League One Tinpot Reading

[SirAndyOfCrosby]

I went to the same school! Absolutely right, ignoring all the glory hunters who supported Premier League sides despite never going to a single game, it was Oxford or Reading.

Although I never carried quite the same hatred, the Reading fanbase just isn't passionate enough. I hated Swindon and pitied Reading despite us being so many leagues below. Their fanbase is so tame most of them were the kind to pop to Reading games when their "other Premier League side" was on TV.

Of the genuine ST holders, they all seemed to know absolutely nothing of Oxford or Readings history, never heard of Thames Valley Royals, knew nothing about Elm Park, didn't know we'd won a major trophy, didn't know we take more away fans than them. They're just a bit dull, naive, or only started supporting Reading when they reached the PL.

As much as I hate Swindon, at least they have plenty of passionate fans who understand the history between the sides. It makes the rivalry so much more.

Have to disagree with this.

Don't doubt that this may reflect your experience, but as someone who grew up in South Oxfordshire perhaps 10 years earlier than you (I'm assuming you are maybe late-20s) I find the whole 'Reading are all plastics' a bit of a tired trope.

Don't get me wrong, I can't stand them. That's why I find it a tired trope - it's a genuine rivalry just behind Swindon - and from both sides. My formative years were the mid/late 90s and I can assure you that Swindon AND Reading, home and away, were big occasions and treated with the same reverence.

Time may well have eroded that for some (certainly those who've never witnessed it) and I do agree that for younger Reading generations it may not mean so much - but it's not Wycombe or MK Dons and I reckon you'll be surprised how much animosity there will be when we meet again, from both sides.

 

[ljs]

Looking at the screenshots on the OP, the whole of The Championship appears to be tin pot relative to League 1.

 

[SteMerritt]

Have to disagree with this.

Don't doubt that this may reflect your experience, but as someone who grew up in South Oxfordshire perhaps 10 years earlier than you (I'm assuming you are maybe late-20s) I find the whole 'Reading are all plastics' a bit of a tired trope.

Don't get me wrong, I can't stand them. That's why I find it a tired trope - it's a genuine rivalry just behind Swindon - and from both sides. My formative years were the mid/late 90s and I can assure you that Swindon AND Reading, home and away, were big occasions and treated with the same reverence.

Time may well have eroded that for some (certainly those who've never witnessed it) and I do agree that for younger Reading generations it may not mean so much - but it's not Wycombe or MK Dons and I reckon you'll be surprised how much animosity there will be when we meet again, from both sides.

Definitely a generational thing. Reading are close behind Swindon for me, some of the 70s generation have them higher. It doesn't help that we have hardly played them in a quarter of a century.

 

[Scrongo]

Yep everyone of my generation, plus older & slightly younger .Absolutely put Reading a close second to the scum. We used to play them regularly, plus it's easier & quicker to get to Reading. Their main end the south bank ,was right next to the away end. Plus the good old walk down the Oxford road, was a bit lively. Not an excatly a desirable area. A few pubs we used to go to, the Boars Head, Cherries Wine Bar, & last but not least ,TheJollyPorter. Or you could get off the train at Tilehurst have few .Yes I could go, on & on. Deffo a good day out., It all changed, them moving Stadium,& not playing each other regularly, .I don't suppose it would take long for it too Ignite again ,if we ,were in the same league,& the younger generation got a grasp of it.

 

[uptheus]

Being from South Oxfordshire I hated Reading more than Swindon, that’s until that infamous game against Swindon away in 1982 (crikey over 40 years ago). I still hate them, and would say that hatred is fairly equal towards Reading and Swindon.

 

[WuTang]

Have to disagree with this.

Don't doubt that this may reflect your experience, but as someone who grew up in South Oxfordshire perhaps 10 years earlier than you (I'm assuming you are maybe late-20s) I find the whole 'Reading are all plastics' a bit of a tired trope.

Don't get me wrong, I can't stand them. That's why I find it a tired trope - it's a genuine rivalry just behind Swindon - and from both sides. My formative years were the mid/late 90s and I can assure you that Swindon AND Reading, home and away, were big occasions and treated with the same reverence.

