BFTG villa

[Victor Meldrew]

50/50 challenges, what is this, the 60's? Going in for stupid challenges that are more liable to get you sent off does not equal fight. The late goals which you dismiss as luck, if that's the case Man United have had nothing but luck for 25 years whilst overtaking your beloved Liverpool as the countries biggest club, showed more battling qualities than any 50/50 challenge that English football fans seem to think win you football matches. We lack skill not fight.

50/50s don't have to be fouls numbskull.
Tackling has not quite yet gone out of our game.

[Victor Meldrew]

Glad to see a few posts having a go at the fans yesterday - what an absolute shower of thick pcunts you are.

Yes things weren't really coming off for Jobi yesterday but the guy never ever gives up and for all the abuse he created two goals (one disallowed). The guy captained the club to a wholly unexpected and brilliant Championship last season and he gets that in return?

And Leigertwood? The same people who chaired him off the pitch after the Forest match last year now go to games actively looking to criticise him (and Jobi). They're just waiting to leap on the first mistake either of them make. Mind blowing.

For anyone who wasn't at the game, let me tell you got rightly bollocked after the second Villa goal - Hope Akpan. Just stood around doing nothing and failed to follow the world's most obvious run which allowed them a free cross. He might be a good player in the future but he's far too raw at this level and it was fair enough to take him off the pitch.

And why is Guthrie such a saviour all of a sudden? The bloke's played better than everyone else for, oh, 45mins all season - on the occasions when he's actually bothered to turn to a game, of course. And yet you sing this guy's praises at the expense of people who played out of their skin to get us to the Prem in the first place.

Oh and Blackman - he actually played pretty well when he came on. Yes he should've done better with his header but overall his touch and movement were good. No worse than Noel Hunt.

HRK probably our MOTM but more than anything I just wanted to say that I actively dislike Reading supporters as a whole. Maybe other sets of fans are as bad but yesterday was fukking ridiculous.

I wasn't there yesterday, but it sounds like I missed a treat.

Just out of interest where did you boo from?

[sandman]

Pretty sure Feds and McCarthy would've tried to catch it or at least pushed it away from the danger zone rather than flick their hand at it. Obviously Taylor was the least culpable but first look at the replay thought he may have done slightly better.

[LoyalRoyalFan]

Pretty sure Feds would've tried to catch it or at least pushed it away from the danger zone rather than flick his hand at it. Obviously Taylor was the least culpable but first look at the replay thought he may have done slightly better.

Is Taylor catching Federici up in the mistakes table?

[RoyalBlue]

Today was awful, embarrassing and sad

The most embarrassing thing today was the fans.

As well as abusing McAnuff from the first whistle, booing and abusing Leigertwood, who was brilliant for us for 18 months, has been no worse than anybody else this season and scored the crucial goal last season, while cheering Guthrie, who has offered absolutely nothing this season and refused to play a few months ago just demonstrates how thick, pathetic and plastic many Reading fans are, and I'll be delighted when half of the ‘fans’ fúck off again next season.

Yeh that's right have a go at the fans when it's the manager who is at fault. Maybe someone would suggest it is better that you clear off with him. Who is to blame for the Guthrie situation? The idiot who signed someone who didn't fit into his preferred style of play and then got the hump when that player wouldn't/couldn't adapt to the required standard of hoofball. Who can't manage PL players and their egos? McDermott.

Anyone who thinks McDermott can bring us straight back up next season is as deluded as the manager. As usual he'll take three of four months to work out what to do, giving the stronger teams a significant head start. The only chance we will have is somehow fluking it through the playoffs.

And you like McDermott and, to a lesser extent Coppell, need to realise that what players did in previous seasons gets you sod all points in the current season. Equally, players who look reasonably good in the Championship may not be good enough for the PL - hence QPR ditching the two that we signed.

Glad to see a few posts having a go at the fans yesterday - what an absolute shower of thick pcunts you are.

Yes things weren't really coming off for Jobi yesterday but the guy never ever gives up and for all the abuse he created two goals (one disallowed). The guy captained the club to a wholly unexpected and brilliant Championship last season and he gets that in return?

And Leigertwood? The same people who chaired him off the pitch after the Forest match last year now go to games actively looking to criticise him (and Jobi). They're just waiting to leap on the first mistake either of them make. Mind blowing.

