Reading are on course secure a top-six finish this campaign in the Championship which would be a huge achievement for the Royals and outline the progress that has been made by them this year.

However, it is going to be a very nervy last eight games of the campaign with them holding just a three-point advantage on seventh place Bournemouth who also have a game in hand on them. While there are also the likes of Cardiff City and Middlesbrough are also there or thereabouts and could manage to break into the play-offs.

The Royals have not been close to getting promoted since they were beaten in the 2016/17 play-off final against Huddersfield Town. Since then they had been battling more towards the bottom half of the Championship table, but they are now aiming to secure a return to the top-flight for the first time since they were relegated during the 2012/13 campaign.

While we wait to see whether Reading can achieve that, we have taken a look back at some former players and put together a list of the Royals’ top 10 oldest ever players. Click ‘next’ to scroll through the list…

Currently, Reading’s tenth oldest ever player is goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi, who makes this list having made an appearance for the Royals at the age of 35 years 04 months 29 days during a loss at Wembley to Huddersfield Town in May 2017.

Reading signed Al-Habsi back in the summer of 2015 after he was allowed to leave Wigan Athletic after a four-year spell with the Latics. During the 2015/16 campaign, the keeper managed to make 32 appearances in the Championship as he managed to establish himself as the Royals’ main choice in goal ahead of Jonathan Bond. He was able to help the club to a 17th place finish.

The following campaign, Al-Habsi would play a key role in helping the Royals mount a promotion challenge in the Championship. The keeper managed to make 46 appearances in the league as Jaap Stam’s side finished in third place, but they ultimately were beaten in the play-off final by Huddersfield Town.

That proved to be his final appearance for the club and he left at the end of the season and went on to sign for Al-Hilal. He also spent time last season with West Brom as they earned promotion back to the Premier League.

In at ninth place on this list is defender Ian Harte, who makes the list having made an appearance for the Royals at the age of 35 years 07 months 28 days during a goalless draw against Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League in April 2013.

Harte was signed by Reading in the summer of 2010 with the Royals bringing him in after an impressive spell at Carlisle United. The defender marked his debut against Crystal Palace with a goal from the penalty spot, which is something that would be come to a familiar sight during his spell at the club. He finished the 2010/11 campaign with an impressive 11 goals in 40 league games.

The following season, the defender played a key part in the Royals earning promotion back to the Premier League thanks to an excellent second half of the campaign. Harte managed to register four goals in 32 league appearances that campaign. However, he was less involved in the Premier League season making 16 appearances but he was allowed to leave following their relegation.

Harte went on to sign for AFC Bournemouth in the Championship and he managed to make 24 appearances in the league in the 2013/14 campaign, but just four more the following year. He then retired from the game and has since become a football agent.

Coming in at an eighth place in this list is forward Jimmy Quinn, who makes this list having made an appearance for the Royals at the age of 36 years 02 months 09 days during a 3-0 defeat at home to Manchester United in January 1996.

Quinn was signed by the Royals in July 1992 and he went on to establish himself as a vital player and made an instant impression in his first season firing in 17 league goals and 23 in all competitions. The following year he was the top scorer in the whole of the Football League as he scored 35 league goals and 37 in all competitions as the club earned promotion to the first division.

The forward was then appointed as the club’s joint player-manager at Reading alongside Mick Gooding and the pair managed to lead the Royals to a second-place finish but they were denied automatic promotion due to the restructuring of the Premier League and instead had to compete in the play-offs losing to Bolton Wanderers. The forward left the club in 1997.

After leaving the Royals he had a spell with Peterborough United and also was manager at Swindon Town, Northwich Victoria, Shrewsbury Town, Egersunds, Cambridge United and Bournemouth.

In at seventh place on this list is former Reading forward Yann Kermorgant, who makes this list having managed to feature for the Royals at the age of 36 years 05 months 28 days during a goalless draw with Cardiff City in May 2018.

Kermorgant arrived at Reading in the January 2016 arriving from Bournemouth and he managed to register three goals in 17 Championship appearances in the second half of the 2015/16 campaign. The following season, the forward managed to enjoy an excellent campaign in front of goal firing in 18 league goals and 19 in all competitions as the club just about missed out on promotion.

However, the following season Kermorgant could not replicate that level of form in front of goal as the Royals struggled in the Championship. The forward managed just two goals in 27 appearances in all competitions and he left the club at the end of the 2017/18 campaign.

He went on to sign for French club Vannes OC and spent two years there before leaving in 2020.

Coming in at number six in this list is former Reading midfielder Brynjar Gunnarsson, who makes the list having made an appearance for the Royals at the age of 36 years 06 months 12 days during a 2-0 loss against Birmingham City in April 2012.

