Ultra Posted 5 November 2007 Posted 5 November 2007 From the BBC Sport website.. Reading squad shells out for fans Reading players will subsidise the trip for fans visiting Manchester City on 24 November - partly because of the club's inconsistent start to the season. The Royals squad, currently 12th in the Premier League, have donated £5,000 to supporters heading to Eastlands. Reading captain Graeme Murty told BBC Sport: "We know that at the moment we are massively inconsistent. "It's not easy to justify spending so much money to watch us perform and this is giving something back to the fans." Steve Coppell's side have endured a difficult beginning to their second season in the top flight and following their 3-1 defeat at Fulham on Saturday are only five points clear of the relegation zone. "I would be lying if I said that the poor start didn't enter certain people's thinking," said Murty, who is in his 10th season at the Berkshire club. "It can't be good going to places like Fratton Park and coming out after a 7-4 loss wearing a Reading shirt. "But more than that there has been a growing realisation among the players of how expensive it is, especially for parents who bring their kids to a game." Reading froze their season-ticket prices for the 2007-08 campaign yet they have to date seen attendances fall slightly. They now intend to recognise those who follow them around the country. The first 350 fans who book the journey on the official supporters' trust coaches will pay £5 for their travel instead of the normal £20. The move comes after a week in which the Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe claimed sky-high wages and ticket prices in top-flight football are alienating fans. "Ordinary working people who want to see Manchester United face being priced out," said Sutcliffe. "There is a danger that there will be a move away from the game and we don't want to be in a position where people are alienated." Murty pointed out that the subsidisation of travel may not become a regular offering but added: "We decided that it would be a nice gesture if we could get behind the fans the way they get behind us and try to alleviate that financial burden. "The players had the ultimate say-so over whether we did it or not. It's not something we've been ordered to do, it's something that as a group of people we felt was right. "We feel, not guilty, but that we a have a little bit of responsibility towards that cost. I'm not saying it's getting beyond a joke, the level of cost, but it certainly is almost taking the game away from its roots. "If that eventuality ever comes to pass then football is going to be the only loser. If you take the game away from the common person in the street then football is going to go downhill from there on." It's good to know that at least SOME top flight players have respect for their fans..
Samilktray Posted 5 November 2007 Posted 5 November 2007 Great gesture this. Why hasnt this had many replies
Ashley Posted 5 November 2007 Posted 5 November 2007 I'm sure Leicester done this last season. We had no mention about us in the news, however it was Mr Mandaric who paid for the fans to go Pne, Barnsley.
Ultra Posted 5 November 2007 Author Posted 5 November 2007 This is slightly different. This is the players laying on cheap travel for fans.
lcfc_jme Posted 5 November 2007 Posted 5 November 2007 I'm sure Leicester done this last season. We had no mention about us in the news, however it was Mr Mandaric who paid for the fans to go Pne, Barnsley. Yeah and Randy Lerner at Villa did it before Milan. It's not that exclusive when a club's new owner does it, probably to get the fans on side, is it? This is slightly different. This is the players laying on cheap travel for fans. Indeed it is. Quite unheard of, really. I find it all the more suprising considering it isn't the higher-earning Tottenham players laying on cheap travel after their abysmal start to the season. Reading aren't even that poorly placed atm and sit 12th in the table. Bizarre, yet lovely stuff.
syston_fox Posted 5 November 2007 Posted 5 November 2007 West Brom fans get one game a season where the travel is paid for by the club
Simi Posted 5 November 2007 Posted 5 November 2007 Doubt this would of had as much coverage if it would of been a lower league team. As Syston_Fox says West Brom do the same. It's not exactly a new concept. A great gesture all the same though.
lcfc_jme Posted 5 November 2007 Posted 5 November 2007 West Brom fans get one game a season where the travel is paid for by the club By the club a la Villa away at Chelsea and us away at PNE and Barnsley, or by the players directly a la Reading away at Man City?? Not that any gestures can be knocked, just the players paying towards travel directly is much less common I'd have thought..
Simi Posted 5 November 2007 Posted 5 November 2007 So we've got Reading players paying for travel etc, but some of the Premiership Ppayers still would not donate to the Nurses?
lcfc_jme Posted 5 November 2007 Posted 5 November 2007 So we've got Reading players paying for travel etc, but some of the Premiership Ppayers still would not donate to the Nurses? Yeah. Sounds about right don't it? I mean, the nurses don't pay for the wages of football players, the fans do. Keep the fans sweet and they'll still be getting paid. Look after number one, know what I mean?
Simi Posted 5 November 2007 Posted 5 November 2007 Yeah. Sounds about right don't it? I mean, the nurses don't pay for the wages of football players, the fans do. Keep the fans sweet and they'll still be getting paid. Look after number one, know what I mean? Yeah exactly. All of this looks a nice gesture on paper, but in the long run, it really has nothing on what's goes on at every other football club around the country,
Floating Fox Posted 5 November 2007 Posted 5 November 2007 Reading are such a lovely team though <_< Good gesture though
Raj Posted 6 November 2007 Posted 6 November 2007 Footballers get some shit sometimes(And rightly so) but well done Reading boys. Tis a very good gesture.
Tevez Posted 6 November 2007 Posted 6 November 2007 Shame Chelsea can't cough up a days wages for nurses.
David O'Leary Posted 6 November 2007 Posted 6 November 2007 So we've got Reading players paying for travel etc, but some of the Premiership Ppayers still would not donate to the Nurses? That was shocking
act smiley Posted 7 November 2007 Posted 7 November 2007 Disagree - I think its up to each individual to decide which charities to donate to and that campaign had no right to do the "name and shame" thing they did - after all, they don't know if Mr.X says no to them because last week he gave £100,000 to cancer research or oxfam or whatever, do they? Anyway, this is a nice gesture by the Reading players.
Ultra Posted 7 November 2007 Author Posted 7 November 2007 I agree - it's up to individual players to decide whether or not to pledge a day's pay for nurses or any other campaign. But once those pledges have been made, they should be honoured!
Sods Posted 7 November 2007 Posted 7 November 2007 Hang on a minute, yes its a nice gesture, but its only 5000 pounds, lets think how much these stars are getting. Fans still have to pay 5 pound for the travel, not as if it is free of charge.
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