Back from the Millwall (A) game

[winchester_royal]

Back to the game..

We were really poor in the second half. No imagination or ideas on the ball. The players all took the safe option of passing it out wide rather than actually taking the resposibility to put their foot on the ball and create something. Norwood and Williams I'm looking at you. You could see what Clarke was trying to do in terms of tucking the wingers inside and getting the full backs to bomb on, and to an extent it worked as Obita had loads of space to put balls into the box but if we're going to use that tactic then we really need a player in the middle who attacks the ball and gets in the right place. It is in that particular area where the superiority of Murray over Pog is really very noticeable.

But - at the same time - we were very comfortable, and in the first half we were totally dominant without carving out any clear cut chances. Their red card probably set us back tbh as I'd have backed us to pick them off quite easily towards the end of the game when they'd have started to push forward. An encouraging defensive display, and if we can start complementing that solidity and control with some attacking verve then we'll be just fine.

Desperately need a new striker in though, an I'd also say we need a no. 10 type player to play between the lines when teams try to shut us down last night.

[WoodleyRoyal]

The game aside, it's quite disappointing to hear the younger lads singing songs that have no relevance to the club, and even more disappointing to hear the old twats stood around whinging/swearing at them. It's great they are up there making some noise tbf, a part of me just wishes they weren't ripping off other teams chants that have no relevance to the club - referring to "when i was young" "when the royals go steaming in" and "we're reading away" or whatever it is, none of which you would have heard a couple of years ago following Reading away. There wasn't even any Bill Oddie ffs, that's all I paid my £26 for!

Agree with the chants, but Reading simply doesn't have that many original ones, even the ones we use consistently are used elsewhere. The Reading support isn't vocal or original enough to have a good range of chants. Although we are usually decent with interacting with the opposing fans.

Also, how do you think chants gain relevance to clubs? If the younger lot sing these chants and eventually others join in, and the chants are sung for the next 5-10 years, I'd say the chants are then relevant to the club.

Yeah I take the point on that, and I would never act disparaingly towards some young lads trying to support the team at a game as some miserable old sods around me were doing. I just wish the chants they opted for were at least slightly unique. I remember when someone posted a link to here a few years back to some Dutch fans singing "So Happy Together" which sounded huge - stuff like that would be great to pick up, not just whichever chants you can hear from your armchair on telly.

What I love hearing when I go to away games are the chants which are at least slightly unique to us, e.g. Bill oddie, Molly Malone, the Karacan chant etc. FWIW the following at Fulham the other week were tremendous, I left the ground not even arsed about the result as the atmosphere was so good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS8PL4nZXNo it is indeed something we should adopt

[Will95]

I'll put my part in here - I do the oxf*rd sign whenever since I was young is sung because I know those kids and it's a pisstake between us (+ it's shit). I got pulled aside for this yesterday by an older (but not old) fan and did my best to explain. I'm sure you two weren't on about me though as I'm never vocal in my hate for them and don't think I used the c word!

But you are one of those guys? You and that big fat cnut are best m8s

Not quite.

[Hoop Blah]

Desperately need a new striker in though, an I'd also say we need a no. 10 type player to play between the lines when teams try to shut us down last night.

Agreed.

Cox is surely supposed to be our potential number 10, he's just not the most subtle version of it.

Regarding McLeary, I assumed that Clarke and his team dropped him from the starting eleven because of his on and off fitness issues since coming back from a long lay off and thought more than a cameo was pushing him too much despite not being involved against Cardiff.

[Will95]

Anyway, decent performance, battered them all game, but our crossing was predictable and our shooting was terrible. Pog, Kanu and Blackman were all stupidly bad. great save by Feds though.

[RoyalBlue]

Agree with the chants, but Reading simply doesn't have that many original ones, even the ones we use consistently are used elsewhere. The Reading support isn't vocal or original enough to have a good range of chants. Although we are usually decent with interacting with the opposing fans.

Also, how do you think chants gain relevance to clubs? If the younger lot sing these chants and eventually others join in, and the chants are sung for the next 5-10 years, I'd say the chants are then relevant to the club.

