The most embarrassing RFC result ever

[Man Friday]

People seem to be forgetting we drew 4-4 in 90 minutes. Losing 7-5 in extra time =\= losing 7-5 in regular time. So all these "facts" are meaningless.

The fact that we let in 7 in 75 mins is meaningless?

Should have been, yes, if the ref had done his job.

[Man Friday]

I'm not embarrassed.

If you look at the game before extra time we were incredibly unlucky. We dominated an admittedly poor Arsenal in the first half, playing some really good football - i was particularly impressed by the McLeary/Gunter partnership, and Leigertwood and Tabb bossed midfield. At 89 minutes we were leading 4-2. Yes, Arsenal were testing us, but we had conceded 1 goal in the first 44 minutes of the second half - we were hardly getting turned over...
We then conceded a goal, scored by a player who should have been sent off minutes earlier for a second yellow.

This led, I think, to our biggest mistake. We tried to do what we did at Watford last year, and hold the ball in the corners for the whole period of added time.....we had two really good attacking free kick opportunities in extra time, but we simply didn't go to it, instead we let our (tired) midfield get sucked into the corners and when we inevitably lost the ball, we got stretched...would've preferred us to have got the ball into the box and gone for a 5-3 win if I'm honest...

Church was brought on (mistake by Brian) which gave the ref the excuse he needed to extend time added on, and then the inevitable happened.

As for extra time, we were a bit buggered...Church was totally ineffective, but with no substitutions available, we were stuck...if only ALF had been brought on in the 91st minute....?

If you look at it in the cold light of day, no we weren't good in the second half, but to quote stats such as 7-1 in 80 minutes really doesn't reflect the reality of the situation - I suspect a lot of neutrals will feel pretty sorry for us given that we were the victims of some pretty contentious refereeing decisions.

Of course, it doesn't make it any easier to take the gloating by the Arsenal fans and inevitably some neutrals, but embarrassed? No!

At least you've got some sense. Half the prats on here don't know what they're talking about. Their first goal was lucky too with Gorkss' header going straight to Arshavin. Let's forget yesterday and batter QPR on sat!

Priceless.

Hardly. Worth £10 for that sort of mistake I'd say.

[Kitsondinho]

Err..Avon..I think losing 0-6 after being 0-0 at HT in League 1 is much worse than losing 5-7 in extra time to one of the best teams in England. Yes we were 4-0 up, but did you really think Arsenal wouldn't score at least a few? That Rovers team was not 6 goals better than us. This Arsenal team is much better than we are. We still have every chance of staying up, even if it doesn't feel like it at the moment. We aren't stuck in League 1 or lower. I'm not saying it wasn't painful.....but the most embarrassing result we've ever had.....give over.

[Barry the bird boggler]

While it's only the league cup, and I couldn't give a rodent's posterior about cup games, I was thoroughly embarrassed and ashamed to be a Reading supporter last night.

After a 1st half, where the team really was playing very well and giving Arsenal RESERVES a good hiding, the team then proceeded to spend the rest of the game turning out a level of performance which would have shamed most U5s. At least when Arsenal's first team arrive in December we'll be able to answer one of the mysteries of life which is how far scorboard goal tallies can actually go up.

It was just a total b******g disgrace and shows that we do not have a squad of players good enough at this level. Pogrebnyak aside, the signings made are no more than the standard level of player "for the future" that BM generally buys and take ages to gel.

I have to say that right now I am putting the blame for the crap we've had to endure this season at the foot of the manager and if we carry on in November with the unforgiveable, abysmal, pathetic defending we've been seeing then his time is going to be very much up as I can't see the Russians being too happy with owning a club which has just made itself a world laughing stock.

Of course a win on Sunday means all this will be forgotton and everything will be right in Reading land again.

[Gordons Cumming]

I'm numb.

[Avon Royal]

Err..Avon..I think losing 0-6 after being 0-0 at HT in League 1 is much worse than losing 5-7 in extra time to one of the best teams in England. Yes we were 4-0 up, but did you really think Arsenal wouldn't score at least a few? That Rovers team was not 6 goals better than us. This Arsenal team is much better than we are. We still have every chance of staying up, even if it doesn't feel like it at the moment. We aren't stuck in League 1 or lower. I'm not saying it wasn't painful.....but the most embarrassing result we've ever had.....give over.

6-0 in a league one game nobody other than Reading and Rovers fans can remember is one thing, contriving to pull off what many pundits are calling the biggest collapse in the history of domestic cup football is another.

Arguing that the Rovers result is more embarrassing is like claiming that Devon Loch's most embarrassing moment was losing to a donkey at a village fun day.

[Vision]

People seem to be forgetting we drew 4-4 in 90 minutes. Losing 7-5 in extra time =\= losing 7-5 in regular time. So all these "facts" are meaningless.

The fact that we let in 7 in 75 mins is meaningless?

The fact we scored 4 in 35 minutes seems pretty meaningless now.

