Back from the Game - Stoke City (H)

[Dare to Dr£am]

Obviously, nothing to do with the rose tinted glasses.

You might want to ask yourself that question. You were 2nd best to the new boys yesterday, who didn't play that well until the final 15 or so minutes.

You're in trouble my old son. You better hope this money you talk about is there, otherwise you're knackered. Defo relegation risk this season.

Second best? Why who was first? Certainly wasn't Reading.


It was nice when your fans celebrated like they won the cup final when you equalised. Heart warming.

It was equally as LOLable to see your fans leave in their droves when we equalised. :lol:

That amazing support didn't want to stick around for 3 more minutes and sing another song? :lol: :lol:

[sandman]

As I've said before I remember going to Stoke when we were both in League 1 and the Britannia was less than a quarter full in the home end. They are the most overpraised fans in the country so it seems we aren't the only ones with PL "pLOLastic" hangers on. It was funny to hear them fall silent when reminded of the wastes of money known as Kitson and Sonko.

[edinburghroyal]

We looked nervous yesterday, I hope that will go away soon!

[LongThrowSpecialist]

It was equally as LOLable to see your fans leave in their droves when we equalised.

That amazing support didn't want to stick around for 3 more minutes and sing another song?

Really, comparing your support to ours?

Didn't get behind your team in your first game back up. Norwich fans last year, now they were in a different league to yours.

[LongThrowSpecialist]

As I've said before I remember going to Stoke when we were both in League 1 and the Britannia was less than a quarter full in the home end. They are the most overpraised fans in the country so it seems we aren't the only ones with PL "pLOLastic" hangers on. It was funny to hear them fall silent when reminded of the wastes of money known as Kitson and Sonko.

Every team has them, why not have a look further back in history at attendances and compare stoke to reading?

I suppose most of yours are just prawn sandwich brigade on a day out, explains the atmosphere.

[Dare to Dr£am]

As I've said before I remember going to Stoke when we were both in League 1 and the Britannia was less than a quarter full in the home end. They are the most overpraised fans in the country so it seems we aren't the only ones with PL "pLOLastic" hangers on. It was funny to hear them fall silent when reminded of the wastes of money known as Kitson and Sonko.

Every team has them, why not have a look further back in history at attendances and compare stoke to reading?

I suppose most of yours are just prawn sandwich brigade on a day out, explains the atmosphere.

They stayed until the end though. didn't they? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[LongThrowSpecialist]

As I've said before I remember going to Stoke when we were both in League 1 and the Britannia was less than a quarter full in the home end. They are the most overpraised fans in the country so it seems we aren't the only ones with PL "pLOLastic" hangers on. It was funny to hear them fall silent when reminded of the wastes of money known as Kitson and Sonko.

Every team has them, why not have a look further back in history at attendances and compare stoke to reading?

I suppose most of yours are just prawn sandwich brigade on a day out, explains the atmosphere.

They stayed until the end though. didn't they?

Did they? What were all the empty seats then?

[Dare to Dr£am]

Whoooooooooooooooooooooooahhhhh............ hahahahahaha :lol:

Why, why, why? :lol:

I hope you stick around. We'll have a lot of fun with you, Delilah.

[Handsome Man]

Feds 1

It's the worst game he has had for a whole season. What mark are you supposed to give playeers who have their worst game in 50, on a scale from 1 to 10?

[Tony Le Mesmer]

As I've said before I remember going to Stoke when we were both in League 1 and the Britannia was less than a quarter full in the home end. They are the most overpraised fans in the country so it seems we aren't the only ones with PL "pLOLastic" hangers on. It was funny to hear them fall silent when reminded of the wastes of money known as Kitson and Sonko.

You dont recall us getting 5,000 for a league game in our new ground then?

[sandman]

Yes I do that's why I said we "aren't the only ones with PL pLOLastic hangers on" brainiac.

[CayeneMatt]

I think we looked good for the first half hour, in control of the game but without any real penetrating threat. Not surprising for a team with two new first choice strikers, a second choice winger and a first choice winger on the wrong flank. The set pieces were poor although Gorkss still should have scored from a corner first half.

