BFTG Birmingham

[URZZZZ]

One of the worst performances of the season. Yet another first half playing 5 at the back of nothingness other than set pieces. Nearly 300 minutes without a goal in open play with it

Yet the change to 4-4-2 had very little effect either. Who knows who was playing where? Surely it's as simple as McCleary/Meite on the right, Boye on the left and Joao and Puscas up top. But we see McCleary and Boye in random areas, having a competition with each other to see who can lose it more. Terrible

I said that Gunter was a smarter, not necessarily better player than Yiadom a couple of weeks ago and the usual suspects disagreed. But every time we see it, Yiadom simply cannot pick a cross out, and especially playing 5 at the back, it's essential that your wingbacks can do that. Richards on the other flank looked lost out there and it's always a case of one step forward, one step back with him since Gomes ridiculously dropped him

I also said a couple of days ago this team lacks brains. 95th minute, why does our captain head the ball off the pitch for their throw in? Why do our players continuously foul theirs when it's obvious they're going to time waste? Why do we never just play the simple ball? All simple questions, yet our players can't ever answer them

As for Meite and Puscas, I'm struggling to think of a worse duo in a long time that have played regularly. They just have no link between them, and they can't hold the ball up to save their lives. Once again, Meite looks better out on the flank when his first touch is less important

As for the subs, completely contrasting impacts. Joao scored, Adam was a class above to be fair to him but Boye? Dear me, for someone who's usually pretty sharp, he was absolutely woeful

Quick note on Birmingham - decent side who play quick, incisive football but clearly can't defend from set pieces

[John Madejski's Wallet]

Well that was poo

Bowen has to take the blame for that one. First half was scrappy as hell but I fancied us to push on second half.....right up until he made the dying-minutes-chasing-the-game changes at HT. From then on Brum had the run of the park.

Meite and Puscus, Christ that is a bad pairing. Neither of them able to hold the ball up, it was embarrassing to watch at times.

Rhinomota tried but no one really came out of that with any pride, except Adam and João in their brief cameos. And just LOL at the constant overrunning of the ball by McCleary, Boye and Meite.

Roll on Wednesday I guess

[John Madejski's Wallet]

Ooops URZZZ clearly left earlier than me.....mods, please merge

[Sutekh]

Not bothered by that utter shambles in the slightest. It’s Birmingham at home in the league and Reading are always bad in this fixture so was expecting it. Now that it’s out the way I’m looking forward to being able to kick on at Barnsley and start turning this season into something positive.

[Hound]

Wouldn’t argue massively

Poor day all round. Didn’t like the line up and it worked as expected. Shame obviously that Baldock, Swift, Ejaria and Obita were all out as missed each one massively

Far too many poor touches, mis controls and millions of avoidable fouls given away. Very frustrating to watch

I’m really struggling with Meite this year, just offering so little. Puscas doesn’t give too much more but at least I’ve seen him combine with Joao/Baldock this year. Boye was woeful. McCleary did ok first, poor second

Adam was superb. Almost got us something from the game. What a left foot on him

[NewCorkSeth]

The shape change oxf*rd us. I think comparisons to last weeks shape change are pointless. Came at a different point in the match. Also I think the first 11 was a mistake. As someone pointed out we looked shit in the first half last week with this 11, why would we expect any different this week? Having aid that we looked better in the first half than in the second.



Rafael confused me. Pulled of a good save from a snapshot in the second half but should have been able to save the 3rd goal. Poor game but then was it really his fault? I feel like I wonder that a lot about him. I don't have much confidence in him.

Yiadom looked, unusually for him, unfit but he won some good tackles, created some chances and his crossing was actually a little bit better. Overall I thought he was solid but not his usual self.

Miazga made one bad pass then got hooked off at the break. Weird.

Morrison will have to move on quickly although he did make one very good charging run forward. He looked a shadow of the defender we usually see.

Moore I have literally no notes for. He was fine, maybe even good?

Richards has continued his nosedive. I hope he pulls up soon. He was poor.

Pele was my MOTM. I thought he looked mostly good. Cant remember him putting a foot wrong despite the added pressure the shape change forced upon him. Which is odd because I am sure Pele either doesnt have a footballing brain or doesnt actually like being a footballer. Also how good were his corners??

