Back from the game - Burnley (H)

[SydenhamRoyal]

[quote="MmmMonsterMunch"]Best we've played in a while. Lets hope this is the start of us actually playing well. Hopefully it's not long before we dish out a good hiding to someone.

I'd agree with that. Tho I thought Ledge and Karacen were quiter than normal, but we played some delightful stuff especially down the right with Kebe and Connolly whipping in some wicked crosses.

The atmostphere was rocking too - Coventry game it was like a morgue

[Shackleton Royal]

Well, where do I start? Thank oxf*rd I did not spunk £400 plus on a ST to watch that shit. For anyone out there who genuinely thinks Reading are the real deal then think again. What football that was played came from Burnley. Gorkss's positioning for Austin's header was not even Sunday League. Roberts took his only chance well but other than that...

Referee lost the plot in the second half. How Wallace stayed on the pitch is beyond me.

Hunt's ball across in stoppage time at the end of the game was a complete joke.

The back 4 apart from Pearce were a complete shambles. The midfield duo of Liegertwood and Karacan were passengers. Throughout the game there was absolutely no pressing or closing down of Burnley.

IMHO, a draw would have been a fair result.

And don't get me started on that fat lump in goal. WTF does Feds do? Where is the communication or dominance of the box?

I have seen far better non league games this season. That was shit!

Completely agree with this...











NOT!!!!

Anyone else think that the Ref forgot his red card?? At one point (challenge on Connolly) he was reaching for his top pocket and then went for his shorts pocket and got his yellow out. Either he forgot his red OR bottled it!!#

On the whole a solid back four (for the majority of the game) I thought McAnuff's crossing was poor (appreciated he set up Roberts but majority were long!)
Hunt tries hard but little end product today, really hope he starts improving soon!

Gone home happy, score could have been 4-3 to Reading with the chances for both teams but I'll take a 1-0 and up to third!

[Simon's Church]

Would have given Kebe or Harte motm tbh, Harte's set-piece delivery wasn't great but I thought he was excellent defensively. Pearce and Gorkss both did pretty well in a game where our midfield was generally completely bypassed and Connolly was caught out a few times. Thought Kebe was brilliant in patches and Jobi did well coming back from injury, on balance a draw probably would have been fair so to get the win was fantastic.

[urz13]

Feds - 8 great 1v1 stop, wasn't really troubled, great catch from a corner
Harte - 9 was superb at the back dealing with the pace of their wingers. Few good balls + nice fks
Gorkks - 8 outstanding yet again
Pearce - 8 as above
Connolly - 7 excellent defensively, got forward more than he has been. Great passing again
McAnuff - 8 superb first half and a good ball to Roberts. Needs to stop shooting!
Karacan - 8 passed it forward more than usual and covered the defense well
Leigertwood - 7 solid again
Kebe - 9 probably overrating him but he's so entertaining to watch. Unlucky not to score (twice), but looked up for it, roasted their full back and helped out at the back (one great defensive header)
Hunt - 7 Won some nice flick ons but should've scored. Fantastic block from Mees
Roberts - 8 best he's played for us, lovely goal, good link up play. Fantastic signing.
Subs
Robson-Kanu - 7 very entertaining to watch and had a good few minutes.
ALF - 7 could've had a penalty but chose to stay up. Our 3rd best striker imo

Best we've played for a while. Difficult to give anyone below an 8. Automatic promotion looks a real possibility!! McDermott is a genius.

[chilipepper91]

Karacan - 8 passed it forward more than usual and covered the defense well

Good point. He tried at least 3 passes forward tonight, and they actually came off

[Terminal Boardom]

The strength that Reading has is down the flanks. Why wasn't Kebe given more of a chance to show what he can do? He roasted their left sided players early on, got some great balls into the box but no-one was there to get on the end. Legs and Jem are way too slow and failed to get close enough to their playmakers.

If this is the best that Reading have played in recent months then it says very little for the rest of the Championship.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

Credit where's it's due - Burnley are no Coventry they are a decent side & definitely could make play-offs on that showing. 9 points in 6 days - got to be happy with that.

Realistically we need to win 10 games to get automatic. Gonna be very very tough. Probably need to win 5-6 of the next 7 games to have a shot as the run in is truly horrible.

