MATCHWATCH : Luton Town (h)

[Zip]

Tom Holmes getting it large on here.
That would be 21 year old 2nd full season professional playing with 2 novices at full-back.

A couple of weeks or so ago he was man of the match v Hull.

He tries but is still fairly inexperienced so I will carry on cutting him some slack -has he signed a new contract yet and if not is that on the mind of a 21 year old unsure of his future?

I have been lucky enough to miss the last 3 home games because of my wife being ill but with her steady recovery I have no excuses this Saturday.

Holmes made his senior debut almost four years ago. He has been in the senior squad throughout that time.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Holmes, Yiadom and Rinomhota will have a lot of suitors in the Championship next season.

Will they? Yiadom - getting on a bit, injury issues. Rino - inexplicably out injured for most of the season. Not played particularly well for a year or so. Holmes - pretty young with potential, but been a liability recently. Wouldnt imagine him being anyone's first choice CB in this div.

They would be solid options for most Championship sides and Holmes' and Rino's wages are not all that high either so I can't imagine they'd be demanding top dollar Championship wages, probably something between £8-12k which is affordable for most teams. Yiadom similar in terms of demands and he's an experienced campaigner who would start for a good amount of Championship sides as well I think, as do Holmes and Rinomhota.

All underperforming yes, but if it comes to negotiating this with another team they'll put it down to the manager and the clubs situation, their ability is clearly there hence why both Holmes and Rino for example have been linked with moves away to clubs higher up the table. They'd get contracts somewhere and I'd be confident Yiadom would as well, Birmingham or someone like that for example.

[Hendo]

Tom Holmes getting it large on here.
That would be 21 year old 2nd full season professional playing with 2 novices at full-back.

A couple of weeks or so ago he was man of the match v Hull.

He tries but is still fairly inexperienced so I will carry on cutting him some slack -has he signed a new contract yet and if not is that on the mind of a 21 year old unsure of his future?

I have been lucky enough to miss the last 3 home games because of my wife being ill but with her steady recovery I have no excuses this Saturday.

Holmes made his senior debut almost four years ago. He has been in the senior squad throughout that time.

Hmmm, think Vic is right on this one.

Made 1 appearance in 17/18

Didn't play at all in 18/19 and was only on the bench once.

Didn't play at all in 19/20 as he was on loan and only made 11 appearances in Belgian 2nd division. Didn't make the Reading FC bench in any of the 12 games he was available for.

39 games in 20/21

17 games in 21/22

So this really his only his 2nd full season as a pro in England.

[RoyalBlue]

It is getting to crisis time - ie bring it someone to get a reaction. Colin or Pulis for example. Sad times.

Warnock fixes teams by spending money and making signings. 29 players signed in just over 2 years at Cardiff I believe. He can't do that at Reading.

[South Coast Royal]

Tom Holmes getting it large on here.
That would be 21 year old 2nd full season professional playing with 2 novices at full-back.

A couple of weeks or so ago he was man of the match v Hull.

He tries but is still fairly inexperienced so I will carry on cutting him some slack -has he signed a new contract yet and if not is that on the mind of a 21 year old unsure of his future?

I have been lucky enough to miss the last 3 home games because of my wife being ill but with her steady recovery I have no excuses this Saturday.

Holmes made his senior debut almost four years ago. He has been in the senior squad throughout that time.

But he is still a young lad.
I like his attitude and at times like this we surely need heart which goes a long way when ability may not be top notch and our defence this season has been so much under the cosh.

Everybody needs to do more but it does feel as though Pauno is incapable of getting the more that is needed.

Incidentally seeing Hull's new Turkish owner in the crowd last night mixing with the fans made me a bit envious when our past 2 sets of owners have done sod all to make us feel that we are all in this together with communication at the bare minimum and even expecting fans to observe a minute's silence when somebody unassociated with the club has died but happened to be a relative of the owners. .

[YorkshireRoyal99]

It is getting to crisis time - ie bring it someone to get a reaction. Colin or Pulis for example. Sad times.

Warnock fixes teams by spending money and making signings. 29 players signed in just over 2 years at Cardiff I believe. He can't do that at Reading.

Not necessarily true, his demeanour and character would galvanise this squad I think and he would change the atmosphere in the dressing room that's for sure which I think goes a long way.

[Snowflake Royal]

Literally anyone.

You'd make a worse manager than Pauno.

Ashcroft and Bristow showing exactly the quality we have left to choose from, and they're the most ready ones.

