It has been a surprising season at Reading so far, and for all the wrong reasons. After missing out on the play-offs by just one point last season, the Royals went into this campaign with a lot of promise.

But with the club struggling, Nigel Adkins was sacked in December and was replaced by Steve Clark. Clark brings with him experience of managing at West Brom in the Premier League and also assisting the likes of Jose Mourinho and Kenny Daglish at Chelsea and Liverpool respectively.

He hasn’t been able to turn things round as of yet and Reading are in 18th, 14 points from a play-off place and seven above the drop zone. Although it has been an extremely disappointing season so far, they can’t risk being sucked into a relegation dog fight, so mid-table consolidation is a must this campaign. With just two wins in ten and top scorer Glenn Murray returning home to Crystal Palace, staying up could prove to be more difficult than first thought.

Last summer saw significant ins and outs, with big players leaving the club. Although last season’s leading goalscorer Adam le Fondre left to join Cardiff and number one choice keeper Alex McCarthy was signed by QPR, replacements were brought in of high quality. Anton Ferdinand was drafted in, which was seen as a clever signing given his Premier League experience but injuries have limited his appearances.

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Simon Cox was signed from Nottingham Forest and has plenty of goalscoring prowess in the Championship, but he hasn’t been able to replicate the kind of scoring form shown by Adam le Fondre, though he has still managed eight goals.

Reading have been a high-quality Championship outfit in the past decade or so. After several years of coming close, the Royals secured promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history in 2006, storming the league with a record 106 points. They finished an impressive 8th in their first season in England’s top flight, but Reading were relegated the following season. Then followed two failed play-off attempts before another Championship title in 2012. They only lasted a year back in the Premier League and narrowly avoided a play-off place last season.

The Royals have suffered many injuries throughout this season so far, including two influential midfielders. Captain, and stand out performer Jem Karacan, has been excellent since breaking into the first team in 2009. The 25-year-old has made over 150 appearances for the club but has had an injury ridden last two years. He played just seven times before injury ended his season early and this time round, made a substitute appearance in earlier this month after missing well over a year.

United States international Danny Williams was an excellent addition to the side last season but was a big loss when he missed the first part of this term through injury. He has got back into the team in recent weeks and, with Karacan coming back to full fitness, maybe Reading’s fortunes will change.

Despite recent form being extremely poor, seven more points and key players returning from injury should be enough to save the club from any trouble but you can never be sure in this division. Steve Clarke has a big rebuilding job on his hands in the next couple of years to get Reading back performing as a top Championship team once again.

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