Jump to content
IGNORED

Light amusement from Reading


tin

Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, tin said:

I always thought Reading were one of the original plastic clubs, but stone me - I can’t remember seeing something so cringeworthy in football. Utter shit.

People calling a football club “plastic” has always mildly interested me - genuine questions, what is your definition of a “plastic” club and what makes Reading “plastic” in your opinion?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

People calling a football club “plastic” has always mildly interested me - genuine questions, what is your definition of a “plastic” club and what makes Reading “plastic” in your opinion?

 

A parvenu club whose league position that is not the product of a hundred years of support from the community in which the club resides but instead has been purchased by wealthy owners and so attracts in plastic fans who wish to participate in this success in the manner of real fans but have no family history of support and never went before they were successful.

Wigan, Bournemouth, Blackburn.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Eddie Hitler said:

Good Lord.

Well you've had a good run of nearly fifty years with the worst football song Rod but all things must change and the baton passes to Reading.

One last outing for your meisterwork; subtitled Possibly the worst song of all time.

No longer.

 

I never knew this exsisted, and have never heard it before............and i will now try to expunge it from my memory forever.  Abhorrent and Nightmarish ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Eddie Hitler said:

 

A parvenu club whose league position that is not the product of a hundred years of support from the community in which the club resides but instead has been purchased by wealthy owners and so attracts in plastic fans who wish to participate in this success in the manner of real fans but have no family history of support and never went before they were successful.

Wigan, Bournemouth, Blackburn.

 

I query Blackburn a bit as their club history albeit early days is quite strong. 

Think even pre Walker they spent a lot more time in the top two tiers than the others on the list.

Just checked and they win 2 titles and 6 FA Cups albeit in early days.

Checked further and they were a founder member and have spent a mere six seasons outside the top two divisions in their entire history. 

I know Walker pumped them up but over course of history etc, don't see the plastic club bit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

I query Blackburn a bit as their club history albeit early days is quite strong. 

Think even pre Walker they spent a lot more time in the top two tiers than the others on the list.

Fair point.

It was that I remember their success coinciding with the burst of enthusiasm for football following Italia Gazza 90 and several people I knew with no prior interest in football adopted a football club with a few picking Blackburn owing to their recent success and that they liked the kit.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, One Team said:

If we ever do anything like this I am so done! 

Our new club song will be premiered on the roof of the Lansdown by Black Lace at 5 this afternoon! :) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

People calling a football club “plastic” has always mildly interested me - genuine questions, what is your definition of a “plastic” club and what makes Reading “plastic” in your opinion?

For me a plastic club is one with little or no tradition and historically small support that is purchased by a millionaire, who bankrolls then to a few years in the sun when rent-a-fans jump on the bandwagon before disappearing when the wheels fall off. 

On reflection, it might be more accurate to refer to plastic fans than clubs as most clubs have them. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, tin said:

For me a plastic club is one with little or no tradition and historically small support that is purchased by a millionaire, who bankrolls then to a few years in the sun when rent-a-fans jump on the bandwagon before disappearing when the wheels fall off. 

On reflection, it might be more accurate to refer to plastic fans than clubs as most clubs have them. 

 

11 hours ago, Eddie Hitler said:

 

A parvenu club whose league position that is not the product of a hundred years of support from the community in which the club resides but instead has been purchased by wealthy owners and so attracts in plastic fans who wish to participate in this success in the manner of real fans but have no family history of support and never went before they were successful.

Wigan, Bournemouth, Blackburn.

I appreciate the responses chaps, cheers. You, collectively, seem to be saying that a plastic club is one of humble origins that has benefitted from wealthy owners who have given their clubs massively improved stadia which has attracted more fans - that doesn’t half sound like Bristol City - but I don’t think we are ‘plastic’ ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, BS4 on Tour... said:

 

I appreciate the responses chaps, cheers. You, collectively, seem to be saying that a plastic club is one of humble origins that has benefitted from wealthy owners who have given their clubs massively improved stadia which has attracted more fans - that doesn’t half sound like Bristol City - but I don’t think we are ‘plastic’ ...

I don't think most clubs are.

Throughout our history we have been mainly Div 2 so there is nothing artificial / plastic about our being there now even if we have very wealthy owners.

Wigan spent most of its history in non-league until Dave Whelan started to pump the money in twenty years ago. That's your plastic club.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, Eddie Hitler said:

 

A parvenu club whose league position that is not the product of a hundred years of support from the community in which the club resides but instead has been purchased by wealthy owners and so attracts in plastic fans who wish to participate in this success in the manner of real fans but have no family history of support and never went before they were successful.

