BFTG QPR

[ZacNaloen]

Yep, Mcarthys short distribution is poor so why bother.


Defenders lack vision, so why bother.

We'll still play the ball around a lot more than we used to and we look more comfortable in possession, but we do it to control the game, not as a way to build attacks.

I'm happy with that half way point as we obviously lack players or funds to do much more. And It's the way to get out of this league, unless you have 3 or 4 windows with Money and a lot of patience.

[Wycombe Royal]

Just watched a replay and it looks like the defender got his foot in and pushed the ball away which ran in to Williams path, certainly doesn't look like McAnuff passed it to Williams to me.

I do agree with Vision's point about him creating the space for Williams free header though.

It nearly exactly the same as Mclearys assist the other week to Le Fondre.

Created chaos and space. In Mclearys case Le Fondre pounced as soon as Mclearly lost the ball where as this had a bit more build up.


For what it's worth, Mcanuff showed every part of this game good and bad yesterday (blind alleys being a particulary bug bear of mine). Mostly the good though.

Don't get me wrong I'm not criticising McAnuff''s performance yesterday, he up there in the running for MOM and in my opinion the upturn in our recent performances (barring Sheffield Wednesday) has been led by him putting in "Captains" performances each week. My gripe was with someone saying he created that goal. Yes he played a part in it, initially through his probing run, then by a lucky break, but it was not intentional on his part.

[ZacNaloen]

Absolutely not, if he'd had his way he'd have shot at the end of that run and missed. Which is text book Mcanuff.

[grey_squirrel]

Lost count of the number of times McAnuff lost possession in the first half. Mostly for dwelling on (or hogging) the ball when there were better options open to him.

His usual flaw in other words.

[bcubed]

Lost count of the number of times McAnuff lost possession in the first half. Mostly for dwelling on (or hogging) the ball when there were better options open to him.

His usual flaw in other words.

Absolutely agree

But second half he played as well as he has all season

Plenty of end product which i havent seen in a while
Won and then took a great corner for the Pearce goal
Great tracking back and several key interceptions
Kept possession brilliantly and in very tight spots after we were down to ten men

Hard to fault him (in the second half) - he was inspirational

[floyd__streete]

The best performance off season so far

MOTM McAnuff for me

URZZZZZZ

Great report.

You really get a sense of what it was like to be there.

[pea]

McCarthy - 7 Probably his worst performance I've seen this season, he was pretty good
Gunter - 10 may be biased because he's welsh but he is our best defender since Adie Williams
Pearce - 8 showed why we need him in the team today, he has Royal Blood
Gorkss - 6 didn't look as comfortable today for whatever reason, let a weak(ish) front line in a bit too much, unlucky to be sent off but any tackle like that asks a question
Obita - 7 few defensive errors but he didn't look out of place against arguably the most talented squad of players in the division
McCleary - 5 He's a good player but his camera shot for the goal pissed me off
Akpan - 7 just did what he had to do
Williams - 8 he is the caliber of player who will get us promoted, its a shame Adkins hasn't had the opportunity to bring more like him in
McAnuff - 7 standard Jobi, mostly good
ALF - 7 had to settle for a supporting role in this one but was still a Little Monster
Pog - 8 i enjoyed the bit where he let three QPR players jump on his back and he carried them into the penalty box

Hector - 7 it is testament to the work our academy are doing that we have confidence in players like Hector when in the past we'd be screaming for an emergency loan
HRK - 10
Kelly - n/a

Reading fans 2 - completely drowned out by the Arsenal fans

[bcubed]

Great game and great day out

Had restricted view tickets and had to wonder what view was being restricted - the only time i couldnt see the ball was following a Pearcey hoof that went skywards

Game of the season so far and loved every minute of it
Hard to criticise any players - no lack of closing down or effort throughout and some pretty good possession football to boot
Brilliant goal from McCleary - I couldnt quite believe it even after it hit the net
Even the (harsh) sending off added some last minute nail biting

And fans stayed right till the end, reminiscent of promotion seasons
Pearcey gees the crowd up brilliantly - this is what we want to see from players after a game.
What a legend, if ony he was a little quicker and a little more skilful

More please

[No Fixed Abode]

:lol:

all the fighting in the home end, what a lovely club.

Let's not forget Reading fans were fighting with each other at Millwall a couple of weeks ago.

