MATCHWATCH : Blackpool (h)

[Sutekh]

Just a bad day at the office not helped by yet another utterly dire referee. Blackpool are the best side I’ve seen this season.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I think their league position is false. They were on a great run until Bruce needed some time off, and now seem to be coming into form again. I thought they would be play offs at the start of the season, and it wouldn't shock me if they still did it.

[blueroyals]

Derby had 27,000 home fans for their Friday night game. Just a side note.

That was one of the worst performances I can remember for a long long time. It was dire and shockingly poor. Blackpool were better than I expected tbf.

0-3 loss is kind for Reading, on another day it could have been double that.

Savage was particularly poor

No idea what Pereira was doing in the second half dribbling the ball all the way out to about 30 yards

Terrible atmosphere

I'm sick to oxf*rd death now of DJ Mega Party. I know it's been said and it's minor in comparison but shut the oxf*rd up. His stupid speeches about "standing up, being united" is just so intolerable now.

I left at 88 minutes and usually always stay till the players do their lap - even on a loss. But today I was just losing the will to live. From 80 onwards it was appalling and slow.

In the second half, Reading spent way more time passing side Ways across the back four than going forward. That's concerning as they just seemed so lost.

Team performance: 2/10

Atmosphere: 4/10

BBC Radio Berkshire: 5/10 - Rita drives me insane after. I want to hear genuine fans observations but all she does is talk wooly sh1te. Like "who else is in the car with you... Do you want to give a shout out to them?".

East stand also out of hot chocolate today.

She went on a 30 second + long rant about how Slough had had a "bad day at the office" and that their result was a "really disappointing result at home" to then say "sorry didn't look at my notes, they actually got a 1-1 draw".

She's a producer not a presenter. They really should do her a favour at get someone else in if Ady is away.

Feels like every week one of the team is AWOL though I expect the lack of replacement is budget related more than anything, fully expecting local football coverage to be next victim of BBC budget cuts given their disdain for anything that is not Premier League/WSL so I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

[Royalcop]

Lino missed that their target man was always offside from a goal kick (happened every time).

You can’t be offside from a goal kick.

[Snowflake Royal]

I share others concerns about the rest of the season based on that. I know it's peak knee jerk reaction but after the big changes recently and our continual turbulence it's hard to remain rational sometimes.

My fear is we'll plummet down the league and get relegated. For those who poo poo this, I believe we were top 3 in the championship the season before relegation and went down.

Granted that was made possible by deductions but that could happen again.

January will see Bindon and 1-2 other first teamers go and more youngsters filling the gaps.

I don't really understand what you're saying here. But we absolutely didn't finish a Championship season in 3rd and get relegated the next season. Or go from 3rd a good way into the season and get relegated. We were 7th two seasons before we got relegated. We finished 21st and then 22nd.

We basically need 15 points from 27 games to not be relegated. Maybe less. The only way we're going down is if we go on a bad run and get points deducted.

[stealthpapes]

I share others concerns about the rest of the season based on that. I know it's peak knee jerk reaction but after the big changes recently and our continual turbulence it's hard to remain rational sometimes.

My fear is we'll plummet down the league and get relegated. For those who poo poo this, I believe we were top 3 in the championship the season before relegation and went down.

Granted that was made possible by deductions but that could happen again.

January will see Bindon and 1-2 other first teamers go and more youngsters filling the gaps.

I don't really understand what you're saying here. But we absolutely didn't finish a Championship season in 3rd and get relegated the next season. Or go from 3rd a good way into the season and get relegated. We were 7th two seasons before we got relegated. We finished 21st and then 22nd.

We basically need 15 points from 27 games to not be relegated. Maybe less. The only way we're going down is if we go on a bad run and get points deducted.

In the season we got relegated, we were briefly in the Top 3 earlier in the season (top after 6 games, could have gone top again had we won away vs QPR in game 13, think something similar was true about Swansea game we lost after being 2-0 up, in any case, that was the last time we threatened the playoff positions that season).

