Guardian Sport today

[Leamington Royal]

Another introspective self-inflated supporter unable to build an argument based on the facts.

Fayed bought premiership level players to get Fulham out of the 3rd and then 2nd flights and spent nothing on infrastructure. This is the model Fulham continue to operate on. Their revenue from the supporter base is insufficient to sustain the fees and player salaries that they have had during their stay in the PL. Without Fayed, they may not even be in existence today, and certainly would be unlikley to be in the PL.

Madejski (with the exception of the Lita fee) has not spent his money on transfer fees or higher player salaries, but invested in infrastructure. The players we have and pay are realistic within the revenue from our fan base and TV revenues (unlike a lot of PL clubs). So you can hardly say the JM has bought success on the pitch.

As for plastic. I expect that the fan base of most PL clubs is made up of very different people from 10 years ago - younger fans always come in and most clubs gates are substantially higher than the early 90's.

As for Fulham's (shorter) history - even in their one noteable 'achievement' in losing the '75 cup final, they were still a 2nd division team at the time.

We may be punching above our weight, but if that's true of RFC it's also true of FFC. There are plenty of clubs bigger and more 'fitting' for the PL e.g. Leeds, Forest, Wednesday, West Brom, Derby, Sheff Utd, Stoke, Leicester, Wolves, etc and you'd have to say, even Coventry, Wimbledon, Brighton and Southampton if you base it on FA Cup wins since Fulham appeared in their glorious FA Cup final defeat.

Rant over!

[rfcjoe]

any club with a neutral section, and who have to advertise cheap tickets on the radio on a weekly basis in order to fill their ground, isnt fit to polish madejskis wig

Madejski's wig

G.G

HTH

[Platypuss]

Fulham who described Reading as being 'too plastic' and having 'no soul.'

Would find it hard to argue with that to be honest

While it may be true to a certain extent, it's hard to argue that we are in any way more plasticky, more soul-less or have less history than Wigan Athletic.

[floyd__streete]

Wasn't so long ago Fulham were scrapping with Torquay to avoid finishing bottom of the football league.

In front of crowds of 2,500.

No real soul sneers a club whose home ground has a 'neutral end'

[readingbedding]

Wasn't so long ago Fulham were scrapping with Torquay to avoid finishing bottom of the football league.

In front of crowds of 2,500.

No real soul sneers a club whose home ground has a 'neutral end'

Exactly.

[West Stand Man]

Found on The Motley Fool Cafe Jokers Page just now;

'Went to watch Fulham last weekend and when I got off the train I asked a copper where the ground was. He replied just follow the crowds.

I ended up in Woolworths ! '

[3 veesinarow]

Tom Hark doesn't help our cause here. We're as plastic as they come with gimmicks like this. Sorry but its true.

We're not the only club to use this music - watch MOTD, Big League, Championship highlights, Irish league, Scottish football, blah blah blah - I would estimate we're in a small MAJORITY of clubs who feel it necessary to use this. Don't get me wrong, it's hackneyed, cliched, tired and out-of-date...but move on.

[Thaumagurist*]

.

[Muskrat]

Don't understand why peole are getting so het up. We are who we are, they are who they are, what's the big deal?

If it wasn't for the fact that one of their stands (or at least the facade) is a listed structure, they too would have a shiny new "plastic" ground. It's down to LB Hammersmith that they haven't.

We've both been in all four divisions during my memory and have about the same level of fanbase that fluctuates depending on where we are in the league structure.

We are no better than them nor they us.

Just ignore the cockney twa@t.

[rg6royal]

Don't understand why peole are getting so het up. We are who we are, they are who they are, what's the big deal?

If it wasn't for the fact that one of their stands (or at least the facade) is a listed structure, they too would have a shiny new "plastic" ground. It's down to LB Hammersmith that they haven't.

We've both been in all four divisions during my memory and have about the same level of fanbase that fluctuates depending on where we are in the league structure.

We are no better than them nor they us.

Just ignore the cockney twa@t.

'greed

[comeonthebiscuitmen]

We are the oldest club in the Premiership.
This fact isn't mentioned enough IMO - not a bad claim really.

so technicaly we can claim to have more history than any other Premiership team!

[West Stand Man]

We are the oldest club in the Premiership.
This fact isn't mentioned enough IMO - not a bad claim really.

so technicaly we can claim to have more history than any other Premiership team!

No, let's be accurate. We have a longer history thatn the rest, but not more history.

[floyd__streete]

The overuse of the term ‘plastic’ by those who attended football pre-Italia 90/inception of the Premier League is entirely tiresome, as if every club in this day and age hasn’t got its own large fanbase of middle class replica shirt bedecked families. Far too much handwringing on HNA on the subject; personally, I find the constant references to such to actually be far more embarrassing than those ‘plastics’ themselves you so detest.

