Back from the game - Norwich

[AlexY25]

James henry (apart from once or twice) has got such a brilliant cross, hopefully they'll just get better as well.

[rfcjoe]

Yes - so he shouldn't be taking the free kicks then.

Didn't say he should be taking free kicks. I've always said he shouldn't take corners or set peices (it means free kicks etc RL)

[Royal Lady]

I know what set pieces are Joe. You were just confirming what I'd already said.

[rotherwick_royal]

The best thing about today's game apart from the 3 points was being in row 5 in the East Stand when it's raining and not getting wet. Now that doesn't happen very often!

As far as the players go I thought Fed's distibution was great, Doob's and Ivar solid (if it wasn't for Doobs it could have ended 0-1), strikers quiet until the subs. Contrary to most on here I thought Marek did ok on the right, some lovely angled passes. But he's not an out and out winger and that's what most people expect of a Reading side. With him on the right the side took a totally different shape. Not a bad thing to mix it up a bit when you think that Norwich couldn't cope when we brought Henry on, who did great by the way. Good to see Long score - superb header from a great Henry cross. Bit of a selection headache for Coppell for CM, which can only be a good thing.

Bring on Brum!

[londinium]

I know it is only a matter of opinion but I am really not sure what some of you are watching sometimes.

Fed - 8 - Was sceptical at first as he didnt come for an easy cross on his 6 yard box, after that he was faultless.

Stretch 7 Needs someone to push him for his place as he has had a couple of not so great performances recently.

Rosenior - 7 - Enthusiasm he gets 10 out of 10, you can tell he misses the link up play with Kebe though

Doobs - 7 - one great block but other than that I didnt think he was too good today, distribution was piss poor.

Ivar 7 though he was solid until the last 20 when Cort came on and won most of the stuff in the air.

SHunt 7 Hard working again but not one of his best games, though he had big balls to take the pen and without seeing it again it must have been half decent if the keeper got a touch on it and still couldnt keep it out.

Harps - 7 better of the central midfield two today, ran his socks off, nearly scored and marshalled a weak midfield the best he could.

Cisse 6 Poor game today.

Marek 5 Has obviously got skill, 2 good balls to ever 10 bad ones given away, couldnt tackle a lampost.

NHunt 6 another poorish game up front, unispiring.

Doyle 8 Tireless running today, ran out of legs in the last 10 mins.

Bryn 7 OK

Long 8 Didnt do a thing wrong and scored a gret goal.

Henry 9 That's what a substitute should do..chased lost causes, ran tired defenders ragged and stuck in a great cross for Longy

All in all, most of the team played ok, they just didnt play as a TEAM and that is what we are good at.

[rabidbee]

Having been perhaps unfairly critical of Henry on Tuesday, I just want to say his little cameo tonight was much, much better. Not just for setting up Long's goal, but just for his general endeavour, typified when he sprinted most of the length of the pitch to chase down a long punt by A Fed and won a corner. Some excellent crosses, especially to put the ball on Long's head. More to the point, his introduction demonstrated that it's so vital to have an out-and-out winger on the wing. I thought Marek had an interesting game again - some absolutely sublime passes, a few of which were so good that his team-mates completely failed to anticipate them. But he kept drifting into the middle all game, which is a real problem, not only because it left a huge gap in the right, but also because when he was looking for an attacking player to pass the ball to, his only options were a short pass to a defensive midfielder, apart from the occasion when he ran across the width of the pitch to pass it short to Hunty. Whether or not he is the answer at CM, he looks so much more comfortable there, and the team looked much more balanced.

I'm glad Long got the goal, another player about whom I've been quite critical this season. Very simple goal, won by doing what neither Doyle nor Noel had done all game - getting across the near post for the flick-on. To say Noel was anonymous was harsh - the mud on his kit when he came off showed he'd put in plenty of running - but he didn't produce much as an attacking force today. Despite the goal, I'm still not sure Long is the obvious replacement, though, if he needs a rest; at least the goal can' help but boost Shane's confidence. Nice to see him go over and have a quiet word with Hunty before the penalty. (OK, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt; he might have threatened to put the dags on him if he missed another!).

