How times change

[Jackson Corner]

I went to this game we were at best average. City were oxf*rd terrible. 20 years on they are the richest club in the world winning everything. And w are not much better.

https://www.royals.org/matdoc/241098.html

[Stevie G]

While they have indeed been tremendously successful, they have not won the Champions League and are the 5th richest club in the world, still behind United.

[URZZZZ]

To be honest, it deeply upsets me seeing kids walk around town centres in the middle of no-where with City shirts on. You’ve become accustomed now to seeing Liverpool, United, even Chelsea shirts around everywhere but seeing people with City shirts on irritates me for some reason. Bunch of plastics

[FiNeRaIn]

To be honest, it deeply upsets me seeing kids walk around town centres in the middle of no-where with City shirts on. You’ve become accustomed now to seeing Liverpool, United, even Chelsea shirts around everywhere but seeing people with City shirts on irritates me for some reason. Bunch of plastics

The impact of plastics really alters the game in the UK. Here it does not. You can be a glory hunting Patriots fan but it has no impact on the money they are able to spend on the team. The salary cap is the cap and tough shit, it's pretty much identical to everyone else. There is nothing you can do other than pick the right coaches, offer contracts to the right players and draft well at the end of every year. You have to be well run and you can't throw money at it. The impact of plastics in the UK however means when all your school and town support premiership sides 200 miles away, it takes the money away from the local sides, gives it to the those clubs who spend it on players to increase the gap between your team and keep you down in the doldrums. They can also turn your players heads, pinch your managers and come steal your academy prospects for peanuts. It's utterly ridiculous when you think about it and you all have been lapping that up and watching it get worse for how many decades now?

Man City are just a classic example of the above, but they aren't alone. Just throw money at it until something sticks.

[URZZZZ]

To be honest, it deeply upsets me seeing kids walk around town centres in the middle of no-where with City shirts on. You’ve become accustomed now to seeing Liverpool, United, even Chelsea shirts around everywhere but seeing people with City shirts on irritates me for some reason. Bunch of plastics

The impact of plastics really alters the game in the UK. Here it does not. You can be a glory hunting Patriots fan but it has no impact on the money they are able to spend on the team. The salary cap is the cap and tough shit, it's pretty much identical to everyone else. There is nothing you can do other than pick the right coaches, offer contracts to the right players and draft well at the end of every year. You have to be well run and you can't throw money at it. The impact of plastics in the UK however means when all your school and town support premiership sides 200 miles away, it takes the money away from the local sides, gives it to the those clubs who spend it on players to increase the gap between your team and keep you down in the doldrums. They can also turn your players heads, pinch your managers and come steal your academy prospects for peanuts. It's utterly ridiculous when you think about it and you all have been lapping that up and watching it get worse for how many decades now?

Man City are just a classic example of the above, but they aren't alone. Just throw money at it until something sticks.

Yep, good post. Really frustrates me when the big teams nick all the academy players from the lower league teams and never end up playing them

Fear for Jack Clarke and Ryan Sessegnon at Tottenham at the moment but at least Pochettino has history with the youth so hopefully their career aren't over before they've really begun

I guess the culture and industry of football is just different nowadays and you're right, the plastics supporting the "big teams" don't help the local smaller teams knocking about. Thing is, I know a couple of people who support your lower teams down the league structure and they enjoy it, more than watching a supposed "big team" on the telly every week. It's purely passion based, rather than money based. More people should give it a go rather than just supporting those at the top

[Royal Bahamas]

I have watched Reading since I was very young boy, sometimes able to sit on my Dads shoulders. My absolute number one hero became Colin Meldrum........
Then as a 10 year old, my friend Jimmy Fall moved up to Bootle, Liverpool
...and he took me to A field . I had never seen or felt anything like it.....
I have followed both Reading and Liverpool ever since....
Unfortunately I have barely stepped foot back in Britain in over 43 years
.....

