tackling: More Cautious

Marking: Zonal

Crosses: Float Crosses

Roaming: More Roaming

Focus Passing: Down Both Flanks

Counter Attack: Yes

Play Offside: No

Target Man : Pavel Pogbrenyak

Target Man Supply: To Head

Tactic Number Two use when playing a weaker team.

Formation: 4-5-1

Style: Fluid

Stratgey: Standard

Passing Style: More Direct

Creative Freedom: More Expressive

Closing Down: Press More

Tackling: Default

Marking: Zonal

Crosses: Float Crosses

Roaming: Default

Focus Passing: Down Both Flanks

Counter Attack: No

Play Offside: Yes

Target Man : Pavel Pogbrenyak

Target Man Supply: To Head

Tactic Number Three for when you play stronger teams

Formation: 4-5-1

Style: Fluid

Stratgey: Counter

Passing Style: More Direct

Creative Freedom: More Disciplined

Closing Down: Stand Off More

Tackling: Default

Marking: Zonal

Crosses: Float Crosses

Roaming: More Roaming

Focus Passing: Down Both Flanks

Counter Attack: Yes

Play Offside: No

Target Man : Pavel Pogbrenyak

Target Man Supply: To Head

I went on to bring in my own staff and get rid of the deadwood. I was not happy with my defensive line for the formation I was playing so I brought in 2 defenders Liam Ridgewell as my left back and Ronnie Stam as my right back both playing either support or auto, another postion I was not happy with was my AML Robson-Kanu so I brought in Mark Gonzalez (The Ex Liverpool Winger) I had never bought him before but looked like he could fit in with my tactics. I let Tabb and Andersen go both for 775K all together.

My pre-season matches I have won all so far not any real challenging teams though. I played the reserves, Colchester and Didcot. I have three remaining friendlys to play which my AM can take charge for me and the three teams are Basingstoke, Burnley and Leverkusen. I have not had to choose my captain and vice captain yet but they will be Liam Ridgwell and Marriapa.

Not sure what else you guys would want to know so I will give you a Update tomorrow as to wether my start is excellent,average or a total disaster.

I've found that Mark Gonzalez is terribly injury prone and not worth his fee, Gary Mackay-Steven would be my choice for a new left winger.

I believe that is part of the reason why Liverpool let him go in the first place - he has always suffered from injuries to what I know. Personally I would have stuck with Hal Robson-Kanu in the first season. Even though his stats arent great, he has always seemed to perform solidly for me.

How are you getting on?