Simod Cup - 25th anniversary

[barelylubedcock]

In terms of over capacity, Bolton in 1995 was definitely hundreds if not thousands over.

That programme is superb, hats off.

The Coventry game is wonderful, pitch invasion before the final penalty taken. LOL.

[Pete10]

Great memories of the whole cup run that year not least of which getting home at about midnight after this game.


RFC v Coventry Simod Cup sf 88 03 02

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVqPK7Lyf-w

I would love to know what the crowd was for this game? Officially it was supposed to be just over 15,000. The biggest crowd I ever went to was when Reading played Soton in the league cup and the crowd was 25,000. But I would swear there were more people that night you could not move in the Tilehurst end it was so packed. Looking at that clip even the town end was packed with Coventry fans. I think looking back I enjoyed that night more than the final.

I do think there were one or two games around this time where the crowd was much bigger than the official capacity. Elm Park had a couple of 30,000 crowds way back and famously over 33,000 vs Brentford in the cup in 1927. The capacity was drastically cut for 'elf and safety' reasons in the 80's, and stood at about 15,000 during the cup run. The Coventry game for sure had more than the official attendance, and another that springs to mind was the match vs Wolves in 1985 when we were going for the 14th win on the trot.

The Wolves game . Between 20 and 22 thousand . It was very busy. Five thousand at least locked out at kick off . Old bill had to let them in.

[Ark Royal]

[Tony Le Mesmer]

One thing hardly mentioned is how close it came to being a Reading Swindon final. Dread to think what Wembley Way would have been like! We spent the whole game being coined in the league game at their place that season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKu-A4e7D8I

[Biscuit_Boy]

One thing hardly mentioned is how close it came to being a Reading Swindon final. Dread to think what Wembley Way would have been like! We spent the whole game being coined in the league game at their place that season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKu-A4e7D8I

I'd forgotten about that...god bless Mark Stein!

[Tamworth_Royal]

Great memories of the whole cup run that year not least of which getting home at about midnight after this game.


RFC v Coventry Simod Cup sf 88 03 02

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVqPK7Lyf-w

There are so many good things about this clip its impossible to list them all.

Elm Park literally packed to the rafters. 20,000+ were in the ground that night
Its filmed behind a post
"Courage - All The Best"
Brian Kilkline giving it the pantomime villian
"Lucky git"
Gilkesy clearly shitting bricks as he makes that walk
The mother of all pitch invasions

15,347 Plus me.

Remember David Speedie? what an arse

[sputnik]

Great memories of the whole cup run that year not least of which getting home at about midnight after this game.


RFC v Coventry Simod Cup sf 88 03 02

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVqPK7Lyf-w

(wipes tear from eye) EPIC stuff

[Ark Royal]

Great memories of the whole cup run that year not least of which getting home at about midnight after this game.


RFC v Coventry Simod Cup sf 88 03 02

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVqPK7Lyf-w

There are so many good things about this clip its impossible to list them all.

Elm Park literally packed to the rafters. 20,000+ were in the ground that night
Its filmed behind a post
"Courage - All The Best"
Brian Kilkline giving it the pantomime villian
"Lucky git"
Gilkesy clearly shitting bricks as he makes that walk
The mother of all pitch invasions

15,347 Plus me.

Remember David Speedie? what an arse

Oi, Speedie! Fu ck off, you Communard!

[Barney]

Let me add a bit of nostalgia for those too young.

By the time we played QPR away in the first round, the third round draw had already been made. Once a Linden Jones double help see off the fake hoops just before Xmas, we saw off Poxford on a January midweek evening game at Elm Park.
A couple of weeks later, a crowd of 9000+ at Elm Park saw us turnover Notts Forest (Pearce, Walker, Webb etc) 2-1. Cracking night. Home league gates were mostly around 6000 at this time.
The quarter final a week later resulted in an extra time win over Bradford City. Semi finals beckoned. Wembley was now being talked about.

3 weeks later. 2nd March 1988. Coventry at home in the semi-final. The crowd was published as 15,400 or so. It was rammed, felt like 20,000+. Coventry filled the Town end. Game went to extra time, and penalties. If you can, watch the penalty shoot out on dvd/youtube or whatever. We went 0-2 down, and came back to win. When Gilksey scored the winning penalty it took me ages to reach the pitch. Bedlam.

Reading at Wembley. WHAT !!!

Some people who I know to this day have only ever seen Reading play once...Wembley 1988.

