Mooney desperate for Royals chance

Irish striker Mooney was signed 2 summers ago by then manager Steve Coppell, when he was picked up from Cork City for £250,000. Since then however things have not gone to plan for the forward who has yet to make his league debut at the Madejski Stadium.


Despite some encouraging displays in the Carling Cup, he has been farmed out on loan to Stockport, Norwich and Charlton where he spent most of last season. He did well at the Valley but the Addicts fell short of promotion in the play off’s and now cannot afford to make the move permanent.


Mooney, who returns to pre season training at Hogwood on Thursday, though have said he wants to stay and fight for his place at the Madejski Stadium. He spoke to the Irish Herald, ‘I plan to go back to Reading and see how things go. I have no idea how it will pan out for me but I feel I can play a part for Reading next season and I want to do that.’


He also insisted that Brian McDermott wanted to bring him back last season but he instead opted to keep playing first team football at Charlton. ‘He was in touch with me last season after he got the manager’s job and he wanted to bring me back to Reading from my loan spell with Charlton.’


Whilst Mooney claims to have never been given a chance, 3 different managers have failed to even give him his league debut yet alone a regular place in their sides so perhaps that says something? He has hardly set the world alight in terms of goalscoring at any loan spell, but I wait to be proven wrong and look forward to watching him in pre season.


The only striker we have in his mould is Grzegorz Rasiak, so who knows what could happen.