Which was the worst relegation and why?

[Archie's penalty]

Reading have been relegated 7 times since the Second World War. I've experienced three of those relegations as a fan.

1)1998 when we got thumped every week and were awful

2) 2008 when we had a decent team and shouldn't have got relegated but we did

3) This year when we've been poor all season long but have just boringed our way out of the league

So which one was the worst for you? For me 2008 as I don't think we should have gone down, still had hope in the end but didn't quite make it, although this season has been terrible too.

Oh and just realised that this season will be our worst points per game ration (if you convert to 3 points for a win before the system changed), great.

[Sanguine]

2008 – but not because we had a decent team and should not have gone down, but because we had an ok team that had over-performed in 06-07, and that we failed to improve on to establish our place in the league. Complacency? Who knows.

[P!ssed Off]

2008 over 2013

In 2008 I actually wanted to stay at least another year in the Prem

[The Real Sandhurst Royal]

2013 by far as we did not have a squad that could compete in the Premier Laegue.

In fact the season has been dire, not good to watch, bar one of two entertaining moments when we managed to get a few points on the board in the last few minutes of the game.

[JayRoyal]

2008, goal difference is a horrid way to go down, especially after almost getting into europe the year before.

[grey_squirrel]

2008 hands down.

2013 was an embarrassment, but had we just replaced Siddy in 2008, we would still be there now.

[Ouroboros]

I've only seen the last 3.

1998 was a cocking shambles, but it was my first season so it couldn't bite too hard.

2013 has been a cocking shambles, but I didn't expect very much else.

2008 was agony. To see that fukking dynasty collapse so spectacularly after 2 years of astonishing achievement was really sad. To have it happen after spending almost the entire season out of the relegation zone, and to have it confirmed on bloody goal difference after Fulham had the good fortune to play against a side that couldn't be bothered to give them a game... horrible.

[P!ssed Off]

I've only seen the last 3.

1998 was a cocking shambles, but it was my first season so it couldn't bite too hard.

2013 has been a cocking shambles, but I didn't expect very much else.

2008 was agony. To see that fukking dynasty collapse so spectacularly after 2 years of astonishing achievement was really sad. To have it happen after spending almost the entire season out of the relegation zone, and to have it confirmed on bloody goal difference after Fulham had the good fortune to play against a side that couldn't be bothered to give them a game... horrible.

Not to mention the Portsmouth goalkeeper who might have kept us up, but oxf*rd didn't, was none other than Reading academy graduate and local boy Jamie Ashdown. The BETRAYAL!!!!

[Alexander Litvinenko]

2008. It was so close all along, and but for Fulham's ludicrously-unlikely recovery we'd have been safe.

[Ouroboros]

2008. It was so close all along, and but for Fulham's ludicrously-unlikely recovery we'd have been safe.

That win from 2-0 down at Man City!

[Biscuit_Boy]

Easy, 2008. The manner of it, being relegated in the last few minutes was devastating. Plus, it had taken our whole history to get to the top-flight and it was just thrown away. This season we've known for weeks, even months that we were going down and we've proved before that we can get back up to the Prem.

[Bandini]

87-88 - the first time always hurts the worst

[TBM]

Anyone that witnessed the 97/98 relegation would probably agree it was worse than 2008........the team was shocking, as was having a taxi driver as manager

I mean, we got dicked 5-1 by Stockport that season.....then 3pts from 39 in our last 13 games

[Ouroboros]

Anyone that witnessed the 97/98 relegation would probably agree it was worse than 2008........the team was shocking, as was having a taxi driver as manager

I mean, we got dicked 5-1 by Stockport that season.....then 3pts from 39 in our last 13 games

Which is exactly why it was hard to give a flying one about it.

Pretty shit way to say goodbye to Elm Park, mind.

[Ouroboros]

87-88 - the first time always hurts the worst

Plus it was much more dangerous in the 80s.

[southbank1871]

Can't really remember 87-88, other than my Dad constantly saying that he wanted Branfoot out.

'greed with TBMers here though, 97-98 was really bad, with first Bullivant and then Tommy Burns (RIP in Peace). Getting relegated just before moving into the new stadium was pretty bad too.

[Bandini]

Branfoot out

Good point actually. Chanting BRANFOOT OUT was quite fun. So the epic shitness of 97-98 runs it pretty close.

[West Stand Man]

71. It really hurt to drop to the bargain basement for the first time ever. And to be forced down by a defeat at Villa where they scored a goal that should not have been given was even worse.

[The Quiet Man]

Just about remember 71 our first ever time in Div 4 lost a must win to Villa which included an own goal.

77 I think we were just sh*te and went with a nmber of games to spare.

83 went down with the top scorer in the division (K Dixon) but one of the poorest defences - really tight with lots of clubs involved but we always looked likely.

88 was a scary one as we went down with a really sh*te team and very nearly did Div 3 the next season only escaping on the last day.

98 had been coming with the lack of investment in the team from SJM over a number of seasons and we had a first eleven but nothing else and that completely disintegrated. Some of the most inept and spectacular thrashings it has been my pleasure (!) to watch. Oxford away! The start of the wilderness years with TB2.

08 was disappointing but I would say that anyone who went home and away that season knew the writing was on the wall in the first couple of months. Sidwell on a free was one of the greatest strategic mistakes ever made at RFC IMHO and we got what we deserved for having no plan/money to replace him.

13 An extremely limited but consistent side gets promoted most fans know deep down that if we tried to play like that in the prem we would be f*cked (except for McD) got what we deserved.

On balance I'll go for the first one as it always hurts the most 71 and in Div 4 for the first time in our history.

[Esteban]

'88 is the first one I properly remember. I vaguely remember being upset in '83, but I was far too young to realise why.

'88 was just weird. We went from the best day I'd ever had as a Reading fan, winning the Simod Cup at Wembley, then changing our team completely and being pretty rubbish for the rest of the season.

'98 and this season are much of a much, just rubbish from the start and relegation felt like sweet release.

So 2008 was the worst for me. Playing well and thumping Derby, but still going down because Portsmouth couldn't find an equaliser against Fulham and ultimately going down on goal difference. Awful.