Former Reading star Nick Blackman has acknowledged that it still “hurts” to this day that he “had a cry” upon learning he was left off of the 2015 FA Cup semi-final squad.
Joining from Sheffield United back in 2013, the winger-turned-forward was a regular for the Royals in 2014/15- playing 43 times.
However, the Barbados international missed out on one of the biggest occasions in the club’s history, after Steve Clarke’s side reached the last four of the FA Cup.
Due to face serial winners Arsenal, the forward recalled a meeting with Clarke on the day of the game in an interview with the Tilehurst End.
“We got on a decent run and come the Wembley game I remember he called me into his office,” he stated. “When the player in front of me simply turned to walk away and shook his head, I knew that was probably not good news. He was there with his coach, Kev Keen, and I recall him telling me, “Unfortunately, you’re going to miss out on the bench today.”
“Even though I didn’t play or start, I was still a member of the squads, which hurt me. When he first started, I wasn’t really a starter, but I would usually come on and play for fifteen to twenty minutes, so suddenly, it clicked with me. All I can recall is that as soon as I experienced this numbness, I ran to Chris Gunter and Garath McCleary’s room and started crying. Among the squad, those two were most likely my closest friends. We were close, so even though they were comforting me, I felt bad because I knew they might be playing the biggest game of their lives in a few hours. After I finished crying, I rolled up my sleeves and went behind the
After Alexis Sanchez scored a brace, Reading forced the eventual champions into extra time, where they ultimately lost 2-1.
Blackman scored 13 goals in 28 games during his best half of the 2015–16 season, which ended in January 2016, when he moved for £3.5 million to Derby County.
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