Back from the Game - Brighton (H)

[Fluff]

The away fans were fantasic, and sung their hearts out (apart from the first 15 of the second half). The best song being: "I want to go home, Reading is a sh*thole, I want to go home."

From NSC

And no doubt according to NSC, the home fans were boring, plastic and homophobic

[grey_squirrel]

I hope Mills is back ASAP

And I hope you have too much Xmas Sherry typing that!

[The Cube]

For me Brighton are much like Peterborough, comfortable on the ball but with no cutting edge.

Peterborough have scored 42 league goals this season (12 more than us). Last season they scored 106. You must be a pretty tough taskmaster.

[Big Foot]

Good value for 3-0 and 3 points IMO


Tough to call a MoTM - good team performance - but I'd say it's between Karacan and Gorkss (who continues to look an absolute steal at £900K)

[Handsome Man]

It was a good game: we ebat a good side with a little bit to spare.

They played neat attacking football with Mackail-Smith looking a handful and their right winger also strong during the second half. However, their play-acting was pathetic: three times the ref didn't even give a foul let alone the red card all the writhing on the floor seemed to demand.

Defensively, we are really strong at the moment, and with Mills to come back can only get better. If only we had a bit more threat up front.

Federici 9 On top form at the moment
Griffin 6
Cummings 8 Very good first half; had more to do in the second.
Gorkss 9 Brilliant
Pearce 9 He might be a better defender as well as a better distributor of the ball than Matt Mills

Karacan 9 Man of the match?
Leigertwood 8 A few heavy touches but very powerful
MacAnuff 9 As good as he's played in ages
Kebe 9 first half and 6 second half

Le Fondre 6
Church 7 Ran around well

[melonhead]

The away fans were fantasic, and sung their hearts out (apart from the first 15 of the second half). The best song being: "I want to go home, Reading is a sh*thole, I want to go home."

From NSC

One of the worst and unoriginal chants I've heard at a football ground. Utterly dreadful. Just about every set of fans sings this and seems to think its in some way witty or banter.

also- its not like we asked em to come, if they want to go, why dont they just feck off then

[Fluff]

Spacey mode on,
Maybe the boyfriend had them kicked out.
Spacey mode off.

[royalsroyalsroyals92]

Good game today and i think even thought it may have lacked entertainment at times i think we had a ggreat balance between men behind the ball and going forward!
Not understanding some of the Mills hating considering he looked brilliant in his last couple of games before injury!

[SCIAG]

Not understanding some of the Mills hating considering he looked brilliant in his last couple of games before injury!

It's because a couple of Robson-Kanu's mistakes got pinned on him.

I think Mills gives us a lot more balance, he's an attacking full back who stretches the play and allows McAnuff to cut inside and play his natural game. Yeah, Harte's one of the best set piece takers in the country, but he hasn't contributed as much to our general play as Mills does, or Bertrand or Armstrong or Shorey could do.

[rhroyal]

Not understanding some of the Mills hating considering he looked brilliant in his last couple of games before injury!

It's because a couple of Robson-Kanu's mistakes got pinned on him.

I think Mills gives us a lot more balance, he's an attacking full back who stretches the play and allows McAnuff to cut inside and play his natural game. Yeah, Harte's one of the best set piece takers in the country, but he hasn't contributed as much to our general play as Mills does, or Bertrand or Armstrong or Shorey could do.

If McAnuff and Kebe are finding form, I think it makes sense to put Mills back in as he offers more going forward in open play and more pace. Suits wingers more too.

The team was crying out for Harte when the wingers were off form though, as we had no idea where chances would come from if not his set pieces.

[Royal Prince]

For me Brighton are much like Peterborough, comfortable on the ball but with no cutting edge.

Peterborough have scored 42 league goals this season (12 more than us). Last season they scored 106. You must be a pretty tough taskmaster.

Last season was at a different level, but 42 this season is incredible! I was comparing them in my head in terms of the performances against us, so I must admit to being a right plonker! Lol.

How shite must their defence be?!

[BenReadingFC]

The away fans were fantasic, and sung their hearts out (apart from the first 15 of the second half). The best song being: "I want to go home, Reading is a sh*thole, I want to go home."

From NSC

And no doubt according to NSC, the home fans were boring, plastic and homophobic

I quite liked this from NSC

In the mid-70s, in another life, I produced a poster for Royal Mail featuring the Albion. The headline was "Seagulls soar over BN3 7DE" and it featured a game at the Goldstone against Port Vale. It went down pretty well - people were nicking them off the sides of mail vans - and Reading asked for their own version so I went up to Elm Park one midweek morning.

As a I remember, the main stand backed on to a road, like the West Stand at BN3 7DE, and was clad in corrugated iron. Right down at one end was an elderly man up a ladder. He had a pot of blue paint and was painting the cladding in the house colour using a not-exactly-large brush. I asked the club's commercial guy about this heroic effort and he explained that the gent was a lifelong fan, now retired, who was painting the stand as a gesture of support for the club he had followed for 60 years. He wasn't charging.

