Back from the Watford game...

[Thou Voice]

...and that was BLOODY COLD!!!

However a great second half performance by Reading...

...but why the hell does the crowd not get behind the team! In that blistering cold, it would have been good to sing!

[rfcjoe]

Still can't feel my bloody feet.
Pretty poor game. 4 nil flattered us. They were pretty poor, but well organised. NHunt and Kebe need to sort it out.

[Victor Meldrew]

...and that was BLOODY COLD!!!

However a great second half performance by Reading...

...but why the hell does the crowd not get behind the team! In that blistering cold, it would have been good to sing!

We win 4-0 and still somebody is worried about the singing.
I have said on here loads of times-singing makes the fans feel better but makes f*** all difference to the players.
BTW I was shouting watching on TV-couldn't you hear me?

[Rex]

I thought we were frustratingly bad in the first half to be honest. Either that was nervous tension or just a team running around in the cold not seeming to want to play. Way too many simple mistakes going on. Great to see Armstrong get on the score sheet though the lead up to that goal was only down to a comedy of errors and a pin ball effect. What was Noel's bunny hop all about . Fortune favoured us tonight as out midfield passing was dire in parts. The second half started sharper. Watford players seemed to give up after the sucker punch of Doyles goal. i certainly never saw a four nil game there.

[Geekins]

YYYYYYYEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!

Well done today boys, pressure on the others now!

[winchester_royal]

Average performance tonight from players and fans alike. 4-0 may have slightly flattered us, but they never looked like scoring, and we always looked threatning when we went forward.

Shunt had his best game in a while. The cynic in me says that is merely because it is January, and was on the TV, my heart says he has now decided to stay and is putting all his effort into getting us promoted.

Cisse was awesome in midfield IMO. Harper was pretty shite. Kebe had moments of brilliance, mixed in with his usual lapses.

BBCRB seemeed to think Rosenior was shit tonight. I couldn't disagree more I thought he was fantastic. Stretch was very good, as were Ingi and Doobs.

Doyle...........best player in the Champ by a distance. NHunt was OK

And finally, to the 'fans' who booed the team at half time, bugger off and never come back.

[andrew1957]

Well Watford dominated possession but looked toothless whereas we were clinical and did well in front of goal and looked solid in defence. Well done to all the lads.

Federici - 6 - solid but had little to do and good distribution again
Armstrong - 8 very good again and good to see him score
Ingi - 7 - reliable as ever
Duberry - 7 - also very good
Rosenior - 8 -c good defensively and a few excellent crosses
S.Hunt - 7 - variable as usual but at least one assist
Harper - 6 - a bit anonymous again for me
Cisse - 6 - a fan of his but thought he was poor tonight
Kebe - 7 - a few good ones but not his best game
N.Hunt - 8 - very good and a well taken goal - just MOTM for me
Doyle - 7 - very good and in the right place for a tap in.

Lita - 7 - I am not a Lita fan but thought he did ok tonight to be fair apart from missing an easy header. Took the goal well but unchallenged
Long - 5 - little time to impress
Gunnarson - 5 - as above

[SLAMMED]

Coppells off to theIpswich game tomorrow. Anyone think of a reason why?

[SteveRoyal]

People still complain.
Having watched from the comfort of my own home (I'm redundant. Teenager. 'Studying'), I can safely say that Watford were well organised in the first half but the second half sucker-punch of two goals killed their spirit off.

Despite Watford's great possession play, they never troubled Federici or the defence, they had no real attacking threat and seemed to fade in the final third.

Reading survived that game because of the lack of Watford attacking force and impressive defending. Duberry and Ingimarsson were stable, whilst both Rosenior and Armstrong bombed forward and posed an attacking threat - both still performed defensive duties relatively well.

The game seemed to have been played on the wings - Harper and Cisse both got involved by applying pressure to the Watford midfielders, and when receiving the ball got it out to the wings again. It worked, but our 'Plan B' should involve Matejovsky's defence-splitting passes.

Federici: 6 - Didn't put a foot wrong, had hardly anything to do. Distribution supreme.

