They reckon that if you want to win a league then you have to have a bit of luck along the way. I just hope that we didn't use it all up today. This was Rangers poorest performance of the season yet we still managed to escape with a point. Somehow.

The majority of the crowd was disappointed that Doudou was not handed his full league debut by Holloway. Those who were at the Northampton game saw the rare sight of a Rangers forward attacking players with the ball at his feet and at a blistering pace. It came as a surprise when Stuart Wardley was selected ahead of him.

As the game began it was quickly apparent that Readings billing as the bookies favourites to win this division was justified. Neat passing football, solid defence and the sort of counter-attacking qualities that would have many a back four worried. As early as the fifth minute Reading had a reasonable shout for a penalty turned down. Ex-Brentford striker Nicky Forster burst through the Rangers rearguard, as he tangled with Steve Palmer he went to ground only to see the referee turn away his request.

I must make a special mention of Barry Knight, the official for today's game. He is a Premiership referee and can't you just tell. He managed to combine an ability to spot the most minor of fouls with an ability to knock any flow out of the game. He ended up booking Bignot, Thomson, McEwan and Doudou for single fouls yet Reading's Tony Rougier committed ten fouls before he was taken off and wasn't even spoken to. These sorts of inconsistencies are the reason that referees get so much bad press and I am sad to say that the majority of it is justified.

Reading had much the better of the first half and it was a relief to get to half time break at 0-0. Their midfield was totally dominant and Marcus Bignot seemed subdued for the second game in a row. I am not sure what the problem is. He is still running around like a lunatic but it doesn't seem to be happening for him. I am also afraid that Alex Bonnot might be a little bit lightweight for this division. With the departure of Sammy Koejoe an alleged 12% of our wage budget is now available, this must surely be spent on a good creative midfielder.

The second half followed the pattern of the first with Reading again in the ascendancy. It was in this half that we were given our massive slice of luck. The referee harshly gave a freekick against Aziz Ben-Askar when he seemed to have won yet another towering header. Readings Harper stepped up and curled a beautiful shot over the wall and into the net. He then proceeded to run to the halfway line and into the arms of the waiting Martin Allen. At this point, the whole ground realised that the kindly linesman had flagged for offside. I have never seen a direct freekick disallowed for offside and would like to see this one again. Needless to say, the Reading faithful behind the goal were not impressed. Shame.

This seemed to give Rangers the kick up the arse they needed. Dave McEwan nearly opened his account for the club after his appearance as a second half substitute. The sadly underworked Phil Whitehead turned his fierce strike from 25 yards over the bar. Unfortunately this was the only save he had to make.

I came out of the ground disappointed with our performance but delighted to have gained a point. The only real positives that can be taken out of the game were the performances of two of our French imports Aziz Ben-Askar and Doudou. Ben-Askar was as solid as always and often needed to be. Although the performance of Steve Palmer was satisfactory it was not the sort of standard we have come to expect. I was a little surprised that he was given man-of-the-match at the game. Ben-Askar would have got my vote.

Doudou was brilliant when he came on. This little fella is going to earn a big place in the hearts of the Rangers fans. We love a player with a devil may care attitude and he certainly has one of those. My only criticism is that he sometimes wanted to pass the ball from too deep when he was deployed on the right flank. I believe he would have been better served going at their fullback as he was scaring him half to death.

We will need to play a lot better than this at Wycombe Wanderers if we want to remain unbeaten. I think if by the time 4.45 comes around on Bank Holiday Monday we have ten points from a possible twelve we have got to be happy. This next week is going to be crucial especially with the visit of Bristol City on Thursday night. If we want to win we must surely find a starting place for Doudou and try to find out what will make our midfield tick again. Come on 'Olly, we know you can do it.