BFTG Wednesday

[URZZZZ]

Rafael 6 - didn’t have to do much, caught what he had to

Holmes 5 - caught out of position for their goal, doesn’t have the capabilities to play as an attacking fullback (quite understandably given he’s a CB), should have been taken off earlier
Morrison 6 - fairly quiet, but did what he had to
Moore 6 - same as Morrison
Richards 8 - neat and tidy on the ball, defended well when required, did particularly well in the first half but didn’t get the ball in the box enough in the second half, couple of poor crosses

Laurent 8 - decent engine in midfield, one of the few who moved the ball around quickly and with purpose against 10 men. Had two good chances to be the match winner, should have done better from Aluko’s cutback, even with the handball
Rinomhota 6 - didn’t notice him too much, but nothing really came through our midfield so must have done OK

Olise 7 - thought he was one of our better players in the first half, unlucky with the freekick and got in between the lines fairly well. Needs to pull the trigger quicker
Semedo 5 - I’m sure we were saying a similar thing about Pele this time a year ago but struggling to see what he offers
Ejaria 6 - still continues to frustrate with exactly the same comments as 20 months ago. Poor first half, epitomised by him wandering into the middle of the pitch, losing it once again in a dangerous area, and us conceding. Decent ball in for our goal though and improved in the second half. Needs to stay out wide and stop coming in so central

Joao 7 - another goal for him, he did relatively well although would have liked to have seen him more involved

Subs:
Esteves 6 - offered more than Holmes but would like to have seen him have a go at his man. Was left 1 on 1 against the LB a couple of times in the second half and he just turned inside
Aluko 6 - again, a few too many safe passes inside from him, made the wrong choice a couple of times. In saying that, he put two teasing balls in the box, the one for Laurent’s handball shot and the one right at the end. Would prefer to see him over Semedo if Meite isn’t back
Baldock 5 - his contribution was succinctly encapsulated a few weeks ago. He’s not a bad player, he works hard, moves around etc. But your heart sort of drops when he comes on and you half just give up, you know there’s a very small chance he’ll actually contribute positively towards the game

Thought we did OK against 10 men, would have liked to see us try a few more crosses given Wednesday didn’t seem too comfortable dealing with them. A bit too slow and predictable at times

Ref was clearly woeful (for both teams but mainly for us). Personally not quite getting the four stonewall calls, think only number 1 and 3 were stonewalls, I’m not sure the other two were penalties. Then you also have to factor in our goal wasn’t a freekick in the first place. Suspect this ref won’t be reffing at this level on Saturday regardless

For Saturday, hope Meite can slot back in for Semedo. If not, would possibly look to give Esteves a go further forward, otherwise would bring Aluko in. Really don’t want to see Semedo start again against a team who’ll most likely play a low block, similar to today’s game

[Snowflake Royal]

Cabral - 6 nothing to do but the goal, thought his positioning was weak on the goal
Holmes - 7caught upfield on the goal but otherwise solid
Richards- 8 caused all sorts of problems, needed to stay wider 2nd half and caught up field for the goal
Morro - 7 untroubled
Moore - 7 same
Laurent - 7 great game apart from the goal where he made no effort to stay with his man
Rino - 6 quieter but effective
Olise - 8 hit the post, was the only one really trying to make stuff happen other than Richards
Ejaria - 6 gave the ball away for the goal, good ball in for ours. Plays too slow, especially against a 10 men side packing their box, just too much time to get organised
Semedo - 5 coupled of moments but missing most the match. No real space to exploit in fairness
Joao - 8 scored and came close a few times, should have bust a guy and put away Olise's cross to win it.

Pauno - 5 poor subs. Esteves attacks space, there was none. Aluko flatters, Baldock runs in behind, there was no behind. Olise was the most creative threat, Semedo and Ejaria did little to create

Ref - 1 got the sending off right, otherwise very dodgy. How you have four strong pen shouts, 2 stonewall at least, and give none I've no idea. So bad you wonder about corruption.

[NewCorkSeth]

Not that I disagree with Ejaria being too slow at times but it is certainly interesting that over the last 2 games people have been quite critical of him in the match threads and, again over the last 2 games, he has been, statistically speaking, our highest rated player.

Whoscored obviously loves dribbles.

