The Clubs: Reading

All-Time Premier League Record

Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Scored	Conceded	Goal Difference	Points	No of Seasons
114	32	23	591	136	186	-50	119	3

 

Most Premier League Appearances

Player	Appearances Total
Nicky Shorey	90
Marcus Hahnemann	76
James Harper	76
Ivar Ingimarsson	73
Stephen Hunt	72
Kevin Doyle	68
Graeme Murty	51
Shane Long	50
Dave Kitson	47
Leroy Lita	47

 

Most Premier League Goals

Player	Goals Total
Kevin Doyle	19
Dave Kitson	12
Adam Le Fondre	12
James Harper	9
Stephen Hunt	9
Leroy Lita	8
Hal Robson-Kanu	7
Jimmy Kebe	5
Shane Long	5
Pavel Pogrebnyak	5

 

Biggest Premier League Victories

Match	Date	Season
Reading 6-0 West Ham United	1st January 2007	2006-2007
Derby County 0-4 Reading	11th May 2008	2007-2008
Fulham 2-4 Reading	4th May 2013	2012-2013
Reading 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur	12th November 2006	2006-2007
Reading 3-1 Sheffield United	20th January 2007	2006-2007
Bolton Wanderers 1-3 Reading	21st April 2007	2006-2007
Reading 3-1 Liverpool FC	8th December 2007	2007-2008
Reading 2-0 Charlton Athletic	18th November 2006	2006-2007
Manchester City 0-2 Reading	3rd February 2007	2006-2007
Reading 2-0 Aston Villa	10th February 2007	2006-2007

 

Worst Premier League Defeats

Match	Date	Season
Reading 0-4 Arsenal	22nd October 2006	2006-2007
Portsmouth 7-4 Reading	29th September 2007	2007-2008
Reading 2-5 Arsenal	17th December 2012	2012-2013
Arsenal 4-1 Reading	30th March 2013	2012-2013
Bolton Wanderers 3-0 Reading	25th August 2007	2007-2008
Reading 0-3 West Ham United	1st September 2007	2007-2008
Newcastle United 3-0 Reading	5th April 2008	2007-2008
Sunderland 3-0 Reading	11th December 2012	2012-2013
Reading 0-3 Wigan Athletic	23rd February 2013	2012-2013
Tottenham Hotspur 6-4 Reading	29th December 2007	2007-2008

 

Managers

Manager	No of Seasons managed	Left the Club
Steve Coppell	2	12th May 2009
Brian McDermott	1	11th March 2013
Nigel Adkins	1	15th December 2014

 

Highest Home Attendances

Match	Date	Attendance Figure	Season
Reading 0-0 Blackburn Rovers	29th March 2008	24,374	2007-2008
Reading 2-1 Everton	17th November 2012	24,184	2012-2013
Reading 1-0 West Ham United	29th December 2012	24,183	2012-2013
Reading 1-3 Tottenham Hotspur	16th September 2012	24,160	2012-2013
Reading 0-0 Liverpool FC	13th April 2013	24,139	2012-2013
Reading 0-2 Manchester United	19th January 2008	24,135	2007-2008
Reading 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur	3rd May 2008	24,125	2007-2008
Reading 2-5 Arsenal	17th December 2012	24,125	2012-2013
Reading 2-0 Aston Villa	10th February 2007	24,122	2006-2007
Reading 1-2 Liverpool FC	7th April 2007	24,121	2006-2007

 

Intro

Reading enjoyed a lively start to their Premier League career and surprised many in their debut campaign. Rather than fight relegation, Steve Coppell’s energetic Royals were in the shake-up for European qualifying positions until the final day of the season and finished a fabulous eighth in the table. Their next two seasons in the top-flight were more of the anticipated struggle which ended with the heartache of relegation but Reading will hope to be back in the future with recently newly-appointed boss, Paul Clement.

 

2006-2007

Reading made an electrifying start to their Premier League life by coming from two goals down to beat Middlesbrough 3-2. It would start the trend for an outstanding debut season in the top-flight. Manchester United were held 1-1 in September, Tottenham Hotspur beaten 3-1 in November and West Ham United humiliated 6-0 on New Years’ Day which remains the Royals biggest-ever Premier League win.

