Back from the game/the PC - Fulham (H)

[melonhead]

personally id think about dropping cummings-even though i think hes a good little player who will only improve- it does seem as though every week there seems to be a goal where he is questionable.
id have dropped gorkss before now for pearce, as i think pearce was playing better than him when he was dropped, but gorkss has been improving so id probably leave that for a while in the hope of forming a partnership.
guthrie isnt going to stop midfields running or passing through us, so i cant see how that move will help- although we do need someone who can pick a creative pass and hold onto the ball a bit more ala the stoke game
i think mcanuff can play in the middle, he works hard enough, does his defensive work, and can pick a pass/put in a cross, which would mean you could play kebe in front of shorey, which would mean he could concentrate a bit more on attack, and mcleary in front of gunter-which is clealy a decent partnership.
up front im happy with roberts/nhunt, roberts/pog, pog/nhunt with ALF as 4th choice or as an impact sub

do that and we have a chance of being attacking enough, and defensively sound enough to be winning games Vs the bottom half

[melonhead]

Btw, has anyone lol'd at the plastics who left with seven minutes to go. Quite evident on MOTD that there were plenty of empty seats in the north when our equaliser went in.

Also, think I'm right in saying this, when we went 2-1 down they said on R5L that people were leaving. I've never understood that mentality, and never will.

me neither

but apparently we arent allowed to say so, cos it makes people think that we think we are better fans than them, and that theyve paid their money so theyre allowed to leave when they want


i wouldnt mind if it meant anything other than getting to your car earlier so you can sit in the carpark waiting to get out.
if you were that bothered with the speed thing youd just get the busses in from the sticks, cos theyre quicker, and cheaper than driving yourself.

But they don't run further afield and some supporters travel considerably further and maybe have other commitments that they need to meet.

My daughter's doing the reverse tomorrow. She's paid for her ticket but due to other commitments can't get there until the second half. Does that make her a good or bad supporter and is it any different from those who might make the effort to see the first part of a game but have to leave before the end?

Accept these type of people will be very much in the minority against the early leavers but they do exist.

like i said im not in th egame ofcriticising anyone, you can suport the club however you like, i just question whether it makes any sense, cos it doesnt to me

i somehow doubt that all, or th emajority, or even a sizeable chunk of those eary leavers on saturday were all non local royals with long journeys home.

and even then, if you park in the right place, there is no reason you cant watch to the final whistle, applaud the team off, get out of the stadium, and to your car, and away in the same ammount o time as those that leave early, just to sit in the queue in the stadium car park

[melonhead]

Cummings poor (again) and responsible for 2 of their goals (yet again) as he was against Swansea.

Kebe might look like he is tracking back (and helping Cummings) a bit more but is ineffectual and hasn't a clue how to beat a Prem defender going forward.

Sidwell and Riuz - like Mata and Hazard earlier in the season - had no one within 10 yards of marking them in and around our 'D'. This despite us having 2 deep lieing CM's.

Did McCarthy look suspect for 2 of their goals?

Some say reverting to ALF and Roberts next game. So apart from Shorey this reverts us to our Championship team that flooked it last year. Enough said.

The day that Tabb (correctly) gets MOTM for us in the Prem, is the day the light switches are just about to be switched off. Tabb was lucky to get on the bench last year.

Positives. Unbelivably there are 2 teams below us.

you dont/cannot fluke winning a 46 game championship

We aint in the Championship now though. We are in big school and the big boys keep picking on us.

he said we fluked the championship
i said you cant do such a thing

im not even making comment on the prem,

[RoyalBlue]

me neither

but apparently we arent allowed to say so, cos it makes people think that we think we are better fans than them, and that theyve paid their money so theyre allowed to leave when they want


i wouldnt mind if it meant anything other than getting to your car earlier so you can sit in the carpark waiting to get out.
if you were that bothered with the speed thing youd just get the busses in from the sticks, cos theyre quicker, and cheaper than driving yourself.

But they don't run further afield and some supporters travel considerably further and maybe have other commitments that they need to meet.

My daughter's doing the reverse tomorrow. She's paid for her ticket but due to other commitments can't get there until the second half. Does that make her a good or bad supporter and is it any different from those who might make the effort to see the first part of a game but have to leave before the end?

Accept these type of people will be very much in the minority against the early leavers but they do exist.

like i said im not in th egame ofcriticising anyone, you can suport the club however you like, i just question whether it makes any sense, cos it doesnt to me

i somehow doubt that all, or th emajority, or even a sizeable chunk of those eary leavers on saturday were all non local royals with long journeys home.

and even then, if you park in the right place, there is no reason you cant watch to the final whistle, applaud the team off, get out of the stadium, and to your car, and away in the same ammount o time as those that leave early, just to sit in the queue in the stadium car park

First of all, I said that I accepted that the type of people I was referring to 'will be very much in the minority'.

