MATCHWATCH : Barnsley (a)

[Hound]

Additional to your points i don’t disagree that his game hasn’t progressed (not the original argument who suggested previous managers hadn’t got him to play) and agree he doesn’t create enough. But I do think he does a lot of unseen defensive work, is probably the one chap most likely to hold up the ball and does win a lot of free kicks which are often much more impt than they first seen in terms of keeping possession and letting off pressure

[Nameless]

P39, W11. I can't imagine why people might think there's some criticism warranted.

Ridiculous injury list for a significant portion of those 39 games
I can’t imagine why people might think that cutting the team/club some slack is a good idea

Doesn't make anyone play badly when they're fit though.

Except we’ve been having to play players who aren’t fit....

[Hound]

Quick count up of results this season, hopefully counted correctly

Record when Ejaria has started

7 wins, 4 draws, 6 defeats. 25 points from 17 games - basically 1.5 points a game

Record when he hasn’t started

22 games, 15 points. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence

And none of those hammerings came when he started either

[Royal Rother]

Quick count up of results this season, hopefully counted correctly

Record when Ejaria has started

7 wins, 4 draws, 6 defeats. 25 points from 17 games - basically 1.5 points a game

Record when he hasn’t started

22 games, 15 points. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence

And none of those hammerings came when he started either

Lovely stuff Hound.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Quick count up of results this season, hopefully counted correctly

Record when Ejaria has started

7 wins, 4 draws, 6 defeats. 25 points from 17 games - basically 1.5 points a game

Record when he hasn’t started

22 games, 15 points. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence

And none of those hammerings came when he started either

Not going against the argument completely, but he was pretty poor yesterday, particularly when it came to his quality in the final third. He wasn't "bad" in general, but it wasn't one of his best days either. His ball retention can be seen as a blessing or a curse depending on the situation and I thought it was more the latter on Saturday. For all the ball we had, I felt we needed to move it quicker and with more urgency and I mean he doesn't tend to play in that style. Was rightly replaced in my opinion and in fairness to TDB, he did make a difference. The tempo stepped up again after he came on.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Just on another note, I can't believe how poor Barnsley were in truth. I know that doesn't reflect well on us because we didn't win but for some better quality finishing/creativity in the final third as well as maybe a refereeing decision or two going our way instead of against us, we'd have come away with all 3 points.

For an "improved" Barnsley side, they looked like a team that are heading down. They just belted it all day long, only really remember 1/2 good bits of play from them, but not much other than that. Morris was a bit of a handful and took his goal well in all fairness, if Barnsley do go down and we've got some money to spend, I'd quite like him. He's probably one of the only players from them that I'd take though, the rest were pretty poor (Styles was ok in fairness but didn't stand out).

[Hound]

Quick count up of results this season, hopefully counted correctly

Record when Ejaria has started

7 wins, 4 draws, 6 defeats. 25 points from 17 games - basically 1.5 points a game

Record when he hasn’t started

22 games, 15 points. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence

And none of those hammerings came when he started either

Not going against the argument completely, but he was pretty poor yesterday, particularly when it came to his quality in the final third. He wasn't "bad" in general, but it wasn't one of his best days either. His ball retention can be seen as a blessing or a curse depending on the situation and I thought it was more the latter on Saturday. For all the ball we had, I felt we needed to move it quicker and with more urgency and I mean he doesn't tend to play in that style. Was rightly replaced in my opinion and in fairness to TDB, he did make a difference. The tempo stepped up again after he came on.

I get that and he is far from perfect, just I think if he offers far more than people think he does

[Hound]

Just on another note, I can't believe how poor Barnsley were in truth. I know that doesn't reflect well on us because we didn't win but for some better quality finishing/creativity in the final third as well as maybe a refereeing decision or two going our way instead of against us, we'd have come away with all 3 points.

For an "improved" Barnsley side, they looked like a team that are heading down. They just belted it all day long, only really remember 1/2 good bits of play from them, but not much other than that. Morris was a bit of a handful and took his goal well in all fairness, if Barnsley do go down and we've got some money to spend, I'd quite like him. He's probably one of the only players from them that I'd take though, the rest were pretty poor (Styles was ok in fairness but didn't stand out).

Didn’t watch it but it doesn’t sound dissimilar to last year when we much the better side in the 1-1 and I genuinely couldn’t believe they were on such a good run they were so poor

But then they managed to continue it for the rest of the season and got the play off spot

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Yeah I agree with that, he does. Again, it's not his ball retention and drawing players in was necessarily a bad thing for us, it meant they didn't win the ball and counter, but it also didn't help us much when we needed to move it with more speed that's all. Sometimes it just needs to be done simpler and quicker, just releasing the ball.

