Pauno out

[Zip]

Funny how the anger directed at Pauno has taken a quantum leap up as our points deduction has come in, like he's at fault for that.

It's got fcuk all to do with the points deduction and everything to do with the continuous shambolic team selection and performances. People have been more patient with him due to injuries and lack of options, but Tuesday was the strongest squad we've had possibly all season, and it was the worst performance.

It’s more about the style of play. It’s painful to watch players cluster together making short passes which puts their team mate under pressure immediately. We take an age to get the ball out wide in attacking position. We overplay like mad.
We nearly always start slowly allowing the opposition to take the initiative.

Still the players were tired.Bless them.

[Hound]

I think you forget how dull some of the Stam football became - the horrendous slow back and forth across the back 4. Don't think we are close to that yet, but granted we were dismally poor on Tuesday - and in other games as well. At least we seem to have other gears now, just we don't consistently use them

How dissimilar is it now? I personally still see that slow passing around the back four. Sure, it’s slightly more progressive but not to a great extent

Just look at some of the games since the start of October and the amount of shots we’ve had:
Cardiff - 2 shots (1 on target)
Blackpool - 4 shots (3 on target)
Bournemouth - 9 shots (1 on target)
Millwall - 9 shots (0 on target)
Sheffield - 6 shots (2 on target)

Can add Blackburn (2 shots on target) to that list too although at least we got double figures for shots. You don’t win games of football regularly enough with stats like that

Thats being selective though and showing a side in poor form. We did have 10 (6) vs Barnsley, 12(6) vs Forest and 14(5) vs Brum in that same period

I see very little slow passing round the back - where we tend to get congested is the midfield, where we overplay and end up slowing ourselves down. Our possession stats don't look like the Stam days - suggest we're hovering around the 50% mark

Stam was possession for the sake of it. Keep ball until we could hopefully get a bit of space and put in a cross. Very lethargic. Loads of energy now, it's just generally not well used. And whereas we played to the wing under stam, its all very narrow currently.

[URZZZZ]

I think you forget how dull some of the Stam football became - the horrendous slow back and forth across the back 4. Don't think we are close to that yet, but granted we were dismally poor on Tuesday - and in other games as well. At least we seem to have other gears now, just we don't consistently use them

How dissimilar is it now? I personally still see that slow passing around the back four. Sure, it’s slightly more progressive but not to a great extent

Just look at some of the games since the start of October and the amount of shots we’ve had:
Cardiff - 2 shots (1 on target)
Blackpool - 4 shots (3 on target)
Bournemouth - 9 shots (1 on target)
Millwall - 9 shots (0 on target)
Sheffield - 6 shots (2 on target)

Can add Blackburn (2 shots on target) to that list too although at least we got double figures for shots. You don’t win games of football regularly enough with stats like that

Thats being selective though and showing a side in poor form. We did have 10 (6) vs Barnsley, 12(6) vs Forest and 14(5) vs Brum in that same period

I see very little slow passing round the back - where we tend to get congested is the midfield, where we overplay and end up slowing ourselves down. Our possession stats don't look like the Stam days - suggest we're hovering around the 50% mark

Stam was possession for the sake of it. Keep ball until we could hopefully get a bit of space and put in a cross. Very lethargic. Loads of energy now, it's just generally not well used. And whereas we played to the wing under stam, its all very narrow currently.

And that’s fundamentally where I don’t agree - in that it’s showing a side in poor form because our lack of shots has been consistent through most the season. We’ve scored 3 goals in the last 6 and a half matches (or going back further, 8 goals in 11 games - and that’s not being selective)

You said we played well against Preston elsewhere which I guess was true to an extent but we had 2 shots on target all game. 3 against Bristol. 2 against Coventry. 1 against Huddersfield. 4 against QPR. 4 against Fulham. Difference being, IMO, is the half chances we were creating at the start of the season were being converted, which we’re not doing now. But through the duration of the season, aside from a couple of games, we’ve rarely created clear cut chances. Our (only) striker (before Carroll) is on 0 goals in 15 starts which speaks enough for itself

I may be wrong which I’m happy to accept but would suggest in terms of chances created/shots on target, we’re one of the worst teams in the league for it. We all learnt from last season the unsustainability of relying on scoring every shot

