Wolves - Back From The Game...

[yappy]

I swear some of you must've been watching a different Kelly from me, IMO he looked very much out of his depth. He lacks physique, his positioning wasn't great, he got far too tight to his man and how many times did he just wack the ball up the field? A couple of decent runs up the field were the only thing that impressed me.

Now I know it was his first ever start, and nerves would've affected him and I'm not saying that he won't become a good player, I just don't know how people can justify giving him a 7 or 8 and rating him on a par with Alex Pearce, who IMO looked a class above Kelly tonight, and is probably my man of the match.

All in all though, a good gritty performance and a very important three points! URZ!

[Rex]

I just wished Harper had belted the ball that was squared to him instead of the lame shot that ensued. Harps seemed more involved in the game tonight and put in a few telling tackles.

On some occasions our decision making and set pieces were poor. A good free kick from Noel which was tipped over. Shunt frustrating the hel out of me and not making his corner kick tell. Playing short and not beating the first man or kicking the ball too long and beating everyone.
Tonight we looked the more impressive of the two but it was a scrappy game. It was a congested battle in the midfield with no team making its mark. Too much heading of the ball with each team cancelling each other out. Wolves cetainly looked the more nervous and this showed in their lack of gamesmanship, goalkeeping mishaps, the own goal , players clashing with each other, and the deliberate pulling back of our players on the attack.

Kelly did ok. Fair play to him. A big occasion for him and a high profile game to make his start.

Wolves despite the fact they had it all to play for tonight certainly did not seem to be a team playing with real confidence. There was a real glimmer of their potential to rip a team apart when there was the old one two touch in the second half which was luckily offside and saved by Fedders.

I mustn't grumble though as it was a fortuatous three points gained tonight when both teams never really threatening to close the game off. Nervous game all round really.

[bigshaka'away']

Most played well, even Kebe who has not been in the best of form of late, and i thought we looked really comfortable against a team who are supposed to be a class act. In-fact it seemed easy, but i bet we bloody loose to QPR, it wouldnt be reading if we didnt!

Kelly - apart from a few errors - had a solid game, pearce was great, im sure im not alone when i say i would rather Federici remained in goal rather than the return of American.

Doyle had a very bad game, but can be forgiven for having an off day once in a while, whilst Hunt (noel) was not much better.

Lita always seems to make a difference when he comes on, and lets hope he starts a game ahead of hunt against QPR. Missed the bloody goal, funnily enough the only time before i was late was when we played Notts County (i think) a few years back and bizzarly enough it was also an own goal and it proved to be the only one in the match.

One gripe about the reading fans - am i the only one who hates the sh*t on the floor chant, you never hear other fans sing it and i for one cringe when we sing it, especially when its a genuine injury. Fair enough if its Ronaldo or savage etc, but why show such bad sportsmanship? We would hate it if the opposing fans do it to one of our players. And quite rightly.

[Readingfanman]

Ratings -
Feds - 7 -Not a lot to do, added to his superb kicking again.
Kelly - 6 - Was easily the weakest link in the first half and looked very nieve, grew in confidence in the second half.
Doobs - 7 - Was winning each header and looked tidy till the injury.
Pearce 8 - Showed exactly why he should be playing every week tonight.
Armstrong 7 - Very whack and hope for the best a lot of the time tonight, but did defend solidly.
Kebe - 8 - Ran a hell of a lot, did scare Wolves I think and also managed to help Kelly a lot.
Harper 6 - Did alright, but never really seemed to be in the game, made a few almost costly mistakes at points.
Cisse - 7 - Considering the position change, did well. Won majority of headers and shows he can play CB as well as CM.
SHunt 7 - Still think he lacks an actual footballing brain, far too often wanted to take the man on, even when the easier option was there.
NHunt - 8 - Would have been a 9, but he quietened down after half time, but before was my MOTM.
Doyle - 7 - Didn't seem to do a lot, but did well considering the flow of the game.
SUBS
Bryn - 6 - Still only a bit-part player, always will be. Reliable enough cover for the night, but not someone I'd want to rely on anymore.
Leroy - 7 - I think he's starting to show he wants to be here still, was in the box with each cross and after he came on, we suddenly looked more likely to score.
Long - 6 - Didn't do anything significant did he?

Team - 8 - Got the job done, performanc wasn't excellent, and the mistakes are still there. But we just restricted the league leaders to a clean sheet with a 2nd choice right back, a 4th and even 5th choice centre back and a 2nd choice keeper. Really impressed with the result if not so much how we played. Think we may have started the collapse.

[Avon Royal]

Kelly was fine, considering the circumstances he did as well as could be expected against one of the best wingers in the division.

Wolves fans were laughable.

[Deathy]

I swear some of you must've been watching a different Kelly from me, IMO he looked very much out of his depth. He lacks physique, his positioning wasn't great, he got far too tight to his man and how many times did he just wack the ball up the field? A couple of decent runs up the field were the only thing that impressed me.

