Madejski Stadium, Reading
Reading FC vs. Sheffield Midweek FC
Sky Bet Championship
A saga with more twists together with turns than Gareth Bale'second lastly reached its conclusion only days earlier the beginning of the new flavour. A summer of where I fretted over which squad will in all likelihood live the to the lowest degree shit to scout week inward, calendar week out was whittled down to simply 1, my beloved Reading. Hello darkness, my onetime friend.
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| The store is 'mega' no more, despite kick all the London Irish Gaelic material into touch. |
Quoting 'The Sound of Silence' seems appropriate when describing the Madejski Stadium, since it'second go the audio near usually associated with the venue.
A barren few years with no management (the inexplicable third placed complete inward 2017 where Jaap Stam bored the remainder of the Championship into submission not included) accept seen crowds dwindle away together with border dorsum to their Premier League clubs of choosing. Reading is an extremely fickle town.
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| There power live more entertainment to be establish exterior the earth this year. |
Choosing my season ticket proved to live a tougher choice than anticipated. I had ever said I'd snap up a flavor ticket at the Madejski in what seemed similar the probable consequence of relegation concluding flavour, I told y'all nosotros were fickle people. Then the bastards did merely plenty to remain upwards (I can't complain almost that), as well as threw my 2019/xx plans into disarray.
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| Sorry, when was the lodge formed? |
Non league football is fun, in addition to I gave serious consideration to Bracknell Town (the ticket didn't actually go out to be toll effective inward the likely issue I missed a game or 5) or even Slough Town. But Maidenhead together with Reading are the ii teams I accept the nigh connectedness to, so it was entirely always a ii Equus caballus race.
And so, after beingness distinctly underwhelmed past two Maidenhead friendlies, coupled alongside a misguided belief that Reading might just leap a surprise this yr based on zilch bear witness, the Royals emerged victorious. Plus a three yr gap since my concluding flavour ticket hither seemed similar long enough together with I was itching to go back.
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| The nighttime cloud of doom returns to haunt the Madejski Stadium. |
What I did non element in, nonetheless, was my grooming for the novel flavour being disrupted by a dislocated knee. Armed alongside 2 crutches too no friends, I was really regretting booking that flavour ticket then far upwards the Eamonn Dolan Stand.
It likewise meant I was forced to endure the jitney to the stadium, rather than parking for free at the World Turned Upside Down pub in addition to pretending to deed similar a paying customer in that location. Matchday buses are kind of similar a hop-on, hop-off charabanc y'all make it tourist hotspots. Only they are slightly cheaper and supply you amongst an audio guide. And instead of taking inwards the spectacular architecture of Munich or Bath, I was instead stuck alongside looking at all the scenery of Lower Earley. But hello, at to the lowest degree I got a place inward the priority department.
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| Nothing says modernistic like a video screen that'second impossible to read from anywhere. |
Fortunately, the Madejski Stadium is non similar the Sixfields Stadium (I went when I was 13 too at that place was no legroom fifty-fifty and then, in addition to I've grown at least another pes since), Kenilworth Road (watched the game on tiptoes), Loftus Road (rested my chin on my knees), or whatever other stadium built earlier 1994 when people attending football game matches must have all been midgets, then at that place is a decent amount of legroom.
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| View towards the West Stand, my master abode. |
Even more fortunate, the Madejski Stadium is not like Old Trafford or Anfield where people really attend the matches, then my antisocial option to sit down equally far away from anybody every bit possible allowed me to a) rest my crutches nether numerous seats without bothering people, too b) drapery my lame leg over the place inwards front. God bless you lot, Reading.
Useless data most Madejski Stadium
Address: Junction eleven (M4), Reading, Berkshire, RG2 0FL
Capacity: 24,161
Pitch Type: Grass
Ticket Price: £345 for a whole bloody season of this (Eamonn Dolan Stand)
Programme: £3, 68 pages
Cheapest Pint: £iv.80