Two Steve Sidwell goals against Aston Villa in February took Reading into the dizzy heights of sixth in the table. By early May, there were real hopes of a debut campaign in Europe but a shocking 2-0 home loss to already relegated Watford ended those hopes. Nevertheless, Reading finished a brilliant eighth in the table, ahead of the likes of Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Manchester City in the final standings.

 

2007-2008

Hopes were high for Reading to build on their excellent debut Premier League campaign and a hard-fought goalless draw on the opening weekend at Old Trafford suggested another promising season ahead. However, a leaky defensive line would ruin those hopes. Reading lost 7-4 at Portsmouth, 6-4 to Tottenham Hotspur and 4-2 against Blackburn Rovers.

The high point of the season was a 3-1 success over Liverpool FC in December which was the first time the Reds lost domestically in the season. However, the team suffered an extremely poor run of form at the start of 2008. A club-record was equalled of eight successive defeats which plunged Reading into the bottom three.

Consecutive victories over Middlesbrough and Manchester City propelled Coppell’s side upto 13^th in the table but they managed just one more victory before the final day of the season. On the last Sunday, the Berkshire club thrashed hapless Derby County 4-0 but Fulham’s away victory at Portsmouth ensured their safety and condemned Reading to relegation. Despite scoring more goals than the likes of Wigan Athletic, Sunderland and Bolton Wanderers who all survived, Reading’s brittle defensive line, conceding 66 goals would turn out to be their ultimate downfall.

 

2012-2013

After a four-year absence, the Royals returned to the Premier League spotlight as champions of the Championship. They began the season with a late draw at home to Stoke City but there would be no Premier League victory until mid-November when Everton were defeated 2-1. A run of four wins in six games just after the festive period brightened the hopes of potential salvation and it was a run that earned Brian McDermott Manager of the Month honours for January.

They were helped by the goals of Adam Le Fondre, who often came off the substitute’s bench to make a crucial difference. This included two goals to earn a victory at St James’ Park and another late double to earn a 2-2 draw with reigning European champions Chelsea. Le Fondre ended with 12 league goals at the end of the season.

McDermott was sacked in mid-March after successive home losses to relegation rivals Wigan Athletic and Aston Villa. Ex-Southampton boss Nigel Adkins succeeded him but the damage had already been done and a goalless draw at home to Queens Park Rangers at the end of April saw both clubs relegated to the Championship.

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Seasonal Records: 2006-2007

For all the statistical fans out there, here are some of the season’s records from the 2006-2007 Premier League campaign. After a three-year period watching dominance from the capital, Manchester United regained that winning feeling to claim their ninth Premier League title, spearheaded by Cristiano Ronaldo, who began to show why he would become one of the greatest players to ever play football.

FINAL TABLE

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Manchester United	38	28	5	5	83	27	+56	89
2	Chelsea	38	24	11	3	64	24	+40	83
3	Liverpool FC	38	20	8	10	57	27	+30	68
4	Arsenal	38	19	11	8	63	35	+28	68
5	Tottenham Hotspur	38	17	9	12	57	54	+3	60
6	Everton	38	15	13	10	52	36	+16	58
7	Bolton Wanderers	38	16	8	14	47	52	-5	56
8	Reading	38	16	7	15	52	47	+5	55
9	Portsmouth	38	14	12	12	45	42	+3	54
10	Blackburn Rovers	38	15	7	16	52	54	-2	52
11	Aston Villa	38	11	17	10	43	41	+2	50
12	Middlesbrough	38	12	10	16	44	49	-5	46
13	Newcastle United	38	11	10	17	38	47	-9	43
14	Manchester City	38	11	9	18	29	44	-15	42
15	West Ham United	38	12	5	21	35	59	-24	41
16	Fulham	38	8	15	15	38	60	-22	39
17	Wigan Athletic	38	10	8	20	37	59	-22	38
18	Sheffield United	38	10	8	20	32	55	-23	38
19	Charlton Athletic	38	8	10	20	34	60	-26	34
20	Watford	38	5	13	20	29	59	-30	28

 

