Champions!

Last updated : 02 April 2006 By Richard Turrell

With the fizzy pop trophy on its way to the Mad Stad cabinet, I'm still in disbelief. With a summer that included a host of pundits tipping us for success and having what has to be seen as the best squad we'd probably ever had I was optimistic and hoping for a play off place. For anyone that's followed the Royals in recent years, let alone the long term, they have to agree that optimism usually turns into disappointment as soon as the team carve into their Christmas turkeys but this year was different.

Now we've only got pride to keep us going for the rest of the season its probably the time to look back on what can only be described as a sensational season and try to work out why, after 135 years, it all clicked. Where did it go so right? Everyone I've spoken to seems to have a mixture of theories, all their own of course, to what gave us such an unbelievable season.

Morale, every time a Royals player appears in the press its increasingly been to reiterate that team morale is at its highest. Understandably any team that gets off to the start we did, excluding the Plymouth match, will collect confidence like a stone gathers moss but it seemed electric at the training ground and around the Mad Stad. But then it felt like that last year and it all went a bit wrong so maybe it wasn't confidence.

That brings me onto experience. As the unbeaten run continued and you could smell the nerves in the stands you had a feeling that the players just wouldn't let it slip again. Remembering how much it hurt last year there was defiantly a determination to grind out results, that at times, we really didn't deserve. The major point has to be when the run came to an end, alarm bells were ringing but it was experience that made sure we grafted and fought for anything that might come our way. But then why were we able to get so many points on the board?

Personally I place a large emphasis on the top three. Adding Lita and Doyle to the best pub footballer Kitson gave Coppell an extra dimension that was unrivalled in the league. By rotating the trio it ensured there was always one player biting at the bit to get back into the starting line-up and show his worth. Fair enough without the rest of the team they wouldn't have got the chances but when you compare our side to the rest of the league it's the front three that gave us that bit extra.

Which brings me onto the gaffer. Arise Steve Coppell, touted as a future England manager and claimed to be better than Mourinho by the Chairman. Although he's got a way to go before securing the England job or emulating Mourinho's trophy cabinet at least he'll be sitting at the top table next year. As much as a Royal will hate to admit it following on from Pardew was never going to be an easy task but Copps has undoubtedly exceeded what any of us expected. He's a true English manager with the tactical knowledge and transfer prowess comparable to anyone in any of the English leagues. To makes things even better I truly believe he would only ever leave to take the England job.

And that stability has been pursued both on and off the pitch. Imagine if we had of lost Sidwell in the summer, Harper had signed a pre contract agreement with another club in January or Sonko had believed the Birmingham rumours. With a chairman that's been here for 16 years, a captain in Murty that you'd trust with your mortgage and a squad that all seem content to stay at the club it can only have a positive effect on the dynamics of the team.

Finally we come to fate, maybe it was just our season. After being robbed in the playoff fiasco of 1994/95 as each season passed more and more pressure started to sit on the team. Maybe last year we weren't prepared for the Premiership but this really was our last opportunity. If we had of faded away then I could see a mass exodus would have happened this summer and then a few seasons to rebuild the team.

Whatever way you look at why we've had such a spectacular season, there really isn't one answer. Quite simply everything just clicked and stayed on for the whole season. Undoubtedly the biggest debt we owe is at the feet of John Madejski and I hope that the entire squad do him, as well us the fans and club proud when we meet the big boys next season. We've got the foundations to make an impact and I hate to use the easy comparison of Wigan and West Ham but they have to be our role models. So until the big day kicks off lets just enjoy the last few games we have to play in the fizzy pop league and hope we never have to play in it ever again.