BFTG - Ipswich home

[West Stand Man]

Kermogant is class. I don't get all the negativity. He won every single header and led the line superbly. He just needs for the wingers to get more involved in and around the box to help him imo.

Amen to that.

[NewCorkSeth]

Both of ours were nailed on penalties! Good reffing imo

[West Stand Man]

Ipswich had no more chances than we did in the second half though !

Still amazed that people are saying Blackett looked solid.

The passing is not aimless. There were two instances last night where we got utterly stuck with no outlet. There were many more where we played the ball around and suddenly things opened up and we moved forward. There were also a couple where we gave up, hit the ball long and found it coming right back at us. Moore knows how to play this way and if he can educate Mc Shane and we get Swift back in the side (and decide which of Obita and Blackett is less of a risk at left back ) it will click. But it's still new, and if teams are sushi get us you wonder why they aren't beating us....

I'm with you on Blackett
It's the first time I have seen him but seriously unimpressed
Slow, disinterested (or maybe feels he is too good for this) and out muscled several times.
Gave away a couple of corners unnecessarily and of course a penalty

Obita looked much sharper in his few minutes of action

I'd go with Obita every time, based on last night anyway

Blackett needs game time and it was right to sub him. However it is clear that he is a left back, a proper left back and his composure on the ball (in defence particularly) is something we have been missing. I can see him and Obita fighting for that slot, with Jordan being favoured when we need a wing back and Blackett when we need some muscle in defence.

[West Stand Man]

Both of ours were nailed on penalties! Good reffing imo

It was good reffing, as was their penalty. The moment Blacket flattened their man I was looking to the referee expecting a pen to be awarded. With hindsight he didn't need to shove him over as the cross was going to elude him anyway but in the heat of the contact it is easy to see why he might have felt the need to make sure his man couldn't get head on ball.

[sandman]

Stam doesn't rate Samuel or most of our young players for that matter. That's why a lot of them want out.

Although that is not what Stam himself says....

Really? Because I sat in a room with Stam not too long ago where he criticised Samuel's performance against Bristol Rovers and his performances before he got injured pre-season.

Even the ones he has given a chance to, like Watson and Kelly, he's kept at arms length.

No Academy Graduates starting in the last two games.

[sandman]

Reading need to watch the goal Man City have just scored. They had to go long so they did, Stam would have told them to go back to the keeper.

In fact, just the way they are currently playing. They go back to the keeper if they have to, not automatically, and if the keeper gets it he waves his team forwards. If Al Habsi waved our team forward he would get told off by the manager.

[Ian Royal]

I was worried Blackett was off when the pen was awarded. If a shove in the back to stop you heading a cross at the far post is a foul but not a clear goalscoring opportunity, I'm confused.

As for Blackett's general performance he looked a sttonger defender than Jordan, with a better temperament and plenty of desire going forward. Some really special lapses of quality, judgement or concentration, but if he can iron them out (he's had 2 games, Jordan's had 2-3 seasons) he'll be the better left back IMO.

On the passing, the key is familiarity. The more thry play it the better they'll get at deciding when to persist and when to relieve pressure. And the better they'll all know when to move and where.

This system really needs 2-4 people making a move for every passing opportunity. At present we have 0-2. Swift shows huge promise there and should be back in midfield asap. Williams is a conundrum as he drives us forward, but his control and passing are not crisp enough and he runs into too many blind allies. Evans has potential. Frankly I think we really miss Norwood. Him and VDB would provide the midfield link and passing quality, whilst being solid defensively, to get the best out the side and particularly Swift.

We need goals from midfield because Kermie won't score many, well as he is playing. That means Swift, Beerens, McCleary and Harriott have to regularly chip in.

[OLLIE KEARNS]

Kermogant is class. I don't get all the negativity. He won every single header and led the line superbly. He just needs for the wingers to get more involved in and around the box to help him imo.

Agree. I thought he was excellent last night. I counted at least 10 headers that he not only won but directed back into a dangerous area either in the box or for a winger to come inside to become the second striker. Those who think he was poor should take a much closer look at Williams, Evans, McCleary and Beerens (MOM award was ridiculous) who collectively failed to take advantage of his good work. The two wingers especially in that they constantly fail to come inside to become the second striker. I don't see may goals coming from open play if those two are in our front three. On another night we'd be lording Kermorgant for having set up two or three goals and scored one himself had Beerens executed the most simple of passes.
The one player who will get on the end of things is Swift so lets hope his hamstring issue is behind him and he starts on Tuesday. I'm also looking forward to Harriott getting a go in due course as he looks like he has goals in him.

