Time for excuses is over

[andrew1957]

We now face the crunch point of this season. We have 9 winnable games in a row - 5 at home and 4 away.

Much as I like Brain - he has started to make a lot of excuses. Yes we don't get the penalties we deserve - about 7-8 nailed on ones not given to us this season. Yes refereeing standards in this division are generally shocking, but if the players are half as good as Brian keeps telling us (and I have my doubts as expressed elsewhere) then now is the time to step up and prove us doubters wrong.

Anything less than top 6 this season will be failure in my book. We had a great platform at the end of last season and I fear the club has thrown it away BUT I still hope.

Come on Brian - come on Reading players. If you care one jot about the fans that have supported you all through thick and thin - then give it your best shot for the next 9 league games - nothing less than 7 wins will be enough to keep us in contention. No more draws - single points are no longer enough. It must be all out attack to win games against weaker teams. If we cannot do that - then we don't deserve to go up anyway.

[Jeffers217]

One name name...Gylfi...that's the difference between now and the end of last season. You take out a 20 goal a season playmaker and don't replace him then you're not gonna do as well. Some people need to get real

[roadrunner]

One name name...Gylfi...that's the difference between now and the end of last season. You take out a 20 goal a season playmaker and don't replace him then you're not gonna do as well. Some people need to get real

Exactly. You wait until August when we start the new season minus Shane Long and Jimmy Kebe. Get used to mid-table mediocrity, it's as good as it's going to get for a few years until someone else possibly takes the club on and invests in the team.

[loyal-royal]

We are not good enough that it end of, the sig was sold we havent replaced him, long wants to go we wont replace him, mid table side at best.

[Wimb]

One name name...Gylfi...that's the difference between now and the end of last season. You take out a 20 goal a season playmaker and don't replace him then you're not gonna do as well. Some people need to get real

Exactly. You wait until August when we start the new season minus Shane Long and Jimmy Kebe. Get used to mid-table mediocrity, it's as good as it's going to get for a few years until someone else possibly takes the club on and invests in the team.

And what's to stop the club investing £400k in another Jimmy Kebe or £25k to replace Shane Long exactly, where did Gylfi come from? where did Sonko, Hunt, Doyle, Hahnemann come from......

You don't know the potential of a team until it walks onto the pitch. For all you know by August 2011 Kebe and Long might be gone but we sign and unearth a better winger and use the procedes of selling Long to sign a striker like Lita who bangs in the goals alongside a fully fit and firing Manset, with Simon Church busting out of his slump to become a great weapon off the bench.

It's fun to see fans writing off next season halfway into the previous one

[floyd__streete]

Much as I like Brain - he has started to make a lot of excuses. Yes we don't get the penalties we deserve - about 7-8 nailed on ones not given to us this season. Yes refereeing standards in this division are generally shocking, but if the players are half as good as Brian keeps telling us (and I have my doubts as expressed elsewhere) then now is the time to step up and prove us doubters wrong.

Anything less than top 6 this season will be failure in my book. We had a great platform at the end of last season and I fear the club has thrown it away BUT I still hope.

As I keep saying, we've sold everyone worth selling and we have replaced the prize assets with window cleaners from Eastleigh and Hereford's top scorer. A top half finish for McDermott would be a triumph.

[floyd__streete]

Simon Church busting out of his slump to become a great weapon off the bench.

He's played like a great weapon all season to be honest

[Ian Royal]

One name name...Gylfi...that's the difference between now and the end of last season. You take out a 20 goal a season playmaker and don't replace him then you're not gonna do as well. Some people need to get real

Spot on. 6th was always likely to be just out of reach. And for every nailed on penalty we've not got, we've had a soft one that Long has won under absolutely minimum contact going nowhere.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

Come on Brian - come on Reading players. If you care one jot about the fans that have supported you all through thick and thin - then give it your best shot for the next 9 league games

A good point. I'm sure the reason we've not being doing better is mainly down to him not trying to win games because he doesn't give a a shit about the fans.