TB - That is the best we've played since the Hull game IMO. We've really been awful lately but thought the tempo was a lot better tonight & it looks like we are slowly getting better as the starting 11 is back together again. No coincidence that we are better with Legs in the team.

The year Birmingham beat us to 2nd - they did exactly what we are doing. Lots of uninspiring 1-0 wins but it was enough. Fcuk it - no one will be moaning if we end up 1st or 2nd come May.

[RepressedRoyal]

Who is that d1ckhead called terminal boardom, terminal pr1ck more like. That is the first time this season I have thought actually, we could be the real deal here. We have beaten umpteen non entity teams and that has told us not much to be honest, but tonight we beat a really good side intent on turning us over. Burnley were better than West Ham or Southampton in my opinion, yet our excellent defence repelled them (yes with a bit of luck) whilst we created plenty of chances at the other end. I really enjoyed it tonight.

Tonight told genuine supporters and more importantly, the players, that there is every possibility we can mount a challenge on the top two. I would love us to play like Tottenham, but the fact is our players aren't as good as theirs and the same goes for the rest of the Championship. You have to make the best of what you have and currently, Reading are doing that better than anyone else.

Terminal Boardom (or what ever his name is) should check the stats and continue staying away from the games. McDermott and the players deserve better than idiots like that trying to put their efforts down.

Keep going Reading, the proper supporters will back you all the way!

[MmmMonsterMunch]

Roberts is looking like buy of the season. Another master stroke from the god that is Brian. Lets hope we keep him fit.

[leon]

Well, where do I start? Thank oxf*rd I did not spunk £400 plus on a ST to watch that shit. For anyone out there who genuinely thinks Reading are the real deal then think again. What football that was played came from Burnley. Gorkss's positioning for Austin's header was not even Sunday League. Roberts took his only chance well but other than that...

Referee lost the plot in the second half. How Wallace stayed on the pitch is beyond me.

Hunt's ball across in stoppage time at the end of the game was a complete joke.

The back 4 apart from Pearce were a complete shambles. The midfield duo of Liegertwood and Karacan were passengers. Throughout the game there was absolutely no pressing or closing down of Burnley.

IMHO, a draw would have been a fair result.

And don't get me started on that fat lump in goal. WTF does Feds do? Where is the communication or dominance of the box?

I have seen far better non league games this season. That was shit!

You know nothing about football.

[Terminal Boardom]

Tonight is the first time I have seen Reading play this season - albeit on the box. I really am concerned if the majority are enthusing about that performance. It said absolutely nothing about how good the Championship is - or could be. The only time that Reading looked good was when they got the ball on the deck. When they did, they looked reasonable. But for too much of the game it was dire, hoofball.

Premier League? You're having a larf!

Just saying it as I saw it.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

Tonight is the first time I have seen Reading play this season - albeit on the box. I really am concerned if the majority are enthusing about that performance. It said absolutely nothing about how good the Championship is - or could be. The only time that Reading looked good was when they got the ball on the deck. When they did, they looked reasonable. But for too much of the game it was dire, hoofball.

Premier League? You're having a larf!

Just saying it as I saw it.

Well that's the reality I'm afraid. We've dished up far worse than that for about 2-3 mths now in fact. Tonight is the best we've all seen for a while.

[winchester_royal]

If this is your first game of the season, and you watched it on TV in the pub, then you are in absolutely no position to make any sort of statement on this team's prospects.

Yes they might not be the most aesthetically pleasing team in the division, but what they lack in finesse they more than make up for in guts, desire, bravery, and no shortage of skill.

They have all been heroes so far this season, even Simon Church, and what Brian has done to get them to 2 points off 2nd after all the players we've lost in the last couple of years is nothing short of miraculous.

So for you to sit in your little internet bubble and slag these guys off is nothing short of pathetic.

[WTRoyal]

Tonight is the first time I have seen Reading play this season

IDGAF if you're trolling or I'm biting or not, that's some pretty weak sh*t right there.

Well done, you've just guaranteed that nobody will take your opinions seriously for the rest of the season, whether you have a valid point or not!