I thought we actually struggled a bit at the back; we were certainly lucky not to be two down fairly early on. On top of that, Cort won quite a few of the long balls against Ivar and Doobs - we were just lucky that Norwich were unable to do owt with it. Good to see Federici get a clean sheet under his belt. I know he didn't have to make any spectacular saves, but he dealt comfortably in wht must have been tricky conditions.

So, overall, a bit of a dull match, but a solid performance, and made all the better by the result at Deepdale.

[londinium]

Having been perhaps unfairly critical of Henry on Tuesday, I just want to say his little cameo tonight was much, much better. Not just for setting up Long's goal, but just for his general endeavour, typified when he sprinted most of the length of the pitch to chase down a long punt by A Fed and won a corner. Some excellent crosses, especially to put the ball on Long's head. More to the point, his introduction demonstrated that it's so vital to have an out-and-out winger on the wing. I thought Marek had an interesting game again - some absolutely sublime passes, a few of which were so good that his team-mates completely failed to anticipate them. But he kept drifting into the middle all game, which is a real problem, not only because it left a huge gap in the right, but also because when he was looking for an attacking player to pass the ball to, his only options were a short pass to a defensive midfielder, apart from the occasion when he ran across the width of the pitch to pass it short to Hunty. Whether or not he is the answer at CM, he looks so much more comfortable there, and the team looked much more balanced.

I'm glad Long got the goal, another player about whom I've been quite critical this season. Very simple goal, won by doing what neither Doyle nor Noel had done all game - getting across the near post for the flick-on. To say Noel was anonymous was harsh - the mud on his kit when he came off showed he'd put in plenty of running - but he didn't produce much as an attacking force today. Despite the goal, I'm still not sure Long is the obvious replacement, though, if he needs a rest; at least the goal can' help but boost Shane's confidence. Nice to see him go over and have a quiet word with Hunty before the penalty. (OK, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt; he might have threatened to put the dags on him if he missed another!).

I thought we actually struggled a bit at the back; we were certainly lucky not to be two down fairly early on. On top of that, Cort won quite a few of the long balls against Ivar and Doobs - we were just lucky that Norwich were unable to do owt with it. Good to see Federici get a clean sheet under his belt. I know he didn't have to make any spectacular saves, but he dealt comfortably in wht must have been tricky conditions.

So, overall, a bit of a dull match, but a solid performance, and made all the better by the result at Deepdale.

Pretty much sums up my post above and my one on the team for Brum thread so therefore can't agree more.

[AthleticoSpizz]

I know it is only a matter of opinion but I am really not sure what some of you are watching sometimes.

Marek 5 Has obviously got skill, 2 good balls to ever 10 bad ones given away, couldnt tackle a lampost.

you are a very brave man to even dare to post that on here!

However (and for what it is worth), that is the way that I called it too.

Even his slight improvement when he was switched to the middle, when Henry came on was negligable.


During the week I read plenty on here about him being "world class"......and obviously he is...but when will we see it in the Championship?


Hard to find a M.O.M today, but Harps came close (due to his risking life and limb a couple of times today........got stuck in and tried to impress)

[Half Man Half Biscuit]

Championship Class.
We didn't excell, we didn't dominate, we didn't show flare, but we won. We ground out a result.
Sorry if that sounds a bit like Ron Atkinson.

[Cripple Creek]

Well, I tell you what that doesn't sound like Big Ron to me Trevor. Anyways, we got a couple in the old onion bag and that's what matters. Did Delia get sloshed post-match by the way?

[Adz1871]

Tbf, I think James Henry changed the game. We seemed to going nowhere. But he brought the life back into the team.

[dean horrix legend]

^^^^^Agreed,both Long and Henry made an impact when they came on.

[Platypuss]

I know it is only a matter of opinion but I am really not sure what some of you are watching sometimes.

Marek 5 Has obviously got skill, 2 good balls to ever 10 bad ones given away, couldnt tackle a lampost.

you are a very brave man to even dare to post that on here!

However (and for what it is worth), that is the way that I called it too.

