What a deeply depressing evening.
When I saw that Karacan and Cisse were starting I got that losing feeling. They just do not work together. The Bald One should have worked this out by now. The change at half time was too late.
If we continue to defend as we did tonight then we are going down. Simple. We were poor, sluggish to start with and incapable of marking players. Our two centre backs did not work well together and Inga really struggled. You could sense that first goal coming. The Blades showed us how to do it - their centre backs did a good job on our forwards.
We should have got back into it but the penalty miss was the turning point. Heads went down and they promptly scored the second. We had most of the second half possession and created some good chances but they were not taken. Long's miss was sickening and you knew that we would get nothing from the game. The Blades were nothing special but we were misfiring again up front with the same old result.
I fear that the Bald One may not have enough to turn things around. However I suspect he will be given the job as it is the cheap and easy option for the chairman.
Back from the game - Sheffield Utd
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Barry the bird boggler
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Another load of crap tonight.
LOL at all those who saw getting shot of Clodagh as a move forward for the club....
LOL at all those who saw getting shot of Clodagh as a move forward for the club....
Last edited by Barry the bird boggler on 26 Jan 2010 22:31, edited 1 time in total.
was there really only 186 reading fans?
'm shellshocked. All I can do is repeat this season's refrain: we played alright, we had plenty of possession, we made a couple of chances and missed them, we made defensive errors, we lost. Repeat, repeat, repeat until relegation.
I don't know how we didn't get at least a point from this game. To come away with a hammering is devastating. We started poorly, granted. They had a lot of the ball and looked to have a cutting edge. First goal was a cross from their right, control and fired in on the volley from Fortune with way too much space inside the box. From then on in we slowly improved. Long had already missed a great chance before the goal, and then Ingimarsson headed too close to the keeper from a set piece. McAnuff had a decent long drive tipped round the post. Then Long was clearly brought down in the box. Sigurdsson had to wait an age before he took it, don't know if that put him off. From our poor view at the other end it didn't look an awful penalty, but it wasn't right in the corner and the keeper made a good save. It's hard to avoid the conclusion that the miss really knocked us, because we hardly had the ball again before we were 2-0 down. Bertrand was beaten by the the winger, who fired a cross/shot that Fed flicked out to Cresswell, utterly unmarked a yard or so from goal. Totally deflating after an extended decent spell.
Second half United hardly had the ball, and Federici didn't really have a save to make. Long missed a perfect chance after Thorvaldsson put him through, shooting lamely straight at the keeper. A goal then would have set us up for a great second half. As it was we didn't really create another good chance, although we had several shots from outside of the area (balooned over the bar from Karacan) and countless balls put into the box. United's centre-backs won every header. Then Sigurdsson fouled his man on the byline and the cross found its way into the net. Apparently Morgan got a touch - it seemed to me that it went straight in. Either way, it was pretty much all Fed had to do all half.
Good performances:
Thorvaldsson showed some nice touches and smart hold up play, though he didn't show much of a goal threat. Did enough to start the next game, in my opinion.
Griffin looked solid again, though he didn't use the ball all that well.
Sigurdsson didn't let the pen miss get him down, and played better in the second half than the first. Hardly vintage mind.
Average:
Long - showed some threat, but fluffed two good chances that could have won us the game. What's the answer up front?
Poor performances:
Cisse - substitution at half time was inevitable. Only weeks ago I was writing about the Wednesday away game and thinking he could be the one to shore up our midfield. Now he should probably be considered 6th choice there. Couldn't pass the ball 10 yards today.
Karacan - so impressed by him of late but had a poor game. Looked rather lost - a couple of good balls but generally wasteful and out-muscled.
McAnuff was so quiet and seemed to have no confidence taking the left-back on. No idea why. Remarkably, even Kebe had more luck down that side.
Rasiak showed nothing. Betrand off-colour after some of us bigged him up all week. Mills and Ingimarsson not great.
Referee was awful. Waved away a couple of excellent penalty shouts in the second half, and gave a free-kick United's way after Sig was brought down. Let thuggish United bully the game. Not impressed.
I don't know how we didn't get at least a point from this game. To come away with a hammering is devastating. We started poorly, granted. They had a lot of the ball and looked to have a cutting edge. First goal was a cross from their right, control and fired in on the volley from Fortune with way too much space inside the box. From then on in we slowly improved. Long had already missed a great chance before the goal, and then Ingimarsson headed too close to the keeper from a set piece. McAnuff had a decent long drive tipped round the post. Then Long was clearly brought down in the box. Sigurdsson had to wait an age before he took it, don't know if that put him off. From our poor view at the other end it didn't look an awful penalty, but it wasn't right in the corner and the keeper made a good save. It's hard to avoid the conclusion that the miss really knocked us, because we hardly had the ball again before we were 2-0 down. Bertrand was beaten by the the winger, who fired a cross/shot that Fed flicked out to Cresswell, utterly unmarked a yard or so from goal. Totally deflating after an extended decent spell.
