Back from the game

[Woodcote Royal]

Also, I don't see how Bryn is getting such high marks. He missed two sitters

I think missing sitters is Sidwell's speciality. Gunnarsson got his shots on target and they were saved/cleared IIRC.

Indeed, how many usernames does Mrs Sidwell have on here?

If only spike25's hubby could "miss" "sitters" like that every week rather than threaten the corner flag, as he did at Charlton

[West Stand Man]

Most ironic chant of the day though had to be " where were you when you were shit", and that coming from fulham who set a record for buying their way to the prem

It certainly was ironic... it's a shame they seemed to forget that chant of "We're never play you again" as well, isn't it?[/quote]
I think that was probably 'we'll never play you again'.

[West Stand Man]

What was up with Bocanegro's assault on Doyle (maybe 80th minute)? How was that not at least a yellow card? And no foul was called at all? Unbelievable.

The one where the ref had already blown for an earlier foul?

There was no earlier foul, and the ref blew very late (on the TV you can see that it is AFTER Doyle was been fouled that the ref is extending an arm to indicate a foul against Long (incorrectly).

There was an earlier foul according to the referee, which is why he brought play back to the place where it was committed.

[starbug]

Well given a Reading player was booked for a foul on an off-side player a few games back that proves it doesn't stop the Ref being able to book or even send off the Fulham player for the hack on Doyle, even though it was after the initital "foul".

[percy_freeman]

I sat in the hospitality suite in the NW corner which was full of Fulham supporters, neutrals and people that had no knowledge or interest in football at all. It wasn't pretty and the crowd didn't make me proud to be a Reading fan! Don't know a lot about acoustics but the Fulham fans seemed very loud and if the Y25/26 fans and the NE corner fans would only sing the same song rather than try and outdo each other the noise would be quite daunting for away fans. As far as the game is concerned IMHO the referee spoilt it . I would love to see his report and read why he booked Shorey for kicking the ball away after three Fulham players got away with this offence. Kits spent most of the match "wearing" a defender around his neck, and our defence looked pretty solid. All criticsms of Seol are a tad on the harsh side, he hasn't played that much recently so he is going to be a bit rusty.
All in all, a typical near end of season match that really doesn't matter that much to us, but 3 points in the bag!

[Tony Le Mesmer]

Well given a Reading player was booked for a foul on an off-side player a few games back that proves it doesn't stop the Ref being able to book or even send off the Fulham player for the hack on Doyle, even though it was after the initital "foul".

Good point. Sodje's Red Card at Man Utd? But there's a big difference, that was at Old Trafford.

[brendywendy]

Thinking that Seol had a good game for the first half , dropped off in the second half however.

You have got to be joking....he was abysmal...disnterested, lazy, rarely got any crosses in....awful.....

bollox

another improved game

actually won th eball three times from tackles, got good crossed ball into the box, great pass through to ?(Brynn?)couple of good jinky runs through the middle too,
tired a bit second half
but he was doing everything we have been wanting him to do
looked like he gave a toss, and goit a big hand shake from copps when he came off. man of the match for reading in a couple of papers too, like that means anything
and the continued criticism is a tad unwarranted

[papereyes]

The Hunt challenge was bad and fully deserving of a yellow card. I was half expecting a red because it was from behind, a bit of a lunge and he had no chance of getting the ball. Followed up about 5 minutes later by a very poorly judged challenge down in the NE corner which would have seen him walk if he'd caught the player.

The challenge on Doyle, it wouldn't surprise me if the ref had seen the disallowed Fulham goal at half time and bottled the sending off because there seemed absolutely nothing wrong with Long's jump for the flick on. Shame it didn't feature on the MOTD highlights.

I thought the ref bottled it by calling a foul earlier in the play so he wouldn't have to make the tough decision about that foul.

Hunt's 'tackle' was reckless

Seol wasn't that bad, until he got tired.
Bryn was good, until he got tired

[westendgirl]

I would love to see his report and read why he booked Shorey for kicking the ball away after three Fulham players got away with this offence.

I thought Shorey was booked for dissent to the linesman as he had coped with Routledge (?) pulling his shirt for about 10 yards and then when he finally got the ball away the lino gave a foul to Fulham and showed it was for shirt pulling. It is not often Shory will give an official a mouthful but he did then, as did all the people around us in the lower west.

