If you could go back in time and change 1 result...

[Snowflake Royal]

This.

So for a single game, that last one against Derby; a 7-0 win and history is different.................

Yeah, this is a good call, but fits better in terms of going and having a quiet word with Coppell in preseason to sort out the recruitment better.

It wasn't for lack of trying. No-one would join us. Or no-one worth having, anyway...

There were some really poor choices and Coppell openly admitted he chose not to sign some players.

I'm not saying you could magically make someone who turned us down sign. But you could sure as hell not sign Fae and find someone else for example.

[Elm Park Kid]

The Bolton game was probably the main chance Reading had to establish themselves as a PL club long-term (or at least yo-yo club). If they had got into the league when Sir John's fortune was on a more level playing field with the other owners and finances were just more reasonable in general then we might have had a chance of surviving. That could have meant the Mad Stad being built with a larger capacity from the start and a whole generation of kids becoming fans in an era where there was less pull from the big clubs.

Personally, I think it was already gone by 2008. Madejski knew that he didn't have the readies to keep Reading a PL side, and that was before the financial clash.

[The Green Programme]

The Bolton game was probably the main chance Reading had to establish themselves as a PL club long-term (or at least yo-yo club). If they had got into the league when Sir John's fortune was on a more level playing field with the other owners and finances were just more reasonable in general then we might have had a chance of surviving. That could have meant the Mad Stad being built with a larger capacity from the start and a whole generation of kids becoming fans in an era where there was less pull from the big clubs.

Personally, I think it was already gone by 2008. Madejski knew that he didn't have the readies to keep Reading a PL side, and that was before the financial clash.

And we finished 2nd and would’ve gone up in any other year….

F&?k the EFL (equivalent)

It was painful but I think the Bolton and Fulham home defeats in 07/08; were more significant, probably than any other games in the past 20 years.

Unlike Arsenal and Huddersfield and the other play offs defeats; where the pain was immediate; as was the significance (a play off final defeat really hits hardest of all in that respect), the significance of the Bolton and Fulham games in 07/08 developed as time passed….

They really were crucial. I had forgotten until now, just how much they contributed to so many negative outcomes since.

[Royal_jimmy]

FA Cup semi v Arsenal. We probably wont get a chance like that for decades.

2nd to that was Watford at home in the premier league in our first season. The UEFA cup would have been amazing for the club and those chances dont come often either for clubs like us.

Third to that the Fulham home game in our 2nd premier league season that we lost 2-0. If we had drawn that game and stayed up we could have done a Brighton or a Stoke and been in the top flight for a while.

[Royal_jimmy]

The Bolton game was probably the main chance Reading had to establish themselves as a PL club long-term (or at least yo-yo club). If they had got into the league when Sir John's fortune was on a more level playing field with the other owners and finances were just more reasonable in general then we might have had a chance of surviving. That could have meant the Mad Stad being built with a larger capacity from the start and a whole generation of kids becoming fans in an era where there was less pull from the big clubs.

Personally, I think it was already gone by 2008. Madejski knew that he didn't have the readies to keep Reading a PL side, and that was before the financial clash.

And we finished 2nd and would’ve gone up in any other year….

F&?k the EFL (equivalent)

It was painful but I think the Bolton and Fulham home defeats in 07/08; were more significant, probably than any other games in the past 20 years.

Unlike Arsenal and Huddersfield and the other play offs defeats; where the pain was immediate; as was the significance (a play off final defeat really hits hardest of all in that respect), the significance of the Bolton and Fulham games in 07/08 developed as time passed….

They really were crucial. I had forgotten until now, just how much they contributed to so many negative outcomes since.

The playoff defeats were frustrating but not the end of the world.

[Dirk Gently]

Yeah, this is a good call, but fits better in terms of going and having a quiet word with Coppell in preseason to sort out the recruitment better.

It wasn't for lack of trying. No-one would join us. Or no-one worth having, anyway...

There were some really poor choices and Coppell openly admitted he chose not to sign some players.

I'm not saying you could magically make someone who turned us down sign. But you could sure as hell not sign Fae and find someone else for example.

A fee was agreed with Hibs for Scott Brown. When he refused to even talk to us that put us on the back foot,

[Dirk Gently]

And we finished 2nd and would’ve gone up in any other year….

Only because we put out a full team for the final match - the other teams, who were already assured of a play-off place, rested players and eased off a bit to avoid injury.

