Non-League Football in Reading

[floyd__streete]

With the recent unlamented demise of Reading Town - a club which was always in my experience an unfriendly one to visit at a frankly grotty venue - it got me to thinking about the failure of Non-league football in the town. Reading has always had a strong park football league, Redingensians of a certain age will talk to crowds numbering a couple of thousand watching matches between the likes of Rabson's Rovers and West Reading in the 1960s. Neighbouring Oxford has Oxford City at Vanarama National League South (Step 2) level (albeit this is a slight red herring as OCFC were the original senior team in Oxford) and Swindon has Supermarine operating at Southern League Div 1 South & West (Step 4).

My understanding is that ambitious Highmoor IBIS might move in to Scours Lane from Palmer Park and hopefully we might soon get a 'senior' non-league side that a town of Reading's size demands, Peppard having come close to realising ambitions in the 1990s which were stymied by the dimensions of the Palmer Park pitch.

As a question for stattos (Four of Clubs) am I right in thinking Huntley and Palmers played Southern League football way back when?

[RoyalJames101]

I think the Highmoor Ibis move to Scours Lane has been confirmed. The reserve and youth teams play at Ibis Club so makes sense really. I also have a feeling that the Reading Town manager and Highmoor Ibis manager are brothers? Who knows whether that has anything to do with it.

[LUX]

I used to go and watch Burghfield Common in the l8 60's/early 70's. My Garlands teacher played for them ftw. And ftl and ftd too, obviously.

[Yellowcoat]

Huntley & Palmers did play at a good non-league level some years ago as I had a friend (ex QPR junior) who drove from Harrow every week for "boot money". It was Spartan League though which was more of a force in the 60s/70s.

[Hoop Blah]

I can't see IBIS going much higher to be honest, not without a lot of other changes around the club, they're just seem too ill-disciplined.

The demise, and the lack of success over the longer term, of Reading Town is a real shame because, as you say Floyd, a town the size of Reading should be able to support a bigger non-league side than we have in the past.

There are a lot of Reading based players at Marlow (under former Reading Town manager Mark Bartley) and a fair few having a good season at Thatcham Town as well. For some reason the town has never managed to harness the undoubted talent we produce into a decent club and so players end up having to go further afield to play at a decent level.

[Stranded]

Has the problem been that Reading has never had one obvious lead NL club? Most clubs in the town seem to be pottering around in the Hellenic or CCL, none have gone to establish themselves at the next step. There has never been one say 1 or 2 levels higher that can attract and keep the better players in the town, so they are either spread across smaller clubs are move out of town. Clubs have fleeted with Southern League, as mentioned but none have hung around.

As a result, there are two many clubs that are much of a muchness and without a relatively hefty investment no-one has been able to break away and be that club?

[Royal Rother]

Fwiw there are no Reading clubs in the CCL.

[Four Of Clubs]

Huntley & Palmers did play at a good non-league level some years ago as I had a friend (ex QPR junior) who drove from Harrow every week for "boot money". It was Spartan League though which was more of a force in the 60s/70s.

H&P's record in the Spartan league- way back when - I'm pretty certain (even in my dotage) that Bracknell Town, for example would have been in that league at that time too .... probably only at the end of the period below:

SEASON LEAGUE P W D L F A P POS

1963-64 SPAR 34 8 9 17 38 84 25 14/18
1964-65 SPAR 34 6 5 23 38 98 17 17/18
1965-66 SPAR 34 8 4 22 51 83 20 15/18
1966-67 SPAR 32 10 10 12 44 52 30 9/17
1967-68 SPAR 34 11 6 17 44 67 28 10/18
1968-69 SPAR 34 8 4 22 49 105 20 16/18
1969-70 SPAR 34 3 6 25 36 88 12 18/18
1970-71 SPAR 34 1 6 27 20 114 8 18/18

...H&P reached the 2nd Qualifying round of the FA Cup twice around this period too.

