Dissapointed- The goal that Never was.

[papereyes]

Whether this damages our club's standing or not, I couldn't give a flying fcuk. There is a large group of football fans who are, how can I put it...confused? who think that Reading had an obligation to disagree with the officials at the time and let Watford walk it in, but wouldn't dream of, say, missing a penalty if their team hadn't deserved to win it (no contradiction in that is there ), and another group who realise that this is totally the officials' fault and not Reading's at all.

If a bunch of keyboard warriors (check out some of the stinkers on the 606 discussion thread, started by a man who thinks Reading should be deducted two points and the game replayed ) think that it's Reading fault, then let them. Any sensible fan knows that, at the time, the Reading players were in no position to decide to let Watford walk through and score. Maybe things were different at half-time, but having thought about it I now think Reading would've had no good reason to let Watford score after half-time - the course of the game was changed by the goal. It was a bad decision, Reading benefited from it. No team would ever let Watford score because the officials cocked up. What next, if Hunt runs out for a throw then crosses for a goal do we let them score?

I'm really warming to your posts.

[kwik-silva]

they're gonna talk about it on the news

[kwik-silva]

Courtesy of: http://www.wfcforums.com/showpost.php?p ... ostcount=4

[comeonthebiscuitmen]

I want a replay, so did coppell

so justice is done? NO - so we could beat em next time - Watford had no interest in a replay because they know 2-2 is a good result against us.
We will beat them at our place.

[Thaumagurist*]

I want a replay, so did coppell

No, he didn't. He would have been happy to play one though.

[kwik-silva]

I want a replay, so did coppell

so justice is done? NO - so we could beat em next time - Watford had no interest in a replay because they know 2-2 is a good result against us.
We will beat them at our place.

A few of the watford fans are clever and are saying they don't want a replay as reading are the far superiour side

[H-Town Royal]

Disappointed with coppell today, we might not have gone against the rules of the game, but we went against the spirit.
There is no way we should have accepted that as a goal, once it was given and we had a chance to discuss the incident at half time we should of walked the ball into our own net. It was a real scrubby move to play on as if nothing had happened.
I know we are a terrible team away from home but we were scraping the bottom of the barrel. Its not as if it was a " you win some you lose some" goal, it was NEVER a goal in a million years and we were awarded a goal out of nowhere. There wasn't even a decision to be made, the manager, players and club should be ashamed of themselves tonight.

[The whole year inn]

Some Rochdale fans have long memories

Reading cheating: they have form

Whilst everyone is going on about Reading's phantom goal at the weekend, it would appear they have form for it and last time it was us who were on the receiving end of this blatant cheating.

Back in 1975, Dale were the visitors to Reading's Elm Park as it was then on the opening day of the season, and with just ten minutes gone in the clock, their central defender Tommy Youlden hit a free kick from outside of the box which went narrowly past the post, hitting the side netting.

Referee Walter Harvey in his infinite wisdom decided that the goal had been scored and marched the players back to the half way line. Dale keeper Mike Poole was far from impressed and chased after Harvey before booting the ball out of the ground in protest earning a yellow card for his troubles.

Dale never recovered from this blow and went on to lose the game 2-0. And arguably it had a massive knock on effect on our season as we kicked off the season on the back foot, no doubt costing us promotion that year. Of course, there was no media bandwagon to stick up for Dale or calls on Fifa to have the game replayed. This would never have happened on Ked Redfern's watch, thats for sure.

Surely this happening twice to Reading in thirty three years is more than just a coincidence.

[Wycombe Royal]

I'm still trying to work out if that article is "tongue-in-cheek". Surely they can't be serious?

[Sarah Star]

Might as well replay the 1966 world cup while we're at it, as England really only drew it 2-2

[West Stand Man]

I want a replay, so did coppell

so justice is done? NO - so we could beat em next time - Watford had no interest in a replay because they know 2-2 is a good result against us.
We will beat them at our place.

See my earlier post. If you want a replay for this then I assume that you want a replay for every referring error - in which case we'd still be playing this season's games well into 2010! If you don't think that other errors warrant a replay maybe you could clarify just what does constitute a replayable mistake.

This was a horrible error, but it is done, and it was not Reading's fault. Live with it. Until the authorities decide that technology is a good thing and allow referees to review goal decisions in near real time then we are going to get mistakes due to human error. It has always been thus.

Justice has been done, becasue the referees decision has been allowed to stand - poor though it was!

[Sarah Star]

I just hope we don't suffer from any backlash there may or may not be.

[Dazed]

Found this letter on 606 from RFC (someone wrote to the FA and RFC to complain about the injustice of it all).
Thank you for your email.

We fully understand that this is a controversial issue and why some people believe we should have allowed Watford to score – indeed, we have stated that we would be fully prepared to replay the game if the relevant authorities deem that to be the appropriate course of action.

However, we do not believe that our players or management staff were at fault – players are there to play games, officials are there to officiate. We have to abide by their decisions, correct or not, and on many occasions in the past Steve Coppell has declined the opportunity to criticize officials when decisions have gone against us – “The referee is right even when he’s wrong” is one of his oft-repeated phrases.

The mentality he tries to instill into our players is to ‘play to the whistle’ and accept the decisions of the officials whether they go in our favour or against us, and clearly on this occasion it went for us.

