Fans Forum

[PieEater]

After reading this quite interesting thread with some great responses from Dirk, CR and Star Liaison (condolences to you) I really wonder why anyone would want to be a STAR member at all. Ask yourself would you do it, is it really worth the grief.

[Green]

TBF if you dont like a new shirt each year dont buy it. There have been dozens of shirts over the last twenty odd years, you can wear any off them and be part of the club. FFS some even wear retro R Friday shirts. Who cares that much, also hasnt the price dropped relatively, we are not Man Utd here.

That's fine 2-0, but most replica shirts are sold to under 18s, that's the market. There will be supporters with kids constantly pressuring them to buy the latest kit, all their mates have the latest shirt, and it can prove difficult to resist.

It's exploitation pure and simple.

Agreed, but IMHO it's more of a parenting problem than a football problem - it's only exploitation if people allow themselves to be exploited.

Yeh there's something in that I guess. Certainly not just a football problem - just look at people's obsession with having the latest iPhone.

[P!ssed Off]

TBF if you dont like a new shirt each year dont buy it. There have been dozens of shirts over the last twenty odd years, you can wear any off them and be part of the club. FFS some even wear retro R Friday shirts. Who cares that much, also hasnt the price dropped relatively, we are not Man Utd here.

£42 for a short sleeved shirt with £12 for name printing - not sure it's dropped - but agreed, if you don't like/can't afford - don't buy it. I bought one this year, which is the first one in about 5 years - certainly don't subscribe to the "got to have a new shirt every season" brigade.

If you're not bothered about having the latest kit you could have picked one up at the end of last season when they sell them off at about £10 each.
I picked up two long sleeves (much more comfortable than short sleeves) a few of seasons ago at knockoff value, will probably do the same at the end of this season.
But tbh the club could be selling me a shirt from 5 seasons ago for all I care, as long as it's got blue and white hoops they all look the same to me.

[Hoop Blah]

TBF if you dont like a new shirt each year dont buy it. There have been dozens of shirts over the last twenty odd years, you can wear any off them and be part of the club. FFS some even wear retro R Friday shirts. Who cares that much, also hasnt the price dropped relatively, we are not Man Utd here.

I don't really care about the shirts in terms of buying them. The last kit I brought was made by Brookes which probably gives an idea of it's relevance to me.

I do like the kit to look like a Reading kit though as that's something which identifies my club and, in some ways frames the season or era at the club. I even remember Kevin Dillon commenting how the players at last felt good in the kits during the early '90s and I think the psychological impact of the kits can sometimes be a help.

Basically though, the kit, and the frequency it's changed, is and issue for many fans. Brendy used it as an example of where STAR shouldn't just take the general feeling from here or twitter and use that as come basis of their actions. I was just countering that with the fact that they seem to have done pretty much that, but with no positive effect.

[RoyalBlue]

TBF if you dont like a new shirt each year dont buy it. There have been dozens of shirts over the last twenty odd years, you can wear any off them and be part of the club. FFS some even wear retro R Friday shirts. Who cares that much, also hasnt the price dropped relatively, we are not Man Utd here.

£42 for a short sleeved shirt with £12 for name printing - not sure it's dropped - but agreed, if you don't like/can't afford - don't buy it. I bought one this year, which is the first one in about 5 years - certainly don't subscribe to the "got to have a new shirt every season" brigade.

If you're not bothered about having the latest kit you could have picked one up at the end of last season when they sell them off at about £10 each.
I picked up two long sleeves (much more comfortable than short sleeves) a few of seasons ago at knockoff value, will probably do the same at the end of this season.
But tbh the club could be selling me a shirt from 5 seasons ago for all I care, as long as it's got blue and white hoops they all look the same to me.

Relatively little chance of you getting one with blue and white hoops unless it is from a good many seasons ago!

The bullshyte about regulations requiring a plain back on shirts is about as credible as the claim that FA regulations forbid the scoreboard clock counting up the minutes, rather than down! Funny how those regulations disappeared when they wanted to make it easier for the less clever supporters to applaud at the right minute!

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Isn't there a whole. massive, thread about kit design already? Let's not divert to that here....

[reading_fan]

TBF if you dont like a new shirt each year dont buy it. There have been dozens of shirts over the last twenty odd years, you can wear any off them and be part of the club. FFS some even wear retro R Friday shirts. Who cares that much, also hasnt the price dropped relatively, we are not Man Utd here.

£42 for a short sleeved shirt with £12 for name printing - not sure it's dropped - but agreed, if you don't like/can't afford - don't buy it. I bought one this year, which is the first one in about 5 years - certainly don't subscribe to the "got to have a new shirt every season" brigade.

It's down a little bit then, IIRC it was £18 for names and numbers last year

[RoyalBlue]

Isn't there a whole. massive, thread about kit design already? Let's not divert to that here....

How about diverting to the other issue of the 'compulsory' counting down clock then?