Reading FC legend Jimmy Quinn was reunited with fans as he hosted a Q&A evening at the Purple Turtle last Sunday.
Quinn says he came very close to signing former Leicester City and Celtic midfielder Neil Lennon for Reading FC during his time as the club’s player-manager.
In a revealing Q&A event at the Purple Turtle on Sunday, the prolific former Reading striker also talked about how he lashed out at Scott Taylor in training and was almost released by the club as a result, and a falling out he had with defender Dariusz Wdowczyk during his time as joint manager.
Quinn scored 40 goals in Reading’s 1993-94 title winning season – and led the side out as joint player-manager at Wembley in 1995 as his team lost to Bolton Wanderers in the play-off final and missed out on the chance to play in the Premier League.
Revealing how close Reading were to signing Lennon – who went on to enjoy a glittering career with Leicester, Celtic and Northern Ireland – Quinn said: “A £400,000 fee was agreed with Crewe, but they came back and asked for an extra £50,000 and Sir John Madejski said no out of principle. We ended up signing Darren Caskey for £750,000 instead.”
Quinn, who travelled down to Reading from his home in the north west for the Q&A event, added: “I really enjoyed coming back to Reading and meeting the fans. It was great to look back at my time at the club – the title season was my best ever season in football.”
The striker, who was included in an all time greatest Reading FC XI, was also reunited with Holly Greenaway, who met him when she was a mascot at a game at Elm Park aged 10. Quinn was happy to recreate a photo she still has from that day.
The next Q&A at the Purple Turtle is with former Reading FC owner Sir John Madejski on the evening of Tuesday, July 15. For ticket information, send a WhatsApp or text message to 07842 627548.
