It’s safe to say Leam Richardson did not come out of his second TTE approval rating well. In fact, he got one of the lowest scores we’ve ever recorded: 1.7/5.
However, after significant improvement in the opening stages of this season – in terms of playing style, results and how he comes across to supporters in the media – he’s bounced back. Very well indeed, actually, with his score now sitting at a much healthier-looking 3.49/5.
So, how did the voting break down this time out?
As the chart below shows,
most of you gave him a 4/5, with a big chunk of supporters on 3/5. Respondents were fairly evenly split between 2/5 and 5/5, with a few so unimpressed as to give him 1/5.
To me, 4/5 equates to being ‘happy’, 3/5 with ‘fine’, 5/5 with ‘very happy’ and so on. In that light, it feels fair to say that the overall view among Reading fans is of broadly approving of the job Richardson’s doing so far, but with enough reservations to stop you being outright delighted.
Interestingly, this is almost exactly where Richardson was in January 2026, when we ran our first approval rating on him. Back then, his average worked out at 3.67/5, with the results looking remarkably similar to how they do now.
Simply getting back to a position of broad approval might ordinarily feel disappointing for a manager who hit his 12-month and 50-game anniversaries last week, but it’s actually a significant achievement when you consider just how unpopular Richardson was at the end of last season.
The chart below makes that starkly clear.
For a bit of historical context, Richardson’s score of 3.49 is almost exactly what Steve Clarke got in April 2015 (3.5/5). Back then, the Royals were struggling to get going in the league but did put together an excellent FA Cup run. More recently, Jose Gomes managed 3.41/5 in February 2019.
Richardson’s score should rise by the time of our next approval rating – probably in January or February – if he can sustain the promotion push. You’d imagine however that luck with injuries and having a good January transfer window will both be important in him achieving that.
