Avoid The Play Offs

[Tony Le Mesmer]

I quite fancy a play off final defeat in even more agonising circumstances this time. Maybe after pens and some terrible refereeing.

You cant follow a team and expect glory all the time. Weve had more than our fair share over the last 25 years. We must have the best win% of any team outside the top flight in the last 12 years or so.

Am I the only one who takes some perverse pleasure in things going horribly wrong?

Winning is for wimps.

[Ian Royal]

There's no way I'd have enjoyed promotion to the Prem in 06 as much if I hadn't been to Wembley for Bolton and Cardiff for Walsall and seen us slogging our way through old new div 2 for those years.

[Rex]

Makes for hard readin', this.

Dunno about you, but I go to games to support the team, cheer on the lads and share what happens, not just to see us get promoted.

I don't think I've ever felt "we aren't going to win, so why bother showing up", even if sometimes the team obviously do...

Big occasions are the dare to dream scenario. I love it when the dream is realised. Two fingers up to the expectation and insolence of other team expected to win.
If we get at least two chestnut games a season i am happy. It make up for the trudge of the league games witnessed.
Football has never been all about what happens on the pitch.

[Tony Le Mesmer]

There's no way I'd have enjoyed promotion to the Prem in 06 as much if I hadn't been to Wembley for Bolton and Cardiff for Walsall and seen us slogging our way through old new div 2 for those years.

Yep, you have to go through all the heartache to make it all worthwhile.

To those who say theyd rather we finish 7th? Grow some, thats just crying off.

We've made the play offs 5 times now and failed everytime. If we win the play offs this year i'll prob end up like that spasticated bloke on the clip from last years final. or just start crying.

You could of course support a team like Coventry if failing dramitcally on the big stage at the final hurdle isnt for you .

[URZZ]

If we win the play offs this year i'll prob end up like that spasticated bloke on the clip from last years final. or just start crying.

LOL, this!! I think quite a few of us will be doing the same thing, I've got no doubts there

[who are ya?]

I was close to mass murder after the play-offs when I heard various "fans" saying - "Yeah but what a great day out".

No, I came to watch my beloved Reading team win promotion to the best league in the world and to see us lose in heart breaking circumstances (I'd almost prefer it if we'd just lost 4-0!) is not my definition of a "good day out".

Had we won, it would have been a brilliant day.

Aye, but the many people who said that - and I heard a lot of this also, didn't intend to put on their Reading shirt again until another chance of success. A real Reading fan would not have even considered it a, good day.

have to agree with that. most of those who had a lovely day out are the 20,000 missing fans. it was another painful day i'd like to forget. sadly, no matter how much fun it was on the trains, the drinks before the kick-off, it all comes down to the result and it was a painful one to swallow. as was the tube home with 98% swansea singing as loud as they could to insight trouble with the few reading fans with me. sweating like a pig as well in the heat of the cramped tube, i was dripping wet and close to keeling over. a really crappy end to a really long and tiring day.

but do i want another one? yes i do. and many many more of them; because win, lose, or draw, your club is still on the right road if you're there. but boy does it hurt. 3 out of 3 now. we're due a play-off final win!!

Chill out you lot
Walking back to the station in the rain was one of the most disheartening feelings I've had in a long time but the 2010/11 play-offs also gave me 2 of the best feelings Ive ever had supporting RFC with that night in Cardiff and the pre match piss up and seeing us walk out at the new Wembley.

Could be worse, we could be Rochdale fans for phuck sake

[URZZ]

FWIW, here he is. Just for old times sake... and for those that don't want another Play-Off and another chance of this tenacious feeling



Would love to have seen this bloke at Leicester when we got promoted, I'm just surprised he's still alive

[Victor Meldrew]

There are two things in football that I dislike strongly:-
Play-offs
The Loan system.

Both are fairly recent innovations ,as are the extensive use of substitutes,but both of the above are in many ways unfair and IMHO unnecessary.
Spurs for example would probably not be in 3rd spot if they hadn't borrowed a £25 million striker.

I still haven't got over the Bolton game just over 15 years ago when in a normal season we would have been promoted for finishing 2nd.
This desire within sport to change a league system into an end-of-year lottery strikes me as ridiculous,more so in the 2 rugby codes where a team can walk a Championship but then be subjected to play-off games and a lottery to decide who is to be the actual champions.

