Back from the Everton (H) game

[M-U-R-T-Y]

Just noticed we have only lost 1 league game in 7.

[St Pauli]

Everton fans were unbelievably shite. Not too many will bring a full away following and get outsung by us

Only in the second half - the first time I heard a Reading song today was after 38 minutes. The song was "your support is fukking shit" - and my irony meter exploded at that point!

They're Everton and they're away from home, I expected them to bring a lot to the atmosphere, and aside from one or two chants at kick off there was very little. The Reading support was flat in the first half, but considering that 1) we had had a poor run of results, 2) expected nothing from the game as Everton were top 4 and 3) we conceded early and embarrassingly on that was to be expected.

And the 'your support is phucking shit' chant only got an airing after they'd been out sung for most of the 2nd half and had been silent even when a goal up. Credit to number 13 today where it's due.

[Big Ern]

Watched the game on tinterweb.

1st Half, everything about us with terrible. Second half we were more competitive, however If I was an Eveton fan I would feel well and truely mugged at the moment. They should have won that game by half time and to say we were very fooking lucky with 2 penalty decisions is an understatement. A win is a win and hopefully that will kick start our season, but there are no easy games in this league and the underlining problems of our defensive frailties, poor use of the ball, and general lack of quality still remain.

Great to get the first 3 points, but one swallow and all that.....

[Woodcote Royal]

My first game since Stoke and the negativity of everyone I spoke to at half time was a stark reminder of the doom and gloom that envelopes much of our fan base. For some of us, being able to attend the odd game is always a highlight of the week

So, against a side that started the day in 4th, Everton had the better of the first half but "dire" is not a word I would use to describe our own efforts and I guess that's why our second half performance was not the huge surprise for me that it was for others.

As Brian said, this victory has been coming for a while but so many prefer to congregate in their pits of despair, doggedly refusing to acknowledge the obvious signs of improvement that have been there for weeks.

We gave away a soft goal that was no softer than the penalty Everton offered up for our winner and we might have been two or three down at the break had not been for some "dire" finishing that many would associate with our own strikers.

Very few managers would have ditched most of their summer signings by November but for me this is one of McDermott's strengths. He plays what he believes is his best side, and with the possible exception of Federici, doesn't allow loyalty to cloud his judgement.

Forget the blinkered thinking and daft ideas such as dropping wingers to accommodate ball playing midfielders, we are at our best in boring 4-4-2 and this represents our best chance of survival.................................and if just one victory can lift us out of the relegation zone, the odds are more in our favour than some would have us believe.

A fantastic win against one of the best sides in the league...........................well done to all involved.

[CayeneMatt]

MOTDs coverage was appalling, only showed our goals and one powder puff effort from Alf, showed nearly all of Evertons chances, and on a side note, Gunter, never leave the post for corners, the one that hit the post was an easy head away if you had stayed there.

Agreed. Can't believe they didn't show Alf's open goal miss nor the effort when Roberts put him through 1 on 1 (only to be caught and tackled by Jagielka).

[Barry the bird boggler]

Just noticed we have only lost 1 league game in 7.

Just noticed we have only won 1 league game in 13. Long long way to go yet.

[larry1971]

Watched the game on tinterweb.

1st Half, everything about us with terrible. Second half we were more competitive, however If I was an Eveton fan I would feel well and truely mugged at the moment. They should have won that game by half time and to say we were very fooking lucky with 2 penalty decisions is an understatement. A win is a win and hopefully that will kick start our season, but there are no easy games in this league and the underlining problems of our defensive frailties, poor use of the ball, and general lack of quality still remain.

Great to get the first 3 points, but one swallow and all that.....

agreed, but I think we're owed a bit of luck - first half we simply couldn't get into the game Everton were so much more comfortable on the ball and were pasiing it around with ease and every time they lost the ball they won it straight back where as we were just chasing shadows and simply could not string more than a few passes together and it's only thanks to a couple of good saves from Fedders and a some bad decisions by the officials that we didn't go in at half time at least 3-0 down which I don't think we could of complained to much about. 2nd half the rolls were reversed and it was Everton on the back foot and I thought they really had trouble handling Le Fondre who was so much more lively in the 2nd half once he started to get some decent service from the midfield .

