SERIOUSLY STOP BOOING

[Top Flight]

So what is it that Stam is trying to emulate?

Isn't his footballing philosophy that of Johan Cruyff? Isn't that what Pep and Enrique have brought to Barcelona? Isn't this what we are trying to do? Watching Barcelona and Man City reminds me a lot of watching Reading at the moment. We try to play out from the back the way that they do. Our shape and tactics look similar. Obviously we are not as good at it as Barca or City and we don't have the same quality of player but the style and tactics look like Barca to me... What is Stam trying to do then? Please educate me. I want to know what you see that I don't see.

[jd82]

Have a day off TF!

[Forbury Lion]

The great thing about the booing is that the players now realise the fans are idiots for booing and as such will hopefully not take any notice of fans booing in future and instead concentrate on the job in hand, this may also help build up their immunity to hostile booing from away fans.

It's only a matter of time before some idiot fans boo a Reading player scoring a goal because it was a dirty goalmouth scramble and not a perfect volley from the halfway line.

[Ian Royal]

I don't watch a lot of Barca, but I've seen more than I want of Spain.

That style has a high hard press as a team, which I don't think we're doing, and it doesn't have the same focus on going wide to flair wingers and putting crosses in. It gets the ball forward and camps in the middle third finding ways through the middle eventually.

[jinster]

There is no pleasing some of our supporters! At the start of the season we all probably thought we would be nailed on being in the bottom 3 after the current round of fixtures, we are 11th which has exceeded mine and most fellow supporters expectations. Would the moaners rather we go back to the style of rubbish football we watched last season?! Also we are winning games, something that was very rare last season and the one before. Before people start attacking me, I have been a season ticket holder for the last 18 years, and I follow the team away from home when I can, Barnsley on Saturday being the first of the away games. Just sit back and enjoy the ride, we have not spent millions for people to moan about our style of football, nor will we be fighting for promotion this season, this is a major rebuilding job for Stam and his team, give the guy a break, rant over!

[Jano]

It's the style of a lot of Dutch teams, originating at Ajax, that he's trying to emulate, not Barcelona. Barcelona are a copy of this, brought in through their entire set up when Johan Cruyff, formerly of Ajax, was in charge. At the moment there are two problems as far as I can see of bringing this style of play to Reading -

1. There is absolutely zero movement from many of our players anywhere on the pitch. It's too easy to close us down and make it impossible to pass out from the back.

2. The majority of the players currently at the club aren't actually good enough passers of the ball to play this system at the moment. It's been an issue over the last few years, we have very few players, and have had very few players, who are capable of playing a forward pass into space that allows the player they are aiming for to actually run on to the ball, or at the very least control it easily. Too often the pass is overhit, underhit, played behind or played too close to the opposition.

That being said, I do like the way things are going and you can see it improving. You'd hope that these players are capable of doing whats being asked and they will come good eventually, they just need to practise at it and keep trying during matches. Booing them for it is ridiculous.

[Top Flight]

So it is the way that Barcelona play then. The reason I mention Barcelona is because they are the best example of this system when it works at it's most effective and devastating best. Although this season, even the mighty Barcelona with some personnel changes are struggling a little bit with it. And I mentioned Johan Cruyff as the originator/inventor of this system as well.

[sandman]

I don't watch a lot of Barca, but I've seen more than I want of Spain.

That style has a high hard press as a team, which I don't think we're doing, and it doesn't have the same focus on going wide to flair wingers and putting crosses in. It gets the ball forward and camps in the middle third finding ways through the middle eventually.

Stam believed a high, pressing game will give his new-look Royals team the best chance of success in the Championship next season.
"We try to press up high against the opponent so they couldn’t get out" - Jaap Stam in Pre Season. http://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/sport/14625933.Reading_FC__Jaap_Stam_admits_mistakes_are_inevitable_as_his_players_adapt_to_his_style_of_play/

[Top Flight]

i agree with the 2 problems that you mention Jano. But this is why we need patience and transfer windows. Time is needed on the training ground and the right players need to come in from the transfer window. Over a three year period, Stam will have us playing some exquisite football.

I like what I am seeing so far. But, I understand that we have a lot to improve before we play this system well. The fact is we needed to improve full stop. We didn't play any system well last season. We were dire. Stam has brought a breath of fresh air to the environment at Madejski Stadium.

[Snowball]

Amazing to hear, of a new side that has won 5 ties out of eight and drawn with Brighton.

And we are doing that without (ATM) a striker banging in goals.

I think Stam is doing an amazing job.


Go back and look where most of us thought we'd be by now

[NEVO12]

The problem is there's a weight of history here. 3 of our last 4 managers have tried to get us playing possession football and they have been utterly painful seasons. Now we have a new manager apparently trying to get us 'playing a new style' when its just the same style previous managers failed to succeed with.

Maybe Stam is finally the man to succeed where other have failed. (and not just in our team, in all others in the league). I don't like the booing, but those fans are booing more than this team, they're booing the years of dross that have gone before it too

This is where I'm coming from. I'm bored of enduring a series of managers trying to play a system that never works and failing, At quite a cost to the club.

Tommy Burns tried it, Rodgers tried it, Adkins, Clarke all tried and failed. Who were the ones who were successful?

Pardew, Coppell, Brian.

(OK and McGhee whose team were fcuking brilliant and could pass the ball. So there is some hope, but they ATTACKED)

And it took MM TWO WHOLE seasons to get to that passing team he wanted in 93-94. Both of those seasons exhibiting performances of dire crap veering to something quite special but generally improving game on game and certainly season on season.

So give JS and the team some slack to build something.

+1000

[genome]

Watching Barcelona and Man City reminds me a lot of watching Reading at the moment.

I believe that is the first time that sentence has ever been uttered.

