Rotherham United Fans Verdict: No Steps Forward, More Steps Back

— DingGeorge (@GeorgeB22998154) April 26, 2026 Leam before every interview #readingfcpic.twitter.com/8UCJGHnNRH

— Mark (@MarkHopgoo46439) April 25, 2026 If all Couhig cares about is winning as he is a Lawyer, then he sacks Leam tonight! 2 Wins in 10 is not acceptable especially for a Lawyer #readingfc

— Mike (@MikeyM1871) April 25, 2026 #ReadingFC There cant be many Leam fans now, surely

— Michael Hunter (@Michael\_BHunter) April 25, 2026 To be fair to Leam, we can’t expect them to compete in these sunny conditions can we? #ReadingFC

— Dan (@Jones1871) April 25, 2026 A lot of Leam negativity. Being glass half full….

Nope, I’ve got nothing.#Readingfc#LeamOut

— mark harnett (@Ergo\_Mark) April 25, 2026 Didn’t Couhig say he’s Leam in ‘as long as he keeps winning’? Looking at 4 defeats in a row and 1 win in 7. There’s your out, old chap #readingfc

— 𝕿𝖔𝖒 𝕵 𝕯𝖆𝖓𝖎𝖊𝖑 (@tomjd1975) April 25, 2026 Can’t get excited for football anymore thanks to these stupid owners sticking with Leam Richardson #readingfc

— Kevin (@KevinAteBread) April 25, 2026

**No trust in the youth**

An undercurrent throughout Richardson’s time at Reading has been his lack of trust in the academy. Up until Saturday we’d had bigger fish to fry than the lack of experience being given to youth-team players. However, against Rotherham – in a complete dead rubber and a game in which Richardson himself said he’d be prioritising looking to the future – to sub on Emmanuel Osho and Sean Patton with only minutes to go was really, really naff. In the grand scheme of things, it perhaps wasn’t that big of a deal, but for many it’s just more confirmation that Richardson isn’t the man for this club…

Talks about 50% of the team sheet being academy products but then gives several of them virtually bugger all game time because he was worried about how the game was going & didn’t want them to make mistakes. #readingfc

— @andycrfc.bsky.social (@AndyRFCCharman) April 25, 2026 What was the point in recalling Sean Patton from his loan? #readingfc

— Chris Beale (@bealec1988) April 25, 2026 ✅ lost the fanbase ✅ won’t play the youth ✅ 5 points from a possible 21 ✅ blew the POs#readingfc

— Ben Thomas (@mrblthomas) April 25, 2026 And the poor kid didn't even get to kick a ball. What's the point, Leam? #readingfc

— Bobbins (@ohbobbins) April 25, 2026

**Conclusion**

Barring a sudden u-turn from Couhig, Richardson is going to be in charge come August. A good transfer window and strong pre-season will give us all a bit of a boost, sure, but it’s going to take a hell of a lot more than that for the fans to get behind Richardson. Richardson likes to mention in his post-match interviews that this team is still learning and needs to learn together. I get that. But that’s something I’d expect to hear from someone who’s just got into the job – Richardson has been here since October. He’s got out of this league before, but if this is the way he wants to try and replicate that here, it’s just not going to work. Here’s to it being one game closer to the end of the season.