Anybody else preparing to opt out next season?

[Armadillo Roadkill]

Change is a constant in life. Things can often seem to be worse, just because they've changed. The Premiership is not the old third division. Hell, the current third division (whatever it's called at the moment) isn't like the old third division.

Since I started going (March 2000), I've seen some truly dire games. The name Walsall springs to mind - not the play off final, but those ultra tedious FA Cup and league encounters. I've seen, also, some fantastic games at all three levels I've gone to. On the whole, the level of skill, speed, endurance, tactics, technical ability and all the other factors (including atmosphere) have been best in the PL. The money's crazy, but while I'm still (just) able to afford it, I still want to go.

So, no opting out for me. No big "Reading 'till I die" thing about it either. I don't go because I want the club, or the players, to love me. I go because I Iove this game. I now enjoy watching our opponents, not just my team. Your all entitled to your choice, and I've made mine.

I'd welcome relegation, because I'd stand more chance of getting a ticket to go with my boy when he's old enough than I ever would in the Premiership. I'd still love the game. I'd still feel proud to be a Reading supporter.

I wish you all the best in your choice.

[RG30]

I'll be opting out through relocation but I've got enough Royalty Points accumulated through home/away games so I ain't too fussed.

[Royal With Cheese]

I've lived in Irealand for 9 years and due to family commitments have visited the Mad Stad less and less during the last three years.

Although I still love my club a big piece of it died when we left Elm Park. I still dream of the Royals playing 1st Division football at Elm Park, the away supporters getting drenched in an uncovered away end with no facilities and dodging streams of piss in the bogs at half time.

[Ups and Downs]

I'll give it serious thought, to be honest.

As much as i enjoyed yesterdays game, i haven't really enjoyed many others this season. I've been watching Reading solidly for a good 15 years, most of which was spent dreaming of higher things. Now that we're here, i'm delighted, but its all a bit dull as there's nothing left to hope for.

[Beelzebub]

there's nothing left to hope for.

In the late 70's early 80's if you had said we would be lording it with the big boys in the the future, you would have been carted off to the funny farm.

We were a 3rd or 4th division club, and that was all we would ever be.

The favotite song was "all we are saying is give us a goal" - we set a record for the most amount of 0-0 draws on record and set a Reading record for the lowest ever crowd against Port Vale if I remember rightly.
A good FA cup run meant a game against Bury.

But we still dreamed of the top flight, of playing Liverpool (they were the top club then)

So whats the difference between that and dreaming of Europe and the Premiership title now?

None.

[paultheroyal]

Organise a poll - that will solve everything!

[Royal Rother]

This is all rather interesting. I understand exactly where you are all coming from but what I am so pleased about is that we are NOT (so far) going down the normal route of massive money signings and obscene wages. (Well, I suppose they are really but being lowest payers and spenders I do feel we have maintained some values and in that are unique in the PL.)

Many of the younger fans want us to spend big to increase the chances of success and whilst I do understand that we should really look to push on, I don't believe for a moment that money guarantees success (or really increases its likelihood particularly) and am happy to see us doing it the way we are! I feel we are a bit special because of it. If / when we go down I think the values can carry on - rebuild with confidence and pragmatism around the integrity we have shown in the whole adventure so far.

[AthleticoSpizz]

This is all rather interesting. I understand exactly where you are all coming from but what I am so pleased about is that we are NOT (so far) going down the normal route of massive money signings and obscene wages. (Well, I suppose they are really but being lowest payers and spenders I do feel we have maintained some values and in that are unique in the PL.)

Many of the younger fans want us to spend big to increase the chances of success and whilst I do understand that we should really look to push on, I don't believe for a moment that money guarantees success (or really increases its likelihood particularly) and am happy to see us doing it the way we are! I feel we are a bit special because of it. If / when we go down I think the values can carry on - rebuild with confidence and pragmatism around the integrity we have shown in the whole adventure so far.

yep well put

but with talk of 25 and 30 k per week for some of our players (admittedly, well below the going rate compared to some clubs outlays) are we not starting to conform to what Premiership teams are expected to do?

Anyway, back to my original

I sat there loving every minute of the game on Saturday...but that was my reward for 30 plus years of devotion

I also sat there alongside strangers and folk who did not share my understanding of what Reading Fc has always been about.

I guess it is called progress....and good luck to you all......I used to embrace it too......but there is that special little something missing these days.

My seat in years to come will no doubt be filled with somebody elses' fat arse....

[Factfinder]

The atmosphere at Tilehurst Terriers is not exactly as good as it was yesterday at the Madejski Stadium. But the parking, well the parking is really cheap and easy. And the manager, well his substitutions are .. .. ..

I don't understand this thread.

[Geekins]

Every year we do something which keeps us loving Reading (well in the past few seasons)

01/02 Promotion at Brentford
02/03 Play off in our first year back in div 1
03/04 Coppell arriving and goater leaving
04/05 Kitson scoring a hattrick against Pardews west ham (thats all i can think of)
05/06 so many things but mostly becoming champions with record points
06/07 finishing 8th in our first ever premiership campaign
07/08 beating Liverpool

so today we keep on believing as we do not know what will happen next year. URZ!

