Back from the game - Ipswich

[Kitson12]

Also, any reason why Coppell didn't take his usual seat/place in the dug-out at the start of the second half, instead he sits in the stands??? Why?

[Royal Lady]

Doesn't he say he gets a better overall view of the game? Also, he sees the game as we see it. And probably hears a few comments too.

[Armadillo Roadkill]

Marcus - 7
Rosenior - 3
Pearce - 5
Duberry - 4
Armstrong - 6
Little - 4
Harper - 7
Gunnarsson - 6
Shunt - 4
Kitson - 6
Long - 6

I'm feeling generous - none of them were actually as good as i've just written, except maybe Long who was OK as was Harper.

And why does Harper never take the dead ball - we know he's got the technique and he's never going to rise at the far post for a header.

[Sir Rodney Effing]

Absolute shit.
Knew I should not have bothered after the Charlton oxf*rd up.
14 March 2009
The day our promotion bid died. RIP.

[tee peg]

Duberry+ Rosenoir were total sh1t yet again.

[Denver Royal]

Marcus - 7
Rosenior - 3
Pearce - 5
Duberry - 4
Armstrong - 6
Little - 4
Harper - 7
Gunnarsson - 6
Shunt - 4
Kitson - 6
Long - 6

I'm feeling generous - none of them were actually as good as i've just written, except maybe Long who was OK as was Harper.

And why does Harper never take the dead ball - we know he's got the technique and he's never going to rise at the far post for a header.

Kitson a 6 and Little 4? Wow, thats not what we were hoping for.

[urzmikep]

I must have been watching another game to everyone else!!

How can Haper be worth 7 out of 10?? he set up their goal with a suicidal back heel on the edge of our area that went straight to their player that crossed the ball in!! Why does Coppell insist on putting him in the starting line up??

Little was far and away the best of a bad bunch, though i think that he's been taking tips from S Hunt's crossing in training

Rosinier had another shocker (same as the past 2 months since he got sent off!!)

Seriously having second thoughts about renewing my season ticket - why do I keep on paying my hard earned money on that pile of shite!

[Alan Partridge]

I said after 15-20minutes slightly out of jest that if Reading can't beat Ipswich then Coppell should resign I really can't believe Reading actually lost to them.

The first half started brightly, we hit the bar but after the initial promise it was played at testimonial pace, a truly drab half football. Ipswich offered nothing, their wingers final ball was even worse than ours which is some going. Their defense one paced, we didnt' use it to our advtange well enough, apart from a couple of good runs by Long.

2nd half, bang terrific goal out the blue by Stead which didn't deserve to be in with the 94 minutes and 50 seconds of sheer crap on show. It was a superb overhead volley that was past Hahnemann before he even attempted getting the hands up.

We rarely forced many chances or saves from Wright, in fact only a superb stop from Hahnemann kept the scoreline at the moderately less shameful 0-1.

The team selection for Reading was ridiculous, the substitutions just funny. Bryn 90minutes? I bet there are ashtmatic slothes out there who could run faster and for longer than poor old Boris and then to switch him to right back was just the acts of an imbecil. Harper spent the entire match shadowing Bryn, neither got forward at all to help our forwards out. Little has either lost any pace he had at all or is totally unfit, I'd guess the former. Everything about him is just slow now. I know he was ever hardly a whippet but he got caught in posession 3 times leading to Ipswich counters. Kitson was back to his best.....whingeing for 90minutes at the officials whilst offering us precisely sod all else. Watching Long's shoulders sink as his number went up, I think for the first time I properly meant the applause that i gave him. He was the only player we had in the side with a bit of pace who could run the channels and perhaps create something. Like I said when Kitson returned, at the first opportunity Coppell was going to replace him and have Kitson and Doyle. Exactly that and he won't start at Doncaster. Joke, felt sorry for him.

Again Hunt off for the 2nd time in a week, although ironically I thought he was having a reasonably ok game. I couldn't understand taking him off at that time today.

