Reading City Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Taine McDonald, as the new manager of our Youth Squad.

Taine was a prolific goalscorer who graced the local non-league scene in the late nineties early 00’s, and is a former club captain, having played for us during our Highmoor Ibis era and is regarded as a Club Legend, as a result of the leading the side to a Reading Senior League (now the Thames Valley Premier League) Senior Division Championship, without losing a single match in 2003/04.

Their incredible feat saw us become the first ever Reading League side to win the title without losing a game and finished 11 points clear of closest rivals Cookham Dean.

Our Invincibles narrowly missed out on an unprecedented treble having also crowned Champions of the Maidenhead Norfolkian’s Cup but lost the Berkshire Trophy Centre Senior Cup at Madejski Stadium.

Sadly, at the time facilities at Scours Lane didn’t meet the Hellenic League ground requirements and had no alternative pitch, we were unable to accept the promotion to Step 6 and would therefore stay in the Reading League Senior Division (now Thames Valley Premier League).

In 2005/06, Taine was part of the squad that led the club to winning the Reading Senior Cup in beating Woodley Town at the Madejski Stadium as well as clinching our first Post Senior Cup triumph, beating Royal Mail at the Madejski Stadium.

Since leaving the club, Taine has been coaching at Eldon Celtic. A club that has nurtured several youngsters from Reading and the surrounding area who have gone on to play professional football, the most notable being Darnell Fisher who signed for Scottish giants, Celtic.

With this experience, he’s a perfect fit as we look to strengthen our player pathway. Something we are extremely proud of, as in recent years we’ve seen multiple players progressing through the club’s academy to reach our First Team, along with our proven record of pushing players on to higher levels in the non-league pyramid.

Club Chairman, Martin Law who was Gaffer at the time Taine played for us prior to being appointed Chairman, had this to say:

“I am thrilled to welcome Taine back to the club. He played for me during some of the club’s most successful years and will now be fundamental in building the next generation of greats.

We’ve been open and honest this summer that we want to build a winning mentality and environment right through the club and with Taine’s appointment as our brand-new Youth Squad manager, this couldn’t ring truer.

Aa a former club captain, he understands what makes this club, the brilliant club that is and on behalf of the board of directors, I would like to wish him the very best of luck in his new role”.

First Team Manager & Head Coach, Simon Johnson had this to say on Taine’s return to the club:

“I’d like to welcome Taine to the senior setup within the club and look forward to working with him.

Whilst I’ve never had the pleasure of working with him before now, I’m aware of what he achieved whilst playing for us and how it was pivotal to the growth of the club.

We’ve spoken about the winning culture and environment we’re trying to instil a lot this summer, and to have a club legend like Taine returning to shape our future by developing the next generation of players is fantastic.”

We also spoke to Taine about returning to the club and what we can expect from him as a manager:

“It’s good to be back under the leadership of Martin Law. He made me an offer I could not refuse, same as when I played for him. When he came and approached me as a player and asked me to be his captain and we went and won everything locally with the players that he recruited and was honoured by Reading for our contribution to sports in the community.

I will be looking to bring a lot of fresh hungry young footballers that want to play with an attacking carefree style and will be willing to wear the shirt with pride as I did it’s good to be a part of a club that I have great memories with.”