Anybody else preparing to opt out next season?

[mathematically_safe]

What a fascinating thread - Looking in as an outsider (a local (to Reading) Burnley fan), its really interesting to see the views expressed about the sense of anticlimax as well as peoples views on the Premier league.

In reality It's probably not something that I will have to concern myself with in the near future but I have always said publicaly that I would not want us to get promoted to the Premiership. It really feels like a media circus with the star acts being, in part, a bunch of mildly talented wideboys who are earning mega-wages. I wouldnt, by the way, include people like Gerrard in that bracket or, in fact, the Reading boys.

The most fun I ever had was when we were in the 4th division (and winning it comfortably) - going to places like Hereford, York and Halifax. I'm sure that I'm looking at it through rose tinted specs to some extent - I do recognise that the standard of football is crap at that level - but boy was it fun.

Part of me hopes that the whole thing implodes - but I suspect it wont..

Anyway, thanks for a fascinating read on a slow day at work!

Up the Clarets...and maybe see you next season?

are you going to be promoted then?!!!

[hantsclaret]

I think that the chances of either us being promoted or you being relegated are roughly equal ...and both long shots.

But hey, who knows!

[wolsey]

I think that the chances of either us being promoted or you being relegated are roughly equal ...and both long shots.

But hey, who knows!

Without wishing to sound patronising, or forgetting Burnley's glorious (dim, distant) past, I really miss places like Turf Moor: proper ground, town centre location, good food, good banter, good ticket prices..(even went there as a neutral several times including a 6-2 defeat against Hereford in the 80's when a certain O.Kearns - formally of this parish - looked like an absolute world beater and scored a hat-trick).BUT...

Would I swap the Prem for eking out an existence in Divs 2/3/4 (in old money) and the joys of Bury, Brizzle, Chesterfield, Grimsby et al ? NO

I love the fact that we are fighting against the stream in terms of financial outlay, that nearly all of the media and the fans of "Big Clubs" don't get us, that on our day ( and with the right attitude) we are more than capable of pricking a few over-inflated egos: sure prices are exorbitant, but (as a previous poster said, the Premier League is just a small part of rip-off Britain

[winchester_royal]

It is threads like this which really start to annoy me as a reading fan. For sure, it is not as good as last season......but then again did anyone really expect it to be? We lost our best player to Chelsea, and did not buy any immediate quality (i still remain hopeful on the potential of fae, cisse and LR). However to say that you are going to stop coming altogether and start watching local football, which consists of 22 men kicking lumps out of each other not actual football, is ridiculous.

I am one of the fans who get excited before every game, and when we sign a class player like Matejovsky i feel like a kid at christmas. And can anyone say they got more excited watching us play Leyton Orient than watching the liverpool match? Or was happier finding out we signed Lloyd Owusu rather than when Marek signed? (rhetorical question by the way)

Yes the money has gone up but it is a price i am willing to pay to watch and support the team i love.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

I'll buy a season ticket again next season again without a doubt, but away games just aren't as much fun any more.

Part of that is the price. Part of it is just because unlike in the terracing and unreserved seating in the away ends days, it's almost impossible to get seats with mates who go away, and sitting with strangers just takes the edge off the day somewhat.


There are things I miss about "the old days", but I also remember how awful it was watching football in the Madejski in front of 7000 people, particularly for night games. The vacant blue seats just screamed "empty" in a way that less than full terraces don't.

[Half Man Half Biscuit]

its just another league
you play your games, you win some you lose some
some are great, some are awful
and at the end of it you stay up get relegated or win the league
it doesnt matter what league it is, its still a great buzz
surely that last minute winner vs sunderland, and the liverpool game, and to an extent the united game has made you see that there are so many more great days to go, to rival and eclipseall the old elm park days,the playoffs, the championship etc
im still well and truly loving all this,and long may it continue
we may well lose some fans, and that is as sad a thing as i have read on the team board, but they probably would have gone anyway eventually, football just becomes less important as you get older to most people, we will aquire legions of plastic fans to replace them, and so lose some of the character, and tradition of the club,but the club will go on, and grow,regardless.
but to leave now just as we finally approach the zenith of what a football club can achieve seems a mighty odd decision, just think, we could be playing european football in 5 years against the might of majorca, and dynamo bucharest

I'm with you Wendy, some of these posters are complaining about the price inflation, but the original post seems to be about the lack of soul.