[Hound]

On review we actually had a fair number of chances, we did create more than I remembered really. There was the MM header, the early Joao chance, the one off the line, Olise hit the post, Semedo shot, Laurent handball shot, lots of nice crosses which got headed away

Just one of those days really. All 4 were pens, 2 were unarguable. Sending off correct, as was the free kick. Can’t see the argument on that tbh, he ran into the back of him. Clever play

8 Laurent, Richards
7 Olise, Ejaria, Joao, Morro, Moore
6 Rafael, Holmes, Esteves, Aluko, Rino
5 Semedo, Baldock

[Bristol Paul]

Rafael 6 - didn’t have to do much, caught what he had to

Holmes 5 - caught out of position for their goal, doesn’t have the capabilities to play as an attacking fullback (quite understandably given he’s a CB), should have been taken off earlier
Morrison 6 - fairly quiet, but did what he had to
Moore 6 - same as Morrison
Richards 8 - neat and tidy on the ball, defended well when required, did particularly well in the first half but didn’t get the ball in the box enough in the second half, couple of poor crosses

Laurent 8 - decent engine in midfield, one of the few who moved the ball around quickly and with purpose against 10 men. Had two good chances to be the match winner, should have done better from Aluko’s cutback, even with the handball
Rinomhota 6 - didn’t notice him too much, but nothing really came through our midfield so must have done OK

Olise 7 - thought he was one of our better players in the first half, unlucky with the freekick and got in between the lines fairly well. Needs to pull the trigger quicker
Semedo 5 - I’m sure we were saying a similar thing about Pele this time a year ago but struggling to see what he offers
Ejaria 6 - still continues to frustrate with exactly the same comments as 20 months ago. Poor first half, epitomised by him wandering into the middle of the pitch, losing it once again in a dangerous area, and us conceding. Decent ball in for our goal though and improved in the second half. Needs to stay out wide and stop coming in so central

Joao 7 - another goal for him, he did relatively well although would have liked to have seen him more involved

Subs:
Esteves 6 - offered more than Holmes but would like to have seen him have a go at his man. Was left 1 on 1 against the LB a couple of times in the second half and he just turned inside
Aluko 6 - again, a few too many safe passes inside from him, made the wrong choice a couple of times. In saying that, he put two teasing balls in the box, the one for Laurent’s handball shot and the one right at the end. Would prefer to see him over Semedo if Meite isn’t back
Baldock 5 - his contribution was succinctly encapsulated a few weeks ago. He’s not a bad player, he works hard, moves around etc. But your heart sort of drops when he comes on and you half just give up, you know there’s a very small chance he’ll actually contribute positively towards the game

Thought we did OK against 10 men, would have liked to see us try a few more crosses given Wednesday didn’t seem too comfortable dealing with them. A bit too slow and predictable at times

Ref was clearly woeful (for both teams but mainly for us). Personally not quite getting the four stonewall calls, think only number 1 and 3 were stonewalls, I’m not sure the other two were penalties. Then you also have to factor in our goal wasn’t a freekick in the first place. Suspect this ref won’t be reffing at this level on Saturday regardless

For Saturday, hope Meite can slot back in for Semedo. If not, would possibly look to give Esteves a go further forward, otherwise would bring Aluko in. Really don’t want to see Semedo start again against a team who’ll most likely play a low block, similar to today’s game

Generally agree with these, other than Morrison. I wish he wouldn’t attempt any passes more than 6ft as he just gives the ball away. Team played well enough, albeit in strange conditions given the extra man for most of the game, but I wish they had thrown more crosses in as there’s always the chance of a knock down or a goal mouth scramble. Times in the first half, before the sending off, reminded me of Stam ball, aimlessly knocking it sideways and backwards ( before Morrison gives it away). 2 penalties stonewall, not the others for me. Wednesday will not get a luckier point all season but defended well to their credit. Still, who would have imagined after the last few years being 1 point of top at the start of December. Great being a Royals supporter again.

[Old Man Andrews]

Cabral - 6 nothing to do but the goal, thought his positioning was weak on the goal
Holmes - 7caught upfield on the goal but otherwise solid
Richards- 8 caused all sorts of problems, needed to stay wider 2nd half and caught up field for the goal
Morro - 7 untroubled
Moore - 7 same
Laurent - 7 great game apart from the goal where he made no effort to stay with his man
Rino - 6 quieter but effective
Olise - 8 hit the post, was the only one really trying to make stuff happen other than Richards
Ejaria - 6 gave the ball away for the goal, good ball in for ours. Plays too slow, especially against a 10 men side packing their box, just too much time to get organised
Semedo - 5 coupled of moments but missing most the match. No real space to exploit in fairness
Joao - 8 scored and came close a few times, should have bust a guy and put away Olise's cross to win it.

