Newcastle were truly dire last night and should have lost by at least two goals – they are stuck on 42 points and in danger of registering their lowest ever tally in the Premiership. On the bright side, little Michael Owen returned from injury, the first time Glenn Roeder has been able to pick him.
Full credit to Stevie Coppell’s Reading though. They leapfrog Portsmouth into seventh place and are very much in the running for a UEFA Cup spot. I hope they get it, although Coppell may be less keen on a Euro campaign – his focus is clearly on keeping Reading in the top flight and no cup distractions will change that, as we’ve seen this season, when he fielded ‘weaker’ teams in both main cup competitions.