Are Reading really this bad?

[Darren Caskey's Dietician]

Well, this has been an interesting thread to read. Some over reactions, and some RTG, but a few blindingly good posts - something I thought had left HNA in recent years!

Yesterday was a disaster. There are no two way about it. Just about everyone on the pitch needs to take a good loo at themselves. There were far too many mistakes being made. The first goal was a combination of a cheap give away from Harper combined with a very good Bellamy finish.

But to lumber everything on individuals would be harsh. It wasn't all down to bad performances. For the last goal, Murty worked his socks off to get across the pitch, and did what any good defender should - pushed Etherington out wide. Generally, I wouldn't complain if any defender shows the attacking player pressure, and the player shoots from outside the box - had Etherington been well inside, I may have moaned, but he didnt, and I wont. Murty worked his arse off - covering TWO players, and still managed to run half the length of the pitch moving from Cole (?) to Etherington - good defending in my eyes.

It was Shorey who needs to pick up some of the blame there - Murty having to cover two men when Shorey should have been back there with them, and wasn't.

Our problem was pace. Every goal yesterday and nearly every other opportunity came on the break. This is where the conern was for me. In the first half, I thought we looked good. Excellent pressure, and some good creative football at times. What let us down was the finishing. At this moment in time, the only person who ever looks like scoring is Hunt. And that is a huge concern.

Doyle seems to be suffering a confidence crisis. It wasnt a bad penalty - it was low, and it was going to the corner - it was the inability of three players to follow up that frustrated me.

I'm reserving judement on Fae. He seemed to be full of energy, and I though looked reasonable on the ball. However, he was definately well out of his comfort zone on the right, and kept drifting in. However, he looked comfortable on the ball, and hopefully, with a bit of work and discipline will be better than Sidwell ever was - Sidwell never had the touch Fae showed, and until I see Fae in the middle, I cant compare the two defensively. But Fae does look more skillful, which encourages me.

Lita looked ok. He worked hard in the first half, and was always chasing the ball down. However, he did make a meal out of some of the challenges, and that is why we got nothing from the blatant Ferdinand foul. He definately needs to work on that, although credit to him, there was a blatant foul on him in the first half, and he fought through it, went no where, and still wasn't given the call.

I was delighted with Convey and Kitson when they came on. They linked up well, and both looked sharp. Perhaps that is a reflection of them both being fresh, but both looked better than those they replaced, and I hope they get starting places soon.

As for Ivar and Doobs, again, I don't think either did much wrong. The posts earlier suggesting that Sonko and Bikey would have done better were a joke - all three goals came on the break, when Ivar and Doobs were up top tracking back. Neither Sonko or Bikey would have been able to get back and make a difference. I will agree though, Ivar and Doobs, and indeed Murty looked a yard behind - but if anyone can show me a defender in our price range who can defend like them and have pace, I will buy an ice cream. They just aren't out there.

Shorey had a shocker yesterday. I don't know if this is down to tiredness, or if his morale is low following the West Ham bid being turned down. I jusy dont know. Watching Goals on Sunday, they asked the question of him, and he certainly didnt sound overly convincing when he said I want to be at Reading. If this is a case, I'm sorry to say that maybe, after 6 years at Reading, we should let him move on - as long as the money is right, and we can find a suitable replacement. If however, he does want to stay, I'm sure this is just a blip - he was excellent last year, and that quality doesnt leave someone. It's just one of those things.

Harper missing that shot was also incredibly disappointing. But its not the first time, and Harper isnt the only one. In almost every game I've seen this season (I was at all but Bolton) I've seen at least one sqaured ball where its been slightly miss timed or miss hit. I think this is a definate area we need to look at.

We really are missing Little on the right. His trickery and skill and delivery of ball got us a number of goals last year, and it isnt there this year. For me, Coppell needs to make one of two decisions: Finally embrace our academy, and give Henry a gam (or at least 20 mins!) on the right, or put Hunt on the right, and Convey on the left until Oster gets back. Putting a central midfielder there has offered nothing in the last two games. I'd even rather see us put Murty there, and then put Halls or Rosenior or even Bryn at right back - Murtys delivery isnt too bad, and he isnt scared of going forward.

