On the way back from the game - City.

[Bandini]

Decent cup tie. Zurab and McCarthy the picks of the bunch. As others have said, we looked solid at the back without ever looking like we were going to score. One of the problems of having two holding midfielders is that when good defending is able to minimise our threat from the wings, not a lot is going to happen (not a criticism - I think we were set out in the right way for the game - just an observation).

City looked pretty ordinary. Decent ground and decent atmosphere from the away fans, but I enjoyed Eastlands more when Lita was taking them to pieces...

[Svlad Cjelli]

Decent cup tie. Zurab and McCarthy the picks of the bunch. As others have said, we looked solid at the back without ever looking like we were going to score. One of the problems of having two holding midfielders is that when good defending is able to minimise our threat from the wings, not a lot is going to happen (not a criticism - I think we were set out in the right way for the game - just an observation).

City looked pretty ordinary. Decent ground and decent atmosphere from the away fans, but I enjoyed Eastlands more when Lita was taking them to pieces...

Have to agree with all that - also the fact that we seemed to be playing a 4-4-1-1 rather than a 4-4-2 meant that Long was on his own much of the time with no support. Hunt was playing behind him rather than alongside him and it showed - when Long won the ball there was no-one there to pick it up.

[The Prisoner]

I was in the east stand, and was probably the only person who didn't join in the backs-to-the-pitch jig thing (it's called the Poznan http://www.mcfc.co.uk/Video/Features/Do-the-Poznan) when they scored. Was in the section nearest to our fans (albeit up in the gods).

You were not alone. I was lurking up there too, with No 2 son, way up in the Gods. Being that high, and so far from the pitch, we seemed quite detached from the game. It reminded me of both the good and the bad of our brief Premiership period. Reading fans were good and loud in the first half, but seemed strangely quiet after half time. Too many pies?

+2!! me and my 8 year old son were also in the East Stand 3rd tier. Block 308 in the front row so got a good view of our fellow RFC fans.

I was in 309...found three seats with nobody either side so parked myself there! Agree with the comment that it felt detached from the game, but perfect view of HRK slamming a cross into the stand in about the 70th minute!

Did anyone else notice they took the ball boys away when they scored? Cretinous!!!

[Terminal Boardom]

Is it just me or could Jem actually do a job at right back permanently?

Can't fault the effort or application from the team and the fans made loads of noise.

[Royal Lady]

The "ball boys" were rubbish. Hardly saw one all game.

I'm surprised no-one else was brave enough to come and say hello to me yesterday tbh.

[Bandini]

The "ball boys" were rubbish. Hardly saw one all game.

I'm surprised no-one else was brave enough to come and say hello to me yesterday tbh.

Why would they have had to be brave? Were you liquored-up?

[Bandini]

Decent cup tie. Zurab and McCarthy the picks of the bunch. As others have said, we looked solid at the back without ever looking like we were going to score. One of the problems of having two holding midfielders is that when good defending is able to minimise our threat from the wings, not a lot is going to happen (not a criticism - I think we were set out in the right way for the game - just an observation).

City looked pretty ordinary. Decent ground and decent atmosphere from the away fans, but I enjoyed Eastlands more when Lita was taking them to pieces...

Have to agree with all that - also the fact that we seemed to be playing a 4-4-1-1 rather than a 4-4-2 meant that Long was on his own much of the time with no support. Hunt was playing behind him rather than alongside him and it showed - when Long won the ball there was no-one there to pick it up.

Made worse when, towards the end, frustrated by the lack of service, Long occasionally drifted out of the middle....

Was it my imagination, or was Long shedding a few tears at the end?

[Royal Lady]

The "ball boys" were rubbish. Hardly saw one all game.

I'm surprised no-one else was brave enough to come and say hello to me yesterday tbh.

Why would they have had to be brave? Were you liquored-up?

I was *slightly* inebriated - yes

What I meant was, they all give it the big one on here - having a go at me, telling me to shut up or whatever, and yet I'm sure some people realised who I was, what with the leopard print coat etc but didn't dare to introduce themselves. Unlike, TFF who was very pleasant and made a point of coming to say hello.

[andrew1957]

Some have said that Karacan was poor. Strange how we see the game differently but I thought he was a contender for MOTM along with McCarthy and Gunnar - who were also both excellent.