Second half United hardly had the ball, and Federici didn't really have a save to make. Long missed a perfect chance after Thorvaldsson put him through, shooting lamely straight at the keeper. A goal then would have set us up for a great second half. As it was we didn't really create another good chance, although we had several shots from outside of the area (balooned over the bar from Karacan) and countless balls put into the box. United's centre-backs won every header. Then Sigurdsson fouled his man on the byline and the cross found its way into the net. Apparently Morgan got a touch - it seemed to me that it went straight in. Either way, it was pretty much all Fed had to do all half.
Good performances:
Thorvaldsson showed some nice touches and smart hold up play, though he didn't show much of a goal threat. Did enough to start the next game, in my opinion.
Griffin looked solid again, though he didn't use the ball all that well.
Sigurdsson didn't let the pen miss get him down, and played better in the second half than the first. Hardly vintage mind.
Average:
Long - showed some threat, but fluffed two good chances that could have won us the game. What's the answer up front?
Poor performances:
Cisse - substitution at half time was inevitable. Only weeks ago I was writing about the Wednesday away game and thinking he could be the one to shore up our midfield. Now he should probably be considered 6th choice there. Couldn't pass the ball 10 yards today.
Karacan - so impressed by him of late but had a poor game. Looked rather lost - a couple of good balls but generally wasteful and out-muscled.
McAnuff was so quiet and seemed to have no confidence taking the left-back on. No idea why. Remarkably, even Kebe had more luck down that side.
Rasiak showed nothing. Betrand off-colour after some of us bigged him up all week. Mills and Ingimarsson not great.
Referee was awful. Waved away a couple of excellent penalty shouts in the second half, and gave a free-kick United's way after Sig was brought down. Let thuggish United bully the game. Not impressed.
FiNeRaIn was there really only 186 reading fans?
Probably.
Poor away performance again from the boys. Like forest we were dire in the first half and improved significantly in the second half.
Sigs pen miss and Long's one on one sitter screw up were critical turning points. Its the story of our league season that we mess up on the big moments.
United are a half decent team, but did not have to get out of second gear.
Harper looks like a different player and was the heartbeat of their team for much of the game. And he made some forward passes. Credit to him as well for not celebrating any of the blades goals.
Ratings:
Federici 4 - slow to react to first goal and nice assist for their second
Griffin 3 - Looks like a sunday league player
Ivar 5
Mills 5
Bertrand 5
McAnuff 5 - one good effort in first half but did not make enough of an impact
Cisse 0 - Truly dreadful. Didnt complete a single pass or make a tackle. Was dispossesed for second goal
Karacan 5 - almost as bad as cisse in first half and very panicky with passing. Improved in second with decent partner.
Sig 7 - Our best player again. I have penalised him for criminal penalty miss. He gave the keeper a 50:50 chance of saving it. Why do players never learn that you either place it top corner or smash it down the middle.
Thor 6
Long 7 - best starting performance of the season. Pathetic one on one miss though. Makes you question what they practice in training
Howard 7 - made positive impact and must start saturday
Rasiak 2 - waste of space today. Would be nice if he made an effort to win headers
Kebe 6
Sigs pen miss and Long's one on one sitter screw up were critical turning points. Its the story of our league season that we mess up on the big moments.
United are a half decent team, but did not have to get out of second gear.
Harper looks like a different player and was the heartbeat of their team for much of the game. And he made some forward passes. Credit to him as well for not celebrating any of the blades goals.
Ratings:
Federici 4 - slow to react to first goal and nice assist for their second
Griffin 3 - Looks like a sunday league player
Ivar 5
Mills 5
Bertrand 5
McAnuff 5 - one good effort in first half but did not make enough of an impact
Cisse 0 - Truly dreadful. Didnt complete a single pass or make a tackle. Was dispossesed for second goal
Karacan 5 - almost as bad as cisse in first half and very panicky with passing. Improved in second with decent partner.
Sig 7 - Our best player again. I have penalised him for criminal penalty miss. He gave the keeper a 50:50 chance of saving it. Why do players never learn that you either place it top corner or smash it down the middle.
Thor 6
Long 7 - best starting performance of the season. Pathetic one on one miss though. Makes you question what they practice in training
Howard 7 - made positive impact and must start saturday
Rasiak 2 - waste of space today. Would be nice if he made an effort to win headers
Kebe 6
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Royal Tezza
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As always, thought we had played some good football, created chances and imposed ourselves well on the game.
As always, poor finishing (particularly Long's pitiful effort in the second half) and the missed penalty cost us big.