[Millsy]

My first game since Stoke and the negativity of everyone I spoke to at half time was a stark reminder of the doom and gloom that envelopes much of our fan base. For some of us, being able to attend the odd game is always a highlight of the week

So, against a side that started the day in 4th, Everton had the better of the first half but "dire" is not a word I would use to describe our own efforts and I guess that's why our second half performance was not the huge surprise for me that it was for others.

As Brian said, this victory has been coming for a while but so many prefer to congregate in their pits of despair, doggedly refusing to acknowledge the obvious signs of improvement that have been there for weeks.

We gave away a soft goal that was no softer than the penalty Everton offered up for our winner and we might have been two or three down at the break had not been for some "dire" finishing that many would associate with our own strikers.

Very few managers would have ditched most of their summer signings by November but for me this is one of McDermott's strengths. He plays what he believes is his best side, and with the possible exception of Federici, doesn't allow loyalty to cloud his judgement.

Forget the blinkered thinking and daft ideas such as dropping wingers to accommodate ball playing midfielders, we are at our best in boring 4-4-2 and this represents our best chance of survival.................................and if just one victory can lift us out of the relegation zone, the odds are more in our favour than some would have us believe.

A fantastic win against one of the best sides in the league...........................well done to all involved.

I definitely agree with that. Good post.

But the scary thing for me is its easy to agree with it after the win. At half time however, despite being optimistic and positive for the team, even I was thinking we are terrible. The fact is though that we've never been terrible. We have hardly lost, we've put in good performances, and the slightest of luck of better ref decisions against the likes of Chelsea, newcastle, Swansea and we'd be mid table now. as Brian says its been coming. And more will come. So why is it easy to see this now but not before?

It's just panic I guess. No matter how well you're playing and how unlucky some results are you just begin to lose hope and confidence. And if that's true for us, how much truer is it for the poor players? If we can see them playing ok but have no belief then what hope do they have of lifting their own spirits?

For this we can thank only one man: the down to earth, legendary, Brian McDermott. As he said in his interview, he is all about focus. He knew all along they were playing ok and he just had to keep focusing the players and reminding them of that. I'm not sure I could do that. I'm too emotional. I'd love to have a manager like Brian to be honest. Top man!

However let's not go the other way: there are clearly issues and not winning hasn't been solely down to bad luck and low confidence. We still clearly have to work very hard and Brian will have to seriously think about where to strengthen the squad in January. Thankfully he knows this and made it perfectly clear in the interview. Over to you Anton.

[Franchise FC]

Good job Reading! Let's see if that transforms our fortunes or not! We are 4 games into a run of 6 where i thought we needed 9 or 10 points from. We have 6 out of 12 so far. If we beat villa or wigan i think we can say par. 

To be honest that was probably bm's most important team since becomminf manager. We were awful and deserved to be 3 down at the break. Had we been most of the reading fans would have left early and i really feel bm eould have been fired after a thrashing. Perhaps he dissed out some hairdryer treatment (needed) because we played like a team that had just had a fergie style rant! Perhaps he needed to do that earlier. 

Still long way to go but at least we have won!

Ps. Shame norwich beat utd oterwise would have been a great day. As we would have closed on them too!

Why would Brian have a hairdryer?

To help dry up after he pi$$ed himself laughing at Everton's finishing.

[Franchise FC]

TBF to Hunty & Co.

it wasn't "just" beating Everton, but getting our first win.


PS we already have as many points as Derby had when they had nine.

PPS we already have as many points as anybody has when they had nine.

That's not like you Snowie

[Maguire]

I had two bets today, both a fiver at 100-1

ALF to score the first goal, Reading to get exactly two goals
ALF to score the last goal, Reading to get exactly two goals

Oh, that was for 2-0, BTW

Yeah I bet on Reading to win 2-1 with Naismith to score the first goal, ALF to score two, and there to be 20 corners in the match.

[Wimb]

Jobi yesterday - 7 passes attempted 6 completed
Gunter yesterday - 13 passes attempted 8 completed.

Bad performances or just very effective attacking from Baines/Fellaini?

