defence

[Basingstoke Royal]

Obviously we are conceding too many goals at the moment and our defending at times has been shambolic.

Are we just shit as a defensive unit or is there a particular weak link?

[harry]

Obviously we are conceding too many goals at the moment and our defending at times has been shambolic.

Are we just shit as a defensive unit or is there a particular weak link?

I don't see there is a standout serial offender. Each seems to chip in with their own mistakes. They are all human and will make mistakes. But the mistakes are getting punished while we are failing to punish the opposition at the other end. Each individual mistake adds pressure to the group. So group confidence is fragile.

I don't see much alternative to the Feds, Gunter, Pearce, Hector, Obita combination from within. On paper that is a good combination anyway. It is currently underperforming though.

Inclusion of Akpan might beef up midfield and improve cover. Similarly the wingers need to work on their defensive duties. Defence is responsibility of the whole team, not just the back four and the keeper.

[72 bus]

Pearce and Gunter
Gunter is the most timid right back we have had, totally unable to stop crosses coming in.
Pearce is just slow and flat footed, no amount of coaching will help with that.

[Basingstoke Royal]

Pearce and Gunter
Gunter is the most timid right back we have had, totally unable to stop crosses coming in.
Pearce is just slow and flat footed, no amount of coaching will help with that.

Only just seen the goals from last week and agree that Gunter was at fault for two if not all three.

[Ian Royal]

I don't think it's either.

I think they're all totally without confidence after recent results. Pearce is probably the most reliable but has clear weaknesses in his lack of pace and slight clumsiness at times. Hector is a little bit too confident in his own ability and tends to misjudge things or get a little casual, Gunter has never been a particularly good defender and is just far too timid and Obita is still very much learning the trade in defence so can be weak on the back post and make poor decisions.

Basically, there's just too many weaknesses in the members of the defence. Now that's excusable in Obita and Hector. I also think for all his faults Pearce is the strongest link and it's hard to find a better experienced defender than him for reasonable money. The inexcusable one is the captain, who's got over 250 games experience at this level or higher and is arguably playing the worst of the lot.

The major issue is we have few options with which to change things around for a while. Yes, Adkins has to take partial blame for that. He could have done something when Morrison left. We've needed a left back for ages. But lets not forget his ability to sign players has been severely hampered too. So whilst it's not great from him, it's nowhere near as much his fault as it could be.

[3points]

It is also a factor of having a side set up to attack with a defensively weak midfield and a lack of tracking back from wide players and our No 10 position

[Esteban]

It is also a factor of having a side set up to attack with a defensively weak midfield and a lack of tracking back from wide players and our No 10 position

To be fair to Cox, he does plenty of defending.

There's not enough communication between the back four. Pearce or Gunter at fault for that. Though that's not to blame them entirely, all four have been poor over the past few weeks. I

[Royal Ginger]

I don't even think it's particularly the tracking back. The problem seems to me to be on the overlap. When Kebe was playing and the RB shot past him up the field, he'd hold back and slot quite happily into the RB role. Now, if Gunter gets forward the winger goes with him. When it inevitably breaks down we've got both players in the opposition half and we're always scrambling to get back.

I think Mackie can defend, he just does it too high up the pitch.

[Ginger Ninjas]

I think the OS is trying to explain the problem here: http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article/youngest-back-four-271014-2043772.aspx

[West Stand Man]

My reading of it, for what it is wworth (probably not much, to most) is that the back 4 are all ok as individuals. The hyoe about 'x' not being good enough is all wrong; each of them is ok and certainly up to the standard required at this level. The problem I am seeing is that they just don't gel as a unit. It isn't clear why not, they just don't.

Usually you see a well knit back 4 showing that they are greater than the sum of the individual parts. Oddly, on far too many occasions ours shows itself to be less than the sum of the parts - which is quite hard to achieve.

[Forbury Lion]

Age and experience may be a factor

Royals' back four youngest in the League

Reading's back four is the youngest in the Sky Bet Championship.

Saturday's back line of Obita (20), Hector (22), Gunter and Pearce (both 25) has an average age of 23 years, which is six years younger than the oldest defence in the division.

