It’s time for our second player of the month award of the season, covering Reading’s six games across all competitions in September. The Royals had five League One matches (three wins, one draw, one loss) as well as being beaten 2-1 in the League Cup by Brentford.
And it was, overall, a good month performance-wise. Averaging out all our player ratings from September gives us a final number of 6.08/10 – up slightly from August’s 5.81. That might not seem like a big jump, but in the context of how we
do our (deliberately stubbornly harsh) ratings it is.
This was the first time a monthly average in our ratings has surpassed 6/10 since November 2024 (6.04). Before that, it was August 2024 (6.09). With the proviso that ratings are always subjective and it’s impossible to be fully consistent, it’s still reasonable to say this was a notably good month by the standards of recent years.
And, of course, we need a winner for our POTM award! We’ve put together a five-man shortlist based on goal involvements, our ratings and our man of the match voting. August’s winner was none other than Kyreece Lisbie.
Jacob Brown
Average rating: 6.17
Man of the match awards: None
‘Ole Gunnar Brown’, as dubbed by Leam Richardson, was Reading’s super sub in September. He came off the bench in all six matches, playing a total of 116 minutes and finding the net three times, meaning he scored just under once every 40 minutes he was on the pitch.
That form hasn’t yet been enough to get him a start in the first team, but scoring even more frequently than the league’s top scorer (one goal every 72 minutes in September) isn’t to be sniffed at.
George Earthy
Average rating: 6.75
Man of the match awards: Blackpool H (3rd), Cambridge United A (1st)
Reading had to be patient to bring in Earthy from West Ham United in the summer, but he was worth waiting for. The youngster has been a real star in the number 10 role, scoring against Mansfield Town and Blackpool, as well as being the standout in the Royals’ only league defeat in September – the 2-1 loss at Cambridge.
Unfortunately Earthy ended the month injured – at time of writing the length of absence is unknown – but hopefully he can get back into action as soon as possible.
Kyreece Lisbie
Average rating: 6.67
Man of the match awards: Blackpool H (2nd), Cambridge United A (2nd)
August’s winner continued his excellent form into September, opening his account for the season in the 3-1 win over Blackpool. The real highlight for Lisbie however was around his assists. Having provided two in August, he added three more in September, to the benefit of Earthy (twice) and Jack Marriott.
Jack Marriott
Average rating: 6.8
Man of the match awards: Mansfield Town H (joint-2nd), Notts County H (1st)
Admittedly I was a bit worried earlier this year that Marriott wouldn’t be able to continue last season’s red-hot scoring form when he got back from injury. I shouldn’t have been.
Marriott is now up to eight goals for the season, adding five (across three games) to his hat-trick against Luton Town in the first home match of the season. Having scored twice against Mansfield, Marriott netted away to Cambridge and then bagged another brace as Reading saw off Notts County.
Andy Rinomhota
Average rating: 6.75
Man of the match awards: Blackpool H (1st), Notts County H (2nd)
Although he’s not been among the goals like the previous four players, Andy Rinomhota’s really come into his own in the middle of the park out of possession. The Blackpool game was his real stand-out showing, but he was a consistent performer anyway.
Liam Fraser did a decent job of deputising for Rinomhota away to Wycombe Wanderers, but there’s no player quite like Rino in the squad. His energy, intensity and aggression are missed when we don’t have them.
Vote
Who’s your player of the month for September? Vote through this link right here.
