Every week ex-Reading goalkeeper Steve Mautone will be delivering
his word on the Royals exclusively on Hob Nob Anyone?
Steve, who now plays for Ryman Premier side Slough Town, will be remembered
as Reading's popular first choice 'keeper after signing from West Ham for £250,000
in March 1997. Mauts went on to make 34 first team appearances for the Royals
before suffering from a knee injury which hampered his career in the football
league.
26 March 2001
"Strange Selections"
Everybody in the stands is an expert on how their team should play.
On who should be playing where and what players should be doing when they get the ball.Well, this is what makes this game of ours so great: Opinions! The post match discussions that go on well beyond last orders at your local, well in my local anyway. Friday night's game was no exception. And our main topic was, 'why did Darren Caskey not start the game?'.
In my opinion, if you have a player like Tony Rougier playing in your team, who is one of the best dribblers in this league, and a player who thrives on getting the ball at his feet and running at players, then why would you have a player like Darren Caskey, who is one of the best playmakers and passers of the ball in this league, on the bench?
I would have thought that Caskey would have been able to supply Rougier with quality passes to his feet so that Tony could have really caused problems for the Bristol defence. I felt that the long ball was played too many times. It seemed that when Reading got the ball down and passed it round, they looked dangerous. I also believe that if you are going to play the long ball tactics, then you need a target man, like Butler, to win the ball, but you also need someone with pace to look for the flicks, like Jamie Cureton.
Anyway, that is my opinion and I know that the coaching staff has their own opinion on how they should play. Like I said, opinions are what make this game so great.Overall, the final score did not reflect the game.
Bristol scored their first goal at a vital time in the game, which set them up for a positive second half. They came out hungrier and more determined to win the battle. For me, that is why Bristol went back up the M4 with all three points.Lets hope the boys can turn over the old rivals, Swindon, on Tuesday night and set themselves up for a great home game on Saturday against Notts County.
My predictions for this week are; a 2-1 win at Swindon and a 2-0 win against County.
I am not going to put any money on these predictions after getting it so wrong last week, I know I will end up skint!Mauts.
Steve Mautone
(ex. Reading Player & avid supporter)
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