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[tmesis]

I think the thing with this is though, fans very much don't appreciate it for the most part.

And Brentford, Fulham, Palace and Brighton are just at the top of their arcs.

Not long ago you could have said the same thing for Bolton, Wigan, Blackburn...

I'd certainly rather beat Wycombe and Lincoln than know bar a miracle we're losing to Arsenal yet again.

I think the moments are just more memorable in the Premier League seasons. Even in the years we went down, we had some of our best moments. Beating Liverpool in 2007, the comeback win at home to Everton in 2012 when they were still good. January 2013 where Le Fondre was player of the month and McDermott manager of the month. A few years ago, Norwich finished bottom but still had their big day beating Man City.

The only days outside the PL which compare are the away days at Brentford (2002), West Ham and Southampton (2012), the FA Cup win against Bradford (2015) and winning promotion for the first time in 2006. The day we finally win a play-off, at whatever level, will be right up there.

Even in a bad PL season, you will get 2 or 3 memorable days which only come along once every few years outside it.

Just my view.

I'm not sure you necessarily do get them any more. Look at this season, what are the days that will remain memorable for Sheffield Utd fans. The wins against Luton & Burnley? Sides they last played, checks notes, last season in the Champ? Their other win against Wolves?

Outside of that it has been miserable for them. 8-0 & 6-0 home defeats may be memorable but I imagine every Blades fan would rather they never happened.

Same with Burnley, maybe the draw at Chelsea & the 5-0 over Sheffield but both sets of fans will have many more memorable days banked from last year compared to this.

I think we can all accept that the premier league is not a nice place to be if you don't have a team that can put up a decent fight, but being a mediocre League One club isn't going to thrill people once the novelty wears off.

Even being a top half regular, winning more than we lose, will start to get annoying as those missed promotion chances start to add up.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Yeh, nobody minds L1 too much now. Good away days, we have a likeable team who compete every week. If the takeover happens, we'll probably remain patient for a couple of years and then we'll start becoming frustrated. If you read the Pompey reaction to promotion, a lot of it is focused on just how long they've had to wait at this level (7 years). And being a mediocre Championship team for 5 years wasn't particularly fun either.

[Stranded]

I think the moments are just more memorable in the Premier League seasons. Even in the years we went down, we had some of our best moments. Beating Liverpool in 2007, the comeback win at home to Everton in 2012 when they were still good. January 2013 where Le Fondre was player of the month and McDermott manager of the month. A few years ago, Norwich finished bottom but still had their big day beating Man City.

The only days outside the PL which compare are the away days at Brentford (2002), West Ham and Southampton (2012), the FA Cup win against Bradford (2015) and winning promotion for the first time in 2006. The day we finally win a play-off, at whatever level, will be right up there.

Even in a bad PL season, you will get 2 or 3 memorable days which only come along once every few years outside it.

Just my view.

I'm not sure you necessarily do get them any more. Look at this season, what are the days that will remain memorable for Sheffield Utd fans. The wins against Luton & Burnley? Sides they last played, checks notes, last season in the Champ? Their other win against Wolves?

Outside of that it has been miserable for them. 8-0 & 6-0 home defeats may be memorable but I imagine every Blades fan would rather they never happened.

Same with Burnley, maybe the draw at Chelsea & the 5-0 over Sheffield but both sets of fans will have many more memorable days banked from last year compared to this.

I think we can all accept that the premier league is not a nice place to be if you don't have a team that can put up a decent fight, but being a mediocre League One club isn't going to thrill people once the novelty wears off.

Even being a top half regular, winning more than we lose, will start to get annoying as those missed promotion chances start to add up.

Of course but its not an either/or situation. As has been mentioned, the journey is better than the destination for a club our size. Am I fussed about us getting to the PL again, not really no, I watch less and less of it (even cancelled Sky this week as realised I wasn't really watching it so was just chucking €35 down the drain each month) but I want us to get there again as it means we will have had at least 2 memorable seasons in getting there - ideally winning the play-offs once along the way. Simply have to accept that the likely 1 season stop in the PL will simply need to be "got through".

[Snowflake Royal]

I think the moments are just more memorable in the Premier League seasons. Even in the years we went down, we had some of our best moments. Beating Liverpool in 2007, the comeback win at home to Everton in 2012 when they were still good. January 2013 where Le Fondre was player of the month and McDermott manager of the month. A few years ago, Norwich finished bottom but still had their big day beating Man City.

The only days outside the PL which compare are the away days at Brentford (2002), West Ham and Southampton (2012), the FA Cup win against Bradford (2015) and winning promotion for the first time in 2006. The day we finally win a play-off, at whatever level, will be right up there.

Even in a bad PL season, you will get 2 or 3 memorable days which only come along once every few years outside it.

Just my view.

I'm not sure you necessarily do get them any more. Look at this season, what are the days that will remain memorable for Sheffield Utd fans. The wins against Luton & Burnley? Sides they last played, checks notes, last season in the Champ? Their other win against Wolves?