Everyone understood the rules that season - if 2nd place had been an automatic promotion place the other teams would have gone all out to get it, and almost certainly we wouldn't have had a prayer of it.

[Mr Angry]

It wasn't for lack of trying. No-one would join us. Or no-one worth having, anyway...

There were some really poor choices and Coppell openly admitted he chose not to sign some players.

I'm not saying you could magically make someone who turned us down sign. But you could sure as hell not sign Fae and find someone else for example.

A fee was agreed with Hibs for Scott Brown. When he refused to even talk to us that put us on the back foot,

I have hated him ever since.

[PATRIQT]

Actually, I'll change changing the PO Final with Bolton, to winning at Blackburn and then we would have got into Europe. That would have probably meant Sidwell staying, and the camp not falling to pieces the next season over wages/bonuses and whatever else it was.

[Dirk Gently]

Actually, I'll change changing the PO Final with Bolton, to winning at Blackburn and then we would have got into Europe. That would have probably meant Sidwell staying, and the camp not falling to pieces the next season over wages/bonuses and whatever else it was.

Interesting one.

It would have been a superb experience for supporters, but it might have just meant the squad fell apart quicker and relegation was decided earlier in the season as a threadbare squad stuggled with all the extra demands and travelling. They would have needed extra investment and I'm not sure they would have got it. Plus Catalyst, who made such a positive difference in the previous two seasons, had moved on by then.

[Snowflake Royal]

Actually, I'll change changing the PO Final with Bolton, to winning at Blackburn and then we would have got into Europe. That would have probably meant Sidwell staying, and the camp not falling to pieces the next season over wages/bonuses and whatever else it was.

Sidwell had long since agreed a contract with Chelsea.

[NathStPaul]

Actually, I'll change changing the PO Final with Bolton, to winning at Blackburn and then we would have got into Europe. That would have probably meant Sidwell staying, and the camp not falling to pieces the next season over wages/bonuses and whatever else it was.

Sidwell had long since agreed a contract with Chelsea.

Such a shame for him that he went there, obviously not from a financial POV but a playing one. If he had gone to more of a mid-range Premier League team he'd have been far more highly regarded by many more people.

[PATRIQT]

Actually, I'll change changing the PO Final with Bolton, to winning at Blackburn and then we would have got into Europe. That would have probably meant Sidwell staying, and the camp not falling to pieces the next season over wages/bonuses and whatever else it was.

Sidwell had long since agreed a contract with Chelsea.

Yes he did, good memory. As Dirk said, it could have worked against us being in Europe, but it could also have brought in enough money to attract said players, and at least ensure we were a yo-yo club.

[Dirk Gently]

Actually, I'll change changing the PO Final with Bolton, to winning at Blackburn and then we would have got into Europe. That would have probably meant Sidwell staying, and the camp not falling to pieces the next season over wages/bonuses and whatever else it was.

Sidwell had long since agreed a contract with Chelsea.

Such a shame for him that he went there, obviously not from a financial POV but a playing one. If he had gone to more of a mid-range Premier League team he'd have been far more highly regarded by many more people.

But every player believes they're good enough - and dreads looking back on their career thinking back "what would have happened if I hadn't turned down that high-profile move..?"

He felt he was good enough to take the chance offered, and you can be sure he was thinking "Lampard will pick up an injury sooner or later and when he does I'll be in there, showing what I can do - then there'll be no looking back."

[Dirk Gently]

Actually, I'll change changing the PO Final with Bolton, to winning at Blackburn and then we would have got into Europe. That would have probably meant Sidwell staying, and the camp not falling to pieces the next season over wages/bonuses and whatever else it was.

Sidwell had long since agreed a contract with Chelsea.

Yes he did, good memory. As Dirk said, it could have worked against us being in Europe, but it could also have brought in enough money to attract said players, and at least ensure we were a yo-yo club.

I fear SSC would have just sent out understrength teams full of fringe players reserves to play in Eurupe, showing the same disdain for it that he did for the FA Cup. He was always vehmently opposed to qualification and did his best to stop it happening.

[KC Royal]

... which one would you go for?

Bolton Play-Off Final?
Huddersfield Play-Off Final?
Blackburn (a) to get into Europe?
Birmingham (h) to get into autos?

Or something else?

For me, I think it has to be FA Cup semi v Arsenal. To see Reading in an FA Cup Final has been a dream for as long as I can remember and we might've had a shot against Villa.

