page_title: 2013–14 Reading F.C. season
section_title: January
hierarchical_section_title: 2013–14 Reading F.C. season / Season review / January
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo taken by myself following a friendly match between Tamworth and Rotherham United.
context_page_description: The 2013–14 season was Reading Football Club's first season back in the Championship following the sides's relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2012–13 season. It was also Nigel Adkins' only full season in charge of the club having succeeded Brian McDermott in March 2013.
  The campaign began with a home win over Ipswich Town and after ten games the team had lost only once and were in the play-off places. Six defeats in 13 games between October and the new year saw Reading slip to 9th, though their form improved in January with three wins from five, including 7–1 and 5–1 victories over Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool respectively. Despite mixed form from February onwards, Reading remained in contention for the play-offs until the last game of the season. Needing only to equal Brighton & Hove Albion's result to finish in the top six, the team drew at home to already promoted Burnley whilst Brighton scored a last-minute winner at Nottingham Forest. Reading therefore finished seventh and were consigned to the Championship for another season. In the two domestic cup competitions, Reading were knocked out at the stage they entered.
context_section_description: The year began with a 1–1 draw against Nottingham Forest at the Madejski Stadium. The visitors took the lead in the first half when former player Greg Halford headed home before Stephen Kelly equalised in the 5th minute of injury time with his first goal for the club. Following the game, Billy Sharp's loan expired and he returned to Southampton. Despite Reading holding further discussions about his future, no move materialised and he eventually joined former club Doncaster Rovers. The club entered the FA Cup at the third round stage and faced Brighton & Hove Albion at Falmer Stadium. An Andrew Crofts goal in the first half enough to give the hosts a 1–0 and send Reading out of the competition at the first hurdle. Several young players moved to and from the club on loan during the month. Michael Hector returned from Aberdeen after a successful six-month spell and was immediately included in the first team squad while Jonathan Henly joined Oxford United for one month. Dominic Samuel also left the club, joining Lawson D'Ath at Dagenham & Redbridge for a month, though his spell there lasted just one game after he suffered a knee injury requiring surgery 40 minutes into his debut.
  A first win for nearly a month came away at Watford with Kaspars Gorkšs getting the only goal. The following week Reading recorded their largest win since 29 December 1979, defeating Bolton Wanderers 7–1 with goals from Gorkšs, Pavel Pogrebnyak, Hope Akpan, Nick Blackman and an Adam le Fondre hat-trick. The goal was Akpan's first for the club while Michael Hector made also his debut as a late substitute. Seven weeks after his last appearance, Chris Baird's contract expired with the club confirming that they would wait until he was fit again before discussing an extension. Despite netting seven times the previous week, Reading were unable to register a goal in their next match as they lost 2–0 away to Ipswich Town with another former player, Stephen Hunt, among the scorers. Back at home for a midweek game against Blackpool, the side returning to scoring form with a second hat-trick in two home games for le Fondre helping them to a 5–1 victory. Speculation arose that Reading's lack of activity in the transfer window was due to the ongoing discussions over the ownership of the club, with manager Nigel Adkins appearing to confirm the reports. The window closed at the end of the month with no players having arrived, though Director of Football Nick Hammond confirmed that the club had rejected interest in several of their players. Although there were no permanent transfers completed in either direction, Lawson D'Ath's loan at Dagenham & Redbridge was extended until the end of the season.
caption: Adam le Fondre's hat-trick helped Reading to a 7–1 win over Bolton Wanderers, their biggest victory for over 30 years.
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "96", "Image YResolution": "96", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2010:07:31 21:34:13", "Image ExifOffset": "164", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "96", "Thumbnail YResolution": "96", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "302", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4194", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "200", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "200"}