‘We bumped into promotion rivals in Marbella – they paid our bill not knowing’
Ex-Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell recalled the time that he and his Reading teammates tricked Sheffield United players into playing their bill whilst in Marbella.
Sidwell was a part of Reading’s all-conquering Championship side of 2006 that topped the table with a record-breaking 106 points – 14 points ahead of Sheffield United who finished in 2nd place.
The Royals won 31 games during their promotion season and also recorded a sneaky win off the pitch over the Blades’ squad who they beat to the league title and dropped their bar tab on whilst celebrating in Spain.
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Sidwell spoke about Reading’s adventures after confirming promotion on Peter Crouch’s podcast, saying: “Good dressing room, good time.
(Image: Getty Images)
“We got the record still, 106 points, Championship 100 goals and we was promoted I think by March.
“Put it this way, we got promoted in March, we went to Marbella twice ‘mid-season training’ before the end of the season in the space of six weeks.”
But it was the second trip back to Spain that saw the Royals pull a fast one on Neil Warnock’s Blades side: “The second time Sheffield United was there with us,” Sidwell said.
“Because they went up as well and we was at that Plaza Beach on the front and we were both there two tables next to each other, it wasn’t overly busy and there was obviously drinks flying around.
“And then we left and we stuck all our bill on their (Sheffield United) bill as well, they got our bill and they didn’t even know about it – have some of that.
Can you remember Reading’s 2005/06 side? Let us know in the comments section.
(Image: YouTube)
“We came back and we still won every game.”
Sidwell revealed that the respect for manager Steve Coppell was a key reason behind Reading’s success which allowed them to head to the beach earlier than their rivals, he continued: “The manager was Steve Coppell – brilliant, great guy.
“He was one of those managers where if you played bad you came off you felt like it was your dad.
“You’d apologise, ‘oh sorry, I was s*** today,’ and he’d go ‘okay Siddy, no problem.’
“Good times though, good club.”
The former Arsenal academy graduate helped Reading finish 8th in their first season in the Premier League before joining Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea on a free transfer in 2007.
