Looking For Some Info

[RoyalWire]

I'm a Rugby League fan by nature, however all of my colleague's are big into football. They decided that I should select a team at random to support. We put the names of all clubs from the Premier League and Championship into a hat an Reading were the team to come up!

I've decided that I will be jumping in with both feet. I'm not content with just looking out for results, I intend to support Reading as strongly as I do my rugby team, Warrington.

I am just after a bit of an overview of the club really. If I could have people's views on the following:

1. Who is the key man for the team;
2. Where is the squad at its strongest;
3. Where is the squad at its weakest;
4. What style of football can I expect to see...I hope its not The Big Sam Patent Pending Long Ball!!!;
5. What do you all think of Mcdermott;
6. What is the ground like;
7. Will we stay up?;
8. Any other useful info?

Also, with being new to football, will it be easy to get tickets for games in my local area...these would be Liverpool, Everton, Wigan, Man utd, and Man City. How much would I be looking at for a ticket. I intend to go to as many local games as I can and maybe squeeze in one or two home games if finances allow!

My new home shirt got delivered this morning ready for the new season! Come on Reading!

[melonhead]

I'm a Rugby League fan by nature, however all of my colleague's are big into football. They decided that I should select a team at random to support. We put the names of all clubs from the Premier League and Championship into a hat an Reading were the team to come up!

I've decided that I will be jumping in with both feet. I'm not content with just looking out for results, I intend to support Reading as strongly as I do my rugby team, Warrington.

I am just after a bit of an overview of the club really. If I could have people's views on the following:

1. Who is the key man for the team;
2. Where is the squad at its strongest;
3. Where is the squad at its weakest;
4. What style of football can I expect to see...I hope its not The Big Sam Patent Pending Long Ball!!!;
5. What do you all think of Mcdermott;
6. What is the ground like;
7. Will we stay up?;
8. Any other useful info?

Also, with being new to football, will it be easy to get tickets for games in my local area...these would be Liverpool, Everton, Wigan, Man utd, and Man City. How much would I be looking at for a ticket. I intend to go to as many local games as I can and maybe squeeze in one or two home games if finances allow!

My new home shirt got delivered this morning ready for the new season! Come on Reading!

LOL! you flukily managed to pick th egreatest team in the world you lucky boy

1. Who is the key man for the team;-brian mcdermott- with no superstars its all about his man management, organisation and motivational skills- or pogrobnyak, who we need to hit the ground running
2. Where is the squad at its strongest; - strongest at the back in the championship, but unproven at the top level there
3. Where is the squad at its weakest;- up front
4. What style of football can I expect to see...I hope its not The Big Sam Patent Pending Long Ball!!!;- get it out quickly to the wings and ping in crosses. there will be long balls too, but not at big sam levels
5. What do you all think of Mcdermott;GOD.
6. What is the ground like; soulless bowl!
7. Will we stay up?;yeah
8. Any other useful info?no

9.Also, with being new to football, will it be easy to get tickets for games in my local area...these would be Liverpool, Everton, Wigan, Man utd, and Man City. How much would I be looking at for a ticket. I intend to go to as many local games as I can and maybe squeeze in one or two home games if finances allow!
should be possible to get away tickets- they should mostly go on general release. or you can alsways sit in the home end- being so small and tiny, no one really gets aggro with us.

[MouldyRoyal]

I am just after a bit of an overview of the club really. If I could have people's views on the following:

1. Who is the key man for the team;
2. Where is the squad at its strongest;
3. Where is the squad at its weakest;
4. What style of football can I expect to see...I hope its not The Big Sam Patent Pending Long Ball!!!;
5. What do you all think of Mcdermott;
6. What is the ground like;
7. Will we stay up?;
8. Any other useful info?

Also, with being new to football, will it be easy to get tickets for games in my local area...these would be Liverpool, Everton, Wigan, Man utd, and Man City. How much would I be looking at for a ticket. I intend to go to as many local games as I can and maybe squeeze in one or two home games if finances allow!