Me and a load of mates met up on one of the days that tickets were being sold for the final. Incredible scenes. Evening Post would continually update how many tickets we had sold. 20,000...then 25,000...32,000...35,000. Hard to believe. We were only getting 10,000 maximum for league games.
Folks were snapping up Corporate tickets, hospitality tickets. Anything you could get your hands on.

Day of the game. We hired a coach from the Prince of Wales in Tilehurst. Half the people on the coach had never seen Reading play!!
We got to Wembley and were the first coach parked up. The Globe in Baker Street was the destination, and Reading pretty much took over all the pubs in that area.
Luton were outnumbered three to one, and knew it. It was our day. Reading's day.

Although the game itself is a little hazy, it was Reading's day. 40,000+ fans at Wembley. Looking up at that scoreboard showing "Reading 4 Luton 1" was surreal.

Yeah I know, Simod Cup..so what. But, an incredible day. Took over Wembley. Great memories.

[Jerry St Clair]

I think we're setting ourselves up for a bit of mockery if we make too much of a big deal about the 1988 Simod Cup.

Maybe, but I couldn't give a fukk. It makes my club what it is, so lets shout it from the rooftops.

[southbank1871]

The Coventry game is wonderful, pitch invasion before the final penalty taken. LOL.

Lol - Beautiful scenes.

[Jackson Corner]

One thing hardly mentioned is how close it came to being a Reading Swindon final. Dread to think what Wembley Way would have been like! We spent the whole game being coined in the league game at their place that season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKu-A4e7D8I

Imagine what the M4 would have been like? Wembley would have been full to capacity if they had of won. Jimmy Quinn was playing for Swindon then. And that terrible plastic pitch at Luton I remember going there and QPR and the football was crap on those pitches, massive home advantige.

[Wimb]

Let me add a bit of nostalgia for those too young.

By the time we played QPR away in the first round, the third round draw had already been made. Once a Linden Jones double help see off the fake hoops just before Xmas, we saw off Poxford on a January midweek evening game at Elm Park.
A couple of weeks later, a crowd of 9000+ at Elm Park saw us turnover Notts Forest (Pearce, Walker, Webb etc) 2-1. Cracking night. Home league gates were mostly around 6000 at this time.
The quarter final a week later resulted in an extra time win over Bradford City. Semi finals beckoned. Wembley was now being talked about.

3 weeks later. 2nd March 1988. Coventry at home in the semi-final. The crowd was published as 15,400 or so. It was rammed, felt like 20,000+. Coventry filled the Town end. Game went to extra time, and penalties. If you can, watch the penalty shoot out on dvd/youtube or whatever. We went 0-2 down, and came back to win. When Gilksey scored the winning penalty it took me ages to reach the pitch. Bedlam.

Reading at Wembley. WHAT !!!

Some people who I know to this day have only ever seen Reading play once...Wembley 1988.

Me and a load of mates met up on one of the days that tickets were being sold for the final. Incredible scenes. Evening Post would continually update how many tickets we had sold. 20,000...then 25,000...32,000...35,000. Hard to believe. We were only getting 10,000 maximum for league games.
Folks were snapping up Corporate tickets, hospitality tickets. Anything you could get your hands on.

Day of the game. We hired a coach from the Prince of Wales in Tilehurst. Half the people on the coach had never seen Reading play!!
We got to Wembley and were the first coach parked up. The Globe in Baker Street was the destination, and Reading pretty much took over all the pubs in that area.
Luton were outnumbered three to one, and knew it. It was our day. Reading's day.

Although the game itself is a little hazy, it was Reading's day. 40,000+ fans at Wembley. Looking up at that scoreboard showing "Reading 4 Luton 1" was surreal.

Yeah I know, Simod Cup..so what. But, an incredible day. Took over Wembley. Great memories.

Awesome stuff there ^^^

[Kensington Royal]

Let me add a bit of nostalgia for those too young.

By the time we played QPR away in the first round, the third round draw had already been made. Once a Linden Jones double help see off the fake hoops just before Xmas, we saw off Poxford on a January midweek evening game at Elm Park.
A couple of weeks later, a crowd of 9000+ at Elm Park saw us turnover Notts Forest (Pearce, Walker, Webb etc) 2-1. Cracking night. Home league gates were mostly around 6000 at this time.
The quarter final a week later resulted in an extra time win over Bradford City. Semi finals beckoned. Wembley was now being talked about.

