Reflections

[Edelston & Brice]

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.

[LWJ]

Not reading all that.. Summary?

[Maguire]

That's a quality post. I was musing the other day that I feel like a bit of an old hand after 24yrs support so I can't imagine what another four decades will do to me. Hope the club is still around I guess.

[mr_number]

It's always cool to hear about the history of the club... I'm sure loads of those years were dreadful at the time, but even with all this success now I wish I'd experienced them. I'm sure it makes what's happening now even sweeter.

Thanks for the post.

[Jackson Corner]

He's been there seen it done it. I started in 78 so have been lucky to witness several promotions trips to Wembley etc. I feel for the poor buggers who supported us in the 30's, 40,s 50's 60's no promotions or even the odd cup run to shout about.

[TBM]

I say fair play to an old man actually being able to use, not only a computer but the internet

[yuomi]

genuine thanks for posting this.

[Stuka]

I always like a historical post. Thanks for sharing.

[parky]

What about the years between 2006 and 2012.

[Croydon Royal]

Fantastic post, and I'm glad it's all been worth the (long!) wait. Having been a Reading fan for almost 20 years (first game at the start of the 1994-95) it makes me realise just how lucky I've had it, even if I do like to play the "I went all the way to Crewe/Stockport/Plymouth to watch us lose in the rain" card with my Man Utd and Chelsea supporting mates. Not much more for me to add as you've summed it up so well, but you have to explain this to me in more detail: "2 goals from goalkeeper Arthur Wilkie in a 4-2 win over Halifax"

[phil in cornwall]

I'm a bit younger than you, though I can well remember Jimmy Wheeler, Bomber Reeves and Dick Spiers. Thanks for posting that. It brought back a lot of memories because I had forgotten a lot of what you have recorded. Can't believe someone can't be bothered to read it and wants a summary. It IS a summary.

[Spirit of Elm Park]

What a well written piece. IMO sums up all that it means to support a team, not just any team, but a team with local connections. My experiences only go back to 85/6 when my old man suggested I accompany him to an important game (no.14 vs Wolves, which set me up for the 'old' Reading way of failing to deliver under pressure). I feel so sorry for the kids I see blindly wearing their replica premier league shirts who have no idea of the 'true' history of clubs, that is not measured by winning trophies. I have had the pleasure of watching my son (7) flourish into a true Reading fan this season, he experienced the low first hand last year, and his interest has steadily grown as has his understanding of why Daddy and Grandad do what they do. I feel so proud that, in his words, "I can talk to my friends about football now!", he can, and feel proud that he understands that being a fan is more than being on Sky every week. Being at the stadium the other night was his "best night of my life" .There will be twists and turns from here forwards, that is guaranteed as a Reading fan, but at least when you see a kid wearing his Royals shirt in the prem, you know that the chances are he knows what it means to support his team.

Only one memory I would add to that list, avoiding relegation to the 4th in the late 80s with a second half comeback at Chesterfield, still my greatest away day.

[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.

Snowbollocks has reinvented himself but added more words. A marked improvement!

[floyd__streete]

Not reading all that.. Summary?

Your loss, great post.


Thanks E&B, and congrats for 64 years of loyal support. Delighted for the old-timers; at the end of the game on Tuesday I saw a veteran RFC fan being wheeled around by the Megastore by her daughter (not going to name names, I know that both of them have at some stage posted on this forum) and it struck me just what a family this small club of ours is. A dysfunctional one at that, given some of the animosity that goes on on these pages and in the stands and on the terraces over the years, but you see the same old faces going year-in year-out and we all deserve to celebrate long and hard.

[3 veesinarow]

Not reading all that.. Summary?

Why not take the time, Mr ADHD? Try to set aside no more than 10 minutes of your young life and appreciate what it means to have a true affiliation and a long life supporting your team. You may be able to use some of it as you grow up.

[Edelston & Brice]

Hi, Croydon Royal - thanks for your comments. The answer to your question is that in August 1962 our goalie Arthur Wilkie injured his arm playing against Halifax and was unable to continue in goal. No substitutes in those days, so he moved to the wing and one of the other players (I've forgotten who) went in goal. Amazingly enough, Wilkie scored twice!!

[just some bloke]

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.

What an amazing story - a fantastic summary of support for Reading FC over EIGHT DECADES. How many fans can tie Ted Drake and Jason Roberts together like that?

You are an example to fans of the beautiful game everywhere. Sincere thanks for posting this. The goons at the FA who are in charge of the English game, it's legacy and it's duty to its supporters, could learn an awful lot from someone like you.

[just some bloke]

on the verge of extinction with Maxwell’s plans for the Thames Valley Royals

God I remember that. Sounds completely ridiculous now, doesn't it?

[Dare to Dr£am]

Our oldest hobnobber? Even older than Royal Lady?

[strap]

May I just say what a pleasure to read well written and researched piece. You have 20 years on me sir, and some of the names and memories you describe are only known to me through our club's history. So it is great to read it through the eyes of "someone who was there".

Oh and

Not reading all that.. Summary?

...

... you perfectly represent all that is bad about the "yoot" of today. May I suggest you go away and come back when you are old enough to appreciate your club's history. Plastic.