[Hoop Blah]

Has the problem been that Reading has never had one obvious lead NL club? Most clubs in the town seem to be pottering around in the Hellenic or CCL, none have gone to establish themselves at the next step. There has never been one say 1 or 2 levels higher that can attract and keep the better players in the town, so they are either spread across smaller clubs are move out of town. Clubs have fleeted with Southern League, as mentioned but none have hung around.

As a result, there are two many clubs that are much of a muchness and without a relatively hefty investment no-one has been able to break away and be that club?

Yeah I think that's a pretty fair suggestion. I guess none of them have had the infrastructure to kick on hence why the likes of Slough, Marlow, Hungerford, Didcot, Burnham etc have at times been the places for the towns better players to ply their tade.

[Stranded]

Fwiw there are no Reading clubs in the CCL.

Fair enough. Was meaning more than all clubs in the Reading area seem to be stuck or happy at that level rather than pushing on to be at a level similar to the clubs mentioned by HB.

[Hoop Blah]

Oddly I'm not sure there are many Reading based players in CCL at the moment either.

Hartley Wintney used to have quite a number there but I'm not sure that's the case anymore. Maybe it's because IBIS and Woodley are now in the Hellenic as well as Henley, Ascot, Thatcham etc (and obviously RTFC until recently!) so they've got enough options that little bit closer.

[TBM]

If this "one woodley" thing reaches the vision that the bloke who set it up, wants - then we'll soon see a 15,000 all seater stadium in Woodley

[Four Of Clubs]

If this "one woodley" thing reaches the vision that the bloke who set it up, wants - then we'll soon see a 15,000 all seater stadium in Woodley

...will we efferslike !

Not a 'small round sphere of compacted frozen water's' chance in a very hot place ; that anyone will get a postage stamps worth of suitable playing area out of WBC.

Just look at how Wokingham (& Emmbrook) have been regally f£cked over, for the last umpteen years re planning permission anywhere for a decent non-league basic standard ground WITH LIGHTS. They've had to move in with Henley to play at STEP05 - though nailed on to drop back down for 16-17 season - sadly more to them being complete swill on the pitch .

... mind you Woodley Utd do have a current base off of Woodlands Ave that I s'pose they could try and lever upwards to something decent - not been there yet - only been used by their Reserve side in the TVL-P so far - and not at night - not too sure precisely where it is - somewhere near the UoR Sportspark beyond the old Bulmershe College site?

The Goals Centre opposite there has been able to put up a load of lights for their small sided pitches too. So there has been a bit of leeway more recently.

[Hoop Blah]

That pitch by Goals would need a hell of a lot of development to make it suitable for the Hellenic or CCL. It's basically a pitch in the middle of a field and the only thing going for it is that it has a permanent fence around it.

There's no hard standing, no exterior boundary to regulate crowds and the changing rooms are a good 400/500 yards from the pitch.

I don't understand the Woodley merger anyway, seemed like a really odd thing to do.

[TBM]

I don't understand the Woodley merger anyway, seemed like a really odd thing to do.

Hence why we [Saints] never opted into it

[Whore Jackie]

... mind you Woodley Utd do have a current base off of Woodlands Ave that I s'pose they could try and lever upwards to something decent - not been there yet - only been used by their Reserve side in the TVL-P so far - and not at night - not too sure precisely where it is - somewhere near the UoR Sportspark beyond the old Bulmershe College site?

The Goals Centre opposite there has been able to put up a load of lights for their small sided pitches too. So there has been a bit of leeway more recently.

Yep, as Hoop says, it's the same side as GOALS, halfway up the old Bulmershe School playing fields. Very, very basic.

The spot you're talking about would have more potential. UoR have just built a brand-new changing room / pavilion for two, possibly three pitches. Can't see anyone from UoR actually using it, when the facilities on the main campus are as good, if not better. Presumably that was their payback to the community for flogging off 95% of the old Bulmershe College site for housing.