What is wrong?

[Sutekh]

Reading’s players are technically good players.

Playing style though is not good. Dutch “total” football died ages ago outside of The Netherlands and seriously lacks any directness (least the version we get served up does).

Despite some of the shortcomings in defence I actually think the issue is at the other end of the pitch. For example Reading pose zero threat going forward (isnt it an utterly pathetic 2 shots on target in the last 2 games?). Opposing goalkeepers rarely have any thing to do other than clear back passes and catch a cross here and there. Consequently it becomes all about the defenders keeping the other team out which really doesnt help their cause

Seems to me Stam’s demands confuse and overly complicate what should be a simple game. The club is overloaded with wingers who seem to be told not to “wing” and look to run/pass inside all the time leaving the full back to provide width.

On top of that the constant unnecessary fiddling with team selection is ridiculous as is the fact that players like Popa dont get a game while Aluko and Beerens always do. Then there’s the earlier persistance to avoid playing Bod or giving Smith a chance

It’s no wonder players are confused and, I think, somewhat frightened to take a chance to go forward

Then there’s the continual run of injuries to players, while some obviously happen the number that seem to be mysteriously picked up in training is rather concerning.

All in all I think the basics are there but that it just needs a bit of simplifying and tweaking - and possibly by a new pair of hands.

Think Forest might therefore be Jaap’s final chance as the forthcoming international break would give the board a couple of weeks grace to find a replacement and be sufficently well ahead of the transfer window for any new incumbent to be able to assess the state of the squad here.

Certainly someone needs to do something to save this rapidly disappearing season. Will that be Stam though?

[leon]

Fault lies with Stam. Make the team work ffs.

[Royality creeps In]

Reading’s players are technically good players.

Playing style though is not good. Dutch “total” football died ages ago outside of The Netherlands and seriously lacks any directness (least the version we get served up does).

Despite some of the shortcomings in defence I actually think the issue is at the other end of the pitch. For example Reading pose zero threat going forward (isnt it an utterly pathetic 2 shots on target in the last 2 games?). Opposing goalkeepers rarely have any thing to do other than clear back passes and catch a cross here and there. Consequently it becomes all about the defenders keeping the other team out which really doesnt help their cause

Seems to me Stam’s demands confuse and overly complicate what should be a simple game. The club is overloaded with wingers who seem to be told not to “wing” and look to run/pass inside all the time leaving the full back to provide width.

On top of that the constant unnecessary fiddling with team selection is ridiculous as is the fact that players like Popa dont get a game while Aluko and Beerens always do. Then there’s the earlier persistance to avoid playing Bod or giving Smith a chance

It’s no wonder players are confused and, I think, somewhat frightened to take a chance to go forward

Then there’s the continual run of injuries to players, while some obviously happen the number that seem to be mysteriously picked up in training is rather concerning.

All in all I think the basics are there but that it just needs a bit of simplifying and tweaking - and possibly by a new pair of hands.

Think Forest might therefore be Jaap’s final chance as the forthcoming international break would give the board a couple of weeks grace to find a replacement and be sufficently well ahead of the transfer window for any new incumbent to be able to assess the state of the squad here.

Certainly someone needs to do something to save this rapidly disappearing season. Will that be Stam though?

He had McShane at wing back yesterday and didn't he have Bacuna there in the last few games.
The Dutch blokes obsessed!
He will probably have Mannone there next.

I think his plan B is to confuse the opposition. Well it sure confuses me

[Hound]

Yeah Sutekh, you’ve nicely explained the issues, but what should the board and/or Stam do about it?

I’ve been a big one for saying give Stam time, he has earned the right to try to turn things round, but any more of that muck like yesterday and I can’t see a way out for him

I keep thinking of that Johnson bloke at Brizzle and seeing how keeping faith in a manager can lead to good things but Stam just isn’t getting it this year.

The contrast from watching the U23 game to yesterday was stark. It’s almost like Stam needs to go and watch his own junior team to remember how we should be playing the game

[The Cap]

You could say that Stam is being brutally honest when he says that "if there's somebody else out there who thinks they can do a better job then crack on". His arrogance is staggering and, unless things change fairly prompto, will come back to bite him on the 'arris. The number of people who stayed outside, after half time, to watch the game on the big screen. As well as those leaving early was also.......staggering. Word of the day.

[double d]

Stam is what is wrong. We need a reading legend like murty or parky or adi Williams to be our manager I think

[DOYLERSAROYALER]

Stam is what is wrong. We need a reading legend like murty or parky or adi Williams to be our manager I think

Adi Williams..err no thanks..its bad enough listening to him and his egotrip on BBRB each week...

[tmesis]

Reading’s players are technically good players.

Playing style though is not good. Dutch “total” football died ages ago outside of The Netherlands and seriously lacks any directness (least the version we get served up does).?

This "Dutch football has failed" idea has become cliche of the season so far, based on a handful of Dutch managers not doing so well, and the Dutch team failing to qualify for a tournament (something that's happened six times since the 80s, along with seven semi-final appearances).

If you watch any Dutch football you'll quickly see there's nothing wrong with it. You'll also see that we don't play like a Dutch team, because Dutch players (usually) have the ability to pass through a defence, and the general awareness in the final third to play that style.

Maybe Stam needs an attacking coach, because as a defender, he's possibly not the best player to tell players what they should be doing around the opposition box.

[Lower West]

We've an inexperienced manager who is learning his craft in public view. The constant tinkering with the starting line up isn't allowing time for anything to evolve on the pitch.

[The Cap]

Lower West wrote:
We've an inexperienced manager who is learning his craft in public view. The constant tinkering with the starting line up isn't allowing time for anything to evolve on the pitch.

