[Albion] Reading v Sheffield United (Attendance)

Horses Arse said:

Similar situation to Arsenal? In terms of a support base that seems to think it has a right to a certain level of success I guess.

In Reading's case that is based on a relatively recent and previously unprecedented expansion in interest (i.e. since the new stadium). There's nothing really to boycott is there beyond things not going as well on the pitch as you want? There has been investment, quite a big investment last year. It's not as if you've sold a load of players and see the beginning of an asset strip is it? Looks like new world football problems to me and a support base that is uncommitted. A natural return to the original club following is all. Some genuine Reading fans will embrace that I'd imagine. You sound like you might be one of those?

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Tooting Gull said:

I think the one thing we hope doesn't happen along the Reading model is that the support dwindles if were back in say the bottom half of the Championship.

But given the Amex crowds even in the Hyypia shambles, I just don't think that's going to happen and we would get 25,000 whatever.

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theroyal said:

I think you'll be hard-pressed to find any Reading fan that thinks the club have a "right to success". That's just ridiculous. There are expectations and ambitions, but a "right"? That's just untrue.

Reading were slowly but surely built up by a local man in Madejski, never spent astronomical amounts of money (until Aluko our record signing was £2.5m) - invested in the right areas, the right personnel and eventually we got our break. We were a club doing things the right way. Then in 2012 we were sold to a Russian who had no money, nearly went into administration when he literally scarpered, before we were sold onto a Thai consortium whose only goal was to sell the land around the stadium before selling us on again. Now we have Chinese owners who, while they gave Stam some money in the summer - we haven't heard a peep out of, and don't seem bothered by the situation at the club.

Now we have older fans who are alienated by the changes in the club's ownership philosophy, and younger fans who are not used to us struggling on the pitch. It's something that has been slow-burning over the last 5 years or so. After last season we were all hopeful that we'd started to turn it round, but we've gone spectacularly backwards and it's really depressing.

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Munkfish said:

Deluded. Hyypia season we were off the back of a playoff season and still riding the new bubble wave of having a ground.

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