[floyd__streete]

Come on Brian - come on Reading players. If you care one jot about the fans that have supported you all through thick and thin - then give it your best shot for the next 9 league games

A good point. I'm sure the reason we've not being doing better is mainly down to him not trying to win games because he doesn't give a a shit about the fans.

[Ian Royal]

I'm pretty sure most of the fans haven't supported everyone through thick and thin as well.

I know I haven't and I'm a registered RTG.

[floyd__streete]

Thick and thin - doesn't that pretty much describe Mills and Kebe.

[The Real Sandhurst Royal]

Good teams play for the full 90 minutes plus injury time and don't lose concentration.

In the last three games against the top six sides in this division we have conceded two goals (Cardiff and Norwich) late on in injury time with a loss of three points.

Good sides score late on in tight games and don't concede late on.

[Ian Royal]

Thick and thin - doesn't that pretty much describe Mills and Kebe.

[andrew1957]

Much as I like Brain - he has started to make a lot of excuses. Yes we don't get the penalties we deserve - about 7-8 nailed on ones not given to us this season. Yes refereeing standards in this division are generally shocking, but if the players are half as good as Brian keeps telling us (and I have my doubts as expressed elsewhere) then now is the time to step up and prove us doubters wrong.

Anything less than top 6 this season will be failure in my book. We had a great platform at the end of last season and I fear the club has thrown it away BUT I still hope.

As I keep saying, we've sold everyone worth selling and we have replaced the prize assets with window cleaners from Eastleigh and Hereford's top scorer. A top half finish for McDermott would be a triumph.

Surely that is the point. This is definitely the last chance of a PL return under Madejski - unless he suddenly falls in love with the club again.

If we don't go up this season then the likes of Long, Kebe, MCAnuff etc will know that there is no future here and will demand moves away - quite rightly in my opinion. We will replace them with Eastleigh strikers etc and League 1 will be inevitable in the next 2 -3 seasons.

Those that think we can keep the bulk of this squad together without investment and ambition are deluded.

I am still clinging to the hope of a miracle like Blackpool produced last season or I see a very bleak future ahead.

[RoyalJames101]

Good teams play for the full 90 minutes plus injury time and don't lose concentration.

In the last three games against the top six sides in this division we have conceded two goals (Cardiff and Norwich) late on in injury time with a loss of three points.

Good sides score late on in tight games and don't concede late on.

Now name the games that we've scored in the last ten minutes of games this season...

[Ian Royal]

Good teams play for the full 90 minutes plus injury time and don't lose concentration.

In the last three games against the top six sides in this division we have conceded two goals (Cardiff and Norwich) late on in injury time with a loss of three points.

Good sides score late on in tight games and don't concede late on.

Now name the games that we've scored in the last ten minutes of games this season...

To change the result...
Pompey, Leicester, Ipswich, Doncaster, Derby, Hull, Hull, Stevenage

conceeded goals late on to change the result...
Cardiff, QPR, Norwich

Cardiff would have been on the other list but for their goal.

[Stranded]

The last 3 games and the late goals could effectively have ended our season (though I hope not) - we had gone all season without conceding in the last 15 mins - then in 3 key games against 3 top sides we let in 3 result changing goals in the dying minutes (two in injury time) costing us 5 points - these things happen over a season but for them to suddenly start now and in pretty key games is why we won't now make the playoffs.

[Skin]

At least we got off the the hook and didn't sign BWP.
Imagine the rumpus if he hadn't actually been injured and even scored goals for another team since!!
PHEW.

[Hoop Blah]

And what's to stop the club investing £400k in another Jimmy Kebe or £25k to replace Shane Long exactly, where did Gylfi come from? where did Sonko, Hunt, Doyle, Hahnemann come from......

It's taken Long the best part of 5 seasons to get to the level he is, and in 3 seasons we've had a good, sorry very good, 6 months out of Kebe. As it stands I don't see Manset and Antonio being Championship stars next season and I can't see us going out and buying any either.

A top 6 finish would be a massive achievement for McDermott considering the resources he has.