by The Green Programme »
15 Feb 2022 11:18
South Coast Royal Dirk Gently blythspartan The last time we had a decent team to watch was 2011/12. Even the following season in the premiership was pretty rubbish tbh, apart from a couple of games.
Apart from 2005/2006 and 2 seasons in the premiership my favourite time of watching us was under Mark McGhee and Colin Lee and then Quinn and Gooding. Plus, always loved the Maurice Evans team of the 1978/79 season.
This is just my personal opinion but in all honesty I haven’t enjoyed watching us play for 10 years now. We have put the odd run together under various managers but even the last time we got to the playoffs under Stam the football was terrible to watch at times. I guess people on here will have differing opinions to me but Reading used to be more entertaining to watch in the old 4th division to what I have witnessed this season.
Agreed, except that 11/12 team wasn't that easy on the eye at times. The season didn't pick up until it was about a third of the way through, and then they ground their way to the Championship through determination and teamwork. Some games were almost painful to watch (e.g. Brighton away where we won 1-0 without having any shots on target!) - and what was entertaining was us winning against the odds again and again. West Ham away was another one - we won but I still don't know how...
So yes - good to watch, but for quite different reasons to the 106 point team who were just an absolute joy.
Thanks to blyth for the distraction from this long drawn out saga.
McGhee time and 106 year were just great to watch and Dirk I agree on your 11/12 comments.
My best memory of that season was going to Brighton and Southampton within a short space of time with the team on a roll and momentum saw us get 2 hard fought wins.
That game at Brighton was turgid and wasn't it Harte's deflected free-kick that sealed the win down the other end?
Then Le Fondre at Saints?
Going way back there was really exciting football at a lower level under Jack Mansell where attack was the only plan-a bit like today's team but twice as good going forward and just as bad at defending.
10.00 has now gone-any news?
Other than 106 season…. (And for those old enough to have been there and this can compare the experience)
78/79 - what a team for Div 4 - Steve Death, Gary Peters, Paul Bennett, Martin Hicks, Marc White - have we ever had a better back 5 (comparatively) - Richie Bowman and Laurie Sanchez, in the middle - Pat Earles (great goal poacher) - and wait for it, a proper hard man, only ever surpassed and even then it’s arguable by Percy Freeman - Steve Hetzke up front - the team scored for fun and were virtually impregnable at the back.
Wolves and Southampton at home in the league cup - both in Div 1 (equivalent to Prem for the newbies) - great nights under the lights at Elm Park.
Pompey 2-0 and Aldershot 4-0 at home around Easter, both were in the mix for promotion - when it mattered most we battered the opposition towards the end of the season.
And battered Port Vale 3-0 away last game of the season to win the league…
That was some season.
I can remember the Friday years (he did live up to the posthumous hype; he really was like a footballer from another planet - and he was ours and it was great) and the promotion year 1976 - but it was always too tight - I remember the kamikaze month when we lost 4-1 to Exeter and 5-1 to Swansea as we did our best to destroy any chance or promotion - I was 12 and perhaps a little too dramatically, had already decided (after the experience of the previous three seasons) that we start well; look like world beaters, f@!k it up - miss out on promotion; so when we actually got promoted - it was the equivalent of emigrating somewhere wonderful (albeit only for a summer!)
Back to 78-79 - Maurice Evans - what a brilliant Manager he was.
McGhee/Lee and Quinn/Gooding really was a special team too.
If I can mention it without bringing on bouts (or whatever the collective term may be) of PTSD - the first half against Bolton at Wembley was simply the greatest footballing display I had ever seen from a Reading team - only matched by some of the performances in the 106 season (Millwall home and away, as just two examples).
The turgid bollocks being served up right now… with the exception of one or two of our ‘footballers’ - is uninspiring, PR driven, mind numbing s@!t.