Reflections

[just some bloke]

The Wagstaff brothers,

Just think about this for a minute. There used to be professional footballers called Wagstaff.

[79Royal]

As we approach the end of my 64th season as a supporter of RFC I cannot remember feeling as proud of our team as I do at this moment. On 19th November last year, having lost 2-1 to Cardiff, we were 14th in the league with a record of P17 W5 D6 L6 GF17 GA17 Pts 21. Since then we have won 22 of the 27 games played, drawing 1 and losing 4. We have scored 50 goals against 20 and gathered 67 points, i.e. 2.48 points per game. That is a truly astonishing achievement by a team that has not consistently dazzled everyone with the quality of their football, but has shown what can be achieved by a superbly managed group of players for whom the team is far more important than any individual. McDermott has shown them how to win football matches and they have learned the lesson well. He and they deserve all the plaudits that come their way.

Times like these are a time for reflection, and also memories of good times (some), bad times (far too many) and realising how what for years seemed to be a permanently third-rate club has turned itself into a member of the Premier League for the second time in six years. Just a few random memories………

1940s
- 1948-49: my first season – we finished second in the old Div 3 South, but only one promoted in those days.

1950s
- the very fine side of 1951-52 managed by Ted Drake – having beaten Plymouth 2-0 in front of 28,000 at Elm Park in March it looked as if it would be our season, but three defeats in April put an end to our hopes and we finished 2nd again. I was a very despondent 11-year-old.
- the wonderful goal-scoring ability of Ron Blackman.
- Jimmy Wheeler’s debut in a 5-3 win over Shrewsbury. He was a wonderful servant of the club and one of my boyhood heroes.
- Bomber Reeves’s left foot.
- beating Colchester 7-0 at home in 1957-58.
- the silky inside forward play of Jimmy Whitehouse.
- our best-ever half-back line of Anderton, Spiers and Evans.
- the skills and humour of Johnny Walker.
- the despair at being being beaten 5-0 at home by Aldershot in the opening game of the season.

1960s
- losing 5-2 at Newport despite being 2-0 up in the first five minutes of the first game of the season.
- stuck in Division 3, lots of mediocrity and never getting close to promotion.
- 2 goals from goalkeeper Arthur Wilkie in a 4-2 win over Halifax.
- The enthusiasm of Douggie Webb and consistency of Dennis Allen.
- losing 7-0 at home to Manchester City in a FA Cup replay.

1970s
- relegation to the Fourth Division. Possibly the worst decade in our history. Far too many very poor players.
- The goalkeeping heroics of Stephen Death.
- Robin Friday (speaks for himself).
- The Wagstaff brothers, Gordon Cumming, Dick Habbin. The arrival of Martin Hicks.
- Promoted to Third Division, but back to the Fourth after one season.
- the amazing run of 11 consecutive clean sheets to end the 1978-79 season and gain promotion once again.

1980s
- the dreadful 1982-83 season with relegation and home defeat by Bishops Stortford in the first round of the FA Cup. Home crowds down to 3,000 or so.
- on the verge of extinction with Maxwell’s plans for the Thames Valley Royals. Enter Roger Smee the saviour.
- promotion back to the Third again thanks to Trevor Senior’s goals. The 4-3 home win against Plymouth was unforgettable.
- The 13 wins to open the 1985-86 season. Not a great side by any means, but promoted to Division 2 for the first time in my life. Was this the beginning of a new dawn?
- No, it wasn’t. Back to the Third Division in 1987-88 (although we did win the Simod cup).
- Stuart Beavon, Steve Wood, Steve Richardson, Jerry Williams, Kevin Bremner, Michael Gilkes.

