How long before the fans turn?

[Streets]

In answer to the question, the day after deadline day, sorry Kiwi but agree with Schards and I'm a 35 year man. No business in the next week, esp left back wise and I'll be one straw closer to telling Mr M to stick it. That comment is not based on his years of support for the club but his more recent years of support for himself. You can fool some of the people all of the time..etc etc etc

Post of the day!

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

I don't think they'll turn, not after the unprecedented treats they've had in the last few years. It would be ungrateful to turn.

So are Reading fans completely different from those of every other club?!

Ungrateful or not, they will turn - that is the nature of the beast that is a passionate football fan.

replace "passionate" with "modern" and you are spot on.

Every set-back these days is seen as terminal, and sacking the manager is always seen as the answer.

Fans on here were demanding Coppell got the sack in 2005. Fans on here were calling for Pardew's head not too long before he took us up.


The fact is we are playing poorly, and have been for a year, and are low on confidence. That isn't going to turn overnight. We have also lost key players, and without an exceptional eye for talent, replacing them with players of equal ability is nigh on impossible even if we did splash the cash about (as no player of proven ability would drop out of the prem to sign for us). It all adds up to a transitional season of rebuilding.

[Man Friday]

In answer to the question, the day after deadline day, sorry Kiwi but agree with Schards and I'm a 35 year man. No business in the next week, esp left back wise and I'll be one straw closer to telling Mr M to stick it. That comment is not based on his years of support for the club but his more recent years of support for himself. You can fool some of the people all of the time..etc etc etc

Post of the day!

Gets my vote as well!

[The 17 Bus]

One thing that interests me is why more long term supporters have not walked away, in the last few years folk have complained about food and beer prices.... simple do not buy it, and i assume enough do to justify the extortionate prices.

People have complained about ticket prices, yet we have had record attendances for the best part of three seasons, home and away.......why do you complain then pay it???? Why do you not walk away??

Folk whinge about cost of parking, yet all club car parks are full.....is it that folk cannot be bothered to walk.

Same with buses.

Do so many really think that following this club is so important that usually sensible decisions will be over ridden in the sake of watching football??

Everything about football is less important than , food heat, light , water and a home over ones head, yet so many seem to pay more for football than for many of the necessaties(oxf*rd the spling) of life.

[Basingstoke Royal]

Ages.

Another thread full of comments from fickle fans after one defeat.

Blah, blah, blah......

[Rex]

Agree with what you're alluding to there 17 Bus, but as we know, football is often the release valve for some supporters. A release away from theother half, external problems in life and a bonding process where you would not usually bond. Moaning about a team, club policies, beer prices , car parking, are often again moaning without a resolution. Supporters will either opt in or out. BUT as with anything that is a way of life, casual or routine, there will always be someone standing behind you in the queue.

Where else can you go, have a beer, sing, moan, be elated or crestfallen, on such a regular weekly basis. Not many places i recon.

We have to realise that unless we have an exertable influence over policy, players and management, we are all casual bystanders for better or worse.

[rg6royal]

Ages.

Another thread full of comments from fickle fans after one defeat.

Blah, blah, blah......

It's always been like this...

[Basingstoke Royal]

Ages.

Another thread full of comments from fickle fans after one defeat.

Blah, blah, blah......

It's always been like this...

If we beat Palace everyone will be happy again.

Its a marathon not a sprint.

Back the boys.

[Factfinder]

Some of you turn every week it seems!

And, every week, some wally starts a thread slagging A) Coppell B) Mr Mad C) Doyle, Lita, Hunt (Just Steven so far, Noel next week; probably) or any other member of the team (with the notable exception of Marcus who appears to be unable to do any wrong) D) Their misfortune to have been born/live within a hundred miles of Reading E) All of the above.

It's boring!!

If you're thinking of leaving to support another club, perhaps you should. After-all, you've probably only been here for the last two years!

Ouch!

[The 17 Bus]

I agree RE, but when it becomes moaning against the very thing that the fans purport to support then perhaps they should move away, I did and at the moment I do not miss the things that go on at RFC, the only club that i will ever really follow.

In all reality football is not a business, and the sooner that people like JM realise this the better, however clubs should be run along business lines, income slightly higher than expenditure, do not mortgage too highly against possible future earnings, it is all sorta simple really.

[RoyalBlue]

I don't think they'll turn, not after the unprecedented treats they've had in the last few years. It would be ungrateful to turn.

So are Reading fans completely different from those of every other club?!

Ungrateful or not, they will turn - that is the nature of the beast that is a passionate football fan.

replace "passionate" with "modern" and you are spot on.
.

What do you classify as 'modern'?

I don't recall things changing that much over the last few decades! - well apart from the far greater percentage of disposable income that supporters are now expected to pay to watch football. If things have changed and supporters are more impatient for success then maybe that's the reason.

[Streets]

One thing that interests me is why more long term supporters have not walked away, in the last few years folk have complained about food and beer prices.... simple do not buy it, and i assume enough do to justify the extortionate prices.

