Reading Roars!

It has been a week since my last post.  Even longer since my last post about things other than trains.   Here’s one on football.

Reading FC’s John Madejski has become the latest footballing notable to rail (oops, train reference there) against the Premiership’s so-called “Game 39″ proposal (a plan that would see games played overseas). Madejski said:

I just feel more consultation should have gone on behind closed doors.  It’s already been consigned to the trash bin. I don’t think it’s going to grow legs now. There are too many people against it. It does have merit, though, but it should be an exhibition game rather than a league game because it is good for the Premier League to be exported abroad.

We should cherish the Premier League we have and do everything we can to sustain it. It’s nothing to do with money, it’s being able to deliver the Premier League on the doorstep of countries that hitherto have never seen it.

Obviously what I am concerned about is that, when all is said and done, the Premier League is run by the top five clubs. You can see it’s all tied up and I do believe there is a sort of pact there but, if it’s not broken, why fix it?

Looking at his club’s current form on the pitch, I don’t think Madejski has too much to worry about.

As for seasoned Madejski basher Oliver Holt’s latest unimpressive comments in The Mirror (headline: “Ramblin’ Royally“): once again unforgivable.  What is his problem?!:

In the course of a rambling radio interview on Sunday morning, Reading chairman John Madejski suggested that maybe it would be better if Premier League clubs just played a couple of exhibition games abroad rather than a 39th match.

It had obviously slipped the mind of the Royals’ chairman that Premier League clubs are already playing exhibition matches abroad. Have been for years.

Dear old John. Go and sit down with a couple of celebs. Better still, name a new room after yourself at the Tate Gallery. You’ll soon feel better.

Readers, you may be interested in viewing Holt’s Wikipedia entry.  View it, but no more than that.  Asking you to also deface it would just be irresponsible.

Reading’s perilous league position following 8 successive defeats (ouch) has forced the club to rethink their stadium plan.  The Madejski was to be expanded to 38,000, but that’s been put on hold.  Nigel Howe, the club’s chief exec explained:

We have always built this club on sensible foundations and that’s what we are doing again here. From day one, we’ve said there’s no point expanding if we don’t maintain our place in the Premier League. We will revisit things once we know where we are at the end of this season and make a plan accordingly

To ensure that Reading FC do maintain their place in the Premier League, Nigel has called for “positive defiance” (sounds like business-speak for positive thinking). Time to bring back Uri Geller?