Perspective

[Snowball]

We had little right to expect anything from Cardiff, and a home draw v QPR was likely.

What matters is the block of games, and from the 7 games, we needed 11 points.

That hasn't changed. It's just got harder. Now we need ten points from 5 games

A 2-2 Cardiff
H 0-1 QPR

A Norwich
A Sheffield
H Watford
H Millwall
A Palace

So now we HAVE to win those two home games (and hurt two rivals), we have to win at Sheffield or Palace (or maybe both). That would be 13 points from 7 games. If we could do that and get something at Norwich, we'd be on 2+ ppg for this block of games.

I believe if we can avoid defeat at Norwich, we'll get at least 10 points from those 5 games, 11 from 7. Maybe more.

[PEARCEY]

2 points from a possible 9 in our last three games with Norwich next up is making me feel like my glass is 4/5's empty at the moment.
I'm thinking about changing my nationality. I'm fed up with losing.

[Snowball]

2 points from a possible 9 in our last three games with Norwich next up is making me feel like my glass is 4/5's empty at the moment.
I'm thinking about changing my nationality. I'm fed up with losing.

We were always gonna lose to England, butty.

[seahawk10]

Five game winning streak coming. You heard it here first.

[Snowball]

Not a (rational) person on the planet would have said we were
lucky or QPR robbed if we had drawn that 0-0 yesterday


Then we'd've been saying "Two draws against two top-top teams, solid base to push on."

I don't like the worry that we COULD lose at Norwich (cue the doom-mongers and the "where's the money gone" crowd) but if we DO get a result there and then win at Sheffield we'll be either 5 points from 4 (OK, considering the opposition) or maybe, just maybe, 7 points from 4.

It's the instantaneous knee-jerk stuff that gets me.

Think in terms of a season or in blocks of games. In the last block just one defeat
(and Church had two good chances to make it a draw) W3 D2 L1 plus two cup wins.

This one has started not-so-well, but look at the block of 6-7 games, not just one result.

2-2 at Cardiff is a mega-result. 0-1 home to QPR is not a surprise.

We have made it tougher now, but wins v Sheffield, Palace, Watford, Millwall are all very possible. That would be 13 from 6 plus whatever happens at Norwich.

Lose there = 13 points from 7 (good!), draw 14 from 7 (very good), win 16 points from 7 (mega!)



Of course we might lose at Norwich, fail to win at Sheffield, not do great against Millwall and Watford and then fail to beat Palace.

OK THEN you can say we are mid-table and "failing".

In five games time, we will have played 34 games. We will need to be on 51+ points to be in with a shout. That means we MUST get a minimum of 9 points from these five games. It's more than doable. We have a fair chance of 12 from 5, even if we lose at Norwich. That would leave us on 54 from 34 and we'd need 20 points from our last 12 games. Boro, Preston, Portsmouth, Leicester, Derby, Sheffield at home; Barnsley, Scunthorpe, Coventry, Ipswich away

TEN winnable games (plus Forest, Leeds away). I'll be surprised if we don't do at least as well as W7 D3 L2 (24 points)

Here's my bet. As long as we get 3+ points from our next 2 games (Norwich-Sheffield both away) (taking us to 4+ from 4) we'll finish on about 75 points.

[Hoop Blah]

We're in the midst of a tough run of games, there's no getting away from that. However, if we have real claims on a playoff place then you need to be able to win those tough games and not just pick up points from the weaker teams in the bottom half of the table.

We, like most teams in this division, are there or there abouts but and have to accept we won't win every game. That's the perspective needed, but it works both ways, when we get an easy run of games and good results, prompting people to start talking about automatic promotion some perspective is also needed.

[leww_rfc]

I love you Snowball, after a loss you're always there too pick up the pieces!

[Jackson Corner]

Defining moment of the season. Ref awards a free kick to Cardiff in inury time that wasn't, insuing pushing and shoving results in us losing our best player for 3 vital games.
Bellamy scores 3 points become 1
Lose against 10 man QPR
Will lose at Norwich
Wont win a game in Feb
SEASON OVER

[rhroyal]

I could definitely see us losing at Norwich, which would see us going into the Sheff Utd game with 2 points from 4 games and still missing Leigertwood. They may not be great this season but it's not an easy place to go to and we could well lose that one.

I'd hope that we could pick up and win the remaining 3 after that with Leigertwood back, they all look winnable even with Watford's season so far. 10 points from that run of 7 games is a decent return and we'd have a lot of easier fixtures left for the season. However it really would put pressure on the Watford match. Win that and perhaps we could start getting back on track; lose it and we're in freefall.

Of course I wouldn't be vastly surprised (although slightly) to now see us turn in a great away performance at Norwich as we are rather erratic this season.

[bcubed]

I could definitely see us losing at Norwich, which would see us going into the Sheff Utd game with 2 points from 4 games and still missing Leigertwood. They may not be great this season but it's not an easy place to go to and we could well lose that one.

I'd hope that we could pick up and win the remaining 3 after that with Leigertwood back, they all look winnable even with Watford's season so far. 10 points from that run of 7 games is a decent return and we'd have a lot of easier fixtures left for the season. However it really would put pressure on the Watford match. Win that and perhaps we could start getting back on track; lose it and we're in freefall.