1990s
- this is when it all began to change for the better. The coming of Mark McGhee as the manager, together with the financial stability insisted upon by John Madejski, put the club on a different plane.
- Promotion to the new Division 1 in 1993-94 thanks to the phenomenal goalscoring of Jimmy Quinn backed up by the likes of Archie Lovell, Adie Williams, Phil Parkinson, Mick Gooding, Dylan Kerr and Kevin Dillon.
- The wonderful season of 1994-95 and the nightmare of finishing 2nd without getting promoted.
- The skills of Darius Wdowczyk, a marvellous defender. The ludicrous antics of Boris Mikhailov.
- The betrayal of our club by Mark McGhee and the disastrous appointment of Quinn and Gooding to replace him.
- The awful season of 1997-98 and the appointment of Tommy Burns as manager – yet another failure. Were we slipping back to the bad old days? The very sad goodbye to Elm Park – inevitable, the right decision, positive of course but so many memories left behind.
- Some really dreadful players (too numerous to mention).

2000s
- the disappointment of losing to Walsall in the play-off final.
- back on track, with promotion to the Championship (or whatever it was called then) thanks to Cureton’s goal at Brentford.
- Pardew in charge. I know many fans liked him, but I never did and the way he went to West Ham left a very nasty taste. Still, it led to the appointment of Steve Coppell and it seemed that Madejski was at last learning about the importance of a good manager.
- The disappointment of Coppell’s first season, but then it really did change for good that summer with the management seeming to realise that the endless signings of second-rate players was a waste of time and money and the fans were getting fed up.
- Leicester in March 2006. An unforgettable day with many, many tears of joy. My Reading, the one and only club I have ever supported and who had spent so long in the lower reaches of the Football League, with neither ambition nor inspiration, were now in the Premiership. Unbelievable.

And now we’ve done it again!! Given our dreadful start to this season after the loss of Mills and Long, I think our achievement is even more impressive than in 2005-06. On the field the arrival of Kaspars Gorkss to give us stability in defence was probably the key and the signing of Jason Roberts has proved to be an inspired one. Player of the Year? How to choose one from Federici, Gorkss, Pearce and Karacan? Off the field Brian McDermott’s decision not to go to Wolves was all-important. Let us hope that the lessons of our first two years in the Premier League have been learned.

How far have we come? Well, of the 21 other clubs in Division 3 (South) in 1948-49 (my first season) two are now in the Premier League, 6 are in the Championship and and 13 are in lower divisions. To think that we are ahead of clubs like Leeds, Leicester, Stoke, Derby, Charlton, Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley, Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Birmingham is the stuff of boyhood dreams.

Thank you, Reading FC, for always being there for me. You have given me many dark times and many frustrations, your incompetence has caused me much unhappiness, but there have been good times too, especially in the last few years, that have given me much joy. It’s strange how all the bad times seem worth all the suffering when the good times come. Now we are back the top flight and I am bursting with pride. Reading will always be my club, whatever division we be in, but to be on our way back to the Premier League sure feels good.

Quality post, thanks for taking the time to share it. Have been a fan since 84-85 and I thought I'd seen my fair share of games in the lower divisions. You must in a dream world!

I would have to question why you think Quinn and Gooding were disastrous though. They did very nearly take us up to the PL after all!

[elman]

Totally agree, could have been myself writing that, first CF I remember is Tony Mcphee, then of course
Ron Blackman.

[Binfield Royal]

thank you for an enjoyable post.

Just one pedantic point - we're not ahead of Stoke..... yet!

[Dare to Dr£am]

As we approach the end of my 64th season as a supporter of RFC I cannot remember feeling as proud of our team as I do at this moment. On 19th November last year, having lost 2-1 to Cardiff, we were 14th in the league with a record of P17 W5 D6 L6 GF17 GA17 Pts 21. Since then we have won 22 of the 27 games played, drawing 1 and losing 4. We have scored 50 goals against 20 and gathered 67 points, i.e. 2.48 points per game. That is a truly astonishing achievement by a team that has not consistently dazzled everyone with the quality of their football, but has shown what can be achieved by a superbly managed group of players for whom the team is far more important than any individual. McDermott has shown them how to win football matches and they have learned the lesson well. He and they deserve all the plaudits that come their way.