[Ian Royal]

I don't watch a lot of Barca, but I've seen more than I want of Spain.

That style has a high hard press as a team, which I don't think we're doing, and it doesn't have the same focus on going wide to flair wingers and putting crosses in. It gets the ball forward and camps in the middle third finding ways through the middle eventually.

Stam believed a high, pressing game will give his new-look Royals team the best chance of success in the Championship next season.
"We try to press up high against the opponent so they couldn’t get out" - Jaap Stam in Pre Season. http://www.bracknellnews.co.uk/sport/14625933.Reading_FC__Jaap_Stam_admits_mistakes_are_inevitable_as_his_players_adapt_to_his_style_of_play/

Oh, good. So it apparently happened in a pre-season friendly. That's one element potentially addressed.

[Maneki Neko]

So it is the way that Barcelona play then. The reason I mention Barcelona is because they are the best example of this system when it works at it's most effective and devastating best. Although this season, even the mighty Barcelona with some personnel changes are struggling a little bit with it. And I mentioned Johan Cruyff as the originator/inventor of this system as well.

peps Barcelona took the basis of cruyffs ajax model and transformed it into something very different indeed.
imo

[Z175]

I'm going to add my support to the Stam revolution, again as someone who is utterly cynical about "tikki takka", like most Reading fans.

Fundamentally, keeping the ball means you are unlikely to lose. I would normally find this dull and boring but, after the past two seasons, I think we should absolutely take that!

Under Rodgers, we struggled for so long that we really weren't dominating possession in any case. Whereas this time we are looking at 60% ,70%, which I find astonishing. According to Sky we have had the 2nd most possession in the top two leagues, after Guardiola's city. Its certainly going to be hard to lose too many games. (Yes you can win the league with 20% possession, but I doubt anyone ever got relegated with 65%!)

Yet it isn't all about pointless passing between the centre backs a la Brendan. I think we are trying to about get the ball wide and overload on the flanks. For me this is reminiscent of the Steve Coppell era, at times in the first half there was plenty of tempo about our attacking.

Yes, as ever, we are going to need to get goals from somewhere, we created little on Saturday and got 2 lucky penalties. But with McShane, Van Den Berg, Evans and Kermogant in the box from corners and Beerens and McCleary running into the box, we'll certainly make our own luck playing like this I think.

[andrew1957]

Amazing to hear, of a new side that has won 5 ties out of eight and drawn with Brighton.

And we are doing that without (ATM) a striker banging in goals.

I think Stam is doing an amazing job.

Go back and look where most of us thought we'd be by now

Spot on Snowball.

I was very disappointed when Brian was sacked as I did not feel he had been given a chance. I thought that whoever took over we were far more likely to be relegated than promoted this season but so far Stam/Tevenden have done a great job both in terms of player recruitment on a very tight budget and in terms of play on the pitch.

Personally I like the new style of play and think that if it continues we will win more matches than we lose this season. It frustrates me so much when morons on the terrace are calling players to hoof the ball.

In fact anyone who boos after 5 wins, a draw and just two defeats is a complete 100% moron in my book and really should never attend the Madstad again and instead follow Chelsea.

[TFF]

Dear booers, please read and understand before tomorrow night. Thanks

“If you play from the back, to the midfield and then to the forwards, you get to the positions you want to end up. Our supporters are starting to understand this is what we’re trying to do, appreciate that this is the way we want to play…sometimes we’re going to be taking some risks in how we want to play.

“And sometimes mistakes will be made. Of course we don’t want to do that – we’re trying to prepare everybody very well so that they don’t make errors, but that’s football. You work with humans… humans make mistakes and sometimes that happens in football. We’ll do everything in our power to prep the players to make the right decisions at the right times.

“If there isn’t pressure on Ali, the goalkeeper, you should keep it. If for whatever reason you can’t play it forward, you keep it, you hold it and you wait. Because eventually one of the opponents step out because they get frustrated, because they want the ball as well. So rather than playing a long ball and losing it and having to chase it again, instead we want to build from the back to try to score a goal.

“Otherwise the opponent has got the ball, and we don’t want that. We want them to use a lot of energy chasing the ball. And then towards the end of the game, we will have saved the energy to take advantage and score goals.

“I know that it’s a totally new way of playing here. The last couple of seasons has been 4-4-2 with a flat midfield or a diamond in midfield – and that’s not the way we’re playing now. And I can understand that some of the fans want to see the ball at the other end quickly. But this is our style of play and we will try to do it better and better, time and time again.”
Read more at http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article ... Kme8ZUM.99

Got it? OK. Now stfu

[CountryRoyal]

Watching Barcelona and Man City reminds me a lot of watching Reading at the moment.

I believe that is the first time that sentence has ever been uttered.

You couldn't make it up.

He's not even trolling. That's what's worrying.

[Ian Royal]

+1 went more direct second half and it was poor

Mc Hoof Ball is long gone, get over it

How about you stop referencing him them. That way you'll also succceed in not being disrespectful to the second most successful manager in our history and a genuine club legend. Dick.

[Maneki Neko]

agreed^^^ no 0nes mentioned him except this div.

2. The majority of the players currently at the club aren't actually good enough passers of the ball to play this system at the moment. It's been an issue over the last few years, we have very few players, and have had very few players, who are capable of playing a forward pass into space that allows the player they are aiming for to actually run on to the ball, or at the very least control it easily.

I think this is a bit pointless, since weve pretty much bought a whole new team, so what happened last year is irrelevant.
Staam has bought players who are good on the ball, who can pass and control the ball. like JVDB and beerens,swift, moore and blackett.

the issue is that they don't know each other, haven't played together much and everyone is still working it all out.
apart from the two away games we lost and this latest one, we have looked very fluid, and our passing and attacking intent has been very good