I think we also need to drop Doyle for a few games. He just hasnt been present - and that isnt just this season, at the end of last season, he was frustrating to watch. Lita looked hungry, and had great movement yesterday, and Kitson is beginning to settle in the division. Give them a chance as a pairing. If they dont work..... We need to look to bring someone else in. At the moment, our strikers just dont look like scoring. We need to fix that.

So yes, yesterday was a diaster. However, there were some positives to take away. We now have a fortnight to work and regroup. Yes, we are missing some key players due to international. However, this may be a plus for us - the manger has two weeks to look at Henry!

If I look at the games so far, I'm not too concerned with the points situation. We had a very tough start, and got 4 points. Bolton is a nightmare to visit, so coming away with nothing doesn't surprise me, and West Ham.... well, Revenge is sweet sometimes.

The next few games are key. We need to pick up some points now, and when we do, no one will be too worried about yesterday.

[papereyes]

My tuppence worth is that the first half was a nil-nil draw with the annoying occurence of Bellamy showing why teams thought he's possibly CL class. He might be a hunch-backed cock-knocker, but he can finish and he's fast.

Second half was more depressing, as we didn't seem to have the oomph to get back into the game. The fizz, the spark that we had last season simply wasn't there. Now where was it?

Defence was a bit ponderous, but not helped by gaps in front where midfield was.

Attack was also a bit ponderous, not helped by a complete absence of the crosses we put away time after time last season. Doyle looked knackered, barely getting out of a jog except when he was back in midfield getting involved.

But it was midfield that was utterly unbalanced and did for it, imo. Harper and Gunnarson weren't bad but there was nothing driving the game forwards. Now, last season, we tended to have width, and the ball could be moved forwards. Fae and Hunt tended to tuck in, giving a lack of options when attacking and a lack of cover when defending. Notice the difference when Convey got back on the pitch, where he hugged the line for the most part and tucked in when past the full back.

So we STILL need a proper right winger - what's the plan? Keep Fae there? Pray that Little get's fit? Oster? De La Cruz? Rosenior?

Now, special focus on the attack.

Doyle - knackered, having to drop back.
Lita - embarassing. Really, just embarassing. Ball comes to him and he has his back to goal, and a defender covering. You've tried 'falling over' once. So try it again and you still don't get a freekick. How many times do you have to try that before you realise that you will not get a decision?

He also snatched at his one half chance and sent it tantalisingly wide.

Kitson came on and got stuck in but also involved the wingers.

I don't know what the problem is in terms of spark. Something's missing there. Maybe its just that "Christ its tough" feeling as the season rolls into gear. Maybe it'll get sorted when we get back to having the two wingers as we did last season?

As for players ... they all looked just off the pace. Except for Kitson and Convey who looked like they wanted a place. That's reassuring.

[AF1]

Well, this has been an interesting thread to read. Some over reactions, and some RTG, but a few blindingly good posts - something I thought had left HNA in recent years!

Yesterday was a disaster. There are no two way about it. Just about everyone on the pitch needs to take a good loo at themselves. There were far too many mistakes being made. The first goal was a combination of a cheap give away from Harper combined with a very good Bellamy finish.

But to lumber everything on individuals would be harsh. It wasn't all down to bad performances. For the last goal, Murty worked his socks off to get across the pitch, and did what any good defender should - pushed Etherington out wide. Generally, I wouldn't complain if any defender shows the attacking player pressure, and the player shoots from outside the box - had Etherington been well inside, I may have moaned, but he didnt, and I wont. Murty worked his arse off - covering TWO players, and still managed to run half the length of the pitch moving from Cole (?) to Etherington - good defending in my eyes.

It was Shorey who needs to pick up some of the blame there - Murty having to cover two men when Shorey should have been back there with them, and wasn't.

