Can Reading Become an Established Premier League Side?

It took a while to come but when it did, it was worth it. Leigertwood's goal against Nottingham Forest won Reading the game 1-0 and was enough to secure the Royals' return to the Premier League for the first time since that heart-breaking spring day in May 2008 when despite thumping Derby 4-0, they were relegated from the Premier League.

It has somewhat surprised me how long Reading have taken to bounce back up to the top flight. They were quite unfortunate to drop out of the Premier League when they did - only relegated because they scored 3 less goals than Fulham who finished 17th and stayed up. While they had shipped 7 goals against Pompey and 6 against Tottenham in two weeks that season, they still looked like they would stay up that season. But a horror run from spring meant they fell into a relegation scrap which they lost - effectively going down by default.

Reading lurched from one playoff drama to another over the next 4 years and seemed to be the next Ipswich Town; Ipswich of course were relegated in 2002, the season after they almost made the Champions League in their first season back up, and haven't really recovered since.

So can the Royals under Brian McDermott make it a longer stay in England's top flight this time? Like Swansea, Norwich and Wigan before them, the Royals look like a side who will play attractive football to stay up and given the calibre of players currently at the club along with potential signings in the summer, Reading look prepared to stay up for at least one season.

What ultimately brought them down though was their second season and if McDermott can master that in the 2014-15 season if they stay up, then Reading could be set for a long spell in the Premier League. The trouble is, if McDermott impresses enough in his first season in the Premier League, will he become easy prey for the bigger and more established clubs in the league?

But for now, Royals fans can finally celebrate a promotion that has been long coming.