BFTG Leeds

[URZZZZ]

Predictable scoreline, could sense that although Leeds weren't creating anything, they were gonna get one chance and one goal. Just like last season, it's only against us they score their chance

Feel Bowen, whilst set us up well, is at fault. Possession of the ball was sloppy other than Ejaria and they were increasingly getting behind the lines. Boye for Puscas should have been done 10 minutes before with Pele for Swift also

Rafael 6 - didn't have anything to do apart from one Dallas shot and pick the ball out of his goal

Gunter 8 - nicely played, maintained a decent pressure on Harrison and kept the ball well. No doubt some flids will blame him for the goal
Miazga 8- solid
Morrison 8
Moore 8
Richards 5 - could have been sent off, some really poor decisions on the ball but defended OK

Rino 7 - as usual, the engine of the game, but his positioning as the holding midfielder is too suspect for me against a team like Leeds and I think he could have done better with the goal. Will have to watch again though
Swift 5 - off night for Swift but tried throughout. Some awful set pieces
Ejaria 7 - as usual some silky play but once again some poor choices in the final third which is really holding him back from developing as a player

Meite 6 - he isn't the required standard but doing the work for two people never helps. Held it up well at times, some woeful plays at times, but as usual seems better drifting out to the right where his touches can be heavier
Puscas 3 - hopeless. Didn't show for the ball, put no pressure on the Leeds defence, couldn't control the ball when he got it and on the rare occasion he found himself in space, he took thirty years to move it on. He has to be dropped for Wigan now

Boye 6 - lively and should have come on at least 10 minutes earlier for Puscas. Sloppy for the goal but when the ball is all the way on the other side of the pitch, you can't just blame him
Loader N/A - touched the ball five times. Lost the ball five times. Stop thinking you're better than you are you arrogant waster and start to actually look interested in the game

Bowen 5 - set the team up well in the first half but should have gone for it more in the second and some terrible timing/choice of subs. Pele for the tiring Swift and possibly Blackett for Richards who was on a tightrope red card probably could have been better calls
Leeds 6- Ben White is a cracking young player, oozes control back there and you can see why they don't concede many. Offensively, they lacked a killer instinct but you could always sense a winner coming from them. Good use of subs from Bielsa, Alioski changed the game while we changed nothing

Next six games are winnable. Wigan, Barnsley and Stoke away. Birmingham, Derby, QPR at home. Got to be looking at minimum 10 points there IMO

One more thing, I thought Club1871 was very good tonight and I could hear them more than I could hear the Leeds fans at most points during the game

Edit: People on Twitter are criticising Gunter for the winner. Dear me

[FiNeRaIn]

Same old. There has been no belief in any Reading team for years now. As soon as Leeds scored I switched the stream off because we could have kept playing for hours and never equalised. Leeds weren't even that impressive to be honest, they looked good at the back but created very little and it would have been 0-0 if it wasn't for a fluke deflection. We always seem to concede those types of goals the last five years.

Decent defense, did well enough for long periods with Ejaria a class above anyone on the pitch in midfield - Gunter very good also. Unfortunately, it's all for nothing again as we have no creativity ( mostly based on abysmal movement up front) or belief, and we never get the rub of the green. The commentators talking about us having playoff ambitions, we are MILES below the quality required to even be in that conversation and another relegation battle is more likely.

Bigger concern is we yet again wasted a huge amount of money on bad loans and bad signings, what has happened to our player recruitment? Puscas is absolutely Vydra all over again, but probably with worse movement. He reminds me of that tattooed eastern European guy we signed a few years ago that couldn't hit a barn door. He works hard but very little quality and frankly laughable for the fee we paid for him. Meite is another trier with not much quality, we are not going to win games without a forward line that scares the opposition and takes chances.

Reading are a depressing club these days. We get a few wins under the belt to look like we've turned a corner, then they go and find ways to lose and create absolutely nothing in the process going on a run of defeats. I thought the Reading fans were decent on TV tonight though.

[Westwood52]

God have we seen this before.
We desperately hang on;then three errors,three points gone.
Boye can’t b arsed,Richards can’t stop the cross and the Leeds player busts a gut,with Rino not realising the danger.