Jesus Christ!!

He was making his full home debut. It was a HUGE game. Getting tight to his marker is probably what the coaches wanted, and it worked did it not? As for hoofing the ball too much? And? He did his job, he contributed well, and his confidence this morning is as high as it possibly can be, and he will become more comfortable on the ball in time and learn to pick a pass.

With regards to his physique, he's a young boy! He will develope in body and mind. If you've noticed he's light weight, you can be sure the coaches have and will be working on him in the gym as part of that side of his development.

[Wax Jacket]

I just wished Harper had belted the ball that was squared to him instead of the lame shot that ensued. Harps seemed more involved in the game tonight and put in a few telling tackles.

I counted two that he won, which is an improvement I guess. Lost out ocuntless times, although as whole the midfield did an OK job keeping Wolves away form our 18 yard box.

[Platypuss]

I agree Doyle is a huge asset and the master of chasing and winning lost causes.
But he looked off the pace in the second half and perhaps disinterested at times. I rarely think he should be subbed but with 20/25 minutes to go it was obvious he needed to come off. Just knackered? Guess he's due a rest

Tired? He's only played 3 times in the last 4 weeks!

[OLLIE KEARNS]

Things that stood out for me last night.
- The pitch is awful. We aren't going to see many "football" matches for the remainder of this season.
- Federici's kicking was immense compared to Hennessy. We could knock it back to him. Wolves had to knock it out for a throw.
- Kelly did okay but no more than that. Every threat from Wolves came down that channel. Kightly wasn't sighted with radar on the other side. Jarvis had 3 or 4 good shooting opportunities.
- Our front 6 were immense in terms of work rate and defensive work in general. Wolves rarely had controlled possession going into our final third.
- Pearce had an excellent game but it was played to his strengths. Nothing was played in behind our back four largely because of the defensive work in front of him. He won just about everything in the air.
- Noel Hunt worked his socks off as always but I always feel his movement when we have the ball could be much better. Lita's movement was excellent when he came on which allowed us to have some controlled possession in their final third for the first time in the match.
- Credit to the referee. This was a proper old fashioned battle and by and large the game was allowed to flow. It's the easiest thing in the world to pick holes in the ref but he had a good game last night.

In summary. Not a match for the neutral or the purist. But, a proper old fashioned battle in which we came out on top as a result of top class commitment, desire and organisation plus a little skill thrown in now and again. I'll be amazed if Reading and Wolves don't go up come the end of the season.

[CMRoyal]

Things that stood out for me last night.
- The pitch is awful. We aren't going to see many "football" matches for the remainder of this season.
- Federici's kicking was immense compared to Hennessy. We could knock it back to him. Wolves had to knock it out for a throw.
- Kelly did okay but no more than that. Every threat from Wolves came down that channel. Kightly wasn't sighted with radar on the other side. Jarvis had 3 or 4 good shooting opportunities.
- Our front 6 were immense in terms of work rate and defensive work in general. Wolves rarely had controlled possession going into our final third.
- Pearce had an excellent game but it was played to his strengths. Nothing was played in behind our back four largely because of the defensive work in front of him. He won just about everything in the air.
- Noel Hunt worked his socks off as always but I always feel his movement when we have the ball could be much better. Lita's movement was excellent when he came on which allowed us to have some controlled possession in their final third for the first time in the match.
- Credit to the referee. This was a proper old fashioned battle and by and large the game was allowed to flow. It's the easiest thing in the world to pick holes in the ref but he had a good game last night.

In summary. Not a match for the neutral or the purist. But, a proper old fashioned battle in which we came out on top as a result of top class commitment, desire and organisation plus a little skill thrown in now and again. I'll be amazed if Reading and Wolves don't go up come the end of the season.

Agree with all this, and would add kudos to Leroy for his shoulder-popping commitment to the cause, and to Kalifa and Kelly who countered Wolves' attempts to exploit their lack of height/heading prowess by standing off a yard and picking up the second ball. Risky, but it worked.

Can we please please please kick the egg-chasers out and get the pitch sorted?

[The 17 Bus]

Nothing that a few days of dryer weather wont sort out with the pitch, have said it before the continuall freezing is not good for it at all, it prevents draining.

[OLLIE KEARNS]

Nothing that a few days of dryer weather wont sort out with the pitch, have said it before the continuall freezing is not good for it at all, it prevents draining.

Can't agree with you their Mr Bus. The lack of grass means that the pitch will always be uneven and covered in divots after 10 minutes of play. Grass holds the surface together and there ain't much of it on our pitch
I think the club has entered into a long term agreement with the egg chasers so they either need a Plan B with the pitch or we're going to see a lot of hoofball over the next few years.