Then we seemed to fade and stop pressing them so well, leaving space in midfield for them to start putting together passes. Hey presto, a weak defensive header from Pearce, combined with no marking from one of Jobi, Hal, Ledge or Guthrie and an absolute hwler from Fed and we're 1-0 down just before half time. That knocked the stuffing out of us and it was all Stoke until McCleary came on to stretch the game. Which he did superbly with pacey and direct running.

I thought we had two penalty shouts, but the one we were given (from MOTD - I was at the wrong end) was stonewall. I didn't even realise their player had been sent off I was so nervous about the penalty we were about to take. Up steps ALF the Great and we have a thoroughly deserved parity against a side that never seriously threatened our goal. Harte's freekick was better but the keeper was well positioned and I don't think he was ever getting it in.

Federici - 4 didn't have a lot of import to do, but made the worst mistake he's done in years. I am confident we won't see more of that this season.
Gunter - 6 didn't notice him a lot, was hoping he'd get forward more.
Harte - 5 positioning, set pieces and pace were all weak. Stoke caused us problems down that flank. In defence, I'm not sure how much HRK helped.
Pearce - 6 clumsy but solid. I am concerned about whether he's good enough at this level. It's a big step up.
Gorkss - 5.5 missed a good chance and didn't seem to play well, but was pulled all over the place by Harte's poor game.
Ledge - 7.5 quality interceptions and tackles, good use of the ball in midfield
Guthrie - 6.5 excellent on the ball and offers a lot more in the middle, but a bit too casual sometimes
McAnuff - 5.5 quiet game, some nice touches but not a lot, should have started on the left
HRK - 5.5 beat his man a few times only to be scythed down, but was too quiet and should have started on the right or on the bench.
Pog - 6 big man with good feet, I could see what he was trying to do a lot of the time, but he was trying to do it through one player too many.
ALF - 7 wayward shooting, but getting himself oportunities, and scored the penalty well

McCleary - 8 tricks, pace and direct runign, exactly what we needed
Hunt - 6.5 got involved and made himself a nuisance.

Team Perfroamance - 7
McDermott - 6.5

May want to drop ALF and HRK for Chelsea and bring in McCleary and Karacan. I think Mariappa may well be in the side within the next three to five games.

All in all a decent start with a game we should probably have won but for the howler and that we did well to get back into and get a point. Play to the whistle like that and we should rescue too many points to go down.

Were you at the game Ian, or did you adopt your usual position on the sofa in front of the radio?

I only ask because some of your marks and comments imply you were talking about a different game.

[handbags_harris]

Not entirely sure how this thread has descended into a LongThrowSpecialist/Hobnob cock wanging festival but I really don't know what Reading fans expected. It has been well publicised what Stoke's tactics have been like under Pulis, in fact it is a well known fact that Pulis sides are big, physical sides that batter their way through opposition teams. I think back to my first experience of a Pulis side, an FA Cup third round tie in 1996 against Gillingham and they were brutal, with Leo Fortune-West leading the line for them. Nothing's changed in that time except the club, the division, and the significantly better players under his disposal. With regards Stoke fans, they've defied the pundits continually over the last four years and stuck two fingers up at them along the way so in a way they've earned the right to be a bit bolshy. Like many clubs of similar size though, and I'm talking Derby, Leicester, Cardiff etc, I'm unsure where the chip their shoulder comes from. It's not as though they've been continually successful over the years, not as though they've earned the right to be as cocky as they are. Still, at least their fans aren't happy clappy blarmy shouting generic spoon-fed atmosphere makers like ours - give me their's over ours any day.

