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[Westwood52]

How has it got to this ?
I think Scott Marshall was naïve in the extreme today in selection, performance and substitution.
That team never had the nous to get any points today.
Yes at times we played some nice bright football right from the off, and we were probably the better footballing team.
But we were like the school third formers playing school boy football against a hard nosed men's team-who knew what to get away with and how to win a game of football.
Yes our football was bright and progressive for much of the game-but and its a big but as with Boro, you have to build this on a defensive core. This was the problem with Clement (who played better football than Stam) & Marshall seems cut from the same cloth. In the situation we are in you have to throw away the play book and just drill the team all week in how to put in a disciplined hard edged , organised defensive performance.

The selection of Loader was a prime example of complete naivety.

IMHO:

Jakkola 5 : He must have seen the strike for the goal from a long way out ? His distribution was again poor, but he had literally nothing to aim at.
Yiadom 5: Reliable & physical enough , with two kids playing alongside him, but boy does he lack finesse and today offered zero threat going forward.
Richards 5: Back in the team & zero improvement. He had his moments going forward and had little protection from Barrow- but he was too often caught out defensively.
Blackett 5: For the majority of the game he played like Rio Ferdinand and yet there were those few moments when he would have a complete brain fade.
Onsu 5: So now we have 5 CBs not able to start a game -yeah thats really brill-our physio team just aren't delivering. TBF, after a poor start, he got better; one really encouraging run was followed by an overhit pass. Obviously very confident. Not sure if hes a CB though-looks a bit short-barely six foot tall ?

Rino 6 : My MOM. He does his job every time I have seen him play. Probably hasn't got a killer pass in him-but if we had ten Rinos with his discipline , determination and professionalism, we wouldn't be in this mess. And this was probably his worst game for us !
Bacuna 5: Gave it everything and kept driving us on, then just like Blackett , he would do something daft.
Loader 4: Hes not ready for this level yet-there is definitely potential there. He should be out on loan somewhere and learn how to get into games and just not rely on the odd flash of brilliance.His selection today was naïve in the extreme.

Now we get to the real downside today:

Barrow 3: Offered himself but even when they didn't gang up on him & he got a one on one-Boro knew exactly how to neutralise him-by not committing themselves. A lot of fault lies with him for the goal-just didn't track back.

Sims & Baldock 0: In this division you cannot carry passengers-with so many experienced players on the bench-I assume none of them can play for more than 20 minutes ? These two did absolutely nothing.

Ref: We have had worse-but didn't have a clue on obstruction and bottled it on the 2nd penalty shout-clear penalty. The first penalty shout was not.


Unless we grow some quickly, we are going to be relegated from a totally crap league.

[BraisingsteakRoyal]

Thought we looked only a couple of signings short of a decent League 1 side tbh.

[3points]

A brave but flawed selection. It was obvious Baldock alone up top was going to be totally ineffective. The youngsters all did well. If Bodvarsson is not fit why was he on the bench?

Jaakkola. 6 ok but his distribution is frustrating
Richards 6 Was targeted in the first half but more comfortable in the second period.
Blackett. 6 Did ok but positioning poor at times
Osho. 7 MoTM Impressive debut. Composed and positive. One iffy moment early one. One great run forward
Yiadom. 6. Usual mix of mostly good but with the occasional hospital pass
Bacuna. 6. Great first half. Terrible second half
Rinomhota 7. Worked tirelessly and showed surprising pace
Loader. 6. Involved in our better moments and unlucky to be subbed
Sims. 5. One good ball through to Baldock but not much else
Barrow 5 The occasional good run but final ball was poor
Baldock. 4. Pointless playing him as a lone striker. Totally ineffective and missed a good chance

Swift. 6. Did ok when he came on
Bodvarsson. Not on long enough
GMac. Not on long enough

Did the referee realise there is something called playing the advantage. Not sure whether the hand balls appeals were decent shouts.
We are very lucky to still be outside the relegation zone with a pitiful 19 points at the halfway stage. We must avoid defeat on Boxing Day.

The Aiden Flint handball incident was as good a shout as you’ll ever get. It was like flapping a chicken wing towards the ball. Deliberate movement towards the ball. Other two you’d feel pretty hard done by if that was a Reading defender

[sandman]

How has it got to this ?
I think Scott Marshall was naïve in the extreme today in selection, performance and substitution.
That team never had the nous to get any points today.
Yes at times we played some nice bright football right from the off, and we were probably the better footballing team.
But we were like the school third formers playing school boy football against a hard nosed men's team-who knew what to get away with and how to win a game of football.
Yes our football was bright and progressive for much of the game-but and its a big but as with Boro, you have to build this on a defensive core. This was the problem with Clement (who played better football than Stam) & Marshall seems cut from the same cloth. In the situation we are in you have to throw away the play book and just drill the team all week in how to put in a disciplined hard edged , organised defensive performance.

The selection of Loader was a prime example of complete naivety.

