Hob Nob Anyone?

Hob Nob Anyone? is an unofficial fanzine site for fans of Reading F.C., and the association football club in Reading, England. The name is a reference to the town's association with biscuit making: for many years, the town of Reading was home to the Huntley & Palmers biscuit factory, makers of HobNob biscuits.

Hob Nob Anyone?
Type of site
Internet forum
Available inEnglish
OwnerGraham Loader
Created byGraham Loader
URLwww.royals.org
CommercialNo
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedAugust 1994
Current statusActive

History

The site was first launched in November 1994, and is believed to be the oldest unofficial football club website on the Internet.[1] The website was initially used by the club for official news and ticket information,[2] and later was used for organizing fan based events such as "Pants Day",[3] which was inspired by events at Reading Football Club as a safe alternative to other demonstrations, and was held during the 2-2 home draw against Wrexham F.C. in December 1999.[4]

The website was hosted at the University of East Anglia in 1994. Early in 1999, the site got its domain names (royals.cx and royals.org), and moved to its own virtual server, where it has received over a million hits per month since the year 2000. In the summer of 2002, Hob Nob Anyone? moved again to be hosted at Oscura Ltd, a web development and hosting company in Reading.

The site includes match reports dating back to the 1994-95 season, a forum with around 12000 members,[5] fans' analysis, and regular news and articles.

The site also has a section on the Supporters Trust At Reading (STAR)[6] and links with Tim Dellor and BBC Radio Berkshire Sports,[7] and the Reading Evening Post, a local newspaper.[8]

The site was featured in the football book Motson's National Obsession,, and was a "site of the week" in the Daily Star.[9] In 2010 the website was given the STAR (Supporters Trust At Reading) award "for services to supporters of Reading Football Club" [10]

Ian Royal

References
  1. "Who was the first football club to have an official website?".
  2. "Reading FC fan's website Hob Nob Anyone? takes the biscuit 20 years on".
  3. "Pants Day".
  4. "Reading 2 Wrexham 2".
  5. "Hob Nob Anyone? Reading FC Forum".
  6. "STAR association with Hob Nob Anyone?". Retrieved 28 February 2007.
  7. "BBC Radio Berkshire team up with Hob Nob Anyone?". Retrieved 28 February 2007.
  8. "Hob Nob Anyone? column in the Reading Evening Post". Retrieved 28 February 2007.
  9. Daily Star site of the week
  10. "Reading Matter - Autumn 2010" (PDF).
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