Back from the game - Bristol City (H)

[FiNeRaIn]

To be perfectly honest, if it wasn't for the fact that we've already paid up front for our tickets - I'd not bother going to many games at the moment. I never get the buzz I used to get - win, lose or draw - don't why and don't know what's happened to change it but now, if the weather looks a bit inclement, I decide not to go. Went Saturday and I was bloody freezing though.

Agree with that. I don't get the buzz either. I did in the 106 season I thought the sky was the limit, even that first season in the prem. We were doing things the right way...staying faithful to the players we had a good player/fan relationship with and not investing heavily in the team ( even though for the next 5 years their wages would screw us over which we didn't realise at the time). In hindsight we shouldn't have been loyal as ultimately they weren't. It just proved to me that there is little hope for clubs who try and do things the right way...it doesn't work when you are up against people throwing money round without consequences. Its a case of can't beat them...join them. Its really not that appealing any more, most of my frustration is at the state of the modern day game..but I at least want to see my team knock the ball around and play exciting stuff when I turn up, we don't get that any more because we don't have any bright sparks in our team. Kebe on his day can be, but his day seems to come as often as Christmas at the moment. All we can do is watch how the Russian regime changes things.

[Woodcote Royal]

Agreed with the above two. Its not just the football which quite frankly is dull and uninspiring, but the whole occasion seems to annoy me these days. Flat atmosphere's, being stuck in the carpark 30 mins after the game...awfully expensive food/drink which is completely tasteless. I ordered a coffee on saturday and not a clue what was actually in it, tasted like water with a bit of coffee. The catering is the worst i've experienced in a football ground its completely dull...just like our midfields creativity.

Until recently I used to buy a coffee before every game but now it's nothing short of revolting. So, last month I thought I'd try the ridiculously over priced (£2.50) cup of soup but, guess what? At 14.45 they'd already sold out You'd think for the mark up involved here they could arrive with a spare tanker full of the stuff on standby

[RepressedRoyal]

Dull game, lacked creativity, though Roberts was a bright spot, at least for the first half. Our central midfielders' only consistency is the ability to be busy fools, we are crying out for creativity, though I accept I can't think of anyone in our price range or anyone who would want to come here. This league is the lowest standard I have seen for some time, full of dross, so with that bit of alleged extra finance we might be able to be the best of the bad. A win is a win I suppose, the atmosphere just isn't there right now though, we are 4th in the league, but it felt like an end of season head to head game to finish 13th.

Otherwise I really enjoyed it, where else can you get fizzy keg bitter (ironically called Best) in a plastic container for £3.70 a pint?

[Silver Fox]

taking away the spectacle of the Reading team

The what now?

[purleyroyal]

Talked the missus just now and her old man apparently said "never a penalty" from his seat in the UW so I guess he's a twit as well.

My missus' old man is me (I think / hope!)

[Woodcote Royal]

Our central midfielders' only consistency is the ability to be busy fools, we are crying out for creativity

But unless we want to play one upfront there's more chance of hell freezing over than us playing a creative central midfielder when our two are out numbered by the oppositions three.

In just containing the opposition in these circumstances Jem & Tabb are doing a decent job but the former has been doing far more than that in recent weeks.

[FiNeRaIn]

No team in this division would get promoted playing tabb/karacan in the middle, not even west ham with their striker options. You need far more than they offer to be a force.

They are good at what they do, but what they do is not enough for promotion candidates.

[Woodcote Royal]

We miss Elwood but there's no room these days for the powder puff Hoddle's and Caskey's that some never stop asking for without losing a striker (which is not something I'm against in principle)

[Alan Partridge]

There is absolutely nothing about Reading and 80% of places in the top 2 divisions to get excited about. Nearly all the clubs have new swanky stadiums miles out of the town centres with overpriced beer (if you're lucky), no pubs nearby, a bland half filled stadium with absolutely no atmosphere with dreadful crap like loud PA, drummers and music after goals. It's almost a pantomime now. You do what the clubs want you to do. Turn up, pay £30 at their 'sales centres' watch average footballers huff and puff, buy crap in their 'megastores' eat their shitty chain food and drink, sit in silence, clap along to a drum and go home.

