daib0

Thanks so much for your replies, to be honest I didn't expect they were going to be so positive as this on the whole. As Vital Football says "Reading on the verge of massive coup" and it certainly seems that Nigel Adkins has a different type of contacts than ex-manager Brian McDermott. On the wider scene, it looks like the Royals may well be becoming a kind of yo-yo team if we make a good campaign in the Championship next term. But in any case I'll keep looking in here, grateful for receiving me so nicely this current season lads ....

Royston Drenthe is back in the news - looks very much like he will be signing a three year contract at Reading. Here are a few articles of interest - http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/royston-drenthe-set-sign-reading-4310732 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2130173/Everton-axe-Royston-Drenthe.html http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/everton-royston-drenthe-admits-blew-1713759 http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/apr/15/royston-drenthe-everton-real-madrid So ... words of wisdom please lads, given his colourful career, what can we expect?

Brian McDermott departs Reading Finally came ... perhaps still in the job so long out of loyalty by the Russian president ... but was it too late to save the Royals? What's your opinion on a change of manager at the taoil end of the season? Quotes/Opinions from the Media: Inside Football It remains to be seen who Reading will bring in, but the new manager will have precious little time to guide the Royals to safety Irish Examiner He guided Reading back to the top flight last season for only the second time in their history but has been relieved of his duties as the club look to turn around their form in time to secure Premier League survival. San Francisco Chronicle McDermott had been in charge since 2009 and took Reading back into the Premier League. Reading says "in our current situation, owner Anton Zingarevich felt that a change was necessary." Daily Express The managerial merry-go round had already already seen casualties this season in the Premier League with Mark Hughes, Roberto Di Matteo and Nigel Adkins being given the chop. And McDermott, who for some have felt the writing has been on the wall for him, was given his P45 after a poor sequence of results. Reading Evening Post Brian McDermott has been sacked by Reading FC with Alan Curbishley the bookmakers' favourite to replace him. Joe.ie The powers that be at Reading have decided that they need a new man to help them beat the drop after parting company with Brian McDermott today. McDermott wasn’t known to be in danger of losing his job with the Royals, but speculation about his future at the club began to increase earlier today when the odds of him losing his job plummeted and betting was eventually suspended as his fate became clear. The Independent The decision, with just nine games of the season remaining, will come as a surprise. Despite Reading's difficulty on the pitch following their return to the Premier League there has been a well publicised good team-spirit at the club. And with so few games of the season remaining, any incoming manager will struggle to make a swift enough impact.

Try asking the foreigners learning English to pronounce it!

thanks Sideliner, much appreciated, especially the Reading comments, I'll tell the RR lads ...

Thanks Pete0, and congrats at breaking into the 5000-post club!!

Most teams would give an arm to be where you are though ...

A warm hello once again to all Everton fans – for those who don’t know me it’s a Royals fan 100% in peace, and I represent Reading’s ‘Royals Rendezvous’. It would be really interesting for us to have any general comments from you, like how you see the game going and general thoughts on your own team, and your (honest!) opinion of Reading. Trust me, our members love to hear what other fans have to say … These simple following ideas might be used as a very basic guide in case you’d like to write to something slightly longer, but don’t feel you need to answer a ‘shopping list’ because any (sociable!) comments are equally welcome ... A] How is your squad developing this season, which are the success stories, and what did you make of the winter transfer window this time around? B] Many had yourselves down as dark horses to break the monopoly of the usual front runners. Whilst it’s been a most solid season, a champions league place is probably just a small step too far with less than a dozen games to go, so how are your predictions as to Everton’s final placing? – and who thinks a top four slot is a fair bet on the cards next season or the following one? C] How strong do you see the premier teams around generally, for example I’m sure you’re glad to be sitting above neighbours Liverpool, WBA fairly consistent all season, and Swansea moving up a bit ... and err ... how much hope is there for the Royals considering our recent improvement but nose-dive last couple of games - please give honest answers, I’m not expecting them to be particularly positive!! Just a word on ‘Royals Rendezvous’ - we’ve always prided ourselves on large and in-depth match presentations, which largely feature on the team we are playing and not on ourselves. I hope you might all enjoy browsing it this week – http://royalsrendezv...topic/9831894/1 We go to a lot of detail! Many thanks, here’s to a good game! Any questions from yourselves, just get back on this thread ... daib0/David

"Reading FC were told to clean out the dead insects and cobwebs in a drinks area. In our defence, it's been a while since we had to get out the good plates and glasses!"

