Relegation the Reading Way

[royalsteve]

The solution is so simple I don't know why no ones thought of this before .... But we seem to be doing so much better after the break (though you wouldn't have seen that from the - frankly - insulting highlights on MOTD). So all BMD needs to do is replace his pre-match message to the boys with the one he gave at half time for Liverpool, Newcastle, Spurs and Chelsea - job done!

Also, last we felt we we never out of MadStad, this season feels we're never in it!

we know motd highlights are shocking. they are biased to the big clubs. if anyone thinks the highlights are a true reflection of the match then they are retarded.

[Wimb]

As yet there is so very little in it.

Reading are improving IMO.

Not great home to Stoke, poor against Spurs, edged out at West Brom
but 2-2 at Swansea and v Newcastle, and losing by a single goal at Anfield

The fact that our GD isn't terrible, may end up important

As for no wins, is it that big a deal when, one other side is P7 for 0 wins
and six more have a single win? Wigan's only win was at a poor Southampton.

And we've played 1-5-6-10-11-12-13

Lost 4-2 to TOP Side (Away) Chelsea are 7-1-0 19-6
Lost 1-3 to 5th
Lost 1-0 to 6th (Away)
Drew 2-2 with 10th (Home)
Lost 1-0 to 11th (Away)
Drew 2-2 with 12th (Away)
Drew 1-1 with 13th (Home)

Based on results (and I expect us to improve) we should be able to finish 15th and have
a decent chance of 13/14th. What REALLY matters is we take 3 points of all these teams
and 4 off most of them.

I take heart in seeing these side shipping 5's when we aren't



13 8 DDDDLWDL 1-5-2 8 Points -01 GD Stoke
14 7 DPDDDWLD 1-5-2 8 Points -02 GD Sunderland

15 8 LDDDLLLW 1-3-4 6 Points -11 GD Norwich
16 8 LWDLLLDL 1-2-4 5 Points -07 GD Wigan
17 8 LLDWLDLL 1-1-5 5 Points -07 GD Villa

18 8 LLLLWLDL 1-1-6 4 Points -11 GD Southampton
19 7 DPLLLDDL 0-3-4 3 Points -06 GD Reading
20 7 LDLDLLL? 0-2-5 2 Points -10 GD QPR

0 WINS RFC and QPR
1 WINS Saints, Sunderland, Villa, Norwich, Wigan

Agree with Snowers here, we've arguably not dropped too many points in 'important' games this year so it's far from the time to panic.

It would have been great for morale to be nicking points at places like Anfield or the Hawthorns but that's not where you're expected to take them and as we showed in 2007/08 beating Liverpool counts for sweet FA if you let your relegation rivals take six points from you. Reading took 7 points from top 5 sides that season but losing all four games against Bolton and Fulham was what doomed us in the end.

Norwich have gotten themselves a vital and unexpected 3 points from the Arsenal game but the fact they dropped 4 points from West Ham (H) and QPR (H) is much more significant in the long term as they are teams who'll probably be in and around the relegation struggle come May.

Likewise you can look at Swansea and say they've made a great start with 11 points from 8 games but look who those points have come against. QPR (A), West Ham (H), Sunderland (H), Reading (H), Wigan (H). I'd fancy Reading to get at least 9-11 points from the same set of fixtures.

Of course there comes a time when you can't use the excuse of 'oh well we've been playing good teams' and there's no denying this season hasn't been a great one so far but lets wait and see where we are after the next three games before jumping overboard.

[marcusopp]

The optimists on here keep on about how we can/will take three points off Fulham next week. However, Fulham are not a poor team and are currently 8th in the table with 13 points from 8 games.

No doubt if we fail to win next week, the same optimists will then point out Fulham's lofty position in the table and say we shouldn't have expected to win anyway!

I just hope their optimism proves well-founded, starting next week.

If you can't be optimistic about the team you've supported since the late 80's, when can you? If you think you're going to lose every week, why bother going. Most of us have seen more bad days than good, but there's still that glimmer of hope!
We'll batter fulham

[larry1971]

The optimists on here keep on about how we can/will take three points off Fulham next week. However, Fulham are not a poor team and are currently 8th in the table with 13 points from 8 games.

No doubt if we fail to win next week, the same optimists will then point out Fulham's lofty position in the table and say we shouldn't have expected to win anyway!

