The official Wot! No Cobblers thread?

[Basingstoke Royal]

Anyone know how Chris Armstrong is doing. Really need him back to replace Williams.

[Alan Partridge]

seriously would people stop jumping on the bandwagon and moaning about everyting

Good luck getting this lot to stop moaning.

To be honest there is absolutely no reason to be slightly disgruntled.

Reading should just be happy to have got this far, they were outplayed by a League 2 side in the previous round and sneaked through. One League 2 side too far.

[TBM]

anybody got any idea where the 7 minutes of stoppage time came from? IT's very rare to have that much in a 45 minute half, let alone a 15 minute one.

Goal was scored, apparently, in 19mins:20sec - so was only 4 mins and from Karacans injury?

[Royal Rother]

I'm waiting with bated breath to see whether Baldy McD can outdo Rodgers with his comments after this disaster.

Show some balls McD and point the finger at the one common factor behind our failings of the past few years....... take a bow Madejski!

I've had you on block for the last year or so as I found you sooo tediously repetitive you made my toes cramp.

Something's obviously changed in my psyche as nowadays whenever I open one of your posts it makes me laugh.

You never say anything different - EVER. You never contribute ANYTHING to ANY discussion without having a pop at Madejski.

Hats off man, I don't know how you keep it up.

[URZZZZZZZZ]

Anyone know how Chris Armstrong is doing. Really need him back to replace Williams.

Apparently he is very close to a return to full training.

[Hoop Blah]

Anyone know how Chris Armstrong is doing. Really need him back to replace Williams.

Apparently he is very close to a return to full training.

Whats the source of that information?

The OS (updated today) states that he's working hard and will continue to step up his workload and training....so pretty much the same situtaion as it has been for months!

[URZZZZZZZZ]

Anyone know how Chris Armstrong is doing. Really need him back to replace Williams.

Apparently he is very close to a return to full training.

Whats the source of that information?

The OS (updated today) states that he's working hard and will continue to step up his workload and training....so pretty much the same situtaion as it has been for months!

Tim Dellor

[Hoop Blah]

From what he said on the radio or a private conversation?

The bit I heard from him this morning about Armstrong was more a wild and hopeful stab in the dark than informed insider information.

I've not seen or heard anything to make me think we'll see Armstrong back in a Reading shirt competing for the first team.

[RoyalBlue]

I'm waiting with bated breath to see whether Baldy McD can outdo Rodgers with his comments after this disaster.

Show some balls McD and point the finger at the one common factor behind our failings of the past few years....... take a bow Madejski!

I've had you on block for the last year or so as I found you sooo tediously repetitive you made my toes cramp.

Something's obviously changed in my psyche as nowadays whenever I open one of your posts it makes me laugh.

You never say anything different - EVER. You never contribute ANYTHING to ANY discussion without having a pop at Madejski.

Hats off man, I don't know how you keep it up.

Either get your eyes tested or learn to read (maybe both). Failing that, you sir are an abject liar. It is completely untrue to state that I never ever say anything different or that I never contribute anything to any discussion without having a pop at Madejski. I could prove that but frankly you are not worth that trouble.

And yes I do have a tremendous number of pops at Madejski. That is because:

I personally find him to be an unpleasant individual.
Whilst he has added value to RFC in the past, I believe he stopped doing so some time ago.
I believe his current stance is unrealistic and is damaging the club I support.
I do not believe he is giving the supporters the complete picture. I believe he has been guilty of giving them the mushroom treatment.
I do not believe he walks the talk sufficiently.
I do not believe he deserves the amount of credit, credence and hero worship that some give him etc. etc.

Please feel free to put the block back on, I care not whether you wish to read what I type or not.

It won't need me to make you feel stupid when you finally realise Madejski's halo has slipped (if it ever existed in the first place).

[brendywendy]

I personally find him to be an unpleasant individual.- business men often are
Whilst he has added value to RFC in the past, I believe he stopped doing so some time ago.- the kids that will provide us with our only extra inciome over the next few years are down to him.I believe his current stance is unrealistic and is damaging the club I support.-he is unrealistic, and what you arte saying isnt? LOL , just the opposite im afraid
I do not believe he is giving the supporters the complete picture. I believe he has been guilty of giving them the mushroom treatment.-you mean theres even less money than hes been telling us for th elast few years? uh oh
I do not believe he deserves the amount of credit, credence and hero worship that some give him-just LOL- without him wed still be playing in a shed, in front of 6k,and never having been, nor will be in the premier league. so i think he deserves credit.
as for hero worship - the majority of fans i hear think hes a nob.

