Whatever happened to Ray Flanagan

[The 17 Bus]

My first whiff fancied Alexandra, fact

Top left folks this may be copyright but who cares. ps top left is Flanagan.

[strap]

Anybody who watched Reading in the 69/70 season must have been hooked; they were a great team to watch.

Guilty.

[strap]

My first whiff fancied Alexandra, fact

Top left folks this may be copyright but who cares. ps top left is Flanagan.

Fooking hell!! Out of the ark that one!!

From memory:

RF, Alan Wooler, John Pratt, Barry Wagstaff, Steve Death, ??1, Peter Harman

Phil Archer, John harley, Dennis Butler, ??2, Bob Lenarduzzi, Stuart Morgan

Sir Les of Chappell, Will Dixon, Terry Bell, Dick Habbin, Malcom Swain, Gordan Cumming

Quick scan of HoE later brings up Adrian Cooper as ??1 (tad embarassing as I used to play darts with his younger brother Paul in the Jolly Brewers years ago ) and Andy Proudlove as ??2.

Taken from 1972-73 season.

[fallen angel]

Blimey. The first good post this year. Finally wittering about those blokes we grew up with when Reading were going nowhere at an excruciatingly slow pace.
On to the matter at hand – does anybody know what became of Richie Bowman and Pat Earles? For me Bowman was always the swashbuckling youngster with a soul-boy haircut and ill advised tache next to Pat Earles' rather staid father with a Douglas Herd style haircut.
And what happened to John Alexander? Although I guess my first game was around 1976 my first thrill of being at Elm Park was seeing him score a hat-trick (or was it four) and get sent off against Crewe Alexander.
As much as I'm enjoying this season memories like that will always hold something more pleasureable for me.

Two matches confused?
Alexander scored all four in an evening game.
In a day game, Gary Heale didn't hear the whistle, had a shot, got a second booking and a sending off.
Or am I getting confused - it was so long ago now.

I always thought that Richie Bowman looked really old with his beard, and I never really understood why he played for us, seeing as he was so good.

John Alexander scored all four goals in the 4-0 win over promotion rivals Grimsby at EP in 79. It was indeed a Wednesday night.

Didnt Jack Withem score four goals in a game for us in the mid seventies but never scored again.(For the youngsters,Withem played for Liverpool)

[Ark Royal]

Blimey. The first good post this year. Finally wittering about those blokes we grew up with when Reading were going nowhere at an excruciatingly slow pace.
On to the matter at hand – does anybody know what became of Richie Bowman and Pat Earles? For me Bowman was always the swashbuckling youngster with a soul-boy haircut and ill advised tache next to Pat Earles' rather staid father with a Douglas Herd style haircut.
And what happened to John Alexander? Although I guess my first game was around 1976 my first thrill of being at Elm Park was seeing him score a hat-trick (or was it four) and get sent off against Crewe Alexander.
As much as I'm enjoying this season memories like that will always hold something more pleasureable for me.

Two matches confused?
Alexander scored all four in an evening game.
In a day game, Gary Heale didn't hear the whistle, had a shot, got a second booking and a sending off.
Or am I getting confused - it was so long ago now.

I always thought that Richie Bowman looked really old with his beard, and I never really understood why he played for us, seeing as he was so good.

John Alexander scored all four goals in the 4-0 win over promotion rivals Grimsby at EP in 79. It was indeed a Wednesday night.

Didnt Jack Withem score four goals in a game for us in the mid seventies but never scored again.(For the youngsters,Withem played for Liverpool)

Jack Whitham scored a hat-trick away at Hartlepool in the 75/76 promotion season. They were his only goals of the season.

[Ark Royal]

The player on Steve Death's left is Martin James (I think).

[Para Handy]

Blimey. The first good post this year. Finally wittering about those blokes we grew up with when Reading were going nowhere at an excruciatingly slow pace.
On to the matter at hand – does anybody know what became of Richie Bowman and Pat Earles? For me Bowman was always the swashbuckling youngster with a soul-boy haircut and ill advised tache next to Pat Earles' rather staid father with a Douglas Herd style haircut.
And what happened to John Alexander? Although I guess my first game was around 1976 my first thrill of being at Elm Park was seeing him score a hat-trick (or was it four) and get sent off against Crewe Alexander.
As much as I'm enjoying this season memories like that will always hold something more pleasureable for me.

Bowman was hell of a player my first hero, I believe now runs a sandwich bar in London, has been back to do the Golden Gamble draw a couple of times. Pat Earles was a decent player although never scored enough goals for me was a victim of the boo boys and lost confidence, last herd working for social services in his native Southampton. John Alexander banged in 4 against Grimsby in a top of the table clash in 79. Sufferd a career ending injury at Brentford the next season, a real shame he was a good player. Don't ever recall him being sent off though?

... and John Alexander is Club Secretary of Tottenham.

[The 17 Bus]

photo taken is 71-72 season from supporters club handbook.

5th Feb that season we scored 3 goals against Arsenal and still lost.

Programme cost 10p and entry to South Bank was 70p

[glass half full]

Terrific one-touch football and lay-0ffs from Habbin were sheer poetry!

[Gordons Cumming]

My hazy memory of 69-70 was alot of goalmouth scrambles followed by goals,goals,goals!!!!!

Fred Sharpe was very old.

Gordon Cumming was brilliant. ( An earlier Gilkes, but better at crossing.)

Les Chappell was an excellent finisher.

The Wagstaffe brothers were very skilful midfielders.

Our defence were a bit pants!!!Except maybe for Will Dixon.

[wolsey]

My hazy memory of 69-70 was alot of goalmouth scrambles followed by goals,goals,goals!!!!!

Fred Sharpe was very old.

Gordon Cumming was brilliant. ( An earlier Gilkes, but better at crossing.)

Les Chappell was an excellent finisher.

The Wagstaffe brothers were very skilful midfielders.

Our defence were a bit pants!!!Except maybe for Will Dixon.

...Denis Butler was as wide as he was tall (wonder why his nickname was "The Tank"? - perhaps it was a reference to his speed)

[VOR]

My hazy memory of 69-70 was alot of goalmouth scrambles followed by goals,goals,goals!!!!!

Fred Sharpe was very old.

Gordon Cumming was brilliant. ( An earlier Gilkes, but better at crossing.)

Les Chappell was an excellent finisher.

The Wagstaffe brothers were very skilful midfielders.

Our defence were a bit pants!!!Except maybe for Will Dixon.

Happy memories... remember Barry Wagstaffe's sublime lob to equalise against against the Gooners reigning double team in 1972? If I remember rightly, we scored all 3 goals in a 1-2 defeat as both theirs were OGs including a spectacular effort from Stuart Morgan. Gordon Cumming ran their full back (Rice or Nelson?) ragged. In front of a packed Elm Park of 26,000. Difficult now to imagine EP holding more than the Mad Stad...This was the game at which a youthful Nick Hornby (as related in Fever Pitch) from Maidenhead was rightly ticked off for not supporting his local team...