Times like these are a time for reflection, and also memories of good times (some), bad times (far too many) and realising how what for years seemed to be a permanently third-rate club has turned itself into a member of the Premier League for the second time in six years. Just a few random memories………

1940s
- 1948-49: my first season – we finished second in the old Div 3 South, but only one promoted in those days.

1950s
- the very fine side of 1951-52 managed by Ted Drake – having beaten Plymouth 2-0 in front of 28,000 at Elm Park in March it looked as if it would be our season, but three defeats in April put an end to our hopes and we finished 2nd again. I was a very despondent 11-year-old.
- the wonderful goal-scoring ability of Ron Blackman.
- Jimmy Wheeler’s debut in a 5-3 win over Shrewsbury. He was a wonderful servant of the club and one of my boyhood heroes.
- Bomber Reeves’s left foot.
- beating Colchester 7-0 at home in 1957-58.
- the silky inside forward play of Jimmy Whitehouse.
- our best-ever half-back line of Anderton, Spiers and Evans.
- the skills and humour of Johnny Walker.
- the despair at being being beaten 5-0 at home by Aldershot in the opening game of the season.

1960s
- losing 5-2 at Newport despite being 2-0 up in the first five minutes of the first game of the season.
- stuck in Division 3, lots of mediocrity and never getting close to promotion.
- 2 goals from goalkeeper Arthur Wilkie in a 4-2 win over Halifax.
- The enthusiasm of Douggie Webb and consistency of Dennis Allen.
- losing 7-0 at home to Manchester City in a FA Cup replay.

1970s
- relegation to the Fourth Division. Possibly the worst decade in our history. Far too many very poor players.
- The goalkeeping heroics of Stephen Death.
- Robin Friday (speaks for himself).
- The Wagstaff brothers, Gordon Cumming, Dick Habbin. The arrival of Martin Hicks.
- Promoted to Third Division, but back to the Fourth after one season.
- the amazing run of 11 consecutive clean sheets to end the 1978-79 season and gain promotion once again.

1980s
- the dreadful 1982-83 season with relegation and home defeat by Bishops Stortford in the first round of the FA Cup. Home crowds down to 3,000 or so.
- on the verge of extinction with Maxwell’s plans for the Thames Valley Royals. Enter Roger Smee the saviour.
- promotion back to the Third again thanks to Trevor Senior’s goals. The 4-3 home win against Plymouth was unforgettable.
- The 13 wins to open the 1985-86 season. Not a great side by any means, but promoted to Division 2 for the first time in my life. Was this the beginning of a new dawn?
- No, it wasn’t. Back to the Third Division in 1987-88 (although we did win the Simod cup).
- Stuart Beavon, Steve Wood, Steve Richardson, Jerry Williams, Kevin Bremner, Michael Gilkes.

1990s
- this is when it all began to change for the better. The coming of Mark McGhee as the manager, together with the financial stability insisted upon by John Madejski, put the club on a different plane.
- Promotion to the new Division 1 in 1993-94 thanks to the phenomenal goalscoring of Jimmy Quinn backed up by the likes of Archie Lovell, Adie Williams, Phil Parkinson, Mick Gooding, Dylan Kerr and Kevin Dillon.
- The wonderful season of 1994-95 and the nightmare of finishing 2nd without getting promoted.
- The skills of Darius Wdowczyk, a marvellous defender. The ludicrous antics of Boris Mikhailov.
- The betrayal of our club by Mark McGhee and the disastrous appointment of Quinn and Gooding to replace him.
- The awful season of 1997-98 and the appointment of Tommy Burns as manager – yet another failure. Were we slipping back to the bad old days? The very sad goodbye to Elm Park – inevitable, the right decision, positive of course but so many memories left behind.
- Some really dreadful players (too numerous to mention).