Your second point is just plain wrong. Regardless of where you park, you cannot do what you say and still get away as quickly as if you leave a couple of minutes before the full-time rush. For some, a tiny minority, those few minutes can be very important if they have other commitments.

[melonhead]

But they don't run further afield and some supporters travel considerably further and maybe have other commitments that they need to meet.

My daughter's doing the reverse tomorrow. She's paid for her ticket but due to other commitments can't get there until the second half. Does that make her a good or bad supporter and is it any different from those who might make the effort to see the first part of a game but have to leave before the end?

Accept these type of people will be very much in the minority against the early leavers but they do exist.

like i said im not in th egame ofcriticising anyone, you can suport the club however you like, i just question whether it makes any sense, cos it doesnt to me

i somehow doubt that all, or th emajority, or even a sizeable chunk of those eary leavers on saturday were all non local royals with long journeys home.

and even then, if you park in the right place, there is no reason you cant watch to the final whistle, applaud the team off, get out of the stadium, and to your car, and away in the same ammount o time as those that leave early, just to sit in the queue in the stadium car park

First of all, I said that I accepted that the type of people I was referring to 'will be very much in the minority'.

Your second point is just plain wrong. Regardless of where you park, you cannot do what you say and still get away as quickly as if you leave a couple of minutes before the full-time rush. For some, a tiny minority, those few minutes can be very important if they have other commitments.

i agreed totaly that there will be a tiny minority who need to get away for other things, and i also said im not even criticising those who dont have such a reason.H/P
you pay your money and can do what you like.

im merely questioning if it really makes that much difference.
when i leave th eground, i always see those who left early queing to get out and being held back until all the pedestrians have left, and it doesnt seem to have helped them that much
if i park in the holiday inn, i can watch the final whistle, applaud off the teams, get back to my car, and away and home much faster than if i park at the stadium
if i get the bus in from the outlying areas, i can get to the ground quicker, get away from the ground quicker, and be home way before i would have done if i drove in, for about half th emoney i would have spent on petrol and parking.

these are just my observations. i question if it makes a difference, because im unaware of how it could, but im sure there may be ways it does help.
im just asking

[Ian Royal]

I'd argue we won the Championship not so much because of our quality, but because West Ham and Saints wobbled at just the time we were playing them and full of confidence. Basically, I think we beat them on the pitch because they beat themselves in the head.

[melonhead]

i think we beat them on the pitch, because we beat them in the head, because we were stronger mentally, AND a better team than both

[Snowball]

Reading Possession Second (Away games)

Shots on target second


59-41 12-04 WON 3-1 Away Southampton
53-47 09-08 WON 4-2 Away West Ham


56-44 11-6 7-3

We conceded an average of 56% possession, had just a third of the shots on target.

[Hoop Blah]

The higher you go the more the opposition is capable of punishing your mistakes and better they are at carving out opportunities. Because of that, the higher you go, the more you need to be able to keep control of the ball, be exceptional at getting it back (see Barcelona or United at their best) or be able to defend flawlessly.

I can't see us be relatively good at any of those in this league (at the moment).

[Woodcote Royal]

The only thing I would disagree with there is your view that there are no signs of us meeting those required standards.

Yes, momentary lapses cost us dearly once again but the same could be said of 8th place Fulham, who allowed Leigertwood to fire into the top right corner totally unhindered. For most of Saturday we were the better team with only the quality you would expect to find in a top half side allowing Fulham to take a point..........................to me, the whole afternoon suggested we are very close to making the desired impact at this level.

[Tommy Youlden's Ears]

My first live game this season.

I thought that most of the team were performing at a higher level than last season - but the concession of possession that was not punished by mediocre Championship opposition is lethally damaging when the likes of Berbatov are around.

Had Southampton and West Ham had Berbs and Ruiz last season, I doubt we'd have gained the brace of away wins that won us the title.

Berbs eh? Lazy fugger, lovely player.

I worry about Kebe - whilst he tracks back so much better than in the past, he seemed reluctant to back himself going forward. Injured still?

Agree with most who see the midfield as dangerously weak. Love Tabby's attitude, but it's not enough to cover for his physical disadvantages and lack of class.

But that's this league. Most teams will have greater quality and depth than us. I enjoyed the game, am delighted with the fight backs, back McD and look forward with optimism.