Rinomhota was fine. I guess? made some good runs but like with Pele all his good work was a little undone by the shape change and he didnt cope with it as well as Pele did.

McCleary was poor. He simply isn't the right man to fill Ejarias boots in this formation. He has had some really good moments in recent weeks but I dont think he should be starting.

Meite deserved that goal. He works hard for it. Still shouldn't play with Puscas up front. Too much of the same. Also is starting to get too easily bullied off the ball. Championship defenders will push you from behind Yakou, you are for sure strong enough to take it.

Puscas barely played..

Boye was shite.

Adam was surprisingly great. Looked in control. Shame.

Joao was good. Yes he ran the ball into trouble once or twice (I can only recall the one time) but he worked hard to regain lost balls and looked a threat.

[Sutekh]

The shape change oxf*rd us. I think comparisons to last weeks shape change are pointless. Came at a different point in the match. Also I think the first 11 was a mistake. As someone pointed out we looked shit in the first half last week with this 11, why would we expect any different this week? Having aid that we looked better in the first half than in the second.

Exactly. Did not understand that at all. Would certainly have tried something different.

[Hound]

Joao undoubtedly the best of the forwards. Actually able to control a football which helps

[PistolPete]

That was DIRE.

[Sutekh]

Joao undoubtedly the best of the forwards. Actually able to control a football which helps

Shame he couldn’t hit the target when given a glorious opportunity by Mr Yiadom a little earlier in the game. Still he did get to the consolation so 1 out of 2 chances I suppose is ok.

[NewCorkSeth]

The shape change oxf*rd us. I think comparisons to last weeks shape change are pointless. Came at a different point in the match. Also I think the first 11 was a mistake. As someone pointed out we looked shit in the first half last week with this 11, why would we expect any different this week? Having aid that we looked better in the first half than in the second.

Exactly. Did not understand that at all. Would certainly have tried something different.

Someone may come and point out we dont have anyone to play the Ejaria role which I understand. Joao maybe could do it but he wasnt fit enough for a full 90 and we would all rather see him up top anyway. Maybe Barrett? Anyway, hindsight really helps here.

[sandman]

Absolutely woeful performance. You cannot start with that formation when Ejaria and Swift are missing.

We needed to change something but unfortunately it didn't work out. Poor from Bowen but would rather he tried something and it fail than leave it the way it was.

Rafael - No chance with the goals really. A couple of decent saves. 6

Yiadom - Worst performance in a Reading shirt from Yiadom, constantly misplaced passes. No idea how Mick Gooding gave him man of the match. 3

Morrison - Started well but not the same after the OG. 4

Miazga - Awful. Put us in trouble in the first half two or three times including a stupid free kick back to Rafael. 3

Moore - Given the run around by the number 24. Couple of decent blocks though. 4

Richards - Offered nothing in attack and poor defensively. 3

Mccleary - Couple of runs trying to create something. Not a stand out game.

Rinomhota - Usual energy but not enough quality and overrun by Brum. 4

Pele - Like Rinomhota but without the energy. Very poor. 3

Puscas - Didn't know he was playing for most of that. Very little service from Midfield and the full backs bar one ball from Yiadom where he was caught offside. 3

Meite - Scored the goal, which gets him an extra mark, and that's about it. Shoved off the ball too easily. 4

Subs:

Boyé - Would love to know when Boyé has "looked sharp". Looks another Popa to me, runs around a lot but offers very little meaningful contribution other than holding onto the ball for too long before the opposition nick the ball from him and run at our goal. 2

Joao - Scored the consolation and held the ball up better than the other attackers had managed during the game. However, he blazed a shot over the bar which could have made a difference to the final outcome. 5

Adam - Best player on the pitch in the last 20 minutes. Sprayed passes around at will, including sending the ball out to Yiadom for the Joao shot that went over the bar, and decent set pieces. If only he was 10 years younger, two yards quicker, 2 stone lighter and able to start. 7 MotM

[Westwood52]

That was dismal.
Lack of sharpness ,poor passing,no commitment in the tackle.
Despite a Ref who bordered on bias,Brum fully deserved their win.
There just does not seem a central core to the team,so that even if it’s an off day they can adjust and still be competitive.
IMHO

