Former Reading legend Steve Sidwell believes that Leicester City will not break his team’s record of 106 points in a Championship season. Leicester City, the 2016 Premier League champions, were relegated last season but have started strong in the Championship, earning 39 points from their first 15 matches and holding a nine-point lead over third-place Leeds United.
Sidwell was a key player in Reading’s record-breaking 2005/06 season, where they won 106 points on their way to the Championship title. In a conversation with former Premier League winner Tim Sherwood on the No Tippy Tappy Podcast, Sidwell expressed his skepticism about Leicester’s chances to break the record.
He mentioned the remarkable start to their championship-winning season, where they lost their first game but then went on a 36-game (33-game) unbeaten run, including a run of 10 consecutive wins during Christmas.
Sidwell acknowledged the challenge of maintaining consistency in the Championship, saying, “Winning is a habit, it is momentum. They could do it, but it’s relentless in that league. It can come up and bite you. I’m going to say no.”
Sherwood, who has experience as a top-flight manager with Tottenham and Aston Villa, added that while it will be a tough task, Leicester has a squad filled with Premier League players and might be capable of achieving it.
For comparison, at the same stage of the season, Reading had 34 points after 15 matches and didn’t even hold the top spot in the league, eventually reaching the summit on matchday 19 and remaining there.