Back from the game....... 'Boro

[Jackson Corner]

I thought first half we played some decent stuff without testing there keeper. 2nd half they were the better team and should have won. We gave the ball away far to cheaply and started getting deeper and deeper in to our own box. We are riding our luck at the moment and need to improve or it will be a long season.

[Zammo]

Best home display of the season. Had we had some pace in our side we probably would have won the game. Fair play to Pearce. Gets plenty of stick, but played well today.

[robbieroyal]

Best home display of the season. Had we had some pace in our side we probably would have won the game. Fair play to Pearce. Gets plenty of stick, but played well today.

Completely agree, I'm Pearce's worse critic but he done well today. Feds surely was our MoTM?

This was def our best home display of the season and agreed that 'Boro shaded the game, a draw was a fair result. 'Boro will def be top 6 this year, but that is where we want to be so in that respect this was a good day to have beaten them.

Let's take the positives tho its 4 unbeaten!!!

[urz13]

Federici - 8 Made 2 or 3 incredible saves
Cummings - 8 My MOTM, didn't put a foot wrong and attacked well
Gorkks - 7 Decent
Pearce - 6 Responsible for some scrabbles in our box
Mills - 6 defended well enough but dreadful passing and only 1 good cross
McAnuff - 6 Not a very exciting performance
Leigertwood - 7 Much better than the last few games
Tabb - 7 Did the dirty work, some great tackles but gave it away a few times
HRK - 7 Ran a lot and put in decent crosses
Church - 5 Misjudged the ball far to often and had a hatful of opportunities wasted. Should have passed to Le Fondre at one point but tried to shoot on the swivel and went wide
ALF - 8 Got in great positions and ran for ages in the heat. Very good effort with an overhead kick. Needed more help from church IMO

[Handsome Man]

It was an enjoyable game in the sunshine. We looked fairly solid and deserved to get something out of it. Of the superstars only Federici performed: once Leigertwood and MacAnuff get going again and Kebe comes back there will be a bit more to worry a good team like Middlesbrough. Early on Leigertwood's passing was poor and Tabb's first touch wasn't good enough on a number of occasions.

Federici 8
Cummings 7
Mills 6
Pearce 7
Gorkks 7
Tabb 5
Leigertwood 5
MacAnuff 6
HRK 6
Le Fondre 7
Church 6

[URZZ]

Over the years this has obviously been coming though... Even last year we were more exciting. It's not even about losing or winning, we were oxf*rd boring and have been awful for entertainment value thus far... Still, I'm not writing us off and being naive... Shane didn't score until so and so then scored thousands last season etc.

No doom & gloom, just honest truth.

[Trainspotter]

I sometimes think I have been watching a different game! Sounded as if Reading were great according to Radio Berkshire. They had no pace, continually overhit the ball, had few shots on target,were shaky at the back and created little in midfield. Luck and Feds kept them in the game. Apart from that they were great!

[floyd__streete]

Slightly surprised by the overall negative tone to these postings tonight. I am very satisfied with a good point against a side who will be top 6 this season which moves us closer to our own target this of midtable safety. I actually though we controlled much of the first half and got the ball into some good areas. Sadly, we are utterly bereft of creativity in the middle of the park - Leigertwood I can forgive as his work rate is excellent, he is involved all the time.....but what does Tabb do, other than concede possession and look overweight? Karacan > Tabb.

Defensively, we were worrying again, particularly on the left hand side of the back four. Joseph Mills has even less composure and less of a footballing brain than this brother . I have heard a lot of praise for Gorkss, his reading of the game and supposed composure.....don't see it myself, desperate, last ditch stuff from him most of the time. Federici to the rescue with a quite superb first half double save. In the second half the left hand goalpost saved us twice. Good result in the end.

[FiNeRaIn]

Exactly how I feel urzz ^

I no longer have the urge or excitement about going to our games. We are patchy, boring and have absolutely no momentum at all. The first touch and lack of technique of our players as a squad is the worst I can remember for the level we are at. Our two centre mids prime examples. I am turning up hoping for us not to make mistakes and look awful rather than us looking to brush aside whoever is in front like previous years. This team has no chance of the play-offs due to the complete lack of creativity or fluency and ability to keep consistent pressure up. What I don't understand is that we've gone from being a team under BMD ( in his first season) where we played quality attacking/entertaining football, scored good goals and had a real good run to a team like this in its current state. Yes we've sold a few players, but its like he's turned around and said " lets stop trying to entertain and get scrappy wins"...people used to give us credit for being a good footballing side, all we've done for the last year or so is smash it into the channels and hope we create something. Long was great at doing this but once we sold him without anyone equally as good at working the channels we have been piss poor and have no adapted at all.