[sandman]

Bravo receiving the ball outside his 18 yard box, Al Habsi doesn't even receive it outside his 6 yard box.

[Saaaaaaaammmmmm]

I've banged the Liam Kelly drum a lot this season, but genuinely think he'd make a huge difference to this team based on his showings in pre-season and vs MK Dons before Cooper clattered him. Is he still injured from that?

He's stood out for me as he's just so much quicker and more alert than Evans. Kelly zips around the place constantly offering himself to whichever centre-back has the ball, then when he receives it he quickly shifts it to a winger or finds another option with his range of passing.

Evans is too slow and doesn't find space often enough. People were getting frustrated but McShane and Moore had no one to pass to for most of that match and were having to dangerously play triangles with Al-Habsi. Evans needs to find space and demand the ball, he's a talented player but isn't doing enough that benefits this team. We looked better with Quinn on but not sure he can play that role. Hopefully Kelly can find his way back into the first team after being talked up so highly in pre-season, not sure what type of player Weiser is or if he'd be an option.

I like Moore, offers something different at centre-back with genuine footballing ability and agility. He's still only 23, and works pretty well when partnered with a more traditional centre-half like McShane and hopefully one day Cooper.

Been questioning Kermorgant since he joined, but he was actually really impressive tonight. He's unfortunate that despite being so good in the air he's not going to receive many balls in that direction in this system, can see why McDermott signed him as he'd have been perfect under a long-ball 4-4-2 style.

Swift is such a good player, what a fantastic signing he's going to be. Even in the little time he was on the pitch today he looked a cut-above. With all the discussion around Chelsea stockpiling young players and abusing the loan system you've got to give him credit for rejecting a contract there, otherwise he'd just be one of the 30 or so out on loan at a temporary home with little hope of breaking into their first team. He will benefit hugely from being a regular here I feel.

Hard to be too critical with a win that puts us up to third, but replace Evans with Kelly and possibly Williams (still don't rate him) with Quinn or Swift depending on the formation then you've got a pretty decent team. There's competition for places, the players we've signed seem genuinely likeable (VDB and Beerens already becoming fan favourites), and if anyone watched Stam's very extensive interview/analysis on Sky after the game then it's clear that there's a lot to be positive about with him in charge.

Yes the system is a bit heart-in-mouth at times, but when playing high-possession football it does very rarely look as if the opposition are going to score unless we gift it to them. The goals we've conceded this season have all pretty much come from individual errors (including Blackett's debatable push last night), cut those out and we will be hard to beat

[CountryRoyal]

Good post ^^

Our biggest problem is going forward. As I and others have been bleating on about since Newcastle it's very hard to keep possession when going forward when there is so little movement off the ball. Players need to drop in short, come in and out and make runs for the team. It's too static and pedestrian and it's so easy to defend against. Too often the closest outlet to the ball carrier is 10 feet away, surrounded by 3 players and standing near enough completely still. It's not acceptable and won't yield consistent results but for the life of me I can't imagine why they are doing this. Surely they aren't being coached to not move?! If not then it's either a lack of willingness or uncertainty about what to do but it's clear to everyone what's necessary.

I don't think our midfield help and I would much rather see Quinn and Swift start with VDB (who has to be just about the first name on the team sheet for me). Williams and Evans don't offer enough going forward, at least the way they're currently playing. Said it time and time again but Williams' energy and drive doesn't warrant a starting place. Too many times he runs into danger and loses the ball. Evans is fairly anonymous and we can't afford to carry people.

It's not just the midfield though, the front 3 need to do more as well. Yes we have had a good start but 70% of our goals in all competitions (not including the new JP) have come from set pieces (7/10) and to think that we can continue picking up consistently good results like this is delusional.

That being said it's also delusional to expect us to play like Real Madrid which is what some of our more ignorant fans might think when they go around shouting forwards and booing in the first half. It's going to take time but it's frustrsting that we would be so much better with just a little bit more directed effort, and willingness to show for it, make runs, and give the ball carrier options.

[Linden Jones' Tash]

Frustrated again with the lack of movement in attacking areas. All the play is too static and played in front of their defence, we need to play with a bit more tempo, have players dropping short, running in behind. Everything we did came from the flanks to little avail. Our set piece delivery was pretty woeful as well.