Holzman would be eaten alive.

Wrong - I'd play 2 up top so we'd score more than we concede and hence win.

We don't score or create. We're never going to score 4 or 5 a game even if that improved.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

To be fair we were scoring out fair share of goals in the first third of the season, the concern now is that has dried up whilst our defence hasn't improved. Even when we do score now we are still losing, unless we score twice but even then we don't win! That's the worrying trend for me and that's probably the main reason why things need to change. Out of the few things we've been good at this season, scoring goals was one of them but even that's being diminished now.

[Snowflake Royal]

To be fair we were scoring out fair share of goals in the first third of the season, the concern now is that has dried up whilst our defence hasn't improved. Even when we do score now we are still losing, unless we score twice but even then we don't win! That's the worrying trend for me and that's probably the main reason why things need to change. Out of the few things we've been good at this season, scoring goals was one of them but even that's being diminished now.

Our goals were all just individual purple patch moments

Swift in the form of his life scoring 8 in 12. Hoilett, Clarke and TDB getting braces. Etc, etc.

It was never, ever, sustainable.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

To be fair we were scoring out fair share of goals in the first third of the season, the concern now is that has dried up whilst our defence hasn't improved. Even when we do score now we are still losing, unless we score twice but even then we don't win! That's the worrying trend for me and that's probably the main reason why things need to change. Out of the few things we've been good at this season, scoring goals was one of them but even that's being diminished now.

Our goals were all just individual purple patch moments

Swift in the form of his life scoring 8 in 12. Hoilett, Clarke and TDB getting braces. Etc, etc.

It was never, ever, sustainable.

Swift's wasn't sustainable but a lot of other players were chipping in with goals. That's nothing out of the ordinary for teams that usually score goals, you will have a player or two who score often like what Swift did but you will also have others who chip in. In isolated incidents, yes I wouldn't expect Clarke, TDB, Hoilett etc to score braces all of the time, but I was still confident that the other players we had would chip in with goals, such as Ejaria, Drinkwater, a set piece goal with Dann, Moore, Morrison, Holmes, McIntyre etc.

Admittedly, a big problem we have is our two main goal scorers in Joao and Meite have spent the majority/all season injured.

[Sutekh]

To be fair we were scoring out fair share of goals in the first third of the season, the concern now is that has dried up whilst our defence hasn't improved. Even when we do score now we are still losing, unless we score twice but even then we don't win! That's the worrying trend for me and that's probably the main reason why things need to change. Out of the few things we've been good at this season, scoring goals was one of them but even that's being diminished now.

Isn’t this this exactly what happened in Jack Mansell’s second season in charge? Club went down on the last day that season through conceding a late dodgy own goal.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

To be fair we were scoring out fair share of goals in the first third of the season, the concern now is that has dried up whilst our defence hasn't improved. Even when we do score now we are still losing, unless we score twice but even then we don't win! That's the worrying trend for me and that's probably the main reason why things need to change. Out of the few things we've been good at this season, scoring goals was one of them but even that's being diminished now.

Isn’t this this exactly what happened in Jack Mansell’s second season in charge? Club went down on the last day that season through conceding a late dodgy own goal.

I think so yes - but even still, we need to be a little bit more proactive rather than letting the slump continue, every point is vital.

[The Royal Forester]

Can we be that surprised that the players don't seem to bother?

How many of last nights squad have contracts that run out in the summer?
Pauno has said the club is in talks with the players they want to keep. So, how many of those out of contract in the squad last night know they are not wanted next season?

[Hound]

Can we be that surprised that the players don't seem to bother?

How many of last nights squad have contracts that run out in the summer?
Pauno has said the club is in talks with the players they want to keep. So, how many of those out of contract in the squad last night know they are not wanted next season?

yes I'd be very surprised being that if they don't bother they probably won't find a new club either. Their career depends on them trying.

[SouthDownsRoyal]

Can we be that surprised that the players don't seem to bother?

How many of last nights squad have contracts that run out in the summer?
Pauno has said the club is in talks with the players they want to keep. So, how many of those out of contract in the squad last night know they are not wanted next season?

True to a point but as professional footballers they should still bother regardless, bit poor to just not bother for the next 4 months because their contract is up soon

Especially when they need to catch the eye of another club to get a new deal elsewhere

[YorkshireRoyal99]

I've never really understood the argument as to them not being bothered either. It's such a competitive sport that they'll have dedicated so many hours as a youngster to try and earn a break somewhere whilst working tirelessly to play at the highest level possible, why would they give up now?