The Royals signed Gunnarsson in the summer of 2005 from Watford for a nominal fee, and it proved to be an excellent piece of business for Reading as he swiftly established himself as a key performer. He made 29 Championship appearances in the 2005/06 campaign scoring four times and helping them storm to the league title with a record points tally. Then he helped them establish in the top-flight.

However, during the 2007/08 campaign, Gunnarsson was not always involved in the side and made 20 appearances as they were relegated back down to the Championship. The following season he was more involved again making 27 appearances in the league as the Royals missed on promotion losing to Burnley in the play-offs.

The midfielder’s appearances gradually became more limited over the next three seasons and he only made five appearances in the 2011/12 season as the club were promoted once again. He eventually left for Úrvalsdeild in his home land in 2013. He is currently in charge of Handknattleiksfélag Kópavogs in Iceland.

Coming in at number five on this list is former Royals midfielder Mick Gooding who makes the list having made an appearance for Reading at the age of 36 years 09 months 15 days in a 3-0 loss against Man United in January 1996.

Gooding was signed by the Royals in 1989 and he managed to become a crucial player around the club for the next few years and he went on to make well over 300 appearances for the Royals during his spell with the club before leaving in 1997. He will also be remembered for having a spell as joint player-manager alongside Jimmy Quinn.

During their time together as joint-managers, they missed out on promotion to the top-flight becoming the only ever side to finish second and not earn promotion after they lost to Bolton Wanderers in the play-offs. The pair then battled against relegation the next two campaigns as they failed to build on the early promise they had managed to generate.

After leaving Reading Gooding went on to spend time managing Southend United.

In fourth place on this list is former Reading keeper Marcus Hahnemann, who makes this list having appeared for the Royals at the age of 36 years 10 months 27 days during a 2-0 defeat at home to Burnley in the play-offs in May 2009.

Hahnemann was signed by Reading in the summer of 2002 on a free transfer after he had spent some time on loan with them from Fulham in the 2001/02 campaign. It proved to be an excellent addition for the Royals and the keeper swiftly became their number one and made 41, 36 and 46 appearances in his three first full seasons with the club.

During the 2005/06 campaign Hahnemann played a crucial role in helping the Royals storm to the Championship title and missed all but one league game that campaign. He then was an ever-present in the next two seasons in the Premier League but could not prevent them from being relegated in 2007/08. The following year he helped them battle for promotion, but they lost in the play-offs to Burnley.

After that defeat, he left the club in 2009 and went on to sign for Wolves who had just been promoted to the top-flight. Hahnemann spent two seasons with them before having short spells with Everton and then with Seattle Sounders FC.

In at third place in this list is defender John O’Shea, who makes this list having managed to make an appearance for the Royals at the age of 38 years 05 days during a goalless draw with Birmingham City in May 2019.

O’Shea was signed by the Royals on a free transfer in the summer of 2018 fresh from his exit from Sunderland after a turbulent 2017/18 campaign which ended in their relegation from the Championship. The former Manchester United defender was not able to make too much of an impact on the field in 2018/19 making just 11 appearances in all competitions.

However, the defender’s experience and character was vital around the dressing room and he was appointed to the position of first-team coach by the Royals after he decided to announce his retirement from football at the end of the 2018/19 season.

Coming in at second place on this list is former Reading forward Les Ferdinand who makes this list having appeared for the Royals at the age of 38 years 05 months 00 days during a 3-1 loss at Wigan Athletic in May 2005.

Ferdinand was a big-name coup for the Royals when he arrived at the club on a short-term contract towards the end of the 2004/05 campaign and it was an addition that showed the Royals were having ambitions to progress forwards as a club. The forward managed to score one goal which came against Coventry City in a 2-1 defeat and in total made 12 appearances for the club.

The forward left Reading at the end of his short-term deal and signed for Watford that summer, but he made little impact with the Hornets and retired shortly afterward. He has since been working as a coach at Championship side QPR and he is currently in the Director of Football position with the Rs.

Currently, Reading’s oldest ever player is former Arsenal and England legend Martin Keown, who makes this list having made an appearance for the club at the age of 38 years 09 months 06 days during a 2-1 defeat at home to Wolves in April 2005.

Keown, like Ferdinand, was a signing that was made more for the ambition it showed that the club could attract a big name player rather than for the results he could produce on the field. The defender was signed in January 2005 on a short-term contract until the end of the 2004/05 campaign as the Royals looked for some experience in their dressing room.

The former Arsenal stalwart would only go on to make five appearances for the club in the second half of the campaign as the Royals finished in 7th place in the Championship. The defender retired at the end of that contract and has since gone on to establish himself as a popular pundit, regularly appearing on both the BBC and also BT Sport.