3 weeks later. 2nd March 1988. Coventry at home in the semi-final. The crowd was published as 15,400 or so. It was rammed, felt like 20,000+. Coventry filled the Town end. Game went to extra time, and penalties. If you can, watch the penalty shoot out on dvd/youtube or whatever. We went 0-2 down, and came back to win. When Gilksey scored the winning penalty it took me ages to reach the pitch. Bedlam.

Reading at Wembley. WHAT !!!

Some people who I know to this day have only ever seen Reading play once...Wembley 1988.

Me and a load of mates met up on one of the days that tickets were being sold for the final. Incredible scenes. Evening Post would continually update how many tickets we had sold. 20,000...then 25,000...32,000...35,000. Hard to believe. We were only getting 10,000 maximum for league games.
Folks were snapping up Corporate tickets, hospitality tickets. Anything you could get your hands on.

Day of the game. We hired a coach from the Prince of Wales in Tilehurst. Half the people on the coach had never seen Reading play!!
We got to Wembley and were the first coach parked up. The Globe in Baker Street was the destination, and Reading pretty much took over all the pubs in that area.
Luton were outnumbered three to one, and knew it. It was our day. Reading's day.

Although the game itself is a little hazy, it was Reading's day. 40,000+ fans at Wembley. Looking up at that scoreboard showing "Reading 4 Luton 1" was surreal.

Yeah I know, Simod Cup..so what. But, an incredible day. Took over Wembley. Great memories.

Awesome stuff there ^^^

OMG i'd forgot that the semi-final was on the same day as my 14th Birthday, was the first time id encountered extra-time (missed the Bradford game) & at the end of 90 mins ran home to ask my mum if i could stay to watch the extra-time (i lived in Norflok Road then, parents still do) she thought i was mental for coming back to ask & of course said yes.....was glad she did

[The bitter biscuit]

I have to say the semi against Cov still ranks as one of the greatest nights of my life.. I was 13 and the squeeze to get in the Southbank was something i had never experienced before. Inside i could hardly see anything and do not remember actually seeing the winning penalty due to the number of people. What really stood out for me that night was it was the first and only time I ever saw my dad cry.. he had been going to Reading since he was a boy and they had finally reached Wembley! Awesome stuff.. that night made me a Reading fan more than the final.

The final itself was a great day out, there was a coach from Tadley (the only time that had ever happened to my knowledge) and being my first visit to Wembley i just remember being in awe.. I remember being in one of the pubs that had mainly Luton fans in it and feeling pretty intimidated until a chorus of chants heralded a mass of Reading fans who turned up en masse..

Great memories and the club should be proud to celebrate the anniversary.. It annoys me that the relative success of the club in recent times has made people think less of the achievement, having said that i seem to remember that within a few games of the final we were back to about 6000 at home games so i guess there are not that many of us that it mattered to anyway.

[The Quiet Man]

The Simod Cup should also be put into context with how sh*te we were in the league that season. Relegated with 5 home wins out of 23. The Cup side featured players like the great Dean Horrix who were not selected for the league games. Got to see every game in the run as well and as everyone else said it was the first time for most of us that you genuinely felt the potential of the club supporter base as loads of people organised their own coaches and people went who I knew that have never gone to see RFC again since that game.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

The Simod Cup should also be put into context with how sh*te we were in the league that season. Relegated with 5 home wins out of 23. The Cup side featured players like the great Dean Horrix who were not selected for the league games. Got to see every game in the run as well and as everyone else said it was the first time for most of us that you genuinely felt the potential of the club supporter base as loads of people organised their own coaches and people went who I knew that have never gone to see RFC again since that game.

Yes - that's right there are some similarities with this season - a team of hard working players with limited ability out of its depth to some extent. We were only relegated in the last game though - I also think back then the play offs involved the third from bottom side and three from the top of the next league.

I think during the Simod run Deano and Mick Tait(?) played up front as Steve Moran and Billy Whitehurst were both cup tied.

[RoyalBlue]

You may be right - how does one tell?

I went on the stadium tour the other day, & in the trophy room they said Mr Mad had a full size replica made & send that back when the year was up, keeping the original

Cheeky

You're referring to the Simod Cup? If so, whoever told you that is an liar. Madejski didn't become involved with Reading Football Club until 1990. Roger Smee was Chairman when we won the cup and was still Chairman a year later.

[Tony Le Mesmer]

Full game now uploaded with pre and post match footage. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/user/shinpadruss

[AthleticoSpizz]

Pt.1 rightly digested

Ahhhh, when footballers were footballers, not celebrities.

Spotted some local neighbours amongst the throng.....never knew he smoked