Reasons to be hopeful?

[Hendo]

I'm guessing from your user name you have been supporting for a long time. Surely therefore you can remember how dire it was playing in the lower leagues. Given our present circumstances the loss of income from relegation could well mean we wouldn't return for a long time. I think we have to realise how valuable it is to be in the championship.

Well said

First game in 1966 as it happens. And no matter what division you are in , once the game starts then that is irrelevant.
What concerns me with the modern game, (and your comments support my concerns), is that everyone seems to be more concerned about money rather than the football. Promotion from the Championship is always headlined with x amounts millions bonanza rather than the chance of mixing it with the best.

Maybe people are worried that if we go down, with the current state of the club, there might not be a club to support in a few years?

[Snowflake Royal]

Nah,there's always a phoenix

[The Royal Forester]

Nah,there's always a phoenix

Would you be happy to restart the phoenix club at something like tier 7 or somewhere near that level? How many years will it take to get back to League 2, let alone higher. No thanks, not for me. Best we stay where we are, or higher.

[Snowflake Royal]

Nah,there's always a phoenix

Would you be happy to restart the phoenix club at something like tier 7 or somewhere near that level? How many years will it take to get back to League 2, let alone higher. No thanks, not for me. Best we stay where we are, or higher.

Sure, why not? Wimbledon fans had a great time.

[The Royal Forester]

Nah,there's always a phoenix

Would you be happy to restart the phoenix club at something like tier 7 or somewhere near that level? How many years will it take to get back to League 2, let alone higher. No thanks, not for me. Best we stay where we are, or higher.

Sure, why not? Wimbledon fans had a great time.

This nobber shakes his head in disbelieve!

[tmesis]

Nah,there's always a phoenix

Would you be happy to restart the phoenix club at something like tier 7 or somewhere near that level? How many years will it take to get back to League 2, let alone higher. No thanks, not for me. Best we stay where we are, or higher.

Sure, why not? Wimbledon fans had a great time.

Wimbledon also handily had a ground they could use which was (just) up to League standard. Nothing like that exists near Reading, unless you consider sharing with Maidenhead a decent option.

Teams that have crashed and risen again fairly quickly have almost all had a decent ground to use. For those that didn't, the journey back is much longer and harder.

Reading at Scours Lane, for example, would be awful. The place is an undeveloped dump in a terrible location.

If we could somehow play at the Madejski, without having to pay crippling rental costs, it might be different, but I don't see that as being likely.

[Snowflake Royal]

Would you be happy to restart the phoenix club at something like tier 7 or somewhere near that level? How many years will it take to get back to League 2, let alone higher. No thanks, not for me. Best we stay where we are, or higher.

Sure, why not? Wimbledon fans had a great time.

Wimbledon also handily had a ground they could use which was (just) up to League standard. Nothing like that exists near Reading, unless you consider sharing with Maidenhead a decent option.

Teams that have crashed and risen again fairly quickly have almost all had a decent ground to use. For those that didn't, the journey back is much longer and harder.

Reading at Scours Lane, for example, would be awful. The place is an undeveloped dump in a terrible location.

If we could somehow play at the Madejski, without having to pay crippling rental costs, it might be different, but I don't see that as being likely.

What else is it going to be used for for a year or two at least?

[tmesis]

Sure, why not? Wimbledon fans had a great time.

Wimbledon also handily had a ground they could use which was (just) up to League standard. Nothing like that exists near Reading, unless you consider sharing with Maidenhead a decent option.

Teams that have crashed and risen again fairly quickly have almost all had a decent ground to use. For those that didn't, the journey back is much longer and harder.

Reading at Scours Lane, for example, would be awful. The place is an undeveloped dump in a terrible location.

If we could somehow play at the Madejski, without having to pay crippling rental costs, it might be different, but I don't see that as being likely.

What else is it going to be used for for a year or two at least?

Our owner could just sell the land, which would be a lot easier to do without a tenant, I'd have thought.

If he did make it a hat-trick of clubs he's owned and folded, I would hope he could come to some sort of arrangement, but I wouldn't bet on it.

[blythspartan]

Sherwin Seedorf NOT signing for us. Best transfer news so far.

[Hound]

Tbf there were a lot of tears with Wimbledon as well - it wasn’t all party time. Minuscule crowds relatively at a pretty awful stadium (Kingstonian) which was a reasonable distance away from Wimbledon itself in a different borough. Dreadful standard to start with. And of course no guarantee at all they’d end up in the football league and stay there

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Will be on a salary far higher than £15k a week. Probably one of the highest earners left. If we are unable to offload Puscas then letting Joao go might be the best option. Then structure the team to play to Puscas's strengths. Puscas is far less injury prone and would at least be a consistant presence throughout the season.

I'm not sure he is on a wage higher than £15k a week, not significantly anyway. The only real "overpaid" earner that we need to move on is Moore, the rest are pretty reasonably paid at this level.

Not for our budget.

Even our top earners shouldn't be earning much more than £16k a week.

We can't afford inflated championship wages, we need to pay sustainable Championship wages. Even a £16m wage bill will see us making a 7 figure loss most seasons.

I'm not sure how many players now earn more than £15k a week, other than Moore. I think the likes of Ejaria, Meite, Joao and Puscas are the one's who remain who earn about £15k and I'd agree we need to move one or two on, but that would be a no brainer to be Puscas and Ejaria though.

A lot can happen in 12 months though. I don't expect to keep Joao beyond this season, or even when his contract expires if we get that far, but survive this summer and some poor form/a bad injury might mean his best option would be stay on. An unlikely set of circumstances mind you.

