page_title: History of Reading F.C.
section_title: Onwards and upwards (1998–2008)
hierarchical_section_title: History of Reading F.C. / Onwards and upwards (1998–2008)
caption_attribution_description: English: Reading football team fans celebrate their team winning the 2005/06 Championship. I've got a few more photos, leave a comment if you'd like me to upload the rest from that day.
context_page_description: The history of Reading Football Club covers almost 150 years of both success and failure of the football club from Reading, England. The club was established in 1871, making it one of the oldest professional teams in England. Reading joined the Football League in 1920. The Royals competed at the top flight of English football for the first time in the 2006–07 season.
context_section_description: Reading moved into the new 24,200 all-seater Madejski Stadium, named after chairman John Madejski, in August 1998. The club won their first match at the ground, beating Luton Town 3–0.
  Tommy Burns had taken over from Terry Bullivant but lasted just 18 months before being sacked in September 1999, after a poor start to the season after the club's failure to win promotion the previous season. He was replaced by former reserve team manager Alan Pardew.
  Pardew guided Reading to a third-place finish in the 2000–01 season, where the club were beaten in the play-off final by Walsall 3–2 after extra time. Later on in 2001, Reading became the first football club to register their fans as an official member of their squad, giving the "player" registered with squad number 13 as 'Reading Fans'.
  Reading returned to Division One for the 2002–03 season after finishing runners-up in Division Two. A final day draw away at promotion rivals Brentford saw the club promoted. The following season they finished fourth in Division One and qualified for the play-offs, where they lost in the semi-final to eventual winners Wolverhampton Wanderers. Pardew acrimoniously moved to West Ham United the following October and being replaced by Brighton & Hove Albion manager Steve Coppell. Coppell took the Royals to seventh in his first full season with the club, missing out on a place in the play-offs by three points.
  Reading won the 2005–06 Championship with a league record 106 points, scoring 99 goals and losing only twice in league. Promotion to the Premiership was assured on 25 March 2006, with a 1–1 draw away at Leicester City. The following Saturday, the club secured the title with a 5–0 thumping of Derby County.
  The 2006–07 season saw Reading make their first appearance in the top flight of English football. Striker Dave Kitson became the first player to score for Reading in the top flight, as the Royals came from 2–0 to beat Middlesbrough 3–2 in their first game in the Premiership. The Royals defied pre-season predictions of relegation to finish the season in eighth place with 55 points, missing out on UEFA Cup football by a single point; Reading turned down the chance to play in the UEFA Intertoto Cup.
  In the run up to their second season in the Premier League, Reading were invited to take part in the 2007 Peace Cup in South Korea, playing Argentine giants River Plate, French champions Lyon and Japanese side Shimizu S-Pulse. The Royals failed to qualify for the final on goal difference. This second season was less successful and Reading were relegated back to the Championship following a loss of form in the second half of the season. Despite winning 4–0 away at fellow strugglers Derby County on the last day of the season, Fulham's 1–0 at Portsmouth was enough to see the club fall out of the top flight.
caption: Fans celebrate their team winning the 2005–06 Football League Championship
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