Think Moore is brilliant and started off a lot of our attacks by him carrying the ball out of defence - something that lacked before him. Thought everyone did ok but Williams, goal aside, was poor for me. Offers energy but has ZERO footballing brain. Constantly runs into danger and loses the ball, would much rather see Quinn and Swift start either side of VDB. Whilst a draw probably would have been a fair result very happy with the win and still unbeaten at home.

This is how I saw the game.

Thanks

[Ian Royal]

On the subject of Kelly vs Evans - I'd just chuck in that the reason Kelly looks so comfortable with the approach we're adopting, is that he's been playing it for 5-10 years in the academy. I'm not convinced by Evans, but he's definitely got potential and will get better with games and familiarity with the system. I'm equally unconvinced by the idea that (an incredibly talented) young hobbit with minimal senior competitive experience could step up to become a reliably fixture of the first team.

I want to see Kelly get games, but I'd prefer to see him eased in gently and slowly.

Agree with CR that at present VDB, Swift, Quinn looks our best combination in midfield.

[NewCorkSeth]

Both of ours were nailed on penalties! Good reffing imo

It was good reffing, as was their penalty. The moment Blacket flattened their man I was looking to the referee expecting a pen to be awarded. With hindsight he didn't need to shove him over as the cross was going to elude him anyway but in the heat of the contact it is easy to see why he might have felt the need to make sure his man couldn't get head on ball.

I cant find any multi-angle views on the Tyler Blackett foul which is a shame as its hard to see the contact in the angle on the highlights. It looks like a foul for sure but would have been nice to see the contact close up.

Al-Habsi seemed to have it completely covered too

@IanRoyal I guess from the refs position it looked a bit soft for a red? I guess it is technically a clear goalscoring position so to the letter of the law I guess it should have been red..

[Ian Herring]

First visit to the Spakker Dome this season.

An improvement.

More cohesive. Still a work in progress in its infancy but a collection of players who mainly appear to be purposeful.

Not sure about the constant passing about at the back as against better opponents than Ipswich it has the potential to go badly wrong.

Up front? Needs to be sharper and more hard-headed - but several good chances made from a mix of approach play which I liked.

There were some really good little incidences of rapid passing that suddenly put Ipswich players out of position and opened up space for a Reading attack.

All of it is certainly better than the insipid, weak, lacklustre rubbish that was offered up last season.

Special word for Swift. What a fantastic signing. He bossed it when he came on and looks to have the character and skill the team needs to flourish.Strangely when I watched him on loan at Brentford a few times over the past couple of years the Griffin Park faithful thought he was a bit of a luxury and/or a weak link. Last night, even in the brief few moments he was on the pitch, he looked far superior to what I'd seen before.

It's been a miserable time watching the Royals these past few seasons. Good to see some kind of stirring in the loins.

PS. Ref was fucking useless.

[Sutekh]

Plan A is apparently to pass the ball around and keep possession
Plan B is to hit the ball at Kermorgant and try to win the second ball

Going to be a long season.....

[3points]

Tbf its pretty much only me who was impressed by blackett.

And tbf I just meant his clearly good technique, and strength on the ball.
Obvs there are areas that arent so good. Otherwise he wouldnt be at reading

in agreement - thought first half he looked good. very composed, strong. Much more of a defensive type of player than Obita though so it could be a horses for courses choice between the two

[3points]

I do understand the boos/jeers because at times it can be quite frustrating to watch, but it's totally counterproductive at the end of the day - the players need to feel relaxed and like we are on their side - not the opposite. And given that 80% of the time we hit it long last night we ended up losing the ball anyway I'd say the constant cries for us to do just that are a little bit

this

[3points]

Both of ours were nailed on penalties! Good reffing imo

It was good reffing, as was their penalty. The moment Blacket flattened their man I was looking to the referee expecting a pen to be awarded. With hindsight he didn't need to shove him over as the cross was going to elude him anyway but in the heat of the contact it is easy to see why he might have felt the need to make sure his man couldn't get head on ball.

having watched the replay I wouldn't exactly say it was a shove on Pitman. If it is a foul, then it definitely isn't a yellow card as there's no way Pitman would have reached it and scored anyway.

While I thought Evans was pretty quiet, we did seem to lose our shape and forward options after he went off. In the first half he made a lot of moves which dragged a defender with him, creating space behind him for Beerens and Blackett down the left. Whereas Quinn is always looking to run beyond the striker (which Williams should be doing more often). I think Evans is a very tidy footballer, but needs to impose himself on the game more.

[3points]

Plan A is apparently to pass the ball around and keep possession
Plan B is to hit the ball at Kermorgant and try to win the second ball

Going to be a long season.....

so what do you want to see then given the players we have?