[Hampshire Royal]

His rapid run had nothing to do with making the defence panic, leading to Hill being dragged out of position and had little to do with the goal, of course. Without that run, Williams wouldn't have been able to make the sublime pass to Alf who made a pinpoint cross for Williams to make a beautiful header. All this after Akpan made the original pass to McAnuff.

It's beyond me why, after a brilliant team performance, there are some people who have to criticise individuals, or, indeed, single errors by individuals. We're not Man City or Barcelona and never will be like them. We have a very good team at the moment, consisting of a bunch of very good players at Championship level playing a style of football which will see us promoted. Next season will be a different thing, of course, so the haters can really come to the fore.

[Hampshire Royal]

:lol:

all the fighting in the home end, what a lovely club.

Let's not forget Reading fans were fighting with each other at Millwall a couple of weeks ago.

Just like we showed the Millwall team how to do it on the pitch, we showed the Millwall fans how to do it in the stands.

[Wycombe Royal]

His rapid run had nothing to do with making the defence panic, leading to Hill being dragged out of position and had little to do with the goal, of course. Without that run, Williams wouldn't have been able to make the sublime pass to Alf who made a pinpoint cross for Williams to make a beautiful header. All this after Akpan made the original pass to McAnuff.

It's beyond me why, after a brilliant team performance, there are some people who have to criticise individuals, or, indeed, single errors by individuals. We're not Man City or Barcelona and never will be like them. We have a very good team at the moment, consisting of a bunch of very good players at Championship level playing a style of football which will see us promoted. Next season will be a different thing, of course, so the haters can really come to the fore.

Not quite sure why there was a need for that...there's not been much criticism that I have seen.

As I've said my issue was with you saying he created the goal, he didn't, but he was part of it.

[Hampshire Royal]

I'm sorry if you see what I wrote as a personal criticism. It wasn't. I'm not a great believer in how 'assist' are measured, but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the most important part of the goal was McAnuff's run. OK, maybe he was tackled at the end of the run, but the pace he was moving at, and the panic generated by his run ensured that the tackle was not a good one. Of all the people who had an important part to play: Akpan, McAnuff, Alf and Williams (one third of the team), the most crucial part was played by McAnuff. It's not you I was talking about when I spoke about the 'haters' but there are people on here who will belittle individual performances even in a very good team performance - the team which is captained by McAnuff.

[Terminal Boardom]

His rapid run had nothing to do with making the defence panic, leading to Hill being dragged out of position and had little to do with the goal, of course. Without that run, Williams wouldn't have been able to make the sublime pass to Alf who made a pinpoint cross for Williams to make a beautiful header. All this after Akpan made the original pass to McAnuff.

It's beyond me why, after a brilliant team performance, there are some people who have to criticise individuals, or, indeed, single errors by individuals. We're not Man City or Barcelona and never will be like them. We have a very good team at the moment, consisting of a bunch of very good players at Championship level playing a style of football which will see us promoted. Next season will be a different thing, of course, so the haters can really come to the fore.

I wasn't there but I watched it on the tv.

There were a number of occasions where MacAnuff kept hold of the ball too long in the first half and ended up losing possession. That is not criticism but an observation. ironically, by losing the ball when he did, it allowed Williams to feed ALF and then follow up with a free header for the first goal.

I have read with interest about the love in that exists for Chris Gunter. I felt that in the first half, he was too slow in trying to prevent an opponent from getting in a cross. Second half, he was better but there were still too many occasions where crosses came in from both flanks. Now that is a criticism which is caveated by the thought that Adkins had given that instruction as he may have felt that Pearce, Gorkss and McCarthy would be able to deal with anything coming into the box from out wide.

Very, very impressed by Williams. Is he starting to get used to the pace and requirements of the game in England? He linked up well with Akpan in central midfield and was always on hand to receive a pass.

Absolutely loved McLearey's goal. How far did he run? Shocking defending by the bloke who looked like he had a micro-fibre duster on his head. At least none of our defenders defended like that.

The last 25 minutes was as good as I have seen from any side for a long time. Defensively very solid and extremely dangerous on the break. On top of that, a very enjoyable and entertaining game fo football - far better than the home games against Brighton and QPR that I also saw on tv.

[wingnut]

McCleary - 5 He's a good player but his camera shot for the goal pissed me off

Er, lol WTAF?