Rosenior: 7 - Great getting forward, a few mis-hits in defence but a fine performance. Cross for Doyle was well struck but poorly defended.
Duberry: 6 - Nothing wrong.
Ingimarsson: 6 - Likewise.
Armstrong: 8 - Goal of the match. Well hit and good link up with Super Hunt.

Kebe: 6 - Got forward well, but wasn't given space or time to do much. Stifled well by Watford. (Penalty appeal??)
Harper: 5 - Invisible.
Cisse: 5 - Likewise.
S Hunt: 8 - Priceless to our squad. Never stopped running, great crossing and a superb assist for his brother!

Doyle: 7 - Great energy and enthusiasm. Goal seemed to surprise him as well as us!
N Hunt: 8 - Well taken goal and made a nuisance of himself. Well done Noel.

Lita: 6 - Well taken goal, looked completely focussed to get a goal when he came on. Change of attitude, perhaps?
Long: 4 - Invisible. Probably ran a lot.
Gunnarsson: 5 - Likewise with Harper and Cisse, invisible.

Complain about my ratings all you want, but our midfielders were hardly used except to play 1-2's off of, it seemed. Correct me if I'm wrong - which most of the time I am.

*

Coppells off to the Ipswich game tomorrow. Anyone think of a reason why?

He's off to see how they play for our game on the 14th March, because he has no other opportunities until then?
Or, of course, he could be watching a potential signing.

[Victor Meldrew]

:lol: People still complain.
Having watched from the comfort of my own home (I'm redundant. Teenager. 'Studying'), I can safely say that Watford were well organised in the first half but the second half sucker-punch of two goals killed their spirit off.

Despite Watford's great possession play, they never troubled Federici or the defence, they had no real attacking threat and seemed to fade in the final third.

Reading survived that game because of the lack of Watford attacking force and impressive defending. Duberry and Ingimarsson were stable, whilst both Rosenior and Armstrong bombed forward and posed an attacking threat - both still performed defensive duties relatively well.

The game seemed to have been played on the wings - Harper and Cisse both got involved by applying pressure to the Watford midfielders, and when receiving the ball got it out to the wings again. It worked, but our 'Plan B' should involve Matejovsky's defence-splitting passes.

Federici: 6 - Didn't put a foot wrong, had hardly anything to do. Distribution supreme.

Rosenior: 7 - Great getting forward, a few mis-hits in defence but a fine performance. Cross for Doyle was well struck but poorly defended.
Duberry: 6 - Nothing wrong.
Ingimarsson: 6 - Likewise.
Armstrong: 8 - Goal of the match. Well hit and good link up with Super Hunt.

Kebe: 6 - Got forward well, but wasn't given space or time to do much. Stifled well by Watford. (Penalty appeal??)
Harper: 5 - Invisible.
Cisse: 5 - Likewise.
S Hunt: 8 - Priceless to our squad. Never stopped running, great crossing and a superb assist for his brother!

Doyle: 7 - Great energy and enthusiasm. Goal seemed to surprise him as well as us!
N Hunt: 8 - Well taken goal and made a nuisance of himself. Well done Noel.

Lita: 6 - Well taken goal, looked completely focussed to get a goal when he came on. Change of attitude, perhaps?
Long: 4 - Invisible. Probably ran a lot.
Gunnarsson: 5 - Likewise with Harper and Cisse, invisible.

Complain about my ratings all you want, but our midfielders were hardly used except to play 1-2's off of, it seemed. Correct me if I'm wrong - which most of the time I am.

*

Coppells off to the Ipswich game tomorrow. Anyone think of a reason why?

He's off to see how they play for our game on the 14th March, because he has no other opportunities until then?
Or, of course, he could be watching a potential signing.

Don't want to be picky but it was Kebe with a header (nice change from him) who provided the ball for N Hunt to score.

[Dirk Gently]

A couple of points to add to the above :

- must have been the most undeserved 4-0 win ever. Yes, Watford were rubbish, but no way were we 4 goals better than them. Sometime football is a cruel game.

- The pitch was bloody awful - lots of grass on it but it's really bumpy, especially near the touchlines. For a team who's play is based on using wingers this is not good!

- The Watford number 2 is not really a professional footballer. He is a ringer, playing for a bet. There can be no other explanation for just how bad he was.

