The record attendance for Cheltenham Town's Whaddon Road ground came in the FA Cup 1st round in 1956 against Reading. Obviously the locals knew that it was a rare chance for them to see such high quality visitors. Reading won of course, 2-1.
The 19th July friendly will see the official opening of a new cover over one of the ends (although in fact no-one was allowed to stand under it as they had yet to get a safety certificate for it!). Cheltenham know which team they want to play for the big occasions!
Our previous meetings were in the FA Cup, in the 3rd round during the 1997/98 season. Cheltenham were a non-league club and we were in Division 1. Reading progressed with a 2-1 win in the replay at Elm Park.
Cheltenham fans and the media always say that Reading were lucky to get through because Cheltenham hit the post late on in the replay. What they fail to point out is that Reading hit the bar earlier in the game and that the late Cheltenham shot would have gone well wide had it not got a massive deflection off a Reading defender. What is more, had the ball gone in, the score would have been 2-2. Last time I checked, that meant 30 minutes of extra time, not a victory for the team getting a lucky late equaliser.
Since those ties Cheltenham have entered the Football League and are now in Division 3. Former Royal Keith Knight has moved on and was last seen at Worcester City
Some Cheltenham information:
Record defeat -
Last defeat to Reading in competitive matches - the last time we met, obviously.
Nearest station to ground - Cheltenham. It's a couple of miles to the ground.
Trivia - if you turn left down Whaddon Road after leaving the ground, you get to one of the two sites used by GCHQ, the Government's intelligence headquarters. In 1999 I had an interview there and the bastards didn't give me a job. Me? Bitter? You bet.
Should you wish to exchange in banter with any Cheltenham fans, here are some websites you might like to try out.
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