Reading FC was a West Reading club

[handbags_harris]

Well, who would give a monkey's about South West Essex or indeed Essex generally? Tedious county, precious little to interest anyone there.

Oi! Floyd! NO!!! You're having a laugh mate! North Essex is the business son!

The bloke's view is clearly warped by the quite ridiculous stereotype that all of Essex is infested with bling-wearing Birds of a Feather-like common-accented morons, when, having worked in and around Braintree and Colchester before, the stereotype couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, one of the best and picturesque villages I have ever seen is the quintessentially English and almost unspoiled Finchingfield.

Anyway, I digress.

[floyd__streete]

The bloke's view is clearly warped by the quite ridiculous stereotype that all of Essex is infested with bling-wearing Birds of a Feather-like common-accented morons, when, having worked in and around Braintree and Colchester before, the stereotype couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, one of the best and picturesque villages I have ever seen is the quintessentially English and almost unspoiled Finchingfield.

Anyway, I digress.

You can find beautiful english villages everywhere, Essex isn't a world leader on that score

dunno about east or west reading, but Theale was a bit shit.

HH, your opinions, Sir

[Para Handy]

Indeed. The first game was played at King's Meadow making Reading a Caversham club. The West Reading mob are plastic johnny come latelys.

[handbags_harris]

Theale...six pubs, all pretty decent, Chinese takeaway and restaurant, award winning Indian, successful independent bookies, and it's that good that John Constable even painted it. Theale Green School is a bit sh*t though.

And it's in West Berkshire. Personally, I'd rather live in Theale than, say, Newtown

[Muskrat]

Can I just say as an non Readingensian (and perhaps as such I don't "get it") but I find all this West/East Reading stuff hilarious.

If your family going back several generations were all Geordies, Brummies, Cornish whatever - you can kind of understand a bit of local pride - but to get this coming from someone from Reading is LOLaughable. And to then further split it out by a kind of "my bland suburb of a bland town is better than yours" is, well

When I first read this post I bristled a bit but then I thought - no, actually you have a very valid point and its nothing but a huge LOL and at the nob-ends on here defending their own little bit of Reading turf.

But that said, the 'Ding is the 'Ding. And the 'Ding>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>everywhere in Essex, sorry mate.

[West_Reading]

As someone who was born and brought up and still lives in the same place, right opposite Elm Park, Reading will always be a West Reading club for me at heart.

[Maguire]

Got to love people arguing over the geography of Reading. It's like having a row over whose shit smells better the morning after a curry.

[Para Handy]

Got to love people arguing over the geography of Reading. It's like having a row over whose shit smells better the morning after a curry.

My post was ironic you massive, massive pcunt.

[Millsy]

Earley is where it's at.

[strap]

Well, who would give a monkey's about South West Essex or indeed Essex generally? Tedious county, precious little to interest anyone there.

Oi! Floyd! NO!!! You're having a laugh mate! North Essex is the business son!

The bloke's view is clearly warped by the quite ridiculous stereotype that all of Essex is infested with bling-wearing Birds of a Feather-like common-accented morons, when, having worked in and around Braintree and Colchester before, the stereotype couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, one of the best and picturesque villages I have ever seen is the quintessentially English and almost unspoiled Finchingfield.

Anyway, I digress.

Living 2 miles away from Finchingfield, I can only agree Dave! Although The Fox has now changed hands, and the food isn't great. And The Red Lion's food has always been rubbish. The Three Tuns has reopened recently, and whilst not great, at least you can choke the fare down!!

Not sure I concur re Braintree though! Can be a bit chavvy on dole day!

[Z175]

i have to admit that the whole Town is a grey, un-inspiring and not very attractive, being the sort of place that you wouldn't visit unless you had some business here or a relative to visit. All the areas have a few nice spots, ( The Warren, Oak Tree Road, The University area etc.) but generally not one suburb is much better than another. There seems to be a lot of serious crime and 'No Go Areas' in CAVERSHAM, but nice restaurants. In TILEHURST there is a lot of, but less serious crime, but not a decent restaurant to be found (except Indian), and its where lots of Reading players used to live in the days when they earned ordinary money. SOUTHCOTE and COLEY just seem to be unattractive Council Estates. WOODLEY is full of 'Wannabee Gangsters'/Village Idiots' and no decent venues. WHITLEY, not even a pub now because the Locals can't behave. EARLEY, dull, soulless area with lots of 'Mr. Average' ugly 1960's housing, neatly cut front lawns and HP cars (check out 'Mr. Clean' by 'The Jam'), and full of students who just think that Reading is the nearest shopping convenience to their University. EAST READING/NEWTOWN, its where you go to buy your coke. Full of 'Dodgy Characters' that would chiv you up without a second thought. WEST READING (see east Reading) and its where you go for seedy late night entertainment after you've been kicked out of the pubs. The Oxford Road probably the most interesting road in Reading, although you wouldn't want to live there. But for reasons that i can't explain, i like living in Reading.

great post - i have updated wikipdia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading,_Berkshire

[readingbedding]

Indeed. The first game was played at King's Meadow making Reading a Caversham club. The West Reading mob are plastic johnny come latelys.

