Why then, if they've such a fantastic set-up and future, have they such poor attendances? Their away attendance figures are particularly disappointing for such a historic club.
Last thing I would look at, tbh. A football club can't help its location, or would you rather they move..? Why don't Saints fill up St Marys to bursting every week..? How come that when The Dell was a 30,000 capacity stadium did we only manage to get 18-22K in through the turnstiles when we first hit the big time..? OK, occasionally we'd get some capacity crowds through the gates, but most of the time it was around 20Ks. The thing is, you have to start somewhere. In 2 or 10 years time Reading could have capacity crowds at every match. Providing a club has the serious ambition and the resources to achieve them, the last thing I would call them is a nothing club, or a tinpot club.
And that's your opinion, mine is that they are a tinpot club with disturbing fans that prefer to support Chelsea and Arsenal when they're doing badly, and Reading when they're doing well.
Of course it's my opinion. But you are clouding your opinion with emotional response. Reading have fans that look to Chelsea and Arsenal [and no doubt Spurs] when things are going wrong. Do you not think there are people in Southampton who do the same thing..? You watch when Saints return to the PL how many supporters suddenly spring from nowhere. How are you going to explain that one away when one particular fan from the opposition of the day asks you that question..? You'll say, if you reply truthfully, something along the lines of... I can't help what other apparent supporters decide to do. All I'm interested in is my football club.
Nope, I am interested in what fans do. It pains me to say it, but we have a massive share of fairweather plastics. They won't watch or listen to a Saints game all season, but when Manchester United roll into town in the FA Cup - BAM! - they're on the phone like a bunch of overexcited kids. Reading just so happen to have a higher proportion of those "fans" - to be expected with a club with barely any top-flight experience.
I've got no problems with Reading as they've got a nice stadium that is a right size for their fanbase,they've also got a decent academy,good manager and chairman and it's a football town not a rugby town... Wigan is a l2 club at best and MKD is just a joke of a club.
London Irish play at the Madejski. Also I don't think it's fair to criticise MK, as it's a new club in a developing town. Obviously their supporters haven't supported them for very long, but until the Dons came around they didn't really have a local team. Northampton and Stevenage would be the closest off the top of my head.
I find you calling MK Dons a joke of a club quite offensive. It's not their fault, they just took advantage of a potentially prosperous chance to get into the higher echelons of the football league. I think you owe Pete Winkelman a direct apology.
The way that came about was shocking.Imagine if saints had to move up to some town up north and reform as "New Saints" or something...
I like MK. And Wigan. And anyone who upsets the apple cart really. More Wigan's, Norwich's and Swansea's, I say.
Or to be expected of any club in close proximity to London perhaps..? Perhaps their proportion is greater because they are much closer..? The Plastic experience could all just be down to demographics. In fact, it probably is. It would be interesting to see the directors of Chelsea, Arsenal, etc... scratching their heads wondering where the average couple of thousand supporters went, if and when Saints and Reading start to make headway in the PL.
The thing is with these "fans" is that they say they support a club, but in reality they sit at home and occasionally watch MOTD.
A football town not a rugby town? What are you on about? What about Leicester, Leeds, Swansea, Manchester? Are they not worthy to host football clubs because there's a big interest in another sport? Good grief.
I'm sure there are plenty of those, but I return to the premise that what is apparently true of Reading is probably also true of Saints to a greater or lesser extent. In fact, it is probably true of every football club to a certain degree, that isn't doing as well as they could be, at present, for example, they are not in the top division; that live in the shadow of football clubs up the road who are doing spectacularly better, that aren't mentioned every 30 seconds or less by the sports media. Less seriously, in order to buck that trend, there are a few strict rules that apply. 1. You have to be in the top 6, possibly even the top 4 to be maxing out your support. 2. You have to be mentioned by the sports media frequently, even if is utter trivia. 3. It helps if you're called Arsenal or Manchester United, or maybe Liverpool, although that last name is fading from memory. Now tell me I'm not speaking the truth..?
