We could be down next weekend

[Maguire]

Really really glad I no longer have to go to West Ham on the last day.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Really really glad I no longer have to go to West Ham on the last day.

You'll miss the joy of throwing inflatables around.....

[jar95]

WE WILL BOUNCE BACK

[Royalwaster]

Can still stay up yet

Its not beyond the realms of possibility

If we can get a couple of wins with the teams around us messing up then...Its On!!!

Still have 15 points to play for with 10 points off safety as it stands

Or am i deluded?

Yes you're deluded. 5 pts would be pretty good, but anywhere close to 15 is impossible.

[Mike Hunt]

Can still stay up yet

Its not beyond the realms of possibility

If we can get a couple of wins with the teams around us messing up then...Its On!!!

Still have 15 points to play for with 10 points off safety as it stands

Or am i deluded?

Yes you're deluded. 5 pts would be pretty good, but anywhere close to 15 is impossible.

But as SDC said
Its not beyond the realms of possibility

[Mike Hunt]

Just checked the table, we need 10 points to break even with 17th.

[anR]

I'm gonna cry on the telly.

Not been supporting Reading for very long then?

Don't worry, you will get used to disappointment.

Just joshing. One of my first games Palace did us 6-1 and were doing the conga. Things have been better since then! Might not bother with Fulham and West Ham if they wanna charge us £40, mind. I'll save my energy for the Champions League Final!

[Z175]

Well, to be optimistic, theres still 9 teams in it so its more than possible 2 will go on a losing run for a few games and collapse to 37/38 points. A lot of the 7 teams above us and QPR still play each other so theres a decent chance 2 of them might finish below 40 points.

The big IF is can Reading win 4/5 games and end on 36,37 or 39 points?

We certainly improved massively at HT v Liverpool and if we are ever going to win 3 in a row it would be now, against a Norwich side with 1 league win since Christmas, the easiest game of the season at home to QPR and away to a Fulham side, who might be on a 3 game losing run having made it to 40 points and now facing Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton. If we can take 7 points of the gap by the last day of the season, it could get interesting...

But to be honest, for all our endeavour on Saturday, we don't look like we have it to win matches at this level, let alone 4 or 5! Its a bit late to discover a killer instinct 33 games in, so its unlikely.

I have a feeling theres a a too little too late final push coming though, something like:

Norwich A Draw
QPR H Win
Fulham A Win
Man City H Draw - relegated (32 points)

[Waylenstreet]

Well either I am in a parallel universe, or some others posters are.

We are down. No ifs. No buts.
And we will not bounce back next season.
We will be around fifth or sixth.
The 2014/15 season .....?
Who knows. It depends on how big the purse is, and how much it opens.
This is not disloyalty or pessimism..
Its a realistic assessment based on the way things actually are.

[St. Brynjar]

Well either I am in a parallel universe, or some others posters are.

We are down. No ifs. No buts.
And we will not bounce back next season.
We will be around fifth or sixth.
The 2014/15 season .....?
Who knows. It depends on how big the purse is, and how much it opens.
This is not disloyalty or pessimism..
Its a realistic assessment based on the way things actually are.

What's stopping us bouncing back?

[Waylenstreet]

Building a team from scratch virtually.

NB. I don't want to be right.

[Caskeys Lovechild]

Well either I am in a parallel universe, or some others posters are.

We are down. No ifs. No buts.
And we will not bounce back next season.
We will be around fifth or sixth.
The 2014/15 season .....?
Who knows. It depends on how big the purse is, and how much it opens.
This is not disloyalty or pessimism..
Its a realistic assessment based on the way things actually are.

Err...this is completely irrelevant to our chances of being promoted. In case you haven't noticed, it's rare that a big spender in the Chump gets promoted - the most important aspect in this league (and any other league really) is the manager delivering a team capable of playing as a team, and not a bunch of overpaid individuals - the team ethic will overcome any skill shortage. Then it's a case of adding quality into the club once promotion looks likely, and giving them chance to bed in (i.e. not throwing £60m at a load of individuals who won't gel into a team in just a pre-season).

[Ian Royal]

Well either I am in a parallel universe, or some others posters are.

We are down. No ifs. No buts.
And we will not bounce back next season.
We will be around fifth or sixth.
The 2014/15 season .....?
Who knows. It depends on how big the purse is, and how much it opens.
This is not disloyalty or pessimism..
Its a realistic assessment based on the way things actually are.

Err...this is completely irrelevant to our chances of being promoted. In case you haven't noticed, it's rare that a big spender in the Chump gets promoted - the most important aspect in this league (and any other league really) is the manager delivering a team capable of playing as a team, and not a bunch of overpaid individuals - the team ethic will overcome any skill shortage. Then it's a case of adding quality into the club once promotion looks likely, and giving them chance to bed in (i.e. not throwing £60m at a load of individuals who won't gel into a team in just a pre-season).

There is far more to spending than transfer fees. Have you actually looked at the graph for last season showing wages compared to league position? Spending is totally relevant to where you finish and it's the exception when you don't finish in about the right place according to your wage spending.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Yeah but you also have to remember that additional win bonuses and promotion bonuses will usually mean sides finishing at the top have the higest salary bill, particularly champ to prem.

[Waylenstreet]

Well as I said, I will be delighted to be proved wrong.

[AkpansBFF]

Id rather be relegated sooner rather than later if we ARE going down. I couldn't handle winningthe next 3 drawing with city having a good chance if we win then losing to West ham and being relegated.

[SydenhamRoyal]

Id rather be relegated sooner rather than later if we ARE going down. I couldn't handle winningthe next 3 drawing with city having a good chance if we win then losing to West ham and being relegated.

with you on that mate

[JayRoyal]

My highlight of the season would be relegating QPR and finishing above them... its all we have left really.

[Reading4eva]

I would rather get beat by QPR and then beat them twice next season. Bit like Southampton have done to us! We aren't staying up so let's just prepare for the big push next season. We have potential to win the Chump comfortably. Get to November top of the league, by 6 or 7 points and I will get excited again!

[RoyalinBracknell]

There must be a fair chance that we'll be relegated on a day when we don't actually play - such as Sat 27th or Mon 29th April (Aston Villa V Sunderland playing on that Monday.) In a sense that might be the kindest thing!