What health inspectors found at Premier League football grounds Daily Echo Mice, uncooked chicken and out of date turkey are just some of the hygiene nasties that health inspectors have discovered at Premier League football grounds. The two most recent environmental reports from teams in the top tier of English football have revealed some surprising findings. An inspection of Manchester United's stadium Old Trafford discovered that the club has previously had to deal with the presence of rodents. The report, which also found a broken tap and flaking pipework, instructed them to "continue to monitor and react to the mouse activity". At St Mary’s Stadium, home of the Saints, Southampton were instructed to clean one of their ceilings, refill a soap dispenser and sort out a gap in a floor which provided potential access for pests. The information, which was obtained through Freedom of Information requests, also highlighted some other interesting discoveries. Swansea City were guilty of serving ready cooked chicken that was still pink, leaving an open packet of ham in a kitchen and allowing some pate to go out of date. At Fulham's ground, Craven Cottage, an open box of bread rolls was left out under a wash basin, while Reading FC were told to clean out the dead insects and cobwebs in a drinks area. But for many other teams in the league, such as Aston Villa, Wigan, QPR and West Ham, it was just smaller issues such as temperature control and general cleaning that were highlighted. And reigning champions Manchester City were given top marks, with the inspector writing there was "very good hygiene standards in place". In response to the report Manchester United said they had a "robust pest control system" and that if any incidents do occur they take "immediate and appropriate action". HOW THE CLUBS FARED: Arsenal - The London club scored top marks with inspectors with no contraventions of legislation witnessed; Aston Villa - The Villains were picked up on maintaining temperature control, a lack of water being provided to certain units and a leaking drain pipe; Chelsea - Health inspectors detailed how out of date turkey saddles were almost served, how frozen pies were not correctly labelled and also expressed concerns about the sale stockpot. But it seems the warning was taken, as a follow up inspection recorded hygiene being generally excellent; Everton - High standards of food hygiene and safety were noted by the inspectors; Fulham - Areas of concern shared with Fulham included an open box of bread rolls under a basin, a hole in a wall which could have given access to pests, and a pair of rusty scissors; Liverpool - Like their Merseyside neighbours, Liverpool showed good standards and procedures; Manchester City - The Premier League champions were noted for their very good standards and no action was required; Manchester Utd - The Red Devils were criticised for flaking paintwork and concerns were raised about the presence of rodents, with the report instructing the club to continue to monitor and react to the mouse activity; Newcastle United - No problems were discovered by inspectors at St James's Park with good standards observed; Norwich City - no response; Queens Park Rangers - A few minor problems were found at Loftus Road such as a few loose taps, no hot water to a hand basin and low lighting in certain areas; Reading - Health inspectors found dead insects and cobwebs at the Madejski Stadium, which they instructed the club to clean away, as well as a hole in a ceiling and rubbish behind the PG Tips table; Southampton - Southampton were instructed to clean one of their ceilings, refill a soap dispenser and sort out a gap in a floor which provided potential access for pests; Stoke City - The Potters were told to clean a dirty vacuum packer and take action on some pouches for vacuum packing that were stored in a dirty box; Sunderland - The inspection found the Stadium of Light to comply with hygiene and food legislation; Swansea City - Some of the issues highlighted by the reports included chicken being served that was still pink, out of date watercress, out of date pate and an open packet of cooked ham left in a kitchen; Tottenham Hotspur - Tottenham scored well in the report with food hygiene being recorded as well managed; :: West Bromwich Albion - Top marks for West Brom as hygiene standards were recorded as being very high; West Ham United - Not many problems were discovered at Upton Park with inspectors just instructing some extractor filters to be cleaned and to replace a missing ceiling tile; Wigan Athletic - High standards were noted at Wigan with the report just telling them to ensure temperatures were recorded properly

Finally ... and do give your comments later! FORUM SCORES (AVERAGES PER MEMBER ENTRY) IN ORDER OF EXCELLENCE - The ‘Forum’ Competition ... remember, it was a minimum of 5 entries required to qualify! Gold Nottm Forest – The A Block – 8.80 Silver QPR – Loft for Words – 8.71 Bronze Liverpool – Kopworld – 7.78 Diploma of Honour I Barnet – The Beehive – 7.50 Diploma of Honour II Peterborough – The Posh Forum – 7.60 then, in order ... Fulham – Friends of Fulham - 7.10 Cardiff – Cardiff City Forum – 6.89 Wolves – Molineux Mix – 6.88 Burnley – The Longside 6.83 Stevenage – Boro Chat – 6.83 Leeds Utd – LUFC Talk – 6.70 Norwich – Not 606 Norwich Board 6.66 Hemel Hempstead - Tudor Talk – 6.60 QPR – Not 606 QPR Board 6.60 Man Utd – United Lounge 6.55 Doncaster – Viking Chat – 6.52 Leicester – Foxes Talk – 6.50 Sunderland – Black Cat Chat – 6.43 Newcastle – Toon Forum – 6.40 Watford – WFC Forums – 6.40 Derby – DCFC Fans – 6.33 Reading – Royals Rendezvous – 6.31 W.B.A. – BaggiesZone – 6.22 Brighton – North Stand Chat - 5.83 Barnsley – Talk of the Tarn - 5.82 Coventry – Sky Blue Talk - 5.69 Blackpool – Back Henry Street 5.50 Everton – Toffee Talk – 5.17 West Ham – Cockney Boys – 5.17 Man City – MCFC Forum – 5.00 Hereford – Bulls Banter – 4.60 Wigan – This Northern Soul – 4.02 Off-the-record praise too for Tottenham’s ‘Tottenham Hotspur Unofficial Supporters Site’ who didn’t get to the minimum 5 entries required for the forum part, but who would have probably been right up there had they achieved a couple more ... I’d like to take the opportunity to say ALL these forums in the fun competition are genuinely good for chat/banter, so if any of you are looking to get the opposition fan point of view during the rest of the season, do look to these first!! I am signed up to all of them, so can vouch first-hand that these forums appear the best sites to me for the clubs that they represent ... and even a little plug is in place to Royals Rendezvous as the organizers of the game, who with a large moderation team of a dozen do certainly open their arms out to all fans of all clubs! Unfortunately, I’m on an international (music) tour in the period leading up to and including the 4th Round so probably won’t have the mountain of hours necessary to do this task next round, and the 5th Round we never do it because we will hardly see any surprises, so ... here’s to the 1st Round next season !!

