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Reading FC hit the jackpot with £78k bargain signing – Is it the club’s best ever?
After a dismal 2004–05 season finale, Reading needed to turn things around, and they made a big statement by
breaking their transfer record to sign Leroy Lita.
To have the best opportunity of being promoted to the Premier League for the first time, the Royals needed to improve the quality of their squad after missing out on the play-offs at the end of the previous season.
When Lita was acquired from Bristol City for a club-record £1 million, it appeared that he would be the Berkshire team’s most significant summer addition.
However, they also brought in a few more significant players who would later contribute significantly.
Brynjar Gunnarsson was a versatile option who proved to be a very shrewd addition from Watford – and Stephen
Hunt went on to appear in the Premier League after he departed the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Their two most surprising additions during the transfer window were Shane Long and Kevin Doyle, who both joined
from Cork City for a nominal fee. Long made an impression during the 2005–06 campaign, but it took him some
time to establish himself and reach his full potential, and for the first few years of his stay in Berkshire, other strikers
were ahead of him in the hierarchy because he made an immediate impression. Doyle was signed for a reported
£78,000, which put him ahead of Long in the hierarchy.
Kevin Doyle will go down as one of Reading FC’s best-ever signings
After moving from Cork, Doyle quickly made an impression. He scored his first goal for the Royals against Burnley in
August 2005, which turned out to be the game-winning goal. This was just one of many attacking goals the Irishman
contributed during the team’s historic 106-point season in 2005–06; with 19 goals in all competitions that season,
including 18 in the league, it’s clear that his efforts enabled the team to reach 106 points. Doyle also adapted to
English football incredibly well, making the transition to the top flight with ease, and it was impressive that he was
able to reach double figures at the highest level.
One of his most memorable goals came fairly early on in the 2006/07 season, with his penalty against Manchester
United putting the Berkshire side 1-0 up against one of the best sides in the world.
He also scored a brace on New Year’s Day against West Ham United on New Year’s Day in 2007, in a thumping 6-0
win.
Some of his other goals during that campaign were more important though, because they often decided games, and
those contributions allowed the Royals to secure an eighth-place finish in the top flight at the end of 2006/07.
They were relegated at the end of the following campaign, which was a shame, but Doyle did score in a memorable
win against Liverpool during 2007/08, and he was a real asset back in the second tier during the 2008/09 campaign.
Kevin Doyle’s record at Reading FC | |||
---|---|---|---|
(All competitions) | |||
Season | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
2005/06 | 51 | 19 | 0 |
2006/07 | 34 | 13 | 1 |
2007/08 | 36 | 6 | 4 |
2008/09 | 42 | 18 | 5 |
Scoring 18 times in 42 competitive appearances during his last season at the club, he can count himself unlucky not to have been part of another promotion-winning team.
Unfortunately, he missed the play-off semi-final second leg against Burnley and that was a real blow, with the Clarets going through to the final.
We will never know if Doyle could have made a difference in that game, but he had the potential to.
He moved on to Wolverhampton Wanderers during the summer of 2009 – and that was a heartbreaker for Reading fans who adored him.
For his on-field contributions, he can be classed as one of the Berkshire side’s best-ever signings, but another ex-Royal may have been the club’s best addition of all time, for a couple of different reasons.
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