What team is most similar to Reading FC

[fartdad]

Doesn’t have to be a championship team.. but maybe similar number of die hard supporters. The ones that show up despite how bad things could be going. Preferably in the English football ladder. I’ll try to leave it open ended so you decide the metrics you want to use, like potential for growth, youth set up, % of middle class supporters, or other demographics

[Brogue]

Bournemouth.

[Sutekh]

Reading City

[Elm Park Kid]

Brighton are like a 'sliding doors' version of Reading where SJM sold the club to someone rich rather than Zingarevich.

[Norfolk Royal]

Millwall.

[AthleticoSpizz]

P’smiff

[Crowbar6753]

Brentford to a certain extent. They've come from the lower reaches of the pyramid and slowly worked their way up and now have a new stadium and promotion to the top flight.
Pretty much like us 15 odd years ago. They've also done pretty well at their first attempt in the Premiership much like ourselves, however, they're making a much better go at their second season, whereas we bottled it.

[Jackson Corner]

I wish we were like Bournemouth, Brighton Brentford , when did we put 7 goals past Everton in two games. When did we win 3-1 at Arsenal and when did we go away to best richest club side in the world and win?
I am in total admiration of Brentford there recruiting of players managers coaching staff Scouts over the last ten years is simply outstanding. They scrapped there academy something I have been saying we should have done years ago.
If I had to pick a team I would say Hull played at a crap hole for years moved to a new stadium. Went to the premiership came straight down. But they have at least won two play off finals And an FA cup semi final.
Although never won the 2nd tier title.

[72 bus]

I wish we were like Bournemouth, Brighton Brentford , when did we put 7 goals past Everton in two games. When did we win 3-1 at Arsenal and when did we go away to best richest club side in the world and win?
I am in total admiration of Brentford there recruiting of players managers coaching staff Scouts over the last ten years is simply outstanding. They scrapped there academy something I have been saying we should have done years ago.
If I had to pick a team I would say Hull played at a crap hole for years moved to a new stadium. Went to the premiership came straight down. But they have at least won two play off finals And an FA cup semi final.
Although never won the 2nd tier title.

2006-2007 Man city 0 - 2 Reading
2006-2007 West Ham 0 - 1 Reading, Reading 6 - 0 West Ham

[Royalwaster]

I wish we were like Bournemouth, Brighton Brentford , when did we put 7 goals past Everton in two games. When did we win 3-1 at Arsenal and when did we go away to best richest club side in the world and win?
I am in total admiration of Brentford there recruiting of players managers coaching staff Scouts over the last ten years is simply outstanding. They scrapped there academy something I have been saying we should have done years ago.
If I had to pick a team I would say Hull played at a crap hole for years moved to a new stadium. Went to the premiership came straight down. But they have at least won two play off finals And an FA cup semi final.
Although never won the 2nd tier title.

2006-2007 Man city 0 - 2 Reading
2006-2007 West Ham 0 - 1 Reading, Reading 6 - 0 West Ham

That was Man city before they were rich.

[Mr Optimist]

I thought two northern similar clubs to us are yesterday’s opponents Hull, and Huddersfield.

Similar size fan bases and admittedly Huddersfield in their early years won First Division titles but looking at it from the last 50 years, very similar. Leeds Road was like a bigger version of Elm Park but with the roof on the home “Cowshed” end.

Both clubs spending some time in the old Second Division in the 80s, but returned to their more traditional place in the Third Division, with an occasional season in the Fourth. Now with new grounds and brief flirtations with the Premier League where they were ultimately swimming against the tide, back in what is probably the club’s correct and natural order in the current football world, level 2.

For Hull (and now to a degree, Huddersfield) add in dwindling crowds over the last couple of seasons and periods of dodgy overseas ownership…

[Dirk Gently]

Until the mid 90s, Doncaster. Same size, same type of crowds, same sort of history and for quite a few years were at the same level and got promoted and relegated together.