I'm happy to announce ... NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS - Overall Competition winners (individual) Here goes then ..... remember that we use alphabetical order on entries of the same number of points ... 16 POINTS – NATIONAL GOLD MEDAL (A FANTASTIC Achievement, the overall winner from more than 300 entrants!!) Paco (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) 15 POINTS – NATIONAL SILVER MEDAL (EXCELLENT) Mo55y (Derby – DCFC Fans ) Telford_QPR (QPR - Loft for Words) 14 POINTS – NATIONAL BRONZE MEDALS (VERY GOOD) MrBones1986 (Leeds Utd – LUFC Talk) Sliced-bread-no2 (Liverpool – Kopworld) 13 POINTS – Diplomas of Honour I (GOOD) Foxxinator (Reading – Royals Rendezvous/Administrator) Mikel Bee (Barnet – The Beehive) 12 POINTS – Diplomas of Honour II (MERIT) Donnynorthbranchdave (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Fatter than Fleck (Norwich - Not 606 Norwich Board) NGTwo (Nottm Forest – The A Block/Administrator) 11 POINTS 18longleeds (Leeds Utd – LUFC Talk) Amirah (Man Utd – United Lounge) AndoverPoshFan (Peterborough – Posh Forum) Bristol Red Rover (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Capt. Trump (Burnley – The Longside) Cmonyouspurs (Tottenham – Tottenham Hotspurs Unofficial Supporters Site) coffswolf (Wolves – Molineux Mix) Data (Sunderland – Black Cat Chat) halesowen wolf (Burnley – The Longside) Hayes (Reading – Royals Rendezvous/Moderator) Kaiser_soze (Brighton – North Stand Chat) KK73 (Liverpool – Kopworld) Nicho (Liverpool – Kopworld) Pasty (Brighton – North Stand Chat) Paxtonwolf (Tottenham – Tottenham Hotspurs Unofficial Supporters Site) Pecky10 (Leeds Utd – LUFC Talk) QBlock87 (Blackpool – Back Henry Street) Quinney (Brighton – North Stand Chat) PoshBoyFirst (Peterborough – Posh Forum) Rangers4Ever (QPR - Loft for Words) Scrooge McDuck (Leicester – Foxes Talk) Sheepskin Junior (Fulham - Friends of Fulham) Sky Blues (Coventry – Sky Blue Talk) Tangerine77 (Blackpool – Back Henry Street) The Pozzman (Watford – WFC Forums) Watford_R (QPR - Not 606 QPR board) We8wba (Wolves – Molineux Mix) wolvo boi (Wolves – Molineux Mix) 10 POINTS Baggiebabe (WBA – BaggiesZone) Baarmy_Bluebird (Cardiff – Cardiff City Forum) Bucks Blue (QPR - Not 606 QPR board) Casual (Cardiff – Cardiff City Forum) Cheffy007 (Leeds Utd – LUFC Talk) Chris (Doncaster – Viking Chat) CumbrianRam (Derby – DCFC Fans ) Cusworth Rovers (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Dante (Man Utd – United Lounge) eastcoastred (Nottm Forest – The A Block/moderator) Elgreenio (Fulham - Friends of Fulham) gazzah100 (Watford – WFC Forums) Hoolahoop (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Jerseytyke (Barnsley – Talk of the Tarn) Jigsore (QPR - Loft for Words) JoshBee (Barnet – The Beehive) Minty Fresh (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) Paulio (Stevenage – Boro Chat) Pea (Reading – Royals Rendezvous/Administrator) Rabit71 (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) rdell (Stevenage – Boro Chat) Rhys Lighting 63 (Fulham - Friends of Fulham) Rolling Stone (QPR - Not 606 QPR board) Sammy’s First Touch (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) SloveniaDave (Crystal Palace – Holmesdale) snibbo (Fulham - Friends of Fulham) Tettenhall Hotspur (Tottenham – Tottenham Hotspurs Unofficial Supporters Site) The Dream Boat (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) Togwen (Nottm Forest – The A Block) Woodbine (Barnsley – Talk of the Tarn) 9 POINTS AbbieNormal (West Ham – Cockney Boys) Adher36 (Barnet – The Beehive) Batfloke (Reading – Royals Rendezvous/Assistant) boroboy98s bodydouble (Stevenage – Boro Chat) Conkers (Brighton – North Stand Chat) daib0 (Reading – Royals Rendezvous/moderator-contributor) Dalziel Kane (Everton – Toffee Talk) Dange (Cardiff – Cardiff City Forum) Dazz19 (Norwich - Not 606 Norwich Board) Dominoid (Brighton – North Stand Chat) Doylinho (Watford – WFC Forums) Firework-Kid (Blackpool – Back Henry Street) Gene Hunt (Man City – MCFC Forum/moderator) Howeynufc (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) Janbha (Brighton – North Stand Chat) Joshy (WBA – BaggiesZone) Killer (WBA – BaggiesZone) kingoffootball (Barnet – The Beehive) Lofty3rgj (Crystal Palace – Holmesdale) Mike0 (Everton – Toffee Talk) Mottinghammer (West Ham – Cockney Boys) Mr1Croft (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Olivavu (Liverpool – Kopworld) Oslorovers (Doncaster – Viking Chat) RockStar (WBA – BaggiesZone) Secret Ranger (QPR - Not 606 QPR board) Stss30 (Brighton – North Stand Chat) Tapper (Hemel Hempstead – Tudor Talk) Tommy (Fulham - Friends of Fulham) trevor I (Independent fan supporting Stevenage) wx (Hereford – Bulls Banter) 8 POINTS AL___AAHIL (Liverpool – Kopworld) Aus Fox (Leicester – Foxes Talk) Becs (Sunderland – Black Cat Chat/administrator) Covstu (Coventry – Sky Blue Talk) Dodadug (Leicester – Foxes Talk) DRFC-PERKINS (Doncaster – Viking Chat) EaststandLower (Barnsley – Talk of the Tarn) Eloden (Watford – WFC Forums) Fox92 (Leicester – Foxes Talk) Gregory2,Smith1 (Brighton – North Stand Chat) Harry-LCFC (Leicester – Foxes Talk) johnnysnozzle (Gillingham – Gills Connect) NorthernR (QPR - Loft for Words/administrator) RedJ (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Ryhilltyke (Barnsley – Talk of the Tarn) SmokinPool (Blackpool – Back Henry Street) TJR_NUFC (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) WeStillBelieve (Barnet – The Beehive) 7 POINTS AttunLatot (Man City – MCFC Forum/moderator) Azureus (Crystal Palace – Holmesdale) Cbrad (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) BigDonga (Liverpool – Kopworld) DCFCfranco (Derby – DCFC Fans ) foreverclaret (Burnley – The Longside) Elliot Hutchings (Crystal Palace – Holmesdale) GR8 APE - (WBA – BaggiesZone) Jiggers The Fox (Leicester – Foxes Talk) kev (Peterborough – Posh Forum) McStein (Wolves – Molineux Mix) mitchemelhammer (Hemel Hempstead – Tudor Talk) Phildavies (Cardiff – Cardiff City Forum) Ponty72 (Barnsley – Talk of the Tarn) RandSta (Brighton – North Stand Chat) Redkev222 (Nottm Forest – The A Block) RobTheRover (Doncaster – Viking Chat) steve (Hemel Hempstead – Tudor Talk) Swissqpr (QPR - Loft for Words) Tykleton (Barnsley – Talk of the Tarn) 6 POINTS 1879Rovers (Doncaster – Viking Chat) AcidHippo (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum/moderator) AlanEagle1 (Crystal Palace – Holmesdale) bluebird123 (Cardiff – Cardiff City Forum) China canary (Norwich - Not 606 Norwich Board) Clive_ofthe_Cassiobury (Watford – WFC Forums) CurryForMario (Fulham - Friends of Fulham) davenportram (Derby – DCFC Fans /moderator) fulham pete (Fulham - Friends of Fulham) Gloster Wolf (Wolves – Molineux Mix) goldcoast hoop (QPR - Not 606 QPR board) I’m With Colo (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) James (Gillingham – Gills Connect) James 3rd (Gillingham – Gills Connect) Joe Wallsend (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Marc (Hemel Hempstead – Tudor Talk) marcus leong (Man Utd – United Lounge) monkey (Sunderland – Black Cat Chat) Mr Tazo (Crystal Palace – Holmesdale) Nickgusset (Crystal Palace – Holmesdale) Old Wolf (Wigan – This Northern Soul) Ole (Man Utd – United Lounge) Pommyhoop (QPR - Loft for Words) Queenslander!! (QPR - Not 606 QPR board) ROVERSBELLY (Doncaster – Viking Chat) seasider (Blackpool – Back Henry Street/administrator) SH21bluebird (Cardiff – Cardiff City Forum) sheppertonurz (Reading – Royals Rendezvous) Sir Keith Longbottom (Huddersfield – Down at the Mac) Slightly Dangerous (Burnley – The Longside) Ste Farrow (Man Utd – United Lounge) sniperwolf4LittleMix (Liverpool – Kopworld) splottbluebird (Cardiff – Cardiff City Forum) Tangerineisreem (Blackpool – Back Henry Street) The Red Baron (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Topcat (Crystal Palace – Holmesdale) wi-exile (Norwich - Not 606 Norwich Board) Jedi-Master-Yoda (Blackpool – Back Henry Street) 5 POINTS +15 (Leeds Utd – LUFC Talk/moderator) Alpha Signia (Derby – DCFC Fans ) AnimalisaRam (Derby – DCFC Fans ) Avenkat (Man Utd – United Lounge) Baggieboy1212 (WBA – BaggiesZone) Bert (Leicester – Foxes Talk) Campo (West Ham – Cockney Boys) Clyde1998 (Reading – Royals Rendezvous/Assistant) colin cramb (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Cranky (Brighton – North Stand Chat) Cyaninternetdog (Watford – WFC Forums) daddyreddog (Nottm Forest – The A Block/moderator) Darren1927 (Cardiff – Cardiff City Forum) Dickos1 (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Enterthefrei (Fulham - Friends of Fulham) Fearthainn (Everton – Toffee Talk) Foggy (Blackpool – Back Henry Street) Gordon Ottershaw (Barnsley – Talk of the Tarn) Harrow Orn (Watford – WFC Forums) Hiveoccupier (Barnet – The Beehive) Imaz (QPR - Not 606 QPR board) irchywolf (Wolves – Molineux Mix) Jezza (Chelsea – Chelsea FC Forums) kriebstein (Crystal Palace – Holmesdale) Listerano (Blackpool – Back Henry Street) Maestro (Norwich - Not 606 Norwich Board/moderator) MattBackHome - (Brighton – North Stand Chat) posh22utp (Peterborough – Posh Forum) RedSte (Man Utd – United Lounge/Administrator) remembercolinlee (QPR - Not 606 QPR board) robertbrian23 (Man Utd – United Lounge) Robin Shroot's Bathwater (Stevenage – Boro Chat) Royal Crisp (Reading - Royals Rendezvous/moderator) Ruralbull (Hereford – Bulls Banter) Shaolinpunk (Brighton – North Stand Chat) sheepy (Leeds Utd – LUFC Talk/administrator) Spongy (Brighton – North Stand Chat) Swanleygill (Gillingham – Gills Connect) TheLittleGeordie (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) Towers (Sunderland – Black Cat Chat) Why aye Cabaye (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) 4 POINTS AbsolutelyGlorious (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) accessory (Leicester – Foxes Talk) Ameobi's Apprentice (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) Ashman (Peterborough – Posh Forum) Bar Staff (Wigan – This Northern Soul) billy hunt - (Man City – MCFC Forum) Bob! (Brighton – North Stand Chat) BuBba (Chelsea – Chelsea FC Forums) Cal (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) CanadaRanger (QPR - Loft for Words) Erick1011 (Wolves – Molineux Mix) Ex Landlord (Hereford – Bulls Banter) Finchleyman (Barnet – The Beehive) fox in the box (Watford – WFC Forums) Gazwag (Brighton – North Stand Chat) Griff (Wigan – This Northern Soul) Hakuna Matata (Sunderland – Black Cat Chat/organizer) J_Zincke (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Jiggs (West Ham – Cockney Boys) Leicester Ram (Derby – DCFC Fans ) Little Ape (WBA – BaggiesZone) louise_a (Blackpool – Back Henry Street/Moderator) MachoMadness (Doncaster – Viking Chat) MarioKempes (Barnsley – Talk of the Tarn) Mark DRFC (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Matt (Man Utd – United Lounge) Number_13 (Reading – Royals Rendezvous/Assistant) RoyalJoe (Reading – Royals Rendezvous/Assistant) Rubecula (Everton – Toffee Talk) Sev (Stevenage – Boro Chat) Super Ted (Wolves – Molineux Mix) The Johnson (Leeds Utd – LUFC Talk/moderator) Thepompeytudor (Hemel Hempstead – Tudor Talk) Tufty (Sunderland – Black Cat Chat) WeWillBeBack (Coventry – Sky Blue Talk) Wildheart (Wigan – This Northern Soul) Withdeanwombat (Brighton – North Stand Chat) You can call me Yo (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) 3 POINTS 11car100 (Derby – DCFC Fans ) 99mph (Watford – WFC Forums) Alfie (Burnley – The Longside) American Tangerine (Blackpool – Back Henry Street) Archey (Barnsley – Talk of the Tarn) bimblelass (Man City – MCFC Forum/moderator) Blackpool Ger (Blackpool – Back Henry Street) Bluebird1977 (Cardiff – Cardiff City Forum) Bobthebroker (Blackpool – Back Henry Street) Byethecrin (Wigan – This Northern Soul) captainhazza (Hereford – Bulls Banter) Davideduck (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) Durlston (Brighton – North Stand Chat) GingerBeerMan (Brighton – North Stand Chat) GoldenHorseshoe (Wolves – Molineux Mix) Horn Pete (Watford – WFC Forums) Hutch1972 (Coventry – Sky Blue Talk) Isaidno (Leicester – Foxes Talk) I want curly hair too (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) jj-hill82 (Burnley – The Longside) Keepmoatman (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Marlon (Barnsley – Talk of the Tarn) MR-DD (Blackpool – Back Henry Street/Moderator) Pete0 (Everton – Toffee Talk) Scooter (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Sooperhoop (QPR - Not 606 QPR board) SouthernFriedChicken (Stevenage – Boro Chat) SS53_ (Blackpool – Back Henry Street) StanSP (Leicester – Foxes Talk) Stoneham Park (Brighton – North Stand Chat) Sue (WBA – BaggiesZone) TheJasperCo (Brighton – North Stand Chat) Wigan White (Leeds Utd – LUFC Talk) Ulverstoon (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) 2 POINTS Admin (West Ham – Cockney Boys) beeman (Barnet – The Beehive) bentent (Blackpool – Back Henry Street/moderator) Blue Wolf (Man City – MCFC Forum/administrator) Camb-Royal (Reading – Royals Rendezvous) Canary_dave (Norwich - Not 606 Norwich Board/moderator) Chas Hammer (West Ham – Cockney Boys) Eddie C (Liverpool – Kopworld/administrator) FuzzyDuck (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Gilford (NI) Whites - (Leeds Utd – LUFC Talk) genre b. good (Brighton – North Stand Chat) Guy Fawkes (Brighton – North Stand Chat) Jamer99 (Hereford – Bulls Banter) jcallen29 (Liverpool – Kopworld) jourdan (Derby – DCFC Fans ) Martin B (Doncaster – Viking Chat) Pete (Reading – Royals Rendezvous) SaffronWaldenWhite (Leeds Utd – LUFC Talk) SalfordWhite (Fulham - Friends of Fulham) The Daddy (Fulham - Friends of Fulham) Whim (Brighton – North Stand Chat) Wingy (Coventry – Sky Blue Talk) xxkristofxx (Reading – Royals Rendezvous) 1 POINT (Wooden Spoons!) BMoreUnitedFan (Man Utd – United Lounge) Bruce (Barnsley – Talk of the Tarn) KingoStarr (Newcastle Utd - Toon Forum) Peter H (Everton – Toffee Talk) Seagullhoop (QPR - Not 606 QPR board) 0 POINTS no-one ... For COMPLETE and DETAILED individual score break-downs on every match prediction from every forum entrant please refer to the Reading forum - Royals Rendezvous detailed scores: http://royalsrendezv...topic/9794689/1 STILL THE FORUM COMPETITION RESULTS TO COME !!