I just hope their optimism proves well-founded, starting next week.

If you can't be optimistic about the team you've supported since the late 80's, when can you? If you think you're going to lose every week, why bother going. Most of us have seen more bad days than good, but there's still that glimmer of hope!
We'll batter fulham

because the majority of football fans are gluttens for punishment we constantly moan and bitch about how crap we're playing every week but every home game you're back in your seat wanting more - It's going to be a long hard season and right now I'd say the relegation fight is going to be between QPR, Reading, Norwich, Southampton and Wigan. the 40pt safety target is looking a very long way off right now, although 37 or 38 might be enough to stay up. But we desperatly need to start getting some points on the board and as I said on another thread IMO to stand any chance of staying up we need 2 things 1/ to be on at least or around 20pts by New Years day and 2/ not to be bottom of te table on Christmas day.

[Avon Royal]

Let's worry about avoiding the "Worst Team in History" tag before any off the wall ideas such as getting 40 points.

[Royal Lady]

I didn't expect us to replicate our very first season in the Prem, but I did expect us to come out fighting and giving all we had - but we haven't and that's what is so demoralising at the moment - you just know, when we do actually get the ball, that 9 times out of 10 we're going to give it away with a stupid pass or whatever - if we give our all and our all isn't good enough, then so be it. But I, at the very least, do expect to be entertained in a match and, with the exception of the Newcastle game, I've not seen much in the way of effort or entertainment from 90% of the team.

[Norfolk Royal]

I didn't expect us to replicate our very first season in the Prem, but I did expect us to come out fighting and giving all we had - but we haven't and that's what is so demoralising at the moment - you just know, when we do actually get the ball, that 9 times out of 10 we're going to give it away with a stupid pass or whatever - if we give our all and our all isn't good enough, then so be it. But I, at the very least, do expect to be entertained in a match and, with the exception of the Newcastle game, I've not seen much in the way of effort or entertainment from 90% of the team.

If you want entertainment you should be lobbying for some sort of skit by the mascots at half time.

[Royal Lady]

Well, maybe entertained isn't the right word then, but you know what I mean. The main thing is the commitment and at least looking like they're trying - but I don't see that, personally.

[Lacoste]

Our posession keeping ability is quite morale crushing TBH. We have been like this though since MCD arrived and you can get away with it in the champ but not in the prem.

[Royalclapper]

The dramatic turnaround in form last season coincided with growing speculation of a new investor at the club. The £££'s lit up in the players minds which turned them into seemingly improved players. Same would happen at most clubs in that position. Strikes me that things have become a bit to 'cosy' again. It would be a stretch to think that a top half finish was possible this time around with this group, but shirley there's some kind of improvement left in them.

[bassavage]

The dramatic turnaround in form last season coincided with growing speculation of a new investor at the club. The £££'s lit up in the players minds which turned them into seemingly improved players. Same would happen at most clubs in that position. Strikes me that things have become a bit to 'cosy' again. It would be a stretch to think that a top half finish was possible this time around with this group, but shirley there's some kind of improvement left in them.

And what was the excuse the year before when we were 12th in February and ended up at Wembley? We are getting better, we aren't being hammerd ala Southampton and we've always started slow under McD anyway. Once we've got the monkey that is the first win off our back then I expect us to kick on. I truly believe we will stay up.

If we play every home game like we did against Newcastle and pick up points here and there away from home then there's no way we will be bottom 3.

[melonhead]

brians worked a miracle every season he's been in charge
im fully confident hell work another to keep us up
and if not, oh well, better luck next time

[melonhead]

What concerns me is that we've been outplayed in every game, even the ones we've drawn. The one match where we (more than) matched the other team, certainly for long periods, was against the European Champions! In some cases (Swansea and Spurs) we've been completely outplayed. We don't seem to be good enough - it's as simple as that. I don't believe, however, a change of manager will achieve anything. For me, Brian's our best bet for keeping us up. I think we need to see some 'green shoots' soon, though, starting ideally with a win aginast Fulham on Saturday.

Newcastle never happened then?

