Ex Royals

[Snowflake Royal]

Does anyone remember a player called Sekou Baradji who played for us? I am pretty sure West Ham signed him on deadline day and we immediately signed him on loan. I noticed that he’s still playing but I have no recollection of watching him play for us and was just wondering if he was any good.

Barely played, but put in a lovely whipped fk that Gunnarsson flick headed in to beat Sheff Utd in the 106 season..forget if it was league or cup.

League. His only league appearance in England.

Now 39 and playing in the French fifth tier. The third tier is roughly equivalent to our Conference National, so fifth tier is roughly equivalent to the seventh tier over here (but with a much more complicated format). Doing well to still be going at that age!

I get confused because the league and cup game were both in October, we scored 2 in each and I went to both.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Barely played, but put in a lovely whipped fk that Gunnarsson flick headed in to beat Sheff Utd in the 106 season..forget if it was league or cup.

League. His only league appearance in England.

Now 39 and playing in the French fifth tier. The third tier is roughly equivalent to our Conference National, so fifth tier is roughly equivalent to the seventh tier over here (but with a much more complicated format). Doing well to still be going at that age!

I get confused because the league and cup game were both in October, we scored 2 in each and I went to both.

Hark at Paul Black over here.

[From Despair To Where?]

I had an absolutely awesome photo of that goal as my screensaver at work.

[blythspartan]

Thanks for the info on Baradji. 05/06 would never of happened without him. I am sure my memory of players/games has got worse since I hit the big 60.

[From Despair To Where?]

And for anyone like me who wouldn't recognise him if he came up to them carrying a banner saying "Hi, I'm Sekou Baradji", here he is from his time at Valenciennes

[Sutekh]

And for anyone like me who wouldn't recognise him if he came up to them carrying a banner saying "Hi, I'm Sekou Baradji", here he is from his time at Valenciennes

He's 39 now and maybe still playing at Istres. Cult status for 1 free kick!

[From Despair To Where?]

Jordan Obita scores for Livingston.

[Sutekh]

Jordan Obita scores for Livingston.

Oh dear, not going too well so far.

[Royals and Racers]

Tyler Frost on TNT Sports 1 playing for Aldershot at Eastleigh..
Jake Taylor playing for the home team.

[South Coast Royal]

Thanks for the info on Baradji. 05/06 would never of happened without him. I am sure my memory of players/games has got worse since I hit the big 60.

It gets even worse and games , players and seasons become so much harder to define.
2005/6 is a reasonable memory point because it was such an unforgettable season.

[Dirk Gently]

Does anyone remember a player called Sekou Baradji who played for us? I am pretty sure West Ham signed him on deadline day and we immediately signed him on loan. I noticed that he’s still playing but I have no recollection of watching him play for us and was just wondering if he was any good.

Barely played, but put in a lovely whipped fk that Gunnarsson flick headed in to beat Sheff Utd in the 106 season..forget if it was league or cup.

My lasting memory of that incident is Baradji stepping up to take that free-kick and me louding saying" FFS, don't let him take it" then having to eat humble pie immediately afterwards.

[Fezza]

Thanks for the info on Baradji. 05/06 would never of happened without him. I am sure my memory of players/games has got worse since I hit the big 60.

It gets even worse and games , players and seasons become so much harder to define.
2005/6 is a reasonable memory point because it was such an unforgettable season.

It’s odd what memories we hold on to. One of my first was a filthy 0-1 loss at Elm Park in a cup quarterfinal in 1998 (early Jan). Hignet scoring after the awful ref dithered in injury time. Was soaking wet and miserable, a fair reflection of the Bullivant era.

[Dirk Gently]

Thanks for the info on Baradji. 05/06 would never of happened without him. I am sure my memory of players/games has got worse since I hit the big 60.

It gets even worse and games , players and seasons become so much harder to define.
2005/6 is a reasonable memory point because it was such an unforgettable season.

It’s odd what memories we hold on to. One of my first was a filthy 0-1 loss at Elm Park in a cup quarterfinal in 1998 (early Jan). Hignet scoring after the awful ref dithered in injury time. Was soaking wet and miserable, a fair reflection of the Bullivant era.

George Cain, the "butcher of Bootle" - changing his mind about who he was giving the free-kick too, but only after we’d sent all our players forward in anticipation of it. And allowing the kick to be taken by a player who'd just been treated for injury and so shouldn't be on the pitch.