I know what you mean if you look at it from a top professional angle. But we did this over the last couple of seasons by trial and error (this is the 4th game now) and the smaller clubs' fans told us "yes, there is great prestige for us in holding a big club to a draw" - and also enriches the points system available with more possibilities counting for notching up points; believe us, it seems to be going well now. So we decided it's also valid to acknowledge the near big upsets (= which turn out draws I mean) ... Anyway, it's only a game!!

Here are the individual results for the Everton ‘Toffee Talk’ Forum, which I am able to forward now as no-one here has decided to include the game scheduled for Monday. However, I won’t be able to give you any ‘NATIONAL’ results until after the Monday night game! Dalziel Kane – 9 POINTS [Everton Forum Gold Medallist (shared)] Aston Villa (EPL) VS Ipswich Town (championship league) --- Crystal Palace (championship league) VS Stoke City (EPL) (Draw = 1 POINT) Luton Town (conference premier) VS Wolverhampton (championship league) (Luton win 1-0, so 3 POINTS, doubled for tier difference = 6 pts) Bolton (championship league) VS Sunderland (EPL) (Draw = 1 POINT) Sheffield Wednesday (championship) vs Milton Keynes (League One) (Draw = 1 POINT) Mike0 – 9 POINTS [Everton Forum Gold Medallist (shared)] Brighton (CH) V Newcastle (PR) (Brighton win 2-0, so 3 POINTS) Peterborough (CH) V Norwich (PR) --- ** Crawley (L1) V Reading (PR) --- ** Luton (CPr) V Wolves (CH) (Luton win 1-0, so 3 POINTS, doubled for greater tier difference = 6 pts) Oxford Utd (L2) V Sheff Utd (L1) --- Fearthainn – 5 POINTS [Everton Forum Silver Medallist] ** Mansfield (CPr) V Liverpool (PR) --- Fulham (PR) V Blackpool (CH) (Draw = 1 POINT) Brighton (CH) V Newcastle (PR) (Brighton win 2-0, so 3 POINTS) Crystal Palace (CH) V Stoke (PR) (Draw = 1 POINT) ** Crawley (L1) V Reading (PR) --- Rubecula – 4 POINTS [Everton Forum Bronze Medallist] Brighton (CH) V Newcastle (PR) (Brighton win 2-0, so 3 POINTS) ** Crawley (L1) V Reading (PR) --- Derby (CH) V Tranmere (L1) --- Oxford Utd (L2) V Sheff Utd (L1) --- Sheff Wed (CH) V MK Dons (L1) (Draw = 1 POINT) Pete0 – 3 POINTS ToffeeTalk – Everton (entry via RR) Brighton (CH) V Newcastle (PR) (Brighton win 2-0, so 3 POINTS) Aston Villa (PR) V Ipswich (CH) --- Crawley (L1) V Reading (PR) --- Oxford Utd (L2) V Sheff Utd (L1) --- ** Tottenham (PR) V Coventry (L1) … Peter H – 1 POINT Villa-Ipswich --- Bolton-Sunderland (Draw = 1 POINT) Peterborough-Norwich --- Millwall-Preston --- Derby-Tranmere --- FORUM AVERAGE = 5.17 POINTS, modest in comparison to many other forums, and Nottm Forest like like having done a flyer in the team formation, but hey, this is only a game … Congratulations to Dalziel Kane and Mike0, your outright winners, but above all a big thanks to everyone taking part ... Tune in here for the final news – there are many, many other scores on other forums! The BIG report later … daib0/David

