Andrew Stephen’s Hot Off The Habbin article in the match programme for the CUFC v Reading match on 12th September 2026.
“You cannot expect to reach the summit of your potential if you only ever compete against those who are beneath you.”
Serena Williams
As I write, I am already hoping that this tough fixture won’t be followed by a third abject apology from the FA. I accept that it’s hard to be a Referee in these days where some players are better at cheating than actually playing. However, even the Huddersfield fans accepted that the penalty given us against us near the end of the game was ludicrous. It was such an odd decision that many of us hadn’t realised it had been given for several seconds. On the Habbin we couldn’t see that the tackle was actually outside the box, but we could see that Bennett’s tackle was well timed and absolutely fair. It was a superb tackle. Would “little” Cambridge have got the same kind of decision? I doubt it. As for the equaliser at Burton, whatever the player might have claimed afterwards, he bundled the ball into the net with his hand. You wouldn’t get that at Forest. Who knows what difference the missing three points could make at the end of the season? That said, we’ve settled well into League One. We’ve made some good signings and, when everyone is used to playing together, we will be a test for even the richest teams.
Reading of course have had their time in the sun, with seasons spent in the Premier League and having been managed for a time by the hugely underestimated Steve Coppell. They have a vast stadium given to them by a sugar daddy named Majeski but they, like other clubs, suffered after his departure, from unreliable finances and the fear of extinction. Happily, they are safe and in good hands again with a very strong squad and well justified ambitions. When I first knew them, they played at Elm Park and were known as the Biscuitmen because of the nearby Huntley and Palmers factory. They always seemed to be promoted or relegated but were known as a proper club with a huge fan base. When we were a Southern League outfit, we signed a winger named George Harris from them. I couldn’t believe we’d signed an established league player. And what a player he was! Hugely skilful, he scored 11 goals in 35 league games after we’d made the big time. I couldn’t believe that they let him go. Mind you, they made off with Dave Kitson, Sam Smith and Harvey Knibbs. They got Kitson for a ridiculously low fee, and he would rather have stayed here. What might have been.
Statistically, Reading have come out better than us in all matches played. In 1971 we scored three second half goals in 11 minutes. Terry Eades and Brian Greenhalgh scored from magnificent headers, and we ended up winning 4-1. We were eighth with an attendance of 4,885 and I thought we were going places. The following season we really were. In the penultimate game of the season, we got a penalty in time added on. The recently deceased, and sadly mourned, Bobby Ross took it nervelessly and scored. We were up. While I’m still strolling down Memory Lane, I’ll mention a League Cup game away at Reading in August 1993. We won 3-0. Our scorers were Dublin, Taylor and Claridge, remember them? Alan Kimble missed a penalty too, which was rare. We didn’t care though. It will be a tough game today, but our midfield looks stronger than it has for years. Ahadme and Ben Knight look really sharp, and Eastwood goes from strength to strength. My friends told me that we would struggle. I don’t think so.
Andrew Stephen