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“Sam, if Reading win today, the whole town WILL lift off!!! Plus, there’s small matter of Reading Carnival today as well!!!”
John O’Gadhra, Wildhern, Hampshire via text: “Forget Man Utd and Barcelona! This is the REAL final – worth £90m and elevation to the winners! Big shout to my friend Darren Skilling, Reading fan in Wembley!”
1441: In short, get two sticky bits of paper, colour one blue and the other white, and throw them at the same time at a wall. Whichever one lands highest, wins. Science.
1439: And anyone hoping to gauge which way this match might go based on form will be interested to know Reading have lost just one of their last 12 matches, while Swansea are unbeaten in six. Not too many pointers there, then.
“Stephen Dobbie, here to finish what Messi started on Saturday night!”
Tom, Wembley, via text: “Sat inside Wembley now, waiting nervously for the start of the game. Glad Kebe is starting for us as he gives us that pace going forward. C’MON U RZZZZ.”
1433: READING v SWANSEA (1500)
BBC Sport’s Pete Shuttleworth at Wembley: “Influential Reading winger Jimmy Kebe returns after a six-match absence because of a thigh injury, then, in an otherwise unchanged Royals starting line-up, while striker Hal Robson-Kanu is fit enough to take his place on the bench. Swansea, on the other hand, are unchanged from their play-off semi-final win over Nottingham Forest after captain and centre-back Garry Monk shrugged off a stomach bug.”
“Feel so sorry for the half of the fans that will be in complete devastation at the end of this game, winner takes all!”
1429: By the way, as a neutral, has this fixture ever pitched together two nicer men than Brian McDermott and Brendan Rodgers? Having had the privilege of interviewing Rodgers, one of the game’s genuine students, a few times, he’s always been uber-generous with his time and knowledge – and Peter Shuttleworth had
the honour in the lead-up to this match
this time around. I’d wager, too, you’d find it hard to find to many people to have a bad word to say about McDermott, too. As
found out,
Reading’s long-standing academy director Eamonn Dolan
is certainly not one of them. Cracking pieces, those, both. Give ‘em a read.
“After all finals, the relegation battles, and the title deciders, you just can’t beat a good play-off. Come on you Swans.”
BBC Sport’s Peter Shuttleworth at Wembley: “Swansea defender Alan Tate is the first player out on the Wembley pitch for a pre-match warm-up. The great story about Tate is that he played for the Swans when they beat Hull on the final day of the 2003 season to save their Football League status. After being 90 minutes from non-league, he and Swansea are now possibly 90 minutes away from the Premier League so you can probably understand why he wants to enjoy this occasion.”
“Wonderful game for the neutral, painful for a fan! As a Hammers fan i’m hoping I don’t have to go through this next year!”
1425: You’d imagine there will be few surprises between these two sides today, wouldn’t you. Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers, a man who spent 14 years at Reading as a player, coach and manager, comes up against the team
who sacked him six months into his fairly unsuccessful reign as boss just 17 months ago
– as well as the man who replaced him in the hot-seat, Brian McDermott, who stepped up from his position as Rodgers’ chief scout to take the reigns in December 2009. The improvement as a result for both Reading and Swansea has been marked – and now both teams are vying to secure what would be only their third top-flight season in history. Context.
“Crazy to think only eight years ago Swansea beat Hull 4-2 to keep the Swans in the Football League. How times have changed.”
1421: READING v SWANSEA (1500)
Reading: Federici, Griffin, Mills, Khizanishvili, Harte, Kebe, Karacan, Leigertwood, McAnuff, Long, Hunt. Subs: McCarthy, Tabb, Church, Robson-Kanu, Howard, Cummings, Pearce.
Swansea: De Vries, Rangel, Monk, Williams, Tate, Dyer, Britton, Dobbie, Allen, Sinclair, Borini. Subs: Ma-Kalambay, Pratley, Beattie, Serran, Moore, Gower, Richards.
Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)
“Wondering how long Swansea (or Reading) will last in the Premier League. History says a couple of seasons.”
Tom in Gateshead via text: “If Reading can keep their shape and discipline then I think we have a great chance today, but Swansea are a dangerous team going forwards so I think it’s going to be a very close match.”
1417: READING v SWANSEA (1500)
BBC Sport’s Peter Shuttleworth at Wembley: “The stadium is already awash with the blue and white of Reading and black and white of Swansea as both sets of supporters soak up the atmosphere on their first visit to the new Wembley. This famous ground hosted a most beautiful game as
Barcelona beat Manchester in Saturday’s Champions League final
and this Championship play-off finale promises to be just as entertaining. Swansea are aiming to become Wales’ first Premier League club while Reading are confident of a top-flight return after a three-year absence.”
BBC Sport’s Paul Fletcher at Wembley:
“The two previous play-off finals at Old Trafford were good, but sitting here you can see why Wembley is so special. Massive.”
1413: TEAM NEWS SNAP
Jimmy Kebe returns on the wing after injury for Reading, with Shaun Cummings dropping down to the bench. Swansea are as expected, Fabio Borini leading the line in their familiar 4-2-3-1 formation.
“Two good footballing sides, should be an exciting game!”
Ed Whittle, Little London, Hampshire via text: “I’m a neutral fan and this is my favourite game of the season. The tension, excitement, tears…”
“As a Cardiff fan, I’m gutted that we’re not at Wembley today. However, this is going to be a cracking game. Come on Reading.”
1407: Oh, all right, maybe it’s a combination of the two. But you get my point, huh? It’s big, it’s huge, it’s
Excited?
1404: Today’s match has, of course, been dubbed
The most lucrative one-off match in our game. And by jove that is a hefty badge of honour for any match to boast. But today’s Wembley face-off is so much more than that, isn’t it? It’s about pride, glory, expectation… it’s about 90,000 fans packed under the Wembley arch and the thousands watching elsewhere dreaming of a return to the “big time” and all the exalted sense of adventure that comes with it. It’s not about the level by which the pockets of the successful club’s owners may be swelled. I’m right aren’t I? Right?
1400: Two teams, one place left in the Premier League, one winner-takes-all encounter. Quite simply the biggest match our domestic game has to offer. Welcome to the Championship Play-Off Final.
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