Hoop BlahmelonheadHoop Blah Brendy, I spend very little else at the ground these days, don't by the kit and try to blank out the rest of the marketing and hype.
All of that lessons the appeal and the draw of football for many though.
Take a look round and see how the demographic has changed (in some ways for the better) and think about how many of your peers have stopped making the effort to go. In my case there used to be a group of about 15/20 of us who all bought season tickets in the same area having. That's down to about 8 or 9 now. Various reasons for quitting, not just cost, but speaking to other people, and hearing the likes of Big Foot and Mr Angry saying the same, it seems a bit of a trend.
this happens constantly though
people grow up and their priorities change
its very tempting to blame events at the club for it, and no doubt those leaving in droves will increase in bad years and increase in good years
luckily we have more youngsters than ever being indoctrinated at the club as we speak, so the supply line is strong
Agree, to an extent, and jobs and kids caused a couple to quit at least, but as much as many just drift away I do think the change in how football is these days has increased that trend.
Had a chat about this very subject recently with some old mates. We were all regulars for decades. None of us go anymore.
You could then just rock up to the ground, pay on the gate, job done. It used to be beers in the Yeoman, last orders, in the back of the south bank by kickoff.
You'd look around EP, and a 10 000+ gate made you smile inwardly. "The club's going to make a few quid today".
Then the double whammy came. All seater grounds. Fkcuing SKY TV.
Swapping beers in the local for overpriced eurofizz in a sterile concrete concourse (with terrible service).
Limited ticket allocations at away games. Pay at the gate's virtually disappeared altogether.
If you were next to a twat at EP, you could move away. You're stuck with the twat at the madstad.
Then Murdoch starts chucking silly money at football. The players understandably want a piece of the action.
Clubs start to refocus, realising that how many are in the stadium is to a large extent, irrelevant. It's all about finding billionaires to service the wages of the millionaires on the pitch, in the hope that money can be recouped with the television income and prize money.
The trickle down mentality in footballers wages results in clubs paying over the top wages for players who frankly, are not that good, resulting in the paradox where a genuinely talented playing staff makes a club financially weaker, not stronger, because of the burgeoning wage demands in retaining their services.
The gulf between matchday income and staff wages steadily increases, and that's exactly where Reading are now.
The club has without doubt grown in stature. We now play at a higher level, in a bigger stadium, with higher attendances. Flip side, bigger debts.
I stopped going because
a) the matchday experience ain't what it used to be.
b) my season ticket money does not make the "movement" stronger. It is a few relative coppers on top of that put in by the owners, and just means that A. Player can get a new R8, whilst the club has to sell its up and coming talent to pay for it. Meh.
