Jerseybean

As per the title: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65181624

As anticipated and as per title, https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/bristol-citys-championship-rivals-plunged-8322087 https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65175863

Is it just me or since they went one up have Spurs played as if they want Everton to equalise?

BBC coverage: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/64278178

Player ratings: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/bristol-city-player-ratings-reading-8314241?utm_source=bristol_live_newsletter&utm_campaign=bcfc_newsletter2&utm_medium=email

And we play ‘em last game of the season!

Trying to sum that in a word I wasn’t sure whether to go for frustrating or poor In the end think three words are required, not good enough

A professor gave a balloon to every student, who had to inflate it, write their name on it and throw it in the hallway. The professor then mixed all the balloons. The students were then given 5 minutes to find their own balloon. Despite a hectic search, no one found their balloon. At that point, the professor told the students to take the first balloon that they found and hand it to the person whose name was written on it. Within 5 minutes, everyone had their own balloon. The professor said to the students: "These balloons are like happiness. We will never find it if everyone is looking for their own. But if we care about other people's happiness, we'll find ours too."

Programme: https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/harvey-wiles-richards-in-the-robins-online-programme/

OS match preview: https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/match-preview-reading-h/

Eight games (four at home and four away) left and 24 points available. There will 20,000+ at Ashton Gate for this one, the Royals have sold more than 1,600 tickets for the trip along the M4. Reading lost on their last visit to Ashton Gate in February 2022 after a late penalty from John Swift proved to just be a consolation after Antoine Semenyo’s opener and an own goal from Michael Morrison. We were very poor at their place and didn’t register a single effort on goal and were beaten 2-0, when Mamadou Loum's first goal in a Reading shirt and the old war horse Andy Carroll's late match-sealing strike secured the three points for the Royals: Loum will be missing for this game after getting a red card against Blackburn. In fact they might be quite depleted according to this https://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/seven-injured-two-set-return-26526177?_ga=2.53186536.1521561589.1679475937-504762577.1679475936 Reading stopped a run of four successive defeats prior to the international break with a 1-1 draw against Hull City, but are winless in the last five. Shane Long is among those who will be forced to sit out the game in BS3. Central defenders Tom McIntyre and Sam Hutchinson, who have 46 league appearances between them this season are also absent including back-up option Liam Moore. Junior Hoilett (32 appearances), Ovie Ejaria and 20-year-old midfielder Dejan Tetek will also be absent. They are likely to welcome back two players including forward Yakou Meite who has been out for almost a month. The 27-year-old has been an important player for Reading this season with 24 appearances, scoring three and assisting three. Left-back Baba Rahman will also come back into the frame after picking up an ankle injury around six weeks ago. He has featured 18 times across the Championship during the campaign. Mark Sykes will miss this game plus those against Stoke City, Middlesbrough and Watford following his four match suspension. Nigel Pearson has also confirmed that Alex Scott suffered a minor knee ligament injury on international duty, which will rule him out of this game. NP provided this injury update: So Conway, James are likely to be involved, while Naismith will be missing still. NP presser: Anis Mehmeti presser: Rob Matthews 29/05/62 - 14/03/23: Rob was a big supporter of BCFC since his teenage years and a season ticket holder for 30 years rarely missed a game. He loved the atmosphere, the singing and banter at each game and will be missed by all who knew him. If you’re attending the the game this Saturday can you please join his family and friends on the 60th minute for one minute clap. The man in charge is Staffordshire official Stephen Martin who is the son of former Premier League referee Andy, who officiated during the 1990s. He took charge of his first Championship game during the 2012/13 season. He has issued 59 yellows and two red cards so far this season and this will be the second City game of the season he's refereed after the 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United at Ashton Gate in November. He will be assisted by Craig Taylor and Matthew McGrath. The fourth official is Carl Brook. Celebs who support Reading include, Damian Green (politician) he’s an avid follower of the Royals. The club are in his twitter bio and he has been following Reading for a good number of years. Chris Tarrant is probably one of the most well-known Reading supporters. He's been popular on television for years and was a brilliant host of 'Who wants to be a millionaire?'