Back on April 17th, Reading fans had plenty to celebrate with their dramatic return to the Premier League courtesy of a goal from Mikele Leigertwood. As the first season back in the top flight has unfolded, celebrations turned to despondency with the club drifting desperately at the bottom of the table with no sign of respite. Since the narrow loss away at the Etihad on December 22nd there have been signs that maybe Reading have started to understand how to compete in this league. A win on Saturday against Sunderland has capitulated Reading outside of the relegation places. But have Reading left it too late to survive? Here I explore the 6 reasons why Reading can still survive and why fans still believe that the team will avoid the drop.
6. The State of the Table
This year it seems that the magic total to reach for survival could be as low as 38 points. Reading have just nudged out of the relegation zone with Saturday's 2-1 win over Sunderland and the number of points between them and the mid-table comfort of 10th place is only 6 points. Stoke City, currently in 10th place are Reading's next opponents and there is every reason for fans to believe that another win might be achievable; Reading won their last away match at Newcastle and must be in with a good chance of taking at least a point when they go to the Britannia Stadium.