Our problem was pace. Every goal yesterday and nearly every other opportunity came on the break. This is where the conern was for me. In the first half, I thought we looked good. Excellent pressure, and some good creative football at times. What let us down was the finishing. At this moment in time, the only person who ever looks like scoring is Hunt. And that is a huge concern.

Doyle seems to be suffering a confidence crisis. It wasnt a bad penalty - it was low, and it was going to the corner - it was the inability of three players to follow up that frustrated me.

I'm reserving judement on Fae. He seemed to be full of energy, and I though looked reasonable on the ball. However, he was definately well out of his comfort zone on the right, and kept drifting in. However, he looked comfortable on the ball, and hopefully, with a bit of work and discipline will be better than Sidwell ever was - Sidwell never had the touch Fae showed, and until I see Fae in the middle, I cant compare the two defensively. But Fae does look more skillful, which encourages me.

Lita looked ok. He worked hard in the first half, and was always chasing the ball down. However, he did make a meal out of some of the challenges, and that is why we got nothing from the blatant Ferdinand foul. He definately needs to work on that, although credit to him, there was a blatant foul on him in the first half, and he fought through it, went no where, and still wasn't given the call.

I was delighted with Convey and Kitson when they came on. They linked up well, and both looked sharp. Perhaps that is a reflection of them both being fresh, but both looked better than those they replaced, and I hope they get starting places soon.

As for Ivar and Doobs, again, I don't think either did much wrong. The posts earlier suggesting that Sonko and Bikey would have done better were a joke - all three goals came on the break, when Ivar and Doobs were up top tracking back. Neither Sonko or Bikey would have been able to get back and make a difference. I will agree though, Ivar and Doobs, and indeed Murty looked a yard behind - but if anyone can show me a defender in our price range who can defend like them and have pace, I will buy an ice cream. They just aren't out there.

Shorey had a shocker yesterday. I don't know if this is down to tiredness, or if his morale is low following the West Ham bid being turned down. I jusy dont know. Watching Goals on Sunday, they asked the question of him, and he certainly didnt sound overly convincing when he said I want to be at Reading. If this is a case, I'm sorry to say that maybe, after 6 years at Reading, we should let him move on - as long as the money is right, and we can find a suitable replacement. If however, he does want to stay, I'm sure this is just a blip - he was excellent last year, and that quality doesnt leave someone. It's just one of those things.

Harper missing that shot was also incredibly disappointing. But its not the first time, and Harper isnt the only one. In almost every game I've seen this season (I was at all but Bolton) I've seen at least one sqaured ball where its been slightly miss timed or miss hit. I think this is a definate area we need to look at.

We really are missing Little on the right. His trickery and skill and delivery of ball got us a number of goals last year, and it isnt there this year. For me, Coppell needs to make one of two decisions: Finally embrace our academy, and give Henry a gam (or at least 20 mins!) on the right, or put Hunt on the right, and Convey on the left until Oster gets back. Putting a central midfielder there has offered nothing in the last two games. I'd even rather see us put Murty there, and then put Halls or Rosenior or even Bryn at right back - Murtys delivery isnt too bad, and he isnt scared of going forward.

I think we also need to drop Doyle for a few games. He just hasnt been present - and that isnt just this season, at the end of last season, he was frustrating to watch. Lita looked hungry, and had great movement yesterday, and Kitson is beginning to settle in the division. Give them a chance as a pairing. If they dont work..... We need to look to bring someone else in. At the moment, our strikers just dont look like scoring. We need to fix that.

So yes, yesterday was a diaster. However, there were some positives to take away. We now have a fortnight to work and regroup. Yes, we are missing some key players due to international. However, this may be a plus for us - the manger has two weeks to look at Henry!

If I look at the games so far, I'm not too concerned with the points situation. We had a very tough start, and got 4 points. Bolton is a nightmare to visit, so coming away with nothing doesn't surprise me, and West Ham.... well, Revenge is sweet sometimes.