[Yellowcoat]

Yet another ill informed rant from RB. Yet when challenged to show that he has ever said anything positive about RFC or SJM he is unable to do so. Just about sums him up in my eyes. If he is so unhappy why not take his so called allegiance elsewhere?

[Millsy]

I do not believe he deserves the amount of credit, credence and hero worship that some give him-just LOL- without him wed still be playing in a shed, in front of 6k,and never having been, nor will be in the premier league. so i think he deserves credit.
as for hero worship - the majority of fans i hear think hes a nob.

Sorry brendywendy. Whilst I agree with you on many things and enjoy reading your fair comments (so not disrespect at all!) I have to say that your attitude to this question typifies a lot of Reading fans and is quite possibly the cause of so much confusion and difficulty accepting criticism fired at Madejski and the ticket he needs to continue his suboptimal control of this club (if indeed that's true).

Whist I don't necessarily share RoyalBlue's dislike for Madejski I think the general attitude that you display above makes it almost necessary for people like RoyalBlue to be so anti-Madejski.

I'm neither pro nor anti, and am about as fickle as a you can get when it omes to the guy. I've met him and he seems nice enough and he's done a lot for the town, not just RFC. However, to get directly to the point that I feel is such a problem - namely this attitude that no-one is ever allowed to have a pop at him because he "saved us", is just plain flawed.

I've said this several times before and I'll say it again as many times as is needed until people at least consider it: Reading deserves a good team and would have had one sooner or later Madejski or no Madejski. Madejski was the man who made it happen but if it wsn't him it'd be someone else at some point so we should stop idolising him but rather ask has he done as well as he could do?

Facts:

1) We are the biggest town in the UK.
2) We are one the most prosperous places in the UK (employment, house prices etc)
3) We are one of the fastest growing and most dynamic places in the UK
4) We have one of the biggest catchment areas (in terms of possible fanbase) in the UK
5) most importantly, given the above we have to realise WHat HAPPENED TO US WAS NOT A MIRACLE AND MADEJSKI IS NOT THE MIRACLE WORKER, just someone who foresaw the huge begefits of developing Reading. Look at Wigan, Hull, Blackpool, Fulham, etc etc etc

Whilst I shall not comment either way as to whether or not I like Madejski we have GOT to start seeing things in context and being open to the fact that Madesjki did what would have happened at some poitn, and whilst we should be appreciative for what he has been achieved we have EVERY right to question what is happening at the moment because quite frankly, what has happened since our second season in the Premiership has been absolutely diabolical and not to question it is naive.

[sandman]

Of course people can attack Madejski, unfortunately some of the people doing so can't put their point across with any rationality and sound like raving lunatics.

[prostak]

I personally find him to be an unpleasant individual.- business men often are

Actually, as far as Tory self-made businessmen go, Madejski's really not that bad. If anything, he's a bit of a throwback to a Victorian philanthropist with regard to his patronage of arts and the like. I'm not a fan of the way the Academy (the school, not the RFC youth programme) is run, but he frequently gets involved in projects which are financial write-offs.

You can accuse him of being an 'ego-monster' all you like, but if he's merely trying to raise his public image, why doesn't every mid-level businessman embark on similar projects? Whatever our concerns about the lack of ambition shown by the board, Sir John's certainly not in this for his own benefit any more. He's also been fairly openly trying to move on for a couple of years at least now, but nobody's rushing in and it's unlikely anyone will in the near future. Grow up and stop praying for a billionaire - if we were to end up like Manchester City, I don't think I'd bother coming again.

[URZZZZZZZZ]

From what he said on the radio or a private conversation?

The bit I heard from him this morning about Armstrong was more a wild and hopeful stab in the dark than informed insider information.

I've not seen or heard anything to make me think we'll see Armstrong back in a Reading shirt competing for the first team.

http://www.readingfc.co.uk/page/NewsDet ... 97,00.html

[Hoop Blah]

They're hopefully of giving him 45 minutes in a friendly in a couple of weeks.

I'd hardly say that's 'close to full training', and as it says in the article he's been doing the same for the last couple of weeks, so not much of a change, which is what I thought you meant.

It's hopefully a positive progression though.

[TommyF]

Anyone know how Chris Armstrong is doing. Really need him back to replace Williams.

Apparently he is very close to a return to full training.

Whats the source of that information?

The OS (updated today) states that he's working hard and will continue to step up his workload and training....so pretty much the same situtaion as it has been for months!

Thats great news because he is

on his day every bit as good Williams, great back up!

(Sorry, had to quote that because it's one of the funniest things I've ever read)