[Bill Oddie's Beard]

Things that stood out for me last night.
- The pitch is awful. We aren't going to see many "football" matches for the remainder of this season.
- Federici's kicking was immense compared to Hennessy. We could knock it back to him. Wolves had to knock it out for a throw.
- Kelly did okay but no more than that. Every threat from Wolves came down that channel. Kightly wasn't sighted with radar on the other side. Jarvis had 3 or 4 good shooting opportunities.
- Our front 6 were immense in terms of work rate and defensive work in general. Wolves rarely had controlled possession going into our final third.
- Pearce had an excellent game but it was played to his strengths. Nothing was played in behind our back four largely because of the defensive work in front of him. He won just about everything in the air.
- Noel Hunt worked his socks off as always but I always feel his movement when we have the ball could be much better. Lita's movement was excellent when he came on which allowed us to have some controlled possession in their final third for the first time in the match.
- Credit to the referee. This was a proper old fashioned battle and by and large the game was allowed to flow. It's the easiest thing in the world to pick holes in the ref but he had a good game last night.

In summary. Not a match for the neutral or the purist. But, a proper old fashioned battle in which we came out on top as a result of top class commitment, desire and organisation plus a little skill thrown in now and again. I'll be amazed if Reading and Wolves don't go up come the end of the season.

I loved it when Hunty I think it was hit a heavy back pass to him and he casually took it down on his knee then volleyed it up the pitch! Hennessy's kicking was abysmal, even out of his hands, he was just kicking it straight up in the air!

Either Armstrong was really good, or Kightly was really poor because he didn't have a sniff in all game.

Kebe had a great game, as did Pearce and I thought Cisse and Harper did well too. Doyle and N Hunt worked their socks off as always. Stephen Hunt was better than he has been and although I've never been one of his biggest fans, I do think it's important that he stays until the end of the season.

Didn't think Bryn had a particularly good game and I thought Kelly was pretty poor and looked nervous, but can't really blame him. I know it's only one game, but from that and his sub appearances I can't see him making the grade here, he certainly isn't in the same league as Pearce and Karacan.

Anyway, great result and looking forward to Loftus on Saturday.

[Silver Fox]

Interesting to note that Collins was already a target of hatred amongst Wolves fans before today - imagine Harper or Long scoring an og and being sent off and you'll get an idea .....

Neill Collins depreciation thread

Chatting to a couple of wolfs pre-mach they said that they were pretty ropey at the back and were concerned that McCarthy was sticking with CoLOLLOLins despite the fact he is very much the weakest link

[Schards#2]

An excellent three points in the circumstances and a good hard working display by everyone in a Reading shirt. However, the quality of football by both sides was absolutely appalling and any neutral watching the game would have considered it to be a complete bore.

As these are the top two, it's was a bit of an indictment of the division as a whole though the lack of quality was more understanding on Reading's part than Wolves. It's very hard to see how they've got so many points this year if they can barely muster a shot against such a makeshift defence.

[PieEater]

I concur with Ollie and a lot of what has already been said, the performance was very different to Swansea - we never game anyone time and space to play all through the game. Doyle and Hunt were tired because they spent all game closing down their back 4. I also thought Gunnar did well, it was his sort of game to get stuck in and battle.

A lot of head tennis and hoofball, but it was that sort of game. Given our makeshift back 4 and the balance of chances I thought we just about deserved it.

For those moaning about Hunts corners, I lot count the number of times Harper headed away Wolves corners. They failed to beat the first man in almost every occasion.

[The 17 Bus]

Nothing that a few days of dryer weather wont sort out with the pitch, have said it before the continuall freezing is not good for it at all, it prevents draining.

Can't agree with you their Mr Bus. The lack of grass means that the pitch will always be uneven and covered in divots after 10 minutes of play. Grass holds the surface together and there ain't much of it on our pitch
I think the club has entered into a long term agreement with the egg chasers so they either need a Plan B with the pitch or we're going to see a lot of hoofball over the next few years.

But a lot of the problem is that the last 7 weeks odd has been very cold, so the grass was weaker, and easily lost, ok the Irish will have made it worse from using the pitch, but it would probably have gone anyway.

[Royal Lady]

I really enjoyed that game - the football wasn't pretty but considering the team we had to put out and then the injurty to Doobs I thought we did really well. I also felt the fans were really "up for it" last night - it was like a cup final in places! I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I'd love it, really love it, if us and Brum went up and Wolves lost in the playoffs!

[Man Friday]

was it wise for Leroy to concede that free kick in the last 30 seconds of the match allowing Wolves to have one last-ditch attempt to score?

[Royal Lady]

Wolves were acting like THEY were one-up in the last few minutes - they took an age over that throw-in where Collins subsequently got sent off and didn't seem to have any urgency about them. I think they're only where they are in the league through their heavy handedness which was apparent all too often last night - I suppose refs have been ignoring it to some extent, as the ref did last night on too many occasions for my liking - tugging shirts etc, and other lesser teams have capitulated against them.