Outside of that it has been miserable for them. 8-0 & 6-0 home defeats may be memorable but I imagine every Blades fan would rather they never happened.

Same with Burnley, maybe the draw at Chelsea & the 5-0 over Sheffield but both sets of fans will have many more memorable days banked from last year compared to this.

I think we can all accept that the premier league is not a nice place to be if you don't have a team that can put up a decent fight, but being a mediocre League One club isn't going to thrill people once the novelty wears off.

Even being a top half regular, winning more than we lose, will start to get annoying as those missed promotion chances start to add up.

People like to see their team win. They leave the game feeling happy after a win. More wins = more happy.

Yes, a prolonged spell in L1 midtable - 5-10 years - would be disappointing because we have the facilities, capability and recent history to be better.

But I have no interest in returning to finishing bottom 8 in the Championship most seasons winning barely any away games and about a third of our home games, playing bad football with a bunch of overpaid failures, and idiot managers blaming everything but themselves and bemoaning their lack of resources on a budget of twice the club's income.

[From Despair To Where?]

Having grown up watching League 1 football, it doesn't bother me.

It's the nervous excitement on the morning of matchday, it's the anticipation of a hard fought game that gets me interested. This is the first season in years where I've got that

Even in the Premiership, I didn't give a shit about who was on the opposition side, I came to the match to watch Reading and Reading alone. I want us to have a fighting chance and give our all and I don't really care what league we're in because, barring the Premiership, it's all relative,

[rabidbee]

Is it a generational thing? Personally, I'd be happy to become a club that is always competitive in the top-half of the Championship, without necessarily getting promoted to the PL all that often (as my friend always messages when we make the playoffs, 'No Good Will Come Of This'). I'd derive more satisfaction in being a club that can maintain that kind of level whilst doing things 'the right way' (or what I perceive that to be) - managing sustainable finances, bringing through a reliable stream of young talent and selling them for a good fee, sticking to a positive footballing philosophy. Every so often have the odd buccaneering run in the PL, hopefully not crashing out with a whimper, but also importantly taking measures to ensure that the inevitable descent is planned for and manageable.

A lot of this is basically nostalgia for the Coppell/Madejski years, obviously.

[Snowflake Royal]

Amen to both of those.

I would say that the last ~10 years in the Championship and that PL relegation were the worst I've seen the club in all ways.

Worse than the relegation fights in Division One under Jim & Mick and Bullivant and Burns. Worse than the dissappointment and struggle of Burns in Division Two.

The thing is, even in the doldrums in League One, you know there's a good chance of a brighter future ahead.

There really hasn't seemed like there was a brighter future for about a decade before now.

[SouthDownsRoyal]

L1 is ok but be much better to be in the championship again, of course not if we are losing every week so stabilise and hopefully go up I’ve always thought being top ten of the championship is a sweet spot

[Forbury Lion]

I'd be happy if we got back to the Championship eventually and win promotion to the Premier League. I don't want us to challenge for Derby's worse team in history moniker, but I also wouldn't want us taking unnecessary financial risks to stay up.
You go up, take the money, come down stronger with parachute payments then try to repeat.

Sure, if we have something in place like Brighton and Brentford which allows us to be sustainable at that level then go for it, as long as it doesn't mean we go bankrupt if the gamble fails. Get the academy churning out great players and then let Chelsea buy them for tens of millions of pounds whilst having a mini adventure in Europe.

[traff]

Amen to both of those.

I would say that the last ~10 years in the Championship and that PL relegation were the worst I've seen the club in all ways.

Worse than the relegation fights in Division One under Jim & Mick and Bullivant and Burns. Worse than the dissappointment and struggle of Burns in Division Two.

The thing is, even in the doldrums in League One, you know there's a good chance of a brighter future ahead.

There really hasn't seemed like there was a brighter future for about a decade before now.

Would caveat that with Terry the Taxis tenure

[Snowflake Royal]

Amen to both of those.

I would say that the last ~10 years in the Championship and that PL relegation were the worst I've seen the club in all ways.

Worse than the relegation fights in Division One under Jim & Mick and Bullivant and Burns. Worse than the dissappointment and struggle of Burns in Division Two.

The thing is, even in the doldrums in League One, you know there's a good chance of a brighter future ahead.

There really hasn't seemed like there was a brighter future for about a decade before now.

Would caveat that with Terry the Taxis tenure

The season actually went ok until about Xmas, and then he left about a month before the end of the season. So it was only really two months of shit with him.

I still remember demolishing promotion chasing Sunderland 4-0 at home with relish.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I'd be happy if we got back to the Championship eventually and win promotion to the Premier League. I don't want us to challenge for Derby's worse team in history moniker, but I also wouldn't want us taking unnecessary financial risks to stay up.
You go up, take the money, come down stronger with parachute payments then try to repeat.

Sure, if we have something in place like Brighton and Brentford which allows us to be sustainable at that level then go for it, as long as it doesn't mean we go bankrupt if the gamble fails. Get the academy churning out great players and then let Chelsea buy them for tens of millions of pounds whilst having a mini adventure in Europe.

