Is there a generation gap among fans?

[readingbedding]

There are people who moan, groan, whine, bitch and complain through life and people who don't as much.
It doesn't discriminate and any person of any age can be afflicted with this ignorant curse.

The message is some people are not happy unless they're not happy.

You know who these people are on this forum and at the match sat around you.
In a nutshell, they are nob-heads.

[Platypuss]

I dont really understand his point, of course there is a generation gap, as there is at every club apart from the select handful who have been constantly succesful.

Furthermore as a 27 year old i have supported Reading from when they were abject to premiership, and seen a fair range of quality players at our club, from the likes of big shaka to scott howie to our recent side.

Younger people have a sense of perspective about the club or else in this day and age they would simply support someone else - its not hard with premiership football on tv and chelsea 45 mins away. They must know that if they make the choice to support reading that they are never going to be watching the premiership champions etc.

Just because they seemingly moan more doesnt mean they dont comprehend our place in the greater footballing world - perhaps, with the differing culture now engrained in our society, they just expect more. Its a consumer society now, and people have been brought up to expect value for their money.

That is an excellent post - in particular the last paragraph. It's worth remembering that while the fare may have been considered poor in the "old days", it was also generally priced accordingly.

[Scarface]

I've been supporting Reading home and away for nearly 30 years and I don't rate SHunt or Harper that much. So make of that what you will.

20 years for me mate and I agree. I remember the days in Div 2 at Elm Park and I honestly believe we had better players than SHunt and Harper. Mick Gooding p1ssed all over Harper.

I think the older fans are often more critical, because the players now are over paid and have huge egos.

[Sarah Star]

Well I'm a new supporter, but I'm probably in what you'd call the 'older' age group. I don't complain much, but then I'm not the sort of person who complains much anyway.

[LUX]

if we ever cock it up and return to the third or fourth division, we'll be back to crowds of (say) 6000. That means two out of three supporters at the Madstad would disappear. Or two out of three on HNA.

No doubt everyone will shoot me down for saying this. We're all loyal Royals for life and beyond.

[fridays child]

20 years for me mate and I agree. I remember the days in Div 2 at Elm Park and I honestly believe we had better players than SHunt and Harper. Mick Gooding p1ssed all over Harper..

I know that Mick will be overjoyed to read that. However the fact is that Mick's limit was that of a very good 2nd tier player. Ok he never had the chance to play in the top flight so we'll never know if he could have upped his game but Harps and Hunt both showed that they were premiership quality.

[loyalroyal4life]

Dont really see the point in this thread as all clubs have a generation gap which would naturally result in different views and opinions.

1st game i saw was reading vs exeter city at elm park we won 1-0 courtesy of DARIUS WDOWCZYK and i have never looked back since.

I am and will always be A LOYAL ROYAL 4 LIFE

[Gordons Cumming]

Of course, we oldy Reading supporters had it tough in our day.

Thousands of us used to stand on hard concrete terraces in the cold winter days, all huddled together for fear of freezing, watching
the likes of Percy Freeman and Bruce Stuckey demonstrate their silky skills.

Today?.....................

Luxury!

.............and you try and tell the young people about that today?

..............they wont believe you..............they wont!!

[westendgirl]

There are people who moan, groan, whine, bitch and complain through life and people who don't as much.
It doesn't discriminate and any person of any age can be afflicted with this ignorant curse.

The message is some people are not happy unless they're not happy.

You know who these people are on this forum and at the match sat around you.
In a nutshell, they are nob-heads.

It also depends on why you follow Reading, if it is as a relief from pressures in your life it can be very helpful for some to use football as a means of blaming someone for something you have absolutely no responsibility for. As supporters we have minimal influence on how our team plays football (noise is the one weapon we have - we certainly can't finesse that great cross-field pass or that wonderful overhead kick into the goal) and it can be theraputic (sp?) to have a go when your bluff cannot be called and find you are told 'if you know so much you do it'.

Hence some are happy with their team as all they go for is a relief from responsibility and have fun watching the team and still get a vicarious thrill from a winning team whilst others go for the relief from responsibility and have fun blaming anyone for not meeting their (sometimes unachieveably high) expectations.

Then there is the added ingredient of optimism or pessimism.

I think I am generally an optimist who gives people the benefit of the doubt, and I'm an oldie who has seen the times when the top division seemed unattainable, and I find football a relief from work. So I'm an RTG and I enjoy most of my involvement in football. TBH I do feel a little sorry for the opposite extreme as I do wonder sometimes why they keep on banging their heads against that wall, if I was them I would give up football if it gave me so much angst.

[loyalroyal4life]

Of course, we oldy Reading supporters had it tough in our day.

Thousands of us used to stand on hard concrete terraces in the cold winter days, all huddled together for fear of freezing, watching
the likes of Percy Freeman and Bruce Stuckey demonstrate their silky skills.

Today?.....................

Luxury!

.............and you try and tell the young people about that today?

..............they wont believe you..............they wont!!

I think it comes down to whether you really care or not

[Royal Lady]

The trouble with me is, now we've had a taste of Premiership football and have been there or there abouts in the Championship in the last few years, I am of the mind set that we can and should be able to achieve Premiership status again. When I was standing on the Southbank watching us grind out a result I was much happier than I am these days, probably because I didn't actually expect us to achieve anything! If we managed to avoid relegation in Division 3 I was happy enough. These days we've been spoilt with our lofty positions, play off finals, two seasons in the Premiership, and because we've done that in the past we expect to happen again. I liked the football in div 3 and 4 - I never thought we'd get relegated out of the league, but I never expected us to even get into the champtionship many moons ago. If you can understand that ramble.