Middlesbrough don't have big crowds and they also have a long term chairman from the area yet they are able to have a big squad with some solid signings in the mix, they'll be up there end of the season, we won't.

[floyd__streete]

all we've done for the last year or so is smash it into the channels and hope we create something. Long was great at doing this but once we sold him without anyone equally as good at working the channels we have been piss poor and have no adapted at all.

Yeah, I'd agree with that of course. It is still direct football, into the channels, using out-and-out wingers, but this year we don't have Long's pace and strength and this Kebe looks (thus far) disgraecfully disinterested. Church would thrive in a side with more creativity from the middle of the park (fat chance), otherwise he is chasing long balls and shadows. Le Fondre - other than having the happy knack of being in the right place to poach the odd goal - has rather predictably added absolutely nothing to our all round game. I forgot he was out there at times today.

[URZZ]

I, personally won't say where we will end up this season and as result - I'm not really ruling Reading out of the 'off's... laugh all you want. Ya know, football is a funny game on a weekly basis, let alone months and so on... We proved that last season and we're not the only team who have done so in previous years obviously. Sat in Wembley before KO in May, call it cliché but I was still buzzing from the fact we were actually there, absolutely none of us expected it in January.

At this moment in time, we lack creativity in the middle, hugely. I don't think Jobi is showing off his true potential, but I'm not going to jump on the 'he shouldn't be the captain' bandwagon because I like Jobi and he is a great football player. I do agree with Karacan > Tabb however... I love his work rate, but ... effort goes in vein if you don't fulfil a true purpose to a team. Jem provides so much tiger like characteristics with his will, and grit... and he can see a pass. Not to mention he is faster.

I, still think we have a good team. I really do. It's just reshaping things, regaining the confidence that we evidently lack at the minute, and starting with our best 11!

[West Stand Man]

Happy enough with those, but Jobi gotta be a 4/10. Utterly useless and added nothing

Did you spend the whole game in the toilet or something?

[West Stand Man]

Robson-Kanu was a lot worse than McAnuff.

Which doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't also pretty good today.

[floyd__streete]

^ HRK didn't offer an awful lot, sadly.

I actually think it was an entertaining enough game. Low on quality - natch - but there was plenty of endeavour, and although the second half was not as good as a lively first the efforts of both teams were summed up in those last 5-10 end-to-end minutes with corners and freekicks and counter-attacking play aplenty. As I say, final ball was rarely of sufficiently good quality. But I am happy with a 0-0 today, such is (believe it or not) my limited expectations of a side hampered by the sale of key players over a consistent basis over the last 2 or 3 years. Good effort, Brian, staff and the team today. Quite proud of your efforts.

[FiNeRaIn]

my limited expectations of a side hampered by the sale of key players over a consistent basis over the last 2 or 3 years.

oh and you better believe that as soon as 1/2 of these current players starts stepping it up, madejski will start the pressuring for a sale. The idea of constantly rebuilding every season for the next decade is not particularly thrilling in all honesty.

[URZZ]

It's got to the point at RFC, where if a player scores 10 or more goals; you almost know they'll be gone in August.

1,000th post, ding.

[AthleticoSpizz]

(taking ALF or example) Rochdale, then Rotherham now Reading....thats how it works, we are not unique

[Adrian's Fool]

Considering the heat I was impressed by the team's work rate and find it totally unsurprising they faded in the second half - they could never have kept that tempo up all match. OK, the keeper didn't have many saves to make but he did have to work pretty hard - there was plenty of pressure put on him and the defenders by our front line all game, which won us possession and forced mistakes on several occasions. Also plenty of chances created even if very little was on target.

V. satisfied with a point. Feds MOM without a doubt.

[rhroyal]

I sometimes forget how new this squad is; we almost put together a new squad by stealth (sounds strange, but makes sense to me). Not just with a few signings, but the likes of Cummings, Pearce and Church first choice for now.

If we can beat the likes of Donny and City and pick up points off the top team until Christmas, we're doing well. By then there should have been more time to gel and grow as a team, so that we can do our standard promotion charge from February onwards.

We're the opposite to Coppell's sides now. Slow starters with a strong finish, instead of sprinters in a marathon. Same end result come May, but I know which I prefer.

[FiNeRaIn]

Same end result come May, but I know which I prefer.

I don't care how we get there as we've proved whether we come in there as the form team or hang on in them as the team off form, we end up losing the play-offs either way. What is that now, like 0/5 in the play-offs?

Top two or seventh for me please.