The Tilehurst End

The Wild Lower West: Reading’s Summer Business, Imps Disappointment Dixey has summer incomings and outgoings, plus a league defeat at Lincoln, to discuss in this week’s column.

READ: Dixey is back for this season with his Wild Lower West column.

On the agenda this week: his take on #ReadingFC's summer business, Lincoln disappointment, and predictions for both this Saturday and the season overall.

He left 'the impression', not 'no impression' 😊

Confident But Realistic: An Evening With Reading Owner Rob Couhig Couhig sat down with fans for an extensive Q&A held by the FPA on Thursday night, which Bobbins attended.

"Overall, he left the impression that no stone has been unturned into how the club as a whole can be better, to be more self-sufficient, to be improved and developed."

Bobbins reports back from last night's event with #ReadingFC owner Rob Couhig.

Lincoln City 2-0 Reading: Tactical Analysis Tom talks us through how the Royals’ opening-day defeat unfolded from a tactical perspective.

ANALYSIS: A closer look at how #ReadingFC's opening-day defeat to Lincoln City unfolded.

@tomh1871.bsky.social focuses on similarities with the last trip to Sincil Bank, the defence, and debutant Fin Burns.

Reading’s Summer Feels Like… 20 Years Ago! Ahead of our first home game, some fans are expressing opinions I’ve seen before. Given what was about to start in 2005, I don’t think many would admit now this is how they felt back then.

OPINION: For Blue & White Jester, there are some very interesting similarities between the summer #ReadingFC have had in 2025 and the one we went through in 2005.

a colorful screen with the words please standby we 're experiencing technical difficulties ALT: a colorful screen with the words please standby we 're experiencing technical difficulties

Morning all, we're having technical difficulties with uploading to the site, so alas there'll be no new content for the time being (though what's already been published is still up).

Pod and socials are all still normal though 😊 #ReadingFC

It appears our site has tech issues at the moment and is currently down, I think due to a planned change-over in the back end, but hopefully back up again before too long 😊

Thanks for the heads-up - from a quick look it seems other SB Nation sites might be having trouble. I know we were having some changeover on the backend of the site today, so hoping this is all just a temporary issue

Reading Loan Kamari Doyle In As Harvey Knibbs Replacement One goalscoring midfielder out, another in, as K Doyle joins from Brighton & Hove Albion.

SIGNING: More on #ReadingFC new boy Kamari Doyle, a bright attacking midfielder who "comes alive in front of goal".

Doubtful that the Royals could have got a better replacement for Harvey Knibbs.

The boys are back in action with a “normal pod” after an opening-day loss.

Any positives? Concerns? Favourite pie flavour? Get your views in below for @mrblthomas.bsky.social and @webberross.bsky.social.

#ReadingFC

#ReadingFC announce the signing of... Kamari Doyle!

A fantastic replacement for Harvey Knibbs, with the Brighton & Hove Albion man arriving on loan for the season.

An excellent ninth addition of the summer!

Lincoln City Fans Verdict: A Disjointed Start For Reading Fans Verdict is back - but it wasn’t the result the Loyal Royals wanted to start the season with.

READ: Fans’ Verdict returns!

The opening-day pre-match buzz, an incoherent performance and looking ahead to the rest of the season were all on the agenda for the Loyal Royals after the 2-0 loss to Lincoln City.

#ReadingFC

Noel Hunt On Reading’s Opening-Day Defeat At Lincoln City The Royals conceded once either side of the break to lose 2-0 at Sincil Bank.

"We’re disappointed with the result and the manner of the goals we gave away."

Noel Hunt shared what he made of yesterday's game, losing Knibbs and O'Connor, and the potential for #ReadingFC to bring some more players in.

The Weekly Bobbins: Paddy Lane, Harvey Knibbs, Familiar Reading Loss In this week’s column, Bobbins has two big transfers (one in, one out) to go over, before diving deep into the Royals’ 2-0 reverse at Sincil Bank.

“It smacked of first day at school, when some of the new kids in the uniform struggled to make a mark.”

Bobbins discusses this week’s mixed transfer news, which preceded an all-too-familiar away loss for #ReadingFC.

Lincoln City 2-0 Reading: Opening Day Frustration Harry’s take as the Royals begin the season with a disjointed loss at Sincil Bank.

“In the same way we wouldn’t be going up as champions if we’d have won convincingly, just because we lost today doesn’t mean the season's going to be terrible.”