Newcastle was certainly our best performanace but I think you'll find that even in this match we weren't 'the dominant side'. Look at possession, shots on target, etc. It feels like we were because for once we almost matched the other side but I don't think the facts bear this out. (I could be wrong.)

i think youre wrong

they pretty much had two significant shots, from hopeful long ball breaks and scored twice
but youre right in that my memmory could well be clouded

[Norfolk Royal]

The crumb of comfort I take so far is that we are not shipping goals in the way that say, Norwich and Southampton are, although the Norwich win against Arsenal was a blow, and the performance against Newcastle which proves we are near to winning games at home against qualitiy opposition if, and its a big if at the moment, we play well.

The goal difference indicates we are close to being competitive.

[Z175]

This time last season, a lot of posters felt we weren't good enough for the championship. Now they seem to think we'd fit in quite nicely!

I have always been a fan of looking at goal difference in early stages. This irons out the vagaries of the fixture list and the ups and downs of wins and losses, and often pays off if you bet on a struggling team thats goal difference isn't that bad to pick up.

Given ours is the best in the bottom 6, I think that shows we're competing better. I mean we've only lost to Chelsea (unfairly), Liverpool (narrowly), Tottenham and away to a flying West Brom (narrowly).

Brian's bang on, we're competing.

That said, I'm aware of the dangers of constantly failing to win, and the longer we're down here the harder it is to climb out. We now have 18 points to play for over our next 6 games, hopefully we'll pick up enough to show we're in the fight.

[Wimb]

This time last season, a lot of posters felt we weren't good enough for the championship. Now they seem to think we'd fit in quite nicely!

I have always been a fan of looking at goal difference in early stages. This irons out the vagaries of the fixture list and the ups and downs of wins and losses, and often pays off if you bet on a struggling team thats goal difference isn't that bad to pick up.

Given ours is the best in the bottom 6, I think that shows we're competing better. I mean we've only lost to Chelsea (unfairly), Liverpool (narrowly), Tottenham and away to a flying West Brom (narrowly).

Brian's bang on, we're competing.

That said, I'm aware of the dangers of constantly failing to win, and the longer we're down here the harder it is to climb out. We now have 18 points to play for over our next 6 games, hopefully we'll pick up enough to show we're in the fight.

^^^^ power post

[Binfield Royal]

I must agree with most on here. The current team is not good enough for the PL and we showed little ambition in the transfer market, signing mostly Championship players. Unless there is a significant overhaul in the playing staff, we will not survive in this division and this is plain to see.

The Reading way still appears to mean "on the cheap". If this is really the clubs fiscal policy - keep the costs down and bank the cash, thats fine but please be honest enough with us, your customers, and say so.

If this is where we are, then at least we can get on with the season with the appropriate frame of mind, which is to say that we can expect to lose most of our games and we will have a better more competitive season back in the Championship.

But, if Anton is serious in what he says, we will need a serious shopping spree in January and it will need to be proven talent, not journeyman pros.

You cannot do the premier league on the cheap. We should have learned this from our last experience here.

[matthewroyal]

I really feel at this stage that we can still stay up. I went to Swansea away, and we honestly didn't deserve to be 2-0 up, but then as the game went on we looked more in control. Then swansea just got on top and a draw was a fair result. We are scoring goals which is a good thing, we've scored four in the last three games, and 2 goals against newcastle is a good feat in itself considering the quality of their squad. The games we've had so far have been very tough too, considering we've had spurs at home, chelsea away, newcastle at home, liverpool away, swansea away, stoke at home e.c. We havn't really played any banker games yet like southampton, aston villa, norwich e.c. I think one win is all it will take to really get us going, it's way too late to write the royals off yet

[melonhead]

The current team is not good enough for the PL and we showed little ambition in the transfer market, signing mostly Championship players. Unless there is a significant overhaul in the playing staff, we will not survive in this division and this is plain to see.

but pretty much every promoted team that has managed to stay up in teh last few years have done so signing hungry good quality championship players, keeping teh core of their team together, and playing in much teh same way as they did in teh championship

the only team this year to have donme a complete overhaul this summer is currently below us in teh championship, despite spending millions on high profile quality players with top league experience, and a with high profile manager

so saying any of that is why we arent winning every game, makes very little sense

[Maguire]

I'm not reading 11 pages of this shit but i'm pretty sure my overall response would be LOL.

We've only played 7 games, calm down to a panic for a bit.