The next few games are key. We need to pick up some points now, and when we do, no one will be too worried about yesterday.

Allow me to put my life on hold for 10 minutes to read all that

[Kitsondinho]

West Ham will be a top 6 side this year. they have spent more money than our entire playing staff would cost. We are not going to do as well this year. If we lose to Derby, Sunderland, Brum etc then I will panic. Staying up should be our only goal. We got done like this last year and came back and we can do so again!

[West Stand Man]

Good post.

I will say this - and its been on my mind for ages. Doyle is an excellent Coca Cola Championship striker.

....... who has a good international scoring record .....?!

[londinium]

On the positive side - Kitson and Convey looked good for the time they were on. Time to start them?

On the negative side, I thought Doyle and Shorey need to wake up, they have both performed much better than today. Hopefully, it will just take a goal to restore Doyler's confidence. Shorey looked ok going forward, but defensively looked off the pace.

I totally agree with you.

I agree to agree

[londinium]

West Ham will be a top 6 side this year. they have spent more money than our entire playing staff would cost. We are not going to do as well this year. If we lose to Derby, Sunderland, Brum etc then I will panic. Staying up should be our only goal. We got done like this last year and came back and we can do so again!

Lol West ham will never be a top 6 side this year!!!!!


Totally agree with the rest of the post though

[Royal Rother]

Good post.

I will say this - and its been on my mind for ages. Doyle is an excellent Coca Cola Championship striker.

....... who has a good international scoring record .....?!

...and who finished, what, 5th (?) in the Premier League scoring chart last season despite missing a couple of months through injury.

[Behindu]

Allow me to put my life on hold for 10 minutes to read all that

You'll find it worth doing....

HNA is a terrible place after a agme like yesterday with some people seeming to be only too happy to find the most negative angle they can.

Nice to see someone able to take a more balanced view.

[Stranded]

Good post.

I will say this - and its been on my mind for ages. Doyle is an excellent Coca Cola Championship striker.

....... who has a good international scoring record .....?!

Aye, he is a good Premiership standard striker lacking confidence playing in a team lacking confidence.

[West Stand Man]

Good post.

I will say this - and its been on my mind for ages. Doyle is an excellent Coca Cola Championship striker.

....... who has a good international scoring record .....?!

...and who finished, what, 5th (?) in the Premier League scoring chart last season despite missing a couple of months through injury.

But you and I should not be silly and allow the facts to cloud our judgement.

[PEARCEY]

Doyle will cpme good...he has hardly missed stacks of chances..missed pen. apart.

[Muskrat]

Doyle is a natural striker, you can tell from his posture and ball control, let alone his finishing. Many Managers would love to have him in their team.

As for yesterday, whilst I was as dissapointed as the next person over the performance and result, there is no need to panic.

Coppell is concerned, he's admitted as much. Ergo - he'll devise a plan to deal with the situation.

Sonko is coming back, Little is coming back, Convey is back, we've held on to Shorey, we've got four fit strikers and a new pacy full back/wing back added to the squad.

We'll be fine. Mid table I reckon.

[RoyalBlue]

Doyle is a natural striker, you can tell from his posture and ball control, let alone his finishing. Many Managers would love to have him in their team.

As for yesterday, whilst I was as dissapointed as the next person over the performance and result, there is no need to panic.

Coppell is concerned, he's admitted as much. Ergo - he'll devise a plan to deal with the situation.

Sonko is coming back, Little is coming back, Convey is back, we've held on to Shorey, we've got four fit strikers and a new pacy full back/wing back added to the squad.

We'll be fine. Mid table I reckon.

Who exactly says Little is coming back and when is that comeback expected?

Did I miss Sonko playing a game without any problems?

And we have how many fit right wingers at present?

Still - 'Always look on the bright side of life'. Trouble was they were being crucified as they sung that little ditty!

[The Rouge]

Shorey and Doyle were way off of the pace today.

I think you can add Hunt, and Lita too.