Harry's take as #ReadingFC fall to opening-day defeat at Lincoln.

Lincoln City 2-0 Reading: Player Ratings Reading pay the price for timely errors and a stagnant frontline in their season opener.

RATINGS: A flat opening-day performance from #readingfc up at Lincoln City, although some - including the returning Ben Elliott - did better than others.

See what @webberross.bsky.social made of all the Royals' individual displays:

Disconnected performance from #ReadingFC that I'm not sure we can take much from. Sideline triangles from late last season not linked. Looked to want 2nd balls off mid-half to mid-half lobs but never quite set up right to collect. Some worrying misjudged headers for this season's set piece defense.

(2/2) #ReadingFC

Wing hit the post 1/2 times (didn't see the second attempt clearly enough)

Not a disastrous afternoon but a frustrating reminder of how much improvement this side needs if it's to compete at the top end of the league

Fulltime, Lincoln 2-0 #ReadingFC

Flat, disjointed performance, didn't offer enough going forwards for most of the afternoon, but faded even moreso after the second goal

Unlucky first to concede, opened up too easily for the second goal

(1/2)

Opposition Lowdown: Lincoln City Hoping To Build On Top-Half Finishes A new era at Reading FC officially begins this weekend, when the Royals travel to Lincolnshire for their first game of the 2025/26 season, taking on Lincoln City. Join us as we take a look at the…

OPPO: Get to know the Lincoln City side standing in the way of an opening-day win for #ReadingFC this afternoon.

Steven examines a team that had a mixed pre-season and lost some key players over the summer.

Lincoln City vs Reading: 2025/26 Match Preview New faces, new owners, new season.

⚽️ At long last... it's matchday!

#ReadingFC kick off their 2025/26 season with a trip to Lincoln City, and here to preview the game is @rhyswhite72.bsky.social.

Harvey Knibbs Departs: We Were Lucky To Have Him As Knibbs moves onto pastures new, Harry bids farewell to the talismanic midfielder.

“He was always dependable, but last year he turned into The Man. And he didn’t lose an ounce of his tenacity, work rate or commitment in the process.”

Harry pays tribute to Harvey Knibbs, who’s swapped #ReadingFC for The Valley.

Real decent chat this. Has @webberross.bsky.social lost his mind though?! Time will tell….#readingfc

Off The Cuff With Brian Carey At Reading’s Purple Turtle Social Bobbins got the chance to catch up with the Royals’ director of recruitment.

“You’ve got your club back."

Bobbins managed a quick chat with Brian Carey at last night's Purple Turtle social, and was impressed by what he heard from the #ReadingFC man.

TTE Roundtable: How Will Reading’s 2025/26 League One Season Play Out? Some TTE writers sat down to preview the Royals' upcoming campaign.

🔮 It's time for our big 2025/26 roundtable!

Six of our writers predict how #ReadingFC's season will go, guess who's getting promoted/relegated and pick out their biggest sources for optimism and pessimism about the year ahead.

Arguably the best winger in the league in our promotion season. You’ve got a top player there. Quite surprised we’ve let him go but he did struggle last season at championship level.

The Tilehurst End Podcast Episode 425: Season Preview 2025/26 Ben, Ross and Dan delve into what the next nine months may have in store for Reading FC.

pod pod pod

@mrblthomas.bsky.social and @webberross.bsky.social are joined by @wimby.bsky.social for the big 2025/26 season preview!

Which other teams will be contenders this season? Where will #ReadingFC finish? All that and more in episode 425.

Reading Sign Paddy Lane: Fee Paid For First Time In Literally Forever We've finally bought a player!

SIGNING: More on this evening's wonderful surprise addition of Paddy Lane, as #readingfc pay an actual fee for an actual player for the first time in, well... forever.

Welcome to #ReadingFC, Paddy Lane!

The 24yo winger joins from Portsmouth, for whom he got 12+7 G+a in their promotion-winning 23/24 League One campaign.

We've paid a fee too! ££

He's signed a 3yr deal.

Great signing, just the attacking quality we needed 😎

First Steps: Rebooted Reading Begin A New Era In 2025/26 Finally free of the Dai Yongge era, the Royals now embark on a reset and rebuild that will require long-term solutions to long-term problems.

"A new cast has been brought in, the setting is being revamped and there’s now an entirely original story to be told."

@simfrombucks.bsky.social previews the new season, when rebooted #ReadingFC start a new era.