Founded in 1871, the Biscuitmen have remained the only professional club in the county of Berkshire since 1895, remaining out of the Football League for the first 32 years of the English Football League’s existence but being founder members of Division Three South. (Image: Reading Chronicle Collection- Reading Museum- Reading Borough Council) Attracting large crowds in the early 20th century, particularly around World War Two, it was in 1927 that the club set its record attendance as 33,042 witnessed the FA Cup victory over Brentford, a record which stands to this day as the club reached the semi-final for the first time. From the post-war boom to the stagnant 1960s and 1980s, fewer than 3,000 supporters turned out for some matches in the mid-20th century as the club bounced between the third and fourth tiers.
However, over 40,000 walked down Wembley Way in 1988 as Reading was left a ghost town for the Simod Cup final, to date the only time the Royals have won at the national stadium. (Image: LAURA BENNETT- Reading Borough Council) It took until the 1990s but Reading were put firmly back on the map during Sir John Madejski’s tenure, including ending a 135-year wait for top-flight football in the town as the club surged to the Premiership in record-breaking fashion in 2006. Returning there, albeit temporarily in 2012, the past decade has been a slow decline as it repeatedly fell into the wrong hands from around the world.
However, this last three years in particular has se.