IMHO:

Jakkola 5 : He must have seen the strike for the goal from a long way out ? His distribution was again poor, but he had literally nothing to aim at.
Yiadom 5: Reliable & physical enough , with two kids playing alongside him, but boy does he lack finesse and today offered zero threat going forward.
Richards 5: Back in the team & zero improvement. He had his moments going forward and had little protection from Barrow- but he was too often caught out defensively.
Blackett 5: For the majority of the game he played like Rio Ferdinand and yet there were those few moments when he would have a complete brain fade.
Onsu 5: So now we have 5 CBs not able to start a game -yeah thats really brill-our physio team just aren't delivering. TBF, after a poor start, he got better; one really encouraging run was followed by an overhit pass. Obviously very confident. Not sure if hes a CB though-looks a bit short-barely six foot tall ?

Rino 6 : My MOM. He does his job every time I have seen him play. Probably hasn't got a killer pass in him-but if we had ten Rinos with his discipline , determination and professionalism, we wouldn't be in this mess. And this was probably his worst game for us !
Bacuna 5: Gave it everything and kept driving us on, then just like Blackett , he would do something daft.
Loader 4: Hes not ready for this level yet-there is definitely potential there. He should be out on loan somewhere and learn how to get into games and just not rely on the odd flash of brilliance.His selection today was naïve in the extreme.

Now we get to the real downside today:

Barrow 3: Offered himself but even when they didn't gang up on him & he got a one on one-Boro knew exactly how to neutralise him-by not committing themselves. A lot of fault lies with him for the goal-just didn't track back.

Sims & Baldock 0: In this division you cannot carry passengers-with so many experienced players on the bench-I assume none of them can play for more than 20 minutes ? These two did absolutely nothing.

Ref: We have had worse-but didn't have a clue on obstruction and bottled it on the 2nd penalty shout-clear penalty. The first penalty shout was not.


Unless we grow some quickly, we are going to be relegated from a totally crap league.

Loader needs a target man to play off not Sam shitty Baldock. Give him someone like Meite, who people on here also wrote off a few short months ago and he'll be fine.

[Zip]

I thought Loader was fine. He put Sims into space early on which led to Baldock’s chance. He also put a decent through ball for Baldock who couldn’t finish it off. He worked very hard to close down our opponents and also won some free kicks. He really did ok.

I would prefer to see Harriott given a chance over Sims who is a busy player but a busy player going nowhere.

[Singing Defective]

How long did the ball spend in the air? Was everyone in red a foot taller than the Reading oppo?
Really thought that ball 3 ft out in the 94th was going to be the equaliser. Maybe we ought to wear green to get the rub of it.

[BR0B0T]

United have just battered Cardiff 5-1...just to make you all feel better

#merryXmas

[strap]

Thought we were appalling in the 1st half. In the 2nd half up until they scored we looked ok, then conceded and went back to looking terrible again.

Er, we didn't have a shot on target the entire 2nd half. HTH.

[AthleticoSpizz]

United have just battered Cardiff 5-1...just to make you all feel better

#merryXmas

well done Jose

[West Stand Man]

Enjoyable performance despite the loss. The academy lads are testament to the poor recruitment policy in recent years. At least the team as a whole today played with a real spirit and tenacity. Full of character. Blackett has looked a different player in recent weeks. Lacked a target man upfront i.e. Meite.

Nothing though to suggest relegation isn't a real possibility now. Lack of experience and quality in the squad aren't gong to be resolved in the next 12 weeks. .

I also enjoyed the game, just not the result.

This was my first visit to Reading since the Burton game last Christmas. I have sworn not to waste my money on the long trip from the Cotswolds until there is something worth watching. There was more entertainment in the first 10 minutes of this game than the whole of the Burton game. I suspect that some of you have become so used to the crap that you are predetermined to judge it all as crap.

Jaakola seems to be shaping up as a pretty decent Championship keeper. A solid shot stopper and reasonable on the ball.
Yiadom will be what we want, once he gets the support he should do down the right hand side. Blackett was MoM today by a country mile, his risk taking nearly always came off and his anticipated errors didn't materialise. Osho had, possibly, one of the best debuts any Academy player has had. Richards did well too, it is good to have a left back in the left back position.

Not over impressed with Sims. He wasn't helped by being sent high balls to cope with while being the shortest player on the pitch. Rinomhota looks class, hard working, strong on the ball and picks a decent pass. Barrow had the full backs running scared but had absolutely nothing to aim for in the middle. Bacuna was ok too, nothing outstanding but gave his all.

Loader struggled a bit and was more of an attacking midfielder than a forward. Baldock made some excellent runs into spaces in the penalty area but otherwise added little.

As to the comment at the start of the thread saying that Boro played 10-0-1, that is so wrong. Even at 1-0 up they had 3 up front and were pressing. That said, I thought they were pretty average overall and were there for the taking. But for a moment of madness on the left, when 2 players went to close down one isolated Boro player leaving a gap the size of Hampshire behind them, we were worth at least one point. Sadly that moment happened though!

If I were the incoming manager I would be reasonably confident that I had a good collection of individuals. My concern would be why those individuals are not bonding into a unit. I might also want to get a target man to augment Meite and give an outlet up front. There are 23 games to go, get it right and we settle mid table. Get it wrong and we are in League 1 next season.

