Back from the Game: West Bromwich Albion

[Jackson Corner]

Very simaler to the home cup game which was just as good. I thought Howard had his best game in the hoops, fair result over the 90 minutes. Can't wait for the next game to come round and I never thought I would be saying that back in January!

[Royal_Delight]

Heard on reading player that WBA had 2 penalties turned down. One of which was a handbal. Someone mind elaborating what happened?

[bigshaka'away']

Sure - they had three penalty claims, one was a dive, the other was a pen butthe fella was offside so irrelevant, and it came of Mills thigh for the other one, not his hand, i saw it with my own eyes....Having said all of that, the Sig should have been sent off for a professional foul....Ref had a terrible game, managed to piss off both sets of fans!

[Royal_Delight]

Sure - they had three penalty claims, one was a dive, the other was a pen butthe fella was offside so irrelevant, and it came of Mills thigh for the other one, not his hand, i saw it with my own eyes....Having said all of that, the Sig should have been sent off for a professional foul....Ref had a terrible game, managed to piss off both sets of fans!

That's Andy D'urso for you!

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

, we should all be licking our lips at the prospect of what this team could achieve in the next campaign under the excellent Brian McDermott. They are a talented bunch most of whom are only going get better and with every passing week their confidence grows a little stronger.

I shall be renewing my season ticket at the first time of asking unlike Skyline, who I have been sat next to for the last 8 years. I shall miss him like a pair of old slippers you just can't face throwing in the bin!!!!

I bet he had a few choice words aimed at the referee today???

Also worth mentioning that we still have more promising players coming through.

Antonio, Bignall, Davies and Hamer in goal, all can hopefully step in at some point next season.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

West Brom are the second best side in this division and on another day we would have beaten them by a goal or two..................that's how far we've come since the nightmare of 2009, when Rodgers and Coppell managed 1 home win a piece.

!

in 2008/09 we won 3 out of 4 against the top two teams at this level, this season just one point from 3 games, thats how far we have fallen

[Barry the bird boggler]

Good first half performance let down yet again by the failure to convert chances into goals. Poor 2nd half showing with same problem and compounded by appalling officials.

[T.R.O.L.I.]

Oh get a grip, they show highlights from 3 divisions ffs they can't show more than goals for most games.

They could if they got rid of the fans e-mail section and also cut down Claridge's air time to the bar minimum.

[PieEater]

As previously observed, why should Gylfi have been shown red? He was not the last man, there was at least one covering defender.
!

Of course, the mythical last man rule

[Handsome Man]

As previously observed, why should Gylfi have been shown red? He was not the last man, there was at least one covering defender.
!

Of course, the mythical last man rule

It is how the rule is applied. Covering defender means no direct run on goal means no goal-scoring opportunity so no red card.

A ref sent John Terry off for a similarly cynical foul at the beginning of last season, where he wasn't the last man, and it just got rescinded.

[Ian Herring]

It's not always pretty to watch, and perhaps not always what you're looking for as you urge your team forwards, but yesterday I was impressed with the consistency and tenacity of the tackling back and harrying of the Albion players whenever we lost possession. I think we bossed quite a lot of the game on the back of that hard graft put in.

That was something that went by-the-by in some of Coppell's later sides, and was non-existent in Rogers' powder-puff line-ups.

It looks to me like there's some decent work going in at training, and it's to do with the basics. And if you do the basics well and retain/regain possession quickly then any 'ability' you have in your side starts to get the opportunity and space to do its work.

West Brom were a technically good and quite skillful side. For some of the game we matched them and often, looked superior. There was a period in the first half, certainly, when some of their players looked bemused and unsettled by the Reading players' graft and desire to win the ball and then to use it quickly when they got it.

It's that hard work in the midfield and at the back that allows the likes of Kebe, Syg and Long to exploit pace and to go about their jobs with a bit more freedom and enjoyment, rather than desperation under pressure.

Federici's game has improved also. There's a lot of work being done behind the scenes at Reading at the moment that is all to do with the nuts and bolts.

I think some good coaching is being done, and in the right areas. That's the essence of football, it is quite simple.

One of the best 1-1 draws I've seen for quite some time. And for a long period in the first half we were cutting Albion open. That's the only thing I think we should improve upon at times - ruthlessness and the 'killing off' of teams while they're on the ropes. Albion were always capable of resurgence at 1-0 down. Get two? Well, yes, I know about the Villa, but then get three? Any resurgence then has got some way to go.

Anyway, personally I think a small ripple of applause for what ever's being done in training at the moment because it is clearly evident on the pitch.

Good work lads, and Brian MC and his bods.

[Platypuss]

Oh get a grip, they show highlights from 3 divisions ffs they can't show more than goals for most games.

You'd have thought they'd do better when it's the top team playing that day against the team with the best form though....!!!

[PEARCEY]

Oh get a grip, they show highlights from 3 divisions ffs they can't show more than goals for most games.

You'd have thought they'd do better when it's the top team playing that day against the team with the best form though....!!!

My thoughts as well. Why show West Brom having a close run thing with Feds save and their penalty shout yet not show our two 1-on1's and Siggy's header cleared off the line. Poor stuff given this was the match of the day in the Championship.