2000s
- the disappointment of losing to Walsall in the play-off final.
- back on track, with promotion to the Championship (or whatever it was called then) thanks to Cureton’s goal at Brentford.
- Pardew in charge. I know many fans liked him, but I never did and the way he went to West Ham left a very nasty taste. Still, it led to the appointment of Steve Coppell and it seemed that Madejski was at last learning about the importance of a good manager.
- The disappointment of Coppell’s first season, but then it really did change for good that summer with the management seeming to realise that the endless signings of second-rate players was a waste of time and money and the fans were getting fed up.
- Leicester in March 2006. An unforgettable day with many, many tears of joy. My Reading, the one and only club I have ever supported and who had spent so long in the lower reaches of the Football League, with neither ambition nor inspiration, were now in the Premiership. Unbelievable.

And now we’ve done it again!! Given our dreadful start to this season after the loss of Mills and Long, I think our achievement is even more impressive than in 2005-06. On the field the arrival of Kaspars Gorkss to give us stability in defence was probably the key and the signing of Jason Roberts has proved to be an inspired one. Player of the Year? How to choose one from Federici, Gorkss, Pearce and Karacan? Off the field Brian McDermott’s decision not to go to Wolves was all-important. Let us hope that the lessons of our first two years in the Premier League have been learned.

How far have we come? Well, of the 21 other clubs in Division 3 (South) in 1948-49 (my first season) two are now in the Premier League, 6 are in the Championship and and 13 are in lower divisions. To think that we are ahead of clubs like Leeds, Leicester, Stoke, Derby, Charlton, Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley, Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Birmingham is the stuff of boyhood dreams.

Thank you, Reading FC, for always being there for me. You have given me many dark times and many frustrations, your incompetence has caused me much unhappiness, but there have been good times too, especially in the last few years, that have given me much joy. It’s strange how all the bad times seem worth all the suffering when the good times come. Now we are back the top flight and I am bursting with pride. Reading will always be my club, whatever division we be in, but to be on our way back to the Premier League sure feels good.

Quality post, thanks for taking the time to share it. Have been a fan since 84-85 and I thought I'd seen my fair share of games in the lower divisions. You must in a dream world!

I would have to question why you think Quinn and Gooding were disastrous though. They did very nearly take us up to the PL after all!

Jim n Mick kept us on course and there was a lot of motivation there to prove a point to McGhee for walking out on us. The next season or two showed, even though we lost some very good players, that as managers they just weren't good enough. As has proven the case with JQ in other managerial posts since.

[winchester_royal]

Great post, thank you. For young 'uns like myself it's great to read pieces like this about the clubs history. The club should ask you to write something similar for the first programme next season.

[robinsfriday]

Not reading all that.. Summary?

Don't be disrespectful. A cracking post and insightful too. If anything it's a summary of the past 70 years.

[Edelston & Brice]

Thanks, Binfield Royal. You're absolutely right - must have got carried away with myself!! But with any luck not too long to wait!!

[Haag Royal]

Not reading all that.. Summary?

Don't be disrespctful. A cracking post and insightful too. If anything it's a summary of the past 70 years.

I couldn't agree more

[bobby m's syrup]

Cracking post, well written sir! From a comparative mere beginner with only 47 years under my belt. No mention of Pat Terry, Colin Meldrum and George Harris in the 60s though.

[LUX]

my first game was in 1969, so that's 43 years of obsession. If anything, my nerves have got worse. I did not follow anything last Tuesday until I was texted that West Ham had drawn.

Great OP, disagree on your verdict of the 70's. I'd say the 80's were the worst (Simod Cup notwithstanding). 70's had some great players. Legends.

[Broxroyal]

Cracking post, well written sir! From a comparative mere beginner with only 47 years under my belt. No mention of Pat Terry, Colin Meldrum and George Harris in the 60s though.

That's my era too.

