Reading And Irish Strikers: A Tale As Old As Time
Harry has a go at ranking the infamous Irish forwards to play for Reading, and asks where Mark O’Mahony may fit into that list come the end of his stay in Berkshire.
Our club’s affinity with Ireland needs no introduction. From Ian Harte to John O’Shea, Paul McShane to Stephen Quinn, David Meyler to Alex Pearce, so many players have donned both the blue and white hoops and the emerald green.
Naturally, some of those are more revered in Reading folklore than others. But I’m going to stick my neck firmly on the line here - not for the last time during this piece I may add - and say the four that are loved most by Loyal Royals are the Hunt brothers, Kevin Doyle and Shane Long.
With Mark O’Mahony becoming the latest Irishman to make the move to RG2 - the second this summer after Paudie O’Connor’s arrival in June - I thought it’d be a good opportunity to discuss the three best Irish strikers who have come before him. Not only that, I’ll also rank them (this is not going to go well) and have a quick look at where O’Mahony could slot into those rankings once his time at the club comes to an end, whenever that may be. So a nice straightforward, uncontroversial piece then...
I must caveat this by saying that all three of those players are undisputed legends of the club and this ranking is a personal opinion. I’m taking into account not just technical ability and each player’s overall adoration among the fans, but also my personal, sentimental feelings to each player and my connection to them. So, *big gulp*, here goes...
3. Kevin Doyle
I told you it would be uncontroversial.
Doyle was the first of the three that really made his mark on the club. Having arrived from Cork City in the summer of 2005, his first season wasn’t a particularly bad one, all things considered: 19 goals, 45 appearances, Reading’s player of the season, the Championship fans’ player of the season, and a place in the Championship team of the season, as we got promoted to the Premier League for the first time in our history - with 106 points.
The only reason I’ve put him third, and I did warn you about this, is my sentimental attachment to Doyle isn’t as strong as the other two. I regularly started going to Reading games in 2010/11, thus I only ever actually saw Doyle play in the flesh once or twice.
Still, if O’Mahony has a quarter of the career Doyle had here, it’ll be a pretty damn good one.
2. Noel Hunt
Noel arrived three years after Doyle, Long and his brother Stephen, but that doesn’t mean his impact was any less. Reading’s current manager was the embodiment of both the playoff team of 2010/11 and the promotion-winning side of the season after - the two teams that really made me fall in love with this club.
Tenacity, spirit, fight, punching above your weight: all the traits that we associate with the best teams this club has ever produced, he had in abundance. Hunt wasn’t as prolific in front of goal as the other two in this list, but that wasn't really his job.
His job was to be a nuisance, put himself about and put the hard yards in. And for that he’ll always be loved by us, and gets second place in my list.
1. Shane Long
Ironically it was only when Doyle left in 2009 that Long really started to etch his name as a Reading legend - despite both arriving at the same time from Cork in 2005.
He still more than played his part in that 106 team, and the couple of seasons after that, but when Doyle left he eventually became the main man.
As I said before, that 2010/11 season was the one when I really started to watch Reading regularly - which happened to coincide with Long producing one of the best individual seasons in Reading’s history. He managed 55 appearances and 25 goals in all competitions, and won the club’s player of the season award too.
After that he got a very well deserved move to the Premier League and went on to have probably the best career of the three. He also gets extra points from me for being the first Reading player who I really fell in love with, and he of course had a poignant yet ultimately anti-climactic return to Berkshire a few years ago.
What about Mark O’Mahony?
That’s one debate well and truly settled. So what about O’Mahony? Where will he fit into that list once his time in Reading comes to an end?
Well, let’s be honest the odds are stacked well and truly against him. He’s following in the footsteps of three of our all-time greats.
However, what if I’d asked you in 2005 what you thought the legacy of Doyle and Long at the club would be after they’d just signed as unknowns from Cork City? Could anyone have really predicted the careers they would’ve gone on to have at our club? I’d say quite emphatically not.
So who knows? What if O’Mahony scores 20 goals this season as we get promoted as champions, then signs permanently and goes on to spearhead us in the Championship and beyond? Sounds a bit far-fetched I know, but this club has history for doing things like that.
That’s the thing with our club and Irish strikers, and the real crux of why I’m writing this. There’s something fantastical and romantic about this signing. The possibility the intrigue, the excitement.
O’Mahony will probably not hit the heights of the three I’ve spoken about today. But then again, what if he does?