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When August came to an end I don't think too many people would have expected this being a game between too lofty opponents. Reading had started the season well as expected and were in sixth place but we were languishing next to bottom with just the one point and one goal from four games.
Since then we've turned round our fortunes in one month and are now just two points and one place behind them as we both sit right behind the top two Wolves and Birmingham.
Going to the Madejksi hasn't become one of our better days out as yet. We've been there six times in the league, drawing four and losing two, whilst we've also lost an FA Cup game there on our last visit.
Our last win at Reading was back in 1980/81and that was at Elm Park. It was my first visit there and only Burnley's second league game there. We won it 3-1 with goals from Steve Taylor(2) and Micky Phelan. Another result like that would be good.
Travelling to Reading for a league game was not something we would have expected seven weeks from the end of last season. They'd just beaten Birmingham 2-1 and with seven games to go were fifteenth in the Premier League and with Fulham and Derby both looking doomed you wouldn't have put a penny on Reading going down.
They won their last game of the season 4-0 at Derby but in the other six games not only did they not win but they didn't even score a goal. Two 0-0 draws and four defeats meant even the win at Derby wasn't enough as Fulham also won and they came down with Birmingham and Derby.
As is always the case when a team comes down from the Premier League there are players all too ready to jump ship to stay in the top flight and Reading have lost four such players. Both Dave Kitson and Ibrahima Sonko have gone to Stoke whilst Nicky Shorey has signed for Aston Villa and former Claret Glen Little opted to move to Portsmouth at the end of his contract.
Manager Steve Coppell was expected to go but he's stayed on, and signed a longer contract than any he's previously held. He made only one new signing ahead of the new season, that of Noel Hunt from Dundee United who joined his brother Stephen.
Since the season got underway Chris Armstrong, brother of former Claret Gordon, has moved from Sheffield United. The two players cost a combined fee of just over £1 million.
The only player expected to move on who is still at Reading is striker Kevin Doyle, and he's proving invaluable to them just now. He's already hit two hat tricks and that's led to them scoring 23 goals in the league so far, the same as Wolves, and that is considerably more than any other team. They have been particularly prolific at home where they have a 100% record and have averaged over four goals per game in league and cup.
Doyle has eight of those goals which have been supplemented by a couple of own goals although the debate over their first at Watford recently will rage on for some time.
It really is no surprise to see Reading as one of the front runners so early in the season. They were expected to do well and were widely tipped by many pundits to go straight back up. Whether they do or not remains to be seen, but I don't think they will be too far away.
Steve Coppell will again be without the services of Michael Duberry and Graeme Murty. Both have suffered with calf injuries and in Murty's case he's recovered but now damaged his other calf.
Sam Sodje made his debut for Watford last Saturday on loan but returned injured on Monday. It is an old injury that he's aggravated and he'll be out for some time.
Czech Republic international Marek Mtejovsky has been out since the first week of the season with an ankle injury. He's fit but will not be considered until he's had a reserve game.
Also out of the picture is striker Leroy Lita who has become the latest loan player at Norwich but there is some good news for Coppell with a return to fitness for James Harper and he could feature.
I suspect Harper might just have to settle for a place on the bench with Coppell naming the side that won at Wolves on Tuesday.
f so they will line up: Marcus Hahnemann, Liam Rosenior, Ivar Ingimarsson, Andre Bikey, Chris Armstrong, Jimmy Kebe, Brynjar Gunnarsson, Jem Karacan, Stephen Hunt, Kevin Doyle, Noel Hunt. Subs from: Mikkel Andersen, Julian Kelly, Alex Pearce, Bobby Convey, Kalifa Cisse, James Harper, Shane Long.
Owen Coyle has spoken about the players currently out of the side and said they will have to take their chance when it comes, but he hinted they would have a wait and that would suggest he isn't planning any changes to the side that beat both Preston and Watford.
Kevin McDonald is still ruled out whilst Ade Akinbiyi remains doubtful and it would be no surprise to see Coyle name the same starting eleven and the same five substitutes.