Thanks to Edelston & Brice for the original post. My Dad would have enjoyed reading that. Sadly he is no longer with us but he did live to see our first promotion to the Premier League.

[HoneyRoastHoax]

Great post

"1950s
- the very fine side of 1951-52 managed by Ted Drake – having beaten Plymouth 2-0 in front of 28,000 at Elm Park in March"

That would of been amazing

[Libertine]

High quality post from the OP...very much enjoyed reading it.

[jgriowa]

THANK YOU for taking the time to gather your recollections and put them into such a readable format. That is wonderful reading.

[Royalee]

As we approach the end of my 64th season as a supporter of RFC I cannot remember feeling as proud of our team as I do at this moment. On 19th November last year, having lost 2-1 to Cardiff, we were 14th in the league with a record of P17 W5 D6 L6 GF17 GA17 Pts 21. Since then we have won 22 of the 27 games played, drawing 1 and losing 4. We have scored 50 goals against 20 and gathered 67 points, i.e. 2.48 points per game. That is a truly astonishing achievement by a team that has not consistently dazzled everyone with the quality of their football, but has shown what can be achieved by a superbly managed group of players for whom the team is far more important than any individual. McDermott has shown them how to win football matches and they have learned the lesson well. He and they deserve all the plaudits that come their way.

Times like these are a time for reflection, and also memories of good times (some), bad times (far too many) and realising how what for years seemed to be a permanently third-rate club has turned itself into a member of the Premier League for the second time in six years. Just a few random memories………

1940s
- 1948-49: my first season – we finished second in the old Div 3 South, but only one promoted in those days.

1950s
- the very fine side of 1951-52 managed by Ted Drake – having beaten Plymouth 2-0 in front of 28,000 at Elm Park in March it looked as if it would be our season, but three defeats in April put an end to our hopes and we finished 2nd again. I was a very despondent 11-year-old.
- the wonderful goal-scoring ability of Ron Blackman.
- Jimmy Wheeler’s debut in a 5-3 win over Shrewsbury. He was a wonderful servant of the club and one of my boyhood heroes.
- Bomber Reeves’s left foot.
- beating Colchester 7-0 at home in 1957-58.
- the silky inside forward play of Jimmy Whitehouse.
- our best-ever half-back line of Anderton, Spiers and Evans.
- the skills and humour of Johnny Walker.
- the despair at being being beaten 5-0 at home by Aldershot in the opening game of the season.

1960s
- losing 5-2 at Newport despite being 2-0 up in the first five minutes of the first game of the season.
- stuck in Division 3, lots of mediocrity and never getting close to promotion.
- 2 goals from goalkeeper Arthur Wilkie in a 4-2 win over Halifax.
- The enthusiasm of Douggie Webb and consistency of Dennis Allen.
- losing 7-0 at home to Manchester City in a FA Cup replay.

1970s
- relegation to the Fourth Division. Possibly the worst decade in our history. Far too many very poor players.
- The goalkeeping heroics of Stephen Death.
- Robin Friday (speaks for himself).
- The Wagstaff brothers, Gordon Cumming, Dick Habbin. The arrival of Martin Hicks.
- Promoted to Third Division, but back to the Fourth after one season.
- the amazing run of 11 consecutive clean sheets to end the 1978-79 season and gain promotion once again.

1980s
- the dreadful 1982-83 season with relegation and home defeat by Bishops Stortford in the first round of the FA Cup. Home crowds down to 3,000 or so.
- on the verge of extinction with Maxwell’s plans for the Thames Valley Royals. Enter Roger Smee the saviour.
- promotion back to the Third again thanks to Trevor Senior’s goals. The 4-3 home win against Plymouth was unforgettable.
- The 13 wins to open the 1985-86 season. Not a great side by any means, but promoted to Division 2 for the first time in my life. Was this the beginning of a new dawn?
- No, it wasn’t. Back to the Third Division in 1987-88 (although we did win the Simod cup).
- Stuart Beavon, Steve Wood, Steve Richardson, Jerry Williams, Kevin Bremner, Michael Gilkes.

