Today we hear from Roger Titford – STAR Board member
You might well wonder why we’ve got a programme page when there’s no programme! Well, it used to be one of our best ways of keeping in touch with a wider range of supporters and we thought why not try and bring it back in these difficult circumstances which don’t look as if they’re going to change any time soon. And by the way the football club do issue a team sheet for every home available for pdf download from their website. Contact us if you need copies for your collection.
A fabulous start – notwithstanding the Coventry match where every long shot they hit seemed to create a goal. We don’t think anybody predicted us beiong clear at the top of the table and it’s been a great boost. Congratulations to Pauno and the players for the cheer and optimism they’ve brought and we only wish we could be in the stadiums, home and away, to share a great start as we did in 1985, 1993 and 2005. Happy days.
I-Following the team – most of the STAR Board are following the action on the EFL’s i-Follow platform. It’s £10 a match of which about £8 goes to the club for home matches and you can have your whole household watching for that. We posted an i-follow guide on our website with all the how-to’s etc. we-will-ifollow-the-reading-on-laptop-and-tv. It’d be a shame to miss out when the team is doing so well.
Season tickets – Reading has been unusual in the Championship in not selling season tickets for 2020-21. Clubs that have done so have been mired in issues to do with refunds and trading off refunds against i-Follow passes. It looks like our club made the right move.
Fans Forum on Weds 11 November – we’re delighted to announce our first virtual Fans Forum and Pauno’s debut at the event. This time it’s open to all supporters – free of charge – but you’ll need to register by ….. If you’d like to send in a question for Pauno please email chair@star-reading.org
Going virtual – sadly more events are having to go virtual but there is an upside. Supporters who can’t normally get to the stadium are now on a virtual level footing with the folk from Whitley and Woodley. We’ve already managed our AGM virtually and are now looking at ways of doing the more complex job of the 2020 Hall of Fame presentation.
Membership – over half of last year’s membership took up the offer of free membership for the 2020-21 season. That offer has now closed but membership is open at our usual rates and we welcome your support for our work. You can join at membership – join online. Sadly we have no idea when the away coaches are going to run again.
Remembrance Sunday – it will be impossible to hold our normal and valued pre-match service this year but there is a plan that will see the anniversary marked in a proper, appropriate and actual (not virtual) manner. More of that in Saturday’s programme notes.