9 years ago today

[rhroyal]

Most important day in our history? Mr. Mad was buying our way out of that division; it would have happened sooner or later.

I'd say the most important days in our history (on pitch; JM's buyout otherwise) took place at the end of 07/08. Had we stayed up, learned our lessons and strengthened the team then, there's no knowing where we could be now. We could be similar to Stoke or Brum, cup finals, seemingly settled up there etc.

Sorry to bring down the tone. The Brentford game was a fantastic day.

[T.R.O.L.I.]

I'm with Zammo here, that was the most important goal in the clubs history.

Not the greatest day for me as I remember driving home just feeling numb at the relief of it all rather than elated.

My greatest day would be Leicester away and the party in town afterwards. The culmination of a life long ambition and no pressure or tension throughout.

+1 here too.

Had we not got promoted that day I'm pretty sure we would have blown the playoffs and we would have had exactly the same numbing feelings as after losing to Walsall the year before.

Cracking day out - New Inn was packed full of Royals and the Ealing Road end was jam packed. I went back to Griffin Park last October to watch Brentford v Oldham and it brought back some great memories.

[Arch]

Most important goal in our history?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhuKIywE ... re=related

[under the tin]

Most important goal in our history?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhuKIywE ... re=related

Sorry, no way.
We didn't get relegated because of Portsmouth's abject display against Fulham.
We got relegated because we deserved to be relegated.
Too many abject displays of our own at the Madstad that season.

[Terminal Boardom]

ahh the memories, drawing our way to promotion! Hang on surely we cant repeat a similar feat by winning last 12 for promotion.....

How can winning and drawing be similar?

[Royal Lady]

I'm with Zammo here, that was the most important goal in the clubs history.

Not the greatest day for me as I remember driving home just feeling numb at the relief of it all rather than elated.

My greatest day would be Leicester away and the party in town afterwards. The culmination of a life long ambition and no pressure or tension throughout.

Eh? Wasn't that when we rushed to get back to the Mad Stad and welcome the players home or am I confusing it with another game?

[Forbury Lion]

it is WITHOUT DOUBT the most important game and goal in the clubs history.

sorry, would have to go for Doyle's at Leicester.

Did we contribute to Oxford being relegated and thereby assisting in the demise of the Thames Valley Royals merger?

[Ian Royal]

I'm with Zammo here, that was the most important goal in the clubs history.

Not the greatest day for me as I remember driving home just feeling numb at the relief of it all rather than elated.

My greatest day would be Leicester away and the party in town afterwards. The culmination of a life long ambition and no pressure or tension throughout.

I agree... In all likelihood we'd have failed in the play offs (AGAIN) because we'd forgotten how to win a match, the team would have broken up, Pards would have fecked off for someone bigger and we'd have been left in a half-filled stadium we hadn't got even close to finishing paying for with Mr Mad getting fed up at having chucked decent amounts of cash at us and watching us choke.

Doyle's goal didn't matter, it was inevitable we got promoted at that point. Gunnarsson's header against Sheffield was more important than that IMO.

[readingbedding]

it is WITHOUT DOUBT the most important game and goal in the clubs history.

Do me a favour.

[Millsy]

Curo's lob was as important as Archie's saved penalty.

Only Archie's second goal against Wolves filled me with so much joy.

Miss both these guys.

[Ian Herring]

Curo's goal at Brentford was pivotal, in my opinion. The club was recovering from the move to Smallmead and the Tommy Burns 'experiment' and Pardew (a Bullivant era acquisition) was just about getting us knocking at the door without being too clinical about it all (see his subsequent career passim).

There wasn't much left in the tank at the club in terms of forward impetus with that squad at the time. If we hadn't have gone up then we'd have seen a diluted re-run of what happened when we lost to Bolton in '95, a 'correction' in football terms, certain players leaving, inferior replacements, that kind of thing.

