Elevation

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SpaceCruiser
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Elevation

by SpaceCruiser » 01 Jul 2013 21:16

Tonight, I dug out an old DVD, it was 10 years ago that Reading FC brought out a decent DVD and they called it "Elevation" - it was described by some on here as a pretentious name for a DVD! So I sat down to watch it and the memories just came back....

Who can remember that brilliant own goal at Grimsby? Nicky Forster's stunning hat-trick against Ipswich? Matthew Upson and his final game for us against Portsmouth which was supposedly billed as the best defence (that's us) against the best attack (that's them)...seem to remember Paul Merson slagging us off, but we came close to beating them! How about Luke Chadwick? And then there was that excellent away win at Sheffield United that made the national media sit up and start to take notice of us. Brighton's cheeky freekick after Hahnemann picked up a supposed back pass? Seethed at that one, I did. I also forgot that Glen Little joined us on loan towards the end, didn't notice him on the DVD, except for the final game. Ah, yes, the play-off semis against Wolves, Nicky Forster's great goal and the game turning when he went off injured. This was a great season, having just come up from Division 2 (Renamed to League One) and to get to the play-offs was great. There was also a shot of Pardew the traitor signing a new contract and I exclaimed at that cos we all know what happened next season! Cureton's final season too. I think Nicky Forster scored something like 15 goals, was he the player of the season? I also think Adrian Williams was the captain, but Parkinson was still around as the club captain rather than team captain and he was shown on the DVD as going off to Colchester to become their manager.

10 years since then and look at how far we've come! What are your memories of that time? I was still living in Reading at that time, I miss those days.... :(

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Re: Elevation

by handbags_harris » 01 Jul 2013 21:34

17 defeats that season. Late winners in both games against Gillingham, the utterly abysmal sequence of games against Walsall, the first win against Sheffield Wednesday (funny that since leading at half time in that game they have gone on to concede 15 in the next 7 halves, just the small matter of more than 2 per half), the second half capitulation to the same team at Hillsborough having been cruising at 2-0 up, Curo scoring the first opposition goal at the Walkers Stadium, Andy Hughes's volley from Spaghetti Junction at Molineux, the 5-1 demolition of Preston...we had a team that was riding the crest of a wave that season. Hahnemann in goal, Whitehead throwing his toys out of the pram after being ruthlessly dropped (ended up at the bright lights of Tamworth), Harper getting POTS I think, Fozzie single-handedly getting us to the playoffs, Paul Brooker's tap-in for Brighton, Andy Hughes establishing his most effective position just behind Fozzie,Dave Kitson scoring for Cambridge in the League Cup and Jobi McAnuff scoring a late winner against us at the Madejski. Some great memories from that season, played some scintillating stuff at times but also had some absolute stinkers. Walsall already mentioned, Wimbledon home and away, Leicester home, Coventry away, Forest away...typical Pardew season really, full of ups and downs and never really quite hitting the peaks the side should do.

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Re: Elevation

by AbovetheI » 01 Jul 2013 21:36

handbags_harris 17 defeats that season. Late winners in both games against Gillingham, the utterly abysmal sequence of games against Walsall, the first win against Sheffield Wednesday (funny that since leading at half time in that game they have gone on to concede 15 in the next 7 halves, just the small matter of more than 2 per half), the second half capitulation to the same team at Hillsborough having been cruising at 2-0 up, Curo scoring the first opposition goal at the Walkers Stadium, Andy Hughes's volley from Spaghetti Junction at Molineux, the 5-1 demolition of Preston...we had a team that was riding the crest of a wave that season. Hahnemann in goal, Whitehead throwing his toys out of the pram after being ruthlessly dropped (ended up at the bright lights of Tamworth), Harper getting POTS I think, Fozzie single-handedly getting us to the playoffs, Paul Brooker's tap-in for Brighton, Andy Hughes establishing his most effective position just behind Fozzie,Dave Kitson scoring for Cambridge in the League Cup and Jobi McAnuff scoring a late winner against us at the Madejski. Some great memories from that season, played some scintillating stuff at times but also had some absolute stinkers. Walsall already mentioned, Wimbledon home and away, Leicester home, Coventry away, Forest away...typical Pardew season really, full of ups and downs and never really quite hitting the peaks the side should do.