[brendywendy]

I would love to see his report and read why he booked Shorey for kicking the ball away after three Fulham players got away with this offence.

I thought Shorey was booked for dissent to the linesman as he had coped with Routledge (?) pulling his shirt for about 10 yards and then when he finally got the ball away the lino gave a foul to Fulham and showed it was for shirt pulling. It is not often Shory will give an official a mouthful but he did then, as did all the people around us in the lower west.

people in lower west shout something shocker

[Hoop Blah]

I thought we were pretty poor in the second half and we were lucky to get 3 points from a Fulham side who weren't as bad as I expected.

Gunnar did ok but seemed to run out of steam. I don't think he's the replacement for Sidwell but he's well worth his bit part place in the squad.

Soel showed more of his early season form and was our most creative player. Perhaps he needs the sun to shine a little more. He still looks like he's not interested half the time and takes the easy option far too often for my liking. I think it all comes down to a lack of pace, he'd rather line the defenders up in front of him, or leave the ball for a throw on instead of getting into a race for the ball. He did ok but it just shows how much we miss Glenn Little.

Oster was Oster and flattered to decieve. Showed exactly why he's another squad player and I'd hope that Coppell is looking at bringing in some genuine competition on the right wing for when Glenn's out next season.

Kitson was poor also. I'm a big fan and thought he did well against Spurs and Liverpool but he didn't really impose himself on the game on Saturday. He still linked up pretty well on occassions but it wasn't quite the Kitson of old.

Was surprised not to see Halford get on the pitch. He'd surely benefit more from a few Premiership games than DLC, although maybe Coppell see's his height as more of an advantage against Bolton so is saving him for this weekend.

Overall we looked a very average side on Saturday. We probably missed Sidwell, partly because Gunnar and Harper don't have as good an understanding, and partly because he has the edge on ability too.

I now can't wait for the Newcastle and Watford home games, they're really wetting the apetite for barnstorming end of season games!!!

[Harps stay sharp]

Don't know a lot about acoustics but the Fulham fans seemed very loud

They were one of the loudest sets of visiting supporters this season and amazingly enough, they managed to do it sitting down.

Maybe Fulham fans have a special diaphram built in that allows them to sing while sitting down because Reading Fans don't seem to believe this is possible.

[brendywendy]

I thought we were pretty poor in the second half and we were lucky to get 3 points from a Fulham side who weren't as bad as I expected.
-- they were feckin awful, worst team since wet sham to visit
we were simply average


Kitson was poor also. I'm a big fan and thought he did well against Spurs and Liverpool but he didn't really impose himself on the game on Saturday. He still linked up pretty well on occassions but it wasn't quite the Kitson of old.

--he did have to wear the defenders like a rucksack for the whole game

Was surprised not to see Halford get on the pitch. He'd surely benefit more from a few Premiership games than DLC, although maybe Coppell see's his height as more of an advantage against Bolton so is saving him for this weekend.
--halford is a long term signing, we know he will be here next season, copps is using these games to see if DLC is worth hanging on to

[Tilehurst Mike]

Thought Seol did well today myself, ok makes a few mistakes and isn't a run around at 100 miles an hour like a headless chicken player (ie Hunt), but his control his fantastic, his crossing is good most of the time and he contributes alot to the attack. Not bad considering he's hardly had a game since Xmas.

Was slightly worried by the performance today though and just hope it isn't an indicator of next seasons struggles. Who we buy in the summer this year is even more important than last year, we need some premiership experienced players to help us kick on from the advantage we've had of being new boys, where teams have not been able to work out how to play us.

My main worry is Kitson - haven't been impressed with him at all since his return. Doesn't look to get in the game, touch looks poor, and looks out of his depth at this level. Hope he proves me wrong because I've always thought he was out best finisher and a good target man, but I have my doubts.

Best players today for me were: Ingi (as always) DLC (never been less than excellent whenever I've seen him), and Bikey. Most "worrying" performances were Kitson and Harper (again).

Totally agree with comments about Kitson. How long does it take for someone to come back from injury? Kitson really has no pace and his one dimensional game has exposed his weaknesses of late. H e was even making excuses about the heat after the game. I would loan Long out to a Championship club next season and buy another quality striker to complement Kita and Doyle.