[Factfinder]

Every year we do something which keeps us loving Reading (well in the past few seasons)

01/02 Promotion at Brentford
02/03 Play off in our first year back in div 1
03/04 Coppell arriving and goater leaving
04/05 Kitson scoring a hattrick against Pardews west ham (thats all i can think of)
05/06 so many things but mostly becoming champions with record points
06/07 finishing 8th in our first ever premiership campaign
07/08 beating Liverpool

so today we keep on believing as we do not know what will happen next year. URZ!

As if that weren't enough.

It seems to me that the original poster is worried about the hit on his pocket and we can all understand that, but just take a check around Oxford, Leicester and Leeds and you'll see and feel the jealousy

[AthleticoSpizz]

Every year we do something which keeps us loving Reading (well in the past few seasons)

01/02 Promotion at Brentford
02/03 Play off in our first year back in div 1
03/04 Coppell arriving and goater leaving
04/05 Kitson scoring a hattrick against Pardews west ham (thats all i can think of)
05/06 so many things but mostly becoming champions with record points
06/07 finishing 8th in our first ever premiership campaign
07/08 beating Liverpool

so today we keep on believing as we do not know what will happen next year. URZ!

As if that weren't enough.

It seems to me that the original poster is worried about the hit on his pocket and we can all understand that, but just take a check around Oxford, Leicester and Leeds and you'll see and feel the jealousy

This poster can afford it (quite comfortably these days) ....don't get me wrong, I want Reading to progress............it is just that this kind've (Premier) football is not for me in the long term.

There are plenty of local teams around that will offer what I am looking for....and of course, should Reading fall from grace I will be there.... (after all...I've seen it all before etc etc).

[The 17 Bus]

What you will not believe is that after a while you will not miss the loss of seeing RFC play live, and as the tickets go on sale, you may well see how expensive irregular attendance is and decide not to use that either. One day however you will return, as the spark is always there.

Message to Mr John Madejski, get the extension built, then be the first football club to treat the fans properly, reduce prices for 30-000 ST holders to under £400, you were happy to cap wages, though that is going out of the window now, it might even earn you that Knighthood if it started the ball rolling across the land.

Imagine 38k at £20, it is still a lot of money.

[Jerry St Clair]

Imagine 38k at £20, it is still a lot of money.

And it's still too much to watch a football match.

Some interesting comments on here but, essentially, it boils down to expense and the matchday "experience".

Battling through traffic to get to a retail park with not a single pub within a mile, then paying through the nose to watch a game of football from a plastic seat is not the reason I fell in love with this club.

[Uke]

Take a leaf out of baseball in the States

Nosebleed seats (the high altitude ones) are 10 USD each!

Differential pricing would be a real boost.

[mathematically_safe]

The problem for me is that Reading playing in the top flight, the one thing I always dreamed about but never thought I would see, is sucking the life out of my club. Sport is about competition, there is no competition in the Premier League so where's the sport? What is the point of a competition in which 80% of the participants have no chance of winning?

It always makes me laugh when people talk about the need to rid sport of drugs to keep the competition pure. Well, money is football's drug problem and the top four clubs are doped up to their eyeballs on it - the competition is anything but pure. We're not playing against other clubs anymore, we're playing against corporations, against brands, against international trademarks. I for one am sick of it.

What is the point of paying an inflated season ticket price to watch your team struggle to survive, hoping that they stay up so that you can pay even more money the next year to go through the same wretched cycle again? There is no point.

But the real kicker for me is the realisation that it will never be the same. If we get relegated and have to play in the Championship we'll be competing for a prize I don't want.

Until such time as the FA realise that football in this country is slowly drowning and introduce a way of sharing revenue to promote full competition, then I too fear it will have to go on without me either.



I will always be Reading till I die, I just feel that this year something inside passed away.

what he said... top post. i really wonder whether football should introduce a draft system for new signings a la grid iron to keep it interesting but it'll never happen. i can foresee ever dwindling live match attendances and bigger tv deals as the 'EPL brand' goes ever more global. estimated worldwide live tv audience for saturday was 500 million and they were probably paying a lot less than £30 a ticket and probably didn't have to queue for an hour to leave after full time. what difference do us 20, 000 at the stadium actually make?

[AF1]

With relagation on the horizon people start jumping ship

[Dirk Gently]

With relagation on the horizon people start jumping ship

Certainly not - relegation would, I'm sure, make some people stay longer.

A competitive league with something to play for, less PL hype, more accessible matches (ticket prices may not actually go down but they couldn't go up more!), fewer stupid kick-off times...

[Dr Hfuhruhurr]

With relagation on the horizon people start jumping ship

Certainly not - relegation would, I'm sure, make some people stay longer.

A competitive league with something to play for, less PL hype, more accessible matches (ticket prices may not actually go down but they couldn't go up more!), fewer stupid kick-off times...

Thats pretty much it isnt? Im thinking of jumping ship, basically if we dont get relegated

[Hoop Blah]

I'm with Spizz and Jerry on this.

I'm not sure I'll give up my season ticket but I might not actually use it very often because it's just not the same and 15-20 years ago when I got hooked.

I've been thinking about ditching it, but can I really give it all up? I don't think I can really, and I want to make sure nobody else nabs my seat too!!!