He wasn't on his own, Joao was like this as well. Barnsley were quick to swarm 2/3 players around him and he didn't release it quick enough either. Not all his fault and players were not always close enough, but on occasions he definitely should have passed sooner and it opens up a lot more space for players like Swift and Ince to do the damage. Definitely in the first half we could have done this better anyway.

Drinkwater had his best game in a Reading shirt for me yesterday, did pretty much every aspect of the game well and really supported filling the void that Rino had left, particularly when Laurent was below average before TDB came on and we moved him forward. You can see Laurent is a much better player when allowed to advance and pressure the ball if we lose it, probably a big part of his season has come from being misused. Maybe if Tetek returns before the end of the season, we can see him be introduced to allow Laurent to move forward, Drinkwater to play or maybe allowing TDB and Swift to have less defensive responsibility and more freedom to attack.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Just on another note, I can't believe how poor Barnsley were in truth. I know that doesn't reflect well on us because we didn't win but for some better quality finishing/creativity in the final third as well as maybe a refereeing decision or two going our way instead of against us, we'd have come away with all 3 points.

For an "improved" Barnsley side, they looked like a team that are heading down. They just belted it all day long, only really remember 1/2 good bits of play from them, but not much other than that. Morris was a bit of a handful and took his goal well in all fairness, if Barnsley do go down and we've got some money to spend, I'd quite like him. He's probably one of the only players from them that I'd take though, the rest were pretty poor (Styles was ok in fairness but didn't stand out).

Didn’t watch it but it doesn’t sound dissimilar to last year when we much the better side in the 1-1 and I genuinely couldn’t believe they were on such a good run they were so poor

But then they managed to continue it for the rest of the season and got the play off spot

No it wasn't too dissimilar to that actually, but probably even more pronounced yesterday. Every time their CB's had the ball, especially their number 5, it was just belted towards Morris and he caused Holmes a few issues but not enough to ever create anything. Very little stuck for them up there, they didn't win nearly enough 2nd balls and their midfield were just bypassed during the game. You could see we were much the better footballing team.

Momentum probably carried them through last season, they gathered a little bit of that when they went on a decent run for 4/5 games but it seemed as if they hit form at the wrong time. Not completely ruling them out of it by any means, but it's not as if we had to dig in and grind a result out (in the traditional sense), it was more a case we needed to speed up our play and improve our quality of finishing, which we did in the 2nd half. But we dominated throughout really.

[Mr Optimist]

Barnsley scored from their only real moment of quality during the game. At that point I was thinking if they can open us up like a can of beans like that then we could be in for a long Huddersfield style away day but luckily Barnsley are not a patch on Huddersfield.

Probably because they had an early lead and something to hang on to, they seemed more interested in shithousery for the next 80 minutes, staying down injured, slowing the game down at every opportunity to take any momentum away that we were building up, taking their time over throw ins, goalkicks, free kicks etc.

They also looked knackered in the last 20 minutes when we stepped it up a little. Better teams would have pushed for a second and then our soft underbelly may have shown again, but I’m pleased to say the soft underbelly we had under Pauno seems to be going under Ince, long may it continue until the end of the season.

Maybe Barnsley felt the weight of the game more than us with the five point gap. I thought Carlton Morris was a league one lump target man type of player, for a big lad he likes to go down injured a lot, but credit where it’s due that was a great finish.

[JedMaxwell]

Drinkwater was clearly one of the better players today.

Like with Maguire, I find it utterly bizarre people booing.

A gentleman will never boo. Only low lives boo!

I was saying Boo-urns

[paultheroyal]

If it isn't Moore its Drinkwater, if its not Drinkwater its Hein, if its not Hein it might as well be Ejaria.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Barnsley scored from their only real moment of quality during the game. At that point I was thinking if they can open us up like a can of beans like that then we could be in for a long Huddersfield style away day but luckily Barnsley are not a patch on Huddersfield.

Probably because they had an early lead and something to hang on to, they seemed more interested in shithousery for the next 80 minutes, staying down injured, slowing the game down at every opportunity to take any momentum away that we were building up, taking their time over throw ins, goalkicks, free kicks etc.

They also looked knackered in the last 20 minutes when we stepped it up a little. Better teams would have pushed for a second and then our soft underbelly may have shown again, but I’m pleased to say the soft underbelly we had under Pauno seems to be going under Ince, long may it continue until the end of the season.

Maybe Barnsley felt the weight of the game more than us with the five point gap. I thought Carlton Morris was a league one lump target man type of player, for a big lad he likes to go down injured a lot, but credit where it’s due that was a great finish.

