The Shame Your Block Thread

[Royal Tezza]

Lifted from my post in BTFG:

Was exiled up in 520 as didn't get tickets in time to get lower tier. oxf*rd me. Never seen such a disinterested group of people. Yes I know the game was crap but why even bother coming.

Firstly, I'm not some teenage "ultra" so I don't particularly mind or expect to be able to stand up during the game, particularly up there in the gods. However today marks the first time I've ever been asked to sit down WHILE THE oxf*rd TEAMS COME OUT. Three older people, who actually seemed very nice (and apologies if it's anyone on here) saying they couldn't see bla bla... this was when we were trying to do the mosaic too. If you can't stand for the five or ten minutes before kickoff, please either find disabled friendly seats or don't bother coming. An absolute farce and I'm glad it was me that was in front of them rather than some oik because they definitely would have been told to oxf*rd off. How did they manage to get to Wembley if standing is such an issue?

In front of me were four lads who looked like they were on day release who were all on their phones throughout. I suspect one of them was a fan and he'd brought along four mates. To my left, two gentleman who looked like they'd decided to come on the way home from golf. Another first for me - they left 125 minutes into ET. Yep, they left five minutes before the penalty shootout began. No idea. One of them left his wallet on the floor behind him got handed in but he was probably halfway home by that point.

Finally, shoutout to the RFC kids having a wobbly at some HTAFC lot at Waterloo. "Enjoy next season" met with "oxf*rd off you oxf*rd " I'm only late 20s but the younger generation have so much to learn about the disappointments of supporting a club like Reading and how to lose with dignity

[LoyalRoyal22]

I was asked to sit down 30minutes BEFORE the game started

I cant help but think that a big percentage of our fan base got what they deserved yesterday. Club really has not been `together` this season.

Awful day out all round, didn't enjoy any of it.

[Sutekh]

Shocking atmosphere all round. Not sure why.

Because it's all seater and because the occasion brings out all the part time glory boys and girls who only turn up for such occasions and are more used to watching tv games armed with their cup of tea/glass of Budweiser etc.

The sooner safe standing returns the better. Nice safe terraces with places for the young'uns at the front and decent acoustics for the proper supporters to create a proper atmosphere. Of course I don't understand why they can't ear mark sections of all seaters for those that want to sing together and generate the chants for the rest of the stadium anyway - or is that just too sensible a thing to do?

[BR2]

I was down right miffed with my fellow fans today.

I sang, my boy joined in, even my 8 year old daughter wearing 2 Kingsley stickers on her cheeks started a UUUURRRRZZZZ at some point....

And yet..... I was glared at, and surrounded by a small amount of rhythmic clapping.....

I backed the boys..... I made some noise..... and all I got was stony silence and glares......

Shame on you Block 221. I don't care that you paid more to sit on the padded seats.... I don't care that you wanted more leg room..... I don't care that you were p*ssed off having to queue in a weird snakey theme park ride manner...... I don't care if you couldn't afford the champagne bar and the pick and mix...... YOU BACK THE BOYS AND MAKE SOME NOISE.....

Danny Williams deserved to hear you sing his song. Chrissy Gunter Baby looked up and pleaded you to sing. John Swift....... well..... John Swift deserved to hear you give him some stick when he gave the ball away cheaply again.....

But nothing....

I alone sang "Oh Ali Al-Habsi" before every penalty and I don't give a monkey's ball crackers if you hated me!!!!!

I was loud..... I was proud.....

But block 221..... you let us down..... you missed the penalty...... you should go and have a good hard look at yourself in the mirror.... and tomorrow, when you read the Daily Mail and see those Huddersfield faces on the back pages..... know this.... you are not welcome!

I'm not sure what you expect.
When we have 40,000 or so at the game that means roughly 26,000 or so who are not regulars and it was a day out.
Football followers come in the form of all shapes and sizes (mainly fat) and the only way that it works to support the finances even of a club like Reading is to grab the money from any of us mug punters who either go every week or spend a fortune for big games like this one so we need these fans.

If you expect massive singing from all these others and from the West standers then you need to rethink the whole thing or if it is the only thing that matters to you then book your holiday at Butlins.

Yesterday it was fairly quiet but IMHO that made no difference to the side that were out for a Monday afternoon stroll when , like Yann and Williams, they should have been busting a gut to get into the Premier League.
I'm sure that your singing made you feel better but I don't see that it would make much difference to our players on the day-they were lethargic from the off when the noise was at its greatest so if they were not affected then why would they be affected as the game went on?.

[Forbury Lion]

I nearly forgot, block 114 there were people leaving with about 10 minutes to go before the FT whistle in normal time - I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they were not going home but instead casually walking out to go to the loo/buy a pizza but even so, the last 10 minutes where one goal would decide it? - really?

I've been at cup games at the Mad Stad where people have left not realising it was extra time/penalties, Could those same people have left early at Wembley to beat the queues for trains/car park?

