"Reading prove patience is a virtue"

[Schards#2]

If, post relegation, your ambition is become a mid table side in the lower division with falling gates that has to sell its best players every year to make ends meet, Reading have truely set the standard for others to follow.

[Stranded]

I'm actually amazed it took 23 posts for someone to post something negative.

[Stuka]

Flattering assessment. Encouraging to read about how players have been nurtured. Enjoyed that very much.

[brendywendy]

If, post relegation, your ambition is become a mid table side in the lower division with falling gates that has to sell its best players every year to make ends meet, Reading have truely set the standard for others to follow.

YAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNN!

[Ian Royal]

If, post relegation, your ambition is become a mid table side in the lower division with falling gates that has to sell its best players every year to make ends meet, Reading have truely set the standard for others to follow.

That would certainly be the view of someone who is shortsighted and not patient.

I'm struggling to see how spending most of the last three years above 10th is mid-table, but hey.

[Snowball]

Top 8
Middle 8
Bottom 8

Surely 9th-16th is mid-table?

[Stuka]

Top 8
Middle 8
Bottom 8

Surely 9th-16th is mid-table?

Good point!

[Ian Royal]

In terms of boring midtable mediocrity it doesn't really work though seeing as there are 6 places of interest at the top and 3 at the bottom. You can still be having a decent season and narrowly miss out on play offs in 9th or 10th... just about anyway.

And if you really want to be that pedantic about it we've still probably spent more of the last 3 years above 9th, than we have there or below.

[rhroyal]

Top 8
Middle 8
Bottom 8

Surely 9th-16th is mid-table?

A few years ago we went into the final day of the season with an outside chance of making the play-offs. We finished 9th. We were mid-table then?

[Wycombe Royal]

Top 8
Middle 8
Bottom 8

Surely 9th-16th is mid-table?

A few years ago we went into the final day of the season with an outside chance of making the play-offs. We finished 9th. We were mid-table then?

Yes.

[brendywendy]

no- midtable is only the one, or two teams directly in the middle of th etable

[Ian Royal]

no- midtable is only the one, or two teams directly in the middle of th etable

top end - 1 - 10 - in with at least an outside shout of promotion most the season.
mid-table 11 - 14 - going nowhere most likely.
bottom end - 15 - 24 in with at least an outside shout of relegation most of the season.

s'my view.

[Snowball]

Let's face it, before the play-offs were brought in we'd've said mid-table was anything outside the top five
down as far as 7th bottom.

Common-sense says mid-table is about 9th-16th. It's just the tightness of the league
and the outside chance of making the play-offs distorts our thinking

[rhroyal]

Top 8
Middle 8
Bottom 8

Surely 9th-16th is mid-table?

A few years ago we went into the final day of the season with an outside chance of making the play-offs. We finished 9th. We were mid-table then?

Yes.

If you go into the final day of the season with a chance of promotion you can't be mid-table in my view.

[Snowball]

Surely it's possible to go into the last game, say 12th-15th, 3 points off sixth?
If you win and the team in sixth loses, the others draw, you MIGHT
make the POs, and "THEREFORE" you are not mid-table????

In fact you lose and end up 18th. You still say you're not mid-table?

[Schards#2]

I think the debate over what does, and doesn't, constitute mid table table is small beer compared to the suggestion from this article that Reading are a role model of what to do when you get relegated.

Personally, I don't think we will get particularly close to a play off spot this year as we have not been in them all season and other sides have strengthened more than us in the transfer window.

Assuming that it is the case, that would be three seasons post relegation and we would be a middling championship side, with falling gate receipts and in a position where, every year, we have to sell our best players to cover our costs, thereby, making subsequent progression increasingly less likely.

I fail to see why that would be a template any other club would aspire to follow in similar circumstances.

[specialjon]

The article has missed a massive chunk of the story out with the mad man pocketing money frrom the club and screwing all the fans over

In all seriousness, great article and I'm happy to have a club rather than risk the clubs future on maybe getting promotion. If Cardiff fail again it'll be interesting to see what happens next season. Football is massively broken with lots of problems and now with a 4 season parachute payment it's even more of a joke.

[Snowball]

I think the debate over what does, and doesn't, constitute mid table table is small beer compared to the suggestion from this article that Reading are a role model of what to do when you get relegated.

Personally, I don't think we will get particularly close to a play off spot this year as we have not been in them all season and other sides have strengthened more than us in the transfer window.

Assuming that it is the case, that would be three seasons post relegation and we would be a middling championship side, with falling gate receipts and in a position where, every year, we have to sell our best players to cover our costs, thereby, making subsequent progression increasingly less likely.

I fail to see why that would be a template any other club would aspire to follow in similar circumstances.

While, like you, I'm beginning to think we won't make the POs, three seasons, the first we went into the last game and a win would have been automatic promotion - finished fourth. Last seas, disastrous start where an experiment went badly wrong, but then we came good, and if the run had lasted two more games would've made the POs. And this season we are still in with a decent shout.

It's hardly mid-table obscurity.

I think the model should be that we stay on budget, create teams expecting to finish in the top third
and if/when we have something a little special, a player or two or a lucky streak, THEN add the money
in January for a big push. I just don't see how Cardiff, Leicester, Forest manage it financially... and Watford
have shown it can be done (or almost done) without splashing crazy money

[floyd__streete]

Nice piece in the Guardian today. Sure to split views here...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/foot ... n-madjeski

I haven't got time to read that. Have we signed a f*cking striker yet?

[ZacNaloen]

We signed 2!