So about 1/3 of the way into the season.

[Snowflake Royal]

I share others concerns about the rest of the season based on that. I know it's peak knee jerk reaction but after the big changes recently and our continual turbulence it's hard to remain rational sometimes.

My fear is we'll plummet down the league and get relegated. For those who poo poo this, I believe we were top 3 in the championship the season before relegation and went down.

Granted that was made possible by deductions but that could happen again.

January will see Bindon and 1-2 other first teamers go and more youngsters filling the gaps.

I don't really understand what you're saying here. But we absolutely didn't finish a Championship season in 3rd and get relegated the next season. Or go from 3rd a good way into the season and get relegated. We were 7th two seasons before we got relegated. We finished 21st and then 22nd.

We basically need 15 points from 27 games to not be relegated. Maybe less. The only way we're going down is if we go on a bad run and get points deducted.

In the season we got relegated, we were briefly in the Top 3 earlier in the season (top after 6 games, could have gone top again had we won away vs QPR in game 13, think something similar was true about Swansea game we lost after being 2-0 up, in any case, that was the last time we threatened the playoff positions that season).

So about 1/3 of the way into the season.

Ok we all knew that was a false position. Even Ince. And there's a big difference between that early and near the halfway mark.

[grey_squirrel]

Noel Hunt is not, nor ever will be, a Manager. It’s plainly as obvious and as simple as that.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I remember one of McDermott's first games was a woeful 4-1 defeat at Plymouth that had us firmly in the relegation zone, and we were all saying he was a great club servant not cut out for the role of manager. Let's just give it time.

And let's also not start a count of games Hunt hasn't won when he inherited a complete hospital pass from Ince.

[tmesis]

We basically need 15 points from 27 games to not be relegated. Maybe less. The only way we're going down is if we go on a bad run and get points deducted.

That would get us to 46 points, which would probably see us go down. Add another 5 to that, and I'd be surprised if we'd go donw with 51 points.

There's no way this team is going to slide to picking up just 20 points from 27 games though. I think we've overacheived at home this season, but we are midtable team, at least.

However, a significant exodus of better players in January would tip the balance very strongly the other way, potentially by enough to cause a Bullivant style collapse. I don't expect that to happen though.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

I remember one of McDermott's first games was a woeful 4-1 defeat at Plymouth that had us firmly in the relegation zone, and we were all saying he was a great club servant not cut out for the role of manager. Let's just give it time.

And let's also not start a count of games Hunt hasn't won when he inherited a complete hospital pass from Ince.

I was there at that Plymouth game, was blowing a gale and we basically threw in the towel.

Agree re Hunt - you can't bring last time into the equation, completely different circumstances. And anyway his first three games were against the champions and two play off finalists.

[Royal_jimmy]

I share others concerns about the rest of the season based on that. I know it's peak knee jerk reaction but after the big changes recently and our continual turbulence it's hard to remain rational sometimes.

My fear is we'll plummet down the league and get relegated. For those who poo poo this, I believe we were top 3 in the championship the season before relegation and went down.

Granted that was made possible by deductions but that could happen again.

January will see Bindon and 1-2 other first teamers go and more youngsters filling the gaps.

I don't really understand what you're saying here. But we absolutely didn't finish a Championship season in 3rd and get relegated the next season. Or go from 3rd a good way into the season and get relegated. We were 7th two seasons before we got relegated. We finished 21st and then 22nd.

We basically need 15 points from 27 games to not be relegated. Maybe less. The only way we're going down is if we go on a bad run and get points deducted.

I'd say 20 points for sure. But 5-6 wins and a few draws

[Royal_jimmy]

I remember one of McDermott's first games was a woeful 4-1 defeat at Plymouth that had us firmly in the relegation zone, and we were all saying he was a great club servant not cut out for the role of manager. Let's just give it time.

And let's also not start a count of games Hunt hasn't won when he inherited a complete hospital pass from Ince.