I wouldn't say they opened us up for the first goal, it was one of only 2/3 bits of good play they had during the game. We didn't necessarily make any glaring errors, nor was it particularly fantastic play by them either. It was just decent build up, they worked an overload giving Morris the space and it was a tidy finish. If it doesn't go in, I don't put it down as a chance, more a half chance/decent opening. It just so happens that it was a tidy finish really.

I also disagree when you say a better team would have pushed for a second, we very much did. We didn't create/miss any glaring opportunities, but we were certainly pushing for a winner. Ince had an effort blocked, Swift forced a top save from their goalkeeper and I've probably missed another decent opening we had after we scored, not to mention the opportunities we had before the goal as well. I thought we showed good spirit in the 2nd half particularly. There was a time where I thought it wouldn't happen for us, then we made the change and we stepped it up a gear and got the goal we thoroughly deserved.

Can't complain too much with the performance or what Ince did, in terms of changes, in the game. Just disappointed the result didn't merit our play overall, although we probably didn't create enough for as much of the ball that we had.

[Snowflake Royal]

Evidence goes against your beliefs? Evidence must be wrong. Gareth Keenan and his calculator would be proud.

Ok I'm certain you're trolling now. Another good game for him and literally the bottom of the list when it comes to talking points yet somehow he's dragged up as something to discuss.

No, I'm not trolling. Those stats are useful as individual metrics to be informative, but the second you try putting together a complex calculation to give a quality rating, it's pointless.

Watching players >>> greater than some arbitrary algorithm based on stats that are only a partial reflection of the game anyway.

Does anyone really think Yiadom has been our second best player this season? Swift's obvious and is just scored really well on the really obvious two stats - goals and assists. Or Carroll third? Do you really think Joao has been worse than Ejaria this season?

I wouldn’t necessarily argue with either no. Joao had a great month but been pretty rubbish in other games. Yiadom has been solid throughout - I don’t think anyone has been considerably better - who did you have in mind?

The ratings aren’t perfect no. But you look through the top 20 or 30 and yes they nearly all sound about right

Problem with watching games is that it’s always subjective. So I like ejaria and will prob look on him more kindly than you. I’ll focus on the good stuff he does and forget the rubbish and you’ll prob do the opposite. That’s not a criticism that’s basic human nature

Yeah. You're right.

They're something to check your bias against, but they don’t win an argument.

On who is second best, its super hard because almost everyone has had a bad run and disappointed.

Swift clearly top dog.
Joao currently second for his excellent run amid limited opportunities. Could change quickly if he stays on a barren run.
Next probably Baba Rahman.


So many have missed too much, or been below their best. I love Rinomhota, but he's been in and out and below his best. Laurent has been very disappointing. Morrison has struggled at times. Etc etc.

It's tough because it's been such a shit show. Beyond Swift, it's more a case of who has been least worse than second best.

[Mr Optimist]

Barnsley scored from their only real moment of quality during the game. At that point I was thinking if they can open us up like a can of beans like that then we could be in for a long Huddersfield style away day but luckily Barnsley are not a patch on Huddersfield.

Probably because they had an early lead and something to hang on to, they seemed more interested in shithousery for the next 80 minutes, staying down injured, slowing the game down at every opportunity to take any momentum away that we were building up, taking their time over throw ins, goalkicks, free kicks etc.

They also looked knackered in the last 20 minutes when we stepped it up a little. Better teams would have pushed for a second and then our soft underbelly may have shown again, but I’m pleased to say the soft underbelly we had under Pauno seems to be going under Ince, long may it continue until the end of the season.

Maybe Barnsley felt the weight of the game more than us with the five point gap. I thought Carlton Morris was a league one lump target man type of player, for a big lad he likes to go down injured a lot, but credit where it’s due that was a great finish.

I wouldn't say they opened us up for the first goal, it was one of only 2/3 bits of good play they had during the game. We didn't necessarily make any glaring errors, nor was it particularly fantastic play by them either. It was just decent build up, they worked an overload giving Morris the space and it was a tidy finish. If it doesn't go in, I don't put it down as a chance, more a half chance/decent opening. It just so happens that it was a tidy finish really.

I also disagree when you say a better team would have pushed for a second, we very much did. We didn't create/miss any glaring opportunities, but we were certainly pushing for a winner. Ince had an effort blocked, Swift forced a top save from their goalkeeper and I've probably missed another decent opening we had after we scored, not to mention the opportunities we had before the goal as well. I thought we showed good spirit in the 2nd half particularly. There was a time where I thought it wouldn't happen for us, then we made the change and we stepped it up a gear and got the goal we thoroughly deserved.

Can't complain too much with the performance or what Ince did, in terms of changes, in the game. Just disappointed the result didn't merit our play overall, although we probably didn't create enough for as much of the ball that we had.