[loyalroyal4life]

we will win on sunday and this will all be forgotten

[Cypry]

Cypry Wrote: As for extra time, we were a bit buggered...Church was totally ineffective, but with no substitutions available, we were stuck...if only ALF had been brought on in the 91st minute....?

4-0 up and pegged back to 4-4 was the problem, not Church, move on!!

You miss my point, I'm not blaming Church in any way - rather, I think Brian made a poor substitution in bringing Church on - at the time we made the substitution we were on the back foot, there were two likely outcomes - we either held on for the win in the three or so remaining minutes, or Arsenal equalised and we were into extra time. Why did he decide Church was the best option at that point? It's not like he's great at holding the ball to help us hold on for the win, at least no better than ALF, yet the other possibility was facing extra time with no substitutions and our least prolific striker on the pitch...

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I think Brian showed his inexperience in making that change (I'd have preferred it if he hadn't made it at all), and it ultimately limited our chances of being a significant threat in extra time.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

You miss my point, I'm not blaming Church in any way - rather, I think Brian made a poor substitution in bringing Church on - at the time we made the substitution we were on the back foot, there were two likely outcomes - we either held on for the win in the three or so remaining minutes, or Arsenal equalised and we were into extra time. Why did he decide Church was the best option at that point? It's not like he's great at holding the ball to help us hold on for the win, at least no better than ALF, yet the other possibility was facing extra time with no substitutions and our least prolific striker on the pitch...

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I think Brian showed his inexperience in making that change (I'd have preferred it if he hadn't made it at all), and it ultimately limited our chances of being a significant threat in extra time.

It wasn't that he was bringing Church on specifically - he was making a substitution to slow down the play and hopefully waste time. So in his mind it didn't matter why it was being brought on - because if the strategy had worked there'd have been no time left.

But in the time added on because of that substitution, Arsenal equalised - so we were then left with the worst of all worlds - 30 minutes extra plus Simon Church and no Roberts.

But I have no doubts at all that Church wasn't brought on for extra time - a player (who happened to be Church) - was brought on just to make a substitution.

[Cypry]

You miss my point, I'm not blaming Church in any way - rather, I think Brian made a poor substitution in bringing Church on - at the time we made the substitution we were on the back foot, there were two likely outcomes - we either held on for the win in the three or so remaining minutes, or Arsenal equalised and we were into extra time. Why did he decide Church was the best option at that point? It's not like he's great at holding the ball to help us hold on for the win, at least no better than ALF, yet the other possibility was facing extra time with no substitutions and our least prolific striker on the pitch...

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I think Brian showed his inexperience in making that change (I'd have preferred it if he hadn't made it at all), and it ultimately limited our chances of being a significant threat in extra time.

It wasn't that he was bringing Church on specifically - he was making a substitution to slow down the play and hopefully waste time. So in his mind it didn't matter why it was being brought on - because if the strategy had worked there'd have been no time left.

But in the time added on because of that substitution, Arsenal equalised - so we were then left with the worst of all worlds - 30 minutes extra plus Simon Church and no Roberts.

But I have no doubts at all that Church wasn't brought on for extra time - a player (who happened to be Church) - was brought on just to make a substitution.

And that's my point, if you're going to make that substitution (not sure why anyone bothers to waste time as the refs will always make an allowance for it anyway - as you point out, last night it probably cost us the game, if we'd not made the change then the ref would probably have blown on 4 minutes added on...), then you should look at the possible outcomes and consider them all - Brian should have considered the possibility of extra time, and recognised that if he was going to make a change, then we would be stuck with the 11 players on the pitch at the end of the 90 for the whole of extra time - it seems to me that he failed to consider that...

[Alexander Litvinenko]

That's one of characteristics, though - he'll always got for broke and won't settle for a draw or defend a lead.

Over the last couple of seasons when we were snatching 94th minute winners in games we'd have been happy to draw everyone was praising it as a great, never-say-die attitude.

People can't have it both ways.

[PistolPete]

You miss my point, I'm not blaming Church in any way - rather, I think Brian made a poor substitution in bringing Church on - at the time we made the substitution we were on the back foot, there were two likely outcomes - we either held on for the win in the three or so remaining minutes, or Arsenal equalised and we were into extra time. Why did he decide Church was the best option at that point? It's not like he's great at holding the ball to help us hold on for the win, at least no better than ALF, yet the other possibility was facing extra time with no substitutions and our least prolific striker on the pitch...

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I think Brian showed his inexperience in making that change (I'd have preferred it if he hadn't made it at all), and it ultimately limited our chances of being a significant threat in extra time.

It wasn't that he was bringing Church on specifically - he was making a substitution to slow down the play and hopefully waste time. So in his mind it didn't matter why it was being brought on - because if the strategy had worked there'd have been no time left.

But in the time added on because of that substitution, Arsenal equalised - so we were then left with the worst of all worlds - 30 minutes extra plus Simon Church and no Roberts.

But I have no doubts at all that Church wasn't brought on for extra time - a player (who happened to be Church) - was brought on just to make a substitution.

How many times does this ned to be explained?! The time that was LOST during the substitution process was ADDED on. Net gain = 0 MINUTES = Arsenal would have scored anyway!