RFC is no better or worse than anywhere else; seriously, some of you should attend some away matches at some time because you will never fail to be unimpressed by the lack of ‘atmosphere’ elsewhere, I promise you. Take Newcastle, the self-styled home of the best football supporters in the universe, they had to give out free scarves to whip them into anything approaching a frenzy. Chelsea, bless them, and their free flags and I give you tomorrow’s opposition…..Arsenal, who are handing out ‘clappers’ (pieces of card which when banged together make a noise) before the game ! If 21st century supporters of teams competing for top honours such as Arsenal and Chelsea can’t make a proper rumpus without the (presumably unwanted) intervention of their clubs, then you can hardly expect little old Reading to be a cauldron of noise. And at the end of the game, at least most Reading fans will return home to Berkshire.....along with a whopping percentage of Gooners. Now they are what you can call 'plastic' (if you must).

[T.R.O.L.I.]

Arsenal, who are handing out ‘clappers’ (pieces of card which when banged together make a noise) before the game

That makes Watford's (and our for that matter) Rumblestix look professional

[floyd__streete]

Arsenal, who are handing out ‘clappers’ (pieces of card which when banged together make a noise) before the game

That makes Watford's (and our for that matter) Rumblestix look professional

Yes, I must admit to now at least having an iota of interest in tomorrow's game, which in itself is nice given that I am - inevitably - making the trip .

[CMRoyal]

The overuse of the term ‘plastic’ by those who attended football pre-Italia 90/inception of the Premier League is entirely tiresome, as if every club in this day and age hasn’t got its own large fanbase of middle class replica shirt bedecked families. Far too much handwringing on HNA on the subject; personally, I find the constant references to such to actually be far more embarrassing than those ‘plastics’ themselves you so detest.

RFC is no better or worse than anywhere else; seriously, some of you should attend some away matches at some time because you will never fail to be unimpressed by the lack of ‘atmosphere’ elsewhere, I promise you. Take Newcastle, the self-styled home of the best football supporters in the universe, they had to give out free scarves to whip them into anything approaching a frenzy. Chelsea, bless them, and their free flags and I give you tomorrow’s opposition…..Arsenal, who are handing out ‘clappers’ (pieces of card which when banged together make a noise) before the game ! If 21st century supporters of teams competing for top honours such as Arsenal and Chelsea can’t make a proper rumpus without the (presumably unwanted) intervention of their clubs, then you can hardly expect little old Reading to be a cauldron of noise. And at the end of the game, at least most Reading fans will return home to Berkshire.....along with a whopping percentage of Gooners. Now they are what you can call 'plastic' (if you must).

What he said.

We must again remember the Universal Law of Fandom: Away Fans >>> Home Fans.

I don't get to many away matches (about 3 or 4 a season), but I'm very very rarely anything but proud of the atmosphere our supporters generate. And I'm equally no longer disappointed at the patchy level of support from the home fans, at Mad Stad or anywhere else. I think it's a natural consequence of all-seater stadia and the upward mobility of the people who attend matches compared to 20, 30 years ago.

So, let's stop beating ourselves up about it. Seriously.

[T.R.O.L.I.]

Arsenal, who are handing out ‘clappers’ (pieces of card which when banged together make a noise) before the game

That makes Watford's (and our for that matter) Rumblestix look professional

Yes, I must admit to now at least having an iota of interest in tomorrow's game, which in itself is nice given that I am - inevitably - making the trip .

It's also massively odds-on that you will make (and rightly so) a comment in derision at the way the Arsenal announcer reads out the first name of the Arsenal players and then lets the crowd shout his last name

[holsgrove breaks a leg]

the two "sugar daddys" cant be compared, in terms of money they have pumped in to the respective clubs, why they got involved in the 1st place, or their general business nous[/quote]

Yeah, there is an ENORMOUS difference.
They spent cash in an abramovich-like manner, employing Keegan and buying established premier league players when they were in what is now league one, and effectively bought their way out of that division.
It was totally ridiculous.



i think the signing of 11.75 million steve marlet sums up the delusion going on at FFC

[brendywendy]

exactly

'greed

I concur

[Keeper]

Just to expand on what Floyd has said about the clappers at Arsenal tomorrow, they are not being handed out, they have been put on each home seat (sorry none in our end) and they are just as Floyd said a piece of folded card which you hit against your hand (the back of someone's head, the nearest steward etc) and it makes a really iritating noise.

I know because I have spent most of the day doing it (and being paid for it I must add)

They have obviously been sponsored to do it because there are large adverts for LG all over them and a competition too