Is this..?

[blue_army1871]

Is the game against Aston Villa the biggest in Reading's history? Or at least since 1927. If not, what is..?

[premiership_bound]

No

Think the pay off finals were more important at the time (and we lost those).

[Ian Royal]

No

Think the pay off finals were more important at the time (and we lost those).

Tier 2 play off final bigger. This is bigger than Tier 3 one IMO.
Simod Cup final bigger.
First top flight game bigger.

Most important? Well that's even harder to pin down than biggest.

[PEARCEY]

No

Think the pay off finals were more important at the time (and we lost those).

Tier 2 play off final bigger. This is bigger than Tier 3 one IMO.
Simod Cup final bigger.
First top flight game bigger.

Most important? Well that's even harder to pin down than biggest.

Agree with all of your comments bar one. I loved the Simod Cup run but it was a pretty meaningless tournament. Sunday's game is bigger than the Simod Cup Final IMO.

[Ian Royal]

It was a trophy involving top flight teams. That makes it pretty special to me. But I wasn't there. Before my time sadly.

[M-U-R-T-Y]

Reading. vs Birmingham last game of 08/09 was bigger for me. Think how drastically different our situation might be right now?

[Sun Tzu]

Simod Cup Final was way bigger IMHO.

This one is lowish on my personal list of 'big games'. It's nice to be here, but we're 3 games off winning anything and if we lose then in 2 weeks time no one will remember it.

The Simod was the first time we'd done anything of much significance, first final, first time at Wembley. It probably doesn;t seem much now but at the time it was probably the first awakening that made people realise the potential at the club.

[PEARCEY]

Simod Cup Final was way bigger IMHO.

This one is lowish on my personal list of 'big games'. It's nice to be here, but we're 3 games off winning anything and if we lose then in 2 weeks time no one will remember it.

The Simod was the first time we'd done anything of much significance, first final, first time at Wembley. It probably doesn;t seem much now but at the time it was probably the first awakening that made people realise the potential at the club.

Surprised you think that. Don't get me wrong the Forest, Coventry and Luton games will always be very fond memories for me but it had no kind of television coverage and was low profile although I do remember BBC news mentioned it towards the end of its programme that night.
The Villa game is much higher profile and if we win will result in so many more non Reading fans talking about us than the Simod Cup Final ever engendered.

[Ian Royal]

That's because our profile is massively bigger and we have about three or four times as many fans.

Winning a trophy >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> quarterfinal for the second or third time.

[Sun Tzu]

Simod Cup Final was way bigger IMHO.

This one is lowish on my personal list of 'big games'. It's nice to be here, but we're 3 games off winning anything and if we lose then in 2 weeks time no one will remember it.

The Simod was the first time we'd done anything of much significance, first final, first time at Wembley. It probably doesn;t seem much now but at the time it was probably the first awakening that made people realise the potential at the club.

Surprised you think that. Don't get me wrong the Forest, Coventry and Luton games will always be very fond memories for me but it had no kind of television coverage and was low profile although I do remember BBC news mentioned it towards the end of its programme that night.
The Villa game is much higher profile and if we win will result in so many more non Reading fans talking about us than the Simod Cup Final ever engendered.

Low profile ? The Simod game was way higher profile where it mattered - in Reading. We took 40,000 to the game, double the number that will be there on Sunday. If we beat Villa we'll small and be happy but no one will crack open the champagne or organise open top bus parades (i hope !!). Villa is one of 4 games on tele, possibly the one that will get the smallest audience. The win at Anfield would have generated more headlines than if we beat Villa IMHO.

Still looking forward to it, but it is ONLY a quarter final !

[PEARCEY]

The Simod Cup Final was low profile nationwide. It meant a lot in Reading and driving to Wembley and seeing Reading scarf after scarf on the roads was superb but it was only the Simod Cup. We are one game away from a massive show-piece occasion at Wembley and a match which would frankly dwarf the Simod Cup Final in my opinion.
I would also wager this FA Cup run is far more lucrative than the Simod Cup run was (obviously after making allowances for the 22 year time difference)

[Sun Tzu]

The Simod Cup Final was low profile nationwide. It meant a lot in Reading and driving to Wembley and seeing Reading scarf after scarf on the roads was superb but it was only the Simod Cup. We are one game away from a massive show-piece occasion at Wembley and a match which would frankly dwarf the Simod Cup Final in my opinion.

I think the highlight makes the point !

Win this and then I'd agree, but this is the one BEFORE the bigger one.

Personally (and respecting that you can have a different personal view !) there is no contest. A huge Wembley crowd for a game with a trophy at the end, our first final, our first game of anything close to national importance has to stand ahead of a quarter final that for me ranks below quite a few games.

