I've got this strange feeling..............

[weybridgewanderer]

every season so far has had the anticipation of "this year might be our year"

now the novelty of aug 19th has worn off, and we have had the run of the big for and now have watford fulham and charlton to look forward to, there is a feeling of "is this it from now on?"

[Jackson Corner]

Lets face it the Premiership is just about the big 4 clubs we are here just to make up the numbers, the media have no interest in us unless we are playing one of them. Having said that what's the alternative? Burnley away followed by Colchester at home on a freezing November night in front of a half full stadium? This Sunday we are playing one of the most famous clubs in English football live on tv in front of 24,000 fans. I know which I prefer.

[Custard Cream]

I agree that the novelty may have worn off a little. However, we are where we have always wanted to be, and if someone had handed us 12th spot with 13 points after 11 games at the beginning of the season, I'm sure we would have taken it!

Rather than dwell on the antics of other teams and the media, lets savour every single minute of this season, which hopefully will be the first of many for us in the top flight.

Last season was amazing which have left life long memories - but who is to say we can emulate that were we to go down? Look what has happened to ex Premiership sides.

I am far more excited about the prospect of trying to get something off Spurs when they visit on Sunday, than the thought of going away to Southend

[Tony Le Mesmer]

Very mixed feelings for me as well. I have to admit, im not really enjoying it as much as i thought i would.

August 19 v Boro was without doubt the best game played at the Madejski, and ranks as the most momentus day in the clubs history.

Now its all settled down, there are plenty of negatives:

a) outrageous ticket prices (seriously considering selling my Chelsea away ticket for this and other reasons (see (c))
b) I want to take my godson to his 1st Reading game. Proving a legistical nightmare being a STH and needing another seat next to me. Would have been dead easy in the Champ'p.
c) The media circus is just pathetic. The whole Hunt Cech thing really pissed me off.
d) The football in the premiership is dull. now comfortably the lowest scoring league in the world.
e) RFC being almost blind to failure by drawing up plans for huge extentions to the stadium after just 7 games in the top flight, when a year ago our ground was 1/3rd empty (been discussed in CP).
f) Our fans moaning thats we are just not good enough when we lose to the likes Arsenal Chelsea & Liverpool.

Having said that, i certainly wouldnt want to go back to the Burns/ Bullivant era, no way pedro!

[Bowman's Quiver]

As the male brigade on HBA? will testify the thrill of the chase is always the exciting part.

[dobcheck]

I have to say going to the games and being in the top flight is fantastic but there is a lot of media bulls*** that you could well do without.

[International Royal]

A good thread.

For supporters like me (working overseas) the Prem is a godsend. Every game is either live or a delayed kick-off (essentially the same thing by ducking the sports news).

It will become better as we grow into it and become more competitive.

I agree with the posters who have lost interest in the Championship. I could have watched the Stoke game last night, it was live here. Just couldn't be bothered, last season I would have watched it.

Deep down though I have this belief that the Prem is not good for football in the longer term. Its share of everything is too big and then the 4 teams that are in a league of their own, their share is far too big proportionally. It breeds arrogance. It's sickening when we're patronised when we're well beaten by the big 4, if they don't get the result they want then the excuses are unbelievable. The stakes are that high, look at Arse v West Ham, Chelsea lose at Spurs and they can't accept it. Even when everything is loaded in their favour - extra days off after their Euro games (not for Newcastle though which meant Sheff U possibly picking up extra points that could effect us), later into cup competitions etc, etc.

Once upon a time a team could get promoted and if they were good could be competitive at the higher level (Ipswich, Forest and others), now there is no chance.

On balance though where else we would prefer to be?

[melksham_royal]

Championship Pros

1. More games
2. More games on a Saturday at 3pm!!
3. You went into every game knowing you could win it
4. Closer league
5. No media hype
6. Quite clean games, not much diving

Championship Cons

1. It's not the Premiership

[Very near...far away]

Oh well never mind, eh.

[scutterbucket]

I don't want to go back to the Championship, but just miss the old days a little.

That's all.

I agree. I don't even get bothered about when Reading lose now because of the calibre of teams we're playing, it's pretty much expected and because i already told myself in the close season that even if they lost every game i'd enjoy the ride.

I miss the blind rage of defeat. The complancy is killing me!

[handbags_harris]

Having said that, i certainly wouldnt want to go back to the Burns/ Bullivant era, no way pedro!

