BFTT Barnsley

[RoyalBlue]

If I was a Reading player I'd be asking for a transfer, the team is a mess and my career would be going nowhere. Absolute shit-show.

What is our gameplan?!

oxf*rd hell.

Pass to Ejaria, watch him inevitably lose it because he's either got no options or he spends three hours dawdling on the ball? Then maybe score from a set play

We were beginning to implement a style under Bowen and it's completely gone. They go long when they can retain it with a short, simple pass, and then they go short under pressure. Obviously Morrison is at fault for the goal, but I can't get my head around why Rafael even passes to Morrison. Stupid pass and the epitome of our recent seasons

No reason at all why Rafael shouldn't have passed to Morrison. He was in acres of space and had absolutely ages to move the ball on. Instead, he dithered on it and, rather than hit long when he was closed down, seemed to try to take it past the player. His error was so bad that you could almost be forgiven for thinking a gambling syndicate might have got to him! Can we please have the old Michael Morrison back?

[windermereROYAL]

TBF I can understand us wanting to mix direct football with playing it out, but we`re not bloody Man city, just play how you feel comfortable. for me it was too much long stuff that made it into a scrappy encounter with no midfielders able to put their foot on the ball.

Oh and you twitter pricks can just fukk off.

[Stranded]

I don't think the pitch helped last night - ball seemed to bobble a hell of a lot. No excuse for a shoddy performance but may have had some impact.

[NewCorkSeth]

If I was a Reading player I'd be asking for a transfer, the team is a mess and my career would be going nowhere. Absolute shit-show.

What is our gameplan?!

oxf*rd hell.

Pass to Ejaria, watch him inevitably lose it because he's either got no options or he spends three hours dawdling on the ball? Then maybe score from a set play

We were beginning to implement a style under Bowen and it's completely gone. They go long when they can retain it with a short, simple pass, and then they go short under pressure. Obviously Morrison is at fault for the goal, but I can't get my head around why Rafael even passes to Morrison. Stupid pass and the epitome of our recent seasons

No reason at all why Rafael shouldn't have passed to Morrison. He was in acres of space and had absolutely ages to move the ball on. Instead, he dithered on it and, rather than hit long when he was closed down, seemed to try to take it past the player. His error was so bad that you could almost be forgiven for thinking a gambling syndicate might have got to him! Can we please have the old Michael Morrison back?

I can think of one reason he shouldnt have. Barnsley had pressed high all game and Morrison is our weakest player on the ball. Common sense imo. And actually it's a recurring theme for us. Decision making is poor.

[Hound]

part of the problem was it was quite a long pass across the face of the goal. It gave the Barnsley attacker that extra second or two to close him down.

And as stated the pitch wasn't great either, so MM had to take care to control the ball.

It wasn't a great idea to pass to him, but then he should have just walloped it away somewhere. Had 2 chances to do so

[Jagermesiter1871]

Pass to Ejaria, watch him inevitably lose it because he's either got no options or he spends three hours dawdling on the ball? Then maybe score from a set play

We were beginning to implement a style under Bowen and it's completely gone. They go long when they can retain it with a short, simple pass, and then they go short under pressure. Obviously Morrison is at fault for the goal, but I can't get my head around why Rafael even passes to Morrison. Stupid pass and the epitome of our recent seasons

No reason at all why Rafael shouldn't have passed to Morrison. He was in acres of space and had absolutely ages to move the ball on. Instead, he dithered on it and, rather than hit long when he was closed down, seemed to try to take it past the player. His error was so bad that you could almost be forgiven for thinking a gambling syndicate might have got to him! Can we please have the old Michael Morrison back?

I can think of one reason he shouldnt have. Barnsley had pressed high all game and Morrison is our weakest player on the ball. Common sense imo. And actually it's a recurring theme for us. Decision making is poor.

This - Barnsley had been high pressing literally all game and to good effect.

[URZZZZ]

Pass to Ejaria, watch him inevitably lose it because he's either got no options or he spends three hours dawdling on the ball? Then maybe score from a set play

We were beginning to implement a style under Bowen and it's completely gone. They go long when they can retain it with a short, simple pass, and then they go short under pressure. Obviously Morrison is at fault for the goal, but I can't get my head around why Rafael even passes to Morrison. Stupid pass and the epitome of our recent seasons

No reason at all why Rafael shouldn't have passed to Morrison. He was in acres of space and had absolutely ages to move the ball on. Instead, he dithered on it and, rather than hit long when he was closed down, seemed to try to take it past the player. His error was so bad that you could almost be forgiven for thinking a gambling syndicate might have got to him! Can we please have the old Michael Morrison back?

I can think of one reason he shouldnt have. Barnsley had pressed high all game and Morrison is our weakest player on the ball. Common sense imo. And actually it's a recurring theme for us. Decision making is poor.

Pretty much this. Look at where the Barnsley player is. At best Morrison gets a couple of touches before having to move it on. We know he struggles at times with the ball at his feet, and he wasn’t exactly blessed with options on the ball. Morrison apportions most of the blame there but Rafael really should have thought better in that situation too

[URZZZZ]

Agreed. Five at the back is too restrictive. I really want us to play authentic wingers as well.