Had a lot of faith in Sigurddson as a set piece/penalty taker, hope this doesnt lead him to question himself... couldn't believe he missed frankly and was undoubtably the turning point of the game.
All United's goals came from sloppy defending... its not a bad back 4 but regardless of personnel it seems that all season our defence seems to switch off at the crucial moment
As always, poor finishing (particularly Long's pitiful effort in the second half) and the missed penalty cost us big.
Had a lot of faith in Sigurddson as a set piece/penalty taker, hope this doesnt lead him to question himself... couldn't believe he missed frankly and was undoubtably the turning point of the game.
All United's goals came from sloppy defending... its not a bad back 4 but regardless of personnel it seems that all season our defence seems to switch off at the crucial moment
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Ian Royal
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UpNorth What a deeply depressing evening.
When I saw that Karacan and Cisse were starting I got that losing feeling. They just do not work together. The Bald One should have worked this out by now. The change at half time was too late.
If we continue to defend as we did tonight then we are going down. Simple. We were poor, sluggish to start with and incapable of marking players. Our two centre backs did not work well together and Inga really struggled. You could sense that first goal coming. The Blades showed us how to do it - their centre backs did a good job on our forwards.
We should have got back into it but the penalty miss was the turning point. Heads went down and they promptly scored the second. We had most of the second half possession and created some good chances but they were not taken. Long's miss was sickening and you knew that we would get nothing from the game. The Blades were nothing special but we were misfiring again up front with the same old result.
I fear that the Bald One may not have enough to turn things around. However I suspect he will be given the job as it is the cheap and easy option for the chairman.
People I've not wanted to play / been saying should be dropped for weeks... Long, Ingimarsson & Cisse.
Nice to see someone who was there has basically summed up my thoughts from listening.
Just as something to add for those that were there. Commos I believe had Rasiak as MOTM for. Although I may have misheard as I'd given up by then and started doing some ironing.
Agree with you JR apart from Griffin who looked solid and picked some good passes to the front men in the second half. Worth 5 at least.
Sadly Karacan looked out of his depth, particularly in the first half. The search goes on for the right central pairing. Ideally Sig in the middle with a defensive ball winner. Howard, Tabb or the new boy.
It does not look good, a defence that cannot defend, a midfield that struggles to win the ball and strikers who cannot score. A recipe for relegation.
Sadly Karacan looked out of his depth, particularly in the first half. The search goes on for the right central pairing. Ideally Sig in the middle with a defensive ball winner. Howard, Tabb or the new boy.
It does not look good, a defence that cannot defend, a midfield that struggles to win the ball and strikers who cannot score. A recipe for relegation.
id love to know the stats on Cisse losing possesion this season in vital areas. Ive always thought he was a centre back anyway.
Agree with Ian they are all bad weak links in a side of weak links
Agree with Ian they are all bad weak links in a side of weak links
Last edited by Focher on 26 Jan 2010 23:07, edited 1 time in total.
It was Cisse getting caught in possession that led to the second goal.
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Ian Royal
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UpNorth Agree with you JR apart from Griffin who looked solid and picked some good passes to the front men in the second half. Worth 5 at least.
Sadly Karacan looked out of his depth, particularly in the first half. The search goes on for the right central pairing. Ideally Sig in the middle with a defensive ball winner. Howard, Tabb or the new boy.
It does not look good, a defence that cannot defend, a midfield that struggles to win the ball and strikers who cannot score. A recipe for relegation.
What would you say to Karacan being hampered by a woeful Cisse? Give him a better partner from the start and he'll perform... that's my view. Although I'd be willing to give Tabb a go.
Small changes at a time are the way forward though. And surely Cisse has finally got to be dropped once and for all now? The guy is simply terrible in midfield.
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Blue Biscuit
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Dreadful game between two poor sides. Very disappointing. Bertrand and Karacan had their worst games of the season so far. McAnuff, Ingi, and Rasiak were all poor, although to be fair nobody came out of this with any credit. The penalty miss was the turning point. Heads dropped and once the second goal went in a few minutes later it was all over. I didn't think the substitutions did much to improve things. Howard was marginally better than Cisse, but he goes missing when the going gets tough, especially after the second goal. Would have liked to see Church come on instead of Kebe. Kebe was his usual self, lots running down blind alleys and falling over. I do feel that Thorvaldsson will be a plus, once he gets his first goal and a bit of confidence. Thor and Church just might (I did say might) be the pairing to get us out of the hole we are in.
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Kitsondinho
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Just got back to Chesterfield.....3 things to say.
1)It helps if you clear any balls played into you own penalty area, rather than stand and watch them. All 3 goals were caused by losing the ball in midfield and a ball being pumped into our area (I include the free kick 3rd goal in that, Howard was an idiot to give that free kick away.We could all see how bad the ref was, anything like that was going to be given!).
