James Earnshaw

‘We are staying up’ cried the 800-strong away end at Oakwell on Saturday as news filtered through that due to results elsewhere, the Royals’ League One safety had been assured. However, for 29-year-old Simeon Pickup, there was a personal achievement to celebrate too as the entertaining 2-2 draw marked the fanatical fan’s 150th consecutive Reading match. Starting immediately after the Covid-19 break, in August 2021, Pickup has attended every league and cup match for the past three years. “It’s one of those where it wasn’t an ambition right from the start- I never sat there and said ‘I’m going to do 150 games’ but coming out of Covid where we missed loads of games, I just wanted to get to as many games as I could,” Pickup told the Reading Chronicle. “I did all of the games in the 2021/22 season and I thought that I wanted to do it again, so I went through 2022/23 without missing games.”

Reading supporters have shown unwavering backing of their side following relegation and off-field anxiety for the 2023/24 campaign, averaging over 1,200 per match. Back in the third tier after two decades in the top two divisions, the Royals have been battling relegation from August but have confirmed their survival with two matches to spare. Last year, the average away following dropped to under 900, the lowest in the Championship. Reading won just three away matches all season and none after the November break for the World Cup, a run which extended for over a calendar year into November 2023.

The Football Association and Premier League have made five big changes to the prestigious FA Cup coming into place from next season- including the scrapping of replays. The oldest cup competition in the world, the FA Cup still holds a special place in the hearts of football supporters despite it's wavering prestige among the elite. From next season, UEFA competitions are being expanded, and in order to reduce fixture congestion the decision has been made to reduce replays from the first round proper onwards, despite clubs in Europe not entering until the third round proper. This will prove controversial as replays can be big money spinners for lower league clubs, especially if they can hold one of the well-supported clubs to a draw and earn a rematch.

Reading fans were in the money on Friday after supporters spotted a Royal link at Aintree, with El Jefe winning at the world-famous horse racing festival. The highlight of the racing calendar, Aintree hosted the 2024 Grand National Festival. Won by I Am Maximus, the main event is included in a three-day festival in Liverpool. On the Friday evening, a horse named El Jefe was in the Alder Hey Handicap Hurdle.

Reading Women Under-21 have completed a domestic double following a 5-0 hammering of Northampton Town to lift the South Premier Women League title on Wednesday. Liam Thorne's side won 14 of 17 fixtures so far this season, losing 2-1 to Northampton in the reverse fixture. Needing to only avoid defeat at Brunting Road, the Young Royals outfit took the lead within three minutes from Natasha Rassmusen.

Supporters' Trust at Reading [STAR] have revealed their exciting plans for 'Dia Del Jefe' on the final day of the season. Following Saturday's 2-2 draw with Barnsley, and results falling favourably elsewhere, Reading have confirmed their safety in League One. Battling adversity all year with points deductions, transfer bans, winding-up petitions and occasional time without pay, it is an achievement not to be scoffed at.

League One pantomime villain Steve Evans has departed Stevenage 48 hours before their penultimate match to return to Rotherham United. The 61-year-old is a controversial figure in the EFL, a larger-than-life character that opposition supporters love to hate.  A position he thrives in, the former Leeds United and Crawley Town boss has four EFL promotions to his name, including taking Stevenage into League One last season before leading a playoff charge this year- falling short in the run-in. Boro are due to travel to Oxford United on Friday night, with coach Alex Revell taking charge of the final two fixtures.

Former Reading favourite Tom McIntyre has bounced immediately back to the Championship as his new side, Portsmouth, secured the League One title on Tuesday evening. 25-year-old McIntyre rose through the ranks with his boyhood club and made over 100 appearances for the first team. A mainstay in the side in recent seasons, the former Scotland youth international played 38 matches as the Royals were relegated out of the Championship last season.

Reading are to share a division with Mansfield Town for the first time in over 30 years following their promotion from League Two. The Stags, managed by legendary player Nigel Clough, were a non-league outfit a decade ago but have endured multiple near-misses of reaching the third tier. Beating Accrington Stanley 2-1 on Tuesday, Mansfield have taken the final automatic promotion spot with two matches to spare.

Reading Under-21 breezed past Brighton and Hove Albion in an impressive PL2 victory on Saturday, coming up against a former first-team regular in Caylan Vickers. 19-year-old Vickers rose through the ranks with his boyhood club and scored three goals in 22 appearances during the first half of this season before opting to link up with the Premier League Seagulls. Signing until 2027, the attacking midfielder has made seven appearances for Shannon Ruth's Under-21s outfit. Infamously, it was Ruth's Young Seagulls who knocked Vickers and Reading out of the EFL Trophy on penalties earlier in the season.