[Gordons Cumming]

I understand..........bless you.

[Royal Lady]

Thanks Gordy, I hoped you would.

[BR2]

Of course, we oldy Reading supporters had it tough in our day.

Thousands of us used to stand on hard concrete terraces in the cold winter days, all huddled together for fear of freezing, watching
the likes of Percy Freeman and Bruce Stuckey demonstrate their silky skills.

Today?.....................

Luxury!

.............and you try and tell the young people about that today?

..............they wont believe you..............they wont!!

"Concrete"?-Newbie.
What about slippery railway sleepers?
BTW I think players from the dim and distant were often more skilfull even some of those from the 4th Div days but the modern game has so much greater speed and fitness and defenders are so much better albeit on vastly superior pitches and playing a more pliable football.
I did smile at those who thought that the pitch the other night was sooo bad-tell that to Africans and Brazilians who somehow manage to play the game on rutted hard-baked bits of dirt.
Canoville,Jenkins,Harris,Gilkes>Hunt.

[dean horrix legend]

The trouble with me is, now we've had a taste of Premiership football and have been there or there abouts in the Championship in the last few years, I am of the mind set that we can and should be able to achieve Premiership status again. When I was standing on the Southbank watching us grind out a result I was much happier than I am these days, probably because I didn't actually expect us to achieve anything! If we managed to avoid relegation in Division 3 I was happy enough. These days we've been spoilt with our lofty positions, play off finals, two seasons in the Premiership, and because we've done that in the past we expect to happen again. I liked the football in div 3 and 4 - I never thought we'd get relegated out of the league, but I never expected us to even get into the champtionship many moons ago. If you can understand that ramble.

Well put,was going to say the same.

[loyalroyal4life]

The trouble with me is, now we've had a taste of Premiership football and have been there or there abouts in the Championship in the last few years, I am of the mind set that we can and should be able to achieve Premiership status again. When I was standing on the Southbank watching us grind out a result I was much happier than I am these days, probably because I didn't actually expect us to achieve anything! If we managed to avoid relegation in Division 3 I was happy enough. These days we've been spoilt with our lofty positions, play off finals, two seasons in the Premiership, and because we've done that in the past we expect to happen again. I liked the football in div 3 and 4 - I never thought we'd get relegated out of the league, but I never expected us to even get into the champtionship many moons ago. If you can understand that ramble.

expectations are always going to be high after a team achieves success, i think breaking the points total (106) and finishing 8th in the prem has resulted in expectations going through the roof. Once you achieve something it is difficult to not look at it being the bar/level to keep to.

[readingbedding]

Depends if you're a realist, or living in cloud cuckoo land.

[Huntley & Palmer]

I just count myself lucky that I follow a football club that has had some success in recent generations. I feel sorry for the equivalent generation to me that go and watch Oxford Utd

[SeniorRoyal]

I was conned into supporting Reading in the 69/70 season,when all games seemed to be 6-3 for or against.The entertainment was fantastic,and i thought the following seasons would be more of the same.Top half of the third division dizzy heights.

How wrong i was, relegation was followed by years in the old fourth division.In those years we all had plenty to moan about.It is only in the last five or six years that we have established ourselves as a strong championship side,with aspirations of the premiership.

Would i have missed the struggling years? No way,they make the good times even better.Do i still moan ? of course i do i am a Reading footballer supporter.

[readingbedding]

There are people who moan, groan, whine, bitch and complain through life and people who don't as much.
It doesn't discriminate and any person of any age can be afflicted with this ignorant curse.

The message is some people are not happy unless they're not happy.

You know who these people are on this forum and at the match sat around you.
In a nutshell, they are nob-heads.

It also depends on why you follow Reading, if it is as a relief from pressures in your life it can be very helpful for some to use football as a means of blaming someone for something you have absolutely no responsibility for. As supporters we have minimal influence on how our team plays football (noise is the one weapon we have - we certainly can't finesse that great cross-field pass or that wonderful overhead kick into the goal) and it can be theraputic (sp?) to have a go when your bluff cannot be called and find you are told 'if you know so much you do it'.

Hence some are happy with their team as all they go for is a relief from responsibility and have fun watching the team and still get a vicarious thrill from a winning team whilst others go for the relief from responsibility and have fun blaming anyone for not meeting their (sometimes unachieveably high) expectations.

Then there is the added ingredient of optimism or pessimism.

I think I am generally an optimist who gives people the benefit of the doubt, and I'm an oldie who has seen the times when the top division seemed unattainable, and I find football a relief from work. So I'm an RTG and I enjoy most of my involvement in football. TBH I do feel a little sorry for the opposite extreme as I do wonder sometimes why they keep on banging their heads against that wall, if I was them I would give up football if it gave me so much angst.

Yes, I agree, I'm prepared to give Coppell the benefit of doubt, because I trust his decisions, therefore I trust the players' efforts on the pitch, because Coppell trusts them.
If you are behind the manager, you tend to give the players that he plays your full backing, therefore I'm optimistic always
If I didn't rate or trust the manager, things would be different, I would be cautious and more pessimistic.
It depends on the circumstance.
Personally I don't have any favourites, some RFC players are more valuable and vital for the team's success than others, but I've been happy with the set-up for a good few years now and that's a right bonus for a RFC fan!