People have complained about ticket prices, yet we have had record attendances for the best part of three seasons, home and away.......why do you complain then pay it???? Why do you not walk away??
Folk whinge about cost of parking, yet all club car parks are full.....is it that folk cannot be bothered to walk.
Same with buses.

I still park over in Whitley in a nice quiet road just 15 minutes walk to the ground.

I do not waste money on watery lager or over priced food. I'd buy it if it was fair price, but it's not.

I hate missing games, so much so that even when living in Leeds I would drive down sometimes twice a week. I could not miss a game, I hated not being there. I feel very much part of this football club and it is very much a part of me.

BUT, I too have grown frustrated at our lack of commitment in the transfer market over the past couple of seasons and even though now I have very few worries financially compared 6 months ago where I was still finding money I didn't have for football, I am now holding back and picking and choosing my games purely because I am fed up putting my hard earned money in and not seeing much for for it in terms of signings.

I still don't want to miss out on games, but I am, and I'll continue to do so unless we start showing some guts, and John Madejski stops milking the support for his ego and starts repaying the fans support with making strides towards taking this football club forwards once again, where as currently we are still travelling backwards!

[nev monkey]

People have complained about ticket prices, yet we have had record attendances for the best part of three seasons, home and away.......why do you complain then pay it???? Why do you not walk away??

I'm sorry but walking away is not that easy. supporting this club is almost a religion to me. I moved away from the area some years ago but would find it very hard to not turn up. Why? No idea. I just feel so passionately about it all. I'm not alone & I know it's expensive so therefore I have to miss some games but not many. I scrimped & saved to get season tickets for myself & my son. I cannot always afford to travel up for games & will do all I can to attend.

I would therefore think i'm not being totally unreasonable when I get a little bit pissed off & frustrated at the way the club is being run at the moment.

Perhaps though, just perhaps, people who aren't so passionate & don't put in as much time & effort cannot understand what all the fuss is about?

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

What do you classify as 'modern'?

I don't recall things changing that much over the last few decades! - well apart from the far greater percentage of disposable income that supporters are now expected to pay to watch football. If things have changed and supporters are more impatient for success then maybe that's the reason.

fans have always moaned about ticket prices. I remember the sharp intakes of breath when upon promotion in 1986, fans noticed it now cost £3 to get in. I remember our first away match at Barnsley back in the second tier in 1994, when fans were outraged at having to pay £12 to get in, to the extent that they spent much of the game giving the Barnsley board stick about their prices.

Part you can blame on the media attitude of total impatience aimed at the England manager over the years. Add in phone in shows which rely on perspective-free fans ringing in to state the manager has "lost the plot" at every opportunity. You could even add message boards, as they tend to be be an outlet for those with the extremes of opinion. Hardly anyone who is "slightly disappointed" tends to start a thread.

You can also chip in the way society has changed, with people demanding instant success and gratification far more than before, and typically feeling that they are entitled to it. Fans, even at Reading, now think they are entitled to premier league football, and that football lower than that is unacceptable.

Add to that the way the premiership has gone, with a number of deep-pocketed chairman spending huge sums on their playthings. The truth is that typically all chairman have put in more than they've taken out, but historically that tended to be an unintended consequence, as was the case with Madejski's earlier years. Too many fans now seem to think any chairman who doesn't pump in millions to buy success is a bad chairman.

It all adds up to fans becoming impatient far quicker, but because of things like the internet, the extreme views are much more visible and make much more noise.

[Rex]

What do you classify as 'modern'?

I don't recall things changing that much over the last few decades! - well apart from the far greater percentage of disposable income that supporters are now expected to pay to watch football. If things have changed and supporters are more impatient for success then maybe that's the reason.

fans have always moaned about ticket prices. I remember the sharp intakes of breath when upon promotion in 1986, fans noticed it now cost £3 to get in. I remember our first away match at Barnsley back in the second tier in 1994, when fans were outraged at having to pay £12 to get in, to the extent that they spent much of the game giving the Barnsley board stick about their prices.

Part you can blame on the media attitude of total impatience aimed at the England manager over the years. Add in phone in shows which rely on perspective-free fans ringing in to state the manager has "lost the plot" at every opportunity. You could even add message boards, as they tend to be be an outlet for those with the extremes of opinion. Hardly anyone who is "slightly disappointed" tends to start a thread.

You can also chip in the way society has changed, with people demanding instant success and gratification far more than before, and typically feeling that they are entitled to it. Fans, even at Reading, now think they are entitled to premier league football, and that football lower than that is unacceptable.

Add to that the way the premiership has gone, with a number of deep-pocketed chairman spending huge sums on their playthings. The truth is that typically all chairman have put in more than they've taken out, but historically that tended to be an unintended consequence, as was the case with Madejski's earlier years. Too many fans now seem to think any chairman who doesn't pump in millions to buy success is a bad chairman.