In any case, the events unfolded so quickly and there was such a level of confusion that, at the time, none of our players were really in a position to say that it definitely wasn’t a goal. Nobody really understand what had happened and why the decision had been made, and only later was it possible to analyse what had happened with any clarity, by which stage it was too late.

Thank you again for your comments which I can assure you we do take seriously.

Yours sincerely

Head of Communications
Reading FC

[andrew1957]

At the end of the day Steve Coppell did the right thing in offering a replay but there was never a chance that either Watford would want one (because we may well beat them next time) or the FA would allow one (because it would set a precedent).

I guess the only question now is whether we should allow them to score at the start of the next game at Madstad. I hope we do and then that SC gets the players so fired up that we win 7-1 !!

[kwik-silva]

At the end of the day Steve Coppell did the right thing in offering a replay but there was never a chance that either Watford would want one (because we may well beat them next time) or the FA would allow one (because it would set a precedent).

I guess the only question now is whether we should allow them to score at the start of the next game at Madstad. I hope we do and then that SC gets the players so fired up that we win 7-1 !!

We're not going to though are we

[Pool and Darts]

At the end of the day Steve Coppell did the right thing in offering a replay but there was never a chance that either Watford would want one (because we may well beat them next time) or the FA would allow one (because it would set a precedent).

I guess the only question now is whether we should allow them to score at the start of the next game at Madstad. I hope we do and then that SC gets the players so fired up that we win 7-1 !!

Yeah, and I'm sure that next time we play Sheffield Utd they will offer to play with ten men, due to the fact that Paddy Kenny didn't get sent off when he should have.

I can't believe how much rubbish is being spouted in our clubs direction over this.

IT IS OVER!
No replay, one point each, let's all move on shall we?

Referee and his assistant made a HUGE mistake, and action will be taken by the people who manage them.

All this talk of players trying to even up mistakes by officials is unbelievably pathetic. I can't believe that people don't see how ridiculous the game would become if decisions regarding sportsmanship are put in the hands of everyone.

Who would decide that an injustice was done?
Players?
Managers?
Supporters?
The media?
Chairmen?

What if players on the same team don't agree that they should 'even things up'?
Can we not see that if we get upset when we think referees 'even things up' then what right do players have to do that?
Who's opinion do you act on?

See? It is all f***ing ridiculous, and is really getting on my t*ts.

The officials officiate a game, they make mistakes. If it is a bad one, they get reprimanded.
The net result is that we get 90 minutes of football done, and a result is achieved, then we move on.

How many of the fans who have been slating RFC for not doing something about this were complaining that we should have had a free kick against Liverpool last season instead of the penalty? Surely Carragher's foul on Gunnarsson was outside the area and our penalty was not deserved. Was anyone screaming at us to let them walk the ball in from the kick off???

Well????

Thought not.

Idiots.

[Man Friday]

Surely Carragher's foul on Gunnarsson was outside the area and our penalty was not deserved.

No, it was just in and fully deserved. But agree with your points even if that was the wrong example.

[Kurtz]

Dear sir,

Thanks for your comments regarding our "goal" against Watford.
Yeah, I'm sure that next time we play Sheffield Utd they will offer to play with ten men, due to the fact that Paddy Kenny didn't get sent off when he should have.

I can't believe how much rubbish is being spouted in our clubs direction over this.

IT IS OVER! No replay, one point each, let's all move on shall we?

Referee and his assistant made a HUGE mistake, and action will be taken by the people who manage them.

All this talk of players trying to even up mistakes by officials is unbelievably pathetic. I can't believe that people don't see how ridiculous the game would become if decisions regarding sportsmanship are put in the hands of everyone.

Who would decide that an injustice was done?
Players?
Managers?
Supporters?
The media?
Chairmen?

What if players on the same team don't agree that they should 'even things up'?
Can we not see that if we get upset when we think referees 'even things up' then what right do players have to do that?
Who's opinion do you act on?

See? It is all f***ing ridiculous, and is really getting on my t*ts.

The officials officiate a game, they make mistakes. If it is a bad one, they get reprimanded.
The net result is that we get 90 minutes of football done, and a result is achieved, then we move on.

How many of the fans who have been slating RFC for not doing something about this were complaining that we should have had a free kick against Liverpool last season instead of the penalty? Surely Carragher's foul on Gunnarsson was outside the area and our penalty was not deserved. Was anyone screaming at us to let them walk the ball in from the kick off???

Well???? Thought not.

Idiot.

Kind regards

Head of Communications
Reading FC

This post works better when read as an official response.

[Royal Rother]

It's probably been said before but if we had allowed Watford to score from the KO after half time it would probably have given us a big psychological advantage and really knocked the stuffing out of the sense of injustice that drove them on.

I think we would have won in those circumstances.

Having said that I don't disagree with the vast majority of posts on here in the slightest. The feeble-minded fools who attack the integrity of the club and its players can most certainly do one. It's just a bandwagon for a few media pundits (and Fine Rain) to peddle some more of their juvenile and contrived claptrap.

[weybridgewanderer]

Referee's aren't allowed to go back on their decision.
But this judgement clearly shows the need for video replays.
It cries out for it.

I disagree. This incident shows the standard of officials we have running the line these days

If he can't decide if the ball is between the posts or not (never mind over the line), what hope does he have of getting an offisde right? Will offsides be subject to video replay too?