I can see a problem with that.

Good job January is around the corner then

For now, we have Meite, McCleary, Boye, Obita/Richards could probably do a job

Not ideal obviously, but not sure we can get much worse than the last three games

[URZZZZ]

Agreed. Five at the back is too restrictive. I really want us to play authentic wingers as well.

Works with decent wingbacks. Sheffield United play it with two high flying wingback (both on the scoresheet on Sunday against Norwich)

Ours simply aren't. You can play Yiadom/Gunter/Obita/Richards or whoever you want there. More or less, you'll get the same outcome. Gunter is afraid to go forward, a non entity in that aspect. Obita can cross the ball in, but never has the chance to because he refuses to take a man on. Richards and Yiadom cut inside too much. And there's your problem. As soon as Meite came on RW, Adam picked up the ball in midfield, switched the play to him, and we were getting crosses in the box. It isn't rocket science. Why it took Bowen 75 minutes to realise it, I have no idea, really poor from him tonight

Can't disagree on the general point of that but:

Gunter isn't afraid to go forward there were at least 2 occasions in the first half yesterday where firstly he linked up really well with Puscas and got in the box before being tackled and secondly he was the only Reading player with Puscas when he took a poor touch after a bobble and couldn't shoot/square for a tap in - Gunter even gave him an ear full.

Only annoying time with Gunter yesterday was an occasion after yet another excellent Adam pass where he burst forward, suddenly stopped and passed it backwards - probably a hangover of Stam/Gomes - which ended up with the ball back with Rafael to boot forward and we lost the ball. If you look at Gunter's heatmap most of his touches were in the Barnsley half.

Overall a very disappointing performance and the tone was set in the first few mins when Obita fell over and Moore completely missed his kick and sent the ball out for a corner under no pressure. We were lucky Barnsley are total pony else we would have been 2 or 3 down at the break - as is from the moment Joao scored we probably had a 10/15 min spell where we should have scored the second - how Meite doesn't hit the target from a Baldock cross that simply had "goal" written all over it, only he'll know.

On the flipside, once that spell finished we just switched off and seemed to think we could coast to the point - very nearly coming unstuck as a result.

To be honest, whilst Barnsley aren’t great, they don’t look like a team that should have been 8 points adrift off relegation, Ive seen plenty worse teams this season

General consensus from their fans is their defence is woeful. Which, sort of, went with the flow of the game, no idea how the ball went through for our goal and how they left Meite and Joao so free for Meite’s headed chance was slightly strange

Of course, if we’d played onto their weaknesses a bit more, we could have got more from the game. Now we’re looking onto Stoke where we need a point minimum

[Hound]

yep as said elsewhere, a point at Barnsley isn't as bad as some are trying to suggest.

They were pretty good in midfield, but yeah, the defence didnt look too hot.

Stoke could get within a couple of points of us with a win - its another no-lose really. Would take a point happily enough

[NewCorkSeth]

Agreed. Five at the back is too restrictive. I really want us to play authentic wingers as well.

I can see a problem with that.

Good job January is around the corner then

For now, we have Meite, McCleary, Boye, Obita/Richards could probably do a job

Not ideal obviously, but not sure we can get much worse than the last three games

I'm not certain that a left side of Richards at LB and Obita at AML wouldn't work. It would be pretty good defensively and decent in transition. Also you forgot Barrett who can still be used.

[Elm Park Kid]

At this stage we just want to be beating the bottom half of the table at home and drawing against them away.

That's how you avoid relegation.

[Victor Meldrew]

The third terrible performance on the bounce, totally have had enough of this 5-3-2 formation. Its clearly not working with these players, so time to change. Pretty sure Bowen wanted us to play fast attacking direct football!! that"s clearly not happening and for some reason the players have lost confidence and the basic ability to pass to each other.
Its either back to basics with the good old 4-4-2 and wide fast wing play or maybe 4-3-3 or the popular 4-2-3-1. I personally would prefer the 4-3-3 with something like this:

Rafael
Yiadom Miazga Moore Obita
Rhinomota Pele Ejaria
Baldock Puscas Boye

"fast attacking football"?
Last night it was nearly all hit and hope long balls and dreadful to watch.
For now we should perhaps give Bowen the benefit of the doubt because there is not the midfield axis of Swift and Ejaria that was so good back in August in particular v Cardiff.

Barnsley played most balls to feet for their forwards who played some good intricate stuff but lacked any physical power or accuracy in their shooting.

For those in the past who said they much preferred Championship football-really?
Last night was an example of what this division is-dross with the rare occasional bit of entertaining, skilful football.

[URZZZZ]

The third terrible performance on the bounce, totally have had enough of this 5-3-2 formation. Its clearly not working with these players, so time to change. Pretty sure Bowen wanted us to play fast attacking direct football!! that"s clearly not happening and for some reason the players have lost confidence and the basic ability to pass to each other.
Its either back to basics with the good old 4-4-2 and wide fast wing play or maybe 4-3-3 or the popular 4-2-3-1. I personally would prefer the 4-3-3 with something like this:

Rafael
Yiadom Miazga Moore Obita
Rhinomota Pele Ejaria
Baldock Puscas Boye

"fast attacking football"?
Last night it was nearly all hit and hope long balls and dreadful to watch.
For now we should perhaps give Bowen the benefit of the doubt because there is not the midfield axis of Swift and Ejaria that was so good back in August in particular v Cardiff.

