I am not enjoying the Premiership

[under the tin]

Like others on here, I couldn't care less about who the opposition are, with the exception of our 3 traditional local rivals.
I slowly fell out of love with pro football, and I genuinely believe that process started around 2007/8.
After years aspiring to get to the top flight, we finally made it, finished 8th, and I was thinking, crikey, how far can we go?
Then the reality set in.
The club upping the wages of players, whose agents were whispering in their ears.
Media speculation, "Unsettled" players.
We all know and accept that players come and go, but there is nowhere else like the Prem where it is so overtly just about money.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

I sympathise with that.

I still love football, but I really hate all the money-grabbing commercialism that goes with it these days, and the higher up the leagues you get the more of that you get. It's particularly bas this season in the PL - far worse than last time up.

So it's getting to the point where the "non-enjoyment" I get from enduring the money-grabbing commercial shite is getting greater than the enjoyment I get from the football itself. When that point is reached, I'll walk away (as many have), but I suppose everyone has their own tipping point.

[under the tin]

My tipping point was Matt Mills.
Set against a backdrop of our club having to sell its best players in order to survive, they offer this bloke £20k a week (£1M a year, a lottery win to most).
He turns round and tells them to f/ck off. He wants more.
So I conclude that my season ticket money is not making the club, the movement stronger. It's just being recycled into the pockets of the likes of MM so he can pose around in his Audi R8 with his telly celeb girlie.
A 40 odd year habit broken.

[Focher]

i have not been this season, and may squeeze out 1 or 2 games by the end of the season. I have absolutely no interest in the Premier League, the money it brings, the pricks it brings to the stands, and the money it costs to go. My Saturdays off now entail 2 goals goals goals slips, a pint, a pen, and some lunch.

I shall be going to as many cup games as possible this season.

[BraisingsteakRoyal]

[Lower West]

I still love football, but I really hate all the money-grabbing commercialism that goes with it these days, and the higher up the leagues you get the more of that you get. It's particularly bas this season in the PL - far worse than last time up.

Agree totally. Definately more fun in the Lower Leagues. Cost of attending matches was reasonable (last couple of seasons has increased a lot). Live a few minutes from Swine's ground. Di Canio is worth the admission fee alone. Football is of ok quality. Far better than the overpriced Premiership. Where the standard between the teams is now such a gulf. That its almost embarrassing. Top level football is in great danger.

[sandman]

I think the PL is overpriced and incredibley overrated but it still wouldn't make me step foot in that ****hole.

[windermere_royal]

Goodness fecking me, this makes hard reading, all those celebrations in May mean nothing now because we don`t like being where we are now up among the elite of English football, lets drop back down and just play what accounts has friendlies every week, because thats exactly what they will be if we don`t want to better ourselves.
I waited in the rain that Sunday , I got soaked, you know what?, I didn`t care because I was proud as punch because the team I have supported for 40+ years had been promoted to the top flght for the second time in 6 years.
if and when we drop down again into the lower reaches of the football league, playing away in small stadiums, maybe this thread can be bumped up again to show what we had and how people disrespected it.



rant mode off

[royalsteve]

Not sure if it's me but it's more about getting through 90 minutes than enjoying the ride. Even though I diligently record MOTD and the Sky Highlights I haven't managed to bring myself to watch them or even bought a Sunday paper to savour the greater exposure. Not sure if it's a mid life crisis thing (only going to QPR for the ace Kebab shops down Loftus Road) or if it's just a bit embarassing that everyone can see we aren't very good (where as in the old days when we weren't much cop it was only between friends). I am looking forward to being convinced that my glass is actually half full and not full of P1ss!

i said it would be harder this time around. We have a workmanlike side with average premier league players. That may be just enought to get out of the championship but in the premier everyone else has a team of good or exceptional players. W have play at 100% to stand a chance of competing. Unlike the last time when had an exceptional team of good players who played very good football this team is just smacks of average. So far:-

Newcastle - played well, by far the better team should have won
Stoke - didnt play well but better than stoke, draw was fair result

West Brom - did nothing in game, deserved to lose - i was worried after this game. west brom werent great but we still lost

Swansea - despite laughable (i was laughing when at the game as the swansea supporters were less than 10 feet from us becuase they battered us 1st half and we were 2-0 up). despite losing the 2-0 lead i was very happy with a point though i was worried with the ease which swansea carvered through our team. Then again swansea are on of the better passing sides in the prem.