Win it, and THEN we'll be talking the same language !!!

[PEARCEY]

The Simod Cup Final was low profile nationwide. It meant a lot in Reading and driving to Wembley and seeing Reading scarf after scarf on the roads was superb but it was only the Simod Cup. We are one game away from a massive show-piece occasion at Wembley and a match which would frankly dwarf the Simod Cup Final in my opinion.

I think the highlight makes the point !

Win this and then I'd agree, but this is the one BEFORE the bigger one.

Personally (and respecting that you can have a different personal view !) there is no contest. A huge Wembley crowd for a game with a trophy at the end, our first final, our first game of anything close to national importance has to stand ahead of a quarter final that for me ranks below quite a few games.

Win it, and THEN we'll be talking the same language !!!

......But we have to win this game to reach that massive show-piece occasion do we not? This is why Sunday is such a huge game. I would still say that irrespective of the lucrative rewards if we win... Sunday's match will have national coverage on television which the Simod Cup didn't have and involves a match in the latter stages of a competition which is hugely respected the world over. The Simod meant very little to most football fans and was derided in its time. This does not diminish its value to me and we did beat three full-strength top-flight teams to win the trophy..but I still consider Sunday to be bigger.
We could argue our respective positions all night and not change our stances. It doesn't matter its just a difference of opinion. What does matter is that we beat Villa.

[Ian Royal]

We had to beat West Brom to get here, to get there. Does that make it bigger than the Simod Cup Final too?

I see where you are coming from. Just can't agree. Still. All subjective ain't it.

[PEARCEY]

We had to beat West Brom to get here, to get there. Does that make it bigger than the Simod Cup Final too?

I see where you are coming from. Just can't agree. Still. All subjective ain't it.

Its surely fair to say that we are now at that stage of the tournament that is recognised as the "final stages". Its just that one game. Can you imagine Sunday night at the Madejski if we win. It will be special...mind you so was Elm Park when Gilksey's pen hit the net against Coventry in the Simod semi... not that I saw it because it was heaving that night. As you rightly say its all subjective. No-one can really say they are right or wrong on this...can they

[Ian Royal]

We had to beat West Brom to get here, to get there. Does that make it bigger than the Simod Cup Final too?

I see where you are coming from. Just can't agree. Still. All subjective ain't it.

Its surely fair to say that we are now at that stage of the tournament that is recognised as the "final stages". Its just that one game. Can you imagine Sunday night at the Madejski if we win. It will be special...mind you so was Elm Park when Gilksey's pen hit the net against Coventry in the Simod semi... not that I saw it because it was heaving that night. As you rightly say its all subjective. No-one can really say they are right or wrong on this...can they

They can. But they'd be wrong.

[eleventh earl of mar]

The Simod Cup Final was low profile nationwide. It meant a lot in Reading and driving to Wembley and seeing Reading scarf after scarf on the roads was superb but it was only the Simod Cup. We are one game away from a massive show-piece occasion at Wembley and a match which would frankly dwarf the Simod Cup Final in my opinion.

I think the highlight makes the point !

Win this and then I'd agree, but this is the one BEFORE the bigger one.

Personally (and respecting that you can have a different personal view !) there is no contest. A huge Wembley crowd for a game with a trophy at the end, our first final, our first game of anything close to national importance has to stand ahead of a quarter final that for me ranks below quite a few games.

Win it, and THEN we'll be talking the same language !!!

......But we have to win this game to reach that massive show-piece occasion do we not? This is why Sunday is such a huge game. I would still say that irrespective of the lucrative rewards if we win... Sunday's match will have national coverage on television which the Simod Cup didn't have and involves a match in the latter stages of a competition which is hugely respected the world over. The Simod meant very little to most football fans and was derided in its time. This does not diminish its value to me and we did beat three full-strength top-flight teams to win the trophy..but I still consider Sunday to be bigger.
We could argue our respective positions all night and not change our stances. It doesn't matter its just a difference of opinion. What does matter is that we beat Villa.

The final is respected the world over I grant you, but I would very much doubt that many oversea's people would be able to name quarter finalists over the past years.

[PEARCEY]

^ Maybe but there's even less chance they would have even heard of The Simod Cup let alone who won it!!!
This is my last contribution to this thread as I am knocking a competition which we won and gave me two great nights and one brilliant afternoon's entertainment.

[Royal Lady]

Brentford away was the biggest single game in this club's history IMHO.

Had we lost, I believe we would not have been in the championship for years, let alone in the premiership and may have imploded had Madejski thrown in the towel.

[RobRoyal]

if we lose then in 2 weeks time no one will remember it..

I'll remember it

It's not often you're in the last 8 of the cup.