BFTG - Ipswich

[P!ssed Off]

Correction: Guthrie berated Pearce, not Gunter as some have suggested.
It was barely 20 yards from me and quite understandable to be honest.
Pearce's passing had been absolutely woeful up till then (about 30 mins in).
He was being a complete wuss, refusing to take the risk of passing it short and forward, instead either hoofing it or passing (literally) the responsibility on to Morrison or McCarthy.

In the end, after Guthrie presented himself unmarked to Pearce for an easy pass, and Pearce once again refused to put himself under any pressure and shipped the ball square to Morrison, Guthrie and the majority of the crowd around me gave Pearce an earful.

I know some of you will say shouting at him doesn't help his confidence and all that, but many of his passes up till then had been completely toothless, pretty much ducking out of a challenge and shifting the burden on to his teammates.

Fair enough, it was a way off from where i was sitting, but it could have been dealt with a bit better. Having a barny in-front of 20,000 people isn't the way. P.S He was constantly on at Gunter too. Throwing his arms up and barking little comments at him, specifically when coming forward in the first half. Gunter lost confidence as the game went on.

Gunter/RB is the nearest position to me 1st half.
My main relief at half time was that I didn't have to spend any longer staring in total despair as Gunter abandoned his post and went and stood on the wing.

tbf to Gunter it looked as though he had been told to do this (by Adkins behaviour on the touch line) but I can't for the life of me figure out why as 90% of the time Reading didn't pass to him and Ipswich didn't even bother marking him.

Majority of the first half, and parts of the second, we had at least one fullback much to high up the pitch essentially leaving only 3 defenders who then proceeded to act like cbs, ignoring the wingers.
This was the reason for their first goal. Bridge was nowhere to be found, Morro, Pearce and Gunter were playing cbs and marking the two strikers leaving Tabb completely unmarked on the left.

Gunter in the 2nd half found himself too high up the pitch when we lost the ball, leaving their left winger ages of time to put in a decent ball which the striker should have had a better effort with.

[St. Brynjar]

McCarthy - 7 - Not a lot to do but made one memorable camera-friendly save
Gunter - 7 - Decent enough at this level, bombed forward a lot and was less frail defensively than last year. Him vs. Kelly is tough
Morrison - 6 - Unconvinced, poor first half and reasonable second. Not captain material just yet, far less vocal than...
Pearce - 6.5 - Very poor 1st, good second. Much more of a leader, if I wasn't biased against him for being a dick with his contract I'd want him as captain.
Bridge - 6.5 - Not sure. Had good and bad spells, and at his best wasn't much better than Shorey.
Guthrie - 9 - Class and composure. Another leader on the field. Busts a gut for the team and would be a great captain.
Karacan - 7 - Did his job well enough without excelling. Will have to fight to stop Williams taking his spot.
HRK - 6.5 Unspectacular, don't recall him doing a lot.
R.R.D - 8 - Exciting player, works hard enough, made a few hilariously awful challenges. Will be sent off a lot. Loved the chant.
McCleary - 7 - Still selfish, didn't beat his man enough but entertained enough. Will do well to keep his place when Jimmy returns.
Le Fondre - 6 - Apparently he played.

Williams - 8 - Like what I see from our struggle pig.
Pog & McAnuff - 5 - Didn't seem to do anything right. Hope both have good seasons.

4-3-3 > 4-2-3-1

[chilipepper91]

Correction: Guthrie berated Pearce, not Gunter as some have suggested.
It was barely 20 yards from me and quite understandable to be honest.
Pearce's passing had been absolutely woeful up till then (about 30 mins in).
He was being a complete wuss, refusing to take the risk of passing it short and forward, instead either hoofing it or passing (literally) the responsibility on to Morrison or McCarthy.

In the end, after Guthrie presented himself unmarked to Pearce for an easy pass, and Pearce once again refused to put himself under any pressure and shipped the ball square to Morrison, Guthrie and the majority of the crowd around me gave Pearce an earful.

I know some of you will say shouting at him doesn't help his confidence and all that, but many of his passes up till then had been completely toothless, pretty much ducking out of a challenge and shifting the burden on to his teammates.

Fair enough, it was a way off from where i was sitting, but it could have been dealt with a bit better. Having a barny in-front of 20,000 people isn't the way. P.S He was constantly on at Gunter too. Throwing his arms up and barking little comments at him, specifically when coming forward in the first half. Gunter lost confidence as the game went on.

Gunter/RB is the nearest position to me 1st half.
My main relief at half time was that I didn't have to spend any longer staring in total despair as Gunter abandoned his post and went and stood on the wing.

tbf to Gunter it looked as though he had been told to do this (by Adkins behaviour on the touch line) but I can't for the life of me figure out why as 90% of the time Reading didn't pass to him and Ipswich didn't even bother marking him.

Majority of the first half, and parts of the second, we had at least one fullback much to high up the pitch essentially leaving only 3 defenders who then proceeded to act like cbs, ignoring the wingers.
This was the reason for their first goal. Bridge was nowhere to be found, Morro, Pearce and Gunter were playing cbs and marking the two strikers leaving Tabb completely unmarked on the left.

