Back from the game (an armchair view)

[SLAMMED]

Generous! I'd give him 0. For being fat, shit and keeping a far better keeper out the team. I hope he never plays for us again.

Thats a tad harsh after the last three games he kept clean sheets. But i do think Federici is a better keeper, ahis distribution could turn a match.


Oh, and oxf*rd off newbie.

[londinium]

Yes I'm not happy that we could have won it but we came up against a better side on the day. BC just seemed to handle the occasion better, as most away teams seem to have done at the Mad Stad in 2009. And there was no way we could blame the pitch given that we very rarely passed the ball on it! So here's how the players rated when you were being influenced by 24,000 other people rather than just a bored looking wife doing the ironing:

USA - 5 had very to do little apart from make the biggest howler of his season!
Bikey - 5 seemed to think the ball boys were playing as he kept passing to them...
Doobs - 6 pretty solid but didn't get close to Phillips when it mattered
Harding - 6 defence was OK but didn't offer much on the overlap
Rossy - 7 tried bit harder on overlap than Harding but nothing much came off (except the one everyone missed)
Tabb - 8 worked really hard in midfield especially in the second half when he was covering the back 4/3
Karacan - 6 closed down pretty well but was missing the telling balls
SHunt - 6 worked hard as usual but didn't get the ball past the 1st defender often enough
Kebe - 6 seemed too afraid of taking anyone on
GWinger - 6 ran around a lot (mainly off the ball) but none of it was very effective
Long - 7 ran his heart out but didn't get much change from a couple of good CBs

Tofsky - 9 actually saw him tackle back as well as the usual good passing. Goal capped an excellent display
Doyler - 6 well marshalled out of the game, not exactly an impact sub

Spot on

[SLAMMED]

I take it Tofsky and GWinger are Matejovski and Little?

[Chaney]

I take it Tofsky and GWinger are Matejovski and Little?

did Little play?

[SLAMMED]

Nope. Who the hell is GWinger?

[Rex]

How easy was that second goal. Defence opened up by very slow reactions from Marcus. Ok the ball bent away from him to the right slightly, but it was such a soft, soft goal. My jaw dropped open it total disbelief. Marcus made some saves admittedly, but froze when it was the crucial moment. So wrong to back away and invite the shot.

[wolsey]

I'm glad that most Reading supporters, judging by conversations in the ground and on the radio - 'we were unlucky today, roll on the playoffs!!!' - are flag waving, clapper-banging mongoloids who would find a straw to clutch at in absolutely any situation. Not only are the players shit, which is forgivable, they largely don't seem to care, which isn't. No brains, no hearts, no guts - all we had to do today was not be rubbish, and we would be a Premiership team by now (albeit one that would get beaten every week); given our 94th chance to make amends we failed again. The standard of the league is awful this year, we have had so many opportunities to get promoted and whenever the pressure has been on, well

No positives at all to take, most games I can find something if I search hard enough but today nothing. In the long run it will be best to go up so we can take the money; hands up anyone who thinks that if we don't go up this year we'll go up next year? Coppell should go at the end of the year, he has been our best manager ever and deserves all the stands, statues and so on that we can make for him, but the same mistakes have been made this season as they were last time.

At least there was a little bit of the passion and defiance from the stands today after the first goal that was common from about 2005-2007, but the life seems to have been sucked out of the club, and it's probably because the fans don't see the players trying hard enough.

Roll on the playoffs

I've got some rope you can use...where were you when we were shit?

He was 10. No offence Earley Royal.

We were shit when I was 10 (despite us drawing away in the FA Cup to the eventual winners) - we've been shit for a long time since, and we may well be shit again BUT we are not shit at the moment.

[The Cap]

royalexile wrote

My jaw dropped open in total disbelief.

+1

[Victor Meldrew]

Anybody watching on TV able to give an opinion on whether Phillips was offside?
Some of these ratings are incredible.
I know I am biased about Kitson but in my eyes he was the only one who seemed to care and contested everything as well as coolly setting up Marek for the goal.
Shane,o.k against the relegated Norwich but against the better sides he hasn't got it,ditto Kebe.
As for S Hunt it has been said so many times but Coppell must just have a blind spot about him-why replace the left-back by moving Hunt to left-back (a position where he showed he couldn't play earlier in the season-Charlton and Ipswich anybody?)?
Why also waste the first 25 minutes by playing a right-footer on the left and a left-footer on the right?
Also the high marks for Duberry and Bikey?
One of them let Phillips have a free run on goal and Duberry let O'Connor turn inside and his shot fortunately hit the post.
Also their hoofing forward was as bad as ever and this time Bikey in particular.

