Bradford City loanee Tom McIntyre opens up on tough times at boyhood club Reading and Portsmouth
THE perspective afforded to Tom McIntyre in his football career so far means that he can appreciate what is going on at Bradford City better than most.
Born and raised in Reading and a Royals season-ticket holder from a young age, the Bantams loanee can recollect some golden times watching the Berkshire outfit at English football’s top table as a child.
After coming through the youth ranks, he lived the dream and went onto play at senior level for his club, making over 100 appearances.
But his memories were somewhat tarnished by some fraught times in his final few seasons at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
The club were a basket case, quite frankly, amid a welter of off-the-field issues. Think of the current situation at Sheffield Wednesday and you are in a similar ball park.
McIntyre was sold to Portsmouth in early 2024 and now finds himself at City.
The overall positive vibe and feel-good factor is far removed from his latter experiences at Reading and it’s something he is fully embracing.
The defender, who joined on a season-long loan at the end of the summer window, said: "I can probably see both sides of it.
"The back end of my few years at Reading were so frustrating. And I am sure everyone knows about the troubles the club went through.
"As a player to be part of that, it wasn’t an environment where I thought I could grow as a player.
"I am coming into a really positive environment now and that was the polar opposite in a sense.
"I think everything that was happening at the club at the time, it seemed like everything was bashing you back down again. Not allowing you to show yourself or the squad in how good we were.
"It was just an uphill battle all the time. Like getting points deductions; we had them for three or four seasons.
"I think there was a stat that no club had taken more points off Reading than the owner in that period, which is just a shambles really.
"I am still a Reading fan and am delighted they are (now) back on track."
With City for the remainder of the campaign, McIntyre admits he is effectively in the shop window with his contract at Fratton Park expiring next summer.
The 26-year-old has also had a rough time of it on the south coast and hasn’t exactly been befriended by luck either.
A sending-off, allied to a season-ending ankle injury on his debut against Northampton Town in February 2024 was hardly what the doctor ordered and he played just 54 minutes in Pompey’s League One title-winning season.
A hamstring tear in a pre-season friendly that summer then added to his chagrin and his last appearance for the club was in January before heading on loan to Charlton Athletic.
A fresh loan move was always in the offing in the last summer window and he is understandably hoping for better fortune up north in his latest third-tier promotion quest.
McIntyre, who has started City's last two league matches, added: "Various things happened (in the summer at Portsmouth) and things get said and sometimes, you are a bit unsure.
"But it became clear to me as pre-season went on that I needed to go out on loan.
"I am in the last year of my deal at Portsmouth and needed to play and that’s why I wanted to get out.
"It’s been frustrating 18 months really. There’s been a lot of reasons and stuff. I’ve been chomping at the bit to get back to the football I know I can play.
"Fingers crossed, I can get back there, going forward.
"When Bradford popped up, I was so thankful that it did. It was a great opportunity for me to progress my career and I couldn’t have come to a better club to do that.
"I am chomping at the bit to really show people what I can do and how good I am as a player."
Meanwhile, Bantams manager Graham Alexander and right wing-back Josh Neufville are among the nominees for the League One manager and player-of-the-month awards for September.
City won three games out of four last month, headlined by superb victories over Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City, to move up to the summit.
Summer signing Neufville excelled in September, scoring in three successive games during the Bantams' scintillating run.
Alexander is vying for the managerial gong alongside Plymouth Argyle counterpart and Bradfordian Tom Cleverley, former City defender and Port Vale chief Darren Moore and Lincoln City head coach Michael Skubala, a one-time interim head coach at Leeds United.
Shortlisted for the players' accolade alongside former AFC Wimbledon player Neufville are Vale striker and ex-Barnsley frontman Devante Cole, Reading's Yorkshire-born forward Jack Marriott and Stevenage midfielder Harvey White.