Gunter in the 2nd half found himself too high up the pitch when we lost the ball, leaving their left winger ages of time to put in a decent ball which the striker should have had a better effort with.

Gunter has always been suspect defensively for me. As mentioned by you, this was highlighted by the Ipswich goal, where he totally forgot where Tabb was for the initial shot. Also for the cross to McGoldrick where the forward was totally free on the left wing.

It's clearly a tactic but I'm worried about it. No chances of note came down Bridge's side, because he was constantly in place at left back.

[NewCorkSeth]

Gunter has always been suspect defensively for me. As mentioned by you, this was highlighted by the Ipswich goal, where he totally forgot where Tabb was for the initial shot. Also for the cross to McGoldrick where the forward was totally free on the left wing.

It's clearly a tactic but I'm worried about it. No chances of note came down Bridge's side, because he was constantly in place at left back.

I'm with you on that one.

[littlejohnnyoster]

we gotta start with guthrie (class), karacan and williams in midfield. our 3 great wingers can't play as a midfield trio and we looked so much better with a solid midfield. Alf cant play upfront alone and we need marriapa at cb. Drenthe looked a class above too, so happy with him. HRK was poor but ill get better. End of first half despondent, end of second half optimistic...

[littlejohnnyoster]

And for those that booed Jobi when he came on - shame on you, you complete w@nkers.


agreed. also pog scapegoated despite offering more than alf, disgusting. Our fans gonna take a while to get that passing to gk is ok!

[pea]

we gotta start with guthrie (class), karacan and williams in midfield. our 3 great wingers can't play as a midfield trio and we looked so much better with a solid midfield. Alf cant play upfront alone and we need marriapa at cb. Drenthe looked a class above too, so happy with him. HRK was poor but ill get better. End of first half despondent, end of second half optimistic...

hi Hal

[paddy20]

we gotta start with guthrie (class), karacan and williams in midfield. our 3 great wingers can't play as a midfield trio and we looked so much better with a solid midfield. Alf cant play upfront alone and we need marriapa at cb. Drenthe looked a class above too, so happy with him. HRK was poor but ill get better. End of first half despondent, end of second half optimistic...

How long do we wait for HRK to get better?

[Cureton's Volley]

we gotta start with guthrie (class), karacan and williams in midfield. our 3 great wingers can't play as a midfield trio and we looked so much better with a solid midfield. Alf cant play upfront alone and we need marriapa at cb. Drenthe looked a class above too, so happy with him. HRK was poor but ill get better. End of first half despondent, end of second half optimistic...

How long do we wait for HRK to get better?

We don't.

Let's boo him ahead of kick off, along with Jobi & Pog. That'll learn em.

[Glory Boy]

Good support from the East stand 2nd half, particularly again well done to the boys at the front who wouldn't sit down.

blocking the view for the children and elderly....hope they're proud of themselves

Unless you are totally new to ground you know you are unlikely to sit down the whole game in Y26 without your view being blocked. It is the "terracing" part of the ground. Even if you are new to the ground you can ask the ticket office which is the most suitable area to sit for children or where I can enjoy the match without distractions.

[PieEater]

Disappointed not to hear chants of "Bring on the Struggle Pig"

[Millsy]

Useful posts for us who couldn't be there thanks. Any clips of goals anywhere?

[royalfanforever]

First half we were nervous and when they scored, they seemed to lose focus. But after Adam scoring and the start of the second half, we started to play well. The passing was better and there was not much hoofing like in the first. Bring on Bolton.

[Royal91]

Useful posts for us who couldn't be there thanks. Any clips of goals anywhere?

BBC normally put them up on Tuesday I think. Reading fc Player will have them on Sunday.

[Gunny Fishcake]

That'll do nicely,we will only get better, good feeling this season

[Royal Lady]

I didn't hear any booing at all - when Jobi came on people were deservedly clapping Drenthe. Presume it's the acoustics but in y24 I couldn't hear anything nor booing for Pog.

[winchester_royal]

Big win. Ipswich will do well away from home this season, came to spoil and did it very well for much of the game. We lost our way a little in the first half, but the second half was a big improvement. All 3 new boys impressed, and while Drenthe and Williams will probably take the headlines I thought Bridge looked total class.

Good support from Y26 and the like which seemed to drag the players over the line but some of our fans were a complete disgrace, particularly in that dodgy period in the first half. Shouting and whining at the players for trying to retain a bit of possession is daft at the best of times, but to do it 20 minutes into a new season really does take the biscuit.

[Millsy]

Useful posts for us who couldn't be there thanks. Any clips of goals anywhere?

BBC normally put them up on Tuesday I think. Reading fc Player will have them on Sunday.

Cheers buddy.

[Millsy]

I didnt understand the team selection.

Who was playing on what wing? Was it total football?

Surprised that Alfie would start instead of Pog, but hey he started and he scored, is that a first. :p

[Mr.T10]

Felt the midfield was unbalanced yesterday making us very predictable, easy to defend against and easy to counter attack. Drenthe, HRK and McCleary all impact players on the pitch at the same time doesn't work as effectively, Williams to start next week instead of HRK.

Promising signs but still work to do.