Back From The Game - Wigan

[blueroyals]

Hoof hoof hoof hoof

If the manager is telling them to do it then sack him

If the players are so shit they can only hoof then massive clear out in the summer needed


Simple

[SCIAG]

The first half was oxf*rd dreadful.

The start of the second half was pretty good.

After the injury, we reverted to oxf*rd dreadful.

It's particularly embarrassing that Wigan's forwards looked totally out of their depth. Our players were unable to play as a team; Wigan were a collection of dreadful individuals but tactically outclassed us. Our wingers stayed too narrow, they packed the middle. Game over.

Referee made a few dreadful calls, particularly Pearce's booking, but he clamped down on the time wasting and didn't fall for some of our antics. Probably the best performer on the pitch (might be a bit harsh on some of Wigan's defenders).

Ratings:
Federici 6 - flapped a bit for the goal, good pass to Cox that Al-Habsi just got to
Kelly 3 - some decent overlaps
Pearce 4 - some good defending at times
Chalobah 1 - gains a point for touching the ball a few times
Obita 2.5 - some good overlapping and one good delivery
Norwood 0.5 - what has happened to him? Wonder whether signing Chalobah shattered his confidence. Terrible again today.
Williams 5 - reminder that a 5 is a terrible score normally
McCleary 2 - some good dribbling
HRK 0 - honestly, we would have been no worse without him
Cox 5 - some good movement. Some poor passing.
Pog 5 - didn't win enough. Isolated.

Subs:
Yakubu 1.5 - better than Chalobah, not as good as McCleary
Akpan 4 - ran around a bit. One of his best matches for us.
Blackman 0 - see HRK

[marlowuk]

Of course HNA is well known for its extreme reactions! One half-decent performance and the team are world-beaters; one under-par performance and it is the worst Reading have ever played! As one who tries to avoid such extremes I just want to say that this was definitely the worst Reading performance I have ever seen!! Wigan were dire and are doomed for relegation but they deserved to win tonight!

We were absolutely dreadful - an embarrassment! Worst than anything I ever saw in the Adkins reign. No quality; no urgency; second to every ball; schoolboy errors; and no passion! There is no point in commenting on individual performances because none deserve any credit. If Steve Clarke didn't give them a rocket at half time he should have done. And if he did give them a rocket then it had a negative effect!! The only good thing is that he has admitted his team were rubbish. Now let's see what he can do about it!

[Carlos]

Looking forward to this team being broken up and starting from scratch in the summer. If we can at least scrape survival then have a major overhaul and try to play better football.

Today was terrible, I do wonder what Clarke's game plan was, because I could see no evidence of any tactics. Pearce was terrible as he has been for 199 other games.

[Caversham Royal]

At least the manager isn't trying to take the positives out of it...

Speaking brutally honestly to the press, Clarke said, "We deserved to lose. It was rubbish.

"A little bit of me is embarrassed to be coach of a team that plays like that, especially first half. Not a good game, not a good performance and obviously a terrible result.
Read more at http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article ... 7tVsoWM.99

Just had a nose at the above interview via the link. I think the manager's reaction is the one & only +ve I can just about take from this evening, at least he seemed mostly prepared to admit how poor it all was. But as he also says he has to do something about it so he needs to turn those words into giving that useless bunch a good kick up the arse & get them knuckling down to help him ensure that utterly woeful shite isn't repeated. I noted that he talked about finding a different approach, well anything would be better than the inept, clueless & downright ugly style of play Reading degenerated into for the last third or so of the game.
It was truly, truly dreadful to watch and made all the worse by how poor a side Wigan themselves were. When Reading actually put their defence under any kind sustained pressure this evening they looked extremely shaky to say the least & almost there for the taking in a way. A lot of the time you could see how they've found themselves second from bottom. And yet, as with Leeds, they still somehow managed to be too good for Reading!
These last two home games should have brought a return of at least 4pts, if not all 6 but instead this squad seems to be in danger of a slide towards the bottom 3 worryingly reminiscent of the last time we were relegated from this level

[Ian Royal]

Steve Clarke's comments are a little reassuring, at least he can acknowledge how diabolical that was (something Adkins struggled to do)

I don't really care if the manager acknowledges it to the media, I want them to do something about it.

[RoyalBlue]

Why was only a little bit of Clarke 'embarrassed'? Was he not also embarrassed that for the second home game in succession he scewed up his selection/formation/tactics and threw three points away? It is not only the players who have to substantially up their performance. Simply not good enough from the groundsman right up to the chairman and owners.