[creative_username_1]

I had two bets today, both a fiver at 100-1

ALF to score the first goal, Reading to get exactly two goals
ALF to score the last goal, Reading to get exactly two goals

Oh, that was for 2-0, BTW

Yeah I bet on Reading to win 2-1 with Naismith to score the first goal, ALF to score two, and there to be 20 corners in the match.

GTFI! I had a bet on that you'd place that bet

[Maguire]

First half was men against boys - the sort of performance that makes you think we're doomed. Dunno what they put in Everton's tea at half-time but they really dropped off and Reading took the game by the scruff of the neck. Properly enjoyable match and a great atmosphere for once.

It's true that a couple of our players had bad days (Gorkss and McAnuff for example) but overall I was impressed by the way we went at it in the second half. Morrison looks raw but capable - epic tackle of Jelavic - and Le Fondre proved what he brings to a side once again. Like Cureton and to a lesser extent Leroy Lita he doesn't do much outside the box but there isn't anyone you'd rather a chance fell to inside it.

Lastly, when we re-signed Nicky Shorey I said he had a long way to go to win me over after his behaviour in 07/08 but he has been absolutely spot on recently. Excellent deliveries yesterday.

Overall - 8/10 on the enjoyment scale for me.

[Maguire]

I had two bets today, both a fiver at 100-1

ALF to score the first goal, Reading to get exactly two goals
ALF to score the last goal, Reading to get exactly two goals

Oh, that was for 2-0, BTW

Yeah I bet on Reading to win 2-1 with Naismith to score the first goal, ALF to score two, and there to be 20 corners in the match.

GTFI! I had a bet on that you'd place that bet

[Simon's Church]

Jobi yesterday - 7 passes attempted 6 completed
Gunter yesterday - 13 passes attempted 8 completed.

Bad performances or just very effective attacking from Baines/Fellaini?

Squawka have totally different stats to these, they have Gunter making 17 from 26 and McAnuff 7 from 13 fwiw.

[Wimb]

Jobi yesterday - 7 passes attempted 6 completed
Gunter yesterday - 13 passes attempted 8 completed.

Bad performances or just very effective attacking from Baines/Fellaini?

Squawka have totally different stats to these, they have Gunter making 17 from 26 and McAnuff 7 from 13 fwiw.

The one's I'm quoting were the ones done by OPTA though all these stat keeping systems count these things differently, either way whether it's 7 or 13 it's a sign of how absent he was from an attacking point of view. But like I said, considering the job he had to do against Baines/Fellaini maybe that was to be expected.

[sandman]

Federici 8 Great saves, great, great saves to keep us in the match. Make that a 9.
Gunter 6 Improved in the second half including a pinpoint cross for the penalty award.
Shorey 8 Great free kick for the first goal, class first touch as always. He suits Reading FC and vice versa
Morrison 9 A bit shaky at the start which probably had a lot to do with the ineptitude of Gorkss beside him but came into his own with a great tackle and some crucial blocks.
Gorkss 5 Awful first half especially the goal and the tackle on Naismith which sat in the North Stand looked like a bit of a dive but was a tackle he shouldn't be making.

HRK 7 A few good runs and he looks stronger still don;t think he makes the most of his opportunity when he starts.
McAnuff 6 Quiet game for Jobi. Had to laugh at his attempt in the first half.
Tabb 8 Proving people wrong he has been very good in the last few games and yesterday was no different.
Leigertwood 7 Not his best game. Needs to cut out the silly passes.

Roberts 8 Held the ball up well and was a constant menace. Doesn't play like you'd expect a 34 year old to play.
ALF 8 Took both his goals well but really should have made more of at least one of his two very good chances in open play.

Second thoughts probably a 10 for Federici.

[paddy20]

First half - direct football, Second half played to feet. First half diabolical, second half sublime. End of.

[CJC]

We need to sort the back out Gorkks has got to be dropped he was utter shitte, hes a liability

Oh and Gunter needs to be dropped too

Couldn't agree more..... Morrison and Mariappa at CB please. If Cummings isn't injured how Gunter is getting a game is beyond me......

Because Cummings is gash too - can remember him being at fault for several goals when he was playing. I think Gunter will come good.

Exactly. Brian clearly doesnt trust Cummings at this level and rightly so. Gunter isnt great admittedly but less likely to cost us a goal i would say