Pauno - 5 poor subs. Esteves attacks space, there was none. Aluko flatters, Baldock runs in behind, there was no behind. Olise was the most creative threat, Semedo and Ejaria did little to create

Ref - 1 got the sending off right, otherwise very dodgy. How you have four strong pen shouts, 2 stonewall at least, and give none I've no idea. So bad you wonder about corruption.

Good lord...............................

[NewCorkSeth]

On review we actually had a fair number of chances, we did create more than I remembered really. There was the MM header, the early Joao chance, the one off the line, Olise hit the post, Semedo shot, Laurent handball shot, lots of nice crosses which got headed away

Just one of those days really. All 4 were pens, 2 were unarguable. Sending off correct, as was the free kick. Can’t see the argument on that tbh, he ran into the back of him. Clever play

8 Laurent, Richards
7 Olise, Ejaria, Joao, Morro, Moore
6 Rafael, Holmes, Esteves, Aluko, Rino
5 Semedo, Baldock

Bet Morro is kicking himself about not putting that away.

Easy to forget Olise played a lovely ball across the face of the goal but neither Joao or Semedo went for it. Hate to harm on about it but that is where Meite makes the difference. He runs at those.

If Meite had played we would have won.

[Hound]

Yep

[SouthDownsRoyal]

Pauno - 5 poor subs. Esteves attacks space, there was none. Aluko flatters, Baldock runs in behind, there was no behind. Olise was the most creative threat, Semedo and Ejaria did little to create
.

Pauno 5? Is it his fault we have no one decent on the bench to bring on?!

[andrew1957]

That has to be the worst refereeing performance I have ever seen. How can he miss 2 stonewall penalties plus 2 others of a type that I have seen given in the past. As implied earlier you do wonder about Far East betting syndicates when you see such an awful performance by a match official. Sadly it has happened in the past. If he was simply incompetent then with so many millions at stake for promotion these days he should certainly not officiate at this level again.

As for the Holmes v Esteves debate it is Holmes all the way for me. Frankly every time I see Esteves name on the team sheet it worries me whereas Holmes whilst by no means perfect has a calming effect at the back. And he got forward a good deal last night and nearly scored. With Holmes, Morrison and Moore at the back it allows Richards free range to get forward and add to our attack a lot and wow does he look like a player these days.

Cannot fault any of our team - all good again and I just hope we don’t miss out on either automatic or play offs by 1 or 2 points because if so I will not be able to get the 2 points we were cheated out of last night out of my head.

[URZZZZ]

That has to be the worst refereeing performance I have ever seen. How can he miss 2 stonewall penalties plus 2 others of a type that I have seen given in the past. As implied earlier you do wonder about Far East betting syndicates when you see such an awful performance by a match official. Sadly it has happened in the past. If he was simply incompetent then with so many millions at stake for promotion these days he should certainly not officiate at this level again.

As for the Holmes v Esteves debate it is Holmes all the way for me. Frankly every time I see Esteves name on the team sheet it worries me whereas Holmes whilst by no means perfect has a calming effect at the back. And he got forward a good deal last night and nearly scored. With Holmes, Morrison and Moore at the back it allows Richards free range to get forward and add to our attack a lot and wow does he look like a player these days.

Cannot fault any of our team - all good again and I just hope we don’t miss out on either automatic or play offs by 1 or 2 points because if so I will not be able to get the 2 points we were cheated out of last night out of my head.

Whilst the referee’s performance was incredibly frustrating, we’ll have games where we get the rub of the green. Arguably Boro were “cheated” out of 2 points when we played them as they had a perfectly good goal disallowed

Obviously the Boro game wasn’t to the same degree as yesterday but just to add a little bit of perspective

[Snowflake Royal]

Pauno - 5 poor subs. Esteves attacks space, there was none. Aluko flatters, Baldock runs in behind, there was no behind. Olise was the most creative threat, Semedo and Ejaria did little to create
.

Pauno 5? Is it his fault we have no one decent on the bench to bring on?!

Yes, because he brought them on anyway and for the wrong people.

[Hound]

Pauno - 5 poor subs. Esteves attacks space, there was none. Aluko flatters, Baldock runs in behind, there was no behind. Olise was the most creative threat, Semedo and Ejaria did little to create
.

Pauno 5? Is it his fault we have no one decent on the bench to bring on?!

Yes, because he brought them on anyway and for the wrong people.