Maybe the style is different to Stam’s but the whole atmosphere around the club doesn’t feel too dissimilar to those days. Football is predictable and stubborn, give away sloppy goals and don’t create enough for our striker. Similarities are certainly present

[Hound]

Maybe the style is different to Stam’s but the whole atmosphere around the club doesn’t feel too dissimilar to those days. Football is predictable and stubborn, give away sloppy goals and don’t create enough for our striker. Similarities are certainly present

I don't disagree with this on the whole. Predictable and stubborn certainly (though to an extent that has been forced by injuries)

I don't think the atmosphere is where it was under Stam quite yet - though not discounting that it might be with another month of performances like Sheff U. Pauno is obvs more likeable which helps his cause and the players seem to be to much working much harder, to me at least.

Guess we'll see over the next few weeks. Pauno has options. If he continues to choose and play the same failing system with the same personnel then he'll deserve all the criticism he will undoubtedly get

[Snowflake Royal]

Sorry mate, shit day.

I work with total oxf*rd pcunts who are being particularly ridiculous today.

Had no idea you worked with Ian.

Sorry Ian, not laughing at you, just the humour. Trying to prove I still have some in me today.

S'ok, wouldn’t care either way.. opinions of internet plebs who don't know me rarely bother me.

My 360 feedback is great.

[Zip]

How dissimilar is it now? I personally still see that slow passing around the back four. Sure, it’s slightly more progressive but not to a great extent

Just look at some of the games since the start of October and the amount of shots we’ve had:
Cardiff - 2 shots (1 on target)
Blackpool - 4 shots (3 on target)
Bournemouth - 9 shots (1 on target)
Millwall - 9 shots (0 on target)
Sheffield - 6 shots (2 on target)

Can add Blackburn (2 shots on target) to that list too although at least we got double figures for shots. You don’t win games of football regularly enough with stats like that

Thats being selective though and showing a side in poor form. We did have 10 (6) vs Barnsley, 12(6) vs Forest and 14(5) vs Brum in that same period

I see very little slow passing round the back - where we tend to get congested is the midfield, where we overplay and end up slowing ourselves down. Our possession stats don't look like the Stam days - suggest we're hovering around the 50% mark

Stam was possession for the sake of it. Keep ball until we could hopefully get a bit of space and put in a cross. Very lethargic. Loads of energy now, it's just generally not well used. And whereas we played to the wing under stam, its all very narrow currently.

And that’s fundamentally where I don’t agree - in that it’s showing a side in poor form because our lack of shots has been consistent through most the season. We’ve scored 3 goals in the last 6 and a half matches (or going back further, 8 goals in 11 games - and that’s not being selective)

You said we played well against Preston elsewhere which I guess was true to an extent but we had 2 shots on target all game. 3 against Bristol. 2 against Coventry. 1 against Huddersfield. 4 against QPR. 4 against Fulham. Difference being, IMO, is the half chances we were creating at the start of the season were being converted, which we’re not doing now. But through the duration of the season, aside from a couple of games, we’ve rarely created clear cut chances. Our (only) striker (before Carroll) is on 0 goals in 15 starts which speaks enough for itself

I may be wrong which I’m happy to accept but would suggest in terms of chances created/shots on target, we’re one of the worst teams in the league for it. We all learnt from last season the unsustainability of relying on scoring every shot

Maybe the style is different to Stam’s but the whole atmosphere around the club doesn’t feel too dissimilar to those days. Football is predictable and stubborn, give away sloppy goals and don’t create enough for our striker. Similarities are certainly present

Yep agree with this. Our chances/goal conversion rate was very high during our winning run in September. That was never going to be sustainable. We haven’t outplayed any team this season. We have just edged out teams in games that could easily have gone the other way.

[Zip]

Maybe the style is different to Stam’s but the whole atmosphere around the club doesn’t feel too dissimilar to those days. Football is predictable and stubborn, give away sloppy goals and don’t create enough for our striker. Similarities are certainly present

I don't disagree with this on the whole. Predictable and stubborn certainly (though to an extent that has been forced by injuries)

I don't think the atmosphere is where it was under Stam quite yet - though not discounting that it might be with another month of performances like Sheff U. Pauno is obvs more likeable which helps his cause and the players seem to be to much working much harder, to me at least.

