The high's and lows of being a Reading fan......

[percy_freeman]

As I look forward to what is to be my 46th season watching Reading, I was thinking about the high's and lows I have experienced. Having watched my team in divisions 1,2,3,4,championship and Premiership, at Wembley and The Millenium Stadium. Obviously The Simod Cup win was up there for many years but playing in The Premiership against the likes of Man Utd and Arsenal surpassed that. For me, the best moment was probably the first game at The Mad Stad. After years of standing ankle deep and smelling those dodgy burgers and bovril at the back of the Southbank I must admit it was pretty emotional to enter our new home. As far as lows, I'm afraid there are too many but again on a personal note it would probably be the day Alan Pardew left as I actually thought he was "The One"
Just shows you how wrong you can be with your thought/emotions. We now have one of the most lifeless, quiet grounds in the Championship and as for Mr Pardew....

[ayjaydee]

Percy, you have a year on me, I'm just coming up to my 45th year. Wasn't a regular for some of the early years as I was playing/managing in local football but took in early and late season games plus midweek games. Giving up local football pretty much coincided with the opening of the Mad Stad.
My little brother had the audacity to get married on the day of the first game but as I walked in to the stadium and through the tunnel for the home league cup game the following week I stood and thought "oxf*rd me" this is a bit different.
Best moment for me though was Leicester away as I never thought I would see it in my lifetime. Closely followed by the Simod.
Too many lows but if I had to pick would be the Cardiff play off game.

[WAZZOCK]

The matches that have really irked me are the cup matches where we have been so close to progressing but evidently fall short.

Middlesbrough LC Quarter is one, but the Villa quarter final and Arsenal capitulations are the ones that really sadden me. I look at the likes of Wigan, Swansea and Portsmouth winning the cup and I really do wonder if we will ever get our hands on one of the major trophies.

[Royality creeps In]

1971 was my first game. Just yoof compared to yourselves

A vociferous South Bank regular before I retired to the North Stand at the Mad Stad

Simod Cup final closely followed by Cardiff Away (play offs) are my faves

[Horsham Royal]

top good
cureton winner for promotion brentford away
forster winner playoff semis v wigan (when was that ? 2000?)
all of leicester away 2006
lambert/primus goals vs forest 98 (in a pub full of forest fans)

top bad
relegation v forest away 98
drive home from playoff final v walsall
washing up after derby away 2008
patronising remarks from big four supporters 2006/7

Last few years have been meh tbh, but overall more good than bad.

[Jackson Corner]

Good
Simod cup Semi and final. Promotion at Leicester Winning at Anfield. Play offs Cardiff away Wigan home. Newport away to break the league record of wins at the start of the season.

Bad

Play offs Bolton Walsall and Swansea. Merger with Oxford. 0-6 Bristol Rovers..0-3 Away to Oxford Taxis last game. Derby away relegation. Wrexham home relegation. Losing at home to Bishop Stortford in the 1st round of the cup.

[floyd__streete]

This is a low period for me, RFC-wise.

Very little connection to the playing/management personnel, disliking the whole culture of fickle foreign ownership of our club and a visit to the Madejski.....is there a less enjoyable matchday experience in the country than that place, the novelty has long since worn off.

[Barney]

Am also 45 years into this life-long experience.

Tilehurst End 1969-1974. Back of Southbank thereafter. Great memories include Simod Cup semi-final (and then final, obviously) and beating Tranmere 5-0 THAT night (with Mr Fridays goal). Low points were when 3,000 was deemed a pretty decent crowd for a league game.

As for the Madstad, I am not quite as suicidal as Floyd, but times change. The Madstad 'matchday' experience isn't great, but is not hugely different from other current grounds. Great memories include the Wigan playoff semi-final, Murty's penalty against QPR. And mostly agree with the 'madstad lows' already mentioned by others.

Football has changed. You have to accept it. And as I was born with blue and white blood, I guess I am going to accept it. And when the lows are bad, it just makes the highs feel even better.

[Big Foot]

This is a low period for me, RFC-wise.

Very little connection to the playing/management personnel, disliking the whole culture of fickle foreign ownership of our club and a visit to the Madejski.....is there a less enjoyable matchday experience in the country than that place, the novelty has long since worn off.

^ This, I literally miss 0% of attending home games

[maffff]

This is a low period for me, RFC-wise.

Very little connection to the playing/management personnel, disliking the whole culture of fickle foreign ownership of our club and a visit to the Madejski.....is there a less enjoyable matchday experience in the country than that place, the novelty has long since worn off.

All fair and reasonable buddy, but you can't forget the highs. You of all people must have had a pint of Good Old Boy at the ground last year.