1990s
- this is when it all began to change for the better. The coming of Mark McGhee as the manager, together with the financial stability insisted upon by John Madejski, put the club on a different plane.
- Promotion to the new Division 1 in 1993-94 thanks to the phenomenal goalscoring of Jimmy Quinn backed up by the likes of Archie Lovell, Adie Williams, Phil Parkinson, Mick Gooding, Dylan Kerr and Kevin Dillon.
- The wonderful season of 1994-95 and the nightmare of finishing 2nd without getting promoted.
- The skills of Darius Wdowczyk, a marvellous defender. The ludicrous antics of Boris Mikhailov.
- The betrayal of our club by Mark McGhee and the disastrous appointment of Quinn and Gooding to replace him.
- The awful season of 1997-98 and the appointment of Tommy Burns as manager – yet another failure. Were we slipping back to the bad old days? The very sad goodbye to Elm Park – inevitable, the right decision, positive of course but so many memories left behind.
- Some really dreadful players (too numerous to mention).

2000s
- the disappointment of losing to Walsall in the play-off final.
- back on track, with promotion to the Championship (or whatever it was called then) thanks to Cureton’s goal at Brentford.
- Pardew in charge. I know many fans liked him, but I never did and the way he went to West Ham left a very nasty taste. Still, it led to the appointment of Steve Coppell and it seemed that Madejski was at last learning about the importance of a good manager.
- The disappointment of Coppell’s first season, but then it really did change for good that summer with the management seeming to realise that the endless signings of second-rate players was a waste of time and money and the fans were getting fed up.
- Leicester in March 2006. An unforgettable day with many, many tears of joy. My Reading, the one and only club I have ever supported and who had spent so long in the lower reaches of the Football League, with neither ambition nor inspiration, were now in the Premiership. Unbelievable.

And now we’ve done it again!! Given our dreadful start to this season after the loss of Mills and Long, I think our achievement is even more impressive than in 2005-06. On the field the arrival of Kaspars Gorkss to give us stability in defence was probably the key and the signing of Jason Roberts has proved to be an inspired one. Player of the Year? How to choose one from Federici, Gorkss, Pearce and Karacan? Off the field Brian McDermott’s decision not to go to Wolves was all-important. Let us hope that the lessons of our first two years in the Premier League have been learned.

How far have we come? Well, of the 21 other clubs in Division 3 (South) in 1948-49 (my first season) two are now in the Premier League, 6 are in the Championship and and 13 are in lower divisions. To think that we are ahead of clubs like Leeds, Leicester, Stoke, Derby, Charlton, Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley, Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Birmingham is the stuff of boyhood dreams.

Thank you, Reading FC, for always being there for me. You have given me many dark times and many frustrations, your incompetence has caused me much unhappiness, but there have been good times too, especially in the last few years, that have given me much joy. It’s strange how all the bad times seem worth all the suffering when the good times come. Now we are back the top flight and I am bursting with pride. Reading will always be my club, whatever division we be in, but to be on our way back to the Premier League sure feels good.

Great post to read, exciting times ahead!

[The Prisoner]

As someone who has been watching since 77 (just missed Friday!) I can totally relate to what the OP is saying - great post.

For anyone who went regularly before the Millennium/late 90s this is all a dream.

[Edelston & Brice]

Hi HoneyRoastHoax

Yes, it sure was amazing!! One of the goals was scored by Johnny Brooks whom I should have mentioned in my original post. He was a super player who went on to play for Tottenham, Chelsea and England.

[Tinrib]

Fantastic post - a brilliant read -Many thanks.

Star - get this man in the first prem league program please - this should be shared

[Edelston & Brice]

Broxroyal - quite agree about Harris and Meldrum but not so sure about Terry. My memory is that he promised more than he achieved.