Where have the hardcore gone? Culture loss.

[Pepe the Horseman]

id defo consider going more often if they did that

Never understood people who can't go 90 minutes without shoveling pie and chips down their gullet autopost.

I'm not eating the pie, I'm merely buying it for the free pint and five pound off my match ticket

You'll just end up wearing it.

[Forbury Lion]

Look at Bournemouth. "only" playing in front of 11 000 in the Prem.

in their 11,000 capacity stadium, I dare say they'd sell twice as many if they had the capacity

[John Smith]

Look at Bournemouth. "only" playing in front of 11 000 in the Prem.

in their 11,000 capacity stadium, I dare say they'd sell twice as many if they had the capacity

Alright Bournemouth fan. You mates with Reading4eva?

[Forbury Lion]

Look at Bournemouth. "only" playing in front of 11 000 in the Prem.

in their 11,000 capacity stadium, I dare say they'd sell twice as many if they had the capacity

Alright Bournemouth fan. You mates with Reading4eva?

I don't know which of those two accusations to be most offended by.

[John Smith]

in their 11,000 capacity stadium, I dare say they'd sell twice as many if they had the capacity

Alright Bournemouth fan. You mates with Reading4eva?

I don't know which of those two accusations to be most offended by.

I get like this on international breaks. Don't take it personally.

[Old Man Andrews]

in their 11,000 capacity stadium, I dare say they'd sell twice as many if they had the capacity

Alright Bournemouth fan. You mates with Reading4eva?

I don't know which of those two accusations to be most offended by.

Yeah thats really harsh John. Nobody deserves to be accused of being mates with Reading 4 Eva. Too far.

[Maneki Neko]

Never understood people who can't go 90 minutes without shoveling pie and chips down their gullet autopost.

I'm not eating the pie, I'm merely buying it for the free pint and five pound off my match ticket

You'll just end up wearing it.

[Gunny Fishcake]

Drunker fans = more noise / fun at games = games are less shit.

LOL....spot on !

[bigshaka'away']

Ok I started chants on the Southbank.

When we went to madstad our culture was lost. I was one of the chantstarters on thr East Stand in the middle. We were the loudest. We were the left side if the stand. Then the middle.

The biggest loss of culture was reserved seating which screwed it all up for everyone. You could no longer go up to where the noise was and get it going.

Then a million 12 year olds from nowhere started following Reading (your generation? ) and camped out in the south east corner and they sung the same three songs but FAR FAR too quickly. Had no idea how to get a chant going and sustained like good old slow powerful chants that could go on for several minutes. That was another dent to the culture.

Then at some point we started playing music after goals. Another death to the culture.

Then we got promoted and glory hunters joined us who knew nothing of the classic chants or how to start one and thought that giving a suggestion on HNA was the only method of getting one going. More culture death.

Then we were shit.

And now the old boys are old. I've got a couple of kids. I've seen enough ganes, been in enough violent situations etc and now I'm just happy to still have functioning legs and a voice.

What I'm saying is people get old and move on and there is always a change in culture and different generations of chanters will always be asking what happened.

To me it's all about the Southbank and the mad rush and crush that happened whenever we scored a goal. Picking on fat birds in the opposition stand. Ignoring the game and goading the opposition to fights after the match which we hoped would never happen anyway.

Those days have gone. My Reading has changed. One day my kids will go with their replica shirts and reserved seating in the soulless stadium and chant really quickly like the kids these days and then do a half hearted 2 second dance to the music when we score. And one day they will ask where their culture has gone when their kids will be cheering on their holographic phones or something.

I miss the Southbank . Everyone missed their culture inevitably evaporating.

I agree with most of this.

[under the tin]

Look at Bournemouth. "only" playing in front of 11 000 in the Prem.

in their 11,000 capacity stadium, I dare say they'd sell twice as many if they had the capacity

Classic case of quoting something out of context.

It was in response to another poster bemoaning Reading's "fair weather fans"
They inhabit all clubs, not just us.
Prior to their rapid rise up the leagues with the help of an extremely rich Russian, an 11000 odd attendance for a league game at Dean Court was about as common as a solar eclipse.
It's patently obvious that they could sell more tickets for a PL fixture had they the capacity.
My point was about exactly how firm that demand for tickets is when their fortunes change.

[St Pauli]

of course, but at least it made you FEEL something...
and I bet you didn't h8 the bit where we 4 goals up. i bet you oxf*rd loved that.
that was one of the greatest feelings ever, and that still counts, despite the crushing and inevitable heartbreak that followed

Sometimes I watch the highlights and switch off at 4-0. The rest never happened.

I was in a restaurant with mrs leon.

I was being wined and dined by the German government on a course in Berlin.