[Great Knolly]

BBC :
And for that Griffin tackle.... Yes it would have been a penalty, but it was given off-side, which they failed to mention. And it was probably something like 43rd on a list of best moments of the game , and they showed about 5 .

[floyd__streete]

We could be critical and bemoan poor finishing - Church and Kebe particularly culpable - of costing us a richly deserved victory, but I am actually very pleased with the performance yesterday against a side who are absolute certs to be in the top flight next season. WBA put us under good pressure for long periods of the second half but they didn't create anything like the openings that we did. Mills and Zurab were sensational at the back and Gunnarsson totally eclipsed Dorans. A very exciting game to watch, I am enjoying my football again after a totally drab and miserable 2009. The atmosphere in the crowd is building again, the home support totally outshouting an unusually subdued 3,500 Baggies. In fact, the visitors only found their voices when they scored near the end and the reaction to the goal would suggest that these days a point at Reading is a good result for any visiting team.

[Dirk Gently]

Just as a footnote - I was on the lookout to see what response the "Come dressed as a steward" WBA theme day got amongst the 3500 Baggies supporters.

I counted 8 (Eight).

[The Echo]

A fantastic advert for Championships football between two confident, motivated and well organised sides. It goes without saying that with a reasonable start to the season we'd be right up there going toe to toe with West Brom for promotion. Unfortunatly as it is we've been treated to three tremendously competitive and hard fought duels. Put simply West Brom and the Royas are two evenly matched side.

With paticular reference to the games there were countless positives.

BM has got the side superbly organised. We defend and attack as a team. Mills was outstanding today and left nothing on the pitch. At no point did I see us defensively get pulled apart and on the rare occasions that we were stretched we quickly regrouped as a unit. We hunted the ball down in a packs and don't let ourselves get exposed.

Although not generally critisised, posters have questioned Griffen at right back as yesterdays weak link. If you think about the shape of the game and the players on show that should come as no surprise today. The West Brom right winger Jerome Thomas was played high up he pitch and very wide which let Grif with issues. How much space should he give him? What if the play broke doen the inside right channel? Did he get any support? Not exactly. Despite being a real menace going forwrd Kebe offered little support going back. We hear a lot these days about the role of full backs and wide players in the modern game. The other day we all watched Mourinho push two wingers high up the pitch against the Chelea fullbacks. It pushed Chelseas midfielders right back. Kebe didn't play ball and defend today and this may have been the key to such an entertaining and open game with so much space down that side of the pitch. Kebe's playing well at the moment and at times looks world class but potential premier league scouts will be mindfall of this flaw in his game.

I was very impressed with Long's performance today. Led the line. He's a far more effective target to hit these days. Again here however the clues as to why may be found elsewhere with teammates closer to him and running onto anything Long creates at pace. Sig, McAnuff and Kebe really looked to get beyond Long and as a result of this we scored and could have had at least one more as a result of the same positivity. When Long plays as a target he looks to take the ball on the turn, either towards the left or the right touchline rather than conventionaly lay the ball off so the current tactis are ideal to get the best out of him. In a static 4.4.2 Rasiak deals with the lack of movement better as he is far mre one dimensional than Long.

One note of caution and something for BM to consider. We tired noticably towards the end. We've had a tough run of games and played a good side today which may be one of the reasons. I worry however that if we play with such intensity for 90 minutes fatigue is inevitable. We don't seem to be able to slow down and draw breath. Against good side I worry that we will continue to pay.

10 out of 10 for effort and entertainment. 8 for quality.

[Ian Royal]

Sure - they had three penalty claims, one was a dive, the other was a pen butthe fella was offside so irrelevant, and it came of Mills thigh for the other one, not his hand, i saw it with my own eyes....Having said all of that, the Sig should have been sent off for a professional foul....Ref had a terrible game, managed to piss off both sets of fans!

No offence matey, but I expect at least dozens of Baggies saw it hit his arm with their own eyes. What you think you see at full speed from a distance, is not always what actually happens.

[philM]

Just as a footnote - I was on the lookout to see what response the "Come dressed as a steward" WBA theme day got amongst the 3500 Baggies supporters.

I counted 8 (Eight).

I saw our stewards taking some hi-vis jackets off Baggies fans on their way in. They seemed to have gathered a couple of bin liners worth.

[RoyalBlue]

Oh get a grip, they show highlights from 3 divisions ffs they can't show more than goals for most games.

In which case even more reason for them to get the paltry highlights that they do show correct!

An absolute disgrace that they should claim WBA were denied the Griffin penalty. Even in the few seconds shown you could clearly see Khizanishvili with his arm up for offside and then turning to applaud the linesman!!

To make matters worse, there was a far better shout for WBA that they didn't show. To then suggest that we owed our point to Feds and then not show any of Carson's saves, blocks on the line and near misses is also a joke.

And, if the want talking points for Claridge, why miss out the foul throw?

I suspect they had BBC radio journalists covering the game for both teams so why not ask them what the highlights were?!

One of the best games seen for an awful long time, courtesy of both teams, and they chose to virtually ignore it.

A shame no one texted to point out that the penalty was offside. Although maybe they did and the BBC ignored it.