[Pepe the Horseman]

I have watched Reading since I was very young boy, sometimes able to sit on my Dads shoulders. My absolute number one hero became Colin Meldrum........
Then as a 10 year old, my friend Jimmy Fall moved up to Bootle, Liverpool
...and he took me to A field . I had never seen or felt anything like it.....
I have followed both Reading and Liverpool ever since....
Unfortunately I have barely stepped foot back in Britain in over 43 years
.....

Must have been some field.

[Basildon]

I have watched Reading since I was very young boy, sometimes able to sit on my Dads shoulders. My absolute number one hero became Colin Meldrum........
Then as a 10 year old, my friend Jimmy Fall moved up to Bootle, Liverpool
...and he took me to A field . I had never seen or felt anything like it.....
I have followed both Reading and Liverpool ever since....
Unfortunately I have barely stepped foot back in Britain in over 43 years
.....

Must have been some field.

[JamieY26]

We were beating them comfortable more recent than that though.

Did the double over them in the 2006/7 season and that included a 2-0 away win!

[Millsy]

The thing is I have no idea what happiness people get supporting Man City when they're not from there at all and are just supporting a team that's gone from total shite to 2nd best in the country with just money. Do the kids walking around with City tops on have any idea at all/ Would they have any emotion at all? And even if you're born in Manchester what pride can you have with a team that's just had a ridiculous amount of money pumped in.

I have always 'supported' Liverpool only because when I was 5 my best mate told me he supported them and the Liverpool badge was the best badge in the Panini stickers we were collecting so I arbitrarily decided to support them. I'm glad Liverpool are top of the league but I've never been there and I don't really give that much of a toss.

Part of me hopes my home town Reading stays relatively shit so it will always be 'my' club. I guess I wouldn't mind us crawling up slowly into the PL, nothing spectacular, and survive over a number of seasons. But I'd hate it if some mega rich tits came in splashed 100s of millions on new players and we ended up top of the PL but a totally unrecognisable plastic crap club.

[BR0B0T]

To be honest, it deeply upsets me seeing kids walk around town centres in the middle of no-where with City shirts on. You’ve become accustomed now to seeing Liverpool, United, even Chelsea shirts around everywhere but seeing people with City shirts on irritates me for some reason. Bunch of plastics

The impact of plastics really alters the game in the UK. Here it does not. You can be a glory hunting Patriots fan but it has no impact on the money they are able to spend on the team. The salary cap is the cap and tough shit, it's pretty much identical to everyone else. There is nothing you can do other than pick the right coaches, offer contracts to the right players and draft well at the end of every year. You have to be well run and you can't throw money at it. The impact of plastics in the UK however means when all your school and town support premiership sides 200 miles away, it takes the money away from the local sides, gives it to the those clubs who spend it on players to increase the gap between your team and keep you down in the doldrums. They can also turn your players heads, pinch your managers and come steal your academy prospects for peanuts. It's utterly ridiculous when you think about it and you all have been lapping that up and watching it get worse for how many decades now?

Man City are just a classic example of the above, but they aren't alone. Just throw money at it until something sticks.

on the other hand if your franchise isn't making enough money...you just fcuk off to another city

[Snowflake Royal]

The thing is I have no idea what happiness people get supporting Man City when they're not from there at all and are just supporting a team that's gone from total shite to 2nd best in the country with just money. Do the kids walking around with City tops on have any idea at all/ Would they have any emotion at all? And even if you're born in Manchester what pride can you have with a team that's just had a ridiculous amount of money pumped in.

I have always 'supported' Liverpool only because when I was 5 my best mate told me he supported them and the Liverpool badge was the best badge in the Panini stickers we were collecting so I arbitrarily decided to support them. I'm glad Liverpool are top of the league but I've never been there and I don't really give that much of a toss.

Part of me hopes my home town Reading stays relatively shit so it will always be 'my' club. I guess I wouldn't mind us crawling up slowly into the PL, nothing spectacular, and survive over a number of seasons. But I'd hate it if some mega rich tits came in splashed 100s of millions on new players and we ended up top of the PL but a totally unrecognisable plastic crap club.