My new home shirt got delivered this morning ready for the new season! Come on Reading!

In for full gusto yet arbitrary supporting of a team!

Here are my own opinions for your queries above:

1. Hard question as we're more a team unit than one that relies on a couple of individual stars, but new signing and Russian International Pavel Pogrebnyak (Pav, Pog, The Cellar) will be the man relied upon to be getting goals needed to keep us up. Guthrie will be expected to be giving us creativity in midfield, McAnuff and (if/when fit) Kebe on the wings will be the men called for pace and trickery. Austalian Adam Federici in goal is probably the most unsung hero however and will clearly be tested this year.

2. McDermott has strengthened all over, aiming to get two capable players for each position. However our defence was the strongest in the Championship last year and I expect it to be reasonably solid this year even against far better attacks.

3. Most would suggest strikers are our weak point. We relied on goals from all over the pitch last season and our top scoring striker had only 12 goals. Whilst Pog has come in, it's yet to be seen whether he will be able to score consistently in the Prem, the concensus seems to be that we're still looking for a second striker.

4. Fast breaking counter-attacking football. We're very direct. As soon as we get the ball we break for opposition goal. Wing play has been the focus of our football for several years now (ignoring a brief flirtation with possession football under now Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers) so expect the ball to be sprayed out wide to one of our wingers to then try to cross in for a striker. We like our set pieces too, with strong dead ball potential in Ian Harte and Danny Guthrie. Don't expect the ball to stay completely on the deck however, we have been known to "route one" it with some regularity.

5. Universally liked. Took us from the verge of relegation into League 1 to the Premier League. Most of this has been performed on a shoe string budget too. A pragmatist who is some how able to get the best out of his players through savvy man-management. Deadpan sense of humour.

6. Relatively new and fairly boring concrete bowl I'm afraid! Not often the loudest place in the world either. Good views from everywhere, however.

7. Ummm, 50/50 I'd say. This is only our 3rd season in the top division and we're favourites for relegation. We're definitely going to lose more games than we win. If we do go down though, it really isn't the end of the world. Arguably the Championship is a lot more competitive (anyone can beat anyone, there are rarely any shock results) definitely much more cheaper and there is never any struggle to get tickets (useful for a new fan such as yourself).

8. Fans of other teams will say that we have no history, despite being over 140 years old as a club. We do have history, it's just a lot of it is in the third division! Oh, and our new owner's wife is a Victoria's Secret model. I'm guessing that's important.

Ticketing: Everton an Wigan you will definitely be able to get tickets for. City and Utd may not be so lucky. Liverpool I'd suggest there's a good chance of tickets being available. Away tickets are prioritised so that they're available to season ticket holders with lots of "royalty points" first and non season ticket holding general members (i.e. you) last. But for example, the Chelsea away game a week tomorrow is not sold out, available to all members already, so with that as a guide, Liverpool should be ok. Price wise, you're looking at between £30 and £50 depending on the club we're playing I'm afraid.

Not sure how much you know about our squad, but a possible starting XI for Saturday is:

Goal: Adam Federici
RightBack: Chris Gunter
CentreBacks: Alex Pearce and Kaspars Gorkss
LeftBack: Ian Harte
RightWing: Garath McLeary
CentreMids: Danny Guthrie and Mikele Leigertwood
LeftWing: Jobi McAnuff (c)
Forwards: Pavel Pogrebnyak and Adam Le Fondre
(Gives you some names to look up on wikipedia and some faces to get to know!)

One other thing, since we're in the Prem now, most of the games are likely to be live somewhere on the internet if you know where to look.

Welcome!

