Late December 2009 saw our founding bloggers Lloyd and Lanterne Rouge convene on Home Park for a Championship encounter between Plymouth Argyle and Reading. The result? A 4-1 victory for the home side and a worrying episode in Brian McDermott’s spell as caretaker manager of the Royals following the sacking of Brendan Rodgers.

Is Winning all that matters? The day the “Reading Way” died, The Tilehurst End ^[1]

Happily, the Berkshire club’s board didn’t panic and a play-off final appearance, two FA Cup quarter finals and a league title were to ensue under the man affectionately known as Heston. This week, the chapter closed and if Jon Keen’s evocation of a semi-mystical ‘Reading Way’ is perhaps not a characteristic fans of other clubs would recognise, his elegy is a poignant one amid a cluster leaping to McDermott’s defence.

Relegation (with Apologies to Edgar A Poe), uptheline.org ^[2]

Speaking of which, fortunes for the opponents that day have differed rather wildly over those three short years. Now, and as chronicled by Lloyd earlier this week, Plymouth find themselves gazing into the abyss ^[3], while one of its supporters is turning to American poetry for succour.

Return of PNE’s Gentry, The Lancashire Evening Post ^[4]

To continue the sombre mood, we should highlight the fact that a large number of Preston North End supporters will descend on Griffin Park tomorrow sporting bowler hats. Fans wear the headgear in memory of those PNE followers and players who have died in the preceding year but with new boss Simon Grayson engineering a mini-revival at Deepdale, it’s likely the tribute will be turned into a positive one come 5pm.