. He was pictured at the play-off final defeat to Swansea and has been a Reading fan all of his life, and still regularly watches the side. Kate Winslet is from the area, and there have been murmurs that her family go and watch the Royals regularly. Ricky Gervais is a well-known Royals supporter and has made references to his support of the club in different movies and series that he's made. The comedian/actor had a flag made for him by Reading fans that read 'Guilty, I support Reading' which was a famous line from his series The Office. Irwin Sparkes (the lead singer of The Hoosiers) has attended Reading games and has lived around the area for a number of years. Players who have played for both clubs include, Scott Murray, Leroy Lita, Kaliffa Cisse, Nicky Shorey, Alex Pearce, Chris Martin and Sam Baldock, https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/sport/23065771.bristol-city-reading-fc-six-played/ In November 2021 they were deducted six points as a result of exceeding the EFL’s Profit and Sustainability limits. They issued this statement: https://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/2021/november/17/club-statement---efl-confirm-points-deduction-penalty-/ which concluded with ‘In the long-term, we pledge to fix the issues of the past and together build a club capable of competing with the very best and challenging for honours.’ The reality, however, is they may again be deducted six points, as the initial sanction included that a further six point penalty was suspended until 2022-23. This will be applied if the club cannot fulfill an agreed business plan going forward. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64835869 Reading have the very worst away record in the division (11 points from 57 available so far) and only Rotherham have scored less away (11). However, last time out, at Blackburn, Reading had the temerity to actually score a goal (the 12th) and their first on the road in 2023. With eight games to go, Paul Ince’s side currently sit nine points above the relegation zone in 18th. However, as noted, they are still anxiously awaiting a decision over a possible six-point deduction after it was reported weeks ago that the club allegedly breached the business plan implemented with the EFL after previously breaching profit and sustainability rules. Paul Ince took charge in 2022. A former midfielder, Ince played professionally from 1982 to 2007, starting his career with West Ham United and later representing Manchester United, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Swindon Town and Macclesfield Town, as well as Inter Milan. With a combined total of 271 league appearances for the two, Ince is one of the few players, especially in the Premier League era, to have represented both of arch rivals Liverpool and Manchester United. We have a close head to head record, having won 41, lost 42 and drawn 20 times against them. Andy May will be in attendance. In January they signed midfielder Cesare Casadei on loan from Chelsea until the end of the season. Reading 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 and also the record for the number of points gained in a professional league season with 106 points in the 2005–06 Football League Championship campaign. Dai Yongge and Dai Xiu Li acquired Reading FC in 2017 with a bold vision to return the club to the Premier League and expand the club's stadium. The pair worked for the family business Renhe Commercial Holdings from the early 1990s and specialised in converting former bomb shelters into shopping malls to cater for the rising Chinese middle class. In 2008, the company was listed on the Hing Kong stock exchange and had a valuation of £1.06 billion. The family now operate through a new company, China Dili, which is based in the Caribbean’s Cayman Islands tax haven with a focus now geared to the agricultural sector. On this day in 2019 we announced the Robins’ blue kit, see photo. Bristol City angered their own fans by presenting a blue shirt. Supporters are very protective of their traditions, so Bristol City’s wind-up about changing their shirt colour from red to blue found a vociferous audience in 2019. The club said the strip was inspired by the Robins' 1909 FA Cup final shirt, which was a dark turquoise shade. They obviously failed to notice the elephant in the room, namely the fact that rival clubs Bristol Rovers and Cardiff City wore blue. Plenty of angry fans were duped before the joke dawned on them. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/bristol-city-reveal-brave-new-2707162 Given that it’s April Fool’s Day have a go at this Beano quiz: https://www.beano.com/posts/april-fools-quiz COYR!

30/3 Nigel Pearson has confirmed Alex Scott suffered a minor knee ligament injury on international duty, ruling him out of this weekend's game against Reading at Ashton Gate, while being unable to provide a timescale on the teenager's return.

It sounds like James and Conway will be back this weekend: https://youtu.be/B4-hCCjJ4GQ

OS account: https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/city-take-positive-steps-to-top-sustainability-league/

Think he enjoyed it. Scotland hero Scott McTominay has been reacting to a career-defining performance. "We did really, really well," he said on Viaplay. "We knew they'd have lots of the ball, and the manager said be clinical when we had the opportunities, and I thought we had enough opportunities tonight to really hurt them and score some goals. "As a kid, I was an attacking midfielder - I like to get in the box. I've got to keep doing that, I know I can add more goals and assists to my game. "Everyone was at it, diving around, making the game slow. It's difficult, but sometimes that's the way it's got to be. When you're winning you've got to do stuff like that. Look at this place - I've never seen anything like it, incredible. "The manager said this is our chance to create legacies as Scotland players and these are the nights in 20, 30 years that people remember. We can't thank the fans enough."