I think Floyd has said in the past that Karacan could end up at right back permanently at some point in his career and he does have all the right attributes to be an excellent RB IMO.

I cannot remember Citeee haivng a meaningful attack down their left so Karacan must have been doing something right!

All the back 4 were excellent but we did struggle to create anything which was a shame.

[Mr Optimist]

Is it just me or could Jem actually do a job at right back permanently?

Can't fault the effort or application from the team and the fans made loads of noise.

I was thinking the same...I know he has played the odd game there or part of a game when required, but he really did look like that was his natural position.

Another thought that's come back to me today was how much are they paying a week for a well past his sell by date Viera to pass the ball repeatedly in to touch?!?!

[readingbedding]

The "ball boys" were rubbish. Hardly saw one all game.

I'm surprised no-one else was brave enough to come and say hello to me yesterday tbh.

Why would they have had to be brave? Were you liquored-up?

I was *slightly* inebriated - yes

What I meant was, they all give it the big one on here - having a go at me, telling me to shut up or whatever, and yet I'm sure some people realised who I was, what with the leopard print coat etc but didn't dare to introduce themselves. Unlike, TFF who was very pleasant and made a point of coming to say hello.

Oh do shut up.

[Terminal Boardom]

Nothing worse than a pissed, hormonal, midlle-aged woman.

[floyd__streete]

How typical of Reading FC to lose on the big, one-off occasion. Two play off final defeats in recent memory, now two cup quarter final defeats in back-to-back seasons.

To be fair, we were playing against the richest club in the world so we can have no complaints about a respectable one goal defeat. As much as I enjoyed the day out and the occasion, this game summed up everything that is rubbish in modern football; bank-rolled team of foreigners fields two holding midfielders and narrowly beats plucky tier 2 side who barely register a shot on goal in anger in a one-third empty stadium. City fans seem to think they are long-suffering loyalists who deserve some success, hence the rather naff ‘MANCHESTER THANKS SHEIKH MANSOOR’ banner. Yeah, thanks for bank-rolling our club by spending obscene wages and transfer fees which our crowds, fanbase and income cannot ever hope to prop-up, saddling us with crippling debt whenever you get bored with your hobby. Then again, City fans seem utterly devoid of self-irony given the ‘WE’RE NOT REALLY HERE’ banners which laughably adorned the empty upper-tier. This, remember, from a fanbase who were apparently desperate to get to a first Wembley semi-final in 30 years.

Reading played as well as our modest means would allow. Against world class physically-strong specimens of centre-halves, Long and Hunt looked utterly out of their depth. Ditto Kebe, who had more of the ball in an attacking area than any other Reading player yet who utterly failed to deliver all afternoon. The real miracle was at the back where Karacan and Gunnarsson performed miracles playing out of position and restricting City to the one goal – that, rather unsatisfactorily, coming from a set piece as they weren’t going to beat McCarthy in open play.

Still, this was a memorable day out at the end of another excellent cup run. The half time rave in the concourse will long be remembered, brilliant scenes! The players had a huddle with McD at the end before coming over to us and you’d hope hew as saying “12 more performances as resilient as this and we’ll be at Wembley anyway, lads”. Fortunately for us, we won’t be facing such expensive class again this season.

[RoyalBlue]

Back in Chesterfield after a stop off at the in-laws in the Peak District!! Anyway, from where I was sitting at the far end of the East Stand, our fans sounded fantastic. My City supporting mate was dead impressed with the noise we made. He also raved about Bryn doing the best job on Tevez he had seen all season. Kebe was driving the City fans nuts, as he was causing havoc on the right wing. Just a shame that none of his final deliveries ever found another RFC player! My mate was also astounded to learn that Bryn/Jem/McCarthy were not first choices in their positions....even more amazed that Bryn/Jem are usually midfielders.

As for me,I thought we played well. We were never going to outplay them or out pass them. We had a few chances, Shane's chance in the 2nd half being the best one. Overall we could have created a little more going forward, but we were up against one the best teams in the country! We should be proud of how difficult our players made it for City. Well done lads and well done MaccyD!!