Especially those who are in their peak years such as Halilovic for instance, he got released from Birmingham last season and potentially released by us this year unless he earns a new deal. Yes, somebody would pick him up by that's not to say it will be at the level he thinks he can play at. Even the more experienced heads like Morrison and Dann, they will want to be playing at the highest level they can for as long as they can.

[biff]

WBB Detour is a nice drop. That was about it.

[Elm Park Kid]

I've never really understood the argument as to them not being bothered either. It's such a competitive sport that they'll have dedicated so many hours as a youngster to try and earn a break somewhere whilst working tirelessly to play at the highest level possible, why would they give up now?

Especially those who are in their peak years such as Halilovic for instance, he got released from Birmingham last season and potentially released by us this year unless he earns a new deal. Yes, somebody would pick him up by that's not to say it will be at the level he thinks he can play at. Even the more experienced heads like Morrison and Dann, they will want to be playing at the highest level they can for as long as they can.

I agree - I think the whole "The players aren't trying hard enough" or "The players don't care" is one of the most common pieces of pure ignorance that fans come out with. Football is their lives; it's what they have dreamed to do and trained from a young age. And these are the <0.1% who actually made it - the ones that had the passion and commitment to not give it up when other temptations came calling. Who had the mental strength to deal with playing in front of thousands of people and having their successes and failures repeated back to them on a daily basis. Every time they step out on the pitch they must have a fierce personal desire to do well and win, regardless of what's going on with the team .

What we perceive as 'not trying' is just fans limited understanding of what happens when tactics and confidence breaks down. Players are unsure where to run, who to mark, when to shoot. It's indecision rather than laziness. There's no point you killing yourself running around a pitch if it just means you're caught offside when your teammate plays a pass/cross your weren't expecting. You can't sprint back to challenge someone if you're unsure if someone else will cover your position.

You often see teams seem like they're 'trying their hardest' when they're either battling in the last 10 mins or already cruising in a game. It's because you lose that fear of making the wrong decision - it doesn't matter if you f*ck something up when your going to lose/win the game anyway.

[Dixie Norm]

But thats part of the the issue. We were losing 2-0 last night and at no point did it look like we were ever getting back into the game

[Hound]

I've never really understood the argument as to them not being bothered either. It's such a competitive sport that they'll have dedicated so many hours as a youngster to try and earn a break somewhere whilst working tirelessly to play at the highest level possible, why would they give up now?

Especially those who are in their peak years such as Halilovic for instance, he got released from Birmingham last season and potentially released by us this year unless he earns a new deal. Yes, somebody would pick him up by that's not to say it will be at the level he thinks he can play at. Even the more experienced heads like Morrison and Dann, they will want to be playing at the highest level they can for as long as they can.

I agree - I think the whole "The players aren't trying hard enough" or "The players don't care" is one of the most common pieces of pure ignorance that fans come out with. Football is their lives; it's what they have dreamed to do and trained from a young age. And these are the <0.1% who actually made it - the ones that had the passion and commitment to not give it up when other temptations came calling. Who had the mental strength to deal with playing in front of thousands of people and having their successes and failures repeated back to them on a daily basis. Every time they step out on the pitch they must have a fierce personal desire to do well and win, regardless of what's going on with the team .

What we perceive as 'not trying' is just fans limited understanding of what happens when tactics and confidence breaks down. Players are unsure where to run, who to mark, when to shoot. It's indecision rather than laziness. There's no point you killing yourself running around a pitch if it just means you're caught offside when your teammate plays a pass/cross your weren't expecting. You can't sprint back to challenge someone if you're unsure if someone else will cover your position.

You often see teams seem like they're 'trying their hardest' when they're either battling in the last 10 mins or already cruising in a game. It's because you lose that fear of making the wrong decision - it doesn't matter if you f*ck something up when your going to lose/win the game anyway.

I generally agree. However no doubts there are occasions when they fall out of love with the game/tactics/manager/club and this has a knock on to the effort levels. Putting in 95% at that level isn't good enough the majority of the time. It needs to be 100% every single match. I'm not sure thats true recently.

And I think there's probably more likely times when someone has just landed a big new contract (see Mesut Ozil, arguably Sone Aluko here) actually dulls that desire to push that bit extra. I'd say thats more common than someone coming to an end of a contract.