Reading FC Bookie Watch: We’re Still Not Fancied

Reading fans may have been left pretty darn pleased by our transfer activity this summer but the bookmakers still don’t think it’s made a big enough difference for us to be plotting a promotion campaign.

Promotion Odds

Back in June, you could get odds of around 13/2 for Reading to win promotion, so a £10 bet would earn you £65 in return. Today, those odds are as high as 20/1 (Sporting Bet) so the same £10 would net £200. Admittedly, Sporting Bet seem to be on the generous side here, as BetFred are down at 8/1 and most others around 10-14/1 but the message is pretty clear, the oddsmen are less confident now than they were when last season ended.

The market has changed a fair old bit across the league as you’d expect. Cardiff were 10/1 in the pre-season but now have been backed in to as low as 2/1, while Aston Villa were pre-season favourites at 11/4 before now sitting at 9/2.

Wolves are the new favourites at around evens, with Fulham and Middlesbrough (5/2), Leeds (7/2), Villa and Derby (9/2) rounding off the top six.

Taking into account the best prices you can get on a team, Reading are only 17th in the rankings, something that screams undervalued to me.

Title Odds

Again, it’s a similar ranking to the promotion odds but this time we’ve drifted even more. Reading were 22/1 to win the Championship in June but today you can get 66/1 with SkyBet. Again, not saying we’re title favourites by any stretch but given the bonkers nature of this division, 66/1 is very, very generous indeed.

Compare that to Wolves at 3/1 or Cardiff at 7/1, the current two favourites and I’m not buying that Wolves are 22 times more likely to win the league than we are, despite their impressive start.

Relegation Odds

Feel it’s all going to go wrong for us? Well those bookmakers are saying Reading are more likely to be doomed than celebrating come May. Our odds to go down range between 6/1 and a best price of 19/2. Back in June that was 16/1, so for whatever reason the bookies are much more down on our prospects.

Bolton are 9/10 odds on to go down, with Burton (21/10), Barnely (6/5) and Millwall (7/2) also fancied.

Top Goalscorer

Few surprises to see no Reading player anywhere near the top of the list. Britt Assombalonga is favourite for the golden boot at 10/1, followed by Billy Sharp (14/1), Nelson Oliveira (14/1) and Kenneth Zohore (20/1).

Yann Kermorgant is 50/1 to return from injury with a bang, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson 150/1 and new signing Sone Aluko also at 150/1.

So that’s your early season odds update, as always please gamble responsibly #gambelaware