THE BASIC STATS

Goals Scored	931
European qualifiers	Chelsea (UEFA Champions League) Manchester United (UEFA Champions League) Liverpool FC (UEFA Champions League) Arsenal (UEFA Champions League) Tottenham Hotspur (UEFA Cup) Everton (UEFA Cup) Bolton Wanderers (UEFA Cup) Blackburn Rovers (UEFA Intertoto Cup)
Longest winning run	9 games (Chelsea)
Longest unbeaten run	14 games (Chelsea)
Longest winless run	11 games (Aston Villa, Watford & West Ham United)
Longest losing run	8 games (Wigan Athletic)
Highest attendance	76,098 (Manchester United vs. Blackburn Rovers)
Lowest attendance	13,760 (Watford vs. Blackburn Rovers)

 

AWARDS

PFA Players’ Player of the Year	Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
PFA Young Player of the Year	Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Football Writers’ Award	Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
PFA Team of the Year	Edwin van der Sar, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitar Berbatov, Didier Drogba
Manager of the Year	Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)
Premier League Goal of the Season	Wayne Rooney (MANCHESTER UNITED vs. Bolton Wanderers)

 

HAT-TRICK HEROES

Player	Teams	Score	Date
Wayne Rooney	Bolton Wanderers vs. Manchester United	0-4	28th October 2006
Didier Drogba	Chelsea vs. Watford	4-0	11th November 2006
Peter Crouch	Liverpool FC vs. Arsenal	4-1	31st March 2007

 

TOP SCORERS

Position	Player	Teams	No of Goals
1	Didier Drogba	Chelsea	20
2	Benni McCarthy	Blackburn Rovers	18
3	Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	17
4=	Wayne Rooney	Manchester United	14
4=	Mark Viduka	Middlesbrough	14
6=	Kevin Doyle	Reading	13
6=	Darren Bent	Charlton Athletic	13
8=	Dirk Kuyt	Liverpool FC	12
8=	Dimitar Berbatov	Tottenham Hotspur	12
8=	Yakubu	Middlesbrough	12
11=	Frank Lampard	Chelsea	11
11=	Robin van Persie	Arsenal	11
11=	Robbie Keane	Tottenham Hotspur	11
11=	Andy Johnson	Everton	11
11=	Nicolas Anelka	Bolton Wanderers	11
11=	Obafemi Martins	Newcastle United	11
11=	Bobby Zamora	West Ham United	11
18=	Thierry Henry	Arsenal	10
18=	Jermain Defoe	Tottenham Hotspur	10
18=	Kanu	Portsmouth	10
18=	Gilberto	Arsenal	10
22=	Peter Crouch	Liverpool FC	9
22=	Mikel Arteta	Everton	9
22=	Gabriel Agbonlahor	Aston Villa	9
22=	Brian McBride	Fulham	9

BIGGEST VICTORIES

Reading 6-0 West Ham United	1st January 2007
Arsenal 6-2 Blackburn Rovers	23rd December 2006
Manchester United 5-1 Fulham	20th August 2006
Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Charlton Athletic	9th December 2006
Middlesbrough 5-1 Bolton Wanderers	20th January 2007
Bolton Wanderers 0-4 Manchester United	28th October 2006
Chelsea 4-0 Watford	11th November 2006
Wigan Athletic 0-4 Liverpool FC	2nd December 2006
Reading 0-4 Arsenal	22nd October 2006
Manchester United 4-0 Watford	31st January 2007

 

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES

No of Goals	Teams	Date
8	Arsenal 6-2 Blackburn Rovers	23rd December 2006
7	West Ham United 3-4 Tottenham Hotspur	4th March 2007
6	Reading 6-0 West Ham United	1st January 2007
6	Manchester United 5-1 Fulham	20th August 2006
6	Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Charlton Athletic	9th December 2006
6	Middlesbrough 5-1 Bolton Wanderers	20th January 2007
6	Everton 2-4 Manchester United	28th April 2007
6	Blackburn Rovers 4-2 Manchester City	17th September 2006
6	Watford 4-2 Portsmouth	9th April 2007
6	Wigan Athletic 3-3 Tottenham Hotspur	15th April 2007
6	Blackburn Rovers 3-3 Reading	13th May 2007
6	West Ham United 3-3 Fulham	13th January 2007
6	Watford 3-3 Fulham	2nd October 2006
5	Manchester United 4-1 Bolton Wanderers	17th March 2007
5	Manchester United 4-1 Blackburn Rovers	31st March 2007
5	West Ham United 1-4 Chelsea	18th April 2007
5	Liverpool FC 4-1 Arsenal	31st March 2007
5	Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Bolton Wanderers	25th February 2007
5	Everton 4-1 Fulham	6th April 2007
5	Blackburn Rovers 4-1 Charlton Athletic	28th April 2007

