Where will READING FC be in 10 years time?

[Fife]

I think they'll be in the UEFA cup after being runner's up in the FA Cup

[dean horrix legend]

No, that is ten months away!

[Royal With Cheese]

I'm hoping it'll move to Northern Ireland but I suspect it'll still be in Berkshire.

[higher]

Just off the m4 unless theres a major shift in the techtonic plates.

[MartinRdg]

Possibly nearer the coast due to the ice caps melting?

[SpaceCruiser]

I would hope that Reading would be challenging for the Premiership championship by then.

[FORZA READING]

Top of the league havin a luagh

[Reading Abbey]

I would hope we would be filling a 38,000 capacity stadium, looking to redesign the hotel so we can build on the West Stand to go to 50,000 and flirting with Europe each season as a top 6 Premiership team.

[strap]

35 odd miles west of London, and still being missed by most pundits!

[Garry Mann]

Who knows, they could do a Boro and get into Europe, or they could do a Derby and go down. Either way, I would expect there to be plenty of spare seats most games if the capacity goes up to 35,000

[roland*]

Massive financial changes aside, I cannot see any teams breaking the stranglehold the "big four" have on the 4 Champions League places on a regular basis.

However, I see no reason why we couldn't achieve a place in the UEFA cup at some point in the next 10 years.

[noise]

Placing second in the Championship and Fifa shrinking the Premiership down again and we lose out.

[Victor Meldrew]

If we are still in the Premiership we may well be a bit like Charlton,Fulham and what Southampton were-a side that normally does enough not to get relegated but never threatens at the top end of the table.
Much will depend upon if we can keep hold of our better players and eventually produce just a few of our own through The Academy.
Luck will play it's part in whether we find more Doyles,Kitsons and Sonkos.We may also have to go through a few Clinton Morrisons and Jeffers using Sky money first as I don't see us ever competing in the transfer world with the current top 4 as teams like Everton and City with regular support approaching 40,000 don't either.

We might do a Bolton and make the very best of what we have got but as another poster said we could also do a Derby or indeed a Birmingham or West Brom.
My personal view is that we will stick around for 2 or 3 seasons and then crunch time.
Will all the newbies be happy just seeing us play in The Premiership or will they fall away when it becomes clear that we are not heading for Europe each year?
If attendances and revenue fall then we could be in trouble especially if The Premiership is reduced in numbers as inevitably it will be.

On the other hand Super Steve might continue to wave the magic wand and get players in from our feeder clubs,Brentford,Bournemouth,Bristol City and so on and at the same time resist big offers for Doyle and Kitson who then are international players of some repute and although paid big wages are not a source of envy from other players earning loads less as they prove to be rewarded for loyalty-an example to others.
I will actually be glad to be alive in 10 years' time so if that is the case I'll revisit this topic then.

We really have to enjoy this season in particular and if things are not so rosy in years to come and we are a lower mid-table Premiership club we will have to remind ourselves of what football was like in lower divisions as presumably the fans of Fulham and Charlton do each year.

[Rob-Royal]

Take the FC bit out of this thread title and that may give us a clue.

I believe the club willl grow as the town continues to grow and develop. The area around the ground will be completely different in 10 years time. Think about how much it's changed in the 8 years already and how much is in the pipeline and this may be an indicator of what we can achieve.

I'm the eternal optimist. I always have been. In the mid 1980's I can recall being laughed at when discussing with mates the potential Reading FC had with it's catchment area and being in the top flight one day.

I also believe we'll have at least 1 member of our current squad of players in the England squad within 12-18 months. This was laughed at only a few months ago by some on these boards. I would guess those numbers still laughing is smaller today.

I believe we'll fill a stadium with 38,000 fans and we can achieve 30,000 ST holders.

I see no reason why European football is not an achievable target within 2 years let alone 10. West Ham, Millwall, Bolton & Boro have all done it recently when it seems only yesterday they were our equals at a lower league level. Wigan almost achieved it by getting to the Carling cup final last season.

Wigan & Reading in the Premier League, who'd have thought it eh...?

Everything is possible - it's easy to be negative...after all, it's the safe option out of the two....

[Victor Meldrew]

I prefer your version Rob.
All I would add is that West Ham,Millwall,Bolton and 'Boro have played at the top level before.
Also to win or become runners-up in a cup competition you almost certainly need to play your first team.
However,as you say everything is possible-Wimbledon,Oxford and Swindon have all won cup finals.

[Millsy]

Not too fussed either way because....


We may well get relegated.

We may lose all our best players.

We may lose Madejski (and his stadium!?).

We may lose most of the new plastic support.

We may lose Coppell.

We may tumble down to league 2 and struggle.

BUT

I will always support my local club

I will always follow Reading over land and sea

COS

I'm READING TILL I DIE

[Doyle_Is_A_Royal]

Not too fussed either way because....


We may well get relegated.

We may lose all our best players.

We may lose Madejski (and his stadium!?).

We may lose most of the new plastic support.

We may lose Coppell.

We may tumble down to league 2 and struggle.

BUT

I will always support my local club

I will always follow Reading over land and sea

COS

I'm READING TILL I DIE

Very Patriotic

[cheeryoleary]

Former Rubbish Tip under the Mad Stad subsides forcing us to move to the training ground in Arborfield.

Chin up!

[Millsy]

(snip)

I'm READING TILL I DIE

Very Patriotic

No less than every fan who has the pleasure of getting a seat to watch the boys should be!

[From Despair To Where?]

I think the key is if and when Madejski sells up, what direction the new owners take us in. We have the potential to be an Everton type club in 10 years time, challenge for Europe one season, flirt with relegation the next. Equally realistically, we could end up as one of those clubs perenially caught in the bun fight around the Championship play offs. The thought of mid table mediocrity year in, year out, even in the Premiership, fills me with dread.

My instinct tells me that with the growth in support and the growth in the club as an institution, we have probably consigned lower league football to the dustbin of history, or at least, I'd like to think so.