Match thread: Swindon Town

[Barry the bird boggler]

Obita was the player that most stood out for me, it seems we have a winger who is consistent with some sort of end product here. No doubt he's where next season's £4m will come from to keep this "well run" club afloat.

That said, not enough time to judge him in his defensive role so that maybe where he needs work, certainly as an attacker he's not far from the 1st team.

Additionally I think HRK is better as a striker and that you get more out of Jobi when he's in the middle, therefore perhaps there is a possible opening in the team for Obita as a regular substitute at least.

Finally he seemed reasonably comfortable playing on the left as well as the right.

[The Cap]

Decent run out and people singing 'our support is oxf*rd shit' is even more cringeworthy in pre-season than it is in an actual game.

The bloke who came up with that song/plea was sat just in front of us. One of the 'going bald on top' brigade surrounded by a few youths. Felt embarrassed for him to be fair; got quite emotive about it to the point that I thought he was going to start booing.

SIDENOTE - First time I've ever been to the County Ground. What a shit hole that place is. Makes you appreciate the Temple that rises out of the Whitley wastelands even more.

[Snowball]

Obita could probably step up now, which means we have genuine cover on both wings
with HRK and Obita pushing McAnuff and Kebe. Does that mean Antonio needs to go on loan?


Very quiet on the Church front, too... Thought Manset looked promising and I wouldn't be unhappy with Manset-Hunt as a pair

[loyalroyal4life]

Good run out, although lucky it was a friendly as thought overall performance was average. Nevertheless if we can play like that and win this season we will do ok.

Full backs looked slow and immobile throughout, bryn was poor to the point i hope leighterwood is good to go next week

Obita looked lively when he came on, especially when he switched to right and started to cut in.

Manset buried a good header but should have put away an easier one! Still do not see how he can put in a shift for 90 mins if needed.

Let's see how we go next week!

[Barry the bird boggler]

Definitely need a pair of good fullbacks with pace and experience, perhaps Cummings can be one of them. That said Harte offers so much from dead ball situations that we'd need to look for that ability somewhere else in the team if we lose him from the side.

[Ian Royal]

Definitely need a pair of good fullbacks with pace and experience, perhaps Cummings can be one of them. That said Harte offers so much from dead ball situations that we'd need to look for that ability somewhere else in the team if we lose him from the side.

It's a fair point about Harte. But we have good deadball ability in Howard & McAnuff. They just aren't shooters. Hunt has hit a few good freekicks in his time.

Yes we'd miss Harte's ability to pop the ball in the net from a freekick, but perhaps we'd compensate for that by putting good balls into the box rather than shooting and being better going forward down the left flank and less susceptible to pace there.

[Snowball]

Try this:

Total number of free-kicks scored by Hunt, McAnuff, Howard COMBINED
since they have been with the club?



Not sure if Howard has any.

I think Hunt's last one was in the away win at Birmingham Boxing Day 2008.

And McAnuff?


I don't say any of them COULDN'T do a job
but none are exactly renowned for their
stunning free-kicks (at least not for the last 3-4 seasons)

How many free-kicks have Hunt or McAnuff scored in their careers?

[Ian Royal]

Congratulations on spectacularly missing the point yet again snowball.

[FiNeRaIn]

Obita was the player that most stood out for me, it seems we have a winger who is consistent with some sort of end product here. No doubt he's where next season's £4m will come from to keep this "well run" club afloat.

hard to get excited about youth players anymore when you know this'll happen.

[Rex]

Lets hope that doesn't happen then. The prospects for a very good player are there. Out of any players to whet my appetite. Pops up on both wings, not scared to have a pop at goal and seems to be having fun out on the pitch. I'd expect him to be gradually bought in this season, matured next , give us another season and sold on.

[Hoop Blah]

It is a shame that any excitement is tempered by the fear that we won't get to see him for long if he's half as good as we're hoping he is.

It's almost at the point where we'll be hoping to produce average players instead of very good players so we're less likely to lose them to a significant transfer bid (the accountants obviously still want the good players!).

It's no different elsewhere though. You only have to look at Southampton and Ipswich to see that.

[Ian Royal]

Bloody nice to see we seem to be starting to produce players of real top draw quality from the academy.

[blueroyals]

Bloody nice to see we seem to be starting to produce players of real top draw quality from the academy.

Obita was the player that most stood out for me, it seems we have a winger who is consistent with some sort of end product here. No doubt he's where next season's £4m will come from to keep this "well run" club afloat.

hard to get excited about youth players anymore when you know this'll happen.

[Ian Royal]

It depends on whether you enjoy seeing them at all. I bloody loved watching Gylfi.

It's not like we've done it a lot either. And we could always get promoted and manage to keep them a bit longer that way.

My glass is half full. I support Reading because I enjoy doing so, love the club and have faith that it'll show me good times. I'll worry about the negatives when they're happening.

[Arch]

It's not like we've done it a lot either.

Come one. There's Gylfi, and ... er... help me out here.

[Simon's Church]

I don't get excited about any of our players, youth or otherwise. They'll either improve and become too good for us or be average and stay at our level, either way I lose out.

[Snowball]

Congratulations on spectacularly missing the point yet again snowball.

The point, you dummy, is they aren't good enough to be regular free-kick takers.

[Arch]

Congratulations on spectacularly missing the point yet again snowball.

The point, you dummy, is they aren't good enough to be regular free-kick takers.

Actually, snowball, you have missed Ian's point.

[Snowball]

Congratulations on spectacularly missing the point yet again snowball.

The point, you dummy, is they aren't good enough to be regular free-kick takers.

Actually, snowball, you have missed Ian's point.

I disagree with Ian's take, completely. I'm not interested in his "point" which is always to
big up Howard (who I thought played well today). If a poster refers to three players
being good at free-kicks.

But we have good deadball ability in Howard & McAnuff. They just aren't shooters. Hunt has hit a few good freekicks in his time.

Then s/he is open to the counter-argument which shows how few free-kicks these players have score in the last 3-4 seasons.
Howard, nil, nada, zilch? And Hunt "a few"? I remember one. But Harte has scored a lot, a LOT of priceless goals and is in
a totally different class as a taker of free-kicks.

Yes we'd miss Harte's ability to pop the ball in the net from a freekick,

ie get less goals.

but perhaps we'd compensate for that by putting good balls into the box rather than shooting

Not the "perhaps". We have a know quantity, that MIGHT be accounted for.

and being better going forward down the left flank and less susceptible to pace there.

The FACTS are we let in 51 goals in 46 games, were joint 5th, 1 goal from fourth, another from 3rd.
and Harte played in the vast majority of his available 42 games (46 goals conceded), we made the POs
and did all right in the FA Cup.

I AF+GREE Harte's lack of pace is frightening, but he is NOT ripped a new one every
week. IF that became a regular occurrence, then he'd be replaced, but it ISN'T
a regular occurrence and until it is, he should play for the other things he brings the side.

[Ian Royal]

Still utterly missing the point. Re-reading my post and engaging that (apparently) planet sized brain of yours might make you stop looking like an idiot. Play the post, not the poster.