Nobody wants to be in League One. Well, nobody at Reading anyway. 

We had carved out a nice little existence as one of the Championship's better sides, who were waiting for the year we could put it all together and make a stab at a return to the Premier League.  

Nonetheless here we are and, with less than two weeks to go until Christmas, the fixtures presented us with a nice little stocking filler in the shape of a home match against our local rivals Oxf*rd United.

As the only League One game of the night, it represented an opportunity to jump a couple of places in the table and move closer to safety. It wasn't the worst result, against an Oxford side who are looking like serious contenders to secure at least a play-off place.

Oxford was an interesting club at which to end my career.  I’d already retired before Chris Wilder called and talked me into signing.  I can remember Chris leaving half way through the season when we were at the top of the league. The Chairman, Ian Lenagan, was seemingly unhappy with the prospect of automatic promotion.  Chris went to Northampton and not only saved them from relegation but got them promoted the following season.  Without Chris, we fell apart.

 

Even though our time together was brief, I’d seen enough of Chris to know that he was a talented manager.

A year later I took a call from Simon McCabe, whose family owned Sheffield United.  In passing, Simon told me that they were looking for a new manager, and that the approach they were trying with up and coming young managers wasn't working.

I told Simon that Chris Wilder could not be more perfect. He is, after all, one of their own, having played more than 100 times for the Blades.  He was hungry, had just won the unlikeliest promotion with Northampton and he had that most valuable commodity in that he knew the fans. They were people he’d grown up with, he knew the area, he knew the mindset of the city.  In short, he knew Sheffield United.

“There’s only one problem” I said, “he’s literally about to sign for Charlton, I think he’s actually at the stadium now, so you might be too late.”

24 hours later, Sheffield United announced Chris Wilder as their new manager and the rest is history.  Sorry Charlton!

The end to my time at Oxford was one of the more bizarre moments of my life, let alone my football career.  One lunchtime during pre season the doors to the canteen burst open and several men in sharp suits announced they’d just bought the club.  They sacked Gary Waddock on the spot, in front of the players, and with a forkful of lunch on its way up to his face.  And then they announced the new manager.

The next day, my old manager at Portsmouth, Michael Appleton, ran after me as I walked onto the training pitch.  The off field problems at Portsmouth had hugely strained our relationship.

Michael already knew the answer, but he asked the question anyway.  “What are you going to do then, Kits?” he asked.

“I’m not playing football for you again, I’m not going through that again.” I said.

“That’s fine, you can go home.  The chief exec will be in contact with you about your contract.”

I never kicked another professional football again.

Oh, and just for the record, I promise I had nothing to do with Chris not taking the Reading job.  Honest!

***

My days as a player are becoming a distant memory, but it's always nice to hear the odd word of appreciation from Reading fans who remember the heady days of the mid 2000s, and know why the number 106 means so much to all of us. 

Before a recent coaching session, the father of a young Royals fan I would be coaching asked if his brother could tag along and take a few photos and some video footage of his nephew being coached by me - as he was embarking on a new career focused on photography and social media content. I said yes, of course.

Lee, the father of five-year-old Lucas, arrived with his brother Ian in tow and promptly announced that they were both "massive fans".

I got chatting with Ian about his new venture after the session and was impressed with what he had to say. Fast forward a couple of weeks and Ian has joined our team as a content creator. 

Ian has put together an impressive video with a collection of coaching clips from some of my recent sessions. If you want to see why I'm impressed with what Ian has put together, you can see the video on my website: www.davekitsonacademy.com