Life after Pog

[TBM]

I would like to see HRK up top

He's big, strong, quick and can hit a ball - plus he's black

[RoyalBlue]

Blackman possibly

Another one for the future - maybe. Not a chance that he can be our saviour this season.

Will just have to play with Hunt up front on his own.

The real crime is that the likes of Williams and Gooding spent the whole of the transfer window saying that we would be stuffed (in terms of 4-5-1) if Pog got injured. However, McDermott and Hammond clearly couldn't see it.

I spend every game feeling sorry for this guy as ball after high ball is sent flying over the top over his head, leaving him the opportunity to do little more than get his head on it and knock it forwards to no one or miss it and lose possession a split second sooner.

In 20 years of watching, I've never seen us leave a striker as isolated as we do The Pog. Let's be honest, if he did lash out today, it's small wonder that he's grown impatient. He gets no service from midfield and doesn't seem to be the player that thrives when high up against 4 defenders on his own. Who does?

I keep thinking about the header he scored against Chelsea and I strongly believe that given a half chance he'd do something positive, but he's constantly left in an area of the pitch with 30 yards to go and no one else in a Reading shirt who looks remotely interested in getting beyond him. I'm afraid to say its Brians fault.

Absolutely spot on, the lack of support from midfield is absolutely criminal.

[SCIAG]

Blackman possibly

The real crime is that the likes of Williams and Gooding spent the whole of the transfer window saying that we would be stuffed (in terms of 4-5-1) if Pog got injured. However, McDermott and Hammond clearly couldn't see it.

Maybe they DID see the potential issue?

Pog is our marquee player and will essentially start. When he gets chances he puts them away.
We also have Le Fondre. 'Nuff said.
So beyond that we're looking for a third choice striker. Good luck finding someone who is willing to be third choice striker at a club in the relegation zone and is good enough to start regularly. They tried to sign that striker who is playing in Spain, but were priced out.

Perhaps McDermott thinks someone else can play that role (Hunt, McCleary, and Kebe are all possibilities)? Perhaps he thinks Le Fondre deserves a chance to start a match? Roberts is supposed to be back in training (according to his Twitter) so maybe he could come in?

[RoyalBlue]

Blackman possibly

The real crime is that the likes of Williams and Gooding spent the whole of the transfer window saying that we would be stuffed (in terms of 4-5-1) if Pog got injured. However, McDermott and Hammond clearly couldn't see it.

Maybe they DID see the potential issue?

Pog is our marquee player and will essentially start. When he gets chances he puts them away.
We also have Le Fondre. 'Nuff said.
So beyond that we're looking for a third choice striker. Good luck finding someone who is willing to be third choice striker at a club in the relegation zone and is good enough to start regularly. They tried to sign that striker who is playing in Spain, but were priced out.

Perhaps McDermott thinks someone else can play that role (Hunt, McCleary, and Kebe are all possibilities)? Perhaps he thinks Le Fondre deserves a chance to start a match? Roberts is supposed to be back in training (according to his Twitter) so maybe he could come in?

Priced out? No surprise there. Depends how much we want something doesn't it? (cue the usual Portsmouth/QPR rubbish from some). As for Roberts, if I heard him correctly on the radio today, little prospect of him being back in March. You cannot have enough decent strikers and we haven't had enough decent strikers since the start of this campaign. What's more, we should have been looking for a first or second choice striker in the window, not someone who would be third choice. Equally our other signings should have been players that would walk into the first team, not players who can't even get on the bench.

[Royal Biscuitman]

Le Fondre is the striker who looks most likely to get us a goal, So start with him with Kebe and McLeary in support running the ball in instead of crossing it above Le Fondre's head... not that sending it over Le Fondre would be any less effective than crossing it blindly into the box when Pogrebnyak or any other Reading player isn't there (a problem when your winger is a greyhound and the striker is a cart horse). At least Le Fondre should be there as he seems to have a good pace of speed.

[RoyalX]

I think Blackman would be the obvious replacement if we decide to continue with 4-5-1, whereas it'll be Hunt & Le Fondre if we go 4-4-2.

Bad time to lose Pog for 3 games. Neither of the above options seem ideal, but I'm swaying slightly towards the former.