If so the Burnley team will be: Brian Jensen, Michael Duff, Clarke Carlisle, Steven Caldwell, Stephen Jordan, Graham Alexander, Wade Elliott, Joey Gudjonsson, Chris McCann, Steven Thompson, Martin Paterson. Subs: Diego Penny, Alan Mahon, Chris Eagles, Robbie Blake, Jay Rodriguez.
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Steve Cotterill was able to name a match day squad of sixteen, and that had proved to be a rare treat at the start of his second season in charge. In our previous away game at Watford we'd struggled to name eleven, never mind a bench as well.
Wayne Thomas was in the starting eleven despite him having received a straight red card two days earlier. Burnley had rightly appealed the decision, but we, and Thomas, were to regret that decision when he suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury in the game.
We started quietly, as did Reading, but they were soon in front through Leroy Lita as he stuck his leg out to divert a loose ball into the goal.
The goal hit us and we lost our way for a short time, but we came storming back and had opportunities to equalise as we got on top. And then, right on half time, Ade Akinbiyi brought us level in superb style. He collected a knock down from Gifton Noel-Williams, turned and hit a shot home from the edge of the box that Hahnemann could do nothing about.
It was all Burnley in the second half for a while but we weren't able to take advantage of it, and then the inevitable happened when Kevin Doyle regained the lead for Reading, heading home from a corner.
From then on it all went wrong. Micah Hyde had been in superb form but he was forced off with a hamstring injury with John Spicer making his debut as his replacement. Then Glen Little fell over the ball with Thomas falling on him. Thomas didn't move until he was finally stretchered off.
It was going from bad to worse, and it got even worse in stoppage time when Garreth O'Connor was sent off for kicking out at an opponent. That was one red card we weren't going to appeal.
It ended in defeat too, but this was a game we really should never have lost, and there were certainly no clues that afternoon that Reading were about to stroll to promotion the following May.
The teams were;
Reading: Marcus Hahnemann, Graeme Murty, Ibrahima Sonko, Ivar Ingimarsson, Nicky Shorey (Chris Makin 45), Glen Little, Steve Sidwell, James Harper, Bobby Convey, Leroy Lita, Dave Kitson (Kevin Doyle 39). Subs not used: Graham Stack, Stephen Hunt, John Oster.
Burnley: Danny Coyne, Michael Duff, Wayne Thomas (Keith Lowe 86), John McGreal, Jon Harley, Garreth O'Connor, Micah Hyde (John Spicer 73), James O'Connor, Graham Branch, Gifton Noel-Williams, Ade Akinbiyi. Subs not used: Brian Jensen, Chris McCann, Karl Bermingham.
Previous 20 Seasons | |||||
Season | Div | Ven | Result | Att | Scorers |
1992/93 | 2 | h | 1-1 | 8,382 | Harper |
| . | . | a | 0-1 | 6,398 | . |
1993/94 | 2 | a | 1-2 | 5,855 | Eyres(pen) |
| . | . | h | 0-1 | 11,650 | . |
1994/95 | 1 | a | 0-0 | 8,150 | . |
| . | . | h | 1-2 | 9,841 | Parkinson |
1998/99 | 2 | a | 1-1 | 10,080 | Payton |
| . | . | h | 1-1 | 9,366 | Reid |
1999/2000 | 2 | a | 0-0 | 6,149 | . |
| . | . | h | 3-0 | 14,436 | Davis Payton Wright |
2002/03 | 1 | a | 0-3 | 12,009 | . |
| . | . | h | 2-5 | 14,420 | I Moore West |
2003/04 | 1 | h | 3-0 | 9,473 | Blake Chaplow Chadwick |
| . | . | a | 2-2 | 10,543 | I Moore May |
2004/05 | C | a | 0-0 | 15,400 | . |
| . | . | h | 0-0 | 11,392 | . |
2005/06 | C | a | 1-2 | 14,027 | Akinbiyi |
| . | . | h | 0-3 | 12,888 | . |
2006/07 | FAC | a | 2-3 | 11,514 | Akinbiyi G O'Connor |