Also, Huddersfield fans - there were a fair few who left the same time as all the Reading fans - I don't get it, why not stay and see your team celebrate? - especially the ones chanting "your not singing anymore".

[bobby1413]

[El Diablo]

Block 114 -

Sat at the back - with some Y26 ers , but mostly kids / day trippers / families / west standers.

Noise was there at times - but took ages to get going and unfortunately most of them around us couldn't be arsed / didn't know any chants/ was very short-lived.

Standard fare for RFC at Wembley unfortunately - and it didn't help that the Team didn't really get going .

[Gav]

It's not even about singing (although arriving from the Huddersfield side of the ground and walking around to the Reading side was like chalk and cheese in terms of hype, anticipation, enthusiasm and general enjoyment from the sets of fans).

For me, it was bloomin' annoying to see people _constantly_ walking, nay strolling, up and down the stairs with their hands in their pockets from the first whistle to go and get pick 'n' mix. It was a steady stream. I'm not trying to be the fan police here, but they were really distracting and it was just incredibly frustrating to see such widespread levels of disinterest from the very first whistle throughout.

If you're not interested, don't come.

Huddersfield came, they made a proper day out of it and they got the win. Most of the people in my block didn't deserve to see a win, and wouldn't have even cared if they had, frankly.

[paultheroyal]

Block 111 - all standing, no issues, heard no gripes. Understood situation considering my 5 year old with me. He either stood on seat or in my arms....

Section sang when they needed to ... that's about all I can say really.

Ps minute silence brilliantly observed and fortunate 22nd min was when injury going on.

[bobby1413]

It's not even about singing (although arriving from the Huddersfield side of the ground and walking around to the Reading side was like chalk and cheese in terms of hype, anticipation, enthusiasm and general enjoyment from the sets of fans).

For me, it was bloomin' annoying to see people _constantly_ walking, nay strolling, up and down the stairs with their hands in their pockets from the first whistle to go and get pick 'n' mix. It was a steady stream. I'm not trying to be the fan police here, but they were really distracting and it was just incredibly frustrating to see such widespread levels of disinterest from the very first whistle throughout.

If you're not interested, don't come.

+1

It even icnluded my m8 who disappeared from the 70th minute till the 85th minute. He came back with pop corn and said he was eating a hot dog.

[dashdash]

Block 111 - all standing, no issues, heard no gripes. Understood situation considering my 5 year old with me. He either stood on seat or in my arms....

Section sang when they needed to ... that's about all I can say really.

Ps minute silence brilliantly observed and fortunate 22nd min was when injury going on.

In 111 also. Sat down at half time and that was about it; voice was shot until this morning.

We were row 12 I think. About 5 or 6 rows from the front were a family, young kids etc. I'm in two minds about things; one one hand they really ought to expect to be part of it when they're in a block like that, but on the flipside having an aggressive drunk guy yell at you, your wife and your middle-class 8 year olds to "stand the f*ck up and support" seems a little too much. Still, they moved on at half time, hopefully to a place where they were happier. Our empty seats up to the left of the pitch were blatant, so putting people off supporting us seems pretty counterproductive.

A family of fairweathers, but surely having local bums on seats is better than empty seats?

[Gav]

It's not even about singing (although arriving from the Huddersfield side of the ground and walking around to the Reading side was like chalk and cheese in terms of hype, anticipation, enthusiasm and general enjoyment from the sets of fans).

For me, it was bloomin' annoying to see people _constantly_ walking, nay strolling, up and down the stairs with their hands in their pockets from the first whistle to go and get pick 'n' mix. It was a steady stream. I'm not trying to be the fan police here, but they were really distracting and it was just incredibly frustrating to see such widespread levels of disinterest from the very first whistle throughout.

If you're not interested, don't come.

+1

It even icnluded my m8 who disappeared from the 70th minute till the 85th minute. He came back with pop corn and said he was eating a hot dog.

Never again am I splashing out on tier two tickets to get a better view of the pitch. I don't mind a lack of "atmosphere" (I always knew that would be a trade off) as long as the people around me are emotionally invested, or at least vaguely engaged in the game. But bloody hell, this sparsely populated block (103) might as well have had Terriers in it; it would have been far more enjoyable. People will sit in a cinema and jiggle around waiting 2 hours until it finishes to have a p!ss, but this lot couldn't wait ten minutes (sober, I might add) into the match before ambling off up the stairs. I honestly thought the properly disinterested day trippers would be up in the seats in the sky.

I would maybe be less hacked off about this if there were at least queues of any description for food prior to the match, but there weren't. I sailed to the front of the beer queue unobstructed. There was plenty of opportunity to get all that stuff sorted before kick off - it just demonstrated how little they cared before, during and after the match.

[Brum Royal]

Block 502.