Time may well have eroded that for some (certainly those who've never witnessed it) and I do agree that for younger Reading generations it may not mean so much - but it's not Wycombe or MK Dons and I reckon you'll be surprised how much animosity there will be when we meet again, from both sides.

Your viewpoint may well have been correct in the 80s and 90s, but time moves on. They are not the same club in 2023 and that rivalry you describe no longer exists. The fans who made that rivalry what it used to be are no longer there. It's not tired trope, it's the reality of modern day not the memories of decades gone by.

Edit: I should mention I'm not saying there isn't ANY rivalry, those of us who grew up in Wallingford and similar areas will still love to get one over on them. I just don't think it's anywhere near as fierce as Swindon and that's down to time and how much Readings fanbase has changed.
(All just opinions of course)

 

[Yellowmania]

Why the hell would we want Bucks?????

Because then we could lay claim to the cultural capital of the South, Aylesbury.
Secondly I live in Bucks, posher (slightly) North Bucks that is.

 

[SteMerritt]

Because then we could lay claim to the cultural capital of the South, Aylesbury.
Secondly I live in Bucks, posher (slightly) North Bucks that is.

The only good thing about Aylesbury is the slightly disturbing Bowie statue...



(although to be fair the center of Aylesbury has improved beyond recognition over the last few years)

 

[Scrongo]

Your viewpoint may well have been correct in the 80s and 90s, but time moves on. They are not the same club in 2023 and that rivalry you describe no longer exists. The fans who made that rivalry what it used to be are no longer there. It's not tired trope, it's the reality of modern day not the memories of decades gone by.

What so the older lot don't go to football no more???? Mmmmmm& the 70s. You think the older lot wouldn't be up for it, if we were to play them again. Not trying to be funny but it's the younger lot to blame then. To interested in flags & banners..

 

[Yellowmania]

The only good thing about Aylesbury is the slightly disturbing Bowie statue...

View attachment 11621

(although to be fair the center of Aylesbury has improved beyond recognition over the last few years)

Always thought it odd they hid that statue (bad as it is) under the arches where there isn’t a great footfall. Better place would have been half way down the market square where he actually started his career at Friars in the old Borough Assembly hall.
Guess my local knowledge points to my shame of having been born in Aylesbury and living there till I was 28.

 

[Wandering Yellow]

The only good thing about Aylesbury is the slightly disturbing Bowie statue...

View attachment 11621

(although to be fair the center of Aylesbury has improved beyond recognition over the last few years)

I believe last year Aylesbury was voted the worst place in England!

 

[Lost Marbles]

Are you on the wind up or only started supporting us in recent years?

I never want Reading to win. In fact I hope they go to Old Trafford and get embarrassed. Every summer I also hope this will be the season they get relegated.

Growing up I went to Wallingford School where half the year would be Reading fans and the other half Oxford and we would have ‘friendly’ games between the 2 at break times.

For me Reading are equal to Swindon when it comes to disliking them.

I also went to Wallingford School too and it was always Oxford v Reading at break times. Only one Sw**don fan and he kept it very quiet, denying he'd ever supported them, despite previously owning a replica shirt.

The Madejski Stadium was built around the same time I started going with my mates in the London Road. When they started moving up the league and we fell into an extremely steep decline, the only thing I could come up with to P**s off the Reading fans at school was to say at least our ground doesn't have red seats (for some reason there were a few amongst the blue at that time, maybe for corporate or something).

I really hate Reading for several reasons: school as mentioned above, the fact there were suddenly shirts with Waitrose on the front all over South Oxfordshire once they were in the Prem and mainly an incident after that Matt Murphy screamer at theirs when my scarf got chucked around and then off a bus by some older kids and none of the adult Reading fans intervened or even said anything.

 

[SteMerritt]

Always thought it odd they hid that statue (bad as it is) under the arches where there isn’t a great footfall. Better place would have been half way down the market square where he actually started his career at Friars in the old Borough Assembly hall.
Guess my local knowledge points to my shame of having been born in Aylesbury and living there till I was 28.