This isn't just Reading I have to stress, I saw I think it was Peter Crouch turn up at Stoke and there are huge fences between the players and fans when they arrive at the ground, so fans smashed up against these railings trying to get an autograph of one of their players. Just detaches these already millionaires from the common man even more stuff like that. All these folk want is a few autographs and pictures, too much to ask?

The lower leagues and non league football is the only place to avoid it all. The Sky overhype, the insane ticket prices, the horrible modern stadia. Yes the football is hardly BRazil but it's competitive and I have to say the 5 League 2 games I've seen this season have been far better value for money than the 3 Championship ones I've seen live.

Dunno what the answer is to tell the truth for top end football because it's only going to get worse.

[andrew1957]

I must have been feeling really RTG on Saturday as I enjoyed the game - as I said earlier.

At least Bristol came and played football which made it a competitive encounter - much more enjoyable than the turgid dross Hull played against us and yet were still rewarded with a win.

The problem with this division is that there is nothing between top and bottom and it all depends on how you play on the day.

I am not sure that the division lacks quality as compared to previous seasons but it is more that there are no stand out really good or really bad teams this season.

Even Donny and Coventry are getting some good results and only losing by the odd goal. So probably two more tight games to come. If we win 1-0 each time I will be delighted.

[Woodcote Royal]

So many blame out of town stadia for the lack of atmosphere but how many houses surrounded Elm Park when we started playing there? Stanley Park in Liverpool is miles from the city centre these days but was probably not too far from a few farms 100 years ago. Most town centres have never had pitch sized expanses of grass reserved for their local sports teams who invariably end up building their arenas on the outskirts.

Whilst there's no doubting that all seater stadia place something of a hand brake on atmosphere, IMHO most true fans know what makes a great atmosphere at the vast majority of games...........................a full quota of away fans behind one goal.

The fact is that most selfish clubs have gone out of their way to ensure that this can no longer occur. .......................and, in my view, they should be prevented from doing so without good reason.

[Dare to Dr£am]

We miss Elwood but there's no room these days for the powder puff Hoddle's and Caskey's that some never stop asking for without losing a striker (which is not something I'm against in principle)

How does Wilshire fit in at Arsenal then? Is he just behind the one striker? I thought he was behind the two?!

[melonhead]

i think we could play like brazil in 1970 and youd still find something to whinge about




tbf for me, football and specifically reading FC has always been about watching drab games in the cold,and embracing the failure, pain and suffering.
think youve just been spoiled recently.

I never moaned before we started flogging all our players and taking away the spectacle of the Reading team for the fans. You might have enjoyed that...I didn't. When you are watching other clubs like WBA and Birmingham for instance keep their players despite similar average attendances and get back to the prem...its frustrating to see your club not match their ambition when you are in the same boat. We went from being a club moving forward which should have capitalised on that to a club flogging everyone and somehow managing to stay in and around the play-offs due to some terrific management skills form BMD and coppell to some extent. A lot of you have defended this approach, but from waht BMD said last week about " its clear what happens when you sell your best players each season" he seemed to take the opinion of us " stg's" and he wasn't happy with losing sig/long at all. I am looking forward to this new regime though. Even if we suck this season it might be a good summer with exciting players coming in.

never said i enjoyed seeing us lose players- i just accepted that it was inevitable due to reelgation, and finances, and we had little choice, and it never really limited my enjoyment of the football.
i started watching us when most of the time no one wanted any of our players, we played in a shed, and the football was relentlessly poor, so i felt it would have been a bit odd to suddenly moan now we finally had good players that other people wanted.

luckily we are no longer in that position,
so cheer up

[melonhead]

Our central midfielders' only consistency is the ability to be busy fools, we are crying out for creativity

But unless we want to play one upfront there's more chance of hell freezing over than us playing a creative central midfielder when our two are out numbered by the oppositions three.