For anyone who wasn't at the game, let me tell you got rightly bollocked after the second Villa goal - Hope Akpan. Just stood around doing nothing and failed to follow the world's most obvious run which allowed them a free cross. He might be a good player in the future but he's far too raw at this level and it was fair enough to take him off the pitch.

And why is Guthrie such a saviour all of a sudden? The bloke's played better than everyone else for, oh, 45mins all season - on the occasions when he's actually bothered to turn to a game, of course. And yet you sing this guy's praises at the expense of people who played out of their skin to get us to the Prem in the first place.

Oh and Blackman - he actually played pretty well when he came on. Yes he should've done better with his header but overall his touch and movement were good. No worse than Noel Hunt.
.

Who is failing to spot the obvious - i.e. some heroes from the Championship may be slightly out of their depth in the PL? - McDermott
Who is to blame for playing Akpan out of his depth? - McDermott!
Who cocked up the whole Guthrie situation (signing one type of player and then trying to change him to another)? McDermott!
Blackman? For starters I reckon Hunt would have buried that chance. But assuming you are right and he is no worse than Hunt then who the f*ck signed a player of that quality when we needed someone who could significantly improve our chances of staying in the PL? McDermott of course!
Then we have the brilliant signing of Carrico by McDermott! But that doesn't matter because according to McDermott we have plenty of cover for midfield!
And Gunter? Another class signing - by McDermott!

[RoyalBlue]

What makes me laugh is accusations of loyalty at Brian yet fans have decided McAnuff isn't a worthy captain so boo him for only setting up the two goals, and laud Guthrie for coming on and instantly giving the ball away and continuing to do so for 10 crucial minutes.

.

Funny that, I saw him come on battle well, win possession and complete some passes, which is more than some of our players did for most of the time they were on the pitch. It is a complete lie to suggest that he kept giving the ball away in a crucial ten minutes.

[Colin Cheeselog]

Yeh that's right have a go at the fans when it's the manager who is at fault. Maybe someone would suggest it is better that you clear off with him. Who is to blame for the Guthrie situation? The idiot who signed someone who didn't fit into his preferred style of play and then got the hump when that player wouldn't/couldn't adapt to the required standard of hoofball. Who can't manage PL players and their egos? McDermott.

Anyone who thinks McDermott can bring us straight back up next season is as deluded as the manager. As usual he'll take three of four months to work out what to do, giving the stronger teams a significant head start. The only chance we will have is somehow fluking it through the playoffs.

And you like McDermott and, to a lesser extent Coppell, need to realise that what players did in previous seasons gets you sod all points in the current season. Equally, players who look reasonably good in the Championship may not be good enough for the PL - hence QPR ditching the two that we signed

You’re right, perhaps we can arrange a 90 minute boo-athon, after all, booing and abuse is right up there as one of the greatest motivation techniques known to man. Move aside Herzberg, Adams and Locke, the Reading mongs are here with their motivational booing technique.

McDermot is doing his best, as are the players. Unfortunately their best isn’t going to be good enough to keep us in the league, but we all knew that was likely to be the case 10 months ago, nothing has changed. This isn’t a new phenomenon, the majority of promoted teams over the years also haven’t been good enough to stay in the league.

Why are people surprised when our 31 year old winger, who has spent his entire career until now in the Championship, is unable to regularly beat two Aston Villa defenders? If he was capable he certainly wouldn’t be playing for Reading.

The least the fans can do when supporting a small, financial restricted, unattractive club is to actually support the team, have a bit of respect for the people that have been overachieving and given us some good times and keep your dignity. Unfortunately a high proportion of Reading fans are unable to gain perspective, and so they shout abuse instead because thing aren’t going exactly how they’d want them too, which only serves to annoy and demotivate the players, annoy the management, and make the decent fans around them realise what thick mongs they really are.

[Jano]

I'm not going to defend the fans for the booing yesterday, it's not going to help matters and I really can't see it pushing McDermott into changing anything. May aswell just get behind the team for whats left of the season.

