Rob Couhig and Redwood Holdings’ complete purchase of the Berkshire club, Reading FC, was announced yesterday, just weeks after they looked destined for a messy liquidation.
It marks a new era for the Royals, who recently completed their first full season without receiving a points deduction since 2021.
Matt Beckingham, Reading FC scout, wants to continue a culture of expressive football, through the early ages of their academy:
“Football, in my opinion, is becoming so robotic, everyone’s playing the same way and is a Pep [Guardiola] wannabe. The worrying thing is that it has started to filter down to the grassroots level.
“Let’s get the kids one vs one, me against you, with a goal at the end. We all fall in love with football; we love scoring goals – why can’t we have more kids pretending to be the next Ronaldinho?”
The Brazilian’s scintillating Barcelona career was terminated by Pep Guardiola, who viewed him as a distraction to an up-and-coming Lionel Messi’s development.
Nonetheless, Guardiola’s system has been admired throughout English football, significantly by former Southampton manager Russell Martin. His MK Dons side broke the British record for the most consecutive passes leading to goal (56), previously held by Guardiola’s City.
To Beckingham, the new obsession with “passing patterns” is taking the joy from football, so his goal in scouting is to promote expressionism through his project ‘Playground Football’.
His fellow scouts have helped the Royals academy blossom across the last decade, with now Bayern Munich superstar, Michael Olise, the brightest spark of the Bearwood training ground.
Specialising in under-10s, Beckingham may need to be patient to see his new pupils on the Select Car Leasing Stadium pitch, but come 2030, perhaps some of football’s most exciting and expansive players will be products of the ‘Playground Football’ project.