Entry deadline has now passed – no new entries please … GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!

TEAM FORUM STATS Update - Entry Stats by Overall Forums – Friday evening A) Forums who have passed the minimum 5 entries needed to have a forum entry besides the individual scores ... BRIGHTON - North Stand Chat 20 DONCASTER - Viking Chat 20 NEWCASTLE - The Toon Forum 19 BLACKPOOL - Back Henry Street 14 READING – Royals Rendezvous 13 FULHAM - Friends of Fulham 11 BARNSLEY - Talk of the Tarn 11 LEICESTER - Foxes Talk 10 LEEDS UTD - LUFC Talk 10 MAN UTD - United Lounge 10 WATFORD - WFC Forums 10 CARDIFF - The Cardiff City Forum 9 QPR - Not 606 QPR board 8 WOLVES - Molineux Mix 7 BARNET - The Beehive 7 DERBY - DCFC Fans Forum 7 LIVERPOOL - Kopworld 8 WBA - BaggiesZone 6 STEVENAGE - Boro Chat 6 BURNLEY - The Longside 6 CRYSTAL PALACE - Holmesdale 6 PETERBOROUGH - The Posh Forum 5 WEST HAM - Cockney Boys 5 EVERTON - Toffee Talk 5 SUNDERLAND - Black Cat Chat 5 NORWICH - Not 606 Norwich board 5 MAN CITY - MCFC Forum 5 COVENTRY - Sky Blue Talk 5 WIGAN - This Northern Soul 5 Entries with individual replies which of course all count, but not yet 5 entries for the forum averages NOTTM FOREST - The A Block 4 QPR - Loft for Words 3 GILLINGHAM - Gills Connect 3 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD - Tudor Talk 3 CHELSEA - Chelsea FC Forums 2 TOTTENHAM - Tottenham Hotspur Unofficial Supporters Site 3 HEREFORD - Bulls Banter 1 HUDDERSFIELD - Down at the Mac 1 Individual Fans or those without Forum invite connection Stevenage – 1 Liverpool – 1 TOTAL entries: 275 Deadline for entries: 12.00 noon TOMORROW (Saturday). Remember that the first cup game - Brighton v Newcastle kicks-off at 12.30pm, so no asking me please to accept late entries!!