~insert gif of TB shooting him/her self in the foot~

[MmmMonsterMunch]

TB - We've had 3 games in 6 days as well don't forget. Quite encouraging that the last of the 3, against the best side was our best showing. Hopefully bodes well for the remaining games - particularly the hard run in.

Just goes to show there's no such thing as fatigue if you have huge desire to win & this side has it in abundance. More so than the 106 team IMO as they have to work twice as hard for it.

[Tails]

Tonight is the first time I have seen Reading play this season - albeit on the box. I really am concerned if the majority are enthusing about that performance. It said absolutely nothing about how good the Championship is - or could be. The only time that Reading looked good was when they got the ball on the deck. When they did, they looked reasonable. But for too much of the game it was dire, hoofball.

Premier League? You're having a larf!

Just saying it as I saw it.

If only your presence on here reflected that of your presence at any Reading matches.

When the likes of opposition managers, pundits and the wider football community [who actively engage with the FL] recognise our very watchable front four and appreciate our very intelligent off the ball behaviour, it puts your assertions to the contrary in its place.

[leon]

Tonight is the first time I have seen Reading play this season - albeit on the box. I really am concerned if the majority are enthusing about that performance. It said absolutely nothing about how good the Championship is - or could be. The only time that Reading looked good was when they got the ball on the deck. When they did, they looked reasonable. But for too much of the game it was dire, hoofball.

Premier League? You're having a larf!

Just saying it as I saw it.

Really, first time? So why do you spend so much time on HNA giving us your considered opinion about Reading? Shut the f*ck up. Some of us actually go to games.

[Cripple Creek]

First match I have watched since we were relegated from the Prem. Because of my Oz location this is the only opportunity I'm aware of to have watched online (please don't bother to call me a plastic if this is not the case) but otherwise am only really capable of staying in touch via this site and the opinions expressed along with the occasional review in the nationals and the awful online Reading Chronicle and rather better Reading Evening Post.

For what it is worth I was very impressed. I wasn't expecting an exciting or thrilling performance because I understand that is not the way we play. However, our ability to play calmly and professionally when we don't have the ball was excellent. What I guess impressed me most is that we look very, very well organised and very, very hard to play against. I think Burnley looked a decent side (Frankly, I suspect they are better than us in some areas, such as attacking flair - but it is hard to say on one performance) but they really struggled to make the kind of impact they would have done against a less organised team. Everyone seems to know exactly what is expected of them in this team and works phenomenally hard to make it work. Outstanding for me was Kebe and the back four. Everyone else did exactly what they had to do - oh, I was also impressed with Connolly. I presume he is only going to get better which is great and Robert's goal was superbly and calmly taken. Kebe should have passed to Le Fondre in the dying minutes but it really doesn't matter now. Barring serious injuries we have to be in with a shout of automatic promotion. It goes without saying that Brian deserves every accolade in the book for what he has achieved since he took over as manager - the evidence was there for all to see today.

Oh, one final less positive note is that our creativity in the final third of the pitch isn't hugely impressive but the kind of midfielder you need for that to happen is very rare to come by. Only once in the blue moon does a Simon Osborne make themselves available and we were spectacularly lucky to have him play for us.

[Mr Angry]

What is the cliche about teams who win when not playing particularly well?

Another gritty, hard fought and vital 3 points tonight; despite being out-played for periods last night we got the win and bluntly, if we get automatic promotion at the end of the season, who will care that we don't look like Barcelona?

[Arthur Pint]

First of all, great win, good atmosphere tonight at the Mad Stad, something which had been sadly lacking in the last few games I thought. Having just watched that video of the block by Mee, that was some real bravery (or madness).

I cant honest believe we are 3rd in the table, 3 points off the top, there haven't been many games this season where I've been blown away by us totalling dominating a team and playing fantastic football, but then this is Reading we aren't going to be playing tikki-takka, but the style we do play, we play it well and we play to our strengths. Starting to get quietly confident after last nights result. I can see what McD means when he says it was a big result.

Would do ratings but there'd be meaningless as I think everyone was about 7 or 8, no one really stood out, everyone pretty solid and reliable (although Kebe made some great runs, Feds made some good stops and Pearce defended magnificently), great team effort.