[billybraggsbeard]

Yep another 45yrs of following the mighty hoops fan here, have to agree that the Mad Stad is a bit soul-less but so are most of the new grounds even Old Trafford with 70,000 in can totally lack atmosphere, but it's soo much better than Elm Park
Highs: Simod cup final, away to Tranmere in play-off semi's winning 3-0-most complete Royals performance I've ever seen, Curo's goal at Brentford then the celebrations back at the Mad Stad, first game in Prem beating Boro 3-2 after being two down at h/t, Man city away twice, first beating them 2-0 in 2007/8 9 -two Leroy goals in 2nd half, then the FA Cup game of three years ago where the club paid for the coaches we lost 1-0 with a patched up side but the whole day was brill, Saints away that Friday night with two Alfie goals, superb tactics by Brian as Saints bottled it, and lastly our superb youth teams U 18-21 who will hopefully will give us a great crop of players for years to come
Lows : This whole foreign ownership shambles it's crap from beginning to end and will end in tears whoever buys us

[maffff]

Lows : This whole foreign ownership shambles it's crap from beginning to end and will end in tears whoever buys us

Yeah, you're right, foreign ownership is the devil. Let's hope the Thai takeover is stopped in its tracks by a new super consortium of Karl Oyston, Anton Johnson, Darren Brown, George Reynolds, George Rolls, Ken Richardson and that kid from One Direction

[harry]

Over my 42 years supporting:

Highs: Promotion from Div 4 in 1975-6, Simod Cup Final, the Wigan play-off last minute semi final win, promotion at Brentford followed by warm champagne on the train ride back, the entire 106 season where we seemed invincible, first Prem game come back & being the lead game on Match of the Day that night, beating West Ham 6-0 in the Prem.

Lows: Mark Reilly in a Reading shirt, the utter drivel leading up to Pants Day, Bristol Rovers home thrashing.

[From Despair To Where?]

The highs:

1985-86. Being 20 points clear at Christmas and actually having some sort of national profile, even if it was only for 5 minutes. It was kind of a precursor for 2005-06 only with shitter football.

Simod Cup 1988. a trip to Wembley was a big thing for a club like Reading, and we actually played decent football against a team who would win the League Cup a couple of weeks later, all without the "big money" signings who were all cup tied

2005-2007. Going into every game expecting, rather than hoping to win in 2005-6, and then carrying that spirit and form into the Premiership and looking like we belonged there.

Lows

The whole Porterfield era. 2 years of utter, utter shit and a club that was dying. 2 words sum up that era - Mark Whitlock. Unspeakably dire and you think it's bad now?

Relegation in 1998. We just imploded. 3 months of gutless football carried forward into a wholly insipid, and at times utterly inept 1998/99.

Relegation in 2008. We should have been good enough

Relegation in 2013. We were nowhere near good enough

[bobby m's syrup]

49 years for me, although it is a while since I got to a game. 07-08 v Pompey I think. I just want my club to continue as a functioning and competitive outfit, the higher the level the better. I too have seen life in all divisions. The current lack of information is galling and I only have an emotional attachment to the club. Season ticket holders must rightly, be fuming.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

More highs.
8-0 vs Southport. Man Utd in the boiling sun in the Watney Cup. Eric Cantona strolling around E P. Blyth Spartans.

[percy_freeman]

The Blyth Spartans game was actually my first week at work. I started in a shop in Camberley that Monday and as Wednesday was half day closing, I was able to make the afternoon game. All these hi's and lows are bringing back great memories. The Brentford away game on the big screen and waiting for the team to get back, Uri Gellers failed card trick! I remember riding my Puch Maxi to the Old Reading Stadium on a Monday night to watch Anders Michanek and Dag Lovas amongst 5000 speedway fans when the average crowd at elm park was nearer 3000!

[liamobey]

as I was born with blue and white blood

I'd probably look in to that. Not sure if that's normal.

[madstadblues]

High - Newcastle away first time in Premier League (great view up with the Gods)
Low - Colchester away (Layer Road) couldn't see a thing (flat terrace)

[Aubery Boyce]

30-year Sentence for me so far.


Highs:
85-86 was too young to realise we played horrible hoofball football but loved the fact we won everyweek.

Simod Cup - when i was younger my old man had resingned himself to never see Reading at Wembley. Glad he got to see us there twice. We were terrible that season but somehow raised our game on that cup run. WEM-BER-LEY, WEM-BER-LEY

92-94 The Mghee era (and aftermath) - Seeing Reading playing great football with some homegrown players like Archie, Scotty and Adie plus Gilkesey still lgoing strong and Quinny scoring for fun.

2005-6. stuff that dreams are made of. The whole season was awesome. The Leicester day was the absolute pinnacle of my time watching Reading. I'd grown up thinking we'd never make it. Enjoyed every minute of the fist prem season but it's been a downward spiral since. I think i always struggled with the Prem after that first season. It just lost it's appeal after getting there.


Lows..

Bolton playoff defeat. was heartbreaking