Reading Football Club hold the record for the number of successive league wins at the start of a season, with a total of 13 wins at the start of the 1985–86 Third Division campaign.
The club's largest win was a 10–0 victory over Gibraltar on 10 July 2019 in a pre-season friendly. Their biggest league win was a 10–2 victory over Crystal Palace on 4 September 1946 in the Third Division South. Reading's heaviest loss was an 18–0 defeat against Preston North End in the FA Cup 1st round on 27 January 1894.
The player with the most league appearances is Martin Hicks with a total of 500 from 1978 to 1991. The most capped player is Kevin Doyle, who earned 26 for Ireland while at the club. The most league goals in total and in a season is Ronnie Blackman with 158 from 1947 to 1954 and 39 in 1951–52 respectively. The player with the most league goals in a game is Arthur Bacon with six against Stoke City in 1930–31. The first Reading-based player to play in the World Cup is Bobby Convey at the 2006 World Cup with the United States. The record time for a goalkeeper not conceding a goal is Steve Death at 1,103 minutes in 1978–79, which is a former English league record.
Reading's highest attendance at Elm Park was in 1927, when 33,042 spectators watched Reading beat Brentford 1–0. The highest attendance at the Madejski Stadium is 24,160 for the Premier League game with Tottenham Hotspur on 16 September 2012.
The highest transfer fee received for a Reading player is the £8 million received from Crystal Palace for Michael Olise in July 2021, beating the £7 million fee that 1899 Hoffenheim paid for Gylfi Sigurðsson in August 2010. The most expensive player Reading have ever bought is George Pușcaș, for an estimated £8,000,000 from Internazionale on 7 August 2019.
Honours
League competitions English 2nd tier Winners (2): 2006, 2012 Runners Up (1): 1995 English 3rd tier Winners (3): 1926, 1986, 1994 Runners Up (5): 1932, 1935, 1949, 1952, 2002 English 4th tier Winners (1): 1979 Highest league finish Premier League 2007, 8th Place
Cup competitions FA Cup Semi-final: 1927, 2015 Quarter-final: 1901, 2010, 2011, 2016 EFL Cup Quarter-final: 1996, 1998 Full Members Cup Winners (1): 1988 London War Cup Winners (1): 1941 Football League Third Division South Cup Winners (1): 1938
Youth and reserve competitions Premier League Cup Winners (1): 2014 Runners Up (1): 2017 Berks & Bucks Senior Cup Winners (5): 1879, 1892, 1995, 2022, 2024 Runners-Up (4): 1941, 1997, 1998, 2000
Managerial LMA Manager of the Year Steve Coppell 2005–06, 2006–07 LMA Championship Manager of the Year Brian McDermott 2011–12
Player records Appearances Most appearances: Martin Hicks (603; 1978–1991) Most league appearances: Martin Hicks (500; 1978–1991)
Goals Most goals: Trevor Senior (191; 1983–1987, 1988–1992) Most goals in a season: Trevor Senior (41; 1983–84) Most league goals: Ronnie Blackman (158; 1947–1954) Most league goals in a season: Ronnie Blackman (39; 1951–52) Most league goals in a game: Arthur Bacon (6 vs. Stoke City; 1930–31) Most penalties: Ray Reeves (21)
Goalkeeping Longest time without conceding a goal: Steve Death (1,103 minutes; 1978–79; former English league record)
Transfers Record transfer fee paid: George Pușcaș (£7,500,00 from Inter Milan August 2019) Record transfer fee received: Michael Olise (£8,000,000 to Crystal Palace; July 2021)
Internationals Most capped player (whilst at Reading): Kevin Doyle (Republic of Ireland) First Reading-based player to play in World Cup: Bobby Convey (2006; United States)
Appearances The following players have played more than 398 times for Reading, in all competitions. Pos.PlayerApp.1 Martin Hicks6032 Steve Death5373 Dick Spiers5054 Michael Gilkes4875 Stuart Beavon4816 Maurice Evans4597 Steve Richardson4578 Jimmy Wheeler4539 Phil Parkinson42610 Ady Williams398
Goalscorers The following players have scored more than 85 times for Reading, in all competitions. Pos.PlayerGls1 Trevor Senior1912 Jimmy Wheeler1683 Ronnie Blackman1674 Tony MacPhee1045 Tommy Tait1036 Denis Allen957 Jimmy Quinn948 Douggie Webb939 Les Chappell9010 Pat Earles85
List of hat-tricks
The Result column shows the Reading score first.