I might feel differently if one day we won a play-off final but for the moment I do feel that the best sides over a whole season should be promoted and the worst relegated.
The relegation play-offs were ditched some years ago and I wish the promotion ones were as well.
If anybody is desperate to go to Wembley go and watch England and not two teams exhausted and (as with us in 1996) riddled with players carrying injuries.

[Ian Royal]

FWIW, here he is. Just for old times sake... and for those that don't want another Play-Off and another chance of this tenacious feeling



Would love to have seen this bloke at Leicester when we got promoted, surprised he's still alive

Does anyone else think that bloke looks like he'd be at home as one of the characters infected in The Thing?

[Ian Royal]

There are two things in football that I dislike strongly:-
in 3rd spot if they hadn't borrowed a £25 million striker.

I still haven't got over the Bolton game just over 15 years ago when in a normal season we would have been promoted for finishing 2nd.

That had absolutely nothing to do with the Play Offs and everything to do with reducing the numbers in the PL.

[URZZ]

FWIW, here he is. Just for old times sake... and for those that don't want another Play-Off and another chance of this tenacious feeling



Would love to have seen this bloke at Leicester when we got promoted, surprised he's still alive

Does anyone else think that bloke looks like he'd be at home as one of the characters infected in The Thing?

I dunno, but he reminds me of Timmy.

[SydenhamRoyal]

A friend of mine feels your pain. He has basically given me power of attorney not to let him go to the play-offs ever again. I mustn't get him tickets or encourage him in any way. He saw Bolton, Walsall, Swansea ( and missed Simod due to a very very new-born).[/quote]

Please let us all know if your friend is going. With his track record I am only going to the final if he doesnt

[Wizard]

I couldn't go to Wembley again. Will watch in the pub if we make it again. Or possibly just work and try to forget about it.

[leicsRoyal]

I would jump at the chance of going back.

How many times in a lifetime can we expect to see our club at the national stadium in front of about 80,000 fans?

Although the day ended in huge disappointment there were so many good memories of the day. If we don't make automatic promotion, Wembley becomes a consolation prize, but some prize.

There is no way I would miss this on the pretence that I couldn't put myself through it. The next time might just be the only chance I get to see us win at the new Wembley.

[grey_squirrel]

Much as I admire the optimism of this thread - "finishing 2nd or 6th or whatever" - it smacks of complacency.

We ain' t 'there' or anywhere near yet, so lets just haul it in a bit.

There is always at least one team that blows it every year and we have a horrendous April.

AND we are not playing well. IIRC the last time we played crap all season and went up was 85/6.

[URZZ]

AND we are not playing well.

8 wins out of 10, we must be doing something right. Agreed with not becoming complacent though, lots of games to come yet

[URZZ]

Though I have to admit, our last 8 games are a bit intense; Blackpool (H), West Ham (A), Leeds (H), Brighton (A), Soton (A), Forest (H), Palace (H), Birmingham (A)

And despite the fact we play better against teams such as these, that is one hell of a run in... Let's just hope we do the majority of the business in March. I personally can't see automatic, we'd be lucky with a play-off spot.

[leicsRoyal]

8 wins out of 10, we must be doing something right. Agreed with not becoming complacent though, lots of games to come yet

The 8 wins out of 10 is a nice stat if a little deceiving. For instance we have to win the next four games or that record will get worse. If we do win the next four, we have still won 8 out of 10.

[grey_squirrel]

Though I have to admit, our last 8 games are a bit intense; Blackpool (H), West Ham (A), Leeds (H), Brighton (A), Soton (A), Forest (H), Palace (H), Birmingham (A)

And despite the fact we play better against teams such as these, that is one hell of a run in... Let's just hope we do the majority of the business in March. I personally can't see automatic, we'd be lucky with a play-off spot.

Exactly my point!

[Friday's Legacy]

AND we are not playing well.

8 wins out of 10, we must be doing something right. Agreed with not becoming complacent though, lots of games to come yet

squirrel is right, we're not playing well. we're huffing and puffing and getting the results, but playing well we haven't done for some time.