Chelsea - very happy with the performance, result doesnt reflect how close the game was, deserved a min draw, chelsea were good for first 20 mins, very poor for 50 mins then good for last 20 mins

Liverpool - didnt go so no proper review but sounded okay but still a little powder puff

Tottenham - the less said about this game the better - a very non royals like performance - im hoping it was a one off - after all, even the 106 team got hammered by arsenal 4-0 at the mad in the first season

we now have


Sat 27 Oct Fulham H Prem 2-1
Tue 30 Oct Arsenal H League Cup Rd 4 1-2
Sun 4 Nov QPR A 2-1
Sat 10 Nov Norwich H 2-0
Sat 17 Nov Everton H 1-1
Sat 24 Nov Wigan A 1-1
Tue 27 Nov Aston Villa A 1-1
Sat 1 Dec Man Utd H 1-2
Sat 8 Dec Southampton A 1-1

[royalsteve]

Like others on here, I couldn't care less about who the opposition are, with the exception of our 3 traditional local rivals.
I slowly fell out of love with pro football, and I genuinely believe that process started around 2007/8.
After years aspiring to get to the top flight, we finally made it, finished 8th, and I was thinking, crikey, how far can we go?
Then the reality set in.
The club upping the wages of players, whose agents were whispering in their ears.
Media speculation, "Unsettled" players.
We all know and accept that players come and go, but there is nowhere else like the Prem where it is so overtly just about money.

Agree, after watching the Royals in the lower leagues for so long and always thought id never seen them in the top flight - the first year was amazing and i loved it, but then with players diving, money, game cost, attitude of players, the connection to football started to wane.Its got to the point now where i can guarantee i can predict that 1 of 3 sides will win the premier league next year, man city, man u or chelsea. even arsenal and liverpool cant compete now. Soon, the prem will be like la liga or until recently the scottish premier where realistically only one of two sides will win the title.

what annoys me more than anything is the amount these criminals are paid (thats where most would end up if not playing)

[royalsteve]

To be honest, it was a dour 1-0 win against Fulham back in 2006/07 that first got me thinking that the Premiership was a load of over priced, overhyped, over-rated load of cack and bar a quite scincilating 3-3 draw at Ewood Park, I've not seen anything since to make me change my mind. 5 clubs fighing among themsleves in a league of their own and 15 others shittng themselves and deparately hoping they are not one of the shittest 3. Leads to a pretty unexciting and pretty un-inspiring experience.

I don't think I've been this uninterested in a season since Ian Porterfield was in charge and quite frankly couldn't give a monkeys if we got relegated.

well there were a few more decent games. the thing is that most people think motd presents a true reflection of a game, 5 or so mins of highlights may look good but the other 85 mins may be as dull as watching paint dry

mind you, swansea were excellent and the best side weve played this season by a mile, they were far far better than chelsea - im sure the motd panel wouldnt agree as swansea are a small club

[royalsteve]

To all you posters saying you hope we go down again, if it happens can I assume you will be there next season in the CC?
Now just tell me what will be your aim as you watch us every week and cheering as we are near the top of the table?
Hoping for promotion maybe so you throw your toys out of the pram when we get there again?
At the end of the day being a football supporter is about seeing your team achieving the highest standing possible which is what we are doing now.
back in the 70s when I was watching on a rainy Wednesday night against Rochdale I would have given my right arm to see us where we are now. its unbelievable we have people that actually moan about it now.

yep id be watching them in the ccc, even if they were non league like portsmouth and rangers

[royalsteve]

My tipping point was Matt Mills.
Set against a backdrop of our club having to sell its best players in order to survive, they offer this bloke £20k a week (£1M a year, a lottery win to most).
He turns round and tells them to f/ck off. He wants more.
So I conclude that my season ticket money is not making the club, the movement stronger. It's just being recycled into the pockets of the likes of MM so he can pose around in his Audi R8 with his telly celeb girlie.
A 40 odd year habit broken.