Been thinking about the way the season has been going in general for a while now and I've come to the following conclusions -

At the start of the season when we were very poor, especially down our right while Gunter and Cummings were playing, the opposition targetted this and we were conceeding goals from there. We brought in Kelly and we have stopped shipping goals down that side. At a similar time, Shorey was at fault for a couple of goals against Man Utd. Before this, a lot of people were stating he was comfortably our best defender and one of the only players who looked premiership quality. He then got dropped, and almost every goal I have seen scored against us has since come down our left. Harte is getting targetted by the opposition who can quite clearly see he is a weak link in defence. Any one with any sort of pace causes him huge problems, Agbonlahor yesterday was a case in point. He has offered almost nothing from set peices so far so that can't be a valid argument for picking him.

The last few games have also seen some very odd match ups in defence. If we are playing Pearce and Mariappa, and the opposition have a big man and a pacy striker playing off him, surely it makes sense for Mariappa to pick up the pacy one and Pearce deal with the big guy? Yet this doesnt seem to happen and that has to be down to the tactics.

Leigertwood genuinely scares me. As people around me were saying yesterday, he is better off the ball than on it. Ok he will win a few balls back, but what he does with the ball then usually invites more pressure on us, by either picking the wrong pass to someone already in trouble (back pass to Taylor yesterday was awful), or punts it either to the opposition or out. He hasn't been poor for 3-4 games as was said on the radio yesterday, he has been the same thing all season. If he is going to play, and it seems Brian is hell bent on playing him, Guthrie needs to play alongside him so he has an out ball. I don't understand why Akpan is being taken off instead of him, as he offers so much more to the team than Leigertwood.

McAnuf, despite his assists yesterday, was poor. He's too slow to run past people and he's not crafty enough to pull off a trick to get round them, his crosses are aimless, and he generally wastes possession or picks the wrong option. In fact picking the wrong pass seems to be symptomatic of the entire team. What exactly is the point of playing a long high ball when we have the two shortest players in attack?

[St Pauli]

You’re right, perhaps we can arrange a 90 minute boo-athon, after all, booing and abuse is right up there as one of the greatest motivation techniques known to man. Move aside Herzberg, Adams and Locke, the Reading mongs are here with their motivational booing technique.

McDermot is doing his best, as are the players. Unfortunately their best isn’t going to be good enough to keep us in the league, but we all knew that was likely to be the case 10 months ago, nothing has changed. This isn’t a new phenomenon, the majority of promoted teams over the years also haven’t been good enough to stay in the league.

Why are people surprised when our 31 year old winger, who has spent his entire career until now in the Championship, is unable to regularly beat two Aston Villa defenders? If he was capable he certainly wouldn’t be playing for Reading.

The least the fans can do when supporting a small, financial restricted, unattractive club is to actually support the team, have a bit of respect for the people that have been overachieving and given us some good times and keep your dignity. Unfortunately a high proportion of Reading fans are unable to gain perspective, and so they shout abuse instead because thing aren’t going exactly how they’d want them too, which only serves to annoy and demotivate the players, annoy the management, and make the decent fans around them realise what thick mongs they really are.

I'd agree if everyone was doing their best and we were still doing badly. But I don't think Mcdermott is doing as well as he could be, because he's basically a nice guy, and as a result is being too loyal to longstanding players. AFAIR he is on record as saying that signing and playing new players following promotion is an insult to the promotion squad. Nice principles, but when it means you keep starting Leigertwood every game it's putting your principles and mates/adopted sons before the good of the club.

Was discussing the game with my brother at the Mothers Day lunch*, and pretty much in agreement that Mdermott's loyalty and team selection was the focus of the anger and frustration at the game yesterday and the players aren't at fault for that but will inevitably be the focus of the booing.

Don't agree with the individual jeering of players going off yesterday, but the half time full time booing I won't criticise. Supporters pay substantial amounts to attend, and the crowd has been quite supportive for some time considering the dire season we're having. Other clubs/fans would have been far more critical of the squad and management before now. On the continent there'd be more criticism from the stands, protests outside the stadium/threats at the training ground, our players will/should get over a bit of booing.

The problem is there seems to be absolutely no plan, or what plan existed seems to have been abandoned following a short string of good results. What angered me most was the dire defending for the first goal and conceding so soon after scoring- schoolboy, embarassing stuff (and this is when the atmosphere turned, had they conceeded the two goals at other points in the game the crowd reaction wouldn't have been so negative). We still can't defend a lead so late in the season.