Rafael 4 He’s not really that good is he ,just better than Walker or Virginia.
Yiadom 6 wholehearted,and looked dangerous going forward,but lacking in quality on the ball.
Richards 2 He really was dreadful today,and was a liability throughout.Dont want to see him in the team again for quite a while.
Moore 8 Comfortably our best player today,haveing to shore up the shower of s##t around him.
Rino 5 The game completely by passed him,until it was too late.Hasnt kicked on this season.
Miazga 6 Why take him off so early.Did nothing wrong.
Morrison 2 Cannot understand it.Usualy so reliable,but a calamity waiting to happen today.
Pele 6 Excellent corners and I generally thought he was ok.
Puskas 2 Atypical George day.Just a waste of space.
Meite 5 zero hold up play Touch of a brick wall. Good goal though
Macca 3 Just couldn’t do the job required.

Boye Kept on losing the ball.
Jao Missed a good chance when he came on.Fluke of a goal.
Adam. Has seen better days,but at least he looked after the ball.

Worryingly small crowd today.

[Snowflake Royal]

McCleary isn't cut out for starting in the Swift / Ejaria role, certainly without either. Good sub though.

In some ways I think Puscas' hat-trick hurt the team for this game as really he's been poor for a while and we'd be better off with Joao in Baldock's absence IMO (who incidentally looks more up for it under Bowen).

We need to stick to the plan, and that means a proper attacking midfielder has to play. Olise or Barrett would have been more involved than McCleary today or against Wigan IMO.

Saying that, it really was a horror show for the entire team. Poor passes, poor control, stupid decision making, off the pace, disorganised.

But, it's because the balance is all wrong with Pele, Rino and McCleary as the midfield and Meite and Puscas don't work together.

As someone said pre-game... this is the genuine poor result and performance you expect from Reading of late that we hadn't had under Bowen's tenure. Put it behind us, get the right balance in the XI and go again.

[PieEater]

I didn't see it like a lot of others, perhaps RTGs but I thought Brum were pretty ordinary, they worked hard, closed down, fluked 2 goals and generally cheated and worked their way to 3 points. I hate to say it but we are too nice and need to aspire to their levels of cheating, particularly away. More rolling around on the floor holding your shin, haranguing the ref and cynical fouling as required.

We missed Swift and /or Ejaria to create something but had we taken the few chances we created we'd all be saying Bowen was a tactical genius.

[Lower West]

After considerable investment in the summer. This is still a woefull squad. When a has been comes on and looks good. You realise how dire we actually are. Bowen’s only job now is to steer us to safety. An inability to play a basic 4 4 2 formation speaks volumes.

[Old Man Andrews]

Good game, better team won, no drama needed.

[Singing Defective]

Birmingham couldn’t believe the second half: They had about 3/4 of the pitch to themselves, as our players kept rolling over each other, the boys in yellow were either time-wasting or keeping the ball with Ejaria-style back flicks or jump overs.

I thought the ref who had an abysmal first half for both sides would eventually change shirt into yellow in the second and just join in (Puscas was right in front of us when he broke free at the 1/2 way line, and didn’t look offside).

A lot of Club 1871 must be fans of one of the Manchester sides, as they left in plenty of time to catch the kick-off.

Happy Birthday, Mr Manager.

[Hound]

Good game, better team won, no drama needed.

I’d sway towards this tbh

Bowen’s comments were about right

If we start playing like that regularly with S&E back I’ll start to worry. Still would like to see Olise back in the mix until they are

[CavershamRoyal]

At times it was actually an entertaining game to watch, but we were beyond sloppy for large periods. The amount of misplaced passes was horrific. The change of shape at HT meant we were steamrollered through the middle in the second half. I would have probably hooked off Meite (a quick word on him - he tries hard but seems to go down way too easily. Can't hold the ball up and never wins anything in the air. Hopefully he improves as the season goes on. or Puscas for Blackett at the 50-55 min mark and reverted to 5 at the back. 4-4-2 worked against Wigan, but it left us so exposed today.

Adam looked a class above when he came on, but any player who could play an accurate pass would've looked good today. We really, really missed Swift and Ejaria. Without them, there's just no creativity in the middle.

Based on today's performance, would probably swap Yiadom, Meite/Puscas and GMac (not that he actually played too badly, but doesn't quite offer as much as Ejaria) for Gunter, Baldock and Ejaria for Barnsley (presuming Swift is still injured).