Wigan, Bournemouth, Blackburn.

 

Why would City not belong on the above list? Is our current position of 32nd in the English Leagues not due to a very rich man's considerable financial investment?

I can understand why you have included Bournemouth and Wigan. You could add Wimbledon in the 1980's - 1990's ?

But Blackburn Rovers history, albeit most of it was in the 19th century. have a better record of playing in the top league then many clubs. The group of medium sized clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire like Burnley, Blackpool, Blackburn, Bolton, Preston, Huddersfield have all achievedmore trophies in the top division and FA Cups than we can only dream about. You could also add Norwich and Ipswich in East Anglia and a few others like Southampton and Stoke.

We have never won a Top League title or won an FA / League Cup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, cidered abroad said:

Why would City not belong on the above list? Is our current position of 32nd in the English Leagues not due to a very rich man's considerable financial investment?

I can understand why you have included Bournemouth and Wigan. You could add Wimbledon in the 1980's - 1990's ?

But Blackburn Rovers history, albeit most of it was in the 19th century. have a better record of playing in the top league then many clubs. The group of medium sized clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire like Burnley, Blackpool, Blackburn, Bolton, Preston, Huddersfield have all achievedmore trophies in the top division and FA Cups than we can only dream about. You could also add Norwich and Ipswich in East Anglia and a few others like Southampton and Stoke.

We have never won a Top League title or won an FA / League Cup.

I’m not sure I’d agree to the original Wimbledon FC being a “plastic” club - theirs was the ultimate romantic ‘David vs all the Goliaths’ story, climbing up through the divisions with an unbelievable team spirit and ‘all for one and sod the rest’ mentality, culminating in that famous FA Cup win in 1988 (“The crazy gang has beaten the culture club” : Motty) - being successful because of sheer hard work, and not respecting any reputations, doesn’t fit into any ‘plastic’ definition in my opinion ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Eddie Hitler said:

I don't think most clubs are.

Throughout our history we have been mainly Div 2 so there is nothing artificial / plastic about our being there now even if we have very wealthy owners.

Wigan spent most of its history in non-league until Dave Whelan started to pump the money in twenty years ago. That's your plastic club.

It’s an interesting debate, one well suited to a bottle of Malbec and Jesus & Mary Chain b-sides with re-runs of MOTD on a flickering tv with the sound down (blimey, where did that all come from?!) - anyway, Wigan had been a football league club for nearly 20 years when Whelan took them over - they were flitting between the third and fourth tiers I believe, but he undoubtedly was the reason they could suddenly attract three Spanish players (including a raw Roberto Martinez) and begin their rise up through the levels into the premier league.

But again, I’m not sure I fully understand this “plastic” thing - is Watford “plastic” because of Elton John? They motored to the top once he got involved at Vicarage Road. Most clubs who are doing reasonably well have wealthy backers, just because some of them were at lower levels when the investment arrived doesn’t make them a plastic club does it? Why are Bournemouth more “plastic” than Man City? Etc etc etc - as I said, it’s an interesting debate, rather similar to ‘what makes one club ‘bigger’ than others?’ - everyone has their own definitions I guess ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, cidered abroad said:

Why would City not belong on the above list? Is our current position of 32nd in the English Leagues not due to a very rich man's considerable financial investment?

I can understand why you have included Bournemouth and Wigan. You could add Wimbledon in the 1980's - 1990's ?

But Blackburn Rovers history, albeit most of it was in the 19th century. have a better record of playing in the top league then many clubs. The group of medium sized clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire like Burnley, Blackpool, Blackburn, Bolton, Preston, Huddersfield have all achievedmore trophies in the top division and FA Cups than we can only dream about. You could also add Norwich and Ipswich in East Anglia and a few others like Southampton and Stoke.

We have never won a Top League title or won an FA / League Cup.

It's because we have been at the current level for most of our history; the Lansdowns' millions have not propelled us into a historically unusual position.

Sure lots of money has been poured into the club but as this has also happened to the clubs around us it has simply enabled us to treadwater rather than rise to a historically anomalous position.

Clubs have always risen or fallen because of good managers or squads - Liverpool under Shankly, Forest under Clough and Taylor, Man Utd under Ferguson, Yeovil in their rise to the Championship - but when a club is propelled to a position that neither their history nor support merit owing to big cash injections then that is a plastic, false, ersatz club.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...