Bearwood Open Day

[PieEater]

I'll echo the other comments, it was a great day out. Well organised and all staff were a credit to the club.

It took me a while to spot Ledge with his greying beard.

[RoyalBlue]

A really good day, very well organised. Plenty of opportunities to meet and chat with not only players and playing management but all of the support staff. I enjoyed getting to chat to Roberto, who I knew from his time with Reading Women, as he oversaw the washing of all the kit. Even in that area, the facilities are to die for and of the type that Ron Grant could only ever have dreamed of in the wildest of fantasies.

Gilkesy even mentioned the 11pm finish v Coventry at Elm Park as we chatted!

And imagine anti-gravity treadmills and altitude training rooms at Elm Park/Sonning Lane!

Catering also seemed very good and at reasonable prices IMO. Hopefully a sign of things to come on that front.

[morganb]

We met Peter Scott in the car park on the way to the bus

Predicts a break-out season for Sackey and said that Academy player Bowdery was a good prospect.

Also very positive about Michael Stickland

[RG30]

I will echo what was said previously. Went on the 5:30pm tour and despite it being very hot I found it really interesting and genuinely mad that our club has the infrastructure in place.

Brilliantly well organised by the club.

Had a lengthy chat with Joe Jacobson who came across very well. Plenty of chat about players incoming/outgoing. Asked him about us retaining Cat 1 and said it is very much the plan although we need to make it more efficient. Bearwood won’t be used as a Euro 2028 training base as the application has passed but we have put forward both the stadium and Bearwood for the Women’s World Cup in 2035.

[Reading_fc_bible]

Anything interesting on incomings/outgoings

I will echo what was said previously. Went on the 5:30pm tour and despite it being very hot I found it really interesting and genuinely mad that our club has the infrastructure in place.

Brilliantly well organised by the club.

Had a lengthy chat with Joe Jacobson who came across very well. Plenty of chat about players incoming/outgoing. Asked him about us retaining Cat 1 and said it is very much the plan although we need to make it more efficient. Bearwood won’t be used as a Euro 2028 training base as the application has passed but we have put forward both the stadium and Bearwood for the Women’s World Cup in 2035.

[Royal_jimmy]

Anything interesting on incomings/outgoings

I will echo what was said previously. Went on the 5:30pm tour and despite it being very hot I found it really interesting and genuinely mad that our club has the infrastructure in place.

Brilliantly well organised by the club.

Had a lengthy chat with Joe Jacobson who came across very well. Plenty of chat about players incoming/outgoing. Asked him about us retaining Cat 1 and said it is very much the plan although we need to make it more efficient. Bearwood won’t be used as a Euro 2028 training base as the application has passed but we have put forward both the stadium and Bearwood for the Women’s World Cup in 2035.

Shame about the euros in 2028 as we could have made some useful income from that.

Agree it was really well executed today by the club. Good to see the club do one of these events and bringing that bond back. Brilliant sunny day, very relaxed and friendly people from the club there. I was lucky enough to visit Hogwood Park too and this Bearwood is just in a totally different level of size and facilities. Very expensive to maintain so probably quite important we get promoted within a couple of years.

[Sutekh]

We met Peter Scott in the car park on the way to the bus

Predicts a break-out season for Sackey and said that Academy player Bowdery was a good prospect.

Also very positive about Michael Stickland

Heard nothing but rave reviews that Bowdery could be rather good! Hoping Stickland becomes more a Bindon than a Holmes, certainly he looks to have something about him and could step up if given the right circumstances and development.

Rather hoping Okine-Peters stakes his claim effectively this season too, and doesn’t become another Akande by being around for years and finally getting a couple of chances only to be immediately binned.

[tidus_mi2]

Very good afternoon out, only downside was that the first team were completely gone by the 15:30 slot, thought some might have done their training later so everyone had a chance to meet the first team.

[Zammo]

Such a good day and excellently organised. Fair play to the players. Some of those queues for photos were soooooo long lol. Met so many of them, along with staff and management. All really friendly and happy to give up their time. Ended up with a pint in the garden area before the bus left too. Looking at Bearwood, you really have to wonder how Dai got this all so wrong. What magnificent infrastructure we have in place. Obvs cost me a fortune in merch and then the new shirt once we got back to the ground

[Esteban]

Such a good day and excellently organised. Fair play to the players. Some of those queues for photos were soooooo long lol. Met so many of them, along with staff and management. All really friendly and happy to give up their time. Ended up with a pint in the garden area before the bus left too. Looking at Bearwood, you really have to wonder how Dai got this all so wrong. What magnificent infrastructure we have in place. Obvs cost me a fortune in merch and then the new shirt once we got back to the ground

Out of interest, do you think you'd have bought any merch or the new shirt, if you hadn't have gone to the open day?

[RG30]

Such a good day and excellently organised. Fair play to the players. Some of those queues for photos were soooooo long lol. Met so many of them, along with staff and management. All really friendly and happy to give up their time. Ended up with a pint in the garden area before the bus left too. Looking at Bearwood, you really have to wonder how Dai got this all so wrong. What magnificent infrastructure we have in place. Obvs cost me a fortune in merch and then the new shirt once we got back to the ground

Out of interest, do you think you'd have bought any merch or the new shirt, if you hadn't have gone to the open day?

The merchandise sold at Bearwood was sold by the club, not Fanatics so was heavily discounted and non-refundable. I didn't get a chance to look inside the temporary store but looked quite a wide choice of obscure shirts.

[Zammo]

Such a good day and excellently organised. Fair play to the players. Some of those queues for photos were soooooo long lol. Met so many of them, along with staff and management. All really friendly and happy to give up their time. Ended up with a pint in the garden area before the bus left too. Looking at Bearwood, you really have to wonder how Dai got this all so wrong. What magnificent infrastructure we have in place. Obvs cost me a fortune in merch and then the new shirt once we got back to the ground

Out of interest, do you think you'd have bought any merch or the new shirt, if you hadn't have gone to the open day?

Zammo jnr been eyeing up some of that training kit for the last 12 months. Was heavily discounted, so ideal opportunity to pick some up as a treat for him. Got carried away with the new home shirt back at the Mad Stad, but tbf he's the one who's got to wear it

[Zammo]

Such a good day and excellently organised. Fair play to the players. Some of those queues for photos were soooooo long lol. Met so many of them, along with staff and management. All really friendly and happy to give up their time. Ended up with a pint in the garden area before the bus left too. Looking at Bearwood, you really have to wonder how Dai got this all so wrong. What magnificent infrastructure we have in place. Obvs cost me a fortune in merch and then the new shirt once we got back to the ground

Out of interest, do you think you'd have bought any merch or the new shirt, if you hadn't have gone to the open day?

The merchandise sold at Bearwood was sold by the club, not Fanatics so was heavily discounted and non-refundable. I didn't get a chance to look inside the temporary store but looked quite a wide choice of obscure shirts.

Yeah, was some real good stuff in the temp store. Even the lesser spotted Rose Macron shirt was there in numbers.

[PieEater]

I bought a red Macron polo shirt for a tenner, bargain. Stupid sizes - I got XXL and I'm normally a medium/large.