All in all a very nervous performance and one that showed that very few ,if any,of our players are of Premiership class.
When we went up before we had Sidwell,Kitson,Shorey,Doyle,Little,Harper and to some extent Sonko all performing week-in,week-out and ready for The Premiership but this time round?

[Sun Tzu]

How easy was that second goal. Defence opened up by very slow reactions from Marcus. Ok the ball bent away from him to the right slightly, but it was such a soft, soft goal. My jaw dropped open it total disbelief. Marcus made some saves admittedly, but froze when it was the crucial moment. So wrong to back away and invite the shot.

Surely the defence was opened up by the centre backs going AWOL ? Or is Marcus now expected to mark the centre forward.

With a finisher like Phillips you'd offer good odds on him scoring in that situation and how Marcus could have got closer to him is hard to tell.

[SLAMMED]

royalexile wrote

My jaw dropped open in total disbelief.

+1

SLAMMED wrote:

You need to learn how to use the quote feature.

[The 17 Bus]

USA - 5 had very to do little apart from make the biggest howler of his season!

Generous! I'd give him 0. For being fat, shit and keeping a far better keeper out the team. I hope he never plays for us again.

with just 5 contributions in almost a year i dont think you will get much respect for views like that.

[Victor Meldrew]

Armstrong has been every bit as good as premiership misfit Shorey.

I'm not so sure that's correct now is it???

Is Shorey getting regular games now ?

Armstrong this season has certainly been every bit as good as Shorey was last season.

I'd agree that Shorey in the title winning season was better, but it's a bit pointless to criticise players for not being as good as their replacement had been a few years ago.

Shorey has been a regular for a while now but Sidwell hasn't got back in since his injury and he is competing with Bulgaria's star player and England's midfielder.

[SLAMMED]

I've posted 4000+ times and i still dont get any respect

[The 17 Bus]

I've posted 4000+ times and i still dont get any respect

thats cos you have a fat pink belly.

[Victor Meldrew]

How easy was that second goal. Defence opened up by very slow reactions from Marcus. Ok the ball bent away from him to the right slightly, but it was such a soft, soft goal. My jaw dropped open it total disbelief. Marcus made some saves admittedly, but froze when it was the crucial moment. So wrong to back away and invite the shot.

Surely the defence was opened up by the centre backs going AWOL ? Or is Marcus now expected to mark the centre forward.

With a finisher like Phillips you'd offer good odds on him scoring in that situation and how Marcus could have got closer to him is hard to tell.

Also the poster seems to have missed the save from Phillips in the first half.
As with Ivar we won't miss Marcus till he has gone.

[Rex]

It's not about getting closer to him. To do that and invite a player to either go round to invite a penalty would be ludicrous. The issue here is about closing down the goal to limit the shooting angle.. On the one on one the initiative was with Phillips who had all the time in the world to chose whatever option he desired. Marcus plummed himself almost centre of the goalmouth and did not therefore invite the earlier shot and force a predictive shot. That goal seemed like slow motion. The reaction even slower.

VM - since when did i say i'd missed the saves Marcus made.

Is contructive discussuion which is what this board is about not allowed. I know Marcus has now served this club well with 300+ games played in the league and in the past and in this game made some vital saves to keep us in the running. I rate Marcus but not in that instance. Apologies for any sensibilities hurt.

[The Royal We]

USA - 5 had very to do little apart from make the biggest howler of his season!

Generous! I'd give him 0. For being fat, shit and keeping a far better keeper out the team. I hope he never plays for us again.

with just 5 contributions in almost a year i dont think you will get much respect for views like that.

I've calmed down now........slightly!! I've never rated Marcus very highly. He made himself the perfect scapegoat today.

And even if I had made 5000 posts I doubt I'd get much respect. My views tend to be irritational and moronic!!!

[The Cap]

SLAMMED wrote:
You need to learn how to use the quote feature.

God, you must be bored!

[SLAMMED]

I am indeed.