[St Pauli]

Success on the pitch/entertaining football would bring more back, and improve the atmosphere, but personally though I'm not sure I would for the reasons Mags gives.

There is a problem with football generally though. It's too expensive for what it is. As a result the young male teenage fan base will shrink in most clubs year in year out. When you consider all the other entertainment out there for teens, most of it free, or very cheap, and if not, easily obtainable illegally for free with zero chance of getting caught, then shelling out the cost of travel too and entry to a match turns off the young.

[stanmoreroyal]

Lots of people mourning the situation at Reading FC with varying degrees of emotional intensity. A really sad but apt thread; and one that the owners and employees of the club really should be aware of and reading.
The common thread (of the thread) for me is emotional connectivity. I miss running back from Elm Park kicking the odd dustbin, but I also miss seeing my son's excited faces as we run onto the pitch to celebrate winning the league, also the mini bus loads of kids I used to bring from my school in Winchester to the academy before going on to a game. Some of those kids still go to watch Reading.. All these phases of life reflect differing aspects of the same passion about sharing and passing on support of a team. This emotional connection is what all fans have with their club. The associations of times spent with other people in a shared agenda of supporting a club... it's the tribalism that football used to all be about. Several posters suggest that growing older and having family reduces this and moreover that football as a whole with the inflated money has changed the nature of support. Whilst both these points have merit, realistically the situation at Reading is sadly far worse than at many clubs. Take the Watford cup game. There is a club who 5 years ago were below us in terms of optimism and playing depth etc... now they have Marriappa and Chaloba in their reserves never even playing! My nephew supports Watford and he's very engaged. Not all clubs have lost their sense of direction and hope. Identity makes all the difference and having Sir John Madejski (a Woodley boy) and the likes of Aidy Williams from Bracknell pulling on the shirt makes so much difference.
Why on earth didn't the director of football go with Stam? Nicky Hammond was a Reading goalkeeper...McDermott worked at the club under Coppell. The Shorey's, father and son etc etc.. this family togetherness and sense of pulling the odd discovered, well scouted player, from non league, into a tight cohesive group is what is completely missing. There's no sense of shared history anymore between the fan base and the staff.
Losing Sir John and the sad death of Eamon Dolan had ripped the heart out of the club.
We need a local IT millionaire, or fans consortium buy out, to reengage the fans and town, county and region in supporting their local team.

[Snowball]

I seriously think one of the biggest negatives for me is the International breaks.

Once we could settle down to a season, get into a rhythm.

Now, no sooner do we settle than we seem to have a fortnight off.

I HATE the Interlull

[Coppells Lost Coat]

I seriously think one of the biggest negatives for me is the International breaks.

Once we could settle down to a season, get into a rhythm.

Now, no sooner do we settle than we seem to have a fortnight off.

I HATE the Interlull

What makes this international break even worse, Sky get more money and devalue the importance of internationals with zero interest from people who dont subscribe to Sky. Really sums up the state of football.

[bobby1413]

I think our players need to come out and talk to the media more.

I was about to ridicule this comment... I still may

But then I remember in the glorious 106 days, when Graeme Murty had the regular weekly morning slot on BBCRB with Andrew Peach. He would answer texts, and I remember his wife often speaking on air to him about a request to attend an event, and she would say "Let me check... yea we can do that..." and would actually pencil in something on air.

I think talking to the fans via twitter and Instagram is a load of sh*te. We've seen it and heard it all before, and it's cheap, at this current time it means little.

But I would like to see a prominent, regularly, first team player doing a regular interview. Maybe Gunter or him+1 other doing a weekly interview on Monday mornings. They could respond live to fans tweets. Uncensored, actually a chance to respond and not just put out the odd tweet every 2 months after ANOTHER loss.

Obviously the 106 season(s) being glorious and perfect, and all those players will forever be remembered as heroes for me, but that aside, I felt I knew them.

[Old Man Andrews]

I think our players need to come out and talk to the media more.

I was about to ridicule this comment... I still may

But then I remember in the glorious 106 days, when Graeme Murty had the regular weekly morning slot on BBCRB with Andrew Peach. He would answer texts, and I remember his wife often speaking on air to him about a request to attend an event, and she would say "Let me check... yea we can do that..." and would actually pencil in something on air.

I think talking to the fans via twitter and Instagram is a load of sh*te. We've seen it and heard it all before, and it's cheap, at this current time it means little.

But I would like to see a prominent, regularly, first team player doing a regular interview. Maybe Gunter or him+1 other doing a weekly interview on Monday mornings. They could respond live to fans tweets. Uncensored, actually a chance to respond and not just put out the odd tweet every 2 months after ANOTHER loss.

Obviously the 106 season(s) being glorious and perfect, and all those players will forever be remembered as heroes for me, but that aside, I felt I knew them.

