MATCHWATCH : Preston North End (a)

[JR]

Gary Monk is a terrible pundit

Yep, no personality or opinions of his own.

Shouldn’t be the default that any regular manager out of a job should get the gig.

[CountryRoyal]

A very big +1 to that. Being professional and offering no threat at all is not going to win you any games. Joao is a cut above at this level. Without him we would not be fighting for promotion.

He is clearly the best striker we have had in many a year, I’m just explaining why I don’t like him.

If we do win promotion it will be as a result of Joao’s excellence and many other very small margins.

Do you think being surly improves him as a player?

Do you think him being surly has a positive or negative impact on the team as a whole? Or none at all?

I think him getting pissed off things aren’t going well is good. It shows he cares.

[Royalwaster]

I am very happy that he is the best goalscorer in the Championship and that he is scoring those goals for Reading but I don’t like Joao.

Forget the penalty misses he is a knob and sets a terrible example to the rest of the squad.

If only we could combine his ability with Baldock’s professionalism and work ethic.

I think you will find a team will generally like a player who wins them games rather than the 'professional' who misses a sitter from 1 yard out.

[Sutekh]

VP said

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/spor ... -stalemate

[Zip]

Yep a bit odd from Vic. Loads of fouls with many of them cynical. Ledson was a very very lucky boy.

I think you are getting a bit soft in your old age Zip.
IIRC the medical staff didn't get on the pitch for either side -that's usually a reasonable guide as to whether it has been a particularly dirty game.

They were not crude challenges endangering serious injury but certainly cynical. Clear yellow card offences imo that went unpunished time and again.
I’ve always been a bit soft btw.

[karbota]

I am very happy that he is the best goalscorer in the Championship and that he is scoring those goals for Reading but I don’t like Joao.

Forget the penalty misses he is a knob and sets a terrible example to the rest of the squad.

If only we could combine his ability with Baldock’s professionalism and work ethic.

Yet Joao appears to be very popular within the squad.

Surprised at you RR, would have had more respect for this view if raised after he scored rather than after one of the few poor performances he has had this season.

Obvs the original post is nonsense but interesting to see Pauno was basically critical of his body language and partly blamed the pen miss on it

Miss Puscas a fair bit I think at times like today. Has his faults but he is work rate is excellent - like a bigger and better Baldock. And he scores pens

I’ve no doubt Karbota would fully agree

No, Bollocks.

[muirinho]

Yep a bit odd from Vic. Loads of fouls with many of them cynical. Ledson was a very very lucky boy.

I think you are getting a bit soft in your old age Zip.
IIRC the medical staff didn't get on the pitch for either side -that's usually a reasonable guide as to whether it has been a particularly dirty game.

There's a difference between dirty, with the intent of injuring the player, and cynical - fouling as much as you are allowed get away with, to stop a better player.

PNE were absolutely cynical, and the referee let them get away with it.

It's nothing to do with being "soft", there are laws in the game, PNE broke them continously, but because each individual foul wasn't reckless or violent that foul was being looked at on its own, rather than as part of a series.

Poor refereeing.

However, we still should have scored.

Two points - Swift needs to stop handing over the ball to somebody else. His frees were generally excellent, Aluko's was horrible.
And, after two penalty misses in a row - is it time to take Joao off penalties?

[Hound]

Yep that’s the other thing Swift needs to not hand off to someone else. Get him on penalty duties

[Zip]

Yep. Swift has to be our set piece specialist. Aluko played pretty well but that freekick was perfect Swift territory. Sone should have been nowhere near it.
Swift or Puscas if he is in the pitch need to take the pens.. Joao has been brilliant but the two he hasn’t scored have cost us dear.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Hasn't Swift missed a few pens in his time? Thinking that odd season when we scored a few rebounds from pens

[Zip]

A very big +1 to that. Being professional and offering no threat at all is not going to win you any games. Joao is a cut above at this level. Without him we would not be fighting for promotion.

He is clearly the best striker we have had in many a year, I’m just explaining why I don’t like him.

If we do win promotion it will be as a result of Joao’s excellence and many other very small margins.

Do you think being surly improves him as a player?

Do you think him being surly has a positive or negative impact on the team as a whole? Or none at all?

At times he has seemed to go into a bit of a sulk but he’s been exceptional so often this season that he deserves to be cut some slack when he is not with it. His demeanour wasn’t great today and both my son and I thought he wasn’t going to score the pen. He just didn’t look confident.

Technically he is outstanding. Comfortably good enough for the PL. We are lucky to have him warts and all imo.

[Zip]

Hasn't Swift missed a few pens in his time? Thinking that odd season when we scored a few rebounds from pens

Probably. Puscas would be my preferred choice but if he’s not on the pitch......

[Hound]

Hasn't Swift missed a few pens in his time? Thinking that odd season when we scored a few rebounds from pens

Probably. Puscas would be my preferred choice but if he’s not on the pitch......

1 a long time ago if I remember rightly

[CountryRoyal]

Yep a bit odd from Vic. Loads of fouls with many of them cynical. Ledson was a very very lucky boy.

I think you are getting a bit soft in your old age Zip.
IIRC the medical staff didn't get on the pitch for either side -that's usually a reasonable guide as to whether it has been a particularly dirty game.