The club has reinvented and adapted from the ramshackle old Elm Park to what it is now, and the process isn't over yet.

Am I renewing my season ticket? You better believe I am!

[Armadillo Roadkill]

But price has to be a big part of it. And none of it is inevitable.

Look at Germany. Huge crowds, safe standing, real competition, and low prices. The draw back? Well, Bayern haven't won the Champions League for a while. But you know what, I bet the fans don't care, as long as they can fight it out with the Dortmunds and the Schalkes.

The Champions League is the footballing root of all evil. It's destroyed the Pemiership, it's attracted ego maniac foreigners to own clubs and destroyed real competition at national level. And who cares? I firmly believe most Liverpool fans would rather win the Premiership than the Champions League, but we all know where the club's (owners) priority is - it's the big cash from the multinational sponsors and the TV rights.

So, we'll probably never win anything. But then again we bumped around not really winning anything for 135 years anyway, so not much has changed. My dream of a land full of clubs owned by the fans, represented by mostly home grown talent with a sprinkling of foreigners for diversity and to liven things up, with real competition and prices affordable to the average man (or woman) in the street is just that - a big stupid dream.

But a world without going to watch Reading, even in the Premeirship is unthinkable for now.

[Freddy]

I opted out this season.

Last season wasn't the same for me. I just wasn't enjoying it as much. I still go to games. I just (after much soul-searching) gave up my season ticket. I don't go to every game. I pick and choose according to who we are playing and what else is happening in my life.

Why? Partially changing circumstances. I'm not from Reading originally, but started to take my son to Elm Park when he was 7 and became a fan. He is now 19 and also has other priorities. The father/son thing with football is still there, but not as it was. The other factors mentioned in this thread also influenced my decision (unequal competition/the premiership "circus"/ etc..). I'm not sure what the main factor was - I just knew I wasn't enjoying it so much any more. I also started to feel like a "customer" rather than a supporter. I felt less part of the club. I was disappointed by some of the decisions the club made. Example (not that this directly affected me):

80 of us were Premier Club members for 5 years paying £600 to £850 per season.As soon as we reached Premiership we were moved to make way for more corporate seats.Second season we are told sorry no more Premier Club as we do not make enough money.We were offered same seats £1500 plus vat with food.We were eventually given seats in Upper West and after this season we are not bothering anymore.My first game was when I was 8 I am now 63.

To be honest, I thought I would miss it more than I do.

[Jerry St Clair]

Without wishing to sound patronising, or forgetting Burnley's glorious (dim, distant) past, I really miss places like Turf Moor: proper ground, town centre location, good food, good banter, good ticket prices

......and full of nutters.

Turf Moor is one of the least welcoming grounds in the country. Up there with Wolves IMHO.

[wolsey]

Without wishing to sound patronising, or forgetting Burnley's glorious (dim, distant) past, I really miss places like Turf Moor: proper ground, town centre location, good food, good banter, good ticket prices

......and full of nutters.

Turf Moor is one of the least welcoming grounds in the country. Up there with Wolves IMHO.

Never had any problems at Burnley (well nothing like, as you say, Wolves, or any of the Welsh Clubs, old style St Andrews, Bristol Rovers at Twerton, Bolton at Burnden, or Portsmouth in the 70's/80's)

[andrew1957]

I find this thread a little sad really.