Key(X)Number of times player scored a hat-trick (only for players with multiple hat-tricks)4Player scored four goals5Player scored five goals6Player scored six goalsReading lost the matchReading drew the match
# Competition Location 1 Kerry Dixon 3 Aldershot3–3 21 August 1982 Group Cup Away 2 Kerry Dixon 4 Doncaster Rovers5–7 25 September 1982 Third Division Away 3 Kerry Dixon 3 Newport County 4–3 6 November 1982 Third Division Home 4 Gary Donnellan 3 Watford 5–3 8 December 1982 Group Cup Home 5 Trevor Senior 3 Stockport County 6–2 3 September 1983 Fourth Division Home 6 Trevor Senior 3 Colchester United 4–3 14 September 1983 League Cup Home 7 Trevor Senior 3 Cambridge United 3–1 24 November 1984 Third Division Home 8 Trevor Senior 3 Cardiff City 3–1 31 August 1985 Third Division Away 9 Trevor Senior 3 Bristol Rovers 4–2 2 October 1985 Third Division Home 10 Trevor Senior 3 Bristol Rovers 4–0 3 September 1986 League Cup Home 11 Trevor Senior 3 Swansea City 6–1 23 September 1989 Third Division Away 12 Craig Maskell 3 Darlington 4–2 10 March 1992 Third Division Away 13 Stuart Lovell 3 Swindon Town 3–0 1 April 1995 First Division Home 14 Lee Nogan 3 Port Vale3–3 15 April 1995 First Division Home 15 Lee Nogan 3 Southend United3–3 19 March 1996 First Division Home 16 Trevor Morley 3 Bolton Wanderers 3–2 8 February 1997 First Division Home 17 Jamie Cureton 3 Brentford 4–0 9 September 2000 Second Division Home 18 Martin Butler 3 Swansea City 4–0 23 September 2000 Second Division Home 19 Jamie Cureton 3 Luton Town 4–1 23 December 2000 Second Division Home 20 Nicky Forster 3 Blackpool 3–0 19 January 2002 Second Division Home 21 Nicky Forster 3 Ipswich Town 3–0 19 October 2002 Second Division Home 21 Nicky Forster 3 Preston North End 3–0 15 April 2003 Second Division Home 22 Dave Kitson 3 Gillingham 3–1 18 September 2004 EFL Championship Home 23 Dave Kitson 3 West Ham United 3–1 12 March 2005 EFL Championship Home 24 Dave Kitson 3 Brighton & Hove Albion 5–1 10 December 2005 EFL Championship Home 25 Leroy Lita 3 West Bromwich Albion 3–2 17 January 2006 FA Cup Home 26 Kevin Doyle 3 Crystal Palace 4–2 30 August 2008 EFL Championship Home 27 Kevin Doyle 3 Sheffield Wednesday 6–0 16 September 2008 EFL Championship Home 28 Adam Le Fondre 3 Bolton Wanderers 7–1 18 January 2014 EFL Championship Home 29 Adam Le Fondre 3 Blackpool 5–1 28 January 2014 EFL Championship Home 30 Orlando Sá 3 Ipswich Town 5–1 19 January 2016 EFL Championship Home 31 Matěj Vydra 3 Huddersfield 5–2 19 January 2016 FA Cup Home 32 Jón Daði Böðvarsson 3 Stevenage 3–0 16 January 2018 FA Cup Home 33 George Pușcaș 3 Wigan Athletic 3–1 30 November 2019 EFL Championship Away 34 Yakou Méïté 4 Luton Town 5–0 4 July 2020 EFL Championship Away 35 Lucas João 3 Colchester United 3–0 5 September 2020 EFL Cup Home 36 John Swift 3 Queens Park Rangers3–3 11 September 2021 EFL Championship Home 37 Harvey Knibbs 3 Swindon Town 5–0 10 October 2023 EFL Trophy Home 38 Jack Marriott 3 Wycombe Wanderers 3–2 14 February 2026 EFL League One Home 39 Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan 3 Luton Town 3–2 7 March 2026 EFL League One Away 40 Jack Marriott 3 Luton Town3–4 15 August 2026 EFL League One Home
Team records Biggest win: 9–0 v Exeter City (19 September 2023, Football League Trophy) Heaviest defeat: 18–0 v Preston North End (27 January 1894, FA Cup 1st round) Longest winning sequence at the start of a season: 13 victories in 1985–86. Most points in a single season in any English professional league: 106 points (2005–06) Longest winless sequence at the start of a season (club record): 6 (2 draws and 4 defeats), (2018–19) Heaviest home defeat: 7-0 vs Fulham, (11 January 2022) Longest winless sequence: 15 defeats (4 March 2023 - 8 August 2023)
References