It's not the players' fault, but if the board, owner, management don't want booing fans they need to:

1) Invest more to avoid playing an out of depth team.
2) Sort out the defending so that it resembles something capable of stopping attacks/clearing a ball. This second one should not be that expensive or hard to sort out.

*For the AE gastros: Dew Drop Inn, smoked salmon and creme cheese, roast beef, dark chocolate torte 7/10

[ZacNaloen]

What irritates me is we started putting some good results together and then completely abandoned the setup that got us those results the first game we lost playing it.


Utterly bizarre considering how many chances he's going to give 4-4-2.

[Royalclapper]

Another crappy defeat. The usual crappy woolly football. there's little to get behind at the moment. I suppose the supporters were just hacked off with having to endure watching the same old same old with not even a hint of a change in ethos.

In all fairness to Wigan and Villa, they came here and stuck to trying to play good football even though they were relegation scrap 6 pointers. And that is probably the most frustrating thing for the fans, the dirge and dour nature of our players and manager rarely looking like they might want to improve themselves. The hard fought promotion of last season is however deserving of a season's worth of being given the chance and I don't think McD deserves to be sacked just now.

I guess it's the all or nothing culture which the spotlight of being in the Premier League brings. It's clear that Harte, Legs, McAnuff, and Hunt have had their day as far as being effective enough for top tier football is concerned. Furthermore, it will need some careful and shrewd management to stabilise and rebuild a side that is capable of better than what we have now, especially when we will continue to have fewer resources than most we are competing with.

[RoyalBlue]

Yeh that's right have a go at the fans when it's the manager who is at fault. Maybe someone would suggest it is better that you clear off with him. Who is to blame for the Guthrie situation? The idiot who signed someone who didn't fit into his preferred style of play and then got the hump when that player wouldn't/couldn't adapt to the required standard of hoofball. Who can't manage PL players and their egos? McDermott.

Anyone who thinks McDermott can bring us straight back up next season is as deluded as the manager. As usual he'll take three of four months to work out what to do, giving the stronger teams a significant head start. The only chance we will have is somehow fluking it through the playoffs.

And you like McDermott and, to a lesser extent Coppell, need to realise that what players did in previous seasons gets you sod all points in the current season. Equally, players who look reasonably good in the Championship may not be good enough for the PL - hence QPR ditching the two that we signed

You’re right, perhaps we can arrange a 90 minute boo-athon, after all, booing and abuse is right up there as one of the greatest motivation techniques known to man. Move aside Herzberg, Adams and Locke, the Reading mongs are here with their motivational booing technique.

McDermot is doing his best, as are the players. Unfortunately their best isn’t going to be good enough to keep us in the league, but we all knew that was likely to be the case 10 months ago, nothing has changed. This isn’t a new phenomenon, the majority of promoted teams over the years also haven’t been good enough to stay in the league.

Why are people surprised when our 31 year old winger, who has spent his entire career until now in the Championship, is unable to regularly beat two Aston Villa defenders? If he was capable he certainly wouldn’t be playing for Reading.

The least the fans can do when supporting a small, financial restricted, unattractive club is to actually support the team, have a bit of respect for the people that have been overachieving and given us some good times and keep your dignity. Unfortunately a high proportion of Reading fans are unable to gain perspective, and so they shout abuse instead because thing aren’t going exactly how they’d want them too, which only serves to annoy and demotivate the players, annoy the management, and make the decent fans around them realise what thick mongs they really are.

FFS did I promote the idea of booing the team?! I merely pointed out your stupidity in lashing out at the fans in the way that you did when the management are the real villains of the piece. So before you start calling people 'thick mongs', have a look in the mirror. What's more, if the management do get annoyed by the booing then fantastic, I certainly won't lose sleep over that. As others have pointed out elsewhere, they have had far more support/less criticism up until now than would have been the case at very many clubs, probably in recognition of some of the factors you have mentioned. However, the time eventually comes when people start to think enough is enough and finally vent their anger at the lack of change/improvement, Sadly it is quite difficult to give McDermott and co stick without the players feeling it is directed at them.