Guess we'll see over the next few weeks. Pauno has options. If he continues to choose and play the same failing system with the same personnel then he'll deserve all the criticism he will undoubtedly get

Jnr felt the atmosphere was turning toxic on Tuesday night. I didn’t really notice it but I think it’s going to start turning against Pauno very quickly if things don’t improve.

[Royal_jimmy]

I'm just done with Pauno. Circumstances have been difficult and I get that but I am not convinced he is the man to take us forward. If we fail to win any of the next 2 matches his position will be untenable

[Royal_jimmy]

Maybe the style is different to Stam’s but the whole atmosphere around the club doesn’t feel too dissimilar to those days. Football is predictable and stubborn, give away sloppy goals and don’t create enough for our striker. Similarities are certainly present

I don't disagree with this on the whole. Predictable and stubborn certainly (though to an extent that has been forced by injuries)

I don't think the atmosphere is where it was under Stam quite yet - though not discounting that it might be with another month of performances like Sheff U. Pauno is obvs more likeable which helps his cause and the players seem to be to much working much harder, to me at least.

Guess we'll see over the next few weeks. Pauno has options. If he continues to choose and play the same failing system with the same personnel then he'll deserve all the criticism he will undoubtedly get

Jnr felt the atmosphere was turning toxic on Tuesday night. I didn’t really notice it but I think it’s going to start turning against Pauno very quickly if things don’t improve.

There were a fair few outside the ground wanting the manager out

[Zip]

I don't disagree with this on the whole. Predictable and stubborn certainly (though to an extent that has been forced by injuries)

I don't think the atmosphere is where it was under Stam quite yet - though not discounting that it might be with another month of performances like Sheff U. Pauno is obvs more likeable which helps his cause and the players seem to be to much working much harder, to me at least.

Guess we'll see over the next few weeks. Pauno has options. If he continues to choose and play the same failing system with the same personnel then he'll deserve all the criticism he will undoubtedly get

Jnr felt the atmosphere was turning toxic on Tuesday night. I didn’t really notice it but I think it’s going to start turning against Pauno very quickly if things don’t improve.

There were a fair few outside the ground wanting the manager out

Some boos at HT too.

[windermereROYAL]

I like the guy, he speaks very well, but so do I and I don`t claim to be a good manager either, we are clearly in decline and he needs to be given a time limit, something like the festive period, if he hasn`t turned it around by then it`s goodbye sunshine,

[Snowflake Royal]

Thats being selective though and showing a side in poor form. We did have 10 (6) vs Barnsley, 12(6) vs Forest and 14(5) vs Brum in that same period

I see very little slow passing round the back - where we tend to get congested is the midfield, where we overplay and end up slowing ourselves down. Our possession stats don't look like the Stam days - suggest we're hovering around the 50% mark

Stam was possession for the sake of it. Keep ball until we could hopefully get a bit of space and put in a cross. Very lethargic. Loads of energy now, it's just generally not well used. And whereas we played to the wing under stam, its all very narrow currently.

And that’s fundamentally where I don’t agree - in that it’s showing a side in poor form because our lack of shots has been consistent through most the season. We’ve scored 3 goals in the last 6 and a half matches (or going back further, 8 goals in 11 games - and that’s not being selective)

You said we played well against Preston elsewhere which I guess was true to an extent but we had 2 shots on target all game. 3 against Bristol. 2 against Coventry. 1 against Huddersfield. 4 against QPR. 4 against Fulham. Difference being, IMO, is the half chances we were creating at the start of the season were being converted, which we’re not doing now. But through the duration of the season, aside from a couple of games, we’ve rarely created clear cut chances. Our (only) striker (before Carroll) is on 0 goals in 15 starts which speaks enough for itself

I may be wrong which I’m happy to accept but would suggest in terms of chances created/shots on target, we’re one of the worst teams in the league for it. We all learnt from last season the unsustainability of relying on scoring every shot

Maybe the style is different to Stam’s but the whole atmosphere around the club doesn’t feel too dissimilar to those days. Football is predictable and stubborn, give away sloppy goals and don’t create enough for our striker. Similarities are certainly present

Yep agree with this. Our chances/goal conversion rate was very high during our winning run in September. That was never going to be sustainable. We haven’t outplayed any team this season. We have just edged out teams in games that could easily have gone the other way.

I agree with Hound to an extent I think.