2) Playing an endless amount of high balls to the strikers, head tennis and aimless high passes in midfield does not work. We looked dangerous when we got it down and played it. Feds needs to stop just whacking the ball up to the strikers everytime he gets it.
3) We could be playing here in Chesterfield next season, if they sneak up through the play-offs....because we will be in League 1
1)It helps if you clear any balls played into you own penalty area, rather than stand and watch them. All 3 goals were caused by losing the ball in midfield and a ball being pumped into our area (I include the free kick 3rd goal in that, Howard was an idiot to give that free kick away.We could all see how bad the ref was, anything like that was going to be given!).
2) Playing an endless amount of high balls to the strikers, head tennis and aimless high passes in midfield does not work. We looked dangerous when we got it down and played it. Feds needs to stop just whacking the ball up to the strikers everytime he gets it.
3) We could be playing here in Chesterfield next season, if they sneak up through the play-offs....because we will be in League 1
UpNorth Agree with you JR apart from Griffin who looked solid and picked some good passes to the front men in the second half. Worth 5 at least.
Sadly Karacan looked out of his depth, particularly in the first half. The search goes on for the right central pairing. Ideally Sig in the middle with a defensive ball winner. Howard, Tabb or the new boy.
It does not look good, a defence that cannot defend, a midfield that struggles to win the ball and strikers who cannot score. A recipe for relegation.
I should clarify my comment on Griffin. Based on last two games he is probably a solid loan move, but he does look like he is over 40 and belongs on hackey marshes with a stinking hangover!
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URZZZZZZZZ
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Kevin Blackwell They're a team full of Premiership players
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susieroyal
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Back in Derby - what a crock of shite
Sheff Utd were poor and still beat us 3-0 - shows how bad we are.
Played not only like a team that are not good enough to stay up, but also like a team who had no belief whatsoever that they will stay
up. Hate to say it but some players didnt seem to really care (Kebe, Rasiak, Cisse, McAnuff). Long worked hard and played ok, but if a striker cant take his chances we're never gonna stay up. Why the hell Cisse and Karacan started in the middle together after the toss they served up at Forest I'll never know - bad decision IMHO.
1st goal - too much time in the area
2nd goal - Sig was fuming with Long for not tracking their right back who was free to receive the throw.
Absolutely fuming by some of the half arsed-ness of it all in the 2nd half. No urgency to take corners etc. No one seemed to want to take responsibility and step up their game, instead just let it pass them by all too easily.
Ref was shit. Morgan is a twat. Sheff Utd - dirty team even on a night when they would have won without conceeding a foul all night.
Reading fans - more there than I expected. Quiet in 1st half, louder than would expect in 2nd half given what a sorry evening the whole event was.
We were probably slightly better than I've made out as we did have plenty of chances, especially in the 1st half, but I'm too annoyed to have a balanced view right now!!
Sheff Utd were poor and still beat us 3-0 - shows how bad we are.
Played not only like a team that are not good enough to stay up, but also like a team who had no belief whatsoever that they will stay
up. Hate to say it but some players didnt seem to really care (Kebe, Rasiak, Cisse, McAnuff). Long worked hard and played ok, but if a striker cant take his chances we're never gonna stay up. Why the hell Cisse and Karacan started in the middle together after the toss they served up at Forest I'll never know - bad decision IMHO.
1st goal - too much time in the area
2nd goal - Sig was fuming with Long for not tracking their right back who was free to receive the throw.
Absolutely fuming by some of the half arsed-ness of it all in the 2nd half. No urgency to take corners etc. No one seemed to want to take responsibility and step up their game, instead just let it pass them by all too easily.
Ref was shit. Morgan is a twat. Sheff Utd - dirty team even on a night when they would have won without conceeding a foul all night.
Reading fans - more there than I expected. Quiet in 1st half, louder than would expect in 2nd half given what a sorry evening the whole event was.
We were probably slightly better than I've made out as we did have plenty of chances, especially in the 1st half, but I'm too annoyed to have a balanced view right now!!
good night then Susie?
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susieroyal
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At least the tickets were cheap!
And I got a nice dinner at my mum's on the way.
I got back earlier than I expected and a good parking spot.
Enjoyed my fruit pastilles at half time.
Think that was it for good points!
And I got a nice dinner at my mum's on the way.
I got back earlier than I expected and a good parking spot.
Enjoyed my fruit pastilles at half time.
Think that was it for good points!
susieroyal At least the tickets were cheap!
And I got a nice dinner at my mum's on the way.
I got back earlier than I expected and a good parking spot.
Enjoyed my fruit pastilles at half time.
Think that was it for good points!
Did you see any knuckle draggers or Whippets?
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