by Mr Optimist » 01 Oct 2016 20:50
by wingnut » 01 Oct 2016 20:58
by Jagermesiter1871 » 01 Oct 2016 20:58
Royal GingerJagermesiter1871 Swift was exceptional.
Harriett atrocious. Surprised to see people giving him a rating of 6!
The game - boring until the last 10mins.
What about Swift was exceptional? I'm happy to concede that I may be wrong, but he looked to be almost completely nullified today.
by John Madejski's Wallet » 01 Oct 2016 21:04
wingnut . A consistent issue was that the defensive 5 outfield players were separated by more or less the whole pitch length from the attacking 5 giving virtually no options when the defenders had the ball.
by marlowuk » 01 Oct 2016 21:16
by siforest65 » 01 Oct 2016 21:18
Mr Optimist If we want to make the top six we need to beat bottom feeders like Derby and Rotherham at home. Still a point without playing well.
by Mr Optimist » 01 Oct 2016 21:21
siforest65Mr Optimist If we want to make the top six we need to beat bottom feeders like Derby and Rotherham at home. Still a point without playing well.
Pains me to say it but I do think Derby will end up there or thereabouts at the end of the season.
by siforest65 » 01 Oct 2016 21:25
Mr Optimistsiforest65Mr Optimist If we want to make the top six we need to beat bottom feeders like Derby and Rotherham at home. Still a point without playing well.
Pains me to say it but I do think Derby will end up there or thereabouts at the end of the season.
I know you are right, but couldn't resist taking the piss out of their start to the season after all the cash they've spent!
by Mr Optimist » 01 Oct 2016 21:33
by tidus_mi2 » 01 Oct 2016 21:45
by Basingstoke Royal » 01 Oct 2016 22:03
by siforest65 » 01 Oct 2016 22:08
Basingstoke Royal BBC: "Vydra, bastard Derby ahead".
Did he?
by paultheroyal » 01 Oct 2016 22:29
by CountryRoyal » 02 Oct 2016 08:11
by Ian Herring » 02 Oct 2016 09:02
by WAZZOCK » 02 Oct 2016 09:53
by sandman » 02 Oct 2016 10:19
Ian Herring Couldn't have been more of a contrast to last week's game against Huddersfield. Brentford in midweek was just weird, we didn't look so awful and were picked apart by an attack that buzzes around you like a barber's razor and we got ripped up the anus 4-1. But Derby?
Like someone else here said it was good to see Stam urging the players forward. But that (hopefully) should be being looked at in training, mais non?
Today - especially in the first half - reminded me of the Ipswich game. Too ponderous and slow. And too far back down the pitch. Having said that it looked to me that Derby had had us closely watched and knew what to expect. Even though they were quite dire, they had enough tactical instruction on board to press hard into Reading's defensive set-up. (Similar to Brentford during the week even thought at thirty minutes or so I had been thinking 'lively 0-0...err...not quite correct there'.) Hence the restriction on Swift, in particular, even though when he did show his passing and distribution it was very good.
On the way to this game my thoughts were as they had been over the past few weeks, 'first team to score wins'. So it was good to see the final ten minutes of real, non-systemic football wash Derby away and bring us a point. But up until then the game read like this to me - first half: soporific. First thirty-five minutes of the second: Derby following orders and having a real pop. Luckily, they were not very good. For the goal? Chris Gunter...he is such a weakness really. Yes, he does show occasional flashes of ability - but he is not strong enough to do what he needs to do in that position to give any credence of confidence to the rest of the team. I watched him in the Euros for Wales and couldn't quite believe he was the same Generation Snowflake defender I had often seen play in Reading colours as he put in outstanding performance after outstanding performance for his country. Like someone shouted yesterday as he lost possession for yet another occasion, 'Put a Wales shirt on, Gunter!' He was directly at fault for creating the opportunity for their goal. I actually like 'Gris Cunter' as my mates call him, but I just wish he would toughen up. In a team that is not known for its bucket-load scoring propensity, he is at present a liability. So he has it 'in his locker' as sports mongols say - just wish he could reproduce that potential for us. (Maybe he needs a cuddle. Or a reach-round.)
Then, for ten minutes, we gave an example of what we are capable of. Repeat waves of attacking football where we did not lose our shape, kept possession, and made the opposition look insignificant. The goal was a fair reward for that ten minutes of play. But what would be the goal return if we had, say, four or five periods of play like that during ninety minutes?
However, Stap has done well so far. We're doing okay. But the 'system' also needs 'release clauses' during a game where a key player just says a word (like the old '99' call of the Lions tour to South Africa many moons ago) and we switch from the defence-oriented possession system and go into an attacking mode like in the last ten minutes of yesterday's game. It wouldn't be hard to coach and instil, and it would prevent teams from knowing what was coming next.
Possibly we need better players for that, in some positions, but then that is the art of building a team.
Blackman: Some excellent dogs' abuse merited? Without question. Reading fans have a gentle history of welcoming back old faces with friendliness and applause when the player has left our club for better things on good terms with all. Blackman flattered to deceive at Reading and with his archness when he 'glared' at the crowd, he made sure that any return would be played out as it was yesterday. (C.F. Mark McGhee, et al.) And he was as peripheral, flaky and useless yesterday as when he was with us. Thanks for the cash, Derby.
Anyway, that's my two penneth' worth of bollox from the stands.
Cheers.
by John Madejski's Wallet » 02 Oct 2016 10:43
sandman The reason he looks better for Wales is because Coleman is wise enough to play Gunter further up the pitch and have a third Central Defender to cover for his defensive weaknesses.
by Ian Royal » 02 Oct 2016 11:14
John Madejski's Walletsandman The reason he looks better for Wales is because Coleman is wise enough to play Gunter further up the pitch and have a third Central Defender to cover for his defensive weaknesses.
I think that should be our preferred formation tbh
by Sutekh » 02 Oct 2016 11:22
sandman Having been useless in a Reading shirt last season, Vydra managed to score from a yard out as a result of a free kick given away by the awful Chris Gunter.
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