Six weeks later I returned with a supply of posters. The man on the ladder was still there, but right down the other end of the stand, which was now a pretty strident blue. He'd been there every day for almost the whole summer.

From this I learnt one thing. To its supporters each club is the best club in the world but for this same reason no one should claim that other clubs are second rate. However successful, rich or well-supported a club is, it is no better than any other. It is just a matter of opinion and the postcode of the person speaking's maternity hospital. That needn't reduce the passion we have for our own club, but it should increase the respect we have for others'. Thank you, elderly Reading gent of 35 years ago.

[Cripple Creek]

Never a truer word was said BenReadingFc. Thanks for a great story.

[Royal With Cheese]

I quite liked this from NSC

In the mid-70s, in another life, I produced a poster for Royal Mail featuring the Albion. The headline was "Seagulls soar over BN3 7DE" and it featured a game at the Goldstone against Port Vale. It went down pretty well - people were nicking them off the sides of mail vans - and Reading asked for their own version so I went up to Elm Park one midweek morning.

As a I remember, the main stand backed on to a road, like the West Stand at BN3 7DE, and was clad in corrugated iron. Right down at one end was an elderly man up a ladder. He had a pot of blue paint and was painting the cladding in the house colour using a not-exactly-large brush. I asked the club's commercial guy about this heroic effort and he explained that the gent was a lifelong fan, now retired, who was painting the stand as a gesture of support for the club he had followed for 60 years. He wasn't charging.

Six weeks later I returned with a supply of posters. The man on the ladder was still there, but right down the other end of the stand, which was now a pretty strident blue. He'd been there every day for almost the whole summer.

From this I learnt one thing. To its supporters each club is the best club in the world but for this same reason no one should claim that other clubs are second rate. However successful, rich or well-supported a club is, it is no better than any other. It is just a matter of opinion and the postcode of the person speaking's maternity hospital. That needn't reduce the passion we have for our own club, but it should increase the respect we have for others'. Thank you, elderly Reading gent of 35 years ago.

That's a great story - some of our younger fans would do well to remember this sort of gesture in years gone by.

[BenReadingFC]

That's a great story - some of our younger fans would do well to remember this sort of gesture in years gone by.

I would love it if the Elm Park painter actually read this story. Hope he's still alive!

[Tails]

TBF, Hunt came on and made the third goal.

Karacan was all over the place. How, in the second half, he and Legs were the most forward players after a break from defending a corner, I do not know.

When it counted, we were the far better team....shame we had periods of letting them into it/arrogance on the ball.

Star performances from Karacan, McAnuff, Legs...

Support stars were Kebe, Fed, CBs....

All others still played rather well.

[Platypuss]

Not feeling the Kebe love, personally. Way too pedestrian second half.

[Cripple Creek]

An interesting perspective you get as one who is a lifelong fan but who never gets to watch games because of my location is that which appears on threads such as Back From The Game. I kind of rely on it for opinion and match reports from other fans. There is a lot of unanimity - for example, while views on Jimmy Kebe are mixed there appears to be a general agreement that "when on form he is great and very hard to play against". Similarly, while views vary on Reading's two goalkeepers "the ongoing Federici, McCarthy debate" - there is again general unanimity that they are both good goalkeepers and that the club has a very healthy "goalkeeping situation". However, there are other players about whom it is very hard to fathom. It is almost impossible as a non-spectator, for example, to have any real idea of the quality of J. Mills. Some seem to think he should be automatic first choice while others are vociferous in their views that he is barely a championship quality player. Same goes, although to a lesser extent, with Karacan.
Just an observation I thought I would share with those of you who read this far.

[Basingstoke Royal]

I hope Mills is back ASAP

And I hope you have too much Xmas Sherry typing that!

We do need mills back. The last couple of games he played he was excellent.

[Avon Royal]

An interesting perspective you get as one who is a lifelong fan but who never gets to watch games because of my location is that which appears on threads such as Back From The Game. I kind of rely on it for opinion and match reports from other fans. There is a lot of unanimity - for example, while views on Jimmy Kebe are mixed there appears to be a general agreement that "when on form he is great and very hard to play against". Similarly, while views vary on Reading's two goalkeepers "the ongoing Federici, McCarthy debate" - there is again general unanimity that they are both good goalkeepers and that the club has a very healthy "goalkeeping situation". However, there are other players about whom it is very hard to fathom. It is almost impossible as a non-spectator, for example, to have any real idea of the quality of J. Mills. Some seem to think he should be automatic first choice while others are vociferous in their views that he is barely a championship quality player. Same goes, although to a lesser extent, with Karacan.
Just an observation I thought I would share with those of you who read this far.

The "ongoing Federici, McCarthy debate" is just a bit of fun, I don't think that those who claim that McCarthy is the better keeper are actually being serious.

The oddest difference of opinion on yesterday's game seems to be about the opposition. I thought that Brighton must be an incredibly frustrating team to support. Lots of pretty passing - all in the centre circle and nearly all sideways. They only ever looked dangerous on the rare occasion they played directly. Oh, and I'd be amazed if anyone in the ground knew what they were trying to achieve with their goal kicks....