Rafael 6 weak punches and one pass out put us in trouble.
Gunter 7 Back to his best,looking for a new contract ? Only one cross though ?
Richards 4 In trouble throughout,should have been hooked.Nothing going forward.
Miazga 5 Looked awkward.
Morrison 6 Can’t play a forward pass
Moore 6 Some horrible skanks,but looked comfortable going forward.
Rino 6 Got caught out at the end,and not enough quality.
Ejaria 8 Perhaps a bit too much Hollywood at times
Swift 6 Couldn’t shine but always a fulcrum.Those terrible corners reduced his rating.
Puskas 3 Total non event.What a waste of money.
Meite 6 Lack of quality,but gave a 100%

Boye Dear god ,call himself a pro ? Should have taken one for the team
Loader Out of his depth

Actually the Ref was pretty good,despite his rep.What happened with Rino getting clobbered.

Leeds Not that great really,but at least everybody gives their best for as long as it takes

[Old Man Andrews]

Classic Westwood.......

[Bristol Paul]

Classic Westwood.......

Classic OMA

[Norfolk Royal]

Thought we defended well for the most part, poor for the goal. Where we were lacking was up front. Puscas was not really there and in the circs I thought Bowen should have played Meite hard up against their centre halves with McLeary in the hole. We lacked Barrow style width as well.

[windermereROYAL]

First half did well, 2nd half Leeds upped it, no doubt the better team won, but we can feel a bit hard done by to lose it so late, couldn`t fault the effort, Swifts set pieces were bloody awful but it was ironic that one of his better ones led to the goal.
To give Miete more points than Puscas , Westwood you really are a dick.

[Old Man Andrews]

Classic Westwood.......

Classic OMA

Because we need 3 threads talking about the same game? Westwood does this every week.

Grow up.

[URZZZZ]

First half did well, 2nd half Leeds upped it, no doubt the better team won, but we can feel a bit hard done by to lose it so late, couldn`t fault the effort, Swifts set pieces were bloody awful but it was ironic that one of his better ones led to the goal.
To give Miete more points than Puscas , Westwood you really are a dick.

Nonsense, Puscas was absolutely atrocious today, can’t do a single thing right at the moment

[Royal Ginger]

Royals played well, Leeds were a bit better. That’s about it.

[WoodleyRoyal]

Would have like to have seen us go 4 at the back for the last 30 with an extra man in cm. we got over an in there towards the end.

[URZZZZ]

Does anyone else miss having wingers on the pitch? Funnily enough, the last time we played with two out and out wingers, we came third. Funny that. This isn’t down to Bowen because he’s inherited such an imbalanced squad but when plan A doesn’t work for us, you know we lose and it just shouldn’t be like that

[Ranty McRantface]

Sigh.

I can't fault the effort of the players at all today. Everyone put in a gut busting performance but if you do that you sacrifice quality on the ball at times and unfortunately it showed. Although Bowen had successfully set us up to frustrate Leeds, we were absolutely abysmal going forward. Our strikers had no chance today with endless hoofing towards them. If you're going to play that way then you don't need both Swift and Ejaria in the middle, just one will do. He should have started with Pele and Rino to combat Leeds fitness and bombing runs from deep.

Our 2 best chances came from a great break in the 1st half from Meite who over hit his pass. Then our final best chance was from Morro missing from 6 yards.

The subs from Bowen were one dimensional and lacked any tactical advantage. Leeds are a much fitter team than us and are better on the ball. Why the hell would you not bring on Pele sooner to help a tiring midfielder? We should have taken off one of the CBs for Pele and brought off Swift for a striker. Our game plan was to frustrate and go long so it would have made more sense later in the second half to add more numbers up top and give the forwards a better chance. Bringing on a sub at 92mins made no sense at all. Leeds are a great team defensively but at nil nil and only 23 goals scored all season they were there to be tested. We didn't alter our tactics sooner to do that today.

The ratings may seem a little low for the defenders but it was a drab match and Leeds offered next to no attacking threat for most of the game. Their best chances came when we were absolutely knackered around 75 min mark.

Player ratings
Rafael 6 not much to do and did nothing wrong.

Gunter 7 - He had a good game considering how long he's been out for.

