Reading are based in the county of Berkshire, south of the capital city and at the opposite end of the country to a lot of northern teams in the division such as Middlesbrough and Preston North End.
As you can see on the map below, the league is now very northern based. The question that a lot of people are asking is: does the length of travel have an effect on results and performances?
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This northern-heavy league is a result of London side Fulham being promoted as well as Cardiff City, the capital of Wales. Another factor that has contributed to the northern divide is that Stoke City, from Staffordshire, were relegated from the Premier League.
Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers were promoted from League One, being promoted to this season's second divison. All of those teams are incredibly far away from the Madejski Stadium, being reflected in very low away attendances from the Royals fans this season.
Trips to Lancashire to play against Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End is the last thing that a lot of Reading fans will want, especially those supporters who live in Reading or even further south.
So far, Reading have picked up 17 points this season, with 7 of these points coming away. This shows that travelling to away games has probably had little effect on performances and results when they are not playing at the Madejski Stadium.
This is a similar pattern to last season, where Reading only picked up only two more points at home (23) than away (21). Only one of these away points came from the four London sides that we played last season, the sides that we are nearest to in the Championship in terms of location. The Royals lost at QPR, Millwall and Fulham last season, whilst picking up a point at Brentford.
Bristol City are another club which are close to us. We lost 2-0 at Ashton Gate last season, meaning that the Berkshire side have accumulated just one point away from our closest five clubs in the division. During these five games, the Royals managed to only score two goals, conceding eight in the process.
Our only away win so far this season came at Deepdale, against Preston North End. This side is located in Lancashire. This is one of the furthest away trips for the Royals in the league.
Reading also picked up a few away wins at other northern clubs last season. Then-struggling side Sunderland and Yorkshire side Leeds United were beaten at home by Reading.
Other wins came at East Midlands sides Derby County and Burton Albion, as well as at the St Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium against Birmingham City. We only conceded four goals in those five away victories last season. This means we averaged conceding less than a goal per game in those five wins.
This is a similar pattern to last season, where Reading only picked up only two more points at home (23) than away (21). Only one of these away points came from the four London sides that we played last season, the sides that we are nearest to in the Championship in terms of location. The Royals lost at QPR, Millwall and Fulham last season, whilst picking up a point at Brentford.
Bristol City are another club which are close to us. We lost 2-0 at Ashton Gate last season, meaning that the Berkshire side have accumulated just one point away from our closest five clubs in the division. During these five games, the Royals managed to only score two goals, conceding eight in the process.
Our only away win so far this season came at Deepdale, against Preston North End. This side is located in Lancashire. This is one of the furthest away trips for the Royals in the league.
Reading also picked up a few away wins at other northern clubs last season. Then-struggling side Sunderland and Yorkshire side Leeds United were beaten at home by Reading.
Other wins came at East Midlands sides Derby County and Burton Albion, as well as at the St Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium against Birmingham City. We only conceded four goals in those five away victories last season. This means we averaged conceding less than a goal per game in those five wins.
I have to conclude this article by saying that there are a lot of factors which contribute to a match performance/result. Football is as much a mental game as it is a physical nowadays with greatly advanced tactics, stadium atmosphere and players who thrive on confidence.
Although the league is now very northern based, the length of travelling that Reading have to go through can not be used to paper over the cracks, this club is in a state at this moment in time.
Travelling for long periods can be tiring. However, the players should have the physical capability to put in strong performances. This is combined with the fact that the players most probably travel in luxury to all away games.
Travelling for long periods can be tiring. However, the players should have the physical capability to put in strong performances. This is combined with the fact that the players most probably travel in luxury to all away games.