yes but i lol'd at mills when he followed the money to "big club" leicester, played a few games under ericsson till he got the boot and then fell out with the new manager pearson because mills is a knob (the finger salute to royals fans is a testament to that) and then spent the rest of the season warming the bench in the reserves

serves him right - think he's at bolton now

[Einstein agogo]

how did we do so well last time with SeoulKH/ Oster + S.Hunt as our wingers
We must be better than that... I say PATIENCE

I'm still not enjoying it... but I'm thinking I might by Jan

[sandman]

My tipping point was Matt Mills.
Set against a backdrop of our club having to sell its best players in order to survive, they offer this bloke £20k a week (£1M a year, a lottery win to most).
He turns round and tells them to f/ck off. He wants more.
So I conclude that my season ticket money is not making the club, the movement stronger. It's just being recycled into the pockets of the likes of MM so he can pose around in his Audi R8 with his telly celeb girlie.
A 40 odd year habit broken.

yes but i lol'd at mills when he followed the money to "big club" leicester, played a few games under ericsson till he got the boot and then fell out with the new manager pearson because mills is a knob (the finger salute to royals fans is a testament to that) and then spent the rest of the season warming the bench in the reserves

serves him right - think he's at bolton now

Yet he's still earning loads of money a week and is far richer than you'll ever be. Now that Stevo is funny .

[From Despair To Where?]

To be honest, it was a dour 1-0 win against Fulham back in 2006/07 that first got me thinking that the Premiership was a load of over priced, overhyped, over-rated load of cack and bar a quite scincilating 3-3 draw at Ewood Park, I've not seen anything since to make me change my mind. 5 clubs fighing among themsleves in a league of their own and 15 others shittng themselves and deparately hoping they are not one of the shittest 3. Leads to a pretty unexciting and pretty un-inspiring experience.

I don't think I've been this uninterested in a season since Ian Porterfield was in charge and quite frankly couldn't give a monkeys if we got relegated.

well there were a few more decent games. the thing is that most people think motd presents a true reflection of a game, 5 or so mins of highlights may look good but the other 85 mins may be as dull as watching paint dry

mind you, swansea were excellent and the best side weve played this season by a mile, they were far far better than chelsea - im sure the motd panel wouldnt agree as swansea are a small club

I get to 25 or so games a season despite living 220 miles from Reading and having a wife and 4 children who I love spending time with so maybe my cost/benefit threshold is a lot lower than most but, as someone else aluded to, I've fallen out of love with the game more and more since 2007 and that includes the second half of 2006-07 and the seasons of relative success in the Championship. Survival in the Premiership is attritional and the higher up the football pyramid you get, the more money driven the game is and the less it feels like our club. I find the fact that success can only be achieved by signing and buying into a Faustian Pact distasteful.

[ankeny]

Great thread with some good honest points,I Hate the prem with a passion for most of the reasons here.Take the piss if you want but the best days for me was in the seventies when Friday played.Couldnt wait for the next game and knew we would win more then we would lose.In the prem every game is an ordeal.

[windermere_royal]

Great thread with some good honest points,I Hate the prem with a passion for most of the reasons here.Take the piss if you want but the best days for me was in the seventies when Friday played.Couldnt wait for the next game and knew we would win more then we would lose.In the prem every game is an ordeal.

i guess you were suicidal when we beat Forest then?

[Super_horns]

Is it the actual league people hate or the players/agents and owners who form part of it?

I think everyone loves to see a competitive game which is why fans would get a bit down and depressed (in a footballing sense) about results having paid such over-inflated prices but sadly that just isn't in the Premiership ofcourse.

Ipswich charge £32 to be bottom of the Championship....

What did you think of the view this MP had - apart from the fact not many fans are going to switch clubs just because they charge too much in reality!

We all moan and say we won't go but still do....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20078528

[RadicalRoyal]

Hope the next few games offer some better results then perhaps the enjoyment factor will return even if only temporarily, good memories of last season