Moore 7 - Not a lot to deal with from Bamford but did what he had to.

Miazga 7 - Did well to watch the runs from deep

Morro 7- See above. Should have hit the target from 6 yards.

Richards 5 - Not his best game. Made a couple of really good blocks mind you.

Ejaria 7 - Thought he was good. Some great skill and seemed the most likely to make something happen.

Rino 6 - Not much he could today. He was being asked to do all the defensive work against one of the fittest teams in the league who can also pass. Not to mention the bombing runs from Ben White and the midfield. Bowen should have played Pele along side him today and dropped Swift for this game.

Swift 6 - nothing amazing, nothing bad.

Meite 6 - Didn't get the service but he did create one good chance first half. Just over hit his pass a bit.

Puscas 4 - Easily our worst player today. I know he didn't get much service but he lost the ball so many times when he did have it! He doesn't look comfortable with the ball at all! He did try hard but that's not what we paid millions for.

Subs. Can't be arsed to give them ratings. There was little to no impact.

Bowen - 5. 1st half his tactics were spot on. 2nd half he bottled it and left the subs too late.

[Armadillo Roadkill]

You would imagine Leeds will be a Premier League side next season, and yet Reading largely nullified their swift passing all-out attacking style to a small number of good chances. The margin was much smaller than the league table would suggest, and with just a little bit of extra luck we could have got a point out of that.

When we did manage to carve out opportunities it seemed to mostly be a break down in understanding that let us down. Too many passes not connecting, players taking too many touches. I don't think there was a single Reading offside all game, which is kind of odd when you're playing on the counter.

With games coming up against Wigan, Barnsley, Birmingham, Stoke, Derby and QPR we could be looking at two points per game, which should move us away from the danger zone.

[Lower West]

Beaten by a better team. Bowen set up as to be hard to beat which we we were. Disappointing when we did get possession not to retain it better.

Welcome back Chris Gunter. You has a decent game.

Puscas looks short of pace for this league. Far too comfortable for defenders.

Where were the coaching staff again (same crew were absent on Saturday). Seems as more changes are afoot.

[sandman]

Good performance defensively but not enough going forward. Leeds deserved their win just about given they hit the bar as well and showed more attacking intent even if they didn't draw many saves from Rafael.

Rafael - Nothing to do apart from the goal and tested when they hit the bar. 6

Gunter - Good return. Shouldn't be starting ahead of Yiadom because he doesn't offer enough attacking wise but could fill in if we need him like tonight. 7

Miazga - Won his headers and looked comfortable. 7

Moore - Same as Miazga really. Good in the air and read the game well. 7

Morrison - some very good blocks, did what he had to do. 7

Richards - Superb tackle on Costa. Not as good as some of his recent performances but ok. 6

Rinomhota - Started slowly but grew into it. Usual workrate and some decent runs. Did enjoy their moronic fans calling him a "soft southern bastard" considering he was born in Leeds.

Swift - Slightly disappointed with him tbh. Needs to work out how he can have a better creative influence in games against the better teams in the league.

Ejaria - Too good for them at times. The best player attack wise for us. 9 MotM

Puscas - Starting to look like someone at Inter Milan should be arrested for daylight robbery. Offered very little threat bar one half chance where he missed the ball in the first half. Hope he turns it around but running out of patience fast with him. 4

Meite - Chased plenty of lost causes but ultimately needs have more guile about him. Didn't hold the ball up well enough when.he won it. 5

[Ascotexgunner]

Does anyone else miss having wingers on the pitch? Funnily enough, the last time we played with two out and out wingers, we came third. Funny that. This isn’t down to Bowen because he’s inherited such an imbalanced squad but when plan A doesn’t work for us, you know we lose and it just shouldn’t be like that

We are so slow going forward. Rarely do our counter attacks carry any weight. Be great if we had two quick wingers again.

[Bigtimmeh]

I hope the coaching changes arent a distraction. Not an awful performance but it's far too easy for people to get through our midfield at the moment. Thought it looked like puscas and miete were rotating upfront in the first half? It drives me mad when puscas chases back all the time we need him as an outlet for swift or ejaria to find on the counter.

