2006 v 2012 21st May

[Orion1871]

A great afternoon full of memories.

Very emotional seeing them all back, great teams and great people. Characters you don't see now in the current footballers.

Shame some were missing, either through prior commitments, travelling distance from a land down under, and one through sheer bloody mindedness. On that note, many of those who played are disappointed with the way the club operates now, Mr Kitson. They still turned up for the fans and for a celebration of how it was then.

[Zip]

You have two things to do Zip….(would’ve loved to have participated myself….but I still have a job to do keeping you pensioners in horlicks and vauxhall astras)

Give your old mate Spizz a mention, and say the word ‘moist’ in it somewhere.

Seriously, the match time announcements were shit and left a lot of players un-heralded, however, the whole day was almost emotionally comparable to the 5-0 at home to Derby when we secured the title tho’

Pass on my thanks to the organisers and players…..and as has been already been suggested…the ‘re-connect’ is back on ….slightly

I’m worried about being overwhelmed with fan mail. It wouldn’t surprise me if leon sent me noods.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Surely you’ve seen his little tinkle tube before?

[Zip]

Surely you’ve seen his little tinkle tube before?

I think he may have a fairy these days.

[Dirk Gently]

A lovely occasion, woth the 900-mile round trip.

But also a sad reminder of what players we used to have and what nice, decent, grounded, genuine people they were, who genuinely appreciated the fans and were happy to have positove interactions with them.

We've lost so much in the last decade...

[Nameless]

A lovely occasion, woth the 900-mile round trip.

But also a sad reminder of what players we used to have and what nice, decent, grounded, genuine people they were, who genuinely appreciated the fans and were happy to have positove interactions with them.

We've lost so much in the last decade...

It’s not fair to tar all the current players with that brush. There are certainly players at the club now who go out of their way to stay grounded and connect with fans. We have players who have paid to sit in the stands and follow their club since they were kids and if they weren’t playing for us would still have season tickets. We have players who have gone and sat in the stands with fans at games. We have players who have paid for fans to get to away games. There were also players in previous years who developed an over inflated sense of their importance.
I think you are really unfair on the likes of Laurent, Yiadom, Meite, Holmes and McIntyre (and probably others) to whom most if not all of those adjectives apply.

But it was great to see the old gang(s) back together and the players were absolutely brilliant !

[NathStPaul]

Here he is defending modern Reading FC again..... Boring.

[Hendo]

Absolutely loved Saturday, one of the best days at the stadium in a long, long time.

Will happily admit there were a few tears in my eyes when the players came out.

[Whore Jackie]

Yep, really was a fantastic day. I know we're not deemed as much in footballing circles, but my word, it was lovely to remember how special those two managers and players were. We've not won a lot, but they really were two incredible title-winning teams. Different class.

Superb seeing Sir John centre-stage again, Ron Grant, Nigel Gibbs, Selby etc. And was proper lovely hearing all the old songs get an airing too. Kudos to everyone who helped pull it together and those that made the effort to support it.

[JedMaxwell]

Here he is defending modern Reading FC again..... Boring.

I think it's absolutely fair to say that not all modern players are money-grabbing mercenaries and we certainly have some players now who play for the shirt.

In the face of the two sides we saw on Saturday, any team would look inferior. We've not had good years recently, so of course the current players wouldn't be held in the highest esteem.

Anyway, regardless of that it was a great day and perhaps should serve as a reminder to the club as it is now, what ingredients are needed to be successful.

[Orion1871]

Here he is defending modern Reading FC again..... Boring.

Here he is being a complete arsehole again..... Boring.

[NathStPaul]

Here he is defending modern Reading FC again..... Boring.

Here he is being a complete arsehole again..... Boring.

Ok DD.

[RobRoyale]

Loved every minute of this event!
Unexpectedly emotional and hugely nostalgic, it felt like seeing old friends again and was entirely heart warming.

I just hope the next class of legends is imminent!

[Medusa?]

[b]I didn’t recognise Stephen Hunt with the white hair.[/b]
Couldn’t believe there were muppets booing HRK when he came on. Muppets.

Glad someone has brought this up, took me ages to realise it was him! And he was the first player out as well as he was kicking a ball around with his kids in front of the ED.

Right up until he kicked the ball, then he was still recognisable. Just don't ask him to run.

I was surprised how many of Coppell's team I recognised by the way they ran or handled the ball. Didn't need to see the back of the shirt to work out Kevin Doyle.

And a huge thank you to those players who did come over to the East Stand for photos etc afterwards - thank you for making the effort.

[KC Royal]

Yep I felt emotional and also a bit sad. Not sure we will have those wonderful seasons again.

Yep feeling a bit emotional and sad today too.

yep, it”s the “hangover after the party” thing today

A lot of things could’ve been done better…especially for the lads that came onto the pitch as subs….
Like many here, I didn’t have a clue either (until I saw the back of their shirts)…unheralded, they were all there in those seasons, and all made the effort to turn up……magical, if I never attend another game in my life, I will remember this one….well done RFC, regained a tiny bit of ‘reconnect’ there yesterday.

No lumps in my throat, nor tears in my eyes….fukkin hay fever

One thing that saddened me a little bit was Marcus not being that keeper that he once was…Stack was excellent…the clock runs on and one so quickly

(notably, there are a few posters that post on absolutely everything on this Team Board that are so obviously not commenting…..should’ve made the effort lads…Reading won but it was still your loss)

Another sub i didn't work out! I wondered who the keeper was that replaced Hahnemann. Tbh in the first half i thought there were a couple of goals, certainly Karacan's, that Hahnemann let in deliberately to keep the score level. 2nd half agree was more of a struggle for him...Shame Cureton couldn't head in his cross at the end though! And definitely with you on the "reconnect" too, been a long time since i enjoyed a matchday as much as that. Felt a love for the club that tbh i'm not sure i thought would return...It's definitely a match i will treasure being at, first time i've seen some players actually play for the club live too.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Yeah it was Stackie, barely started for us, but was always there, just in case.

Primarily now a GK coach, he came out of retirement just last season and played a game for Chesham in their hour of need.
It was even great seeing what could’ve classified as our supernumeraries from back in the day.

Jem and Pearcy (not that Welsh Zip variety) looked so much at home during and after the game too.

[Snowflake Royal]

Brian and Steve are looking very well.

Some quality on display on the highlights. So many happy memories from some great players.

Sad that none of Sidwell, Shorey, Harper or Kitson could make it, arguably three of them being the star players in the league going into 2005/06 season.

[Zip]

Brian and Steve are looking very well.

Some quality on display on the highlights. So many happy memories from some great players.

Sad that none of Sidwell, Shorey, Harper or Kitson could make it, arguably three of them being the star players in the league going into 2005/06 season.

Also no Noel Hunt which surprised me given he is now back at the club.

[KC Royal]

Brian and Steve are looking very well.

Some quality on display on the highlights. So many happy memories from some great players.

Sad that none of Sidwell, Shorey, Harper or Kitson could make it, arguably three of them being the star players in the league going into 2005/06 season.

Also no Noel Hunt which surprised me given he is now back at the club.

Saw him on the pitch after the game and also wondered the same. Also saw Bryn on the pitch, expected him to be involved too.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Both Hunty and Sids released videos explaining their absences and some very nice words and best wishes were said by both.
Harps is abroad on holiday (I believe)
Kits?? was (allegedly) spotted on the golf course last week with some of the other playing attendees.