Luke Southwood Is Your November 2021 Player Of The Month

“It feels like we’re saying this quite a lot at the moment, but congratulations to Luke Southwood! The goalkeeper has been voted as Reading’s Player of the Month for October, having also won the accolade in September.”

That’s how we began our POTM award piece last month, and it’s more of the same again. You’ve voted for Luke Southwood as your November Player of the Month, meaning he’s now taken the award three months on the bounce after wins in September and October.

He again finished ahead of second-placed Andy Yiadom, although the results were a lot closer this time. Southwood managed 44.2% of the vote, ahead of Yiadom’s 34.7% (it was 65% to 18% in October). Following those two were Tom Holmes (8.4%), Scott Dann (7.4%) and John Swift (5.3%).

It feels like a long time since we were unsure about how well Southwood would do with an extended run in the Championship. While it was a tough ask for the youngster to snatch the gloves from established number one Rafael Cabral, he’s done so convincingly. Southwood’s shot-stopping, distribution and command of his box have all been excellent.

Of course we’re only in December, but if you were to look at potential candidates for player of the season at this stage, Southwood would have to be on the shortlist. He’s stood out so far, and the consistency he’s shown is good reason to believe he can maintain that standard for the rest of the campaign.

You’d think that, looking beyond the summer, Southwood should be a long-term pick for the Royals. Being able to confidently say that a matter of months after he stepped in for Rafa in the Championship demonstrates how well he’s developed, which is particularly pleasing when you consider how long Southwood had to wait for his chance.

The Tilehurst End Player of the Month winners 2021/22

August - John Swift (83%)

September - Luke Southwood (40%)

October - Luke Southwood (65%)

November - Luke Southwood (44%)