[CavershamRoyal]

Rafael 6 - not a great deal to do
Gunter 6 - had a solid game, wouldn't mind him getting a contract for another year if he's okay with being backup to Yiadom. Clearly still a half decent player.
Moore 7 - thought he played well, unlucky deflection for the goal.
Miazga 6 - can't think of anything he did particularly wrong or right.
Morrison 6 - point knocked off for not burying the chance in the second half. Other than that a very solid game.
Richards 5 - struggled at the beginning, grew into the game but not his best performance. Offered little going forward.
Swift 6 - most of our play came through him but lost the ball a little too often. Him and Ovie are still by far our best players at the moment.
Ejaria 8 MOTM - creates things out of nothing, though has a tendency to overplay. Would get into any Championship team currently.
Rino 7 - worked hard most of the evening, put in a few good tackles. Looked a bit isolated at times.
Meite 4 - he's a likeable guy but really offered us nothing going forward this evening.
Puscas 5 - ran around a bit but fairly ineffective. Held the ball up well at times. Needs a goal ASAP.

Boye 6 - offered us a much better option going forward. Yes his mistake led to the goal but it was 80 yards downfield so can't pin it all on him.
Loader 5 - see Puscas.
McCleary N/A - what was the point of a 93rd min sub??

Bowen 6 - very nearly got a point. Seemed to try a lot of long balls today, but without really winning any 50/50s it was often just gifting possession away.


In all honestly Leeds never looked like losing, and although we could've come away with a point, I think it shows we have a lot of work to do to be fighting at the top of the league again any time soon. They looked fitter, more organised, more comfortable on the ball. Their play in the final third was pretty abysmal at times but can see why they'll be fighting for automatic promotion this season.

[Ranty McRantface]

Sigh.

I can't fault the effort of the players at all today. Everyone put in a gut busting performance but if you do that you sacrifice quality on the ball at times and unfortunately it showed. Although Bowen had successfully set us up to frustrate Leeds, we were absolutely abysmal going forward. Our strikers had no chance today with endless hoofing towards them. If you're going to play that way then you don't need both Swift and Ejaria in the middle, just one will do. He should have started with Pele and Rino to combat Leeds fitness and bombing runs from deep.

Our 2 best chances came from a great break in the 1st half from Meite who over hit his pass. Then our final best chance was from Morro missing from 6 yards.

The subs from Bowen were one dimensional and lacked any tactical advantage. Leeds are a much fitter team than us and are better on the ball. Why the hell would you not bring on Pele sooner to help a tiring midfielder? We should have taken off one of the CBs for Pele and brought off Swift for a striker. Our game plan was to frustrate and go long so it would have made more sense later in the second half to add more numbers up top and give the forwards a better chance. Bringing on a sub at 92mins made no sense at all. Leeds are a great team defensively but at nil nil and only 23 goals scored all season they were there to be tested. We didn't alter our tactics sooner to do that today.

The ratings may seem a little low for the defenders but it was a drab match and Leeds offered next to no attacking threat for most of the game. Their best chances came when we were absolutely knackered around 75 min mark.

Player ratings
Rafael 6 not much to do and did nothing wrong.

Gunter 7 - He had a good game considering how long he's been out for.

Moore 7 - Not a lot to deal with from Bamford but did what he had to.

Miazga 7 - Did well to watch the runs from deep

Morro 7- See above. Should have hit the target from 6 yards.

Richards 5 - Not his best game. Made a couple of really good blocks mind you.

Ejaria 7 - Thought he was good. Some great skill and seemed the most likely to make something happen.

Rino 6 - Not much he could today. He was being asked to do all the defensive work against one of the fittest teams in the league who can also pass. Not to mention the bombing runs from Ben White and the midfield. Bowen should have played Pele along side him today and dropped Swift for this game.

Swift 6 - nothing amazing, nothing bad.

Meite 6 - Didn't get the service but he did create one good chance first half. Just over hit his pass a bit.

Puscas 4 - Easily our worst player today. I know he didn't get much service but he lost the ball so many times when he did have it! He doesn't look comfortable with the ball at all! He did try hard but that's not what we paid millions for.

Subs. Can't be arsed to give them ratings. There was little to no impact.

Bowen - 5. 1st half his tactics were spot on. 2nd half he bottled it and left the subs too late