1993-1995 vs 2005-2007

[No Fixed Abode]

2005 spawned the dawn of the Soccer Am mongdiv Reading fan so 93-95 was definitely better.

[Dr_Hfuhruhurr]

Exeter 4 Reading 6.
But no Glenn Little - you take your picks.

I suppose its all personal. I did most of my Away games in the Pardew era so, for me, thats always been best. Thats when we sang Blue Army at the proper speed.

[sandman]

2005 spawned the dawn of the Soccer Am mongdiv Reading fan so 93-95 was definitely better.

Fortunately Chelsea fans have always been utter c[u]nts so Abramovich turning up didn't really make much difference to them.

[floyd__streete]

2005 spawned the dawn of the Soccer Am mongdiv Reading fan so 93-95 was definitely better.

I remember us giving West Ham under Pardew an absolute (on pitch) shooing in 2005, we were 3-0 up and the East Stand starting seal-clapping and chanting EA-SAY EA-SAY which I found amusing as it wound up the WHam fans no end. The I discovered it was a set piece from that absolute aberration of a television programme Soccer AM and our fans continued to do it for 2 or 3 years to come Worth mentioning though that the goon responsible for it on that ghastly show was a Chelsea fan

To be fair to Reading supporters, they have largely rejected gimmicks imposed on them by the club. Rumblestix and clapper boards were panned and generally discarded onto the pitch. Conversely, QPR and Leicester fans took to Rumblestix and clapper boards respectively with real vigour and both were on regular display and well used at their respective grounds So to say it is just Reading fans who have contracted the Soccer AM Disease would be false.

[John Smith]

2005 spawned the dawn of the Soccer Am mongdiv Reading fan so 93-95 was definitely better.

I remember us giving West Ham under Pardew an absolute (on pitch) shooing in 2005, we were 3-0 up and the East Stand starting seal-clapping and chanting EA-SAY EA-SAY which I found amusing as it wound up the WHam fans no end. The I discovered it was a set piece from that absolute aberration of a television programme Soccer AM and our fans continued to do it for 2 or 3 years to come Worth mentioning though that the goon responsible for it on that ghastly show was a Chelsea fan

To be fair to Reading supporters, they have largely rejected gimmicks imposed on them by the club. Rumblestix and clapper boards were panned and generally discarded onto the pitch. Conversely, QPR and Leicester fans took to Rumblestix and clapper boards respectively with real vigour and both were on regular display and well used at their respective grounds So to say it is just Reading fans who have contracted the Soccer AM Disease would be false.

Two very good posts here (possibly a world first from No Fixed Abode!)

I wonder what next for the new football fan. It's gone from Soccer AM lad to pyro hooligan/casual. Football is one big gimmick though, surely? Young man's game methinks

[sandman]

2005 spawned the dawn of the Soccer Am mongdiv Reading fan so 93-95 was definitely better.

I remember us giving West Ham under Pardew an absolute (on pitch) shooing in 2005, we were 3-0 up and the East Stand starting seal-clapping and chanting EA-SAY EA-SAY which I found amusing as it wound up the WHam fans no end. The I discovered it was a set piece from that absolute aberration of a television programme Soccer AM and our fans continued to do it for 2 or 3 years to come Worth mentioning though that the goon responsible for it on that ghastly show was a Chelsea fan

To be fair to Reading supporters, they have largely rejected gimmicks imposed on them by the club. Rumblestix and clapper boards were panned and generally discarded onto the pitch. Conversely, QPR and Leicester fans took to Rumblestix and clapper boards respectively with real vigour and both were on regular display and well used at their respective grounds So to say it is just Reading fans who have contracted the Soccer AM Disease would be false.

Two very good posts here (possibly a world first from No Fixed Abode!)

I wonder what next for the new football fan. It's gone from Soccer AM lad to pyro hooligan/casual. Football is one big gimmick though, surely? Young man's game methinks

Sensible and mature?

[No Fixed Abode]

Most fans are just clones of each other now. Nearly EVERY set of fans from around the Country bar a few sing 'that' song which I believe (Could be wrong) those Palace 'Ultras' (loose term) started.......

It's a new rent-a-crowd generation now.

[sandman]

Some clubs have more racists than others though.

[Nameless]

Was there ever a time when football fans didn't follow trends ? I'd guess you would need to go back to sometime in the 60's ?
Casuals were everywhere for a while, skinheads had their era and everyone followed Mn City waving inflatables back in the 80's.
Soccer AM wasn't the start point for fans doing stuff as a herd.....

[Nameless]

Was there ever a time when football fans didn't follow trends ? I'd guess you would need to go back to sometime in the 60's ?
Casuals were everywhere for a while, skinheads had their era and everyone followed Mn City waving inflatables back in the 80's.
Soccer AM wasn't the start point for fans doing stuff as a herd.....

[stealthpapes]

Fair enough. I think Soccer AM having such a gurning cunt as a visible ring leader and so obviously driving things does make it somewhat different to the other examples.

Top down, not bottom up, as it were.

[Nameless]

Agreed. To me it always looked a classic case of the media picking up what was already there at an underground level and turning it mainstream.
I'd also throw in fanzines as pre dating Soccer AM and a lot of the attitude from them was picked up by the TV bods.
If only someone had used WSC comes as a model for a TV programme we might have had something worth watching. Good mix of humour, trivia, info and campaigning.

[Winchester Royal]

I started attending in 1997 so my favourite seasons/periods are, chronologically

97-98 - Elm Park, the first season is always exciting, there were a number of pitch invasions and as an 11 year old, it's all very exciting going to the football on a school night with your dad.

2000-2003. A playoff final, a promotion and a strong season in Division 1. I felt like we would push on and get promoted to the premier league before too long.