Of course I wouldn't be vastly surprised (although slightly) to now see us turn in a great away performance at Norwich as we are rather erratic this season.

apart from QPR "erratic" sums up most of the teams in the Championship this season

[Ian Royal]

Look, it was quite clear we probably weren't going to make the play offs weeks ago. That doesn't mean our season is over or that we can't make them. We want to finish as close as we can. Frankly any points out of Cardiff, QPR and Norwich in this run are a pretty good result IMO. Especially seeing as to a certain extent you could consider us unlucky not to have 4 from two of those.

We're not rubbish. It isn't the end of the world, we just aren't quite there yet. But after last season's disaster and salvation we've stabilised nicely and have the foundation of a very good squad. If we can get Manset fully Championship fit by the start of next season (should be easily achievable) we look to have a tasty new striker on the books.

Potentially the next half a dozen seasons could be frustrating nearly seasons... personally I think we'll do something pretty good in the next year or two, but as long as we aren't spending a season fighting off relegation, we're keeping ourselves poised for the opportunity of a big push next season, if the circumstances are right.

[Hoop Blah]

... If we can get Manset fully Championship fit by the start of next season (should be easily achievable) we look to have a tasty new striker on the books.

Just out of interest, why do you think it should be easy to get him fit? Do you not think Hereford tried to get him fit?

He's been a professional for how long and he's still apparently not fit enough to play 90 minutes. I'm not sure it's such an easy task.

[ZacNaloen]

He's the wrong kind of fit in my opinion, to much muscle in the wrong places. Long looked unfit when he was too big as well.

[roadrunner]

Perspective.. This team has always looked a little light up front and in midfield since the sale of Sigurdsson, and we are very much a 10th placed side this season, no matter how much some will get carried away and dream.

The dipstick commentator on 107 at the weekend said "I've done some calculations... If Reading continue on this form for the rest of the season we will finish 4th".

He must post on here. Talk about optimism! We hadn't lost for however many games and he based that whopping great calculation on us not losing again.

Without a greater level of investment we can't really expect to see this club return to the top flight. What is a greater level of investment I hear you cry? Well, we couldn't even come up with £800k plus what ever little add-ons based on promotion for a player of Charlie Austin's calibre. (That isn't to say I'm not happy with Manset and Williams' signings, but £800k is hardly bank breaking business for a prolific striker, albeit to be proven at this level - like both Manset and Williams...)

We will continue to battle hard, but we will fall short. In all honesty, I think we're having a great season for what little we have, and we'll have even less in the summer when a few more top players are flogged to balance the books.

[Ian Royal]

... If we can get Manset fully Championship fit by the start of next season (should be easily achievable) we look to have a tasty new striker on the books.

Just out of interest, why do you think it should be easy to get him fit? Do you not think Hereford tried to get him fit?

He's been a professional for how long and he's still apparently not fit enough to play 90 minutes. I'm not sure it's such an easy task.

Because I think we've generally got a pretty good fitness levels in the squad, better coaches and better facilities. Clearly it will require him to put the effort in and work in the right way, but assuming he will do that we should be able to get him fit. I don't think it will necessarily be something we can do quickly, as it may involve some quite big changes for him. But I don't see why it can't be achieved for next season.

[howser]

We are, even if some on here wont agree, where the Madejski is happy for us to be, a fairly competative championship side that will sit in or around the top six, but with a lack of squad depth thats about it.

We have in this latest window bought players in, but none of these will, nor should be expected, to make a great deal of difference to our present position, "ones for the future" we are told and this might be so but for what "future" history shows it to improve and sell on.

All in all we have a squad, good in numbers bu treally lacking in quality,not the players fault, as was shown last night, the subs made absolutely no difference if anything we looked worse.

We are where we are going to be as long as the present owner stays at the helm, there has been very little if any evidence to back up his "determination" to get back into the Premiership, we have a good manager with an ability to improve young players as I am sure we will see, sadly for moving out when we get our perenial £4m shortfall news, Long, Kebe, Mills and NcAnuf are the obvious debt consolidation players which will be moved on in the summer.

So as far as I see it we are where we are going to be for a while, anything better and Madejski will be heading for a heart attack.

[Ian Royal]

I love how the "Madejski doesn't want us to go up" has come out again. That was popular for almost 10 years after '95. A couple of years after it was shown to be utter hogwash it's back again.

[howser]

He said himself after the first season back in the championship that we are " happy where we are for the time being" and if there is any evidence that we are busting a gut to get back then it would be good if it was put up here so we could all laud his efforts, somehow I cant see that the three players that we bought in from Swindon, Hereford and Eastleigh will hardly send fears through the rest of the league of our determination? .

[Arch]

Perspective should tell us there's a really big gap between us and QPR. Yes we threatened more than they did, but I'm confident they'll feel they were under par yesterday. Tabb and Karacan is not a playoff quality midfield, Church is not a playoff quality striker, and our defence - while regularly keeping it respectable through guile, grit and experience - are not a convincing playoff unit either. With Leigertwood and Pearce back in, Manset gaining full-match fitness, and maybe a liberal dose of luck, we may yet push on. But what woulda coulda shoulda been is worth nothing when you can't beat anyone above you.

[Royal_Delight]

AND we are 6 points away from the play-offs. I am confident of a play-off spot. 5th-6th place here we come! Huzzah!