Those games against Wallsall were 10 years ago :shock:

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Re: Elevation

by SpaceCruiser » 01 Jul 2013 21:43

handbags_harris the second half capitulation to the same team at Hillsborough having been cruising at 2-0 up


Oh, yeah, I remember being at that game, I thought it was strange how we became a different team in the second half and thought WTF? And then wondered if Hahnemann coming out late for the second half had something to do with it.

handbag_harris Whitehead throwing his toys out of the pram after being ruthlessly dropped (ended up at the bright lights of Tamworth)


Oh yeah, I remember that, Federici's antics last season had shades of that....

handbag_harris Harper getting POTS I think


I think you're right, actually. We signed Steve Sidwell that season as well, remember he scored two goals at Burnley, 5-2, then for some reason Pardew decided as he did so well with the penalty that he could take the next penalty which was against Gillingham and he fluffed it!

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Re: Elevation

by SPARTA » 01 Jul 2013 22:09

AbovetheI
handbags_harris 17 defeats that season. Late winners in both games against Gillingham, the utterly abysmal sequence of games against Walsall, the first win against Sheffield Wednesday (funny that since leading at half time in that game they have gone on to concede 15 in the next 7 halves, just the small matter of more than 2 per half), the second half capitulation to the same team at Hillsborough having been cruising at 2-0 up, Curo scoring the first opposition goal at the Walkers Stadium, Andy Hughes's volley from Spaghetti Junction at Molineux, the 5-1 demolition of Preston...we had a team that was riding the crest of a wave that season. Hahnemann in goal, Whitehead throwing his toys out of the pram after being ruthlessly dropped (ended up at the bright lights of Tamworth), Harper getting POTS I think, Fozzie single-handedly getting us to the playoffs, Paul Brooker's tap-in for Brighton, Andy Hughes establishing his most effective position just behind Fozzie,Dave Kitson scoring for Cambridge in the League Cup and Jobi McAnuff scoring a late winner against us at the Madejski. Some great memories from that season, played some scintillating stuff at times but also had some absolute stinkers. Walsall already mentioned, Wimbledon home and away, Leicester home, Coventry away, Forest away...typical Pardew season really, full of ups and downs and never really quite hitting the peaks the side should do.

Those games against Wallsall were 10 years ago :shock:


Suddenly feel very very old. Time really does pass by without you realising how fast.


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Re: Elevation

by Winchester Royal » 01 Jul 2013 23:35

Cureton, Rougier and Henderson all scoring their last goals for the club at Vicarage road on a rainy April evening, as Peter Castle came on as a sub, aged 15.

Losing 2-1 to Coventry in the first of the groundhog day games - we repeated the feat the next two seasons as well, I think?

Qualifying for the playoffs after beating Grimsby 2-1 in a game that was played out like a friendly.

4 draws all season?

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Re: Elevation

by waitingforyears » 02 Jul 2013 01:35

What a great post. I was in London for a week in February (a football fan from the States who didn't have a team to support) and I guess the Gillingham match had been rescheduled for a Monday night so I took the train to the Madejski as I just wanted to watch some football. The folks I sat with took me in and it was an incredible experience. From the moment Salako's goal went in late I knew it was going to be Reading till I die. I think that was also Chadwick's first game on loan from United and he scored the first goal. I will always remember that season fondly as it was my first as a Royal. Cannot believe it has already been 10 years.

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Re: Elevation

by Barry the bird boggler » 02 Jul 2013 08:48

Winchester Royal Cureton, Rougier and Henderson all scoring their last goals for the club at Vicarage road on a rainy April evening, as Peter Castle came on as a sub, aged 15.