[Z175]

Phil Parkinson was at the game, sitting a few rows away from me. I'm sure he was rubbing his hands with glee at full time - I, on the other hand, had buggered off home in the 85th minute.

You missed the final 16 mins. Lucky sod!

[bobby1413]

You can all criticise SC tactics, formation and selection.

However it comes down to basic player traits and performance.

You could out 11 goal keepers on the pitch and if they're really up for it, fighting each ball, pushing forward then they will at least put on a show.

From what Ive heard the players lacked any sort of quality, desire, guts, energy and intensity.

Players play. It's what their paid for. IT shouldn't matter who is in charge. Who else plays or who they are playing against. They should be up for the game.

[Z175]

Of course HNA is well known for its extreme reactions! One half-decent performance and the team are world-beaters; one under-par performance and it is the worst Reading have ever played! As one who tries to avoid such extremes I just want to say that this was definitely the worst Reading performance I have ever seen!!

+1!
the only time in my life I have agreed with every single comment on a back from the game thread. Anyone who didn't see either of the last two games, we were seriously good v Derby and tonight was the worst performance in years!

[Rea Ding]

Regretting buying Ipswich tickets now...

[Big Tim]

Goes to show how bad we really are when the highlight is McCleary going off mid game for a piss. Should have pissed on the pitch, at least we know a song about that !

[Jackson Corner]

Lost for words. I could not believe we could play as badly as we did against Leeds but we managed it. Forget the cup this had a relegation team all over it.

[RoyalBlue]

It would seem that far too many of our players lack motivation when it comes to what they perceive as 'ordinary' league games. Adkins struggled to change this mindset and it would seem that Clarke isn't doing much better.

The problem is that I suspect the players feel there is no chance of promotion and little prospect of relegation. However, later this season when they see the relegation trap door looming large under their feet, they will freeze and be unable to respond in the required manner.

For that reason, relegation is a very real risk.

[Irvinchangeyaname]

Regretting buying Ipswich tickets now...

.....regretting buying Huddersfield tickets now...!

[Warfield North Stand]

Can't remember the last time we played that badly. It made last week look promising.
Also, LOL at the Facebook mongs on the Reading FC Official page. If you are going to boo then stay at home, the reason the team played so badly is the fans, back the boys blah, blah, blah all said by people with names like "Sue Reading FC" and the like. Retards.

[Simon's Church]

When Clarke was hired a few people pointed out that after a good start at wba carrying ôn hodgsons work he basically lost the plot and was clueless as to how to turn the performances round. Is that what we're seeing here?

Frank Mcparland may well be available

[The Real Sandhurst Royal]

Well that was dire.

I have come to the conclusion that the Reading players don't like to turn up to play football on cold Tuesday nights in February at home they prefer to be at home by the fire keeping warm.

Was there a plus out the game no,they were all as bad as each other.

[floyd__streete]

Chriiiiiiiiist.

I blagged a free ticket for the second successive Tuesday. When I saw the starting line up I stuck some money on a Wigan win. So I made a profit on the evening. Yet I still came away feeling cheating.

Have we improved under Clarke? We're not conceding 3 goals every other week but the PPG is 1.2 under SC as opposed to 1.19 before he joined. Tactically, laughable. Chalobah at centre half with Cooper on the bench? Dreadful. Last 20 minutes with Pog playing deep with Yakubu up top? LO-f*cking-L. We actually had our best spell of the game immediately before then, removing HRK for Blackman and Cox for Yakubu totally rid us of what little momentum we'd built up.

11 minutes of injury time and - what - one shot on goal in that time chasing the game at home in a 'mustn't lose' game?

Thanks also to Federici for some ludicrous and needless fart-@rsing about which almost cost us a goal, cost us a corner.....which he subsequently flapped at and we're 1-0 down. Plenty of people get eggy if anyone has the temerity to criticise this keeper as if he's the Antipodean Yashin rather than a moderate 'keeper for whom a match-losing mistake is never very far away. Pulls off a couple of saves in a game - as if most goalkeepers at every level aren't required to do so in most matches - and some of you are queuing up to pull him off, well he lost us the game last night.

A couple of cup wins against moderate Championship opposition and then Derby's reserve team is just papering over the gaping cracks.

[winchester_royal]

I think the issue here really is that we're just set up much better to play away from home. Keep it narrow, night, and then hit them on the counter. It's led to some of these best RFC performances I've seen in years at the likes of Wolves and Derby, but it doesn't work at home when teams come to sit deep and slow it down.

Its good to see Clarke recognises that he needs to find a different way of playing at home because if he doesn't we'll be driving away fans by the thousands.

No need to change anything for the next couple of away games though.