Reading

It's been a bad week for officials. Hot on the heels of the VAR fiasco in the Manchester derby, the match officials mysteriously ruled out a perfectly good equaliser for Reading against Brentford in the Carabao Cup third round.

There was also a clear handball penalty shout turned down later in the game, but nobody is talking about that because the disallowed goal was so outrageous.

Referee Tom Nield, with a bit of help from his assistant, decided Paudie O'Connor's acrobatic goal should not stand, because his boot flew too high.

The officials' only possible justification was they were momentarily stunned by the big central defender suddenly morphing into Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

"It was in the top three worst decisions I've seen," said an understandably disgruntled Royals boss Leam Richardson.

"It was one of the worst decisions I've seen in my whole life," said irritated midfielder Charlie Savage. The rest of us could only nod and agree.

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Reading fans left the SCL Stadium upset with the officials after the 2-1 defeat on Tuesday evening, but they're likely to be upset before they even arrive for the game against Notts County on Saturday.

Officials from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) have decided it will be a good weekend to replace a pylon, and will close junction 11 of the M4, right next to the stadium.

The knock-on for both Reading and Notts County fans trying to get to the ground, along with those trying to get to the race meeting at Newbury and the Newbury show a couple of junctions west, is likely to be severe.

On the pitch, despite losing last Saturday in the league at Cambridge, and then to Brentford, the players ought to be confident.

Giving a fright to a Premier League team, who resorted to bringing on Igor Thiago of Brazil to try to seal the game, was impressive.

There appears to be competition for places across the pitch in the Reading camp, which just has not been the case for the past couple of seasons.

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Reading head coach Leam Richardson says his team will "attack the game" when they play Brentford in the Carabao Cup..

The Royals host the Premier League side in the third round having previously seen off Bromley and Stevenage.

"Everybody's itching to play which is important," Richardson told BBC Radio Berkshire.

"We certainly will attack the game to try and win it so I think we'll dust ourselves down after the Cambridge loss and we will come back better for it.

"We know what challenge is coming and we'll have to be at our best to compete but hopefully we can keep giving the level of performance that the lads have been giving and we can grow from there."

Reading come into Tuesday's game off the back of a narrow loss away at Cambridge and have only won twice in League One this season.

They are14th in the third tier, while Keith Andrews' Brentford are yet to lose this season and thumped Birmingham 6-1 at St Andrew's in round two of the cup.

Brentford have spent the past five seasons in the Premier League having spent most of their history outside of the top flight.

Richardson is hoping that Reading can take inspiration from the Bees' rise through the leagues and mount a promotion charge of their own.

"As an organisation and as a business what they've done over the last few years has been extraordinary," Richardson added.

"They've built themselves into a stable and consistent Premier League club which is something that we want to strive for.

"If we can take little bits from the likes of Brentfords and Brightons then we'll be in a good place."

Tim Dellor
BBC Radio Berkshire

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Time will tell whether this was a good or bad transfer window for Reading.

On paper, it looks like an upgrade in quality but a reduction in quantity.

Providing the club can sort out its dubious fitness and injury record of the past few seasons, this has been a shrewd approach.

Comparing the ins and outs is probably the fastest way to look for improvement or decline.

Jamie Reid for Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan at striker, Josh Knight for Derrick Williams in central defence, Kyreece Lisbie for Matt Ritchie on the right wing, George Earthy and Josh Stokes for Kamari Doyle at number 10, Udoka Godwin Malife for Ryan Nyambe at right-back, Conor Masterson and Jacob Brown in defence and attack for Michael Stickland and Mark O'Mahony.

By the end of October, fans will be able to say whether the options in each position available to manager Leam Richardson have been upgraded or reduced.

The irritation of undisclosed fees also makes it difficult for outsiders to evaluate business.

Without knowing for sure how much the club received for the sale of Ehibhatiomhan, what was paid for Reid or any of the other deals, it is almost impossible to describe it as a good or bad window.

What we do know is Reading were shopping with a limited budget and ought not to be considered as League One big spenders.

Reading fans know better than anyone the perils of spending big.

It is also difficult for Reading fans to know what they want. The sensible, pragmatic and cautious approach under Rob Couhig is in stark contrast to the crazy spending of Dai Yongge that landed the club in such a mess.

Fans nowadays are very careful what they wish for.

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Forest Green have signed right-back Kelvin Abrefa on loan from Reading until December.