[West Stand Man]

1. There isn't really a key man. This is a club/team built on a group not an individual (it is the Reading way).
2. Agree that we have a very strong back 5. On paper our front 2 are also pretty hot this year.
3. Weakest has, recently, been in central midfield. However that is relative, we did win the league last year.
4. Fast counter attacking. It has been the Reading way since as far back as I can recall. We tend to soak up pressure and hit teams on the break. If there is a slow build up you can expect the attack to peter out!
5. He is a perfect fit for the Reading mould.
6. A modern, well equipped stadium that rocks when the team is going strongly.
7. Who knows? I suspect that we will do and that we might surprise a few people.
8. Be prepared for the most negative experience of your life if you hang around on here at all!

[Cobi]

I'm a Rugby League fan by nature, however all of my colleague's are big into football. They decided that I should select a team at random to support. We put the names of all clubs from the Premier League and Championship into a hat an Reading were the team to come up!

I've decided that I will be jumping in with both feet. I'm not content with just looking out for results, I intend to support Reading as strongly as I do my rugby team, Warrington.

I am just after a bit of an overview of the club really. If I could have people's views on the following:

1. Who is the key man for the team;
2. Where is the squad at its strongest;
3. Where is the squad at its weakest;
4. What style of football can I expect to see...I hope its not The Big Sam Patent Pending Long Ball!!!

Tony Pulis in lazy scouting shocker.

Oh and welcome to the club. Get yourself down for some games and meet us for a pint before the game!

[Friday's Legacy]

Madejski Stadium



Tickets wont be a problem, and I can always help you with a couple of games if you get stuck; dependant on when one or both of my kids doesn't go.

Call the club by phone (always easier), purchase a member card and then keep your eye on the official website when you are able to purchase tickets on 0 points upwards. You will almost always find single seats dotted about the ground at the very least.

When you can't go, be sure to be on here on a match day and there should be a link to a live feed for the game.

[LWJ]

[Dare to Dr£am]

There are plans to expand the 24,200 capacity to 38,000, in stages, if we stay up this season.

The East Stand will be first (along the width of the pitch), and then behind both goals.

Please excuse the shitness of this mock up :lol:

[RoyalWire]

Some great information here. Thanks everyone.

As I say I dont intend to do this by half measures, so will definately get to as many games as I can. And certainly want to get to at least one home game.

Good to know that there will be live streams of the games as I imagine most of our games wont be on Sky.

What are people's thoughts on the new owner? I beleieve that in football a new owner can be equally a blessing or a curse.

Also, my favourite rugby players tend to be the non-flashy, grafters with big workrate and consistent performances. Who should i be keeping my eye on in this respect.

I'm sure over the first couple of months I'll end up posting some daft questions but will be worth it when i get up to speed.

[melonhead]

What are people's thoughts on the new owner? I beleieve that in football a new owner can be equally a blessing or a curse.

agreed- but he seems to be saying and doing all the right things- weve not splashed loads of cash on has beens, buying the young and hungry instead

Also, my favourite rugby players tend to be the non-flashy, grafters with big workrate and consistent performances. Who should i be keeping my eye on in this respect.-jem karacan, mikele liegertwood, jobi mcanuff,alex pearce, kaspars gorkss, noel hunt, ....pretty much our whole team except jimmy kebe
youve picked the right team!

[Stooper]

The Reading/Rugby League following grows!

Welcome

More locally to you, Crewe is a tidy little ground and much less expensive than the Prem.

[reading_fan]

Also, my favourite rugby players tend to be the non-flashy, grafters with big workrate and consistent performances. Who should i be keeping my eye on in this respect.

Centre back - Alex Pearce. Local lad, came through the academy and has got better every year. Last year's player of the season. Would put his head through a brick wall for a clearance. Will be interesting to see how he makes the step up to Prem level.

Central midfield - last year's main pairing of Mikele Leigertwood and Jem Karacan would also fit this your favourite player role. Ledge scored the goal that got us promoted (at home v Forest), and is our midfield ball winner - does all the dirty work and gives simple passes to the more creative types. Jem is another academy graduate, huge work rate, and a proper box to box midfielder, capable of scoring the odd screamer from range. I'm also slightly biased as Jem is my favourite current player, and was runner up in the PotS vote last year.

