# 1994–95 Reading F.C. season

51°27′10″N 1°0′8.7″W﻿ / ﻿51.45278°N 1.002417°W﻿ / 51.45278; -1.002417
During the 1994–95 English football season, Reading F.C. competed in the Football League First Division, following promotion from the Second Division the previous season.

## Season summary

Mark McGhee left Reading in December to take over at Leicester City. Players Jimmy Quinn, Mick Gooding, Ady Williams and Jeff Hopkins acted as caretakers until January, when Quinn and Gooding were named as full-time player-managers. The inexperienced duo led Reading to second in the First Division. In any other season this would have been enough for promotion to the Premier League, but due to restructuring of the league, only two teams would be awarded promotion, and therefore Reading entered the play-offs.
After beating Tranmere Rovers 3–1 on aggregate (3–1 and 0–0 over two legs) they travelled to Wembley to face Bolton Wanderers. Reading were 2–0 up within 12 minutes and appeared certain to be playing top-flight football for the first time in their history next season, but Bolton fought back to score twice in the last 15 minutes to take the game to extra time. Bolton scored twice more in extra time to lead 4–2. Although player-manager Quinn, on as a second-half substitute, pulled one back in the 119th minute, Bolton held on to win and sealed promotion to the Premier League at Reading's expense. Following the final defeat, it would be eleven years before Reading finally experienced top-flight football.

## Squad

    As of match played 29 May 1995
| Name | Position | Date of birth (Age) | Signed from | Signed in | Contract ends | Apps. | Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| Shaka Hislop | GK | (1969-02-22)22 February 1969 (aged 26) | Howard Bison | 1992 | | 126 | 0 |
| Simon Sheppard | GK | (1973-08-07)7 August 1973 (aged 21) | Watford | 1994 | | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| Andy Bernal | DF | (1973-02-21)21 February 1973 (aged 22) | Sydney Olympic | 1994 | | 40 | 0 |
| Keith McPherson | DF | (1963-09-11)11 September 1963 (aged 31) | Northampton Town | 1990 | | | |
| Adi Viveash | DF | (1969-09-30)30 September 1969 (aged 25) | loan from Swindon Town | 1994 | 1995 | 12 | 1 |
| Dylan Kerr | DF | (1967-01-14)14 January 1967 (aged 28) | Leeds United | 1993 | | 95 | 3 |
| Dariusz Wdowczyk | DF | (1962-09-25)25 September 1962 (aged 32) | Celtic | 1994 | | 44 | 0 |
| Jeff Hopkins | DF | (1964-04-14)14 April 1964 (aged 31) | Bristol Rovers | 1992 | | 122 | 3 |
| Ady Williams | DF | (1971-09-16)16 September 1971 (aged 23) | Trainee | 1989 | | | |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| David Bass | MF | (1974-11-29)29 November 1974 (aged 20) | Trainee | 1992 | | 9 | 0 |
| Michael Gilkes | MF | (1965-07-20)20 July 1965 (aged 29) | Leicester City | 1984 | | | |
| Mick Gooding (Player-Manager) | MF | (1959-04-12)12 April 1959 (aged 36) | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1989 | | | |
| Paul Holsgrove | MF | (1969-08-26)26 August 1969 (aged 25) | Millwall | 1994 | | 29 | 4 |
| Tommy Jones | MF | (1964-10-07)7 October 1964 (aged 30) | Swindon Town | 1992 | | 66 | 2 |
| Jamie Lambert | MF | (1973-09-14)14 September 1973 (aged 21) | Trainee | 1992 | | 54 | 5 |
| Mick Murphy | MF | (1977-05-05)5 May 1977 (aged 18) | Trainee | 1994 | | 1 | 0 |
| Simon Osborn | MF | (1972-01-19)19 January 1972 (aged 23) | Crystal Palace | 1994 | | 39 | 5 |
| Phil Parkinson | MF | (1967-12-01)1 December 1967 (aged 27) | Bury | 1992 | | 133 | 9 |
| Scott Taylor | MF | (1970-11-23)23 November 1970 (aged 24) | Trainee | 1989 | | | |
| Derek Simpson | MF | (1978-12-23)23 December 1978 (aged 16) | Trainee | 1994 | | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| Stuart Lovell | FW | (1972-01-09)9 January 1972 (aged 23) | Trainee | 1990 | | | |
| Lea Barkus | FW | (1974-12-07)7 December 1974 (aged 20) | Trainee | 1991 | | 17 | 0 |
| Alan Carey | FW | (1975-08-21)21 August 1975 (aged 19) | Trainee | 1994 | | 3 | 0 |
| Uwe Hartenberger | FW | (1968-02-01)1 February 1968 (aged 27) | KFC Uerdingen 05 | 1993 | | 29 | 5 |
| Jimmy Quinn (Player-Manager) | FW | (1959-12-07)7 December 1959 (aged 35) | Bournemouth | 1992 | | 148 | 73 |
| Lee Nogan | FW | (1969-05-21)21 May 1969 (aged 26) | Watford | 1995 | | 23 | 12 |
| Out on loan |||||||||
| Left during the season |||||||||
| Darren Barnard | DF | (1971-11-30)30 November 1971 (aged 23) | loan from Chelsea | 1994 | 1994 | 4 | 0 |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | ENG | Darren Barnard (loan return to Chelsea) |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| Summer 1994 | GK | Simon Sheppard | Watford | |
| Summer 1994 | DF | Andy Bernal | Sydney Olympic | £30,000 |
| Summer 1994 | DF | Dariusz Wdowczyk | Celtic | |
| Summer 1994 | MF | Paul Holsgrove | Millwall | |
| Summer 1994 | MF | Simon Osborn | Crystal Palace | £90,000 |
| 12 January 1995 | FW | Lee Nogan | Watford | £250,000 |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Date to | Ref. |
| Summer 1994 | DF | | Darren Barnard | Chelsea | | |
| Summer 1994 | DF | | Adi Viveash | Swindon Town | Summer 1995 | |

