8.00 Evening kick offs

[windermereROYAL]

So is there any logical reason now why we are the only team that still kicks off at 8.00 now?
Take Tuesday night for example. were the people that left before extra time more concerned with getting home at a reasonable time rather than seeing the outcome of the game?
If it gone to Penalties some would have problems getting home much before midnight.

I think the club need to address these concerns, IMO there is no reason for it.

[TadleyDave]

This has been discussed before and on Facebook as well,the answer given was that Reading had two rush hour's ie the normal one and then one later in the evening as people came off the M4,mostly from London.

[PieEater]

Everyone knows it's because we're in Royal Berkshire and choose to kick off when we want wearing what we want.

[Yellowcoat]

It is mainly done for traffic reasons. Often grid locked even for 8 pm starts. Earlier would be far worse. Buses/drivers are also not available earlier due to being on on local rush hour routes rather than various football specials. Those people who leave early are the same people who do so on Saturdays anyway.

[Sutekh]

Don't think the congestion and traffic issues around Reading have changed from last season so the kick off time will therefore remain at 8pm

[Sanguine]

Those issues notwithstanding, we are far from the only team that has an out of town stadium alongside busy main- and link-roads.

[The Royal Forester]

So is there any logical reason now why we are the only team that still kicks off at 8.00 now?
Take Tuesday night for example. were the people that left before extra time more concerned with getting home at a reasonable time rather than seeing the outcome of the game?
If it gone to Penalties some would have problems getting home much before midnight.

I think the club need to address these concerns, IMO there is no reason for it.

We are not the only team with 8pm kick off. Bolton Wanderers also kick off at 8pm for mid week matches, and I think some in League 1 & 2 do as well.

[Sutekh]

Those issues notwithstanding, we are far from the only team that has an out of town stadium alongside busy main- and link-roads.

The council and Highways Authority said that unlike a lot of other clubs Reading suffers from a double rush hour. Once the normal get away starts dying down a bit the town apparently then gets hit with all those returning from various London locations. Seems to be a feature for most places in East Berkshire.

[RG30]

It's the early round cup game like Tuesday night that annoy me. It's fairly apparent we'll be getting small crowds of 7,000. Would be better for all if they kicked off 15 mins earlier.

[Yellowcoat]

Still would not work as it is the volume of other traffic that is the problem not the numbers who turn up.

[John Smith]

It's the early round cup game like Tuesday night that annoy me. It's fairly apparent we'll be getting small crowds of 7,000. Would be better for all if they kicked off 15 mins earlier.

My counter argument would be that if such a small number are in attendance they would be those most willing to go and watch i.e. not those that want to leave early.

[The Cube]

I reckon we should move to 9pm instead. None of this pussyfooting around with 15 minutes here or there.

[Sport Economist]

Of course everyone on here is going to argue for what suits them but I'm with the original poster. In this day of increased workplace flexibility where many people can leave the office at 4pm or work from home, 8pm leaves me kicking my heels for hours before the game only to have to make a mad rush for it afterwards so not to get home too late. This is OK if I'm in the mood for a pre-game drink but it definitely had an impact on how keen I was to attend the game on Tuesday (in the end, I decided not to go) while the prospect of extra time was making me come out in hives. If Reading want to attract more support from surrounding towns, then 7.45 would be better.

[Snowflake Royal]

Of course everyone on here is going to argue for what suits them but I'm with the original poster. In this day of increased workplace flexibility where many people can leave the office at 4pm or work from home, 8pm leaves me kicking my heels for hours before the game only to have to make a mad rush for it afterwards so not to get home too late. This is OK if I'm in the mood for a pre-game drink but it definitely had an impact on how keen I was to attend the game on Tuesday (in the end, I decided not to go) while the prospect of extra time was making me come out in hives. If Reading want to attract more support from surrounding towns, then 7.45 would be better.

If work hours are flexible, work later, go in later the next day.

[JR]

We are going to need to get used to 7.45 home kick-offs for the 2019/20 Champions League, so might as well get some practice in before then

[CountryRoyal]

Those issues notwithstanding, we are far from the only team that has an out of town stadium alongside busy main- and link-roads.

Bolton also start at 8.00pm

[bobby1413]

I think the club should say:

"Fans views are very important to us and we've listened carefully to some of the views about an 8pm kick off. We value the feed back and genuinely care. As a result we have decided to move the evening kick offs to 815pm with immediate effect"

[Lower West]

only to have to make a mad rush for it afterwards so not to get home too late.

It's only "15 minutes" a few times a year. Guess you never manage to watch midweek away games then.

[SouthDownsRoyal]

We were the only 2000 k.o? Big wow

[Billy The Fish]

We were the only 2000 k.o? Big wow

But ours was also the only game on Tuesday to go to extra time I believe. Statistical analysis therefore proves that later kick-offs lead to much later finish times. Has this even been taken into account by the powers that be?