Good post LW. Simple and effective in its description of what isn't right at the mo'. So what is right with our club? I'm just getting cheesed off with all the negativity. We need an injection from somewhere, and hopefully that will take place some time soon. I can't imagine having to put up with the dross that's being served up on the pitch for much longer. I bought a bundle, a little while ago, and went to watch my first league game of the season yesterday. So, purchased said ticket from bundle and was told that it had been loaded on to my card. Turned up to turnstile (old school), prior to game, only to find that the dreaded red light suddenly appeared on the scanner. Anyway, cutting a long story short, I ended up missing the first 10 mins of the game. Possibly a blessing in disguise. At that point, I thought the club's ticket systems are about as good as what's currently being served up on the pitch.

[blueroyals]

What is wrong:

• - Summer recruitment failed to address gaps in squad
• - Last year's top goal scorer injured

Sacking the manager will not fix either of those

/thread

[Woodcote Royal]

Didn't go yesterday, sure as hell won't be there Tuesday and wouldn't place any money on Stam being there either.

To state the obvious, all that we're experiencing currently is typical of what happens when the wheels come off a club management. Tim Dellor said it felt like the end of an era and I couldn't disagree.

To be fair to Japp Stam, the side he put out yesterday, aside from his bizarre choice of right back, the continued presence of Beerens and Popa nowhere to be seen, was pretty close to what most of us have been asking for but, the end result was more of the mind numbingly boring, ineffective sh+te we have come to expect.

In these situations, fans often fail to factor in disgruntled players. The year Leicester won the Premiership, Chelsea and it's hugely talented squad spent most of the campaign languishing in the wrong half of the table. Once Jose had been sacked, normal service resumed with the players' (very justified) feelings regarding the pitch-side humiliation of their physio coming to light.

No one likes getting booed, and it's no secret I'm not Chris Gunter's greatest fan, but was he ever going to say "It's not my fault, we all know it's not working but it's how this twat wants us to play" in response to the stick he got from the East Stand?

I don't believe this talented squad has collectively lost faith in their own individual ability. Yesterday's performance from a first 11 of which most of us would have picked 9 from those available, confirmed what I have suspected for some time.

Like most of us, the players have lost faith in Stam and like those of us who have seen these events unfold many times before, it's only going to end one way and the sooner the better for all of us.

I hope Jaap, arguably the best centre half Man U every had, goes on to be a successful manager elsewhere but yesterday confirmed to me, and sad to say, there's no way back for him here.

[SCIAG]

Dutch “total” football died ages ago outside of The Netherlands

We don't play Total Football. Total Football is characterised by a high level of flair and particularly with high levels of movement from all players. As well as the Dutch national side and Ajax, it is strongly associated with Barcelona and Pep Guardiola, the most successful manager of the past decade.

The only real connection between our style and Total Football is that they are both possession-based styles in which the defenders have to be comfortable on the ball. That's the mainstream way of playing right now.

Our issue isn't that we're playing a possession-based style. It's that we don't create enough chances. There's a few reasons for that: we lack a quality striker, we're too ponderous, and our wingers don't offer enough threat in behind the opposition defence.

Possession is fine, but let's up the tempo, get the ball moving, and get the player moving too.

[Sutekh]

Dutch “total” football died ages ago outside of The Netherlands

We don't play Total Football. Total Football is characterised by a high level of flair and particularly with high levels of movement from all players. As well as the Dutch national side and Ajax, it is strongly associated with Barcelona and Pep Guardiola, the most successful manager of the past decade.

The only real connection between our style and Total Football is that they are both possession-based styles in which the defenders have to be comfortable on the ball. That's the mainstream way of playing right now.

Our issue isn't that we're playing a possession-based style. It's that we don't create enough chances. There's a few reasons for that: we lack a quality striker, we're too ponderous, and our wingers don't offer enough threat in behind the opposition defence.

Possession is fine, but let's up the tempo, get the ball moving, and get the player moving too.

You may well be right there. Issue usually is Reading have no clue about how to beat teams that "park the bus" which is nearly all of them these days. Now to be fair to Reading that seems to be a problem for a lot of sides but what is so frustrating about Reading particularly is that the type of football they're playing just seems to lead them to struggle so badly to even ask the right questions of the opposition let alone create an actual chance.

For the record does anyone know what Reading's stats are for "shots on target" in each of their league games so far this season. Memory maybe misleading but seem to think only the Villa game gave any real satisfaction in that area while in most of the others t was struggle to get much beyond 2 let alone beyond a more healthy figure like 5.

[3points]

With the exception of Joey, all the players looked scared to take the initiative and make a mistake. Both Swift and Kelly have lost this from their games this season. I think it was the Millwall cup game where Swift made about 4 errors in a coup,e of minutes and promptly got substituted.

Aluko has to be the biggest disappointment. Has he even run at a player and beat someone yet? that is surely a coaching thing, nothing to do with talent and ability

[royalp-we]

I'm interested in what the oxf*rd Stam and the coaching staff have these players doing on the training pitch.

Our play in the opposition half is simply not ruthless enough. The shape / system doesn't work. The Madejski Heineken was livlier than our attacking play yesterday

We need to go back to basics with a 4-4-2. Bombing wingers with Kermorgant and Smith / JDB knocking them in like Murray just has for those oxf*rd seagulls.

It's very frustrating that we have the wide players to double-up on opposition full backs but we opt to bring the CB's & CM's in to play constantly.

[AthleticoSpizz]

'bout time we rolled out the "LI and the state of the state of the pitch" line, when all else fails