Have Reading peaked ?

[harryroyal]

F*ck off Noel. Love from Liam.

[PBR]

Maybe I am alone in this but ever since our first relegation from the Premier League I have just felt disillusioned about top tier football. When we are not in the PL we spend all the time trying to get back, and once we bite into that forbidden fruit the best ourselves and half the other league is hope to stay in it another year. What is realistically the best Reading can do now? Top half finish? Just stay in the league? Is it enjoyable being the proverbial punching bag for the rest of the league and just keep praying we have the chance to do it again next year? I know for most people here when they became Reading fans it was more of a second team to their support of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, etc.. so when we get relegated it's just a bit of shrug of the shoulders and "theres always next year".. I just find myself hovering over the register button over at the Reading Town and Windsor forum..

Have Reading peaked? Can't see into the future, so who knows. But enjoy the ride, no matter how many twists and turns there may be.

Some might say we should just roll with it, but I'm just curious what the masterplan is with Reading this season.

[noelgallagher]

F*ck off Noel. Love from Liam.

Funny guy. By the way, Liam can't spell mate so I call your bluff.

[harryroyal]

I really don't like the prem. I miss when we were tin pot and we had our elm park.

*waits for abuse*

[windermere_royal]

I really don't like the prem. I miss when we were tin pot and we had our elm park.

*waits for abuse*

Wait no longer....Feck off.

[SHORT AND CURLY]

Changing the script of the same old story in the PL takes time. Nowadays the likes of Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Blackburn are average teams who were once key players in English football. More recently Liverpool and now Arsenal are losing their way at the top and someone has to replace them. For Reading, we're a million miles away, but one day in the future it would be nice to think its our turn to step up to the plate. Right now, enjoy it while we can, even if we are complete dogshit.

Pretty much what I thought, perhaps if there were more single team Reading fans there would be more pressure on the organization to try to further Reading to the next level.. but most fans once we are out of the Premier League just return to redandwhitekop, cfcnet, etc. Any decent player makes a name for himself, gets sold and then we spend another few years trying to rebuild the team. It's going to take a rich saudi of somesort to take Reading to the next level and until then it's just yo-yoing, licking our wounds after every defeat, praying that we survive.. while that might be pleasurable for some.. for us suffering with high blood pressure, it's just not a healthy way to support a team... we've hit the fiscal cliff, it's either pay up or go home and so far Reading is already preparing for another season in the championship. I'd love to be wrong, but what seems more likely for us.. winning the Premier League or being relegated? Sadly blind positivity doesn't do much for results on the field.

For the last few seasons we find ourselves with something to play for, be it relegation, promotion or title chasing. To me that is what football is about.
We don't generally do mediocrity!

Give me High Blood Pressure and something to play for any day.

[Stranded]

Maybe I am alone in this but ever since our first relegation from the Premier League I have just felt disillusioned about top tier football. When we are not in the PL we spend all the time trying to get back, and once we bite into that forbidden fruit the best ourselves and half the other league is hope to stay in it another year. What is realistically the best Reading can do now? Top half finish? Just stay in the league? Is it enjoyable being the proverbial punching bag for the rest of the league and just keep praying we have the chance to do it again next year? I know for most people here when they became Reading fans it was more of a second team to their support of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, etc.. so when we get relegated it's just a bit of shrug of the shoulders and "theres always next year".. I just find myself hovering over the register button over at the Reading Town and Windsor forum..

Hi Kes, got another user name?

[under the tin]

We don't generally do mediocrity!

I think that this statement is the most accurate pointer as to the difference in mind-set between old school Reading fans like myself, and others who have become fans latterly.
We have picked up these fans because over the last twenty or so years, the club have changed from previously being utterly synonymous with mediocrity.
Prior to, IMHO, McGhee, we might have had the odd goodish season, maybe a venture into the 4th round (woooh) of the cup, but most of the time we were grubbing around in divisions 3 and 4, usually with about 4-5000 diehards like myself at EP.

I suppose the other factor involved here is the modern penchant for instant gratification. Some don't seem to be able to comprehend the concept that some things take time to build. The monolithic clubs referrred to above didn't just open their turnstiles on day one, and immediately have 45000 regular attendees. For example, prior to Shankly's arrival in the early sixties, Liverpool were very much Merseyside's poor relations.
The wider support for the brand grows over time, as is evidenced by the increase in attendances at the Madstad, and ST's in particular.

Some point to Citeh and Chelsea as being proof that chucking money at a club can short-circuit the growth process. I would point out that growth is relative. Both those clubs were already much bigger organisations, with a bigger afiliation to their respective brands than Reading have ever been.

For Reading to join the monoliths is possible, but I think it's unlikely. We're a corner shop mini-mart in a trading war with Tesco, WalMart, etc., and these powerful "players" are calling the shots as to where the lion's share of the money ends up. The dice Is loaded.

We are what we are. We have a better stadium than *xf*rd, Sw*nd*n, Aldersh*t, play higher up the league ladder than any of them, and have more season ticket holders than the average total home attendances at all three clubs combined.

That'll do for me, Tommy (copyright Bobby Ball)

[Millsy]

Reading have just started going places.

[Terminal Boardom]

Well, my life has not got suddenly worse since I stopped going to watch Reading. Attending games at the Mad Stad started to become a chore. Spending silly amounts of time and money for what? Piss poor football, limited concourse facilities, over-eager stewards and cardboard cut out supporters (I was in the Upper West). Getting home more and more miserable after each game and decided enough was enough. Therefore, I got involved with Windsor and rediscovered my love of the game.

Being able to go to games within easy travelling distance, talking football with like-minded people connected with the opposing club, visiting a load of football grounds where facilities ranged from basic to laughable, having a reasonable pint and still having change out of 20 quid, it was a no brainer for me. Does not mean that I am right and everyone else is wrong as it is a case of each to their own.

I have the utmost respect for the supporters of any football club who make the effort to go to games both home and away. These are the ones who make the game what it is.