Update - Entry Stats by Overall Forums – Wednesday evening A) Forums who have passed the minimum 5 entries needed to have a forum entry besides the individual scores ... NEWCASTLE - The Toon Forum 19 BRIGHTON - North Stand Chat 17 BLACKPOOL - Back Henry Street 12 BARNSLEY - Talk of the Tarn 11 READING – Royals Rendezvous 11 LEICESTER - Foxes Talk 10 LEEDS UTD - LUFC Talk 10 QPR - Not 606 QPR board 8 DONCASTER - Viking Chat 8 BARNET - The Beehive 7 DERBY - DCFC Fans Forum 7 MAN UTD - United Lounge 7 LIVERPOOL - Kopworld 7 STEVENAGE - Boro Chat 6 BURNLEY - The Longside 6 CARDIFF - The Cardiff City Forum 6 WATFORD - WFC Forums 5 MAN CITY - MCFC Forum 5 COVENTRY - Sky Blue Talk 5 Entries with individual replies which of course all count, but not yet 5 entries for the forum averages EVERTON - Toffee Talk 4 (you're nearly at 'magic' 5 now!!) CRYSTAL PALACE - Holmesdale 4 SUNDERLAND - Black Cat Chat 4 FULHAM - Friends of Fulham 4 WEST HAM - Cockney Boys 4 NOTTM FOREST - The A Block 4 WBA - BaggiesZone 3 QPR - Loft for Words 3 GILLINGHAM - Gills Connect 3 WOLVES - Molineux Mix 3 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD - Tudor Talk 3 PETERBOROUGH - The Posh Forum 3 WIGAN - This Northern Soul 2 CHELSEA - Chelsea FC Forums 2 TOTTENHAM - Tottenham Hotspur Unofficial Supporters Site 2 NORWICH - Not 606 Norwich board 3 HEREFORD - Bulls Banter 1 HUDDERSFIELD - Down at the Mac 1 Individual Fans without a Forum connection Stevenage – 1 TOTAL entries: 218 Next Update Friday night ...

Entry Stats by Overall Forums A) Forums who have passed the minimum 5 entries needed to have a forum entry besides the individual scores ... NEWCASTLE - The Toon Forum 12 BARNSLEY - Talk of the Tarn 11 BRIGHTON - North Stand Chat 9 DONCASTER - Viking Chat 8 READING – Royals Rendezvous 7 BARNET - The Beehive 6 BLACKPOOL - Back Henry Street 5 LEICESTER - Foxes Chat 5 COVENTRY - Sky Blue Talk 5 Entries with individual replies, but not yet 5 entries for the forum averages MAN UTD - United Lounge 4 LEEDS UTD - LUFC Talk 3 HEMEL HEMPSTEAD - Tudor Talk 3 STEVENAGE - Boro Chat 2 FULHAM - Friends of Fulham 2 LIVERPOOL - Kopworld 2 QPR - Loft for Words 2 WEST HAM - Cockney Boys 2 CARDIFF - The Cardiff City Forum 2 DERBY - DCFC Fans Forum 1 SUNDERLAND - Black Cat Chat 1 GILLINGHAM - Gills Connect 1 HEREFORD - Bulls Banter 1 CHELSEA - Chelsea FC Forums 1 EVERTON - Toffee Talk 1 HUDDERSFIELD - Down at the Mac 1 QPR - Not 606 QPR board 1 WBA - BaggiesZone 1 CRYSTAL PALACE - Holmesdale 1 WATFORD - WFC Forums 1 WOLVES - Molineux Mix 1 C) Forums without replies yet – still a number of them! Individual Fans Stevenage - 1

My 5 choices to get the ball rolling: ** Crawley (L1) V Reading (PR) Crystal Palace (CH) V Stoke (PR) ** Luton (CPr) V Wolves (CH) Sheff Wed (CH) V MK Dons (L1) Southend (L2) V Brentford (L1) That’s all you have to do! – just copy and paste your 5 potential upsets. We’ll do the rest. Updates will be made daily or almost daily on each forum…