In just containing the opposition in these circumstances Jem & Tabb are doing a decent job but the former has been doing far more than that in recent weeks.

isnt it more to do with the fact we didnt have an attacking midfielder worthy of the label that meant we stuck with 4-4-2
McD didnt seem that bothered about playing 1 up top when we had sig to fill that role

[melonhead]

No team in this division would get promoted playing tabb/karacan in the middle, not even west ham with their striker options. You need far more than they offer to be a force.

They are good at what they do, but what they do is not enough for promotion candidates.

are we not promotion candidates with them in the middle?

[bcubed]

Watched the highlights on Teev

McAnuff gets kudos for a great challenge after the Bristol overhead kick. Probably saved us conceding

This, plus the two late attempts on target refered to by Ian Royal above, are why people should stop getting on Jobi's case and actually start supporting the lad. [/url]

I completely disagree with this. McAnuff gave the ball away with his first 5 touches against City, his 6th was a shot off target and then he gave the ball away again for his seventh touch. This is poor by any player's standard, nevermind the captain of Reading Football Club.

McAnuff only came into the game late on, a long time after the sending off, when the City players were tiring. The McAnuff debate is the same as the Andy Hughes and Stephen Hunt debates ... some fans see a player who runs around as being a good thing ... some fans see a player who is very inconsistent.

I sort of disagree
Macanuff is consistent - he never delivers a good cross or a good shot
HRK showed him how it should be done v Hull and if Roberts had been playing we would have won comfortably such was the quality and quantity of crosses (Antonio was very good too)

Unfortunately Jobi can never take his man on and go outside because he simply has no left foot. Every right back just shows him the outside and taunts him - go on I dare you go outside me and cross with your left foot. Never does it

I think it is a shame he is captain because his performances don't merit it. He also has poor body language for a captain - look at the Stevenage game as evidence of that

Kebe HRK Antonio should all start ahead of him IMO and probably Cywka too

[melonhead]

I don't get the buzz either. I did in the 106 season I thought the sky was the limit, even that first season in the prem.

just seems really weird to me that you had the buzz before we went up, when we were utterly shit
it got bigger when we got some glory, but now we are slightly less brilliant, but still miles ahead of where we were when you started following the team, you cant be arsed any more


sounds like its football in geeral youve fallen out of love with, not just the current RFC

[floyd__streete]

I sort of disagree
Macanuff is consistent - he never delivers a good cross or a good shot.....
Kebe HRK Antonio should all start ahead of him IMO and probably Cywka too

You are of course entitled to your opinion. Can't say I agree with it, mind.

McAnuff puts in some intelligent defensive work in and is one of our more versatile players in that he can also play in the middle if called upon. He has far more of a footballing brain about him than HRK, Kebe and Antonio combined tbh.

[Svlad Cjelli]

So many blame out of town stadia for the lack of atmosphere but how many houses surrounded Elm Park when we started playing there? Stanley Park in Liverpool is miles from the city centre these days but was probably not too far from a few farms 100 years ago. Most town centres have never had pitch sized expanses of grass reserved for their local sports teams who invariably end up building their arenas on the outskirts.

Whilst there's no doubting that all seater stadia place something of a hand brake on atmosphere, IMHO most true fans know what makes a great atmosphere at the vast majority of games...........................a full quota of away fans behind one goal.

The fact is that most selfish clubs have gone out of their way to ensure that this can no longer occur. .......................and, in my view, they should be prevented from doing so without good reason.

Apart from that, there are so many obstacles to away travel that fewer and fewer supporters travel away each match. Reading would love to fill the entire away stand with away supporters at each match (although not as much as they'd like to fill half of it with home supporters)! But away clubs can't sell the whole 4,000 tickets.

But quite apart from the cost and time of travelling away, there's the whole business of being treated like a hooligan en route and at the match, of being meant to sit meekly and sing nice polite songs and dance along to music after goals, so you don't offend the nice family audience who are worth so much more to the clubs than traditional supporters who have sustained them for years are.

It's all so passionless - and any outbreaks of passion are stamped down on by those in authority.

[melonhead]

wingers are all inconsistent-it comes with the territory

maybe if we played him on the right, he may be able to get a decent cross in more often

mcanuff is alright imo