[bcubed]

I'm sorry if you see what I wrote as a personal criticism. It wasn't. I'm not a great believer in how 'assist' are measured, but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the most important part of the goal was McAnuff's run. OK, maybe he was tackled at the end of the run, but the pace he was moving at, and the panic generated by his run ensured that the tackle was not a good one. Of all the people who had an important part to play: Akpan, McAnuff, Alf and Williams (one third of the team), the most crucial part was played by McAnuff. It's not you I was talking about when I spoke about the 'haters' but there are people on here who will belittle individual performances even in a very good team performance - the team which is captained by McAnuff.

I would say the crucial part was played by WIlliams
His ball with the outside of his foot to Alf was sublime, following it up with an excellent header

[Woodcote Royal]

Went to Sheff W, saw this one on SKY and, whilst I'm delighted that Adkins has FINALLY seen the light and will be happy to support him now he's getting the best out of this squad, we are, nevertheless, back to the tried and tested methods that all of Pardew, Coppell and McDermott would have adopted from the opening day of the season and wouldn't, therefore, be trailing Leicester by a country mile with 15 games left to play

Nige still deserves much credit for having the balls to throw his grand designs in the bin over Christmas, not to mention the master stoke of turning Obita into such a nifty full back that the shirt is now surely his to lose.

However, this team is now based on the template many of us have been watching for 10 years or more and, surprise, surprise!!! we are witnessing great performances once more from a squad that should have been favourites for automatic promotion.

We have 2 strikers more than justifying their places whilst the impressive Williams and the much maligned Akpan cover the centre ground like Sidwell and Harper of old.

Meanwhile, we have the pace and guile down the flanks to create the chances so sadly lacking when Guthrie was naval gazing as the back four passed the ball amongst themselves

Yep, 4-4-2 is alive and kicking in the Championship. Would this work in the top flight? Probably not but without this change of tack we were never going to put it to the test again any time soon.

Very impressed with all on view.

[Esteban]

Went to Sheff W, saw this one on SKY and, whilst I'm delighted that Adkins has FINALLY seen the light and will be happy to support him now he's getting the best out of this squad, we are, nevertheless, back to the tried and tested methods that all of Pardew, Coppell and McDermott would have adopted from the opening day of the season and wouldn't, therefore, be trailing Leicester by a country mile with 15 games left to play

Nige still deserves much credit for having the balls to throw his grand designs in the bin over Christmas, not to mention the master stoke of turning Obita into such a nifty full back that the shirt is now surely his to lose.

However, this team is now based on the template many of us have been watching for 10 years or more and, surprise, surprise!!! we are witnessing great performances once more from a squad that should have been favourites for automatic promotion.

We have 2 strikers more than justifying their places whilst the impressive Williams and the much maligned Akpan cover the centre ground like Sidwell and Harper of old.

Meanwhile, we have the pace and guile down the flanks to create the chances so sadly lacking when Guthrie was naval gazing as the back four passed the ball amongst themselves

Yep, 4-4-2 is alive and kicking in the Championship. Would this work in the top flight? Probably not but without this change of tack we were never going to put it to the test again any time soon.

Very impressed with all on view.

Serious question: Do you think that the fact that this all changed at the same time Madejski wrestled back control of the club is a mere coincidence, or that Adkins was working to a strategy set- out by Anton?

Not trying to make something out of nothing, just interested in the opinion of someone who has a view on Adkins that is probably the exact opposite of mine.

[melonhead]

apparently the squad all sat down with him, and told him how we need to play

so im not sure im even giving him credit for that

[Woodcote Royal]

Serious question: Do you think that the fact that this all changed at the same time Madejski wrestled back control of the club is a mere coincidence, or that Adkins was working to a strategy set- out by Anton?

Not trying to make something out of nothing, just interested in the opinion of someone who has a view on Adkins that is probably the exact opposite of mine.

I honestly don't know but my only major criticism of Adkins has been his refusal to get the best from this squad until he'd been in the job for more than 6 months. This squad simply couldn't play the way he wanted them to but was always good enough to be major contenders in this division.

Perhaps the realisation that he wasn't getting anyone in the window persuaded him to do what he should have in the first place.....................play to the strengths of those at his disposal. If he sticks to this approach, I wouldn't rule out finishing second.