I thought the subs were the right ones , but probably 10-15 mins too late. Esteves could have come on at ht, and Aluko certainly offered more than Rino in the final third.

[Sanguine]

I must be missing something on Holmes as he doesn't calm me at all. More than once Wednesday broke away and he was wandering aimlessly around on our right flank.

Overall I thought we played well - there is, to me, noticeably more confidence on the ball, of all the Championship sides I've seen this season I'd argue that we look most comfortable with the ball at feet. I also like how often our attacking players are now coming off their lines into space - broadly we've got a good attacking setup. And we created a lot of chances. Adding the penalty shouts, most nights that is a comfortable 3-1 or 4-1 win, just one of those days where it doesn't quite go.

Lucas Joao - Sky said he scored 1 in his first 11 Reading games, and has 18 in 23 since. Terrific stuff. Frustratingly, the ball still bounces off him in promising positions quite a lot too.

[Franchise FC]

Well, thought I would stick to the uncontroversial incidents

Penalty incident 1 - Richards - quite what the referee sees to give a free kick the other way is beyond my comprehension
Penalty incident 2 - Handball - well, much as I hate VAR, that would certainly have been given with any second look. Would suggest that the linesman would have been unsighted by the defenders body and by coincidence I assume the referee must've been unsighted too
Penalty incident 3 - Baldock - given that neither the referee nor the linesman were more than 20 yards from that incident I fail to see how they've both missed the kick on the back of Baldock's leg
Penalty incident 4 - Laurent - of all of the incidents, this is the one where Laurent gave the referee every chance to turn it down by grabbing the shirt of the defender, probably pulling the defender into him

My summing up - the referee may have been 'persuaded' that the red was a little harsh (it wasn't) and has sought to 'even things up'. That's the only thing I can think of as to how he's missed all three of the, relatively, clear cut incidents

[Sanguine]

Oh and I disagree with Ian's criticism of Rafa for their goal. Sometimes you just have to credit the opposition - it was an absolute dream of a cross that had the keeper stuck between coming out for it and staying on his line, and Paterson's header was perfect, it went into the side of the goal.

We should be happy. 8-3-4, a third of the way through the season, and right in the mix, just a point off the top (although only four points separate the top 10).

[Hound]

I must be missing something on Holmes as he doesn't calm me at all. More than once Wednesday broke away and he was wandering aimlessly around on our right flank.

.

yeah likewise, Think there is a bit of favouritism going on. He got rinsed by Reach a couple of times, esp for the goal (who otherwise had a comically terrible game)

He still looks a potentially good CB shoved out of position to me.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Do you think the poor officiating in this league is largely because the talent pool isn't good enough to do better? I've read a couple of articles on it, and at the grass roots and non-league levels there's not enough protection from abuse and intimidation. So if we relegate last night's clown to L1 or L2 (and he was abysmal), would he not simply be replaced by another clown? The FA need to work on a talent pipeline for decent officials.

[Franchise FC]

Do you think the poor officiating in this league is largely because the talent pool isn't good enough to do better? I've read a couple of articles on it, and at the grass roots and non-league levels there's not enough protection from abuse and intimidation. So if we relegate last night's clown to L1 or L2 (and he was abysmal), would he not simply be replaced by another clown? The FA need to work on a talent pipeline for decent officials.

Assuming the abuse and intimidation you're talking about is from players, I still can't get my head round why football hasn't taken a leaf out of rugby's book.
For example, any backchat gets a 10 yard penalty. If that takes the position of a free kick into the penalty area, it's a penalty, and continuation of the backchat concedes a penalty goal.
And don't trial it as grass roots as they simply copy what they see at the top level. This is one occasion where top down is the best approach.

Same with those that stand over a free kick to stop the quick one.

[tidus_mi2]

Do you think the poor officiating in this league is largely because the talent pool isn't good enough to do better? I've read a couple of articles on it, and at the grass roots and non-league levels there's not enough protection from abuse and intimidation. So if we relegate last night's clown to L1 or L2 (and he was abysmal), would he not simply be replaced by another clown? The FA need to work on a talent pipeline for decent officials.

When I was a teenager I refereed a bit, never progressed past level 7 which at the time was the lowest level but that's because I didn't stick at it for long, maybe a year? At that level you only officiate kids football, I also once ran the line for an U16 match, as it's kids there isn't really abuse from the players but some of the coaches and parents really treat it like a proper match, the abuse was sometimes overwhelming.

I would totally have thicker skin if I were to do it again now but I can totally understand why so many drop away at the grassroots level.