I was there at that Plymouth game, was blowing a gale and we basically threw in the towel.

Agree re Hunt - you can't bring last time into the equation, completely different circumstances. And anyway his first three games were against the champions and two play off finalists.

I was there too. Horrific day including delays on the M5 afterwards. We seemed consigned to relegation that day. One bad result shouldn't make Noel Hunt get questioned. Blackpool are a good side and played very well. The defending for the goals was poor though, it's actually at the back that worries me the most and needs the most attention in January if we're even allowed to bring anyone in.

[Snowflake Royal]

Noel Hunt is not, nor ever will be, a Manager. It’s plainly as obvious and as simple as that.

I hate to break it to you, but this is the second time he's been our manager.

[Snowflake Royal]

We basically need 15 points from 27 games to not be relegated. Maybe less. The only way we're going down is if we go on a bad run and get points deducted.

That would get us to 46 points, which would probably see us go down. Add another 5 to that, and I'd be surprised if we'd go donw with 51 points.

There's no way this team is going to slide to picking up just 20 points from 27 games though. I think we've overacheived at home this season, but we are midtable team, at least.

However, a significant exodus of better players in January would tip the balance very strongly the other way, potentially by enough to cause a Bullivant style collapse. I don't expect that to happen though.

46 points has been enough for survival in all of the last 3 seasons. This isn’t the Championship.

[andrew1957]

It’s ridiculous to have a go at Hunt after one poor performance.. Don’t forget the truly horrific start to Selles’s time here. The 4-2-2-2 and awful performances. On 11th November 2023 we had just surrendered a 2-0 lead at Shrewsbury to lose 3-2. We had 7 points and were in 24th and looked nailed on to be relegated. Selles has been here for several months and almost everyone on here wanted him sacked.

For those of you having a go at Hunt after one poor game, you have very poor memories. No one is more delighted than me that Selles turned it round over the last 12 months and let’s hope Hunty can do the same. But at least give him a chance.

[RoyalBlue]

Lino missed that their target man was always offside from a goal kick (happened every time).

You can’t be offside from a goal kick.

Or at any time when the ball is played back into field of play, having been played out? i.e. Goal kick, corner & throw in.

[RoyalBlue]

Smith on a yellow so misses next match

What did he get booked for? - I seem to have missed it during the whole officiating shitshow!

Happened in the 2nd half, near the Blackpool box, possibly for dissent? - ref wave card in the general direction of Smith and Blackpool captain (who deserved a card all match) then later noticed yellow showing against Smith on scoreboard.

Is it possible that scoreboard got it wrong? I now recall the incident and, whilst I was surprised at the time, the ref seemed to walk towards the Blackpool player waving the card.

[Snowflake Royal]

What did he get booked for? - I seem to have missed it during the whole officiating shitshow!

Happened in the 2nd half, near the Blackpool box, possibly for dissent? - ref wave card in the general direction of Smith and Blackpool captain (who deserved a card all match) then later noticed yellow showing against Smith on scoreboard.

Is it possible that scoreboard got it wrong? I now recall the incident and, whilst I was surprised at the time, the ref seemed to walk towards the Blackpool player waving the card.

No. https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/18273 ... -Blackpool

[tmesis]

We basically need 15 points from 27 games to not be relegated. Maybe less. The only way we're going down is if we go on a bad run and get points deducted.

That would get us to 46 points, which would probably see us go down. Add another 5 to that, and I'd be surprised if we'd go donw with 51 points.

There's no way this team is going to slide to picking up just 20 points from 27 games though. I think we've overacheived at home this season, but we are midtable team, at least.

However, a significant exodus of better players in January would tip the balance very strongly the other way, potentially by enough to cause a Bullivant style collapse. I don't expect that to happen though.

46 points has been enough for survival in all of the last 3 seasons. This isn’t the Championship.

So we're just going ignore the fact the no team with 46 points or fewer has stayed up since the 99/00 season* before that, because it suits your argument better?

* not counting the curtailed 2019/20 season