Well the football is incredible for a start.

People like success. People like bragging rights. It's exactly the same reason why Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool shirts are common around the country.

You've got to remember that actually the proportion of football fans that regularly attend games isn't that high. And the number who really understand football is arguably even lower.

[Hound]

Don't really get bothered by people supporting the 'big clubs' tbh. Can't tell people who they should and shouldn't like, and Man City and Liverpool esp play some fantastic football nowadays

Even if they didn't support those teams, I doubt they'd bother coming to watch some of the shite served up at the Madejski in recent seasons. There's different types of fans - those who will sit through the rubbish for the 1 in ten great season, or the last minute winner vs Preston, and those who just want to see their team win every week.

[Millsy]

The thing is I have no idea what happiness people get supporting Man City when they're not from there at all and are just supporting a team that's gone from total shite to 2nd best in the country with just money. Do the kids walking around with City tops on have any idea at all/ Would they have any emotion at all? And even if you're born in Manchester what pride can you have with a team that's just had a ridiculous amount of money pumped in.

I have always 'supported' Liverpool only because when I was 5 my best mate told me he supported them and the Liverpool badge was the best badge in the Panini stickers we were collecting so I arbitrarily decided to support them. I'm glad Liverpool are top of the league but I've never been there and I don't really give that much of a toss.

Part of me hopes my home town Reading stays relatively shit so it will always be 'my' club. I guess I wouldn't mind us crawling up slowly into the PL, nothing spectacular, and survive over a number of seasons. But I'd hate it if some mega rich tits came in splashed 100s of millions on new players and we ended up top of the PL but a totally unrecognisable plastic crap club.

Well the football is incredible for a start.

People like success. People like bragging rights. It's exactly the same reason why Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool shirts are common around the country.

You've got to remember that actually the proportion of football fans that regularly attend games isn't that high. And the number who really understand football is arguably even lower.

All true. I just find it daft. I can enjoy incredible football played by 'pool, city, leicester, real etc without needing to wear a shirt or pretend I support them. And what are they bragging about anyway? That they have arbitrarily chosen to buy the shirt of a team who plays incredible football? Insecure losers. Mitchell & Webb take the piss out of it adequately. Still, yeah if some clueless 10 year old thinks that he has any right to brag then that's fine. It's all a bit pafetic innit.

[John Smith]

I have always 'supported' Liverpool only because when I was 5 my best mate told me he supported them and the Liverpool badge was the best badge in the Panini stickers we were collecting so I arbitrarily decided to support them. I'm glad Liverpool are top of the league but I've never been there and I don't really give that much of a toss.

You are not a supporter

[3points]

It actually goes even further now. The lad of a friend of mine started "supporting" Paris St Germain when he was about 14. He doesn't even support Arsenal anymore (now they've become shit), let alone Reading. That's the impact of the Champions League coverage, although with that on BT Sport these days it may well not happen as much

[Hiram K Hackenbacker]

It actually goes even further now. The lad of a friend of mine started "supporting" Paris St Germain when he was about 14. He doesn't even support Arsenal anymore (now they've become shit), let alone Reading. That's the impact of the Champions League coverage, although with that on BT Sport these days it may well not happen as much

I agree

[morganb]

My 9-year-old son is evidently the opposite of lot of kids. I often take him to see Reading. They usually lose. In the bus queue on the way home I often say "Shall I buy you that Liverpool shirt from Sports Direct in town now?" He always say no. He also thinks his friends at school who support Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal are weird for supporting teams from miles away who they've never even been to watch live.

[Hound]

yeah likewise with mine. Both support Reading, though the younger one flirts with Liverpool when we are being particularly shit.

Obviously makes a difference when I am dragging them along each week though.

[72 bus]

You've got to remember that actually the proportion of football fans that regularly attend games isn't that high. And the number who really understand football is arguably even lower.

Especially on here.