 

YOUNGEST PLAYERS USED

Player	Teams	Age at the time	Date
Matthew Briggs	Middlesbrough 3-1 Fulham	16 years, 2 months, 4 days	13th May 2007
Daniel Sturridge	Manchester City 0-2 Reading	17 years, 5 months, 2 days	3rd February 2007
Theo Walcott	Arsenal 1-1 Aston Villa	17 years, 5 months, 3 days	19th August 2006
Ben Sahar	Chelsea 4-0 Wigan Athletic	17 years, 5 months, 3 days	13th January 2007
Sam Hutchinson	Chelsea 1-1 Everton	17 years, 9 months, 10 days	13th May 2007
Adel Taarabt	West Ham United 3-4 Tottenham Hotspur	17 years, 9 months, 8 days	4th March 2007
Scott Sinclair	Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea	18 years, 1 month, 11 days	6th May 2007
Andy Carroll	Wigan Athletic 1-0 Newcastle United	18 years, 1 month, 19 days	25th February 2007
Micah Richards	Chelsea 3-0 Manchester City	18 years, 1 month, 27 days	20th August 2006
Emiliano Insua	Portsmouth 2-1 Liverpool FC	18 years, 3 months, 21 days	28th April 2007

 

OLDEST PLAYERS USED

Player	Teams	Age at the time	Date
Alec Chamberlain	Watford 1-1 Newcastle United	42 years, 10 months, 23 days	13th May 2007
Teddy Sheringham	West Ham United 0-1 Manchester City	40 years, 8 months, 28 days	30th December 2006
Pavel Srnicek	Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Newcastle United	38 years, 9 months, 16 days	26th December 2006
Gary Speed	Bolton Wanderers 2-2 Aston Villa	37 years, 8 months, 5 days	13th May 2007
Chris Powell	Reading 0-2 Watford	37 years, 7 months, 27 days	5th May 2007
Jens Lehmann	Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea	37 years, 5 months, 26 days	6th May 2007
John Filan	Wigan Athletic 0-3 West Ham United	37 years, 2 months, 20 days	28th April 2007
Arjan de Zeeuw	Sheffield United 1-2 Wigan Athletic	37 years, 27 days	13th May 2007
David James	Portsmouth 0-0 Arsenal	36 years, 9 months, 11 days	13th May 2007
Tugay	Blackburn Rovers 3-3 Reading	36 years, 8 months, 19 days	13th May 2007

 

CLEAN SHEETS

Position	Player	Teams	No of Clean Sheets
1	Pepe Reina	Liverpool FC	19
2	Tim Howard	Everton	14
3=	Petr Cech	Chelsea	13
3=	Marcus Hahnemann	Reading	13
5=	Edwin van der Sar	Manchester United	12
5=	Jussi Jaaskelainen	Bolton Wanderers	12
5=	David James	Portsmouth	12
5=	Thomas Sorensen	Aston Villa	12
9	Scott Carson	Charlton Athletic	11
10	Jens Lehmann	Arsenal	10

Premier League Files: Kevin Doyle

Premier League Career: Reading (2006-2008), Wolverhampton Wanderers (2009-2012), Crystal Palace (2014)

Kevin Doyle retired from football in September 2017 on medical advice after complaining of persistent headaches. During his career, he did give many opposing defenders headaches with his sharp movements and instinctive finishing.

Finishing his career in the MLS with Colorado Rapids, Doyle’s final career total of 128 goals in 490 league appearances is impressive statistics for a player who was plucked from the Republic of Ireland Premier Division into the Premier League limelight with Reading.