Going into that match we were in the top half of the table (just), plus the FA Cup and playing to get into the semi-final of the league cup - but it all fell apart from that moment. Two more wins in the rest of the season and all the way to relegation.

[South Coast Royal]

And we had played really well in that game.
My view is that being elderly we have so much to remember through life that it is inevitable that merging of events will take place almost as a pre-dementia phase.
I'll let you know in a couple of years or so (if I remember). if that has happened.

[From Despair To Where?]

Funnily enough, I was thinking about a Freight Rover Trophy hammering we Aldershot the other day and musing how we scored some worldies in that game.

I was convinced I must have made it up as it was the Branfoot era and we played some absolutely dire hoofball until I saw a video the other day and Mick Tait, Trevor Senior and Steve Moran did indeed score a couple of absolute beauties in it.

Goals No 9, 5 and 2 in this countdown

https://youtu.be/AFi4tbZSO2Q?si=vGSU_gWsueDOreC_

[Sutekh]

It gets even worse and games , players and seasons become so much harder to define.
2005/6 is a reasonable memory point because it was such an unforgettable season.

It’s odd what memories we hold on to. One of my first was a filthy 0-1 loss at Elm Park in a cup quarterfinal in 1998 (early Jan). Hignet scoring after the awful ref dithered in injury time. Was soaking wet and miserable, a fair reflection of the Bullivant era.

George Cain, the "butcher of Bootle" - changing his mind about who he was giving the free-kick too, but only after we’d sent all our players forward in anticipation of it. And allowing the kick to be taken by a player who'd just been treated for injury and so shouldn't be on the pitch.

Going into that match we were in the top half of the table (just), plus the FA Cup and playing to get into the semi-final of the league cup - but it all fell apart from that moment. Two more wins in the rest of the season and all the way to relegation.

Cain started refereeing in 1977 after failing to make it in amateur football. Joined the league list in 1984 and retired in 2004. Last heard of as physio at Tranmere Rovers in 2013. That performance v Middlesbrough was bad but then bad refs are always remembered e.g. Paul Rejer who always seemed to have it in for Reading and then there was Clive Wilkes!

[under the tin]

Funnily enough, I was thinking about a Freight Rover Trophy hammering we Aldershot the other day and musing how we scored some worldies in that game.

I was convinced I must have made it up as it was the Branfoot era and we played some absolutely dire hoofball until I saw a video the other day and Mick Tait, Trevor Senior and Steve Moran did indeed score a couple of absolute beauties in it.

Goals No 9, 5 and 2 in this countdown

https://youtu.be/AFi4tbZSO2Q?si=vGSU_gWsueDOreC_

Thanks for that.
Good memories.

[Dirk Gently]

And we had played really well in that game.
My view is that being elderly we have so much to remember through life that it is inevitable that merging of events will take place almost as a pre-dementia phase.
I'll let you know in a couple of years or so (if I remember). if that has happened.

For years, when talking about the best goals I'd seen in Reading matches I'd always mention Imre Varadi scoring at Hillsborough in a 1-0 win for Sheffield Wednesday on an evening in about 1978 or 1979.

I remember that goal and that evening so vividly.

It's only a few years ago that I went looking for footage of it that I found out that the game was in 1980, that it was a 1-1- draw, and that Imre Varadi wasn't with Wednesday that season so couldn't have scored that goal! EDIT - It was Terry Curran.

I still prefer my memory's version of what happened, though - but it makes me wonder how much of what I remember as certainty is actually misremembered.

[Sutekh]

Funnily enough, I was thinking about a Freight Rover Trophy hammering we Aldershot the other day and musing how we scored some worldies in that game.

I was convinced I must have made it up as it was the Branfoot era and we played some absolutely dire hoofball until I saw a video the other day and Mick Tait, Trevor Senior and Steve Moran did indeed score a couple of absolute beauties in it.

Goals No 9, 5 and 2 in this countdown

https://youtu.be/AFi4tbZSO2Q?si=vGSU_gWsueDOreC_

Thanks for that.
Good memories.

That Hicks free kick v Chelsea

Imagine, if Smilie and Gilkes were players on Reading's books last season, neither would have got a game as they play the ball forward and run toward the goal too much!

[From Despair To Where?]

Just a shame that great goals from the 80s actually means only goals on tape from the 80s.