### Released

| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | Joined | Date |
| 30 June 1995 | FW | | Uwe Hartenberger | Waldhof Mannheim | |

## Competitions
### Division two
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Middlesbrough (C, P) | 46 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 67 | 40 | +27 | 82 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | Reading | 46 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 58 | 44 | +14 | 79 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 3 | Bolton Wanderers (O, P) | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 67 | 45 | +22 | 77 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 77 | 61 | +16 | 76 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 5 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 67 | 58 | +9 | 76 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |

#### Play-offs
##### Final

| Bolton Wanderers | Reading |
Bolton Wanderers: :
| GK | 1 | Keith Branagan |
| DF | 2 | Scott Green |
| DF | 3 | Jimmy Phillips |
| DF | 5 | Guðni Bergsson |
| DF | 6 | Alan Stubbs |
| MF | 7 | Neil McDonald | 46' |
| MF | 4 | Jason McAteer |
| MF | 10 | Mixu Paatelainen |
| MF | 11 | Alan Thompson |
| FW | 8 | Owen Coyle |
| FW | 9 | John McGinlay |
| Substitutes: ||||
| GK | 12 | Peter Shilton |
| DF | 14 | John Dreyer |
| FW | 15 | Fabian de Freitas | 46' |
| Manager: ||||
| Bruce Rioch ||||
Reading: :
| GK | 1 | Shaka Hislop |
| RWB | 2 | Andy Bernal | 67' |
| DF | 4 | Keith McPherson |
| DF | 6 | Dariusz Wdowczyk |
| DF | 5 | Ady Williams |
| LWB | 3 | Michael Gilkes |
| MF | 8 | Mick Gooding |
| MF | 7 | Simon Osborn |
| MF | 11 | Scott Taylor |
| FW | 9 | Lee Nogan | 62' |
| FW | 10 | Stuart Lovell |
| Substitutes: ||||
| GK | 15 | Simon Sheppard |
| DF | 14 | Jeff Hopkins | 67' |
| FW | 12 | Jimmy Quinn | 62' |
| Manager: ||||
| Jimmy Quinn & Mick Gooding ||||
* MATCH RULES
* 90 minutes.
* 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
* Penalty shootout if scores still level.
* 3 named substitutes.
* Maximum of 3 substitutions.

### League Cup
## Squad statistics

    As of match played 29 May 1995

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Division 1 | Division 1 | Playoffs | Playoffs | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | ENG | Shaka Hislop | 54 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | DF | AUS | Andy Bernal | 40 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Keith McPherson | 27 | 0 | 19+4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Adi Viveash | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | MLT | Dylan Kerr | 40 | 1 | 35+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | DF | POL | Dariusz Wdowczyk | 44 | 0 | 37+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | WAL | Jeff Hopkins | 28 | 0 | 20+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| | DF | WAL | Ady Williams | 29 | 3 | 20+2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| | MF | ENG | Michael Gilkes | 46 | 8 | 37+3 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Mick Gooding | 47 | 0 | 37+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Paul Holsgrove | 29 | 4 | 23+1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+2 | 1 |
| | MF | ENG | Tommy Jones | 21 | 1 | 18+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Jamie Lambert | 11 | 1 | 3+8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Mick Murphy | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Simon Osborn | 39 | 5 | 31+1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Phil Parkinson | 35 | 0 | 25+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Scott Taylor | 51 | 9 | 31+13 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1+2 | 0 |
| | FW | AUS | Stuart Lovell | 38 | 14 | 25+5 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Alan Carey | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | GER | Uwe Hartenberger | 16 | 2 | 8+7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | NIR | Jimmy Quinn | 42 | 10 | 31+4 | 5 | 0+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| | FW | WAL | Lee Nogan | 23 | 12 | 18+2 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Reading but left during the season: ||||||||||||||
| | DF | ENG | Darren Barnard | 4 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goal Scorers

| Place | Position | Name | First Division | Playoffs | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | Stuart Lovell | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| 2 | FW | Lee Nogan | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 3 | FW | Jimmy Quinn | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| 4 | MF | Scott Taylor | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 5 | MF | Michael Gilkes | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 6 | MF | Simon Osborn | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | MF | Paul Holsgrove | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 | DF | Ady Williams | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | FW | Uwe Hartenberger | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | | Own goal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | MF | Tom Jones | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | Jamie Lambert | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | DF | Dylan Kerr | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | TOTALS | 58 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 72 |

## Team kit

Reading's kit for the 1994–95 was manufactured by Pelada, and the main sponsor was Auto Trader.
| 1994–95 home colours | 1994–95 away colours |