Doyle signed his first professional contract in September 2001 with St Patrick’s Athletic as a free agent before joining current Irish champions Cork City 17 months later. He scored 25 goals for Cork and even had a spell playing on the right-wing rather than his usual central position in attack. His impressive performances were noted by Reading and Steve Coppell and they signed him in for a paltry £78,000 in June 2005. It has to be considered one of the finest bits of transfer business in the first decade of the new millennium.

He scored 19 goals as Reading soared to the Championship title and promotion to the Premier League, winning the club’s Player of the Season award and being named as the Fans’ Player of the Year by fellow Championship supporters. The step-up to the Premier League could have been very difficult for Doyle but he took to the new challenge with flying colours. He scored in just his second top-flight appearance in an away defeat to Aston Villa and finished with 13 Premier League goals, including scoring in a run of four successive matches during November 2006. His final tally could have been even greater but for a torn hamstring in mid-January which kept him out of action for two months. Doyle’s form saw him earn a nomination for PFA Young Player of the Year but he ultimately lost out to Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas.

2007-2008 was less successful for player and club. Kevin only found the back of the net six times in 36 appearances and after finishing a fine eighth in their debut Premier League campaign; Reading were relegated on the final day of the season. Despite being heavily linked with a move to Aston Villa in the summer of 2008, Reading held onto Doyle as they seeked an immediate return to the top-flight but they were pipped to automatic promotion by Birmingham City. Play-off defeat to Burnley would ultimately bring down the curtain on Doyle’s career at the Madjeski Stadium.

In June 2009, newly-promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers paid Reading £6.5 million for Doyle’s services. Although he missed pre-season with a hernia, he made his Premier League bow for them in Wolves’ first away game of the campaign; a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City. He scored nine times in his debut season at Molineux and his performances saw him voted as the club’s Player of the Season. He managed only nine further league goals across another two seasons as Mick McCarthy often rotated him with Steven Fletcher. One moment that stands out for him was a header to beat Manchester United in February 2011; ending the Red Devils’ 29-match unbeaten run.

Wolves suffered back-to-back relegations and were in League One for the start of the 2013-2014 season. With a dramatic cut in the club’s wages, Doyle was considered too expensive to stay but he stuck around for the first half of the campaign in League One. He eventually left in January 2014, first for a loan spell with Queens Park Rangers, then a final fling in the Premier League with Crystal Palace. Neither club signed him permanently. He would eventually run down his contract with Wolves before departing in the summer of 2015. He was to leave English shores to have a crack playing in the United States with the Colorado Rapids. He would score 16 times in 71 appearances for Colorado. On the international scene, he won 64 caps for the Republic of Ireland and was part of the squad that reached the European Championships in 2012, although they lost every single match in Poland.

After suffering problems with concussion during 2017, Doyle had to make the difficult decision to stop playing. He said: “This year it has been clear to me that heading the ball was becoming problematic and causing me to have repeated headaches. I’m sad to announce that after listening to medical advice I will play no further part this season and will be retiring.”

Lively, energetic and a real pest on his day, Kevin Doyle represented his country with great dignity and was one of Reading’s finest Premier League players.

Premier League Files: Nicky Shorey

Premier League Career: Reading (2006-2008), (2012-2013), Aston Villa (2008-2009), Fulham (2010), West Bromwich Albion (2010-2012)

Now a coach at League Two side Stevenage, Nicky Shorey enjoyed his Premier League stint, featuring for four sides across seven years. He was most prominent at Reading, where he had two spells for the club, during which time; he managed to win two England caps from Steve McClaren.

Shorey grew up as a West Ham United fan. He started his career at Leyton Orient as an apprentice in 1998 before moving onto Reading in February 2001 for a fee of just £25,000. He would spend the next seven seasons with the club, helping them reach the promise land of the Premier League.

It wasn’t until October 2001 when he got a regular chance in the first-team. Shorey established himself, making 36 appearances and helping the club to promotion to the First Division. Now at a higher level, he made the transition look easy, scoring his first professional goal in October 2002 to win a match at home to Bradford City. Shorey helped Reading make the First Division play-offs where they were edged out by Wolverhampton Wanderers over two legs.

