IN DREAMS Reading 1-2 Blackburn Rovers

The second half of this game was like waking up after a great dream. The last 16 months had, it appeared, been a fantasy. Reading hadn't indeed won the Championship with a record points margin after all, the excellent start to the subsequent Premiership season had been a figment of a tired imagination. We all woke up to discover that Reading were indeed still crap, playing in Division 2 against Walsall and Mark Reilly was playing.

The dream that Reading were going to qualify for europe had evaporated at half time during a game against one time Premiership champions Blackburn. They had dominated, led through James HARPER's effort curled around Friedel and had hit the woodwork through Sidwell with Doyle also squandering a good chance when well placed. Unfortunately, the Reading players were apparently kidnapped at half time and with the ever frugal Mr Madejski unwilling to pay the ransom, a team of imposters sleepwalked their way through the second half. Benni McCARTHY finally stole in for an overdue equaliser midway through a second half dominated by the visitors having seen 37 earlier efforts disallowed for offside/cheating/having a bad hair cut. David BENTLEY - right foot by Pele, jaw by Bruce Forsyth - smashed in the eventual winner, inevitably and generously supplied by that familiar source the Reading misplaced pass. Stand up and take a bow John Oster for lsoing us the game within a minute of coming on as substitute.

Floyd on Football apologises to readers for the inconvenience and subsequent brevity of this late, late match report on the wretched events of last Saturday. Floyd on Football has since been in an alcoholic, stress-related coma, unable to find the keyboard through the tears and the Thames Valley mid-December fog. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible - but that's enough about the Reading team for now.

Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Shorey, Sonko, Ingimarsson, Little (Oster, 83), Sidwell, Harper, Hunt (Long, 85), Seol (Lita, 76), Doyle. Subs not used: Federici, Gunnarsson.

Floyd's Favourite: Not applicable.