At least back then we had a bit of fun on the South Bank, no stewarding issues or anything back then. And the football was entertaining at least....for the away fans anyway!

[Tony Le Mesmer]

Having said that, i certainly wouldnt want to go back to the Burns/ Bullivant era, no way pedro!

At least back then we had a bit of fun on the South Bank, no stewarding issues or anything back then. And the football was entertaining at least....for the away fans anyway!

Fun being the key word. Not much of that in football today.

What i would give for just one game this season at EP, just one......

[Mr Angry]

Bits of being in the Premiership are great; bits are crap.

There shouldn't be any sense of "its wearing off" after 11 games! Personally, I'm loving all of the games, the visits to new stadia, seeing my team playing against footballing institutions like Man Utd and Liverpool, seeing world class players like Rooney, Ronaldo, Henry, Lampard, Shevchenko, and Gerrard, and knowing that there is another 6 months of it to come!

Brilliant!!

The only downside has been the whole negative press thing re: Steve Hunt & Petr Cech, where we were made to be seen as the villans of the piece and Mourinho got no come back at all for his outrageous slanders.

The whole "up and down" nature of the coverage has also been bizarre; when we win, we are safe from relegation and Europe beckons - we lose (regardless of against whom) and its all "Reading doomed" type reportage. There is little or no perspective in the match reports from the Nationals, and, as Vision posted earlier, the experts really know jack about us yet pretend that their pontificating has all the wisdom of Soloman.

No question for me though, I'd rather be here than not.

[Joe]

I like this thread but i think a lot of it is nonsense,

Firstly about the misinformed media, yes it is annoying but not half as bad as when we were in the championship and the commentators spent the whole game talking about Les Ferdinand or Shaun Goater as they were the only Reading players who they had a clue about. The football is of a far higher standard in the premiership than in lower leagues.

However i do have to agree that i liked the olden days, and i think it was mainly because at the start of the season ending up top or bottom was possible.

[papereyes]

Firstly about the misinformed media, yes it is annoying but not half as bad as when we were in the championship and the commentators spent the whole game talking about Les Ferdinand or Shaun Goater as they were the only Reading players who they had a clue about.

Is it not the same thing here though. They've heard of Sidwell and Nicky Hunt and that's it.

[Y26]

Nicky Hunt?

[Gordons Cumming]

Nicky Hunt?

[handbags_harris]

Nicky Hunt?

[vidvud]

I dont think anything will ever match last season (minus the 2013 treble).

[RoyalBlue]

We've waited a long time for top flight football and all it entails, but I'm getting a very negative feeling about the whole circus that is the Premiership.

When Reading weren't involved you could look at it from a distance and see the bad things about it. The diving, the cheating, the media frenzy, the lazy journalistic b*ll*cks etc., etc.

Now Reading are involved in this monster I'm getting slightly nostalgic for the good old days.

Is there something wrong with me?

Discuss.

Gordy, you are spot on, I'm totally disillusioned with the state of our national game, I couldn't give a toss about our national side anymore, and The Premiership is extremely over-rated IMHO.

I was sat on the train on Saturday, going through Crewe, Stockport, Macclesfield and thought to myself, these places aren't so bad to come to after all.

Whilst I agree that the Premiership is where we want to be, the circus is not wanted and I have had far more fun in following Reading in season's past than this so far.

I yearned for Premiership football if only to shut up all of those who used to belittle our club - 'They've never been in the Premiership, have they.'

In the short term I would now be gutted if RFC are relegated. However, I too dislike a lot about the promised land and miss an awful lot to do with the lower leagues. For starters I hate having to rearrange my active football supporting just to fit in the convenience of the arm chair supporters. Oh for regular Saturday afternoon football again! This Sunday I have to choose between watching my two kids play football themselves or going to the Mad Stad without them. So that;s why our seats may be empty for the Spurs game.

Like Dangerous, I actually miss some of the trips to the 'smaller' (not meaning to sound condescending) clubs and grounds. I enjoyed mixing with genuine/real football fans from the opposing teams in the pubs around the ground before a game. We were able to empathise with everything our counterparts were experiencing/going through. There was also something about feeling that your support was genuinely needed and appreciated rather than being regarded as just an additional (and reasonably unimportant) revenue stream whose wants, needs and feelings come right at the end of the pecking order.