Welcome To The Players Of My Life

[Z175]

One of my first favourite players was Tony Rougier. Can't remember why I liked him so much, definitely wasn't for his scoring record.

He was Mass Sarr squared – in that he showed those flashes of logic-defying brilliance every few games. You’d have a month of Rougier trotting around the pitch like a lacrosse horse, and then in the space of two games, he’d score 3 goals, set up another 2, and leave full-backs on their knees crying for mummy.

And you couldn't forget his finest hour against Oxford at home in the pissing rain to win the game 4-3 when we were 3-2 down going in to the last ten or so minutes

EDIT: Here's the link: http://www.royals.org/matdoc/281000.html

Sadly the report doesn't seem to do it justice as to how I remember it (the final goal)

To this day I still pick 37 on the lotto

[Tony Le Mesmer]

I am sure it was David McDonald who missed a penalty in the shoot out against Exeter city in the auto glass trophy match at st James park, about 1991 or 1992.. If memory serves me right he looked totally disinterested as he was going back to spurs the next day..

Matthew Jackson, on loan from Oxford?

[reading_fan]

Found it!

Reading 4v3 Oxford
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXYRr4vDyFo

Mega LOLz at the awful goalkeeping. And a good clip of Rougier in his pomp in the build up to the winning goal

[Sanguine]

'like a lacrosse horse' ?!

where did i get that from?

A dressage horse, of course.

[Hoop Blah]

How in all that is Holy and the new fascist Pontificate's name can we get three pages in and not mention .... Paul (?) Giacometti (sp?)? Those hundred or so hardy souls who made it to Valley Parade for an evening fixture against the Bantams - and a few beverages in an iconic boozer pre-match - will shirley remember the slight kid that McGhee brought on as a 70th min sub, only to pull him off (ooo-errrr) after ten minutes?

I think you mean Arron Giametti who has been mentioned once or twice.

[Barry the bird boggler]

I think I saw all those play who Floyd picked out (except Kemp obviously)

Derrick Williams - young keeper in the 80s meant to have a really bright future but got crocked by injury before making the 1st team
Paul Lemon - loanee from Sunderland in the late 80s, looked quite useful but we couldn't afford the £20 Sunderland wanted
Dave Madden - he was good. Played a few games in 1987/88 when we got relegated, think he was non contract or something with us. When he played we seemed to get good results but Branfoot rarely played him. Went on to be decent at Palace.
David Lee - loanee defender from Chelsea. Scored 5 goals in 5 apps, 3 of them (2 at the right end) at Peterborough in 91. Another one we couldn't afford.
Ian Juryeff - Arrived on loan, scored a shedload and went to Orient and scored a shedload more.
Alan A'Court(?) - didn't he get to play one game in goal in the early 70s or something in a keeper crisis we were having. He came from nowhere, signed, played the game and left to go back to "joe public" life or something.
Alex Haddow - according to the hype he was meant to be the greatest thing since sliced bread at the time. Got a couple of games from the bench and disappeared to Carlisle
David Bass - another Alex Haddow
Andy Freeman - about 5 minutes as a sub at Watford and then nothing again. Ever.
Peter Castle - youngest ever player, about 20 minutes at Watford and then nothing again. Ever.
Andy Campbell(?) - came on in the same game as Peter Castle and then nothing again. Ever. Would suggest that making your Reading debut at Vicarage Road is not a good idea

[Jim Leighton]

Tony LM.. Was it Matthew or Darren Jackson? Either way was a shocker and he didn't give a fcuk... Then again a loaner from O*ford, what did we really expect.

[Tilehurst End]

Phil Stant anyone?

[Deadlock]

Phil Burns – Ex-soldier who stepped in when Steve Francis puked up his own pelvis or something. Started off impressively with a clean sheet on his debut against.....Welling United. But we didn’t win. Somewhere in a parallel, Red Dwarfian universe that series of cup ties is still ongoing.

Ah, the never-ending 10 game FA Cup run. Three replays, wasn't it? And then we needed three matched to get past our second round opponents (can't remember who now), before Linden Jones's sort-of hat trick in the third round against Sunderland and finally taking Newcastle to a replay in Round 4.

Lee Payne spent an unremarkable season with us in the early nineties during which his Dad would regularly extol his virtues in the Post. Went to some Dutch team, and would never have crossed anyone's mind again except for a Dutch bloke turning up on the Royalmail list a year or so later wanting to support Reading as Payne had become his favourite ever player.

[The Goat was fed]

Peter Castle - our youngest pro debutant and the next Rio Ferdinand. Last heard of being sacked by Lymington Town for playing Sunday football on the side.

[Hoop Blah]

Andy Campbell(?) - came on in the same game as Peter Castle and then nothing again. Ever. Would suggest that making your Reading debut at Vicarage Road is not a good idea

Darren not Andy? Good little winger than was playing with Aaron Brown at Tamworth when we signed Brown.

I remember seeing Haddow a few times and he did have a lovely left peg. No idea what happened to him in the end but all these names, who were all hyped up and many had international recognition too should serve as a reminder not to get too carried away the with the next young hopeful the club tell us is going to be a superstar.

Another to add to the list of youngster who received all the hype but never got a sniff of making it was Simeon Howell.

[The Goat was fed]

And Mark Reilly from the Tommy Burns era. Unbelievably useless midgit from north of the border.

[Dick Habbin's hairdo]

I think you mean Arron Giametti who has been mentioned once or twice.[/quote]

That's the chap. Obvs speed reading isn't all it's cracked up to be..... Jeez, he was truly, truly pants. Paul Gambaccini would've done a better job.

[mr_number]

Found it!

Reading 4v3 Oxford
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXYRr4vDyFo

Mega LOLz at the awful goalkeeping. And a good clip of Rougier in his pomp in the build up to the winning goal

That is brilliant - thanks for finding it. Whitehead's error is one of my favourite GK errors. I also like the 'finishing it in style' comment around Rougier's scuffed toe poke. Great stuff.

[maffff]

Peter Castle - our youngest pro debutant and the next Rio Ferdinand. Last heard of being sacked by Lymington Town for playing Sunday football on the side.

Now at Sholing.

[readingfc13]

Andy Campbell(?) - came on in the same game as Peter Castle and then nothing again. Ever. Would suggest that making your Reading debut at Vicarage Road is not a good idea

Darren not Andy? Good little winger than was playing with Aaron Brown at Tamworth when we signed Brown.

I remember seeing Haddow a few times and he did have a lovely left peg. No idea what happened to him in the end but all these names, who were all hyped up and many had international recognition too should serve as a reminder not to get too carried away the with the next young hopeful the club tell us is going to be a superstar.

Another to add to the list of youngster who received all the hype but never got a sniff of making it was Simeon Howell.

Darren Campbell got a bad injury and ended up playing for Fleet Town. No idea if he is still there.

Edit: Wikipedia now has him playing for Camberley Town...

[Ark Royal]

The magnificently named Chris Sparks and Wayne Tutty. Sparks on loan from Palarse for three games at the start of the 79/80 season - totally forgettable apart from the name; Tutty managed to score three in seven appearances in 83/84 - including one against Stockport along with God's hat-trick in four minutes - before totally disappearing.

[Rudolph Hucker]

Around the same time as Phil Burns I remember former Southampton man Mark Whitlock playing in most of those epic cup ties against the likes of Welling and Maidstone. Quite possibly the most overweight professional footballer I've ever seen but he could play a bit and had loads of top flight games for Saints.