Barnsley played most balls to feet for their forwards who played some good intricate stuff but lacked any physical power or accuracy in their shooting.

For those in the past who said they much preferred Championship football-really?
Last night was an example of what this division is-dross with the rare occasional bit of entertaining, skilful football.

I think the Champ is a better league than the Premier League. Not so much in terms of quality, but pretty much anything can happen from game to game in the Champ whereas the Prem, more or less is always the same teams at the top, the same teams in mid table, and the same teams in a relegation dogfight

[URZZZZ]

I can see a problem with that.

Good job January is around the corner then

For now, we have Meite, McCleary, Boye, Obita/Richards could probably do a job

Not ideal obviously, but not sure we can get much worse than the last three games

I'm not certain that a left side of Richards at LB and Obita at AML wouldn't work. It would be pretty good defensively and decent in transition. Also you forgot Barrett who can still be used.

I think I'd prefer Obita LB and Richard further forward in that combo but with them rotating and covering regularly for each other

To be fair, I didn't forget Barrett, I just don't think he's much cop but yes, he can certainly be an option for us

[Victor Meldrew]

The third terrible performance on the bounce, totally have had enough of this 5-3-2 formation. Its clearly not working with these players, so time to change. Pretty sure Bowen wanted us to play fast attacking direct football!! that"s clearly not happening and for some reason the players have lost confidence and the basic ability to pass to each other.
Its either back to basics with the good old 4-4-2 and wide fast wing play or maybe 4-3-3 or the popular 4-2-3-1. I personally would prefer the 4-3-3 with something like this:

Rafael
Yiadom Miazga Moore Obita
Rhinomota Pele Ejaria
Baldock Puscas Boye

"fast attacking football"?
Last night it was nearly all hit and hope long balls and dreadful to watch.
For now we should perhaps give Bowen the benefit of the doubt because there is not the midfield axis of Swift and Ejaria that was so good back in August in particular v Cardiff.

Barnsley played most balls to feet for their forwards who played some good intricate stuff but lacked any physical power or accuracy in their shooting.

For those in the past who said they much preferred Championship football-really?
Last night was an example of what this division is-dross with the rare occasional bit of entertaining, skilful football.

I think the Champ is a better league than the Premier League. Not so much in terms of quality, but pretty much anything can happen from game to game in the Champ whereas the Prem, more or less is always the same teams at the top, the same teams in mid table, and the same teams in a relegation dogfight

Take a look at the table.
West Brom and Leeds and then a load of inconsistent and mediocre sides generally playing unexciting football.
If I were not a Reading fan I would probably not watch any of it.

[Hound]

"fast attacking football"?
Last night it was nearly all hit and hope long balls and dreadful to watch.
For now we should perhaps give Bowen the benefit of the doubt because there is not the midfield axis of Swift and Ejaria that was so good back in August in particular v Cardiff.

Barnsley played most balls to feet for their forwards who played some good intricate stuff but lacked any physical power or accuracy in their shooting.

For those in the past who said they much preferred Championship football-really?
Last night was an example of what this division is-dross with the rare occasional bit of entertaining, skilful football.

I think the Champ is a better league than the Premier League. Not so much in terms of quality, but pretty much anything can happen from game to game in the Champ whereas the Prem, more or less is always the same teams at the top, the same teams in mid table, and the same teams in a relegation dogfight

Take a look at the table.
West Brom and Leeds and then a load of inconsistent and mediocre sides generally playing unexciting football.
If I were not a Reading fan I would probably not watch any of it.

Could argue much the same of most divisions to be fair Vic. Top 2 to 3 sides, then a lot of medicrity

I do enjoy the champ tbh

[morganb]

Good job January is around the corner then

For now, we have Meite, McCleary, Boye, Obita/Richards could probably do a job

Not ideal obviously, but not sure we can get much worse than the last three games

I'm not certain that a left side of Richards at LB and Obita at AML wouldn't work. It would be pretty good defensively and decent in transition. Also you forgot Barrett who can still be used.

I think I'd prefer Obita LB and Richard further forward in that combo but with them rotating and covering regularly for each other

To be fair, I didn't forget Barrett, I just don't think he's much cop but yes, he can certainly be an option for us

In pre-season we were quite keen on using the academy players. Now we are half way through the season there are none of them near the first team (occasionally one will appear on the bench, though even Loader has disappeared recently .) Do we not have any promising wingers in the academy?

[retro royal]

Think I'd have rather been in this position with the academy lads, don't see how they would be much off worse, McIntyre and Olise for starters certainly deserve to be in the squad

[OldBiscuit]

There's a recurring theme here;
Reading, away from home, in Yorkshire, on a cold wet night in midweek, and not doing very well.
It's been the same for the last 10 years or so. Maybe there is some mileage in the old 'Southern Softies' cliche.