Ended up with Gunnarsson, Doobs and Pearce in the back 4, Little, Kitson in the side = no pace. We lack pace badly, we lack skill, we lack creativity, we lack ideas and we lack direction.

Coppell's selection struck of a man who had zero idea on what his team should be and what his best team is. A week or two ago Gunnarsson is totally out the picture, today he's starting and Reading's only really decent player and 3rd top scorer in the league is sub, replaced by someone who hasn't scored a single goal this season. Noel Hunt? Totally absent, ditto Biky and ditto Tabb who created a goal tuesday.

He tehn states he doesn't have a clue what his team should be for Tuesday, and we expect consistency? Impossible.

We are struggling, really struggling and for the 3rd time in 5 years a Reading Coppell side is plummeting in the 2nd half of the season, with no evidence of any answers. Worrying very worrying.

[Sir Rodney Effing]

I said after 15-20minutes slightly out of jest that if Reading can't beat Ipswich then Coppell should resign I really can't believe Reading actually lost to them.

The first half started brightly, we hit the bar but after the initial promise it was played at testimonial pace, a truly drab half football. Ipswich offered nothing, their wingers final ball was even worse than ours which is some going. Their defense one paced, we didnt' use it to our advtange well enough, apart from a couple of good runs by Long.

2nd half, bang terrific goal out the blue by Stead which didn't deserve to be in with the 94 minutes and 50 seconds of sheer crap on show. It was a superb overhead volley that was past Hahnemann before he even attempted getting the hands up.

We rarely forced many chances or saves from Wright, in fact only a superb stop from Hahnemann kept the scoreline at the moderately less shameful 0-1.

The team selection for Reading was ridiculous, the substitutions just funny. Bryn 90minutes? I bet there are ashtmatic slothes out there who could run faster and for longer than poor old Boris and then to switch him to right back was just the acts of an imbecil. Harper spent the entire match shadowing Bryn, neither got forward at all to help our forwards out. Little has either lost any pace he had at all or is totally unfit, I'd guess the former. Everything about him is just slow now. I know he was ever hardly a whippet but he got caught in posession 3 times leading to Ipswich counters. Kitson was back to his best.....whingeing for 90minutes at the officials whilst offering us precisely sod all else. Watching Long's shoulders sink as his number went up, I think for the first time I properly meant the applause that i gave him. He was the only player we had in the side with a bit of pace who could run the channels and perhaps create something. Like I said when Kitson returned, at the first opportunity Coppell was going to replace him and have Kitson and Doyle. Exactly that and he won't start at Doncaster. Joke, felt sorry for him.

Again Hunt off for the 2nd time in a week, although ironically I thought he was having a reasonably ok game. I couldn't understand taking him off at that time today.

Ended up with Gunnarsson, Doobs and Pearce in the back 4, Little, Kitson in the side = no pace. We lack pace badly, we lack skill, we lack creativity, we lack ideas and we lack direction.

Coppell's selection struck of a man who had zero idea on what his team should be and what his best team is. A week or two ago Gunnarsson is totally out the picture, today he's starting and Reading's only really decent player and 3rd top scorer in the league is sub, replaced by someone who hasn't scored a single goal this season. Noel Hunt? Totally absent, ditto Biky and ditto Tabb who created a goal tuesday.

He tehn states he doesn't have a clue what his team should be for Tuesday, and we expect consistency? Impossible.

We are struggling, really struggling and for the 3rd time in 5 years a Reading Coppell side is plummeting in the 2nd half of the season, with no evidence of any answers. Worrying very worrying.

Excellent post, well put mate.

[Man Friday]

Marcus - good
Rosenior - ok
Pearce - good
Duberry - ok
Armstrong - good
Little - poor
Harper - ok
Gunnarsson - poor/ok
Shunt - ok
Kitson - ok/good
Long - ok

Matty - poor
Doyle - ok (didn't really see ball except to head)
Kebe - ok (didn't see much of ball)

Coppell - very poor

Substitutions baffling (and didn't work out anyway). Today for the first time I really thought Coppell had lost the plot with keeping Glen on who was clearly knackered, taking Hunty off who was doing ok at least, taking Rosy off and replacing him at right back with Gunnar. Get a grip FFS.