This and much more. A real performance to be proud of. Shane Long looked the most gutted at the result. Really took a lot of consoling at the end. Not surprising, he had put so much into this game. This was typified near the end when we were taking the game to City in the hope of grabbing an equaliser. City countered quickly down our right with a lot of our players out of position. One Reading player could be seen racing back to cover deep in his own half, overtaking City players and his team-mates on the way. Myself and several others exclaimed almost in unison: 'Look at Shane Long racing back there!'

I doubt many of us who were at Wembley when we were four minutes away from the Premier League are easily brought to tears by the outcome of games nowadays. However, my daughter (who is too young to remember that) was in tears in the car at the end, due to the team having played so well and coming so close. She said that in some ways it might have been easier to take if we had been played off the park and lost by several. Her mood had not been helped by the gobby (no doubt 'new supporters') City fans that we had had to walk through on the way back to the car park, giving it big and mocking us. I preferred to concentrate on the few genuine City fans who praised our team's performance with real sincerity and wished us well for the rest of the season.

[The Prisoner]

City fans seem to think they are long-suffering loyalists who deserve some success, hence the rather naff ‘MANCHESTER THANKS SHEIKH MANSOOR’ banner. Yeah, thanks for bank-rolling our club by spending obscene wages and transfer fees which our crowds, fanbase and income cannot ever hope to prop-up, saddling us with crippling debt whenever you get bored with your hobby. Then again, City fans seem utterly devoid of self-irony given the ‘WE’RE NOT REALLY HERE’ banners which laughably adorned the empty upper-tier. This, remember, from a fanbase who were apparently desperate to get to a first Wembley semi-final in 30 years.

Posted loads about this earlier in the thread, but their Billy Big Bollocks attitude stank. Whilst the pinnacle of their season always revolves round trying (and failing!) to take 6 points off "the rags" they will never amount to anything.

[handbags_harris]

Who said anything about what you can or can't chant? I was giving my opinion. I think Chris sounds better than Chrissy. You don't, other don't, that's their opinion. Last time I looked I could say what I wanted, I said nothing about you not being able to chant it did I?

Well well well, hasn't the leopard changed his spots?

I expected as much from you. I realised my mistake, and I've apologised for it, move on.

You think I'm going to pass up such the opportunity to have a dig at somebody who accosted me less than a week ago, on these very boards, for having a perfectly valid dig at what you were chanting at Ipswich? Do behave sonny. Moving on entails you moving on and not then, five days later, having a go at others for the very same thing when the chant directed towards Chris Armstrong was absolutely fine.

And I'm sure you were perfectly happy to call players like Stephen Hunt "Hunty", or Kevin Doyle "Doyler". Or indeed, chant "Stevie Coppell's Barmy Army" and clap your hands like a spacker.

I have a very long memory, not as though I needed to use it this time though is it?

[floyd__streete]

You think I'm going to pass up such the opportunity to have a dig at somebody who accosted me less than a week ago, on these very boards, for having a perfectly valid dig at what you were chanting at Ipswich? Do behave sonny. Moving on entails you moving on and not then, five days later, having a go at others for the very same thing when the chant directed towards Chris Armstrong was absolutely fine.

And I'm sure you were perfectly happy to call players like Stephen Hunt "Hunty", or Kevin Doyle "Doyler". Or indeed, chant "Stevie Coppell's Barmy Army" and clap your hands like a spacker.

I have a very long memory, not as though I needed to use it this time though is it?

Top ranting from Mr Ranty

[The Goat was fed]

Apologies if already mentioned, but not seen it....anyone know why Griffin was on the bench?

Given our lack of first-choice defenders, was he dropped or was it a fitness issue?

[brendywendy]

fitness- achilles injury- reckoned he could have managed 20 mins tops if called upon on ESPN

[handbags_harris]

You think I'm going to pass up such the opportunity to have a dig at somebody who accosted me less than a week ago, on these very boards, for having a perfectly valid dig at what you were chanting at Ipswich? Do behave sonny. Moving on entails you moving on and not then, five days later, having a go at others for the very same thing when the chant directed towards Chris Armstrong was absolutely fine.

And I'm sure you were perfectly happy to call players like Stephen Hunt "Hunty", or Kevin Doyle "Doyler". Or indeed, chant "Stevie Coppell's Barmy Army" and clap your hands like a spacker.

I have a very long memory, not as though I needed to use it this time though is it?

Top ranting from Mr Ranty

My irony reactor has just gone into meltdown as a result of this post of Japanese earthquake proportions.