by paddy20 » 05 Sep 2014 14:30
by Norfolk Royal » 05 Sep 2014 14:56
by Arnie_Pie » 05 Sep 2014 14:59
by RoyalBlue » 05 Sep 2014 15:01
by SPARTA » 05 Sep 2014 15:19
paddy20 Perhaps its time we all took stock of the Reading situation and football in general:
Lets look at some of the facts;
1. Reading will never be a big club. We don't have the fan base or the ground size to ever develop into one.
by Elm Park Pasty » 05 Sep 2014 15:43
by paddy20 » 05 Sep 2014 16:06
SPARTApaddy20 Perhaps its time we all took stock of the Reading situation and football in general:
Lets look at some of the facts;
1. Reading will never be a big club. We don't have the fan base or the ground size to ever develop into one.
You can't say facts and then provide a personal opinion. Are you aware of Chelsea's fan base in the early 90's? Stadiums can be expanded (ours to 38k before knocking stands down)
Let me tell you something, as I assume you're a young'un. When I first started watching the club, it was early 90's. I went with my father and his brothers. They all said we'd never see this club in a state of the art new stadium, we'd never see top flight football, we'd never have a current Reading player play for England, and so on...
Well we've achieved all of that and more!
Nowadays it's "we'll never play in europe, we'll never see a stadium expansion, we'll never..."
Yes we will!
by P!ssed Off » 05 Sep 2014 16:17
paddy20 Lets look at some of the facts;
.......
by Ian Royal » 05 Sep 2014 17:11
by melonhead » 05 Sep 2014 17:18
3. But they are out there and on the right terms (and seller) might well be interested
4. Disagree
by thirtyyarder » 05 Sep 2014 20:29
by strap » 05 Sep 2014 22:52
by Caversham Royal » 06 Sep 2014 01:31
paddy20 Perhaps its time we all took stock of the Reading situation and football in general:
Lets look at some of the facts;
1. Reading will never be a big club. We don't have the fan base or the ground size to ever develop into one.
2. To exist (i.e stay above relegation) in the premiership you have to spend at least £25 - 30m with a large wage bill to do that. To fund that you need billionaires that don't mid losing lots of money.
3. There are very few billionaires like that around
4.From now on we should accept being a mid-table championship club with the occasional flirtation with the play-offs as success
5. We should start to be proud of our young players and having players of the Gooding and Parkinsons type who want to play for us instead of the money grabbing mercenaries who want maximum reward for minimum effort
6.Be proud that we did at least make it into the premiership but realise the premiership is now all about money and greed
7. Lower our expectations and start to enjoy watching again.
Lets face it football and the obscene amount of money being pumped into it at premiership level cannot last. In the long run better to be on the outside looking in that be part of the disaster waiting to happen.
What do others think?
by glass half full » 06 Sep 2014 03:37
strap A long long time ago, in the summer of 1970, my dear old mum took me for lunch at The Rendevous Restaurant along the Oxford Road, can't even remember the occasion. Long gone now, it was somewhere near Wantage Road I think.
I had started going to matches in March of that year, aged about 10 or 11, and had been totally transfixed by Jack Mansell's brand of football, tippy tappy football long before Barcelona allegedly invented it.
Anyway, at the next table was a group of RFC players, and after whispering this fact to my dear old Mum, (who knew shag all about football so I thought), she went over to them and started talking about the upcoming Watney Cup game against Manchester United. Well I was amazed that she knew anything as momentous as this was happening to RFC! Being brazen, she asked them if they had a spare ticket for me. Sadly none of them did, but promised to sort something out for me and gave her a number at the club to ring to get things moving.
Well walking back to the bus stop after the meal, she asked me why I supported a small team like RFC. For some weird reason, I said that they were small now, but that I would see them win a Wembley Cup Final AND one day play in the First Division. She looked at me with that sad resigned look of a parent not wishing to burst a youngsters dreams, but knowing full well that's that all they were - just dreams. Of course 18 years later my first prediction came true, and 18 years after that, so did my second!
I really loved reading that post! Dreams are what sustain us and our love for the game and Reading FC.
Unfortunately, it is all too easy to be swept up in a tidal wave of cynicism.
For anyone still reading this inebriated drivel, the moral of the story is that the most outrageously wild expectations really can come true. Who knows, in another 18 years we could be ruling the roost in the PL, or indeed Europe. It sounds absolutely ludicrous at present, but then so did my assertions back in 1970.
Sadly I didn't mention anything about RFC winning a Eurpoean competition all those years ago. Perhaps if I had done, we could have been looking forward to a Eurpoa League win in 2024!
Thank you and goodnight. Hic.
PS Yes, the Club did provide a WC ticket - although we had to pay full price for it! If you watch the YouTube video of it, I am to the right of the Tilehurst End goal, waving a green Park Lane Primary School jumper. Happy days!
by glass half full » 06 Sep 2014 03:45
by strap » 06 Sep 2014 04:22
glass half full Sorry, Strap. My computer/fingers jumped and my reply became buried in your text.
"I really loved reading that post! Dreams are what sustain us and our love for the game and Reading FC.
Unfortunately, it is all too easy to be swept up in a tidal wave of cynicism."
I can really relate to your thoughts, however.
by Royal Rother » 06 Sep 2014 08:56
by Agent Balti » 06 Sep 2014 10:27
by tmesis » 06 Sep 2014 21:52
Agent Balti Considering the last 10 years have been nothing but the epitome of change, I'm totally calling shenanigans on that drivel.
Promotions, relegations, close to European football (once), Wembley appearances, Play-off woe (and some semi-joy), new owners, bad owners, no owner(ish), oh yeah, we're a club that does absolutely nothing!!
And like Strap says, anyone that's stood on the South Bank and ever thought "We'll always be in this position, we'll never amount to anything..." - and believe me, it was easy to imagine, fast forward to where we are now. It is a light year away from piss dribbling around your ankles to the present day. Maybe we don't really want to be all Premier League and swallowed up by the circus within, but we've got no choice but to follow and enjoy the ride. It's in the blood, innit.
by paultheroyal » 07 Sep 2014 00:24
paddy20 Perhaps its time we all took stock of the Reading situation and football in general:
Lets look at some of the facts;
1. Reading will never be a big club. We don't have the fan base or the ground size to ever develop into one.
2. To exist (i.e stay above relegation) in the premiership you have to spend at least £25 - 30m with a large wage bill to do that. To fund that you need billionaires that don't mid losing lots of money.
3. There are very few billionaires like that around
4.From now on we should accept being a mid-table championship club with the occasional flirtation with the play-offs as success
5. We should start to be proud of our young players and having players of the Gooding and Parkinsons type who want to play for us instead of the money grabbing mercenaries who want maximum reward for minimum effort
6.Be proud that we did at least make it into the premiership but realise the premiership is now all about money and greed
7. Lower our expectations and start to enjoy watching again.
Lets face it football and the obscene amount of money being pumped into it at premiership level cannot last. In the long run better to be on the outside looking in that be part of the disaster waiting to happen.
What do others think?
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