2005-09. I'm Including 07-09 for the good bits of the relegation season (beating Liverpool, the away days, maybe the hope that we would avoid relegation), and how close we ultimately came to getting back up at the first attempt. The team made up the record breakers, along with the likes of Matejovsky, Bikey, Kebe, Cisse and Karacan was a good one to watch in the championship, and we handed out some thrashings. I went to about 90% of the games in this period and was lucky to have been at University from 04-07 so plenty of free time to get to Plymouth on a Tuesday night etc.

2010-12 - the playoff campaign and then the second title. The day out at Wembley was amazing and then winning the title with such a great run really brought the feel good factor back. I didn't care much for the resultant PL season and with the exception of the cup run last year, there's not really been anything to write home about since. The whole 2005-2013 period is unlikely to be repeated for a long time and we should treasure our memories of it!

So in 17 seasons, there have been about half of them that have been notable for one reason or another. Not a bad record when some other clubs float around in the bottom end of the same league for decades at a time.

[Portsmouth Royal]

I first started attending regularly shortly after McGhee took over so was utterly spoilt really. My vote goes to 93-95 comfortably.

The football was less dominant, but felt far slicker. Somehow not quite making the promised land and having the squad break up (whilst heartbreaking) also lent that squad a semi tragic air. We'll never know how they might have gotten on....

[leon]

I first started attending regularly shortly after McGhee took over so was utterly spoilt really. My vote goes to 93-95 comfortably.

The football was less dominant, but felt far slicker. Somehow not quite making the promised land and having the squad break up (whilst heartbreaking) also lent that squad a semi tragic air. We'll never know how they might have gotten on....

Yeah completely understand this. This is a very difficult question to answer.

The McGhee team was the best (and cheapest) Reading team I've seen. As footballing team it was sensational. I remember it dismantling an Ipswich team on the break with a ruthlessness and a pure joy at just playing football that was perfect. Perfect.

However Coppell's team had something else. It did the flair - although not as pure as McGhee's team it soaked pressure, suffocated the opposition and then countered beautifully. And it never gave up - it was never beaten. There was never a point where we thought it would lose - it was a machine. And it got promoted to the top level.

So for me it was that team. But I'm glad I saw both. Happy days.

[Platypuss]

^Lovely stuff, nailed it right there.

Leon owning TB tonight.

[Ark Royal]

I first started attending regularly shortly after McGhee took over so was utterly spoilt really. My vote goes to 93-95 comfortably.

The football was less dominant, but felt far slicker. Somehow not quite making the promised land and having the squad break up (whilst heartbreaking) also lent that squad a semi tragic air. We'll never know how they might have gotten on....

Yeah completely understand this. This is a very difficult question to answer.

The McGhee team was the best (and cheapest) Reading team I've seen. As footballing team it was sensational. I remember it dismantling an Ipswich team on the break with a ruthlessness and a pure joy at just playing football that was perfect. Perfect.

However Coppell's team had something else. It did the flair - although not as pure as McGhee's team it soaked pressure, suffocated the opposition and then countered beautifully. And it never gave up - it was never beaten. There was never a point where we thought it would lose - it was a machine. And it got promoted to the top level.

So for me it was that team. But I'm glad I saw both. Happy days.

That would not have been McGhee's team as Ipswich were in the Premier League 93-95. Another team perhaps?

[leon]

I first started attending regularly shortly after McGhee took over so was utterly spoilt really. My vote goes to 93-95 comfortably.

The football was less dominant, but felt far slicker. Somehow not quite making the promised land and having the squad break up (whilst heartbreaking) also lent that squad a semi tragic air. We'll never know how they might have gotten on....

Yeah completely understand this. This is a very difficult question to answer.

The McGhee team was the best (and cheapest) Reading team I've seen. As footballing team it was sensational. I remember it dismantling an Ipswich team on the break with a ruthlessness and a pure joy at just playing football that was perfect. Perfect.

However Coppell's team had something else. It did the flair - although not as pure as McGhee's team it soaked pressure, suffocated the opposition and then countered beautifully. And it never gave up - it was never beaten. There was never a point where we thought it would lose - it was a machine. And it got promoted to the top level.

So for me it was that team. But I'm glad I saw both. Happy days.

That would not have been McGhee's team as Ipswich were in the Premier League 93-95. Another team perhaps?

Ha my memory. Which bastard team was it then?

[Ark Royal]

Yeah completely understand this. This is a very difficult question to answer.

The McGhee team was the best (and cheapest) Reading team I've seen. As footballing team it was sensational. I remember it dismantling an Ipswich team on the break with a ruthlessness and a pure joy at just playing football that was perfect. Perfect.

However Coppell's team had something else. It did the flair - although not as pure as McGhee's team it soaked pressure, suffocated the opposition and then countered beautifully. And it never gave up - it was never beaten. There was never a point where we thought it would lose - it was a machine. And it got promoted to the top level.

So for me it was that team. But I'm glad I saw both. Happy days.

That would not have been McGhee's team as Ipswich were in the Premier League 93-95. Another team perhaps?

Ha my memory. Which bastard team was it then?

Was it home or away?

[Terminal Boardom]

93/95 for me. We had Elm Park and we were regarded as a small club. We had some brilliant players and played with class. Smashing Blackpool 4-0 away with Tom Jones wearing the last pair of shorts out of the bag. Being applauded off the pitch by the home fans was special. The good versus evil draw away at Stockport County was a massive night of football and the Tilehurst End never went quite as mental ever again after Lee Nogan's late winner on THAT Friday night against an exceptional Bolton team.

2005/07 we were a bigger club because of the Mad Stad. 2 defeats all season, 106 points and 99 goals was unbelievable but being the Mad Stad it was never as intimate as Elm Park.