[skipper]

Sure, why not? Wimbledon fans had a great time.

Wimbledon also handily had a ground they could use which was (just) up to League standard. Nothing like that exists near Reading, unless you consider sharing with Maidenhead a decent option.

Teams that have crashed and risen again fairly quickly have almost all had a decent ground to use. For those that didn't, the journey back is much longer and harder.

Reading at Scours Lane, for example, would be awful. The place is an undeveloped dump in a terrible location.

If we could somehow play at the Madejski, without having to pay crippling rental costs, it might be different, but I don't see that as being likely.

What else is it going to be used for for a year or two at least?

Ask Coventry how they got on with that idea?

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Nah,there's always a phoenix

Would you be happy to restart the phoenix club at something like tier 7 or somewhere near that level? How many years will it take to get back to League 2, let alone higher. No thanks, not for me. Best we stay where we are, or higher.

A lot at that level depends on money. We'd probably be the highest-profile club since Wimbledon to go bust, if it ever happened, so I can imagine with a decent enough owner backing us then we'd be back up in the FL by a decade maximum. However, getting back to the level we have been at or are at now would be a different kettle of fish. MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon, no matter which you call as "Wimbledon", neither of them have played in the PL like the Wimbledon of old and neither have really got close either.

[tmesis]

Nah,there's always a phoenix

Would you be happy to restart the phoenix club at something like tier 7 or somewhere near that level? How many years will it take to get back to League 2, let alone higher. No thanks, not for me. Best we stay where we are, or higher.

A lot at that level depends on money. We'd probably be the highest-profile club since Wimbledon to go bust, if it ever happened, so I can imagine with a decent enough owner backing us then we'd be back up in the FL by a decade maximum. However, getting back to the level we have been at or are at now would be a different kettle of fish. MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon, no matter which you call as "Wimbledon", neither of them have played in the PL like the Wimbledon of old and neither have really got close either.

I'd bank on that only if we are at the Madejski (and not still paying £1.5 million a year in rent) or were bankrolled. Without a FL standard stadium we'd face the same problems as Newport and Darlington.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Would you be happy to restart the phoenix club at something like tier 7 or somewhere near that level? How many years will it take to get back to League 2, let alone higher. No thanks, not for me. Best we stay where we are, or higher.

A lot at that level depends on money. We'd probably be the highest-profile club since Wimbledon to go bust, if it ever happened, so I can imagine with a decent enough owner backing us then we'd be back up in the FL by a decade maximum. However, getting back to the level we have been at or are at now would be a different kettle of fish. MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon, no matter which you call as "Wimbledon", neither of them have played in the PL like the Wimbledon of old and neither have really got close either.

I'd bank on that only if we are at the Madejski (and not still paying £1.5 million a year in rent) or were bankrolled. Without a FL standard stadium we'd face the same problems as Newport and Darlington.

I'd imagine by the time we were in the National League or promoted to League Two level we'd be back at the SLC stadium really.

[The Royal Forester]

A lot at that level depends on money. We'd probably be the highest-profile club since Wimbledon to go bust, if it ever happened, so I can imagine with a decent enough owner backing us then we'd be back up in the FL by a decade maximum. However, getting back to the level we have been at or are at now would be a different kettle of fish. MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon, no matter which you call as "Wimbledon", neither of them have played in the PL like the Wimbledon of old and neither have really got close either.

I'd bank on that only if we are at the Madejski (and not still paying £1.5 million a year in rent) or were bankrolled. Without a FL standard stadium we'd face the same problems as Newport and Darlington.

I'd imagine by the time we were in the National League or promoted to League Two level we'd be back at the SLC stadium really.

It would more than likely be converted to a shopping mall by then.

[paultheroyal]

Talk of Phoenix Clubs reminds me of my Aldershot story.

In their first season in the basement leagues with everything so new I was asked to referee them in the Hampshire Senior Cup, against Cove, at Cove's ground.

Cove had no idea what was about to happen because they literally put one old lady on the gate, with a table and chair and a lunch box to collect the money. Over a thousand Aldershot fans turned up, ensued chaos and kick off delayed by half an hour.

[Green]

Talk of Phoenix Clubs reminds me of my Aldershot story.

In their first season in the basement leagues with everything so new I was asked to referee them in the Hampshire Senior Cup, against Cove, at Cove's ground.

Cove had no idea what was about to happen because they literally put one old lady on the gate, with a table and chair and a lunch box to collect the money. Over a thousand Aldershot fans turned up, ensued chaos and kick off delayed by half an hour.

lol. I wonder what happened to that poor old lady. Probably dead now.

[Green]

Nah,there's always a phoenix

There is on the proviso you've got a motivated and keen supporter base who'll rally round to make it happen.

Who have we got... STAR? Don't get me wrong I'm not knocking the coaches or the biannual Fan's Forums but we're talking a different level of commitment here.

[paultheroyal]

Talk of Phoenix Clubs reminds me of my Aldershot story.

In their first season in the basement leagues with everything so new I was asked to referee them in the Hampshire Senior Cup, against Cove, at Cove's ground.

Cove had no idea what was about to happen because they literally put one old lady on the gate, with a table and chair and a lunch box to collect the money. Over a thousand Aldershot fans turned up, ensued chaos and kick off delayed by half an hour.

lol. I wonder what happened to that poor old lady. Probably dead now.

Yeah - be surprised if she is still around.