Reading have tried to reach the top flight for 135 years and finally succeeded. Anyone who went last Saturday and watched the fantastic performance Reading put up against arguably the best multi million pound squad that has ever been assembled would surely not want to go back to watching Reading play in League 1 every week.

Yes the PL may be full of overpaid premadonnas BUT the skill and passion showed by both sides on Saturday was fantastic.

I say long may Reading remain in the PL and I will enjoy every moment of it.

[Ozymandias]

80 of us were Premier Club members for 5 years paying £600 to £850 per season.As soon as we reached Premiership we were moved to make way for more corporate seats.Second season we are told sorry no more Premier Club as we do not make enough money.We were offered same seats £1500 plus vat with food.We were eventually given seats in Upper West and after this season we are not bothering anymore.My first game was when I was 8 I am now 63.

This is dreadful handling of the stalwart fan, but that's the premier league for you sadly, money talks, Same reason the catering is shocking, and the staff unfriendly, they're paid minimum wage.

It is threads like this which really start to annoy me as a reading fan. However to say that you are going to stop coming altogether and start watching local football, which consists of 22 men kicking lumps out of each other not actual football, is ridiculous.

Yes the money has gone up but it is a price i am willing to pay to watch and support the team i love.

WR - Different people have different views, which they have put on here, it's there own money to spend as they wish. You're lucky enough to have disposable income to get to games, but many people aren't in that lucky situation. People are allowed to make their own choices you know !

[RoyalBlue]

It is threads like this which really start to annoy me as a reading fan. However to say that you are going to stop coming altogether and start watching local football, which consists of 22 men kicking lumps out of each other not actual football, is ridiculous.

And that is a ridiculous and/or ignorant sweeping statement. How much lower league/local football have you watched?

Of course that happens but there are also games where more than a little skill is displayed and they deserve to be called actual football just as much as the PL/ManU circus tour!

One thing I would agree with though. Local/non league football is not a proper business and the supporters are acknowledged as exactly that, not customers to be fleeced as much as possible. And thank god for that distinction!

[Dirk Gently]

I find this thread a little sad really.

Reading have tried to reach the top flight for 135 years and finally succeeded. Anyone who went last Saturday and watched the fantastic performance Reading put up against arguably the best multi million pound squad that has ever been assembled would surely not want to go back to watching Reading play in League 1 every week.

Yes the PL may be full of overpaid premadonnas BUT the skill and passion showed by both sides on Saturday was fantastic.

I say long may Reading remain in the PL and I will enjoy every moment of it.

I agree Reading has finally succeeded, but at what? Unless there's a radical restructuring of PL finances, membership of the Premier League is the highest we'll ever achieve. There's no way that we'll win it, or probably even finish in the top 4. In fact, the financial gap between the big 4 and the other PL teams is getting bigger every day, as is the gap between the PL teams and the rest of football.

I can't see that watching a team where highlights of the season are the occasional win over one of the super-rich is particularly satisfying - I also can't see how anything will change. I agree with you that Saturday was fantastic, but possibly because such days of skill and passion are few and far between these days, and we still lost, of course! And for every one like Saturday, there's one like Arsenal, where we watch a Harlem Globetrotters-style game between two completely mis-matched teams.

For 545 quid I want my team to be in with a fair chance of winning - and it's not Reading I blame, they're doing their best to swim against the tide. It's the structure and finances of the English game these days.

[Upper West?!?]

Amazing that people can moan when it is such a buzz traveling to the ground knowing you're going to see some of the best players in the world.

Since we moved to the Mad Stad, the first "big club" visit I can remember was Chelsea in the League Cup. It was one of the few times the ground was full, and it was a real exception to the usual fare. It was fantastic seeing players that I'd previously admired only on MOTD. Now we have the same experience every other week, unless it's Derby of course.
We've beaten Liverpool and drawn with Man U and Chelsea in less than two seasons in the Premier League, and only Arsenal have had the beating of us, so it's not all gloom and doom and pre-ordained results. In any case, I really enjoyed Saturday's match in spite of the result.

