BFIT - Wycombe (H)

[PieEater]

As others have said, a truly crap first half. We were dragged down to their level.

Second half was better but only a bit. Saved by a long punt forward and a great bit of skill from Joao

The subs did make a difference but that was also because Wycombe stopped playing spoiling tactics and tried to score, they nearly did at the end bar a great save from Rafael.

[Royal Ginger]

Much better after the double substitution, both players look very good. Esteves looks like a proper attacking right back. I've liked Holmes, but when you see the comparison it's not hard to appreciate who is better in the position.

I thought Holmes had a solid game, didn't appear to me at least that he did anything wrong. But on this showing, Esteves needs to start.

Bang on.

Holmes did nothing wrong, absolutely solid which I can't fault. Fabulous brick wall and perfectly fine with the ball in attack; but Esteves' movement off the ball looked edgy and dangerous. The easiest way I can describe it is that Holmes looks like a very good central defender (which is what he naturally is) and Esteves looks more like a fullback.

It's tough on Holmes because he's done an admirable job.

[Westwood52]

I wonder if their goalie is a bit thick.Time wasting when they were one nil down.

[Snowflake Royal]

Cabral - 7 one flap, one save job done
Holmes - 6 thought he was fine personally, still not a RB
Richards - 6 not exactly tested hard but didn't have a great game.
Morrison - 7 fine
Moore - 7 fine
Laurent - 6 AWOL first half much improved second, picked up Akinfenwa with Moore
Rino - 7 far from his best, but ok
Olise - 7 probably our best player first half
Meite - 6 should have scored and didn't do a lot
Ejaria - 6 overplayed a fair bit, looked dangerous but didn't deliver a lot
Joao - 6 awful first half, decent 20 minutes second half, scored, then poor again but he won the game and that's now 6 goals

Semedo - 7 looks quality but didn't really stamp his authority on the match
Estevez - 7 looks quality
McIntyre - N/A

Wycombe did ok, but look very limited as you'd expect. Long old season for them.

We move on.

[skipper]

Much better after the double substitution, both players look very good. Esteves looks like a proper attacking right back. I've liked Holmes, but when you see the comparison it's not hard to appreciate who is better in the position.

I thought Holmes had a solid game, didn't appear to me at least that he did anything wrong. But on this showing, Esteves needs to start.

Bang on.

Holmes did nothing wrong, absolutely solid which I can't fault. Fabulous brick wall and perfectly fine with the ball in the attack; but Esteves' movement off the ball looked edgy and dangerous. The easiest way I can describe it is that Holmes looks like a very good central defender (which is what he naturally is) and Esteves looks more like a fullback.

It's tough on Holmes because he's done an admirable job.

Totally agree!

[Fox Talbot]

Closer than it should have been, especially in the last 10. Not playing like champions elect yet but the results keep coming.

As already commented both subs improved the team significantly and both should start on Saturday. Some decent football played while they were on. First half atrocious again. It is possible to win matches in the first half someone should tell our lot.

Being a bit sharper especially from the off and we could be having a really good season. Though Watford is the only real test we’ve had so far.

[Snowflake Royal]

Closer than it should have been, especially in the last 10. Not playing like champions elect yet but the results keep coming.

As already commented both subs improved the team significantly and both should start on Saturday. Some decent football played while they were on. First half atrocious again. It is possible to win matches in the first half someone should tell our lot.

Being a bit sharper especially from the off and we could be having a really good season. Though Watford is the only real test we’ve had so far.

The reason we're top is boro beat Bristol. We drew with them. Cardiff and Boro have also been a challenge.

Barnsley were excellent first half. Wycombe made it tough.

[TiagoIlori]

Rafael- 6. Not had much to do but reliable when called upon
Holmes- 5. Really not a right back I’m afraid.
Moore & Morro- 7. Restricted Wycombe to half chances and they definitely deserve the credit for that.
Richards- 5. Game to forget, it happens. Better luck next game.
Rino & Laurent- 6 solid, weren’t at their best but they ultimately helped us down our flanks when needed to.
Meite- 4. Terrible game. Worst game in a Reading shirt for me.
Ejaria- 5. Looked bright but like too many members of the team ultimately disappointed.
Olise- 6. Played well down the right hand flank when Meite came off. Uninspiring otherwise.
Joao- 5. He looked like he won a competition tonight. Only escapes from a 4 because he won us the game.