It's easy to say JM was 'buying' his way up, but only to a degree. If you keep a figurative hold on memory over those years, he was still talking 'prudence', Gordon Brown-stylee, during those strange inter-divisional years. We spent some, but never in the fashion of our more aspirational 'colleagues' (Fulham come to mind around that time).

If you had to encapsulate it in any way perhaps you could say that when Cureton scored that day the club moved from being 'lower' to 'higher' in terms of the set of divisions it knocked around in habitually (i.e bottom two or top two).

That's the pivotal aspect of it for me. Prior to that day I considered us to be 'bottom two divisions' kind of fare. Now most would acknowledge us as solid Championship gravel with a glint of Prem lip-gloss on the mouth from time to time.

Or for those who like their language in slightly more layman terms, where once we were arse-end, now we're tits and rib-cage.

[PEARCEY]

Curo's lob was as important as Archie's saved penalty.

Only Archie's second goal against Wolves filled me with so much joy.

Miss both these guys.

I was at that Wolves game in the early days of courtship with my missus. When I told her Stuart Lovell had scored both our goals she turned to me and said that I was mistaken because everyone was chanting "Archie Archie". I knew then her trips to see Reading play were coming to an end.

[bobbybottler]

it is WITHOUT DOUBT the most important game and goal in the clubs history.

I know you're only funking about but:

13/5/89
Chestefield 2 - Reading 4

was pivotal as well.

[PEARCEY]

it is WITHOUT DOUBT the most important game and goal in the clubs history.

I know you're only funking about but:

13/5/89
Chestefield 2 - Reading 4

was pivotal as well.

Without doubt...2-0 down at half-time on the back of a terrible run of results...the basement division beckoned.

[bobbybottler]

it is WITHOUT DOUBT the most important game and goal in the clubs history.

I know you're only funking about but:

13/5/89
Chestefield 2 - Reading 4

was pivotal as well.

Without doubt...2-0 down at half-time on the back of a terrible run of results...the basement division beckoned.

Last game of the season, it's HT, we're deservedly 2-0 down, and we're stuck in the bottom four.

That second half was THE turning point for this club, whatever some of the younger folk might think.

[Royal With Cheese]

it is WITHOUT DOUBT the most important game and goal in the clubs history.

I know you're only funking about but:

13/5/89
Chestefield 2 - Reading 4

was pivotal as well.

Without doubt...2-0 down at half-time on the back of a terrible run of results...the basement division beckoned.

I'd agree with that.

However, the game this season at home against Derby could be the most important game in the club's history.

[Tails]

Insofar as a one off game, it was the greatest in Reading's history (for the potential consequences Zammo has pointed out). The 106 season was a series of lesser 'great' games but with a greater sum.

A pivotal game cannot strictly be compared in the same light as a great season IMHO.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

You could probably argue our last game in 70/71 was pretty pivotal too, but in a bad way. From being typically one of the better Div 3 sides, we went to the 4th division and 15 years of stagnation.

It's also hard to claim the play-off finals were any less significant. Our support was above average for the 3rd tier, so we'd have gone up sooner or later.

At the time, the defeat to Bolton was a massive game. It looked like our only shot at getting to the top flight had been blown.


As for individual goals, there is more of a case for Cureton's goal, as there can't be many single goals in our history that would have made such a difference had it not been scored.

[Focher]

it is WITHOUT DOUBT the most important game and goal in the clubs history.

I know you're only funking about but:

13/5/89
Chestefield 2 - Reading 4

was pivotal as well.

im not messing around, i believe it was the most important goal, but unlike others you have come up with a very good argument with that result.

[T.R.O.L.I.]

Eh? Wasn't that when we rushed to get back to the Mad Stad and welcome the players home or am I confusing it with another game?

There were certainly a lot of RFC fans at the Madejski after the Brentford game waiting for the coach to arrive - I remember John Mackie climbing through the sun roof on the the roof of the coach and having a little dance with a can of beer in his hand