Sorry, I think we are at cross purposes. When I was talking about a better team would’ve gone for the jugular and a second goal, I meant Barnsley, not us. That was the refreshing thing about Saturday was the belief that rather than sitting back and thinking a point will do we went all out for a winner knowing we had their number in the last 10 minutes plus stoppage time. Pauno would probably have sent on Dann and played five across the back after the equaliser!

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Barnsley scored from their only real moment of quality during the game. At that point I was thinking if they can open us up like a can of beans like that then we could be in for a long Huddersfield style away day but luckily Barnsley are not a patch on Huddersfield.

Probably because they had an early lead and something to hang on to, they seemed more interested in shithousery for the next 80 minutes, staying down injured, slowing the game down at every opportunity to take any momentum away that we were building up, taking their time over throw ins, goalkicks, free kicks etc.

They also looked knackered in the last 20 minutes when we stepped it up a little. Better teams would have pushed for a second and then our soft underbelly may have shown again, but I’m pleased to say the soft underbelly we had under Pauno seems to be going under Ince, long may it continue until the end of the season.

Maybe Barnsley felt the weight of the game more than us with the five point gap. I thought Carlton Morris was a league one lump target man type of player, for a big lad he likes to go down injured a lot, but credit where it’s due that was a great finish.

I wouldn't say they opened us up for the first goal, it was one of only 2/3 bits of good play they had during the game. We didn't necessarily make any glaring errors, nor was it particularly fantastic play by them either. It was just decent build up, they worked an overload giving Morris the space and it was a tidy finish. If it doesn't go in, I don't put it down as a chance, more a half chance/decent opening. It just so happens that it was a tidy finish really.

I also disagree when you say a better team would have pushed for a second, we very much did. We didn't create/miss any glaring opportunities, but we were certainly pushing for a winner. Ince had an effort blocked, Swift forced a top save from their goalkeeper and I've probably missed another decent opening we had after we scored, not to mention the opportunities we had before the goal as well. I thought we showed good spirit in the 2nd half particularly. There was a time where I thought it wouldn't happen for us, then we made the change and we stepped it up a gear and got the goal we thoroughly deserved.

Can't complain too much with the performance or what Ince did, in terms of changes, in the game. Just disappointed the result didn't merit our play overall, although we probably didn't create enough for as much of the ball that we had.

Sorry, I think we are at cross purposes. When I was talking about a better team would’ve gone for the jugular and a second goal, I meant Barnsley, not us. That was the refreshing thing about Saturday was the belief that rather than sitting back and thinking a point will do we went all out for a winner knowing we had their number in the last 10 minutes plus stoppage time. Pauno would probably have sent on Dann and played five across the back after the equaliser!

Ah right yes, my apologies, I thought you were referencing us, not them. Agree with that, I thought they may have had a spell after they first scored but they didn't, it just reverted back to the same pattern in the opening 4 minutes, us having the ball and looking to threaten them.

Pauno would have definitely brought another defender on for the remaining 10 minutes and we'd have probably lost.

[Elm Park Kid]

I thought that Barnsley handled the first half pretty well. They got the early goal and then completely shut us down - Sure, they didn't make many chances themselves, but at that point they weren't really being threatened either.

But then they came out in the second half and did what a lot of clubs lacking confidence (including ourselves) do when they are leading in an important game - they stopped playing football. They just sat back and hoped that by defending in numbers they could eek out the win. It allowed us to then push forward without worrying too much about counter-attacks - which plays to our strength even the attacking players we have.

Their poor mentality was shown at the end when we had a corner in injury time and they didn't even have one striker on the halfway line ready to take advantage of the ball coming out. Even though they desperately needed to win the game.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

I wouldn't even say they played that much football really. Their defending was easy because we were at such pedestrian pace in the first half and we didn't hit the switch of play nearly often enough for us to create an overload. It happened on occasion, but not enough. Once TDB was introduced in the second half, the tempo stepped up significantly and that was the difference. We just seemed to lack any creativity in the first half and we couldn't get Swift involved enough and Joao and Ejaria were holding onto the ball for too long after they dragged 2/3 players around them.

I was actually pretty disappointed by them. I thought for a young side, they'd have been far more braver and energetic than they were. T our advantage I suppose at the end of the day.

[Millsy]

Last thing we need is another discussion about keeper frailties but is it just me or could Nyland have done better for their goal?

He loves to stay very close to his line didn't come out at all to narrow the angle despite the shot being telegraphed for what felt like years.

Exactly what I said as it happens for the Bournemouth goal.

Goalkeeping 101 is to come out as much as possible to narrow the angle, at least it was in my day before I got converted to a winger. Yes there's a player to the right in each case but could have been cleverer with the angles.

Can't wait for a truly decent keeper between the sticks.