Somebody said to me after the game that it was a 1-1 scoreline in a 0-0 game and to me that was absolutely correct. Stoke only created two clear chances that I can remember, one flashed wide of the far post by Walters and the goal which should have been comfortably saved by Federici. We on the other hand had the more numerous chances, a couple of Le Fondre headers that he didn't quite time or position himself well enough for (I am convinced that with time and experience this will come - his movement and eye for a potential chance is up there with the best of Reading strikers I have seen, and we've had some superb strikers over the last 24 years that I've been watching), Pogrebnyak's effort that was blocked second half, the header from the resulting corner, but we showed a slightly concerning inability to actually test the keeper. Again, time will tell, the positives for me were that defensively we coped superbly with the battering ram that is Stoke City's attack but then I didn't expect any different. The problem we have is our slow and sometimes cumbersome defence struggle against pace and movement - see the two games against Peterborough last season as a prime case in point. Unfortunately for us, we are playing against teams with some of the best movers and shakers in world football this year so, relatively speaking, we have some real tough tests to come.

On the positive side, we're only 10 points away from not being the worst side in top division history

[wolsey]

Not entirely sure how this thread has descended into a LongThrowSpecialist/Hobnob cock wanging festival but I really don't know what Reading fans expected. It has been well publicised what Stoke's tactics have been like under Pulis, in fact it is a well known fact that Pulis sides are big, physical sides that batter their way through opposition teams. I think back to my first experience of a Pulis side, an FA Cup third round tie in 1996 against Gillingham and they were brutal, with Leo Fortune-West leading the line for them. Nothing's changed in that time except the club, the division, and the significantly better players under his disposal. With regards Stoke fans, they've defied the pundits continually over the last four years and stuck two fingers up at them along the way so in a way they've earned the right to be a bit bolshy. Like many clubs of similar size though, and I'm talking Derby, Leicester, Cardiff etc, I'm unsure where the chip their shoulder comes from. It's not as though they've been continually successful over the years, not as though they've earned the right to be as cocky as they are. Still, at least their fans aren't happy clappy blarmy shouting generic spoon-fed atmosphere makers like ours - give me their's over ours any day.

Somebody said to me after the game that it was a 1-1 scoreline in a 0-0 game and to me that was absolutely correct. Stoke only created two clear chances that I can remember, one flashed wide of the far post by Walters and the goal which should have been comfortably saved by Federici. We on the other hand had the more numerous chances, a couple of Le Fondre headers that he didn't quite time or position himself well enough for (I am convinced that with time and experience this will come - his movement and eye for a potential chance is up there with the best of Reading strikers I have seen, and we've had some superb strikers over the last 24 years that I've been watching), Pogrebnyak's effort that was blocked second half, the header from the resulting corner, but we showed a slightly concerning inability to actually test the keeper. Again, time will tell, the positives for me were that defensively we coped superbly with the battering ram that is Stoke City's attack but then I didn't expect any different. The problem we have is our slow and sometimes cumbersome defence struggle against pace and movement - see the two games against Peterborough last season as a prime case in point. Unfortunately for us, we are playing against teams with some of the best movers and shakers in world football this year so, relatively speaking, we have some real tough tests to come.

On the positive side, we're only 10 points away from not being the worst side in top division history

Apologies for over quoting, but this would have been my posting (had i had the intelligence and patience)

But then again, HH is rarely easy to argue against.

[CJC]

After a day drinking in the sun ive now recovered sufficiently to give a view on the game!
Thought we started pretty well without creating much and were the better side initially. I think Mcd is right the goal definetly knocked the stuffing out of us for a while, of all the games for feds to make a mistake like that! Second half we huffed and puffed and desperately needed a spark which luckily was provided by the excellent mcleary. Bit disapointed with the pog thought he was sluggish, maybe Roberts would have made a difference if available. Overall relieved to get a deserved point but we didnt do enough to win it.

Feds 5 - howler
Gunter 6- bit sloppy in posession but will improve
Pearce 7- steady as ever
Gorkss 7- as above
Harte 7- didnt get exposed, looked comfortable
legs 7- battled well
Guthrie7- confident on the ball, looks a good signing
Mcanuff 6- Very quiet
HRK 6- Struggled, better coming off the bench
Pog 6- sluggish, needs to work on his leap!
Alf 7- Held his nerve, looked lively

Mcleary 8- changed the game
Hunt 6- did ok

[RoyallyFcuked]

Was so relieved when ALF's penalty went in. With 10-15 minutes to go I was praying for a dramatic late twist with us scoring two in the dying moments (almost happened as well with Harte's free kick). I thought the game itself was pretty poor, I cant stand how Stoke play football, they are absolute dogs, but I was also quite disappointed with our performance. Looked off the pace at times but I guess its the first game back and not suprising considering how hot it was. Depending on what way you look at it we can be happy with the result or disappointed not to have won because Id say we were controlling the game more than they were but just couldnt turn the possession into chances. Our defence unsuprisingly looked pretty solid but we didnt create enough chances. That started to change when McCleary came on though, him and Guthrie look like two great additions. The other two new boys, Gunter and Pog, were average at best but im sure they will improve.

