by jumpers for goalposts »
10 Mar 2013 10:01
It was an unfortunate atmosphere yesterday. Normally i would never condone the antics of the crowd, but yesterday the vast majority seemed to be the end of their tethers with this managerial regime
The sarcastic clapping of the Leigertwood substitution and the booing was more aimed at the manager than anything, as peverse as that sounds. Without wishing to sound like an American cop drama, Legs was just the collateral damage. I notice Brian came out on the radio afterwards and said he was disappointed for Legs given his loyalty to the club. Well Brian you are just as responsible for the whole situation. Selecting a technically limted player, who is totally devoid of confidence, in a side that is also devoid of confidence, when we are supposed to be trying to win matches to survive.
Let's just clarify one thing- Legs is not useless. He breaks up play well, and has a role in a 4-5-1 formation. His instructions should be to win the ball and give it to a deep lying Danny Guthrie, who has an eye for a pass. Instead Legs gets played alongside a recent recruit from League 1, offering no creativity at all in the middle of the park, whilst Guthrie sits it out on the bench. The crowd see this week in week out, with the result that their patience finally snaps, and they send a message filled with vitriol, but at least not ambiguous, to the clown orchestrating the appalling football we have seen in recent weeks.
I'm well beyond getting angry with the players- they are what they are. McAnuff is not Andrei Kanchelskis in his prime, and Noel Hunt is not Alan Shearer, but you have to work with what you've got. I often says to those around me at football; 'How are we trying to win the game'. With other teams it's obvious- Swansea, Wigan, Soton are all passing teams that try to play patient possession football. West Ham and Stoke play atrocious but highly effective long ball football and win games that way. What is the Reading strategy? I'm none the wiser this season having seen most games.
Brian mentioned in his interview with BBCRB after the game that Villa had a £10m forward in Benteke, as if that justified why they would inevitably win the game. Well if that's the attitude then please walk away. When a manager constantly harps on like that it has to affect the players, and they have a ready-made excuse after every defeat. He has lost the fans through poor tactics, bewildering starting line ups (Yesterday HRK started wide right and Jobi wide left!) and even more bewildering substitutions.