BFTG - Ipswich

[RoyalTank]

McCarthy 7
Bridge 7
Pearce 7
Morrison 7
Gunter 7
McCleary 6
Karacan 7
Guthrie 6
Robson-Kanu 6
Drenthe 8
Le Fondre 7

Team: 7

How can you give Guthrie the same rating as HRK? HRK has an absolute stinker, Guthrie was involved in every attack!

[Royal Lady]

Because some people are blinkered and won't give credit where it's due cos a player once reacted badly to not being included in the team - allegedly. McD handled him appallingly, tho I say so myself. He gave 100% yesterday and he impressed me when he was given chances last season.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Rather than repeat myself : http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/reading?cc=5739

[AirRaidSiren]

Because some people are blinkered and won't give credit where it's due cos a player once reacted badly to not being included in the team - allegedly. McD handled him appallingly, tho I say so myself. He gave 100% yesterday and he impressed me when he was given chances last season.

This

[SouthSmallRoyal]

Brett Williams?

Lol, easily forgotten!

Released, wasn't he?

[Royal91]

Because some people are blinkered and won't give credit where it's due cos a player once reacted badly to not being included in the team - allegedly. McD handled him appallingly, tho I say so myself. He gave 100% yesterday and he impressed me when he was given chances last season.

This

This!!

[windermere_royal]

Just like to add how impressive Jay Tabb was for them, looked like a whole new ball player to me, as well as scoring he was all over the place and hardly wasted a ball.

[Royal Lady]

Rather than repeat myself : http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/reading?cc=5739

Presume your comment about the story behind Mariappa not even being on bench "could be interesting in the coming weeks" is not that you are in the know about anything.....

[Libertine]

The thing I am very happy about/impressed with is that from all reports we were far from our best yesterday but we still managed to get all three points against an Ipswich side many are picking to do very well this season. I know it is the smallest of samplings possible, but if this is any indication we should have a team that is seriously challenging for a top two by the end.

[Royal Lady]

The thing I am very happy about/impressed with is that from all reports we were far from our best yesterday but we still managed to get all three points against an Ipswich side many are picking to do very well this season. I know it is the smallest of samplings possible, but if this is any indication we should have a team that is seriously challenging for a top two by the end.

I'd agree with that, except that I doubt Ipswich will do particularly well this season tbh.

[Libertine]

The thing I am very happy about/impressed with is that from all reports we were far from our best yesterday but we still managed to get all three points against an Ipswich side many are picking to do very well this season. I know it is the smallest of samplings possible, but if this is any indication we should have a team that is seriously challenging for a top two by the end.

I'd agree with that, except that I doubt Ipswich will do particularly well this season tbh.

If the first half was any indication they gave us all kinds of trouble until they tired and faded in the second half. Mick will address that problem to make sure it stops happening. I do believe they will be a top half team this season. But this post is mainly about us and how the team found a way to win when not at their best, by a long shot, for an extended period of the game...

[WestRoyal]

McCarthy 7
Bridge 7
Pearce 7
Morrison 7
Gunter 7
McCleary 6
Karacan 7
Guthrie 6
Robson-Kanu 6
Drenthe 8
Le Fondre 7

Team: 7

How can you give Guthrie the same rating as HRK? HRK has an absolute stinker, Guthrie was involved in every attack!

Just what I was thinking, same for mccleary. I guess people just put what they want because they can. No biggie though

[Twix]

not getting the guthrie love in. his passing was wayward at best and still too many mistakes and strops for my liking - still two moments of class driving forward did lift the crowd. karacan looked out of sorts, hrk unfit, gunter caught forward too often and the centre back pairing unbalanced.

thought everything good we did went through drenthe and he is going to be different class this season. He's far too good for this division. Williams cameo was also very promising.

my main concern is how we reverted to the bad stuff of hit and hope football from last season when we went a goal down. despite how good we looked when we got the ball down and played football, we looked equally bad playing long ball.

Can't blame them given the hostility of the crowd in the first half. If you want the players to cut out the percentage football, then they have to feel comfortable on the ball knowing that the crowd isn't going to get on their backs as soon as they mishit a pass.

The biggest challenge facing the players this year will be the atmosphere inside the stadium when they're a goal or two down.

Tbh crowd hostility was due to the back 3 not passing it out from the back. They were simply either hoofing it straight away or passing it amongst themselves and then hoofing it. Case in point, Guthrie and the crowds reaction to Pearce snubbing a simple forward pass for the nth time and passing it square, to inevitably be hoofed, instead.

Exactly! There's no point Morrison and Peace passing it to each other five times if they're just going is boot it up the pitch anyway(often straight to an Ipswich player), even if our attacking player wins the ball we're giving the opposition time to re-organise when one of the main points of a passing game should be to pull them out of position, if they're going to do an aimless long-ball it would be better to do so straight away.

[Ian Royal]

Thanks for the reviews everyone. Some interesting reading. Nice to see we seemed to shrug off some of the problems that looked to be there in a preseason after a ropey 1st half and kick on to win the game.

[Drew_3]

Exactly! There's no point Morrison and Peace passing it to each other five times if they're just going is boot it up the pitch anyway(often straight to an Ipswich player), even if our attacking player wins the ball we're giving the opposition time to re-organise when one of the main points of a passing game should be to pull them out of position, if they're going to do an aimless long-ball it would be better to do so straight away.

The point being that the longer type passes within this style should be just that, i.e still a pass and NOT an aimless hoof forwards. This was one of the elements of our play yesterday that still needs some refinement, but if we are patient and continue to support the players they will learn and improve this aspect of our play, arguably it will be the hardest aspect to imploy as it does require a reasonable level of technical ability but I believe both Morrison and Pearce are capable of it aswell as the likes of Marriapa should he get the chance. Another big reason why this will take a little time to get it to where NA want's it, is as someone else in here mentioned, the habbits learned under previous regimes

[AthleticoSpizz]

allegedly. McD handled him appallingly

What are these allegations?

Why would a fully grown man (on priviledged job money and an agent) need "handling" anyway?

Delighted that he had a good game yesterday (cracking goal etc etc), but last seasons "no-show" was according to him, everybodies fault but his own.

[Royal Lady]

Where were you last season? McD didn't play him and he got the arse. It was then reported that he refused to travel. McD was quoted as saying he needed to sort his head out. Guthrie made a public apology - mcD, having bought him in, gave him little chance in the team. When he did play, and under Adkins mostly, I could see he could be a real asset to us. The "allegedly" I wrote is to do with the stuff I just wrote. I then said I thought McD had handled him appallingly. Hth.

[AthleticoSpizz]

nothing new then

[Royal Lady]

Didn't say it was - you asked for these "alleged" details - I reminded you of them. You asked why he needed handling - my response clearly gave those reasons. In the same way ballotelli needed to be handled by Mancini, Barton needs to be handled, robin Friday needed to be handled and, probably, drenthe will need proper handling by Adkins.

[TBM]

McCarthy 7
Bridge 7
Pearce 7
Morrison 7
Gunter 7
McCleary 6
Karacan 7
Guthrie 6
Robson-Kanu 6
Drenthe 8
Le Fondre 7

Team: 7

You do know Guthrie scored our winner, don't you?

and was involved in most attacks?

and did probably the best move of the game?

lol @ you