[MouldyRoyal]

Yeah basically our team mentality is one of grafters. The wingers are occasionally inconsistent but that's wingers for you.

Bit too early to say with the new owner. Anton has only been involved since January. He has put money into the club which it sorely needed (previously it was very much self reliant which means selling our best player each year to fund wages. Not the way to progress) and seems to be very keen. Perhaps too keen. He's much more involved than Madejski was. My fear (and I admit this may be entirely unfounded) is that he will get bored or his father will refuse to keep bankrolling his venture or he will realise that football clubs don't make profits and he will remove his investment leaving us in the financial doldrums and looking for a new owner. Guess we shall have to wait and see and enjoy the ride! He has good taste in women though.

[RoyalWire]

The Reading/Rugby League following grows!

Welcome

More locally to you, Crewe is a tidy little ground and much less expensive than the Prem.

Warrington come to play your boys on Friday! ha-ha!

I'll be hoping for Crewe in the cup too then!

[Stooper]

Warrington come to hammer your boys on Friday! ha-ha!

Corrected for you

[Only one Trevor Morley]

Some great information here. Thanks everyone.

As I say I dont intend to do this by half measures, so will definately get to as many games as I can. And certainly want to get to at least one home game.

Good to know that there will be live streams of the games as I imagine most of our games wont be on Sky.

What are people's thoughts on the new owner? I beleieve that in football a new owner can be equally a blessing or a curse.

Also, my favourite rugby players tend to be the non-flashy, grafters with big workrate and consistent performances. Who should i be keeping my eye on in this respect.

I'm sure over the first couple of months I'll end up posting some daft questions but will be worth it when i get up to speed.

I have a feeling this could turn into an epic thread - better to rename it the indoctrination of a lancastrian. What made you choose Royal Wire as a name by the way.

We have 3 games on Sky before 1 December. Home to Spurs on 16th September 4.00. Away to QPR 1.30 4 Nov and then away to Villa midweek in late November. So you will get a chance to see them. In terms of a home game you will struggle to see the big clubs (we have a few of them in December) but the home games in late october/November will be a good as there are 3 in 4 weeks and against relatively meh opposition.

Our new owner seems like a great guy. You will hear a lot about the 'reading way', which we have been doing for years. This involves emphasis on the team, not buying flashy players, being experts in the transfer market (particularly in selling our players - we always get maximum vlaue and very rarely does the player do better when they left). The new owners want to follow this approach but has more money to do that. Also is keen to further develop our youth strctures which have born fruit in recent years. So far so good. Still a honeymoon phase though. Remarkably its rumoured that Mcdermmott has been assured that he is safe in his role even if we get relegated

I think our ground is fine - excellent views. good atmosphere when its full. Less so when its not. For gritty types looks no further than Alex pearce - a no nonsense central defender who seems to have played for us forever but is still only early twenties.

Oh and phone up the club and ask for a member card asap. You hneed one to get any type of ticket

[RoyalWire]

Warrington come to hammer your boys on Friday! ha-ha!

Corrected for you

Ha-ha

I think you will be in with a shout, good couple of wins on the bounce for you and I think we might rest a couple before Wembley next week!

Glad it's on Sky too!

[Stuka]

Reading Wire, may I take this opportunity to welcome you on behalf of 'London Royals'.

[RoyalWire]

I have a feeling this could turn into an epic thread - better to rename it the indoctrination of a lancastrian. What made you choose Royal Wire as a name by the way.

I popped for Royal Wire as Wire is the nickname of my Rugby club Warrington Wolves, so split my passions.

Hopefully get a few of you guys doing the reverse and keeping an eye out for the wire ha-ha-ha!

[RoyalWire]

Also Membership Card ordered.

Would it just be a case of ordering the tickets on line and them coming in the post or would i collect from the various grounds?