Shorey was one of our best players v West Ham IMO

[Melbguy]

West Ham will be a top 6 side this year. they have spent more money than our entire playing staff would cost. We are not going to do as well this year. If we lose to Derby, Sunderland, Brum etc then I will panic. Staying up should be our only goal. We got done like this last year and came back and we can do so again!

I'd be surprised if we did. As for the money we spent well that's rubbish, we spent only £11 million and £7mil of that is out for the season with another £6 mil out until christmas at least.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

oxf*rd all this little Reading, I don't want to support a team with a "have a go attitude" I want to support a team that wins.

I don't this you are quite in this bracket, but ever since I've been supporting Reading I've heard an endless stream of locals saying "well I would support Reading, if only we were....."

....challenging to get in the top two divisions
....in the top two divisions
....a decent 2nd tier team
....pushing for promotion
....actually in the premiership
....an established premiership side
....a good premiership side

Sometimes I feel we could be world club cup champions and some locals would be demanding that we take on all-comers from the known universe and beyond before being worthy of their support.

Our boys need a serious kick up the arse. I will point out that when we've had a full squad we've been as last year but this year has been disjointed by injuries and has shown the limitations of our squad. Trust in Sir Steve and all that but he really should have added more beef to this squad - review that wage structure.
.

we should pay what we can afford. The problem is "quality" players aren't going to want to play for Reading unless we offer stupid money. Offer one or two players stupid money and every other play is going to be unsettled, demanding some kind of parity.

Again, I'm sure you aren't quite is the bracket, but typically the sort of fan who says we should break the bank to compete isn't the sort of fan who'd stick around when the effect of that bank-breaking kicks in.

[RoyalBlue]

oxf*rd all this little Reading, I don't want to support a team with a "have a go attitude" I want to support a team that wins.

I don't this you are quite in this bracket, but ever since I've been supporting Reading I've heard an endless stream of locals saying "well I would support Reading, if only we were....."

....challenging to get in the top two divisions
....in the top two divisions
....a decent 2nd tier team
....pushing for promotion
....actually in the premiership
....an established premiership side
....a good premiership side

Sometimes I feel we could be world club cup champions and some locals would be demanding that we take on all-comers from the known universe and beyond before being worthy of their support.

Our boys need a serious kick up the arse. I will point out that when we've had a full squad we've been as last year but this year has been disjointed by injuries and has shown the limitations of our squad. Trust in Sir Steve and all that but he really should have added more beef to this squad - review that wage structure.
.

we should pay what we can afford. The problem is "quality" players aren't going to want to play for Reading unless we offer stupid money. Offer one or two players stupid money and every other play is going to be unsettled, demanding some kind of parity.

Again, I'm sure you aren't quite is the bracket, but typically the sort of fan who says we should break the bank to compete isn't the sort of fan who'd stick around when the effect of that bank-breaking kicks in.

Well I'll be sticking around! 40 years of mainly heartbreak disqualifies me from being a fair weather supporter.

It really comes down to interpretations of what we can afford.

Some people are more careful than others with money, perhaps overly so. Thus you will find people with very similar levels of income living in very different sizes of houses and enjoying very different life styles. Some live in smaller properties because they don't want to risk things going wrong e.g. losing a job, rising interest rates etc. Others take a bit more of a risk (not to the extent of mortgaging themselves up to the hilt) and generally get away with it, thus enjoying all the benefits that brings.

Few on here appear to be suggesting that we break the bank, just that we take a slightly greater degree of calculated risk. In accumulating his multi-millions, I'm sure the Chairman must have done that at some time in his career.

[Elm Park Old Boy]

Good to see some calmer heads chipping in. The panic on here over the weekend was astonishing. I hope the team and management are thinking more clearly.

[Tilehurst Mike]

Now they're having a go at Doyle!!!!!!

FFS



What a bunch of t*ts!!

He deserves it--to be honest he has been bloody awful. In future if I want to see what Lino (lita) looks like I'll go to Allied Carpets!