[readingbedding]

A couple of points to add to the above :

- must have been the most undeserved 4-0 win ever. Yes, Watford were rubbish, but no way were we 4 goals better than them. Sometime football is a cruel game.

- The pitch was bloody awful - lots of grass on it but it's really bumpy, especially near the touchlines. For a team who's play is based on using wingers this is not good!

- The Watford number 2 is not really a professional footballer. He is a ringer, playing for a bet. There can be no other explanation for just how bad he was.

Don't worry, the guilt will pass very soon...

[Plymouth_Royal]

watched it on sky as in plymouth

fed 7 - solid and had nothing to do, kicks are amazing!

rosenior 7 - good crosses into the box, bar his first one lol, solid going forward and good defensively
ingi 7 - solid and reliable
doobs 7 - same as above
armstrong 7- started poorly but picked up afta his goal and covered the centre backs well on a couple of occasions.

kebe 5/6 - poor today, lost the ball an awful lot didnt see him put any crosses in and his performance was summed up when armstrong crossed the ball and came off him for a throw.
cisse 7 - despite being out numbered in the middle broke play well, made 2 good runs forward and kept things simple.
harper 7 - again had a difficult job being out numbered but kept the play going and when watford got near our box he hassled them well so they would have to back track in posession. great ball for lita too
s.hunt 8 - great performance from him, defensively did well, going forward his crossing was pretty good, ran his ass off and did you see that drag back in the first half that came off...nice

doyle 7 - held the ball up well, had a cracking shot with his left and some nice touches
n.hunt 7 - his touch let him down in the first half but seemed to rectify it in the second, great goal and held the ball up well

subs
long 6 - looked alrite when he came on, good flicks and touches
lita 6 - BAR HIS GREAT FINISH, he didnt hit the target with a free header, gave away a few free kicks and lost the ball a couple times.
gunnarsson - not enough time to make an impact.

fans 10: well done it was -1 out there and felt sorry for you lot while i was watching the game in the comfort of my home!

[Pseud O'Nym]

What was Noel's bunny hop all about

Apparently it was a kangaroo, some sort of tribute to Federici's visiting family.

[Rex]

Ahh - thanks for that. Lets hope NHunt doesn't score at Derby and celebrate an infamous massacre.

[eleventh earl of mar]

Well Watford dominated possession but looked toothless whereas we were clinical and did well in front of goal and looked solid in defence. Well done to all the lads.

Federici - 6 - solid but had little to do and good distribution again
Armstrong - 8 very good again and good to see him score
Ingi - 7 - reliable as ever
Duberry - 7 - also very good
Rosenior - 8 -c good defensively and a few excellent crosses
S.Hunt - 7 - variable as usual but at least one assist
Harper - 6 - a bit anonymous again for me
Cisse - 6 - a fan of his but thought he was poor tonight
Kebe - 7 - a few good ones but not his best game
N.Hunt - 8 - very good and a well taken goal - just MOTM for me
Doyle - 7 - very good and in the right place for a tap in.

Lita - 7 - I am not a Lita fan but thought he did ok tonight to be fair apart from missing an easy header. Took the goal well but unchallenged
Long - 5 - little time to impress
Gunnarson - 5 - as above

Interesting substitute marks. Long had the same time to impress as Lita didn't he, bearing in mind they came on at the same time.
Was it not Gunnarsson with a good ball for Lita's goal?

[readingbedding]

It was that rubbish player Harper.
You know the one, the one who does absolutley NOTHING all game every game...

[lozz2601]

It was that rubbish player Harper.
You know the one, the one who does absolutley NOTHING all game every game...

The ball got a deflection off a defender, though.

Still, I agree people slate Harper too much.

[FiNeRaIn]

It was that rubbish player Harper.
You know the one, the one who does absolutley NOTHING all game every game...

I take it you haven't seen it on tv? massive deflection through, was right at the defender

[readingbedding]

It was that rubbish player Harper.
You know the one, the one who does absolutley NOTHING all game every game...

I take it you haven't seen it on tv? massive deflection through, was right at the defender

Oh...Harper shouldn't have bothered passing the ball then.

Rubbish player that Harper.