[Ian Royal]

TBH, whilst it's not exactly a great option, I'd rather see ALF up top on his own than any other combination. Especially Blackman on his own. We'd have to try to play it through midfield more rather than just hitting it up to him, but that's not exactly a bad thing.

[leicsRoyal]

Almost got over the dissapointment of yesterday until I read this thread.

One up top

Le Fondre
Hunt
Blackman
HRK

Or a combination of any two from four to go 4-4-2.



Yesterday I sat in amazement as ALF went one way, Hunt the other and with 50 yards between them Feds punted it straight at ALF who had taken the attention of Scharner with him. Despite ALF's best leap he was narrowly between by about 3 foot.

[BenSmith91]

Wouldn't mind Hal just behind Le Fondre. Don't think Brian will do that though. In all likelihood we'll see Hunt or Blackman support Le Fondre. Seems Jason has got one of these injuries that just will not go away. Frustrating.

[glass half full]

Pearce up front, or is this too radical?

[John Madejski's Wallet]

HRK or Blackman up front, Kebe attacking midfield through the middle

[RFCSPACE]

Akpan supporting ALF, Kebe up top too and Bryn in the middle.

[Webster750]

Hunt or HRK.

[urz13]

McCleary could be another option perhaps. I'd rather see Hunt start than ALF becuase of Hunts ability in the air (for which he recieves a minuscule amount of credit) with HRK or McCleary in behind.

[maffff]

Throw Morro up front, big, strong, quite comfortable on the ball (except when he gives away posession trying to run up the pitch..), threat in the air, awful positioning defensively might actually mean he randomly ends up in some good places and his bizarre decision making might end up with some Kebeesque brilliance. And it'll mitigate having to see him defend.

In all seriousness though, the lad needs a season in the Championship and he's a great prospect.

[maffff]

They tried to sign that striker who is playing in Spain, but were priced out.

Priced out? No surprise there.

Get your facts right. Aspas didn't move this window as Celta Vigo are in a similar position to us (it would be like us selling ALF in January), it's his local team and he committed himself to the club until the summer. Swansea were also interested but Aspas but the block on any move before it started, hence our bids being rebuffed. Swansea will get him in the summer, probably for less than we were willing to pay last month.

[Barry the bird boggler]

Paying the price for not bringing in a backup striker in January.

He'll either play 4-5-1 with Alf or 4-4-2 with Alf and Hunt. Either way Everton will splat us.

[melonhead]

Move Kebe up front with Alf. McCleary on the right wing.

would love to see kebe playing behind a striker in a free role

is he good enough, who knows, id just like to see it

[Barry the bird boggler]

The time is right, the time is Samuel.

[Z175]

Throw Morro up front, big, strong, quite comfortable on the ball (except when he gives away posession trying to run up the pitch..), threat in the air, awful positioning defensively might actually mean he randomly ends up in some good places and his bizarre decision making might end up with some Kebeesque brilliance. And it'll mitigate having to see him defend.

In all seriousness though, the lad needs a season in the Championship and he's a great prospect.

In all seriousness, thats not a bad idea!

Personally I feel we need to start Hunt. He proved at the start of the season his attitude alone will get him goals at this level. Hes also proved time and again he can bring out the best in his partner - Doyle, Long and Roberts. However, hes not good enough to start alone, and he doesn't quite seem to work with Alfie, both too small, making similar runs perhaps. So why not return to last seasons idea of two big men for 60 mins before Le Fondre coming on for half an hour?

We played Morrison to deal with Caldwell, but unfortunately he lost that battle. Hes still a great threat from our own set plays though, and from Shoreys appearances this season hes the full back i want to take them. I'm not knocking Ian Harte whos done well of late, but playing him pegs McAnuff back so much, and Wigan definitely targeted him, getting the ball out to the right whenever they won it, or getting the full back to power forward. So we are better on the ball with Harte, but that didnt show on Saturday anyway. Shorey's turn again then.

(4-4-2) Federici - Shorey, Pearce, Mariappa, Kelly - McAnuff, Leigertwood, Akpan, Kebe - Morrison (Le Fondre 60), Hunt

Or we could abandon conservative long ball tactics and go for fast paced total football

(1-9-0) Federici - Mariappa - Shorey, Leigertwood, McAnuff (C) - Guthrie, Karacan - Robson-Kanu, Le Fondre, Kebe, McCleary