Players only want to talk when things are rosey. All of our squad are hiders unfortunately, not one of them can front it up.

[bobby1413]

Players only want to talk when things are rosey. All of our squad are hiders unfortunately, not one of them can front it up.

I think some would be up for it. Meyler is always responding to sh*tty 12 year olds on twitter who whine at him. I'd rather someone who has been at the club longer do it though.

I also think some would rather engage off twitter and if it was a more organised, professional thing they'd like it. E.g. if in a radio studio they'd have the chance to discuss things and respond in their way, rather than in 140/280 characters on twitter where each word of their response is examined.

If not players then Clement... if not him then second in command... just someone to take the lead and to engage regularly.

Even hearing someone talk about these players regularly would help build a better connection. E.g. knowing what the players are doing in training, how they're getting on, whose the joker of the pack, discussions after the game, their thoughts on the upcoming game.

[The Royal Forester]

I think that just as our best period in our history stated with John Madejski taking over the club, it started to decline with him selling the club. When he took over he stated he would get Reading FC into the top flight. I expect you laughed, just as I did. "What, little old Reading in the Premier League? You must joking", were my thoughts at the time. However he did manage to get us there, if only briefly, but then the problems started with the cost of trying keep us in playing the likes of Arsenal, Man Utd., Chelsea etc. in League matches. Would you have ever thought that would happen when you were on the EP terraces on a cold and wet Tuesday evening in the company of 3,000 people? Then Sir John had to admit he could not not afford to bankroll the club any longer. When we waved goodbye to Elm Park, the attendance figures shot up from about four or five thousand to more than ten thousand at home matches. Those extra supporters, and another few thousand who came along when the good times really started, enjoyed many years of happy times with an owner who was always available to speak to the crowd. and also success on the pitch, a stable club, players who if meeting fans in the town centre, would stop for a chat. Now all that seems to have changed.
Add to that, the succession of new owners, the sell-off of parts of the land, the poor football, younger fans starting to get girl friends (unless the girls are football fans, even luckier if they support Reading). then getting married, buying/renting houses, having children. Other commitments on a Saturday afternoon etc. Is it is any wonder there are more and more empty seats?

[Denver Royal]

Lots of people mourning the situation at Reading FC with varying degrees of emotional intensity. A really sad but apt thread; and one that the owners and employees of the club really should be aware of and reading.
The common thread (of the thread) for me is emotional connectivity. I miss running back from Elm Park kicking the odd dustbin, but I also miss seeing my son's excited faces as we run onto the pitch to celebrate winning the league, also the mini bus loads of kids I used to bring from my school in Winchester to the academy before going on to a game. Some of those kids still go to watch Reading.. All these phases of life reflect differing aspects of the same passion about sharing and passing on support of a team. This emotional connection is what all fans have with their club. The associations of times spent with other people in a shared agenda of supporting a club... it's the tribalism that football used to all be about. Several posters suggest that growing older and having family reduces this and moreover that football as a whole with the inflated money has changed the nature of support. Whilst both these points have merit, realistically the situation at Reading is sadly far worse than at many clubs. Take the Watford cup game. There is a club who 5 years ago were below us in terms of optimism and playing depth etc... now they have Marriappa and Chaloba in their reserves never even playing! My nephew supports Watford and he's very engaged. Not all clubs have lost their sense of direction and hope. Identity makes all the difference and having Sir John Madejski (a Woodley boy) and the likes of Aidy Williams from Bracknell pulling on the shirt makes so much difference.
Why on earth didn't the director of football go with Stam? Nicky Hammond was a Reading goalkeeper...McDermott worked at the club under Coppell. The Shorey's, father and son etc etc.. this family togetherness and sense of pulling the odd discovered, well scouted player, from non league, into a tight cohesive group is what is completely missing. There's no sense of shared history anymore between the fan base and the staff.
Losing Sir John and the sad death of Eamon Dolan had ripped the heart out of the club.
We need a local IT millionaire, or fans consortium buy out, to reengage the fans and town, county and region in supporting their local team.

Good post, and I agree about the 'emotional disconnect'.
That said, what if we were taken over by a billionaire and became an established top-half PL team? Sometimes I wonder why we couldn't be. We have the stadium. We're close to London, in an affluent area. For someone looking at such a purchase, and for whom the other London clubs may not be available, why not Reading? Now, if we went down that route, there wouldn't really be an 'emotional connection'. But, do Wolves fans care about that currently? Do Man Citeh fans care? If it happens, it happens, and not much we as fans could do about it anyway. I know some wouldn't want it. It wouldn't be Elm Park, but you'd have a 'successful' club and the crowds would be back. If we're going modern, and we feel a disconnect now anyway, then we may as well go all in. Thoughts?