Yeah I take the point on that, and I would never act disparaingly towards some young lads trying to support the team at a game as some miserable old sods around me were doing. I just wish the chants they opted for were at least slightly unique. I remember when someone posted a link to here a few years back to some Dutch fans singing "So Happy Together" which sounded huge - stuff like that would be great to pick up, not just whichever chants you can hear from your armchair on telly.

What I love hearing when I go to away games are the chants which are at least slightly unique to us, e.g. Bill oddie, Molly Malone, the Karacan chant etc. FWIW the following at Fulham the other week were tremendous, I left the ground not even arsed about the result as the atmosphere was so good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS8PL4nZXNo it is indeed something we should adopt

Perhaps we should wait until we are 'So happy together'? !

[Ascotroyal83]

No it wasn't you Will.This bloke was stood to the far left at the back of the stand.Spent more time moaning about what the kids were singing than watching the game.Personally i couldn't care less how much someone swears but some of those kids are utter cretins.

[Will95]

About half the kids that turn up now are arseholes. I like about 5 of the 'group' I'm apparently a part of according to LWJ and 3 of those are the only ones who travel with me every week!

[paultheroyal]

As for the twat offering his money to the Reading players at the final whistle leaning over hoardings by stairway... Oh dear!

[bcubed]

Desperately need a new striker in though, an I'd also say we need a no. 10 type player to play between the lines when teams try to shut us down last night.

Agreed.

Cox is surely supposed to be our potential number 10, he's just not the most subtle version of it.

Regarding McLeary, I assumed that Clarke and his team dropped him from the starting eleven because of his on and off fitness issues since coming back from a long lay off and thought more than a cameo was pushing him too much despite not being involved against Cardiff.

I'm sure this is right but as he is our only attacking threat (he was against Cardiff anyway) it's a bit of a tactical error
Unless we are concentrating on the Cup!

[Platypuss]

Now that I'm attending football regularly again, I have to say that there are a lot of young bellends in our ranks now

Nah, you're just getting old m8. Youngsters have always been ocean-going bells.

[Extended-Phenotype]

So Clarke is good then.

[LWJ]

About half the kids that turn up now are arseholes. I like about 5 of the 'group' I'm apparently a part of according to LWJ and 3 of those are the only ones who travel with me every week!

RattLOLed


Fulham was the perfect example as soon as we had any sort of turnout these kids got drowned out. Unfortunately we don't play Fulham every week so it won't be consistently good

[Will95]

About half the kids that turn up now are arseholes. I like about 5 of the 'group' I'm apparently a part of according to LWJ and 3 of those are the only ones who travel with me every week!

RattLOLed


Fulham was the perfect example as soon as we had any sort of turnout these kids got drowned out. Unfortunately we don't play Fulham every week so it won't be consistently good

The crowd was dead quiet at Fulham for such a big crowd tbh

Not rattled either I've just explained this too many times on here

[sandman]

About half the kids that turn up now are arseholes. I like about 5 of the 'group' I'm apparently a part of according to LWJ and 3 of those are the only ones who travel with me every week!

RattLOLed


Fulham was the perfect example as soon as we had any sort of turnout these kids got drowned out. Unfortunately we don't play Fulham every week so it won't be consistently good

The crowd was dead quiet at Fulham for such a big crowd tbh

Not on the left side it wasn't.

[No Fixed Abode]

Is the speaker on the left side of your tv louder than the right?

[leon]

About half the kids that turn up now are arseholes. I like about 5 of the 'group' I'm apparently a part of according to LWJ and 3 of those are the only ones who travel with me every week!

RattLOLed


Fulham was the perfect example as soon as we had any sort of turnout these kids got drowned out. Unfortunately we don't play Fulham every week so it won't be consistently good

The crowd was dead quiet at Fulham for such a big crowd tbh

Not rattled either I've just explained this too many times on here

was it fuck

I was in the Fulham "family stand" surrounded by utter cunts and volume from the Reading fans right next to us was just fine - jnr leon I was pissed off because she couldn't be in there singing and shouting abuse at Fulham. She's 8.

[Will95]

I was right next to that Fulham bit you're on about and for a crowd that big it wasn't great

Not a touch on say Southampton and West Ham the year we went up, Chelsea in the last Prem year to name a few.