Even his slight improvement when he was switched to the middle, when Henry came on was negligable.

Agree, some great reverse passes early on out wide and inside the full back, but tired very rapidly and ended up being all too frequently shrugged off the ball with embarrassing ease.

[PlasticRoyale]

After all the post-match comments that I have heard, is it safe to say the the referee, Mr. Kettle was 'off the boil'?

RESPECT the refs or you'll end up in hot water

[PieEater]

Marek is clearly not a winger, but at least we know that now. I thought it was a good move to try him there when I heard the team selection. The dilemma now is whether to start him in the centre or keep him as an impact sub, he is looking like a bit of a luxury midfielder that doesn't fit well if we play with two wingers.

Harper had a poor game. It's not just his frustrating misplaced passes, he can turn a promising attack into a hopeful defensive punt by passing the ball back to Doobs or Ivar when he should be looking to play around the defenders. Also very irritated by his inability to bring the ball down, but instead head it straight to one of them when under no pressure and with lots of time.

The defence did OK but Doobs distribution was pisspoor. He did his defensive duties well though.

The subs changed the game. Maybe it was our better shape, underperforming Harper/Cisse/NHunt going off, or the impact of the new players. Either way we looked better.

[Man Friday]

Midfield was poor. Cisse, Harper and Matty. Cisse especially - clean shirt at half-time says it all (as does winning no headers). We were carrying too many players yesterday. Amstrong set the right example - it's a shame that one or two couldn't follow. Matty was poor all game being caught in possession on several occasions. A better team would have punished us. Fortunately, Norwich had no idea how to score. I couldn't believe the header they missed. All in all, we were very fortunate. Was there a The Whiff yesterday? I arrived 10 mins late due to flooded train track.

[CMRoyal]

Not a great performance, but I'd forgive the boys quite a lot having to play on that pitch. Judging by the Championship highlights on ITV this morning, we've got bar far the most unplayable pitch in the league right now, and I hope it's at least a bit better by Boxing Day, even if it means banning Youth and Reserve games from being played at the Mad. What chances of getting shot of the egg chasers as well? Thought not. Pretty solid performances all round, I thought, given the circumstances and this mental block we seem to have when playing teams in the bottom third. Given that SC has been rotating, Doyler hasn't scored in four and we've been down to 10 men twice, 13 points out of 15 since the Saints no-show is an excellent return. Anyone else think N Hunt desperately needs a rest? I think he's lost a bit of spark, and I'm even tempted to call for Shane to start against Brum, for his physical presence if nothing else.

Think I'll give everyone a 6 out of 10 for this match, anyway.

[Ian Royal]

READING: Federici 6, Rosenior 6, Duberry 6, Ingimarsson 5, Armstrong 6, Matejovsky 5, Harper 6 (Gunnarsson 74min 5), Cisse 4 (Henry 66min 7), Stephen Hunt 7, Noel Hunt 5 (Long 80min), Doyle 7

interesting that a neutral paid to review games thought Harper was OK and Matejovsky and Cisse poor.

[skipper]

READING: Federici 6, Rosenior 6, Duberry 6, Ingimarsson 5, Armstrong 6, Matejovsky 5, Harper 6 (Gunnarsson 74min 5), Cisse 4 (Henry 66min 7), Stephen Hunt 7, Noel Hunt 5 (Long 80min), Doyle 7

interesting that a neutral paid to review games thought Harper was OK and Matejovsky and Cisse poor.

Seems thats what a lot of people on here thought... from the reviews and opinions i have read.

[winchester_royal]

READING: Federici 6, Rosenior 6, Duberry 6, Ingimarsson 5, Armstrong 6, Matejovsky 5, Harper 6 (Gunnarsson 74min 5), Cisse 4 (Henry 66min 7), Stephen Hunt 7, Noel Hunt 5 (Long 80min), Doyle 7

interesting that a neutral paid to review games thought Harper was OK and Matejovsky and Cisse poor.

That review loses all credibilty by giving Ivar a 5 and Stretch a 6.

He was given the run around by Croft all day was Armo.