In 2004, there was a nasty scare for his career. Following a routine match with Stoke City which finished goalless, Shorey noticed at home that his foot had started swelling and was throbbing by the time he reached hospital. The resulting infection kept him in hospital for a fortnight and he received further treatment at home for three months on his departure from A&E.

In 2005-2006, he missed just two matches as the Royals’ finally achieved promotion to the Premier League. He was one of Reading’s superstars in their excellent debut season in the top-flight, when they defied all expectations to finish eighth and only narrowly miss out on European qualification. He missed just one match and scored in Reading’s 3-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in November 2006. Praised for his excellent delivery from set-pieces, this was shown in full when he contributed to four of the team’s six goals as they gave West Ham United a New Years’ Day mauling in 2007. The season ended with Nicky becoming the first Reading player to represent the England national team in almost 100 years when he played in the 1-1 draw with Brazil. It was also the first match to be played at the new Wembley Stadium.

He was consistent again in 2007-2008, scoring twice but couldn’t prevent the club from being relegated. Relations between club and player became more strained when a proposed move to West Ham United collapsed during the season. The full-back decided after relegation his future lay away from Berkshire and his departure left a bitter taste in the mouths of many supporters. He joined Aston Villa in the summer of 2008.

His time at Villa was a real struggle, unable to hold down a regular place in the side. Although he started the first four matches of the 2009-2010 campaign, he was made surplus to requirements by Martin O’Neill and turned down a loan move to financially-ruined Portsmouth on transfer deadline day in September 2009. Loan spells followed at Nottingham Forest and Fulham during that campaign. He made 12 appearances for the Cottagers’ but was cup-tied during their historic run to the UEFA Europa League final. Shorey impressed Roy Hodgson but when he left Fulham for the Liverpool FC job, the club decided not to take an option up on his loan contract for a permanent switch.

He went back to the Midlands but joined newly-promoted West Bromwich Albion for £1.3 million in August 2010. He made 57 Premier League appearances across two seasons and had another spell working alongside Hodgson when his Liverpool experience turned sour. The arrival of Liam Ridgewell in the 2012 winter transfer window pushed Shorey out of his regular left-back role at The Hawthorns and he was released at the end of that campaign.

He rejoined Reading in the summer of 2012 on a free transfer, four years after his initial departure in fairly acrimonious circumstances. He made 21 appearances but couldn’t stop Reading’s immediate return to the Championship. He was released following their relegation and experienced spells afterwards with Bristol City, Portsmouth, Colchester United and Pune City in the Indian Super League. He retired in October 2016 to take up a coaching role under the guidance of 34-year-old Darren Sarll who is the current manager of Stevenage.

Fate drew the two sides Nicky is commonly associated with together in the third round of the 2018 Emirates FA Cup. Stevenage and Reading played out a goalless draw and will need to replay to see who progresses to the fourth round.

He might have moved elsewhere, both in his playing and current coaching guise but Nicky Shorey will always be a Royal.

Premier League Rewind: 16th-18th December 2006

Results: Charlton Athletic 0-3 Liverpool FC, Arsenal 2-2 Portsmouth, Newcastle United 2-1 Watford, Reading 1-2 Blackburn Rovers, Wigan Athletic 0-1 Sheffield United, Aston Villa 0-1 Bolton Wanderers, Everton 2-3 Chelsea, Manchester City 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United 1-0 Manchester United, Fulham 2-1 Middlesbrough

The Christmas programme in 2006 was about to get underway and already, the 2006-2007 title race looked to be a straight shootout between Manchester United and Chelsea. Going into the 16^th-18^th December weekend, it was the Red Devils who had a five-point advantage. By the end of the weekend, Jose Mourinho’s champions had whittled the lead down after a dramatic Sunday afternoon involving the title contenders.

The Blues’ kicked off first on Merseyside and were given a very tough game by David Moyes and his Everton side. Everton were only 10^th going into the match but just four points off the coveted UEFA Champions League qualifying positions and they led Chelsea twice in this match. In fact, Chelsea trailed 2-1 going into the last 10 minutes before amazing goals from Frank Lampard and then, another long-range special by Didier Drogba steered the Londoners home to a nervy and exciting 3-2 victory.