Semedo- 6. Looked great coming on, caused lots of problems.
Esteves- 6. Big contrast to Holmes, looked much more comfortable going forward. Not sold on him completely defensively, thought he was a bit iffy.

[genome]

14 points clear of relegation, let's goooo

[JR]

Two pieces of quality from Jao and Rafa won the game.Wycombe had next to nothing and it’s going to be a long hard season for them.
IMHO

Rafa 8 For the save.Little to do really.

Holmes 5 Bit of a mess .
Morrison 7 No alarms.
Moore 6 Typically one horror moment 1st half.But very physical when he needed to be.
Richards 5 Real mixed bag.Some very poor moments,mixed with a lot of drive and purpose.
Rino 6 Hardly in the game.
Laurent 6 Ditto
Ejaria 5 Needs to improve his fitness.Whats this his third season with us,and little or no positive change as he gets older.
Olise 7 Not in the game enough,but everything he did was quality.
Meite 4 Bad miss.Then 2nd half should have left it to Ejaria instead of interfering when offside.Sometimes he does look very limited.
Jao 7 For the goal.

MCIntire Very negative move by Pauno.Alukho would have kept Wycombe on the back foot.
Semedo Looks like another Jao.Lazy,but capable of real quality.
Esteve Very impressive.A real full back.Looks like a top class player.Fast ,can see a pass,good on the ball and nicking in with tackles.

Ref.Did ok.But three or four odd decisions.

We will and can play better.

Largely agree, but want to challenge the comment on the McIntyre substitution. Pauno has done that a few times and it has worked well so far. I think the point is to ensure a fresh defensive focus of a tiring midfield and more height to defend set pieces.

[alfie9]

Had we played like that against Boro we'd have lost. If it was going to happen the timing couldn't have been better.

Rafael with some sharp saves after doing nothing for the majority of the match. 1 goal let in after 6 games, not a coincidence.
Moore and Morrison solid. Moore's pass on the goal was terrific.
Holmes got a lot of stick for being slow in attack but he was our best defender in the first. Not a right back. thought he did fine.
Richards woke up in the second half. Poor first.
Rino was fine. Laurent had his worst game so far. Not bad but didn't offer the attacking threat he has in the first five games. Reluctant to drop him still because his first4 games with Rino were class.
Meite was constantly frustrated. Hope he takes a deep breath and can refocus for Saturday. Talented player but has a shocking lack of awareness sometimes. Missing the header I understand, but doing a basketball screen on Ejaria 1-on-1 while offside was ridiculous.
Olise good but didn't get much help from his side. Ejaria did very well. Kept our heads above water in the first and showed great work rate in the second.
Joao is Joao. I was saying sub him at half, I was wrong. Props to him for improving in the second.
Semedo has great energy but I'm not convinced he should be playing attacking midfield.
Esteves promising. Would like to see him start against Rotherham. Shoutout Tom McIntyre but I don't think he ever had the ball.

Overall we were dire, but the half time talk seems to have done the job. The second half had a lot more desire and fight than the first. Lets have a clean slate going into Rotherham and go get 3 more. Hopefully with more than 1 shot on target.

[Zip]

Three points clear at the top is fantastic but that was a struggle

Rafael. 7 Important save near the end
Holmes 5 Solid defensively but offered nothing going forward
Morrison 7 Rock solid again
Moore 7 An assist and one missed header apart rock solid
Richards 6 Really poor first half but much better after the break
Laurent 6 Quiet but good positioning
Rinomhota 6 Generally good but occasional poor passes
Ejaria 7 One lovely cross, great link up play but poor shooting
Olise 8 MoTM Lovely vision and smashing passing
Meite 4 Love Yaks but missed a sitter and got in the way of an Ejaria chance
Joao 6 Gets an extra mark for a brilliant goal but very poor first half

Semedo 7 Gave the side much needed energy and tempo
Esteves 7 Stylish and looks the part

Not sure how Joao gets a 6 for scoring the winning goal and Ejaria gets a 7 who did oxf*rd all but slow the game down most of the time. He really pissed me off tonight.