1st game was at Reading school.

[floyd__streete]

When I first read this post I bristled a bit but then I thought - no, actually you have a very valid point and its nothing but a huge LOL and at the nob-ends on here defending their own little bit of Reading turf.

Massive LOL @ you really Muskrat for failing to grasp that the posts on this thread are all heavily laced with irony.

Joking aside though, RB’s original statement (also tongue-in-cheek one suspects as usual from him) isn’t anything as near as accurate as he thinks. Twenty years ago I believe it was that Roger Titford was tasked by RFC to analyse the results of a mail-out to supporters to try and better understand the demographic of our support. The results proved that support from the actual townsfolk of Reading was rather abysmal and that a healthy majority of the support seemed to hail from West Berks, North Hants and South Oxon. That seems to be corroborated by the fact that Smith’s Coaches regularly ran a bus down to EP from the Oxford area before Headington United were elected to the league.

[readingbedding]

Blimey, that's a bit tenuous.
Mail out 20 yrs ago?

Any idea of our attendances under Porterfield?
Yes, phucking low.

Indeed, from 1980 onwards until McGhee and the 'great move forward' and the brief sojurn in the old 2nd division in the middle of the 80's our attendances were rubbish.

[floyd__streete]

Blimey, that's a bit tenuous.
Mail out 20 yrs ago?

Any idea of our attendances under Porterfield?
Yes, phucking low.

Indeed, from 1980 onwards until McGhee and the 'great move forward' and the brief sojurn in the old 2nd division in the middle of the 80's our attendances were rubbish.

Best data we have available, RB old son. Unless Snowball wants to intervene.

[readingbedding]

Titford was tasked by RFC.

How was he tasked?

I would like to use the same methods of tasking right now.

[Fox Talbot]

Elm Park was a good metaphor for West Reading actually; shabby, ugly looking and unloved by the population at large.

Madejski Stadium sums up all that one would associate with our fans from other areas of town: plastic, a bit souless and generally shit.

VaLOLid. Seriously though, whenever I have to venture west of the Ramada I begin to feel unsafe and no little depressed. I genuinely feel for anyone who lives in the other half of the town, a genuinely gloomy place it is with your weird Oxford Road streetlighting and run-down sex shops. You all buy your dinner from the 555 fish bar too. It is like a different town, indeed a different world. West Reading = the DDR, East Reading = the BRD, they should build a brick wall along the IDR. And aren't your accents weird: "dayn tayn to pop in to the caynsil."

Floyd, customarily you're a man of sound judgment but as a Wessie I'll have to take you to task over that. Castle St Conservation area, Downshire Square, Bath Rd, some of the finer properties of Tilehurst Rd, Baker St, Brunswick Hill - plenty of nice spots. You did catch the accent very well, though

[Z175]

im sure they did a recent survey on where you lived... someone could dig it up im sure.

[Fox Talbot]

Reading FC is actually a genuine town centre club!

Kings Meadow, the first ground is south of the river, not Caversham, and the club HQ was the Queens Hotel Friar Street (where Yates Wine Bar now stands). The second ground was next to the first. Then Coley (south-west Reading?). Then Caversham (North Rdg / Oxfordshire). Then Elm Park for 102 years. Now Madstad. So east Reading's the one thing it's never been. In about 1910 there were unfulfilled plans to move to the site opposite the station, the site that's currently swallowing all JM's money

Sydenham, the founding Secretary, was a Wessie from Downshire Sq and Simonds the founding President was an Ossie from around where Reading Tech or whatever it's now called is - so a bit of balance there.

[Fox Talbot]

im sure they did a recent survey on where you lived... someone could dig it up im sure.

Not sure how far 5 miles around the Madstad stretches but if that covers most of Reading then the proportion of support from town locals has further declined to less than 30% as our support overall has increased from places like Rainhan and South Korea.

How far from Madejski Stadium do you live?
Answer Options Response Percent Response Count
Under a mile 0.8% 11
1 - 5 miles 27.8% 405
6 - 10 miles 26.7% 390
11 - 25 miles 27.8% 406
26 - 50 miles 8.3% 121
Over 50 miles 8.6% 126