Opinion: Reading’s Season Goes One Of Two Ways – Which Depends On The Next Month

Reading supporters have endured a summer that has had far too many negatives, and with the fanbase united in wanting owner Dai Yongge out of the club at the earliest of opportunities, it’s far from ideal preparation heading into the 2023/24 season, in which the Royals will be playing their football in League One, following their relegation from the Championship last term. 

It’s been an unstable few years for the Berkshire-based side, as they’ve been hit with points deductions for off-field problems, which ultimately cost them their place in the second-tier last season, as they finished five points adrift of Cardiff City. Many fans would have originally hoped that relegation into League One would have been the wake-up call that Dai Yongge needed to move on from the off-field problems. However, much to the frustration of the club’s supporters, this hasn’t happened, and if anything, many will argue that it’s got even worse under his ownership. 

Reading have been hit with transfer embargo’s throughout the last couple of years, and despite them briefly being cleared of that embargo earlier this summer, they were swiftly hit with the same punishment a couple of weeks later for failing to pay tax owed to HMRC. There have been rumours of deregistering players that have already signed for the club during the break from embargo’s, which has only heightened the irritation for fans, which was clear to see against Swansea City in their final pre-season friendly of the summer, where the League One side were beaten 4-0 on home soil. 

That defeat to the Swans capped off a miserable pre-season campaign, where Reading lost every single friendly, which included defeats to League Two clubs Sutton United and AFC Wimbledon. So, there’s little reason for supporters to get excited ahead of their potential rebuild, with fans turning their attention to the ‘Sell Before We Dai’ group, who are looking to see a change in ownership at the club in the near future. 

One of the few slight positives are the calibre of players that Reading are able to attract, with the likes of Lewis Wing, Charlie Savage, Sam Smith and Harvey Knibbs all arriving at the club earlier this summer, which is slightly promising if the club are able to have their transfer embargo eased in the future. 

Yongge’s media silence certainly hasn’t helped his cause either, which has resulted in serious questions about his ambitions for the club, especially since the off-field problems seem to be a regular occurrence at this moment in time. 

It’s been revealed by BonusCodeBets that Reading are priced at 7/2 on bet365 to be promoted from League One this season. Below, you’ll find the rest of the odds on bet365 for the teams expected to be fighting for promotion this term. 

• Derby County @ 13/8
• Bolton Wanderers @ 2/1
• Barnsley @ 11/4
• Peterborough United @ 3/1
• Portsmouth @ 3/1
• Blackpool @ 4/1
• Charlton Athletic @ 5/1
• Oxford United @ 11/2

Odds displayed are correct as of 4:35 pm, Monday 31st July 2023. Odds are subject to change. 

Reading take on Peterborough United on the opening weekend of fixtures in League One, where they’ll be looking to make a winning start against a team that are likely to be challenging for promotion themselves this season, having missed out on promotion last term, after a dramatic defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in their play-off semi-final.