Bowie didn't start his career at the Borough, it was however the first date on his 1972 Ziggy Stardust tour. Some people say that the lyric 'pushing through the market square' on the track 'Five Years' on the Ziggy album was about Aylesbury, but I've never been convinced.

 

[Scrongo]

Aylesbury had friar's music venue, much better than Oxford had at the time.Apart from Oxford Polytechnic. See some good old ska /two tone bands in Friars

 

[SteMerritt]

Aylesbury had friar's music venue, much better than Oxford had at the time.Apart from Oxford Polytechnic. See some good old ska /two tone bands in Friars

Bit before my time, but the Oxford Town Hall would have been in use back then as well, going back to the Ziggy tour I believe he played the show there twice. Not my favourite venue in Oxford though, despite being an impressive building I've never found the sound to be particularly great in there.

 

[Wandering Yellow]

Bowie didn't start his career at the Borough, it was however the first date on his 1972 Ziggy Stardust tour. Some people say that the lyric 'pushing through the market square' on the track 'Five Years' on the Ziggy album was about Aylesbury, but I've never been convinced.

I thought Bowie was from the Brixton area? Brixton has a well known market so it could be wrong. I could be wrong in general but I've heard Londoners claim he's a London boy anyway

 

[WuTang]

What so the older lot don't go to football no more???? Mmmmmm& the 70s. You think the older lot wouldn't be up for it, if we were to play them again. Not trying to be funny but it's the younger lot to blame then. To interested in flags & banners..

Quite a narrow viewpoint to base a rivalry on, whether "older lot" might still "want it". What are "younger lot" being "blamed" for? Bizarre post.

30-50 years and you don't think the two clubs have changed at all in that time? You don't think 30-50 years is enough time for new generations to come through who might feel differently towards certain clubs? You don't think that's enough timefor new rivalries to develop and older rivalries to dwindle?

Reading's original arch rivals were Aldershot, if they were to play each other again I'm sure the quote "older lot" and "younger lot" would be "well up for it". But go around those clubs and ask them if that rivalry is as fierce today as it was 30-50 years ago, of course it isn't and neither is ours.

 

[SteMerritt]

I thought Bowie was from the Brixton area? Brixton has a well known market so it could be wrong. I could be wrong in general but I've heard Londoners claim he's a London boy anyway

Yeah he was born in London.

 

[Pete Burrett]

Reading's original arch rivals were Aldershot, if they were to play each other again I'm sure the quote "older lot" and "younger lot" would be "well up for it". But go around those clubs and ask them if that rivalry is as fierce today as it was 30-50 years ago, of course it isn't and neither is ours.

The question of arch rivals - and rivalry in general - is certainly a generational issue, in my opinion. Many today will find the notion of Reading v Aldershot as arch rivals difficult to believe, but as someone watching Aldershot (my nearest club) in the late 60s / early 70s I can verify the animosity that existed when they played each other. On derby days Aldershot station was awash with military red caps from local bases as the Hampshire Constabulary couldn't cope.

 

[Wandering Yellow]

The question of arch rivals - and rivalry in general - is certainly a generational issue, in my opinion. Many today will find the notion of Reading v Aldershot as arch rivals difficult to believe, but as someone watching Aldershot (my nearest club) in the late 60s / early 70s I can verify the animosity that existed when they played each other. On derby days Aldershot station was awash with military red caps from local bases as the Hampshire Constabulary couldn't cope.

Rivalries are 100% generational and depend a lot on how often teams play each other. If we were to go up our rivalry with Reading would likely "ignite" again but I've never seen us play them in my lifetime.

I guess rivalries in football develop and fall, I feel if we played Luton a lot animosity seems to flare up there, likewise Rovers gets a bit lively but if we were in a different league Bristol City could be considered a slight rival.

Maybe (and I hope not) rivalries in football are antiquated in the more family-friendly era of football? If you watch a Premier League "rivalry" game, the players are often giving each other high-fives and hugs after the game.

I will admit I was pretty stunned by the fierceness in my first Oxford-Swindon game. I'm not saying I support it but there was some crowd trouble and real tension. It did add to it even if that's probably not a very modern thing to say.