[wolsey]

RFC played like a decent Prem team and were in the ascendancy before Stoke scored with a fluke goal. Feds will hammer himself but the ball did not run true and, once in a while, this wil happen to a keeper. As the game progressed, RFC started to re-group and, by the end of the match, were again in the ascendant. It could have been 2-1 to us

They were poor but played to script. We were Very nervy and struggled to cope. Who in the ground wasn't happy with a point at the end?

Oh and leigertwood our mom by a country mile imho.

[Woodcote Royal]

Whether you think the sun shines out of Federici's antipodean backside or, like me, you feel his one decent season merely masked the flaws in his game, thus causing others to over rate him, surely any fair assessment of our future prospects based on yesterdays performance must be made with his howler factored in.

Brian, quite rightly, sang the praises of the 'keeper he re-instated as number one after dropping his younger rival for ........................not doing a lot wrong and nothing that came close to yesterday's whoopsie

So, without the butter fingers moment that would embarrass a 7 year old, what do you think the result would have been? If Federici's error was the rarity Brian insists it will be, surely it's only fair to view yesterdays performance in that light.

I couldn't believe how poor Stoke were and without that offering from Fed's barbie, surely it would have just been a case of whether our yet to gel line up would find the back of the net.

In my view, if there are 2 more Stoke City's in this division, we can book the builders for next summer.

No one impressed me more than Pearce and Gorkks, who both looked totally at home at the higher level and I really hope Brian gave Harte the nod and sent Shorey to the stand. If the former's lack of pace proves a problem, the latter won't solve it.

Like most of you, I liked the look of our new central midfield and it was clear we were lacking width until the substitutions.

However, I don't think this was all down to HRK and can see problems ahead with Jobi. I see our captain as better in the centre at this stage of his career but he won't get a birth there in the current side and I can't see McD dropping him. On current evidence, when Kebe's fit I wouldn't start HRK or Jobi.

Whilst our man from Russia did not impress on the day and needs more time, Roberts was a significant absentee who will surely have a huge impact on our season.

Losing to that shower of sh*t would have ruined my week and as someone observed to some to Stokies in the bus queue, how they watch THAT week in week out beggars belief.

As would appear to be the norm in any McDermott season, I believe the start to this campaign will be the low point while Brian fine tunes his team and I firmly believe this will be the second season running when all the promoted sides survive.

[The Real Sandhurst Royal]

Handbags_Harris wrote: Somebody said to me after the game that it was a 1-1 scoreline in a 0-0 game and to me that was absolutely correct.

Totally agree, the game was stop start and deserved no more than a 0-0.

Stoke are a physical effective side so I won’t dwell on what they did or how well we did or did not perform.

Gutherie looked very good on the ball and used it well ....my concern is where will Karacan fit back in when fit?

McCleary looked very good good in the last 20 minutes with the game wide open. I hope he can perform like that when the marking is a lot tighter.

Gunter, a shaky first half performance, much improved in the second half. He looks to be an attacking full back with energy to get up and down the line. I hope we use Gunter in this way.

The Pogs first cameo after 10 minutes got the crowd going. From that moment on he drifted out the game missing every header and running in to the opposition players with the ball.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Not going to argue with the past few post but will just add that there was a brief period of about 10-15 minutes at the end of the first half when Stoke stopped playing hoofball and started running at us with the ball on the ground - and we looked particularly vulnerable to that.

I fear that any team more accomplished than Stoke who play the ball on the ground at speed and run directly at us with it may cause us some major, major, problems this season.