Later that afternoon, Manchester United travelled to Upton Park where West Ham United were welcoming their new manager. Alan Curbishley had been appointed a few days earlier, replacing Alan Pardew who had been sacked following a 4-0 defeat at Bolton eight days earlier. West Ham went into the weekend in the bottom three and desperate for a victory. They collected three much-needed points as Nigel Reo-Coker scored the only goal of the match and gave Curbishley a winning start. The gap between the top two was now two points.

Arsenal and Portsmouth were holding the other two Champions League qualification spots at the start of the weekend and they met each other at the Emirates Stadium. Pompey were flying and when Matt Taylor scored a looping volley, they were 2-0 up and looking set to become the first Premier League team to win at Arsenal’s new home. Arsene Wenger’s frustrations got the better of him and he was sent from the touchline but he will have been pleased to see his team’s battling qualities. Emmanuel Adebayor and skipper Gilberto Silva scored to ensure the points were shared.

Their draw allowed Liverpool FC to cash in and take third spot. Liverpool kicked off in the Saturday lunchtime game at second-bottom Charlton Athletic and it was one of the most one-sided away games in Premier League history. Liverpool had 24 attempts on-goal against Les Reed’s gutless side but only had a Xabi Alonso third-minute penalty to their name, squandering a host of opportunities. Luckily, Charlton were so bad, it didn’t matter. Craig Bellamy and Steven Gerrard did find the back of the net in the last 10 minutes to ensure the score had a fairer reflection given the visitors’ dominance. Reed lasted just one more abject match before being sacked as Charlton manager.

Elsewhere, Bolton climbed into fifth spot after Gary Speed’s penalty beat Aston Villa at Villa Park. Blackburn Rovers came from behind to pick up a valuable 2-1 victory away to Reading with David Bentley scoring the pick of the goals. Middlesbrough’s 2-1 defeat at home specialists Fulham on the Monday Night Football meant Gareth Southgate’s side slipped to 17^th and just outside the bottom three on goal difference.

What else happened in December 2006?

• Leona Lewis wins the X-Factor, becoming the first female winner of the ITV talent show.
• Forklift driver Steve Wright is charged with the murders of five women in Ipswich between the 30th October and 10th December. He is sentenced to life imprisonment in February 2008.
• Aged 93, Gerald Ford dies after years battling ill health. He was the 38th President of the United States, serving in office from August 1974 to January 1977.
• Actress Wendy Richard leaves EastEnders after her character Pauline Fowler dies on Christmas Day. She had been in Albert Square since the very first episode in 1985.
• Equestrian Zara Phillips follows in her mother’s footsteps by becoming BBC Sports Personality of the Year for 2006.
• 2,300 jobs are lost when the Ryton car factory closes in Warwickshire and production of the Peugeot 206 is moved to Slovakia.
• An oil pipeline explodes on Boxing Day in Lagos, Nigeria, killing at least 200 people.

Iconic Moments: A Fratton thriller (September 2007)

On the face of it, Portsmouth vs. Reading in September 2007 didn’t sound like a very exciting game to the neutral. However, these sides put on a real thriller at Fratton Park. They still hold the record for the most goals scored in a Premier League match of 11.

There were nine different scorers in the match. The exception was Benjani. Portsmouth’s forward, who couldn’t find the back of the net in his early period with the club, hit the jackpot. The Zimbabwean scored a hat-trick although the goalkeeping from Marcus Hahnemann was not the best on the day.

For the record, the other scorers were Stephen Hunt, Dave Kitson, Hermann Hreidarsson, Niko Kranjcar, Shane Long, Sulley Muntari from the penalty spot and two own goals by Ivar Ingimarsson and Sol Campbell. Portsmouth won the game 7-4 and David James saved a penalty from Nicky Shorey.

Reading boss Steve Coppell tried to put a positive spin on events afterwards, commenting: “It’s difficult to analyse a match like that and if you try you will be there a very long time…we scored four goals away from home and had a chance for another with a penalty. We played a full part in the game – I don’t think many teams will come here this season and score four.” 

Portsmouth would record their best Premier League finish of eighth and won the FA Cup at the end of the season. Reading were relegated on the final day of the campaign.

Whilst the defending by both teams was horrendous, this still goes down as an unforgettable contest in the Premier League archives.