[Winston Biscuit]

Thought we were appalling in the 1st half. In the 2nd half up until they scored we looked ok, then conceded and went back to looking terrible again.

Er, we didn't have a shot on target the entire 2nd half. HTH.

I hadn't even suggested we had

[Hound]

Thought we were appalling in the 1st half. In the 2nd half up until they scored we looked ok, then conceded and went back to looking terrible again.

Er, we didn't have a shot on target the entire 2nd half. HTH.

I hadn't even suggested we had

It’s bollox anyway. What about the handball shout?

[Dick Habbin's hairdo]

The Aiden Flint handball incident was as good a shout as you’ll ever get. It was like flapping a chicken wing towards the ball. Deliberate movement towards the ball. Other two you’d feel pretty hard done by if that was a Reading defender

From the top of the ED, the first shout was a bit of desperation but the second one on the left had side of the pen spot was absolutely stonewall (until replays prove otherwise.)

Defender knew he'd been caught square on and short, and he literally flapped both arms out not knowing which side the ball was going to go..... the ref was side on on the right hand side of the box so had no view and yet he very theatrically waved it away.

[windermereROYAL]

Thought we were appalling in the 1st half. In the 2nd half up until they scored we looked ok, then conceded and went back to looking terrible again.

Er, we didn't have a shot on target the entire 2nd half. HTH.

I hadn't even suggested we had

Boro keeper made a save down by his post in 2nd half.

[Lower West]

How has it got to this ?
I think Scott Marshall was naïve in the extreme today in selection, performance and substitution.
That team never had the nous to get any points today.

Who should have played then ? From those fully fit and available for selection.

As for getting to this point. It's the result of constantly aiming for the moon and getting the recruitment policy wrong. Over and over again.

[Zip]

The Aiden Flint handball incident was as good a shout as you’ll ever get. It was like flapping a chicken wing towards the ball. Deliberate movement towards the ball. Other two you’d feel pretty hard done by if that was a Reading defender

From the top of the ED, the first shout was a bit of desperation but the second one on the left had side of the pen spot was absolutely stonewall (until replays prove otherwise.)

Defender knew he'd been caught square on and short, and he literally flapped both arms out not knowing which side the ball was going to go..... the ref was side on on the right hand side of the box so had no view and yet he very theatrically waved it away.

I’m in row GG in the ED so near the top but when these things happen so quickly I have no idea whether it was an obvious handball. As is so often the case when you are struggling the breaks just don’t go your way.

[Zip]

How has it got to this ?
I think Scott Marshall was naïve in the extreme today in selection, performance and substitution.
That team never had the nous to get any points today.

Who should have played then ? From those fully fit and available for selection.

As for getting to this point. It's the result of constantly aiming for the moon and getting the recruitment policy wrong. Over and over again.

I think Bod should have come on after sixty minutes. If he was only fit enough to play for the final five minutes he should not have been in the squad. I was ok with the rest of the team selection.

[URZZZZ]

Front four were all cack today, Loader unsurprisingly still isn't ready after a shocker vs Sheffield and why we dropped Swift after his best performance of the season for Marshall's mate was a shocking decision. As I said last week, Sims simply isn't good enough and I've had enough of watching Mo "I can't cross" Barrow. In addition, completely his fault for the goal, sooner we get rid of him, the better. Clueless people are still defending him because he put about 5 good performances in last season. Baldock shouldn't have been used

Jaakkola - 5

Yiadom - 5
Osho - 6
Blackett - 8
Richards -5

Bacuna -6
Rinomhota - 6

Sims - 3
Loader - 3
Barrow - 3

Baldock - 3

Subs were too late once again, replacing Clement with this clown for three games has been an absolute disaster

[Hound]

Team selection was poor. The front 4 were way too similar and Marshall left it way too late to change it

Thought Barrow did ok. Think it’s just a case of the latest scapegoat. He was behind most of our better situations. Baldock worked exceptionally hard and made some good runs, but it’s madness playing him up front on his own. Sims was very poor

The academy lads all played well but too many inexperienced players altogether

We needed the clear out of the coaching which has happened. After today, actually looking forward to seeing what Gomes and go can bring

[RoyalBlue]

Enjoyable performance despite the loss. The academy lads are testament to the poor recruitment policy in recent years. At least the team as a whole today played with a real spirit and tenacity. Full of character. Blackett has looked a different player in recent weeks. Lacked a target man upfront i.e. Meite.

Nothing though to suggest relegation isn't a real possibility now. Lack of experience and quality in the squad aren't gong to be resolved in the next 12 weeks. .

I also enjoyed the game, just not the result.

This was my first visit to Reading since the Burton game last Christmas. I have sworn not to waste my money on the long trip from the Cotswolds until there is something worth watching. There was more entertainment in the first 10 minutes of this game than the whole of the Burton game. I suspect that some of you have become so used to the crap that you are predetermined to judge it all as crap.

Jaakola seems to be shaping up as a pretty decent Championship keeper. A solid shot stopper and reasonable on the ball.
.

He is a nervous wreck on the ball and, once again, the opposition quickly spotted it and started shutting down the short passes out from the back. He's not even great with his drop kicks which frequently go out of play if he's trying to hit a wide man.