Then in 1995 *their* Chairman burnt down their main stand in a property development scam and *our* chairman gained planning permission and put in place funding for the MadStad and the two clubs' paths diverged for ever.

Now - Brighton, or it should have been but in 2007/8 our owners couldn't scale up their thoughts and wallets big enough to push on when they had a golden opportunity.

[Elm Park Kid]

Until the mid 90s, Doncaster. Same size, same type of crowds, same sort of history and for quite a few years were at the same level and got promoted and relegated together.

Then in 1995 *their* Chairman burnt down their main stand in a property development scam and *our* chairman gained planning permission and put in place funding for the MadStad and the two clubs' paths diverged for ever.

Now - Brighton, or it should have been but in 2007/8 our owners couldn't scale up their thoughts and wallets big enough to push on when they had a golden opportunity.

Big John just didn't have the bank balance to do it. If we had got promoted in the 90s there would have been a chance of naturally scaling us up along with the new PL. But it was already too late by 2007 - well, unless we tried to do a 'Leeds' and gamble the club's future.

[Franchise FC]

Until the mid 90s, Doncaster. Same size, same type of crowds, same sort of history and for quite a few years were at the same level and got promoted and relegated together.

Then in 1995 *their* Chairman burnt down their main stand in a property development scam and *our* chairman gained planning permission and put in place funding for the MadStad and the two clubs' paths diverged for ever.

Now - Brighton, or it should have been but in 2007/8 our owners couldn't scale up their thoughts and wallets big enough to push on when they had a golden opportunity.

Big John just didn't have the bank balance to do it. If we had got promoted in the 90s there would have been a chance of naturally scaling us up along with the new PL. But it was already too late by 2007 - well, unless we tried to do a 'Leeds' and gamble the club's future.

We waited till we were in the Championship to do that

[YorkshireRoyal99]

I thought two northern similar clubs to us are yesterday’s opponents Hull, and Huddersfield.

Similar size fan bases and admittedly Huddersfield in their early years won First Division titles but looking at it from the last 50 years, very similar. Leeds Road was like a bigger version of Elm Park but with the roof on the home “Cowshed” end.

Both clubs spending some time in the old Second Division in the 80s, but returned to their more traditional place in the Third Division, with an occasional season in the Fourth. Now with new grounds and brief flirtations with the Premier League where they were ultimately swimming against the tide, back in what is probably the club’s correct and natural order in the current football world, level 2.

For Hull (and now to a degree, Huddersfield) add in dwindling crowds over the last couple of seasons and periods of dodgy overseas ownership…

I've said that Hull are the new owners, "ambitious" owner throwing the cash about but for poor results. They could be sitting in our position in the next couple of years.

Over the last 5 seasons or so I always thought we were the Southampton of the Championship. Capable of delivering on our day, have some pretty good players but a side where you think they could easily go down and are probably the worst side in the league when not on their day. We probably have a similar standing now, but it seems to be changing ever so slightly.

[Fox Talbot]

100 years ago it would have been Swindon. Probably will be in 10 years time!

Similar geography, crowd sizes, honours, motorway. Haven’t played them competitively for 20 years - must be the longest stretch that’s never happened.

For today, I’d say Huddersfield, Preston and Watford, who are getting away from us now.

[Dirk Gently]

100 years ago it would have been Swindon. Probably will be in 10 years time!

Nope. Stadium and training facilities mean that we're forever a different scale and size of club to those who used to be our equals when we were at Elm Park - Swinedon, Poxford, Aldersh*t etc. They didn't/couldn't invest in facilities and so are perennially doomed to be tier 3/4 or below - we did and our natural level now is tier 2 with occasional forays into tier 1.

[blythspartan]

For me it’s Cardiff. I heard stories as a kid about the 1927 FA Cup Semi Final from my grandfather and since then I have paid attention to their results/progress.

For a few years they played at a higher level than us and signed Robin Friday but for the last 30 years or so our paths have been fairly similar.

[SCIAG]

QPR, because shirts are the only thing that matters in football.

[Green]

Port Vale