There's a difference between dirty, with the intent of injuring the player, and cynical - fouling as much as you are allowed get away with, to stop a better player.

PNE were absolutely cynical, and the referee let them get away with it.

It's nothing to do with being "soft", there are laws in the game, PNE broke them continously, but because each individual foul wasn't reckless or violent that foul was being looked at on its own, rather than as part of a series.

Poor refereeing.

However, we still should have scored.

Two points - Swift needs to stop handing over the ball to somebody else. His frees were generally excellent, Aluko's was horrible.
And, after two penalty misses in a row - is it time to take Joao off penalties?

The one passage of play that summed it up for me was when Swift (I think) was breaking away and was attempted to be hacked down from behind, he managed to keep going, ref played advantage, and then another identical tackle from behind brought him down.

[Hendo]

I think you are getting a bit soft in your old age Zip.
IIRC the medical staff didn't get on the pitch for either side -that's usually a reasonable guide as to whether it has been a particularly dirty game.

There's a difference between dirty, with the intent of injuring the player, and cynical - fouling as much as you are allowed get away with, to stop a better player.

PNE were absolutely cynical, and the referee let them get away with it.

It's nothing to do with being "soft", there are laws in the game, PNE broke them continously, but because each individual foul wasn't reckless or violent that foul was being looked at on its own, rather than as part of a series.

Poor refereeing.

However, we still should have scored.

Two points - Swift needs to stop handing over the ball to somebody else. His frees were generally excellent, Aluko's was horrible.
And, after two penalty misses in a row - is it time to take Joao off penalties?

The one passage of play that summed it up for me was when Swift (I think) was breaking away and was attempted to be hacked down from behind, he managed to keep going, ref played advantage, and then another identical tackle from behind brought him down.

Yep and both players got rightly booked for it as well.

[South Coast Royal]

Yep a bit odd from Vic. Loads of fouls with many of them cynical. Ledson was a very very lucky boy.

I think you are getting a bit soft in your old age Zip.
IIRC the medical staff didn't get on the pitch for either side -that's usually a reasonable guide as to whether it has been a particularly dirty game.

There's a difference between dirty, with the intent of injuring the player, and cynical - fouling as much as you are allowed get away with, to stop a better player.

PNE were absolutely cynical, and the referee let them get away with it.

It's nothing to do with being "soft", there are laws in the game, PNE broke them continously, but because each individual foul wasn't reckless or violent that foul was being looked at on its own, rather than as part of a series.

Poor refereeing.

However, we still should have scored.

Two points - Swift needs to stop handing over the ball to somebody else. His frees were generally excellent, Aluko's was horrible.
And, after two penalty misses in a row - is it time to take Joao off penalties?

The ref gave 4 yellow cards and a penalty against Preston-what more do you want.?
There were 26 fouls in the game and in the 'Boro v Blackburn game there were.........26 fouls so about par for The Championship.
It is that sort of division-generally scrappy football with the occasional bits of extra quality.

As I said earlier Reading are about the cleanest side in this division, something we should be proud of but don't expect the opposition to be the same.
Incidentally we have had our share of penalties and opposition players sent off this season so just accept that clean play does pay off in the end and don't whinge every week about referees and nasty opposition players.

[CountryRoyal]

There's a difference between dirty, with the intent of injuring the player, and cynical - fouling as much as you are allowed get away with, to stop a better player.

PNE were absolutely cynical, and the referee let them get away with it.

It's nothing to do with being "soft", there are laws in the game, PNE broke them continously, but because each individual foul wasn't reckless or violent that foul was being looked at on its own, rather than as part of a series.

Poor refereeing.

However, we still should have scored.

Two points - Swift needs to stop handing over the ball to somebody else. His frees were generally excellent, Aluko's was horrible.
And, after two penalty misses in a row - is it time to take Joao off penalties?

The one passage of play that summed it up for me was when Swift (I think) was breaking away and was attempted to be hacked down from behind, he managed to keep going, ref played advantage, and then another identical tackle from behind brought him down.

Yep and both players got rightly booked for it as well.

Yep all too late though one of which was Ledson, and I could not believe that it was his first. Should buy a lottery ticket because he’s incredibly lucky.

If the ref had got cards out earlier I’m sure we would have created more chances.

[Zip]

The one passage of play that summed it up for me was when Swift (I think) was breaking away and was attempted to be hacked down from behind, he managed to keep going, ref played advantage, and then another identical tackle from behind brought him down.

Yep and both players got rightly booked for it as well.

Yep all too late though one of which was Ledson, and I could not believe that it was his first. Should buy a lottery ticket because he’s incredibly lucky.

If the ref had got cards out earlier I’m sure we would have created more chances.

Yep which is what Vic is not appreciating. Ledson repeatedly fouled to the point I mentioned it on here. Within minutes he put in his fifth cynical foul and still no card. By the time he was eventually booked it was too little too late.

[Snowflake Royal]

By the way what a pass from Laurent to Ovie at the end. Outside of his right straight into his path. Even had Don Goodman purring

Yes it was and Ovie should have had a shot. He dwelt on the ball and the chance was gone.

No left foot and always has to take a touch and beat his man.

[AthleticoSpizz]

@ Welsh

Yes, we all watched it

Sometimes...that”s how the cookie crumbles

We push ourluck sometimes too.