The fact that McDermott is doing his best, just confirms that he is not good enough for this level. And to be honest, 'his best' this season - particularly his dealings in the transfer market and handling of some of the players - has been very poor.

As for 'small and financially restricted' nowadays that is more down to the choice of chairman and owner, rather than actual finances. What's more dependent on which bit of McDermott's post-match interview you believe (he seemed to contradict himself in just two sentences) we are not financially restricted as we made that massive bid for Sig. Whilst management and some supporters keep adopting the 'little club mentality' we will continue to fail at the higher levels. Just why the hell shouldn't Reading have a winger capable of taking on and beating 2 Villa defenders? To suggest that they shouldn't is unambitious nonsense.

Finally there is only one mong on here claiming that booing is being adopted as a motivational technique and that is you. I am sure that everyone booing is pretty aware that it won't motivate, nor do they intend it to. The booing is their way of expressing their significant and very well founded dissatisfaction at repeated p*ss poor performances. How else do you suggest they can do that? Maybe they should all just vote with their feet and wallets - I'm sure Anton, Madejski and McDermott would love that. Or perhaps you as the management and motivational guru would care to arrange and facilitate some formal feedback sessions where supporters can calmly and constructively provide feedback to the management and players?!

[Arch]

Finally brought myself to watch the game. Pretty much agree 100% with Maguire. A couple of things I find completely incomprehensible: people getting on MacAnuff's back - he was one of our two most dangerous players; booing the Akpan substitution - Akpan contributed absolutely bollock all to the game.

[West_Reading]

Finally brought myself to watch the game. Pretty much agree 100% with Maguire. A couple of things I find completely incomprehensible: people getting on MacAnuff's back - he was one of our two most dangerous players; booing the Akpan substitution - Akpan contributed absolutely bollock all to the game.

This is what I said earlier. Both Hunt and Akpan had ineffective games, and booing the substitutions as if we're taking Iniesta and Messi off, is completely laughable.

[Blue&White Mage]

Finally brought myself to watch the game. Pretty much agree 100% with Maguire. A couple of things I find completely incomprehensible: people getting on MacAnuff's back - he was one of our two most dangerous players; booing the Akpan substitution - Akpan contributed absolutely bollock all to the game.

as I understand it Akpan did the fllick on for the goal - that not right then?

[Colin Cheeselog]

FFS

I read this far. It confirmed my previous thoughts.

[Sanguine]

What was Pearce up to with his nose? Watched the highlights this morning. He goes for his nose 5 or 6 times in the build up to the goal, was he playing with a cold?

[soggy biscuit]

Finally brought myself to watch the game. Pretty much agree 100% with Maguire. A couple of things I find completely incomprehensible: people getting on MacAnuff's back - he was one of our two most dangerous players; booing the Akpan substitution - Akpan contributed absolutely bollock all to the game.

McAnuff is just the thick fans pantomime villain. He does something good and gets zero praise, he makes a mistake and gets ten times the abuse anyone else would get if they made the same mistake.

[P!ssed Off]

Finally brought myself to watch the game. Pretty much agree 100% with Maguire. A couple of things I find completely incomprehensible: people getting on MacAnuff's back - he was one of our two most dangerous players; booing the Akpan substitution - Akpan contributed absolutely bollock all to the game.

This is what I said earlier. Both Hunt and Akpan had ineffective games, and booing the substitutions as if we're taking Iniesta and Messi off, is completely laughable.

Akpan and Leigertwood were both poor in the first half, both should probably have gone off at half time, especially as we had options on the bench.

I don't think Hunt did a lot wrong, would have had a goal if he had not been slightly offside so I'm not sure it can be said he had an ineffective game as a striker. Personally I don't rate Blackman's current ability. Maybe the fans saw Blackman coming on as a reminder of our failure of a transfer window. We needed a goal against a Premiership team and we brought on a player who's only claim to fame is half a season of mild success in League One.

[Maguire]

What irritates me is we started putting some good results together and then completely abandoned the setup that got us those results the first game we lost playing it.

Utterly bizarre considering how many chances he's going to give 4-4-2.

That's because Pogrebnyak was banned.

Do you think the outcome of a game is just dependent upon the formation you pick, or do you think the quality of players at your disposal has a bearing too?