Ejaria should have had an assist for a brilliant cross to Meite. He was in on goal following brilliant link up play with Joao but Yaks got in the way. He put in a very good cross which fell for Semedo who should have done better. So yeah three of our best moments came through him.

[Lower West]

Stopped leaking soft goals. Offensively not great. Though I wonder if Laurent and Rinomhota have been told to sit deep. With the first objective not to lose the game. With the limited camera angles difficult to see what the position of the players is at times.

Rotherham is going to be an aerial assault. Be a more difficult game than Wycombe.

[JR]

Closer than it should have been, especially in the last 10. Not playing like champions elect yet but the results keep coming.

As already commented both subs improved the team significantly and both should start on Saturday. Some decent football played while they were on. First half atrocious again. It is possible to win matches in the first half someone should tell our lot.

Being a bit sharper especially from the off and we could be having a really good season. Though Watford is the only real test we’ve had so far.

The reason we're top is boro beat Bristol. We drew with them. Cardiff and Boro have also been a challenge.

Barnsley were excellent first half. Wycombe made it tough.

We’ve definitely had a balanced challenge to start. 1 relegated prem team, 2 regular promotion challengers, a regular mid table team and two lower end teams. Nobody can say credibly we’ve been lucky with the fixture list.

[JR]

Not a particularly good performance, but another clean sheet and a moment of class to win it.

Can’t go 46 games playing excellent football - it’s often the weaker performances that turn in to wins that change in to the big results in a promotion charge.

Esteves looks an awesome player - very excited to see him over the coming weeks.

I think the big test is how Pauno responds with approach / team for Rotherham. It’s easy to forget that he has only been boss for 6 games so is learning every game about his players.

This is not a time to “not change a winning team” - I’d bring in Puscas, Esteves and Aluko.

[Snowflake Royal]

Joao's got 6 goals. He's just had a mare, working his way back from a dislocated shoulder and he still won the game.

No way he doesn't keep playing.

[WoodleyRoyal]

We just seem more savvy. Game management seems better. We are not conceding sloppy goals and we seem to know when to push and when to hold back. Something we’ve been missing for a number of years.

[genome]

Meite

https://twitter.com/secondtierpod/statu ... 0169951235

[Snowball]

Wrong to judge a single game, IMO, look at the six games WWWWDW is brilliant
and only one scrappy goal conceded. Cardiff are looking decent, ditto Boro and
we've played a good Watford. This is a very good side and a very good squad.

Not surprised we played a very flat game. Going to Boro is a strain
and Wycombe after their bad run were going to fight to get 0-0.
Apart from the very late save did they have a clear chance on target?

We have had five clean sheets in six league games and in the last two games
Meite and Joao have been badly off-colour, yet we got an excellent away 0-0
and won our fifth game in six.

Semedo looks very decent, Esteves looks class and IMO will become first choice RB
very quickly.

Pleased that Joao got his goal and you can't argue with 6 goals from 7 games (inc cup)
or even "only 3 from 6 league games.

If there's a negative, he looks like he could go on a goal-less run... but then we have Puscas,
cost millions, can't get on the pitch

[CountryRoyal]

I’d really like us to start a game with a bit of intention for once. Every single game we’re too cautious, hoof clearances we could easily control and pass to a team mate, and then all our passes seem scrappy and a bit awkward. It just gives the onus to the other team and puts us on the back foot. I know our record speaks for itself and you don’t want to concede so early but I think our results are in spite of our starts and not because of them. It would be nice to see us lay down a marker and really assert ourselves but it just doesn’t happen.

As for the next game I’d bring in Esteves but not to replace Holmes. I do think the latter has been so influential to our defensive abilities but it’s obvious he lacks going forward. In Esteves’ cameo he showed why he should play but equally there were a couple of moments which didn’t inspire supreme confidence in his defensive capabilities, nothing drastic at all but just little things which might concern me. Alternatively Meite was toilet and offers nothing unless he scores, footballing intellect of a gold fish and technical ability not far off as well.