Losing 2-1 to Coventry in the first of the groundhog day games - we repeated the feat the next two seasons as well, I think?



Strangely 1-0 up at half time in each of them as well....

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Re: Elevation

by Reading4eva » 02 Jul 2013 09:16



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Re: Elevation

by SpaceCruiser » 02 Jul 2013 09:19

waitingforyears United


Which United would that be? There are a number of clubs that have this as part of their names. :roll:

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Re: Elevation

by maffff » 02 Jul 2013 09:53

Reading4eva How he has fallen away

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Castle


He never even made it as an Irish international. :lol:

"If you're not good enough for England, try Ireland.....
.....If you're not good enough for Ireland, give up."

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Re: Elevation

by RoyalBlue » 02 Jul 2013 10:09

Spacey, you forgot to mention that we got special permission from Colchester to bring Parky back to assist the management team (lift the crowd and players)at the home playoff game.

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Re: Elevation

by reading_fan » 02 Jul 2013 12:18

I can remember some bits of that season pretty well.

The three back to back Walsall debacles. Urgh.
Fozzy single handedly destroying Ipswich
Hughes and Fozzy making a pretty good team
The 5-2 at Burnley, and Siddy announcing himself as a pretty good player...
I also seem to recal a 5-1 mauling at Rotherham from around that time, us taking the lead or it being 0-0, Fozzy going clean through, missing a 1 on 1 and Rotherham countering on us and scoring.


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Re: Elevation

by Royalwaster » 02 Jul 2013 12:42

Wasn't Martin Butler in that Rotherham side?

Remember those Walsall games - took my neighbour to one of them I think (or was it Barnsley?) and we were 0:1 down with less than 5 minutes gone and we missed it as we were late. And that was the final score. My neighbour never asked to come to another game ....

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Re: Elevation

by reading_fan » 02 Jul 2013 12:46

http://www.royals.org/matdoc/070204.html

Turns out Rotherham was 03/04 so the season after, and Butler did play in that game (and scored)

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Re: Elevation

by Royalwaster » 02 Jul 2013 13:12

reading_fan http://www.royals.org/matdoc/070204.html

Turns out Rotherham was 03/04 so the season after, and Butler did play in that game (and scored)


Love this fan comment to the game:

When will Mr Madejeski finally wake up to the fact he has employed a manager who has never achieved anything and not likely to.Sorry Mr Coppell you have lot to learn about being a motivator and both player and fans responsive.If you get down from the stands and really get amongst it and stop this constance patrionising of the management of the opposition and roll your own sleeves up we just might achieve something.
Terry I.O.W.

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Re: Elevation

by reading_fan » 02 Jul 2013 13:16

LOLz. Good job Terry wasn't on the RFC board of directors then isn't it!

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Re: Elevation

by Royal Biscuitman » 02 Jul 2013 20:12

Winchester Royal Losing 2-1 to Coventry in the first of the groundhog day games - we repeated the feat the next two seasons as well, I think?
Idiots :roll:

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Re: Elevation

by handbags_harris » 02 Jul 2013 21:47

Royalwaster Wasn't Martin Butler in that Rotherham side?

Remember those Walsall games - took my neighbour to one of them I think (or was it Barnsley?) and we were 0:1 down with less than 5 minutes gone and we missed it as we were late. And that was the final score. My neighbour never asked to come to another game ....


The Walsall game you state was actually 03/04 as well, they had a bit of a hoodoo over us back then (and probably would do now as well). Scorer of the early goal, one Vinny Samways from a free kick which slipped inside Hahnemann's near post. ISTR Hahnemann was going through a torrid patch at the time, making simple errors in games.

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Re: Elevation

by double d » 02 Jul 2013 22:11

Wasn't there another young lad who came on with Peter Castle aswell? Darren Campbell? Has anyone got a team list/player stats for that season?

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