The Royals were edged out by just a point by Bolton in the race for UEFA Cup football in a 2006-07 campaign whose highlights saw them draw with Manchester United and Chelsea, beat Tottenham, do the double over Manchester City and thump West Ham 6-0 as striker Kevin Doyle scored 13 top-flight goals. And Shorey said of his current employers: "There are definitely similarities. "Obviously Reading was a special time. We all came together at the right time and the right age. "We were in the Championship and had an amazing season, then we carried that on to the Premier League." Shorey believes that the amount of ex-Reading players still plying their trade in the top division is testimony to the quality of that side, even though they may not have realised it at the time. Doyle, Stephen Hunt and Marcus Hahnemann are part of Wolves' resilient side, Steve Sidwell moved on to Chelsea before joining Aston Villa and Dave Kitson was snapped up by Stoke, though he is currently on loan at Portsmouth. Shorey said: "If you look at the amount of players from that team who are still in the Premier League at good clubs, I think it shows how good the team we did have was." "Only looking back did we realise how good a team we were." The left-back added that the mood around his current team, and the lack of fear, reminds him of his days at the Madejski. He said: "There's a similar confidence, we believe we can go into any game and win." West Brom are two points better off than Reading were after nine games in 2006, and Shorey says Roberto Di Matteo's calm management style reminds him of his former boss Steve Coppell. He said: "We've got good coaches here who are very calm and level-headed if we win or lose. That's important. "Steve Coppell was very similar, whenever he talked, you listened. He didn't scream and shout all of the time, but when he did say something you made sure you took it on board." But when asked to choose between the teams, Shorey said his status as a Baggies newcomer prevents him from making a decision. He said: "I wouldn't say either was a better team, it's quite hard to say. I had so many years at Reading and had so many friends in that team. "I've only just come into West Brom and wasn't here last season, so it's a bit different to me. It does seem like a very tight-knit squad."