Sitting where we were (just inside the halfway line) it was a good vantage point to note the difference between the two sets of fans. As alluded to a couple of posts up, Huddersfield had the energy, the excitement, the drive that comes from the excitement of potential promotion to the big league for the first time (in it's new format) and also having succeeded in the playoffs before (that was their 4th promotion in 6 attempts if I remember the stats from the programme correctly). Compare that to us and there was a much more cautious and nervy, almost resigned to the inevitable kind of feel to it, that comes from a lesser excitement regarding the Prem and also having lost three times (prior to yesterday) in finals before. There was much more of a buzz coming from the Huddersfield fans.

In terms of noise, allied to the above point, it was more consistent and more well spread from Huddersfield. Our noise was much more concentrated in the lower section behind the goal. From where we were sat we could hear you lot behind the goal trying to get something going, but there wasn't much uptake from the higher reaches of the stadium. Myself and few people around me joined in but it either died out fairly quickly or was overwhelmed by a drummer. I'm not sure I managed a full rendition of a song the entire game. It was anticipated to an extent, the dilution of people who normally sing and/or go to away games in amongst a much larger percentage of day trippers/less regulars/non singers was always going to be the case.

[RoyalBlue]

What happened to the "singing section" the club told us about

They were infiltrated by thousands of Trappist Monks!

We were in 110 and seemed to be in the minority when it came to loud and reasonably continuous vocal support (However, 109 seemed even quieter) . It was the quietest I've ever seen our Playoff Final fans.

In trying to make up for the Trappists I came close to losing my voice on several occasions and have a sore throat and croaky voice today to show for it. There were some other guys near us also giving it their all but far too few of us in total.

As for the team not giving us cause to support, yes, in an ideal world that is what happens but there are occasions when they need the supporters to spark them. There are some clubs where the supporters realise that and are great at doing it when required. We need to up our game and become one of them.

[Cureton's Volley]

In trying to make up for the Trappists I came close to losing my voice on several occasions and have a sore throat and croaky voice today to show for it.

+1

I have no voice whatsoever & I'm still in bed too

[Reading4eva]

I was in 109. Thought they were pretty good to be fair. Great atmosphere in the pub beforehand and at the Stadium along with the walk.

My videos are here: Reading v Huddersfield Town PlayOff Final: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL ... TpX3WBqJnY

[Dick Habbin's hairdo]

Block 122 - populated by Jemimas and Charlies from Nettlebed and Henley and Sonning. General B would have been in his element.

Thoroughly enjoyed the pre-match beverages in Marylebone - although it was very subdued there, too - but, good grief, it was a mausoleum at Wembley.

Being sat very near the half way line, tbh I never heard a squeak from the East End while the Spazz Clappers from 'Uddersfield did create a certain intensity at time.

I seem to be the only one who actually enjoyed the match, too - a tactical chess game between two well matched teams.

Completely lost it at Joey vdB when, after about 3-4 mins of good, controlled, confident possession - making the Terriers be, well, terriers - he doesn't even lump it forward with pace to the edge of the box (and Swift!) - it's a slow curler.... I can only imagine what Voldemort was thinking.

Highlight was taking my daughter (who was born in RBH and is now at uni in UK) to her first ever 'proper' RFC game. When going up the escalators at the station around 1000 the first "URZzzzz" went up.... "Hark," she says, "the mating call of the Berkshire male...." Indeed. She loved it and finished the day with: "I can see why you love away days so much now. Can I come with you in future?" My job is done.

[RG7Fan]

108 - fairly noisy but there were also times when it was quiet (maybe the lack of decent gameplay).

Had to stand all game to see round the guy in front of me, who was stood because the 2-3 rows in from of him were standing. This almost caused a punch up involving another (I assume fairly lubricated) guy getting the arse about it. Odd as he was sat 10 ft to the right of them and in no way had his view impeded.

[bobby1413]

108 - fairly noisy but there were also times when it was quiet (maybe the lack of decent gameplay).

Had to stand all game to see round the guy in front of me, who was stood because the 2-3 rows in from of him were standing. This almost caused a punch up involving another (I assume fairly lubricated) guy getting the arse about it. Odd as he was sat 10 ft to the right of them and in no way had his view impeded.

Wasn't 108 part of "The singing section"... aka the "people likely to stand" area?

[East Grinstead Royal]

Block 108. Stood the entire game. Several to my left tried to get some songs and chants going and a good many of us joined in, but when they started shouting, "Come on, you w*****s, start f****** singing," they really lost the goodwill of those around them. Also, they had no concept of the difference between a song and a chant (e.g., "Jaap Stam had a dream..." isn't supposed to be chanted in a monotone!).
My 15yo son was shouting so hard and loud that he thought he was going to pass out at one point and was convinced his throat was bleeding.
This morning I'm absolutely gutted, but not as much as I was after Swansea, Walsall or Bolton.