[brendywendy]

Totally agree with comments about Kitson. How long does it take for someone to come back from injury? Kitson really has no pace and his one dimensional game has exposed his weaknesses of late. H e was even making excuses about the heat after the game. I would loan Long out to a Championship club next season and buy another quality striker to complement Kita and Doyle.

i was sweating like a r@pist from just clapping and singing, and i was in the shade,
god knows what it was like to be out in the sun doing a series of short sprints for 90 mins

[Platypuss]

Totally agree with comments about Kitson. How long does it take for someone to come back from injury? Kitson really has no pace and his one dimensional game has exposed his weaknesses of late. H e was even making excuses about the heat after the game. I would loan Long out to a Championship club next season and buy another quality striker to complement Kita and Doyle.

i was sweating like a r@pist from just clapping and singing, and i was in the shade,
god knows what it was like to be out in the sun doing a series of short sprints for 90 mins

Maybe he should have considered that playing in a long-sleeved shirt was not quite the wisest idea then. The other 9 didn't, after all.

[BR2]

Thought Seol did well today myself, ok makes a few mistakes and isn't a run around at 100 miles an hour like a headless chicken player (ie Hunt), but his control his fantastic, his crossing is good most of the time and he contributes alot to the attack. Not bad considering he's hardly had a game since Xmas.

Was slightly worried by the performance today though and just hope it isn't an indicator of next seasons struggles. Who we buy in the summer this year is even more important than last year, we need some premiership experienced players to help us kick on from the advantage we've had of being new boys, where teams have not been able to work out how to play us.

My main worry is Kitson - haven't been impressed with him at all since his return. Doesn't look to get in the game, touch looks poor, and looks out of his depth at this level. Hope he proves me wrong because I've always thought he was out best finisher and a good target man, but I have my doubts.

Best players today for me were: Ingi (as always) DLC (never been less than excellent whenever I've seen him), and Bikey. Most "worrying" performances were Kitson and Harper (again).

Totally agree with comments about Kitson. How long does it take for someone to come back from injury? Kitson really has no pace and his one dimensional game has exposed his weaknesses of late. H e was even making excuses about the heat after the game. I would loan Long out to a Championship club next season and buy another quality striker to complement Kita and Doyle.

I think the same comment could be made about Doyle who only looks half the player since he came back from injury.
BTW did you notice it was Kitson yet again who won back possession which then led to our goal?
I don't think anyone played particularly well on Saturday although Bryn and DLC did o.k. for most of the game.

[RoyalBlue]

Totally agree with comments about Kitson. How long does it take for someone to come back from injury? Kitson really has no pace and his one dimensional game has exposed his weaknesses of late. H e was even making excuses about the heat after the game. I would loan Long out to a Championship club next season and buy another quality striker to complement Kita and Doyle.

i was sweating like a r@pist from just clapping and singing, and i was in the shade,
god knows what it was like to be out in the sun doing a series of short sprints for 90 mins

Maybe he should have considered that playing in a long-sleeved shirt was not quite the wisest idea then. The other 9 didn't, after all.

Perhaps he was worried about getting sunburned!

[Skin]

Don't know a lot about acoustics but the Fulham fans seemed very loud

They were one of the loudest sets of visiting supporters this season and amazingly enough, they managed to do it sitting down.

Maybe Fulham fans have a special diaphram built in that allows them to sing while sitting down because Reading Fans don't seem to believe this is possible.

get a life

[Behindu]

What was up with Bocanegro's assault on Doyle (maybe 80th minute)? How was that not at least a yellow card? And no foul was called at all? Unbelievable.

The one where the ref had already blown for an earlier foul?

There was no earlier foul, and the ref blew very late (on the TV you can see that it is AFTER Doyle was been fouled that the ref is extending an arm to indicate a foul against Long (incorrectly).

There was an earlier foul according to the referee, which is why he brought play back to the place where it was committed.

There was no earlier foul.

Although I agree the ref did blow and award a fee kick.

Are you suggesting that he was playing some kind of advantage to Fulham as Doyle raced though on goal and only decided to blow once he realised a red card offence had been committed ?