[chilipepper91]

Marcus - 5 - one decent save but otherwise bad distribution and indecisive as usual.
Rosenior - 4 - can do 2 things; hoof down the line and push it in front and run onto it. Failed at both today. One good tackle.
Duberry - 3 - "footballer"? No. Hoofball, yes.
Pearce - 5 - at least he tried to get it on the floor.
Armstrong - 6 - about the only person who looks like he cares.
Little - 6 - few good crosses and good runs.
Gunnarsson - 5 - did alright.
Harper - 4 - tried to give him a chance, but I don't see what he adds.
Shunt - 3 - did nothing good. Cheers when he went off.
Long - 5 - control was awful but always tried.
Kitson - 4 - did very very little.

Marek - 5 - a few good passes but more shite than good.
Doyle - 5 - did he even touch the ball?
Kebe - 5 - as above.

[Royal Lady]

In what way was SHunt "ok"?

[Armadillo Roadkill]

Only as an answer to "was he hurt?"

[Man Friday]

In what way was SHunt "ok"?

By making a few tackles, a couple of crosses, a run or two. Just OK. Worthy of playing in a mid-Championship side. Compared to Little who is either knackered or past it and achieved buger all. In fact his presence was negative at times with some of his crosses that went straight to the keeper.

[Alan Partridge]

In what way was SHunt "ok"?

By making a few tackles, a couple of crosses, a run or two. Just OK. Worthy of playing in a mid-Championship side. Compared to Little who is either knackered or past it and achieved buger all. In fact his presence was negative at times with some of his crosses that went straight to the keeper.

Agree

He was no worse than most of the others on show. It's not really a complement but S Hunt was >> Kitson, Boris, Harper, Little and Rosenior for me.

[Man Friday]

why the ?

[Alan Partridge]

why the ?

Because in my opinion Stephen Hunt is shit.

[Man Friday]

gotcha.

[howser]

With the deserved slathing on this thread that the team and manager truly deserve, and with his team selection and confusing substitutions and general lack of "i don't know what is going on" and "I don't know what team to pick on Tuesday"....................should Coppell go now ??

[Southbank Old Boy]

That was pretty shocking today, although personally I dont think it was quite as bad as some of the recent performances we have been put through

Regarding the selections, I can understand the Marcus for Fed as Fed has looked less convincing over the last few games and I bet marcus has been putting some pressure on Coppell to get him back in the side. I doubt Marcus wouldve been dropped for a similar drop in form had it been the other way round

As for the back four, there is very little competition for those places at the moment. The only realistic change without weakening the side would be Bikey for one of the two centre halfs. Thats something I thought we mightve seen by now, but it looks like there maybe bigger issues behind the scenes on that one. Neither fullback has a proper challenger for their place, although Stretch doesnt deserve to be dropped, rosenoirs form should have seen him out of the side by now

The midfield, the switch of both players is something Coppell did earlier in the season when we had a glut of games. I think the recall of Harper and Gunnar may have been something along those lines due to the run of Sat/tues/sat/tues/fri games. I thought both did ok, not great, but ok. We still miss a physical midfielder, either one who will add some real steel to the middle or a sidwell like box to box player. We are seeing the fruits of not replacing sidwell as we did last season. Little should be starting IF he is anywhere near fit enough to play, but its a bit of a shock that he has been put through almost two 90 minutes in a week.

Upfront I wasnt overly surprised to see Kitson come back into the side. The surprise was dropping our best, but recently ineffectual, player Doyle and opting for Long instead. It was a drastic step and one that was probably the right thing to do. Doyle has looked off the pace and tired recently, just like he did last season, but it was still a bold step to drop him. Probably what he needed though

The subs today didnt make a lot of sense, leaving Gunnar on when he looks incapable of lasting more than 60 mins was bizarre, especially when you end up playing him out of position at right back