If you're a strong Championship team with the occasional Premier League skirmish, relegation in those seasons isn't the end of the world, but being utterly out of your depth is harmful and can set you back. It damages your players to lose every week and take multiple thrashings; it can break the team you've built. Whereas if you give it a good go and just come up short, it's a step on the team's development, then you come back down with more financial power too. If Luton fall short, which I think they will, they'll be well set for next season.

[SouthDownsRoyal]

Life after the PO final defeat to Hudds has been terrible

[South Coast Royal]

Having grown up watching League 1 football, it doesn't bother me.

It's the nervous excitement on the morning of matchday, it's the anticipation of a hard fought game that gets me interested. This is the first season in years where I've got that

Even in the Premiership, I didn't give a shit about who was on the opposition side, I came to the match to watch Reading and Reading alone. I want us to have a fighting chance and give our all and I don't really care what league we're in because, barring the Premiership, it's all relative,

Interesting take on watching games-I feel the opposite in that part of the enjoyment is seeing the opposition players even at the lower level and spotting those that might step up and reach the higher levels of the game.
The difference between us is probably that I am a fan of football (can't get enough of it on TV as well as going), whereas you are just a fan of Reading.
Nothing wrong with either views IMHO and I guess that the majority of fans only want to see their team win regardless of how it happens.

As a youngster I desperately wanted Reading to win every game but now in later life I want to see the odd spectacular goal (Lewis Wing thank you) or some brilliant passing moves (Roberts and Clarke for Sunderland last season) and the result is not so important anymore.

The Championship can be a dire slog for teams and players on big wages who think they are worthy of top level football-in most cases they are not.
At our current level you see players that are trying hard even if they don't have the ability and at Premier level I see players who do things that I could never do.

So, on balance this level is ok (like the earlier poster it is where I came in) and the Prem is great if you want to see top players and not too worried about the result.
The only really enjoyable seasons in the Championship for me were McGhee's time and Coppell,s-McGhee's because of the style and Coppell's for the style and the realisation that we had a team that would hold it's own at the top level.

McDermott's team was just functional and, without investment, was doomed to do a Sheffield United.
If we were to get promoted to the Championship I would hope it would be with a team like Ipswich this season which was good enough to make a real challenge, just as when with Coppell's side we knew that we would compete at the top level and be capable of beating teams like Spurs and West Ham.

For the moment though let''s hope that the club stays in business and that we can hold on to Bindon, Wing and Knibbs as well as Yiadom to last another year and start to build something worth watching -not much has been worth watching for the past 10 years or so apart from the improvement of the past few weeks when the players, fans and manager have been very much together in our time of need.

[From Despair To Where?]

Yeah, I couldn't give too much of a shit about football outside of Reading, particularly the Premiership.

[6ft Kerplunk]

Would caveat that with Terry the Taxis tenure

The season actually went ok until about Xmas, and then he left about a month before the end of the season. So it was only really two months of shit with him.

One of the last matches I went to before moving up to Leeds was the 6-0 thrashing we got away at Tranmere which must have been earlish September. One of the worst performances I've seen and It was obvious at that point that Bullivant was out of his depth even if it didn't completely unravel until the spring.

[Snowflake Royal]

Would caveat that with Terry the Taxis tenure

The season actually went ok until about Xmas, and then he left about a month before the end of the season. So it was only really two months of shit with him.

One of the last matches I went to before moving up to Leeds was the 6-0 thrashing we got away at Tranmere which must have been earlish September. One of the worst performances I've seen and It was obvious at that point that Bullivant was out of his depth even if it didn't completely unravel until the spring.

20 sep

But we followed it up beating Posh in the cup.
Beating Pompey away
Beating Sunderland 4-0 at home
3-3 draw with Crewe at home.
Beating Wolves in the cup 4-2
And then getting good away draws at Man City and Norwich.

I don't think 1 away drubbing really does prove that given the results around it.

We got smashed multiple times in stam's first season and still finished in the POs.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I remembered the 4-0 Sunderland game. I was still pretty young, certainly primary school age, and didn't follow the team too closely at that point aside from the occasional game.

At FT, I thought Asaba was the best player ever and couldn't understand why we were so low in the league table. Was too young to understand how both individuals and teams can be infuriatingly inconsistent.

[From Despair To Where?]

Would caveat that with Terry the Taxis tenure

The season actually went ok until about Xmas, and then he left about a month before the end of the season. So it was only really two months of shit with him.

One of the last matches I went to before moving up to Leeds was the 6-0 thrashing we got away at Tranmere which must have been earlish September. One of the worst performances I've seen and It was obvious at that point that Bullivant was out of his depth even if it didn't completely unravel until the spring.

And to think the other name in the frame was apparently Bernd Schuster

[mikey_1871]

The only really enjoyable seasons in the Championship for me were McGhee's time and Coppell,s-McGhee's because of the style and Coppell's for the style and the realisation that we had a team that would hold it's own at the top level.

Would add the first season under Pardew to this after we got promoted, finished 4th and lost in the playoffs to Wolves.