August was quite the mixed bag for Reading on the pitch. Of the eight games played in all competitions (yep, it was a busy month!), the Royals won three times (including twice in the cup), lost three times and drew on two occasions.
I wouldn’t say the performances were consistently awful (Swindon Town away was at the start of September), but they were definitely sub-par to some degree way too often.
There were a lot of ‘meh’ displays in there, the kind of performances that might have been good enough for a draw or a narrow win on another day, but ultimately didn’t contain enough quality to lead to deserved wins.
That’s with one exception, at least. Reading’s performance at Portsmouth in the League Cup is conspicuous against the other August displays: confident, well balanced, dangerous going forwards and solid defensively. If only we’d seen more of that in the opening weeks of the season.
So which member of the squad was your overall standout? We’ve cut it down to a shortlist of four players, so read on, make your choice and vote for your man in the poll at the bottom of the piece.
Ashqar Ahmed
Average rating: 6.40 / Man of the match awards: 1st (Portsmouth A)
Right then, who had ‘breakout Ashqar Ahmed season’ on their 2025/26 bingo card? It’s certainly looking like 2025/26 could be shaping up that way for the youngster, who was excellent in the 2-1 win at Portsmouth and has kicked on really well. It wasn’t a perfect month for him – a rookie is bound to be at least a touch inconsistent – but he ended August with a higher average rating than any other outfielder in the squad (back-up ‘keeper Jack Stevens averaged 7/10 from his two August appearances).
Ben Elliott
Average rating: 5.86 / Man of the match awards: 3rd (Lincoln City A), 1st (Huddersfield Town H), 3rd (Bolton Wanderers A), 2nd (Wycombe Wanderers A)
While Elliott’s average rating isn’t as high as others on this shortlist, his involvement in four top threes for our MOTM voting (more than anyone else) shows how consistently bright he was. Even as Reading struggled to click as an attacking side in August, Elliott found a way to bring a spark to the midfield. Tellingly, we look a much worse side without him in there as a playmaker.
Derrick Williams
Average rating: 6.25 / Man of the match awards: 1st (Bolton Wanderers A), 3rd (Wycombe Wanderers A)
Reading’s summer signing has hit the ground running, looking a really class act so far. Williams’ experience and composure have consistently been evident, even in a debut sub appearance at home to AFC Wimbledon in the league, when he steadied the ship at a moment’s notice. Despite coming into the squad after Finley Burns and Paudie O’Connor, he already looks to be the first choice out of those three.
Lewis Wing
Average rating: 6.17 / Man of the match awards: 2nd (Lincoln City A), 1st (AFC Wimbledon H, league), 1st (Wycombe Wanderers A)
In a month when Reading largely struggled for goals, Wing was – typically enough by his standards – a key attacking threat. After an excellent hit against AFC Wimbledon that got the Royals’ league account up and running, he scored a similarly top-draw goal against Wycombe – right after an inch-perfect cross for Mamadi Camara to head home.
Vote
So those are your candidates, but who gets your vote? Cast your ballot in the poll just below, or if it doesn’t display on your device, try this link right here.
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