Inter-forum FA Cup Upsets Game (3rd Rd) One-off Weekend Game Happy new year guys and lasses! Have fun on the FA Cup Upsets game - this is now becoming a well-loved feature! For the 2nd Round we had over 120 entries, and 21 forums finally took part – amazing, but let’s beat that this time! And it’s dead easy to play, and it’s open absolutely to all … Have a look at the paired teams for the 3rd Round on the following post - there are Premier, championship, League 1, League 2, Conference (Blue Square) Premier and even lower included on the list below. I'd like to invite you to call for FIVE matches where you see a possible upset on the cards! By upset, it must obviously be a lower league side winning (or at least drawing) against a higher league side. You haven't got to give any score at all or call a draw or win, simply guess which will be the successful 'lower tier club' or ‘minnow’ teams on the day! If you get it wrong doesn’t matter at all, you simply don’t get awarded points for that game or games – and will surely apply to all of us in some of the games. So … how do you get points? If in your selected games a lower league side does indeed win you have 3 points. If the lower league side force a replay then it is 1 point (doesn’t matter if they later lose the replay, just the initial game is taken into account). But ... bonus - if you choose a real ‘upset’ – a team from a league TWO tiers OR MORE lower than their opponents (according to the levels below) then those points are DOUBLED. This is the real betting man's stuff - the more you risk with tier difference the more points you get, but there again, an upset is much less likely!! So you need to weigh things up!! To help you, see the leagues written in after each team (in next post) to make an easier selection: PR = premier league CH = championship L1 = League Division 1 L2 = League Division 2 CPr = Conference Premier C-Lwr = lower than Conference premier level ** as an extra help, two tier (or more) differences are shown with double asterisks. THE GAMES TO CHOOSE FROM: Sat 5 Jan 2013 Brighton (CH) V Newcastle (PR) Aldershot (L2) V Rotherham (L2) (prediction not valid; two teams from same league!) Aston Villa (PR) V Ipswich (CH) Barnsley (CH) V Burnley (CH) (prediction not valid; two teams from same league!) ** Macclesfield (CPr) V Cardiff (CH) Blackburn (CH) V Bristol City (CH) (prediction not valid; two teams from same league!) Bolton (CH) V Sunderland (PR) Charlton (CH) V Huddersfield (CH) (prediction not valid; two teams from same league!) ** Crawley (L1) V Reading (PR) Crystal Palace (CH) V Stoke (PR) Derby (CH) V Tranmere (L1) Fulham (PR) V Blackpool (CH) Hull (CH) V Leyton Orient (L1) Leeds United (CH) V Birmingham (CH) (prediction not valid; two teams from same league!) ** Leicester (CH) V Burton Albion (L2) ** Luton (CPr) V Wolves (CH) Man City (PR) V Watford (CH) ** Middlesbrough (CH) V Hastings Utd (C-Lwr) Millwall (CH) V Preston (L1) Nottm Forest (CH) V Oldham (L1) Oxford Utd (L2) V Sheff Utd (L1) Peterborough (CH) V Norwich (PR) QPR (PR) V West Brom (PR) (prediction not valid; two teams from same league!) Sheff Wed (CH) V MK Dons (L1) Southampton (PR) V Chelsea (PR) (prediction not valid; two teams from same league!) Southend (L2) V Brentford (L1) ** Tottenham (PR) V Coventry (L1) ** Wigan (PR) V Bournemouth (L1) West Ham (PR) V Man Utd (PR) (prediction not valid; two teams from same league!) Sunday 6th January 2013 Swansea (PR) V Arsenal (PR) (prediction not valid; two teams from same league!) ** Mansfield (CPr) V Liverpool (PR) Monday 7th January 2013 ** Cheltenham (L2) V Everton (PR) Honorary prizes: gold medal/s, silver medal/s, bronze medal/s and diploma/s of honour, for all those on the highest points totals. You play at both an individual level – for personal glory! – and for your forum; forums will be also be classed according to the average mark of its posters (but a minimum of 5 entries is required of each forum to make this a fair average). How did the 2nd Round go? – the overall winner was Disorganised1 of the Coventry – Sky Blue Talk (incredible, scooping maximum points available as well!), with the runners-ups Royal Crisp (Reading - Royals Rendezvous) and Rhys Lighting 63 (Fulham – Friends of Fulham) also doing excellently. There were quite a group in the bronze position … Top team forum boards were the Hemel Hempstead – Tudor Talk, followed by runners-up Barnet – The Beehive, 3rd Manchester City – MCFC Forum, 4th Swansea – Planet Swans and then in 5th spot my own board Royals Rendezvous. Have fun - answers on this thread please – remember to simply name FIVE games where an upset might occur in your opinion (and please you all five options up, it’s in your and your forum’s interest!). CAREFUL closing time: 11.59am SATURDAY mid-day - that's because the Brighton v Newcastle game kicks off at 12.30 pm, and I need over half-an-hour of checking grace. Points and placings for this one-off weekend game will be published within 48 hours of the last game of the round to be played (Wednesday latest). In case of postponement, sorry, bad luck, you lose that game – but in case of abandonment we take the score at stopping moment as valid … A complete record of everyone entering from every forum will be found here, and later every score total and break-down too: http://royalsrendezv...topic/9794689/1 daib0

I feel a bit uncomfortable coming on here at all after the match, but it's certainly not to gloat. I wasn't there in person, but by all accounts Reading didn't deserve to do an escape act after a woeful first half and poor refereeing decisions. The guys on Royals Rendezvous are every bit as surprised as you are. Of course, the Royals needed a win desperately, otherwise the doom would be mounting up and manager out gossip appearing in ever greater quantity. I still believe Everton are on for a really excellent season. Thanks for putting up with me this week, it's been great getting to know some of you, and you've got a friendly welcome awaiting on Royals Rendezvous in case any fancy a browse around ...

Check out these then!! http://www.footballmemories.org.uk/memories/clubs/94-reading/164-steven-hill (written by RR member) http://www.footballmemories.org.uk/memories/clubs/94-reading/175-daniel-doe

Reading FC Official Site Olympic Visitors http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article/olympic-visitors-151112-487796.aspx Royals to welcome members of Team GB. This weekend Reading Football Club will be hosting a special group of visitors, as a selection of Team GB Olympians head down to Madejski Stadium to watch the Barclays Premier League clash with Everton. They include members of our beloved rowing squad – including Alex Gregory, who stormed to a gold medal in the men’s four alongside Pete Reed, Tom James and Andew Triggs-Hodge. Joining Alex will be Charles Cousins, who finished fifth in the final of the Men’s Quadruple Scull at Eton Dorney – as well as Sam Townsend, who was a finalist in the Men’s Double Scull. Alongside Charles on the day will be his wife…who is also an Olympian! Natasha Page was a finalist in the Women’s Eight, also finishing fifth, and went on to marry Sam shortly afterwards – to make London 2012 all the more memorable! We also have representatives from the Aquatics Centre. Katie Clarke and Katie Skelton from the GB Synchro Team will be watching the Royals in action, as will Anthony Stevens – a member of the Paralympics GB Swimming Team. It’s a perfect chance for Reading fans to thank all of Team GB for their efforts – and hopefully they’ll all be cheering on Brian McDermott’s men to three points!

On RR we try to open our arms out to fans of all clubs and one way we do this is that we have invitations called 'FFF' - Friendly Fan Features' and here are a couple this week that might well take your fancy ... Wolfy's FFF - Previews, three matches including Reading v Everton - http://royalsrendezvous.co.uk/topic/9763413/1 He's actually a ** cough cough ** Liverpool supporter and forum mod but also contributes on RR, is known for being a fair man! FFF - The Everton team by Not 606 Everton board mod Shogun - http://royalsrendezvous.co.uk/topic/9761650/1 (Guests can post on these threads ...)

Everton FC Official Site Past Battles With Reading http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/2012/11/14/past-battles-with-reading Good pictures, mainly from the Everton perspective, but interesting for both sets of fans ...