It all adds up to fans becoming impatient far quicker, but because of things like the internet, the extreme views are much more visible and make much more noise.

Well stated.
i couldn't possibly add any more to that.

[rg6royal]

And it all comes down to high expectations as we did so well in our first Prem season.

[leon]

What do you classify as 'modern'?

I don't recall things changing that much over the last few decades! - well apart from the far greater percentage of disposable income that supporters are now expected to pay to watch football. If things have changed and supporters are more impatient for success then maybe that's the reason.

fans have always moaned about ticket prices. I remember the sharp intakes of breath when upon promotion in 1986, fans noticed it now cost £3 to get in. I remember our first away match at Barnsley back in the second tier in 1994, when fans were outraged at having to pay £12 to get in, to the extent that they spent much of the game giving the Barnsley board stick about their prices.

Part you can blame on the media attitude of total impatience aimed at the England manager over the years. Add in phone in shows which rely on perspective-free fans ringing in to state the manager has "lost the plot" at every opportunity. You could even add message boards, as they tend to be be an outlet for those with the extremes of opinion. Hardly anyone who is "slightly disappointed" tends to start a thread.

You can also chip in the way society has changed, with people demanding instant success and gratification far more than before, and typically feeling that they are entitled to it. Fans, even at Reading, now think they are entitled to premier league football, and that football lower than that is unacceptable.

Add to that the way the premiership has gone, with a number of deep-pocketed chairman spending huge sums on their playthings. The truth is that typically all chairman have put in more than they've taken out, but historically that tended to be an unintended consequence, as was the case with Madejski's earlier years. Too many fans now seem to think any chairman who doesn't pump in millions to buy success is a bad chairman.

It all adds up to fans becoming impatient far quicker, but because of things like the internet, the extreme views are much more visible and make much more noise.

Well stated.
i couldn't possibly add any more to that.

that's absolutely fair and well stated. Only problem is we're talking about a very steep rise and fall that with better management could/should have been avoided.

[Archie's penalty]

What do you classify as 'modern'?

I don't recall things changing that much over the last few decades! - well apart from the far greater percentage of disposable income that supporters are now expected to pay to watch football. If things have changed and supporters are more impatient for success then maybe that's the reason.

fans have always moaned about ticket prices. I remember the sharp intakes of breath when upon promotion in 1986, fans noticed it now cost £3 to get in. I remember our first away match at Barnsley back in the second tier in 1994, when fans were outraged at having to pay £12 to get in, to the extent that they spent much of the game giving the Barnsley board stick about their prices.

Part you can blame on the media attitude of total impatience aimed at the England manager over the years. Add in phone in shows which rely on perspective-free fans ringing in to state the manager has "lost the plot" at every opportunity. You could even add message boards, as they tend to be be an outlet for those with the extremes of opinion. Hardly anyone who is "slightly disappointed" tends to start a thread.

You can also chip in the way society has changed, with people demanding instant success and gratification far more than before, and typically feeling that they are entitled to it. Fans, even at Reading, now think they are entitled to premier league football, and that football lower than that is unacceptable.

Add to that the way the premiership has gone, with a number of deep-pocketed chairman spending huge sums on their playthings. The truth is that typically all chairman have put in more than they've taken out, but historically that tended to be an unintended consequence, as was the case with Madejski's earlier years. Too many fans now seem to think any chairman who doesn't pump in millions to buy success is a bad chairman.

It all adds up to fans becoming impatient far quicker, but because of things like the internet, the extreme views are much more visible and make much more noise.

Very intelligent post.

[Cripple Creek]

I've supported Reading since I was eight (almost 35 years) and have watched the likes of Ollie Kearns and Ray Hiron play for us - errr...to the younger folk out there they weren't very good. But I've honestly never felt quite as cynical as I do now. You look at a player like Jimmy Bullard who would have kept us up and cost us a few million quid but I'm sure the club just thought they could get away with what we have. Essentially, the club appears so disinterested. I do not exaggerate when I say I much preferred the old Elm Park days of the 1970s when we knew we were crap but all had a good afternoon out rather than the false optimism and expectations of these days.

[royalroo]

I've supported Reading since I was eight (almost 35 years) and have watched the likes of Ollie Kearns and Ray Hiron play for us - errr...to the younger folk out there they weren't very good. But I've honestly never felt quite as cynical as I do now. You look at a player like Jimmy Bullard who would have kept us up and cost us a few million quid but I'm sure the club just thought they could get away with what we have. Essentially, the club appears so disinterested. I do not exaggerate when I say I much preferred the old Elm Park days of the 1970s when we knew we were crap but all had a good afternoon out rather than the false optimism and expectations of these days.

The Elm park days of the 50's and 60's were great too and your point is valid, i enjoyed those days immensly.
Now i live in a far away land, Premier League gave me Reading every weekend and so far this season i have seen them twice live in the Championship on Sky so that is all a bonus of recent success for me.
However, no matter what, they have my support and to the person who started this thread, all i have to say is REAL FANS DON'T TURN..........