Sent Off From The Bench

After a good second half to last season, and a squad that largely stayed together, it was hoped that Reading would hit the ground running, despite a tough start. That start looks even harder given we've played three of the top 6, thankfully the international break meant our game against league leaders Stockport was moved to late October. Seven points from that run is a great return and we're the only team so far to take points off Birmingham or Charlton. David Button's form last season left a lot to be desired, and there were calls for Joel Pereira to take his place early on. At the back end of last season he showed himself to be a good shot stopper, a trend that's continued into this year, but with a habit of making costly errors with his feet. Thankfully his tendency to give up easy goals has, so far, been left in 2023/24. I would also say that while his shot stopping has been good, Opta have him as fourth best in the league for goals prevented, it can occasionally be