Smallest Away following

[Tony Le Mesmer]

Any advances on 24 away to Swansea c1990?

[AthleticoSpizz]

if we are including pre-season friendlies

Versus an Army team in Osnabruck, W Germany very early 1980's

Away crowd 1 (me)


Incidently, yet a side issue, didn't we sign Uwe H play from VFL Osnabruck a couple of seasons later?

[floyd__streete]

Bayer Uerdingen.

LOL @ not even having to look that up

[AthleticoSpizz]

sadder than a sad mans sad bits......and it was a question...not a statement


He was at Osnatraz at some stage in his monumentous career tho'?

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Think in the English League the record (in recent times) is Southport away in 1978.

The game was a meaningless twice re-arranged end of season 4th tier game in 1978 and from memory was called off last minute due to a rain storm on a Tues and re-arranged the next day - I am sure I read somewhere Blackie was the only RFC fan there...

[Big Foot]

Smallest away following I've been in was 151 to Swansea in an FA Cup replay c.2004 on a Monday night

[Badger Finger]

What about the 125ish at Derby, BF? The one that you saw 10 minutes of...

[Irvinchangeyaname]

What about the 125ish at Derby, BF? The one that you saw 10 minutes of...

Is that the NYE televised game? Actually great atmosphere that evening!

[Badger Finger]

The one last season, when it snowed and the country fell to pieces...

[From Despair To Where?]

Smallest I've been in was Shrewsbury on a Tuesday night in 1987. Less than 30.

[BenReadingFC]

Lowest I've attended was Stockport County in 1998. Arrived late, Reading were already 2-0 down, Stood on the terrace in the pissing rain to see us get an arse whooping 5-1.
There were 34 Reading supporters in attendance (including me) if memory serves me well.

[Tilehurst End]

Think in the English League the record (in recent times) is Southport away in 1978.

The game was a meaningless twice re-arranged end of season 4th tier game in 1978 and from memory was called off last minute due to a rain storm on a Tues and re-arranged the next day - I am sure I read somewhere Blackie was the only RFC fan there...

I seem to remember he got a lift home on the team bus as well.

[AthleticoSpizz]

....knowing Smiths Coaches of the day...he ended up pushing it

[Ian Herring]

Crewe away on a Friday night one sleet-infested evening. Seemed like only 13 away fans but that's possibly apocryphal. It was about a hundred or so, maybe more, terracing.

I think 'Sunbed' Maskell was playing for us but that might also be wrong.

Remember Kirby being there, and us all laughing at one particular pair known as Dawsey and Scarface who were escorted back to the sparsely populated away enclosure from the opposite stand having 'taken their end'.

1-1 draw if I recall, although it may have been 0-0.

Late eighties, methink'um .

[Jerry St Clair]

Crewe away on a Friday night one sleet-infested evening. Seemed like only 13 away fans but that's possibly apocryphal. It was about a hundred or so, maybe more, terracing.

I think 'Sunbed' Maskell was playing for us but that might also be wrong.

Remember Kirby being there, and us all laughing at one particular pair known as Dawsey and Scarface who were escorted back to the sparsely populated away enclosure from the opposite stand having 'taken their end'.

1-1 draw if I recall, although it may have been 0-0.

Late eighties, methink'um .

Do you mean Chester away when they were lodging at Macclesfield? That was in 1991 and was the smallest league attendance we've ever played in front of. 690ish I think.

[Royal Prince]

Smallest away following I've been in was 151 to Swansea in an FA Cup replay c.2004 on a Monday night

There were only 150 during extra time as my mate got so bored he decided to go in town early! Met him in a club after and had a mental night, which is probably why I can't remember who scored the winner!

P.s Good guess with 2004, but it must have been during term time if I was back in Swansea which would make it Jan 2005.

[The Cube]

Crewe away on a Friday night one sleet-infested evening. Seemed like only 13 away fans but that's possibly apocryphal. It was about a hundred or so, maybe more, terracing.

I think 'Sunbed' Maskell was playing for us but that might also be wrong.

Remember Kirby being there, and us all laughing at one particular pair known as Dawsey and Scarface who were escorted back to the sparsely populated away enclosure from the opposite stand having 'taken their end'.

1-1 draw if I recall, although it may have been 0-0.

Late eighties, methink'um .

Do you mean Chester away when they were lodging at Macclesfield? That was in 1991 and was the smallest league attendance we've ever played in front of. 690ish I think.

1 February 1991 (easily memorable date for me for family reasons) at Crewe fits most of Herring's description. Except it was 0-1 due to goalkeeping idiocy. And there were many more than 13.

Not the actual lowest, but worthy of comment, was the first away game of 1985/86 at Plymouth. 42 Reading fans on the terrace, moved to the side so we could be under cover, plus possibly a few more in the seats. And that was win 2 of the 13 wins.

My personal low was 7 at a Maltby Miners' Welfare pre-season friendly.

[Ian Herring]

Crewe away on a Friday night one sleet-infested evening. Seemed like only 13 away fans but that's possibly apocryphal. It was about a hundred or so, maybe more, terracing.

I think 'Sunbed' Maskell was playing for us but that might also be wrong.

Remember Kirby being there, and us all laughing at one particular pair known as Dawsey and Scarface who were escorted back to the sparsely populated away enclosure from the opposite stand having 'taken their end'.

1-1 draw if I recall, although it may have been 0-0.

Late eighties, methink'um .

Do you mean Chester away when they were lodging at Macclesfield? That was in 1991 and was the smallest league attendance we've ever played in front of. 690ish I think.

1 February 1991 (easily memorable date for me for family reasons) at Crewe fits most of Herring's description. Except it was 0-1 due to goalkeeping idiocy. And there were many more than 13.

Not the actual lowest, but worthy of comment, was the first away game of 1985/86 at Plymouth. 42 Reading fans on the terrace, moved to the side so we could be under cover, plus possibly a few more in the seats. And that was win 2 of the 13 wins.

My personal low was 7 at a Maltby Miners' Welfare pre-season friendly.

Think the Cube's details clear up my (somewhat beer-f*cked) memory. Was the goalkeeping idiocy related to one Nick Colgan? Christ, it's all merging into one mass memory (pass the adult Pampers).

[The Cube]

Think the Cube's details clear up my (somewhat beer-f*cked) memory. Was the goalkeeping idiocy related to one Nick Colgan? Christ, it's all merging into one mass memory (pass the adult Pampers).

The Colgan goalkeeping idiocy (far, far worse) in a 1-0 defeat at Crewe came seven years later. Time to start looking at clinics, I think.

[Ark Royal]

Crewe away on a Friday night one sleet-infested evening. Seemed like only 13 away fans but that's possibly apocryphal. It was about a hundred or so, maybe more, terracing.

I think 'Sunbed' Maskell was playing for us but that might also be wrong.

Remember Kirby being there, and us all laughing at one particular pair known as Dawsey and Scarface who were escorted back to the sparsely populated away enclosure from the opposite stand having 'taken their end'.

1-1 draw if I recall, although it may have been 0-0.

Late eighties, methink'um .

Do you mean Chester away when they were lodging at Macclesfield? That was in 1991 and was the smallest league attendance we've ever played in front of. 690ish I think.

That night at Moss Rose was shocking. I had driven from London to Leeds to do a server install, then drove to Macclesfield and arrived just as the game kicked off. Pissing down and I reckon there was only about thirty Reading there. 631 was the official figure, but it looked a lot less. Shit game, shit performance, 1-0 defeat and I had to drive to Preston after the game. Not one of my better away-day experiences.