Sorry if that's not negative enough, will try harder.

[RoyalBlue]

like i said im not in th egame ofcriticising anyone, you can suport the club however you like, i just question whether it makes any sense, cos it doesnt to me

i somehow doubt that all, or th emajority, or even a sizeable chunk of those eary leavers on saturday were all non local royals with long journeys home.

and even then, if you park in the right place, there is no reason you cant watch to the final whistle, applaud the team off, get out of the stadium, and to your car, and away in the same ammount o time as those that leave early, just to sit in the queue in the stadium car park

First of all, I said that I accepted that the type of people I was referring to 'will be very much in the minority'.

Your second point is just plain wrong. Regardless of where you park, you cannot do what you say and still get away as quickly as if you leave a couple of minutes before the full-time rush. For some, a tiny minority, those few minutes can be very important if they have other commitments.

i agreed totaly that there will be a tiny minority who need to get away for other things, and i also said im not even criticising those who dont have such a reason.H/P
you pay your money and can do what you like.

im merely questioning if it really makes that much difference.
when i leave th eground, i always see those who left early queing to get out and being held back until all the pedestrians have left, and it doesnt seem to have helped them that much
if i park in the holiday inn, i can watch the final whistle, applaud off the teams, get back to my car, and away and home much faster than if i park at the stadium
if i get the bus in from the outlying areas, i can get to the ground quicker, get away from the ground quicker, and be home way before i would have done if i drove in, for about half th emoney i would have spent on petrol and parking.

these are just my observations. i question if it makes a difference, because im unaware of how it could, but im sure there may be ways it does help.
im just asking

Ah, now it makes sense. I fully agree with you about people leaving early, but not early enough, if they are parked in the stadium car parks - although I guess it still helps a bit being at the front of the queue.

I was assuming (making an ass....) that the early leavers who had other commitments were bright enough to have parked slightly away from the stadium. That way they can avoid crowds and traffic by leaving that bit early.

Incidentally, why pay to park at the Holiday Inn when you can park a bit closer at Premier Foods and see the bulk of the charge go to charity?

[melonhead]

just cos it takes almost as long a sit does to get out of the stadium car park from there

at the hotel its usually pretty much straight out

[floyd__streete]

Nerrrrkerrrr Sherrrrrerrrrr werrrrr merrrr errrrr therrrr merrrr

Sterrrr Serrrrwerrrr - herrrr errrr merrrr ferrrr cerrrr

ederrrr - Terrrr errr therrr Perrr

Agreed, there really is no excuse for that. You wonder what they do in training, sometimes

[Ian Royal]

The only thing I would disagree with there is your view that there are no signs of us meeting those required standards.

Yes, momentary lapses cost us dearly once again but the same could be said of 8th place Fulham, who allowed Leigertwood to fire into the top right corner totally unhindered. For most of Saturday we were the better team with only the quality you would expect to find in a top half side allowing Fulham to take a point..........................to me, the whole afternoon suggested we are very close to making the desired impact at this level.

I'd say the main difference is Fulham have 1.5 points a game and we have 0.5 points a game. Suggesting defensive lapses, whilst they occasionally occur, are not a significant problem for them. Although they do conceed a lot away it's virtually none at home. Again something we are unable to say.

[RoyallyFcuked]

For me, its time to see Le Fondre and Roberts partnered together.

This ^

Not really this, Alf has been largely ineffective when he's come on, and was non-existent against West Brom when he started. Its a combination of Pogrebnyak/Roberts/Hunt.

Largely ineffective? Off the top of my head, last season ALF came on as a sub to partner Roberts and changed at least 3 games into wins in a short space of time. See Milwall away, Leeds at home, and Saints away. This season ALF has started 2 games, both with Pogrebnyak and on both occasions, has looked the more threatening of the two. Though admittedly that partnership needs more time, and the lack of service is the main problem.

This season, the first time ALF and Roberts played together was against Newcastle for 5 minutes at the end, (yes about 5 minutes) and we immediately looked like we could go and win the game (and were unlucky not to). The Swansea game, they got 10 minutes together at the end, but unsuprisingly they couldnt do much as we barely had the ball (but somehow we did almost nick it at the end in a scramble). Then, the Fulham game as soon as ALF and Roberts are playing together we score twice in last few minutes and could have even won it (but yes Fulham did score as well, thanks to crap defending)

The problem is McD expects ALF to come on, score and save us in every game in very little time, just because he has done it a few times before. Unfortunately it doesnt work like that.

[BenReadingFC]

All the goals from last nights game in animated Gif's