John Swift Is Your September Player Of The Month

He may have started October in dreadful fashion, getting sent off 20 minutes into Reading’s 4-1 thrashing by Fulham, but John Swift’s been rewarded for a very good September by winning our player of the month award.

In total, 58.8% of you voted for the playmaker - way ahead of Andy Yiadom on 29.4%, Ovie Ejaria on 7.8% and Rafael on 3.9%. He had been unlucky not to win August’s player of the month, losing out to the impressive Ejaria, but now has a well-deserved award win of his own.

He’s been noticeably more consistent this season than in his previous campaigns in Berkshire. In fact, he’s created more goal-scoring chances than anyone else in the Championship - 36 (or 3.6 per game).

Swift contributed one goal and one assist in September. That may not seem like a great return, but given that it was from four matches (Middlesbrough away, Blackburn Rovers at home, Wolves away and Swansea City away) and Reading only managed three goals in those games overall, it’s not bad at all. The playmaker is truly a key player for Reading going forwards.

That was perhaps best shown through his gorgeous rabona assist at Molineux in the League Cup. With Reading trailing 1-0 in the 99th minute, he ingeniously set up Lucas Boye to head home an equaliser - although both players would miss their spot-kicks in the resulting ill-fated penalty shoot-out. He found the net himself against Rovers at the Madejski Stadium, halving the deficit during a limp Reading performance after earlier hitting the post.

The Tilehurst End Player of the Month winners 2019/20

August - Ovie Ejaria (58%)

September - John Swift (59%)