Vote For Your October Reading Player Of The Month

The clocks have gone back, the nights are closing in and just like that, nearly a third of the Championship season is gone. But before we press on in to November, there is the small matter of October’s Player of the Month to decide.

Reading played five games last month, earning consecutive wins either side of the international break against Cardiff City and Barnsley to put themselves in playoff contention, before bringing us all back down to earth with three straight defeats against Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers and Bournemouth. It means we now sit 16th in the table - five points behind the top six.

Nonetheless, there were still some bright performances and we have picked out three candidates for October’s award based off our player ratings. Here they are in alphabetical order...

Scott Dann

Average rating: 6.80 / Man of the match awards: 1st (Barnsley H), 2nd (Blackpool H), 3rd (Bournemouth H)

It took a while for Dann to build up his match fitness after joining in the summer, but he has now started the last four matches after coming off the bench to help secure a clean sheet against Cardiff at the start of the month. The 34-year-old has impressed in defence with his composed and efficient approach to tackling and blocking, but he has also stood out when Reading are attacking: Dann set up John Swift’s goal against Barnsley with a superb long pass and then netted himself with a great header against Blackpool, showing his value at set-pieces.

Luke Southwood

Average rating: 6.80 / Man of the match awards: 1st (Cardiff A), 1st (Blackpool H), 1st (Blackburn A), 2nd (Barnsley H)

Photo by Andrew Kearns - CameraSport via Getty Images

Southwood won September’s Player of the Month award and it’s no surprise he is in contention again after continuing to impress between the sticks. He recorded consecutive clean sheets against Cardiff and Barnsley and although then conceded seven in three games, none of the goals were his fault and he still produced a few important saves in those matches. Southwood was in the top two for our man of the match vote in four out of five games in October, winning the poll on three occasions.

Andy Yiadom

Average rating: 6.40 / Man of the match awards: 1st (Bournemouth H)

In the nicest possible way, Yiadom is probably the ‘best of the rest’ behind Dann and Southwood who are arguably the leading candidates for this month’s accolade. The Ghanaian international was the only other player to take home a man of the match award in October, standing out for his determination and drive in the defeat to Bournemouth. Yiadom continues to be an attacking threat down the right flank for Reading, particularly in the absence of a natural winger for most of last month, but the next step is to add an end product to his game with a better final ball.

Vote

So those are the three candidates, but which of them impressed you the most over the course of October? You can vote for your choice in the poll below, or if it doesn’t show up on your device, go through this link here.