Yes, we do get jaded, and success just breeds higher expectations, but the club does have a plan to expand the ground and continue it's growth and development. "Brick on brick" is not the Chelsea model of getting to success, but it's a hell of a lot better than the Leeds model. We won't go down this season, and the ground expansion will begin in the summer.

So, I would not be sure that the club reached its peak with 8th place in the Premier League. It may take awhile, there will be better days than that.

I won't be giving up my season ticket.

[largetrousers]

As a youngster the thought of having a season ticket was unthinkable, so I had to resort to attending as many games as I could afford (looking back, student prices at Elm park were great!) or get my dad or brother-in-law to pay for. Now I can afford it, and don't have a crazy ex wife stopping my involvement with football, I couldnt dream of not going to Reading games. Its part of me that makes me the person I am, whether we are in the premiership or 2 divisions below. I might not go to many away games, but that is down to finances and keeping a balance in life with the girlfriend and my son, anyhow the radio is always on come Saturdays! Without football i'd end up like the rest of the depressed guys that get dragged around shops by their WAGs, thinking "is this all there is to life?"

[Dirk Gently]

Without football i'd end up like the rest of the depressed guys that get dragged around shops by their WAGs, thinking "is this all there is to life?"

I agree with that - I think this thread is a lot more about losing the "connection" that makes Reading "our" team. Once that's gone, and there's nothing left to identify with at the club, then the ever-increasing cost and obstacles to watching matches outweigh the benefits.

But certainly if I did scrap my ST I'd not abandon football altogether - there are plenty of smaller teams which will value and appreciate your support, instead of taking advantage of you - and they'll not fleece you for the privilege.

[sheshnu]

I can't see that watching a team where highlights of the season are the occasional win over one of the super-rich is particularly satisfying - I also can't see how anything will change. I agree with you that Saturday was fantastic, but possibly because such days of skill and passion are few and far between these days, and we still lost, of course! And for every one like Saturday, there's one like Arsenal, where we watch a Harlem Globetrotters-style game between two completely mis-matched teams.

Whilst I agree with what you are saying - I'm fairly certain that fans of teams like Aston Villa and Portsmouth used to feel exactly the same way. Now they are among the clubs challenging for 4th (woo-hoo!) and all the prestige that can potentially bring to a club. Who knows, maybe next year Villa will be title challengers. Or in five years, or whatever.

All I know is that I'm not as certain about the future of the Premier League as you seem to be...

[Scarface]

If ST prices remained as they are I would probably renew one more season, but if we failed to get promoted I doubt I could justify that amount to watch Championship football. By then a lot of the plastics would of bailed out, so I could probably pick and choose my games from then on to keep the cost down.

I can't see a time when I'll ever stop regularly watching the Royals, even if we plummetted down through the leagues.

[largetrousers]

Without football i'd end up like the rest of the depressed guys that get dragged around shops by their WAGs, thinking "is this all there is to life?"

I agree with that - I think this thread is a lot more about losing the "connection" that makes Reading "our" team. Once that's gone, and there's nothing left to identify with at the club, then the ever-increasing cost and obstacles to watching matches outweigh the benefits.

But certainly if I did scrap my ST I'd not abandon football altogether - there are plenty of smaller teams which will value and appreciate your support, instead of taking advantage of you - and they'll not fleece you for the privilege.

I have always had the feeling that I am part of Reading, not just another supporter. The team feels 'homely' to me, Coppell seems like the sort of bloke you could have a pint with down the pub without feeling awkward, I would hate to be a supporter of a team like Manchester United, yeah they've won a lot and play some great football and can tempt the best players in the world to play for them, but how in touch are their fans with their players and fellow supporters? Long live the RFC community, sensible management and sensible ownership, I hope JM remains our chairman and doesn't sell up to another billionaire looking for a play thing to ruin and take its individuality away.