I don't think Pauno advocates the Stam retain the ball at all costs, force nothing approach. And I also agree our passing is mainly done a bit further up the pitch.

Where the issue seems to be is that there's no idea how to penetrate a defence. And that's partly because we take so long to actually attack one, they always have time to set themselves.

Attacking is successful when you make a defence uncomfortable, force decisions and catch them unsettled and out of position.

It's why we often concede so many crap goals, because we're caught defending on the run and with the shape not set or numbers not back. Whilst we're almost always attacking two banks of four.

[Zip]

And that’s fundamentally where I don’t agree - in that it’s showing a side in poor form because our lack of shots has been consistent through most the season. We’ve scored 3 goals in the last 6 and a half matches (or going back further, 8 goals in 11 games - and that’s not being selective)

You said we played well against Preston elsewhere which I guess was true to an extent but we had 2 shots on target all game. 3 against Bristol. 2 against Coventry. 1 against Huddersfield. 4 against QPR. 4 against Fulham. Difference being, IMO, is the half chances we were creating at the start of the season were being converted, which we’re not doing now. But through the duration of the season, aside from a couple of games, we’ve rarely created clear cut chances. Our (only) striker (before Carroll) is on 0 goals in 15 starts which speaks enough for itself

I may be wrong which I’m happy to accept but would suggest in terms of chances created/shots on target, we’re one of the worst teams in the league for it. We all learnt from last season the unsustainability of relying on scoring every shot

Maybe the style is different to Stam’s but the whole atmosphere around the club doesn’t feel too dissimilar to those days. Football is predictable and stubborn, give away sloppy goals and don’t create enough for our striker. Similarities are certainly present

Yep agree with this. Our chances/goal conversion rate was very high during our winning run in September. That was never going to be sustainable. We haven’t outplayed any team this season. We have just edged out teams in games that could easily have gone the other way.

I agree with Hound to an extent I think.

I don't think Pauno advocates the Stam retain the ball at all costs, force nothing approach. And I also agree our passing is mainly done a bit further up the pitch.

Where the issue seems to be is that there's no idea how to penetrate a defence. And that's partly because we take so long to actually attack one, they always have time to set themselves.

Attacking is successful when you make a defence uncomfortable, force decisions and catch them unsettled and out of position.

It's why we often concede so many crap goals, because we're caught defending on the run and with the shape not set or numbers not back. Whilst we're almost always attacking two banks of four.

Yes fair comment. The shame in all of this is that we have scored a good number of really well crafted goals. So when they click it can be impressive but we concede so many poor goals where the opposition just haven’t had to work hard enough for the goal.

[Snowflake Royal]

On chance creation etc

Goals per game 10th
Shots per game 22nd
On target 18th
Key passes 21st

So we continue to buck the xG fad, but it's still pretty bleak all told.

Edit: I have a theory that our low xG to high goal conversion rate can be accounted for by us not taking as many wasteful 20+ yarders as most teams. I'll see if numbers back that up.

Edit part deux: Absolutely, totally and unequivocally bollox. 12th for outside box, 18th for penalty area and 24th for 6 yard box
We really need to work on getting in behind, working those set pieces and crossing the god dang ball. How the F is Carroll (or anyone) going to succeed if we create 1 shot inside the 6 yard box every 3 games. that's abysmal. 16th is double us!

We're 17th for accurate crosses and 22nd for inaccurate.

we need to stop fannying about in midfield and get crossing and shooting,

[3points]

I think the key to Oauno staying or going is whether we’ve included the cost of firing him and his staff and then hiring a new manager in this year’s budget that’s been agreed with the EFL!

[AthleticoSpizz]

Also, all of this hiring and firing stuff is not the way forward for any club....nor for football.

Ride the waves, crests and troughs.

[Snowflake Royal]

Also, all of this hiring and firing stuff is not the way forward for any club....nor for football.

Ride the waves, crests and troughs.

Pauno is on track to be our longest serving manager since McDermott.

11 games behind Adkins, and then it's another 18 to Stam. Already more than 10 games beyond any of McDermott2, Clarke, Clement, Bowen or Gomes.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Well...that’s some advert for both Reading and the game

[Snowflake Royal]

Well...that’s some advert for both Reading and the game

Yep - shambles. Why no matter how much I criticise him, you won't find me saying he should be sacked.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Already noted.tbf