The 22-year-old has played 83 games for the Royals, including 22 League One appearances last season.

"It's a position we've needed cover in for a while, so he now gives us good options to choose from in the squad," manager Robbie Savage told the club website., external

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Reading have signed Northern Ireland striker Jamie Reid from Stevenage on a two-year deal, for an undisclosed fee.

The 32-year-old has spent the past five years at Broadhall Way, scoring 69 goals in 245 appearances.

He helped them win promotion from League Two in 2022-2023, and was named in the League One Team of the Season in 2023-2024.

His 14 goals last season helped Stevenage finish fifth and reach the League One play-offs.

Reid has also scored two goals in 16 caps for Northern Ireland.

Royals boss Leam Richardson told the club website, external: "Jamie is a proven goalscorer at this level and somebody who has consistently shown what he can bring to a team over a number of years.

"He works incredibly hard, he's intelligent with his movement and he knows where the goal is. He can lead the line, play off other forwards and gives us another really good option at the top end of the pitch."

Analysis

Tim Dellor, BBC Radio Berkshire

Fans have been crying out for the recruitment of a specialist striker. Jack Marriott's goalscoring record is superb, hitting the net 17 times last campaign, but his injury history is a concern.

Reid will give manager Leam Richardson more reliable goalscoring cover. Last season Kelvin Ehibhatiohman acted as Marriott's understudy, but he's departed during this window.

Richardson has made no secret of his desire to strengthen in central defence and up front. Reid and Jacob Brown have come in to score the goals. Josh Knight and Conor Masterson will fortify defence. They've both arrived at Reading in the last week.

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Transfer deadline day is upon us and today is the final chance for your EFL club to finalise any business until January.

The transfer window closes at 23:00 BST, so we might have some late night scrambles to get deals over the line.

There has already been plenty of movement this summer and whether it's a busy or quiet day for your club, you will be able to keep across it all on BBC Sport.

Follow our EFL deadline day live text coverage throughout the day here

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Reading manager Leam Richardson has said that the club still need to add to their current playing squad and admitted that they have missed out on some targets this summer.

The Royals have signed six new players this window with Conor Masterson, George Earthy, Josh Stokes, Jacob Brown, Udoka Godwin-Malife and Kyreece Lisbie arriving at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

There is now less than a week until the transfer window closes and Richardson is still hoping for some more additions in the final days.

"We've got some offensive players on the pitch now that carry goals and we need to add a little bit to that as well," he told BBC Radio Berkshire.

"We've obviously missed out on a few, there's some moving parts within that and I'll always want more because I want the best for this football club.

"We've got to evolve and move forward, our recruitment team have been working hard all summer alongside me to make the best decisions for this football club."

Reading are yet to get their first win in League One this season but have had success in the cups, beating Wycombe on penalties in the EFL trophy and coming out on top against Stevenage in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

Despite still wanting some more bodies in before the close of the window, Richardson said that he feels the current group is in a good place.

"Our squad's quite together and the lads who didn't play on Saturday were selected (Tuesday) because I trust them all," Richardson added.

"It's important that we have a really tight nit group, our culture had to change when I came in and we're changing it slowly.

"We've got to have even more togetherness and support if we're going to compete at the top end of these leagues and you could see that after tonight's result with some really positive performances."

Reading are back in action next Wednesday when they take on Mansfield at the SCL Stadium.

Tim Dellor
BBC Radio Berkshire

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Good things come to those who wait.

39 days after signing Josh Stokes on loan the club has confirmed they have now signed 21-year-old attacking midfielder George Earthy from West Ham.

Reading fans have certainly had to wait for this signing, fingers crossed he's good.

Fans will be relieved the recruitment department is alive and kicking, some were starting to fear they'd gone on a very long summer vacation.

Earthy should add to Leam Richardson's attacking options.

There's clearly intent to play a more eye-catching and entertaining brand of football this season after last season's increasingly drab performances.

Earthy should contribute to that. He's young and impressed while at Bristol City on loan, by all accounts he's just the character Richardson likes.

What Richardson would also like is a couple of defenders and a striker.

The need to strengthen in both those areas isn't going away. The opening day defeat to Luton highlighted the lack of adequate cover and options off the bench.

Richardson will be pestering owner Rob Couhig, being as forceful as he dares trying to get what he knows he needs in the door.