Three out of Saturday's back four came through the youth system here at Madejski Stadium.

And the other Royals to play at the back for us this season are Jake Cooper (19), Sean Long (19), Sean Morrison (23) and Shaun Cummings (25) so there has been a consistent youthful feel to our defence.

Our youngest starting back four this season was away to Sheff Wed when Jake Cooper played, and we averaged 22.25. At Scunthorpe in the cup we ended the game with an average of 22.

The overall League average defensive age this weekend was 26.38, which means our back four is more than three years away from being a 'normal' defensive age in this division.

In addition, each of our back four is at least a year below the average age of a defender in this division, while Jordan Obita has more than five years to go before he reaches the average age of a defender in this league.

Sky Bet Championship
Defence average age 25.10.14

Reading 23 years
Middlesbrough 23.25
Wolves 23.25
Brentford 23.5
Blackburn 24.5
Fulham 24.75
Cardiff 24.75
Wigan 26
Derby 26.25
Charlton 26.25
Bournemouth 26.75
Ipswich 27
Huddersfield 27
Nottm Forest 27
Leeds 27.25
Sheff Wed 27.25
Watford 27.25
Millwall 27.75
Brighton 27.75
Birmingham 28.25
Bolton 28.25
Blackpool 28.5
Norwich 28.5
Rotherham 29.25

Stats: soccerbase.com and football-lineups.com

Read more at http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article ... 94J7PlC.99

[Ian Royal]

But Maguire said our squad wasn't inexperienced. This can't be right.

[Wycombe Royal]

But Maguire said our squad wasn't inexperienced. This can't be right.

Inexperienced and young are two entirely different things.

You could have an experienced 23 year old and in an inexperienced 29 year old.

[PistolPete]

Struck me on the weekend about how important a few players have been for their teams in their recent success:

Wanyama (Soton)
Matic (Chelsea)
Song (West Ham)

I know the water carrier/anchor man/out-and-out defensive midfielder seems to drift in and out of fashion and there are many factors at play, but Reading do struggle without such a player at the moment. The fact that we concede less with (a player I really don't rate) Akpan in the side speaks volumes.

The thing is, is Karacan it? Is Williams it?

And...if we assume that it's important for us to have such a player, how does the team line up in front of this 'back 6'?

Perhaps Williams-Karacan-Akpan would be the 3 to do the job? The problem is, can we really afford to leave the 2 best passers in Norwood and Guthrie out?

[tidus_mi2]

The defensive midfielder will be Karacan or Williams and I think I'd favour Williams but he's been out for quite a while now so I'm trying to remember correctly his style of play.

Could do a midfield 2 or 3 really, I'd imagine something like:

Norwood - Williams

or

Norwood - Akpan
Williams

And yes I have no problem leaving Guthrie out as he just seems like a poorer version of Norwood right now.

[Ian Royal]

The problem is Akpan just isn't very good, and he's hardly error proof himself. It's not like we didn't concede sloppy goals against Bournemouth with him playing, or Millwall, or Huddersfield.

He's just not the answer and unfortunately with such a young defence an unfit Guthrie or an inexperienced and slightly lightweight Kuhl aren't the answer either. If Williams or Karacan ever get and stay fit it's largely problem solved in that area though.

None of our midfielders are genuinely defensive. Jem is far superior driving forward and keeping it neat, although he' by far the best defensively we have. Williams is similarly box to box, as is Akpan. Guthrie, Norwood and Kuhl are passing lynch pins.

[Ginger Ninjas]

Bring back Ledge!

[3points]

Bring back Ledge!

+1

[SCIAG]

I adore Legs, he's one of my favourite players since Coppell, but there's obviously some fitness issue if he hasn't been picked up by a club yet.

[RoyalAuzzie]

How about we play a central midfield trio in front of the back four of Karacan, Norwood and Williams?
Then have Murray striker with Cox and McCleary wide of him. Therefore we would have 2 players that work hard and break up play in the middle with another playing a "Pirlo" role in Norwood. If we can get the current back 4 into some kind of form with the addition of a few in January maybe this is a recipe for success