[cmonurz]

Yes we were 4-0 up, but did you really think Arsenal wouldn't score at least a few?

If that's our mindset, as a Premier League team, we may as well just quit the league now.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

You miss my point, I'm not blaming Church in any way - rather, I think Brian made a poor substitution in bringing Church on - at the time we made the substitution we were on the back foot, there were two likely outcomes - we either held on for the win in the three or so remaining minutes, or Arsenal equalised and we were into extra time. Why did he decide Church was the best option at that point? It's not like he's great at holding the ball to help us hold on for the win, at least no better than ALF, yet the other possibility was facing extra time with no substitutions and our least prolific striker on the pitch...

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I think Brian showed his inexperience in making that change (I'd have preferred it if he hadn't made it at all), and it ultimately limited our chances of being a significant threat in extra time.

It wasn't that he was bringing Church on specifically - he was making a substitution to slow down the play and hopefully waste time. So in his mind it didn't matter why it was being brought on - because if the strategy had worked there'd have been no time left.

But in the time added on because of that substitution, Arsenal equalised - so we were then left with the worst of all worlds - 30 minutes extra plus Simon Church and no Roberts.

But I have no doubts at all that Church wasn't brought on for extra time - a player (who happened to be Church) - was brought on just to make a substitution.

How many times does this ned to be explained?! The time that was LOST during the substitution process was ADDED on. Net gain = 0 MINUTES = Arsenal would have scored anyway!

THAT'S THE POINT I'M MAKING!

[Vision]

That's one of characteristics, though - he'll always got for broke and won't settle for a draw or defend a lead.

Over the last couple of seasons when we were snatching 94th minute winners in games we'd have been happy to draw everyone was praising it as a great, never-say-die attitude.

People can't have it both ways.

Trouble is McD seems to want to. In his post match interview he was basically criticising the players for not taking what they had and settling for penalties. He said he was already writing down his penalty takers. It's a bit rich given as you say thats the mentality he's installed into his players. Presumably thats why (tiredness aside) Leigertwood tried to force a killer ball through the middle of their defence rather than just roll it to the spare player on the wing which resulted in the decisive 6th goal.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not overly embarassed by the result, it's a game of football and i've seen plenty worse than this one. I'm also not in the McD must go brigade either which in it's kneejerkiness is frankly more embarrassing to me than last night's result. However this was always going to be a struggle and he needs to accept that actually a draw most weeks in this division isn't that bad a result. And if he does accept that, then he needs to make sure the players are aware of it too because they clearly weren't last night.

[Gunny Fishcake]

Bristol Rovers was much worse. That is all.

It really wasn't - and that comes from a Reading fan living and working in Rovers country.

Agree , this was unquestionably the worst , one it was Arsenal and two it was on Sky which will show it around the world

[PistolPete]

Ah, apologies. But half the semi-suicidal people on here seem to be getting it wrong. You know, the same guys that call it Arsenal reserves while forgetting that their 'reserves' had one of France's centre forwards, Andry Arshavin and England's Right winger on the pitch. They also forgot that we scored 5 goals.

Sorry again!

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Ah, apologies. But half the semi-suicidal people on here seem to be getting it wrong. You know, the same guys that call it Arsenal reserves while forgetting that their 'reserves' had one of France's centre forwards, Andry Arshavin and England's Right winger on the pitch. They also forgot that we scored 5 goals.

Sorry again!

No problems, that's "The Team" board for you. The vast majority are here for knee-jerks and hyperbole and can't see beyond that.

No-one is ever poor, they're "utterly useless, the worst player ever", and we're never beaten because we're up against a better team - we should win every match by a hatfull otherwise it's a disaster and someone is to blame.

Oh, and changing the manager is the answer to everything - there'll be no disruption, no time getting to know the players, and no cost involved that could be spent on improving the squad.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

After a 1st half, where the team really was playing very well and giving Arsenal RESERVES a good hiding,

yeah - that's the worst part. Losing to a rag-tag bunch of nobodies who only cost £55 million.

It was just a total b******g disgrace and shows that we do not have a squad of players good enough at this level. Pogrebnyak aside, the signings made are no more than the standard level of player "for the future" that BM generally buys and take ages to gel.

I think we fluked going up and just aren't good enough. There may be a great spirit among the lads, but there's not enough ability.

I do think we screwed up big-time with our transfer targets though. We needed to be signing players who'd come in and be first teamers, not just increase the squad.

I have to say that right now I am putting the blame for the crap we've had to endure this season at the foot of the manager and if we carry on in November with the unforgiveable, abysmal, pathetic defending we've been seeing then his time is going to be very much up as I can't see the Russians being too happy with owning a club which has just made itself a world laughing stock.

To be honest, given that Arsenal also blew a 4-0 lead last year (and lost 8-2 last season) it's hardly terminal.

And all the news will be about Arsenal's comeback, not Reading blowing the lead. In the media view we are just the Washington Generals, existing only to be beaten by the Harlem Globetrotters of the football world.