10 years ago today

[Tony Le Mesmer]

http://www.royals.org/matdoc/200402.html

[Z175]

http://www.royals.org/matdoc/200402.html

Fitting tribute to go up again a decade later.

"Personally I believe we could fill the Madejski with top matches against teams like Coventry, Leicester and Derby next season. "

Amusing that we are very blase about playing such sides.

[Maguire]

I remember saying the day of that Brentford game "i'd take a few seasons pottering around mid-table if it means we just get out of this fukking dreadful league"

Since that day we've had two more promotions and a further three play-off campaigns.

We've been spoilt really. It's easy to forget when you've come from.

[Royal With Cheese]

I remember saying the day of that Brentford game "i'd take a few seasons pottering around mid-table if it means we just get out of this fukking dreadful league"

Since that day we've had two more promotions and a further three play-off campaigns.

We've been spoilt really. It's easy to forget when you've come from.

Yes - supporting Reading is never dull!

[Maguire]

I remember saying the day of that Brentford game "i'd take a few seasons pottering around mid-table if it means we just get out of this fukking dreadful league"

Since that day we've had two more promotions and a further three play-off campaigns.

We've been spoilt really. It's easy to forget when you've come from.

Yes - supporting Reading is never dull!

tbf he said "duller" not "dull"

That's a comparative, not an absolute.

[Jerry St Clair]

[Royal With Cheese]

I remember saying the day of that Brentford game "i'd take a few seasons pottering around mid-table if it means we just get out of this fukking dreadful league"

Since that day we've had two more promotions and a further three play-off campaigns.

We've been spoilt really. It's easy to forget when you've come from.

Yes - supporting Reading is never dull!

tbf he said "duller" not "dull"

That's a comparative, not an absolute.

Dosen't work in the current context but the point is understood.

[M-U-R-T-Y]

Ten years! I was only 13 years old, and had only just seriously started following Reading the year before (fateful day in Cardiff).

I was crammed in the East Stand watching the match on the big screens. Tense first half, rather strange chanting at a screen. Then the feed went down and we were in the dark for the first 15 or so minutes of the second half. News filtered through that Brentford had scored in the mean time, and the atmosphere went very flat.

Mercifully, the feed returned and Curo popped up with that goal, the stand went mental and I got soaked in beer because a few people thought it would be necessary to chuck their full pint up in the air.

The final whistle went and a full pitch invasion ensued, running around and celebrating with 3 empty stands and no players on the pitch to congratulate.

Weird.

[79Royal]

Interesting to see Ingimarsson, Sidwell and Stephen Hunt in their side that day!

As has been said, it's so easy to forget where you've come from. I was speaking to my Arsenal supporting brother yesterday and he said that it's about time we had another go in the PL after so many seasons of mediocrity. Well, I guess it would be mediocre to a Gooner, but for us Reading fans old enough to remember the mid 80's at Elm Park and beyond, it's been an amazing ride.

Are we (broadly speaking) one of the most successful English league sides over the past 10-12 years? Obviously, Man U and Chelsea and at a guess West Brom ,Birmingham, Swansea, Wigan and Stoke have had more success, but I suppose it depends on what you consider a successful season.

[Ian Royal]

I remember saying the day of that Brentford game "i'd take a few seasons pottering around mid-table if it means we just get out of this fukking dreadful league"

Since that day we've had two more promotions and a further three play-off campaigns.

We've been spoilt really. It's easy to forget when you've come from.

Without wanting to go all Snowball spackstatistic... and what with all the complaints about us a few years ago... I just had a look at what our average season points tally has been since 2000/01. It works out to 75 points season (with a bit of jiggery pokery for fewer Premier League games). A total of 803 points.

That means over 11 years we've averaged being a Play Off team...

You're not wrong about being spoilt.

[Edelston & Brice]

Thinking about where we've come from and what some of us had to go through, this was the result from 40 years ago yesterday:

Reading 1 Southport 1
attendance: 3,715

The return game was the last one of the season and we lost 5-2 in front of a mammoth crowd of 1,343.
We finished 16th in Division 4.

[who are ya?]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqJJO9sGxFA

Amazing scenes when the ball finally hit the back of the net.

Winning promotion stood on an open top terrace, against a team down the road. That day was pretty phucking special, even if I was only 14 and not able to get annihil8d in town afterwards

[percy_freeman]

Loving some of the comments after like,"One gets the feeling we won't be back in Div 2 for a very long time. Brilliant, well done Reading... at last!"
Was at the screening that day, great atmosphere but how much have we been through since??? Somehow, this year seems different to me, not sure if it's the addition of Mr Zingarevitch or what but I have never seen the players so focused and up for it. Got to be down to Brian McDermott,he deserves all the credit he gets and more.
I look forward to this afternoons lap of honour and my chance to applaud every one of the players and staff for what has been a fantastic year!

[Mr Angry]

A fantastic day; great atmosphere in the pub outside the ground, superb scenes at the final whistle, the mad dash back to the Mad Stad to greet the team's return (Mackie on the roof of the coach!) then into town for a night out.

At the time, the best day as a Reading fan (even better than Wembley 88).

[Zammo]

Quite simply the greatest footballing day of my life. Never to be forgotten. Jamie Cureton - RFC legend.

The AD was a sea of blue and white that night.

[Big Foot]

My first away game as a wide eyed 12 year old

[Schards#2]

The most important single game in the history of Reading F C IMHO. The club may well have gone in a completely different direction had we lost.

[Badger Finger]

Watched it in the bar a the ground. (What was it called back then?)

Got covered in Guinness when Curo scored, and was a right mess.

Highlight of the day was Leo Roget on the team bus when they got back...

[Blue Blood]

The most important single game in the history of Reading F C IMHO. The club may well have gone in a completely different direction had we lost.

This. Lest we forget. A fine line between where we are now and who knows where otherwise, and a sublime goal set up by one legend and scored by another (legends for Reading that is in case I be seen to overstating). A great day and glad I was there to see it.

[moo]

Whithead
Murty Williams Viveash Shorey
Igoe Hughes Parkinson Salako
Butler Forster

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