Was convinced at first this was a thread from earlier in the season that had been bumped up. I'm sure we had a thread along these lines.

Anyway, good shout for the Arsenal game. Remember saying to a mate after that had it been playing against anyone other than bogey team Arsenal i'm convinced we'd have won.

The one that stands out for me though is Swansea playoff final 2011. If we'd won then Long would have stayed, Gylfi would have returned and Madejski wouldn't have had to sell to Zingarevich. Also think we'd have had a better chance of staying up had we gone up then rather than in 2012.

[KC Royal]

Blackburn at home March 2008. It was a good 0-0 as we went down to 10 men. If only Stephen Hunt had scored right at the death.

The worst display i've ever seen at a game by the officials. Mark Clattenberg (a ref who i thought was decent) basically decided he wasn't prepared to get his cards out in the first half, despite some cynical fouls by Blackburn. Then he completely changed in the 2nd half, with the result that Matejovsky got two yellows, IIRC his 2nd was for a foul on the halfway line, when Blackburn had been fouling just outside the box in dangerous positions..remember feeling that it should have been 10 v 10 or 10 v 9 had he been more consistent throughout the game. Think even Coppell after said it was a Jekyll and Hyde performance, and he rarely spoke about the refs. But what stands out the most was the linesman not flagging for offside in the 2nd half when there were 3 or 4 Blackburn players who were offside. I was in the South Stand and he got a load of abuse after and never really recovered (remember Jason Roberts then at Blackburn having a go at him for not giving them a throw in and I just laughed as i knew he was right). Thankfully Hahnemann made the save as i shudder to think what would have happened had they scored..

[URZZZZZZZZ]

Either of the 2-0 home defeats to Bolton or Fulham in 2007/08. A draw in either would have kept us up.

This. Another year in the top flight, likely considerable recruitment, probably our best chance to actually consolidate ourselves up there for an extended spell.

Bolton po final was too soon.

I’m completely over the Rougier final, in the long run it didn’t matter much.

Swansea would probably have made no difference. If anything we would have been worse without the Zingarevich “money”.

Don’t care about the FA Cup.

Huddersfield is the only other contender for me, that was a great opportunity. Maybe qualifying for the playoffs under Adkins, but we’d probably have lost.

It’s not even getting a draw against Bolton and Fulham that stopped us in the end. In both matches with Fulham we conceded a late goal which extended Fulham’s lead. If we’d still lost those games but not conceded those goals, we would have stayed up. Galling.

On the Huddersfield play-off final that people have mentioned, I don’t subscribe to the opinion that it wouldn’t have made much difference. We’d have had exceptionally wealthy owners with more relaxed FFP regulation, and perhaps more importantly, we would have had a Director of Football in place to oversee things a lot better than what is happening now.

[RoyalBlue]

Derby 0 Reading 4, we needed to win 7-0 to stay up, the rams were so bad then we could easily have done it.

Could we change the Portsmouth result that day instead?!

That having been said, it has to be the Bolton Playoff Final for me. So close, yet so very far in the end. It would have been a massive achievement for our club back then. In some ways, given our very limited resources and what happened during the season, almost as good as the 106? Not to forget we were screwed in the first place by the PL tightening up their closed shop that season and only allowing one automatic promotion. I woke up in the early hours of the following morning, realised that the nightmare was real and cried like I never before had, nor have done since, over the result of a football game!

[Dirk Gently]

Derby 0 Reading 4, we needed to win 7-0 to stay up, the rams were so bad then we could easily have done it.

Could we change the Portsmouth result that day instead?!

That having been said, it has to be the Bolton Playoff Final for me. So close, yet so very far in the end. It would have been a massive achievement for our club back then. In some ways, given our very limited resources and what happened during the season, almost as good as the 106? Not to forget we were screwed in the first place by the PL tightening up their closed shop that season and only allowing one automatic promotion. I woke up in the early hours of the following morning, realised that the nightmare was real and cried like I never before had, nor have done since, over the result of a football game!

I fear for what might have happened to us if we had beaten Bolton. We weren't equipped for the Premier League in so many ways and I worry if we might have set an all-time low PL points total. It might have been a great adventure, but I seriously doubt if we'd have been allowed to play PL matches at Elm Park - there was talk at the time of a plan to ground-share with QPR if we went up. That's a horrible prospect to think about.