MATCH THREAD: Leeds Utd (H) Sponsored by Sassima's new song

[Royal Ginger]

Dull game in which nobody played badly. Stand out for me was Sa who dug balls out of Leeds possession time and again and made something of lost causes. Problem was he kept getting dragged wide due to our lack of wingers and rarely had any kind of support. Very good with the ball at his feet and put in a shift.

[sandman]

Billy Tunstall ‏@billylufc_ 7m7 minutes ago
Reading FC simply shouldn't be a football club.

Neither should Leeds tbf.

[RoyalBlue]

How many fouls does Sa commit ffs.

If the BBC site is a true reflection, his real name is Foul by Orlando Sa.

TBF to him he got a very poor deal from an average ref. Started off appearing to be surprised that what would be pulled up as fouls on the continent are left unpunished in the rough and tumble of the football league. Then, whenever he started getting more physical himself, the ref kept pulling him up. The ref really excelled in this nonsence at one point. Just as Sa was about to play the ball with his foot a Leeds defender decided to try to clear by diving in head first at below waist height. Needless to say, head touched foot and the ref amazingly penalised Sa for dangerous play!

[Esteban]

Dull game in which nobody played badly. Stand out for me was Sa who dug balls out of Leeds possession time and again and made something of lost causes. Problem was he kept getting dragged wide due to our lack of wingers and rarely had any kind of support. Very good with the ball at his feet and put in a shift.

Agree with that. Someone complained that Sa gave away too many free kicks, but the reason for that is because he was having to do the jobs that Blackman and HRK were supposed to do. Williams kept on getting dragged out wide as Blackman drifted inside all the time. I wouldn't say he was poor as such, but I'll disciplined.

Positives were our defence. We won't concede too many. Sa was decent as already mentioned and I think there's more to come from him.

We could shell out on Wells, or Rhodes, or Gayle, or any other striker that's been linked with a move this summer and we still won't score many. As much as a striker is still required, it's creative players we need. Thankfully, Hurtado will be available soon and it looks like Fernandez will join this week.

A lot of people around me were complaining that Fosu and Stacey didn't start. Even if they were fully fit (which they're not), they've only played 90 minutes of Championship football between them. It would be unfair to expect them to turn in better performances than HRK or Blackman. If they get 15-20 appearances each this season, that would be a good return. In addition to a striker, another winger would be a good addition.

All in all today, we were OK and have at least improved defensively on last season.

[royalp-we]

^I agree with every word Esteban has spoken

[SCIAG]

A lot of people around me were complaining that Fosu and Stacey didn't start. Even if they were fully fit (which they're not), they've only played 90 minutes of Championship football between them. It would be unfair to expect them to turn in better performances than HRK or Blackman. If they get 15-20 appearances each this season, that would be a good return. In addition to a striker, another winger would be a good addition.

Stacey alone has 180 minutes. Fosu has 60. Fair point on their fitness, particularly Fosu who hasn't resumed full training - although again, I'd ask why Clarke would bother putting Stacey on the bench unless he was prepared to bring him on when we were crying out for width and penetration. I do think a fully fit Stacey would have been a better option today than Blackman and certainly Williams.

I think another winger would be totally unnecessary. That would give us McCleary, Hurtado, the new guy, HRK, Blackman, Stacey, and Fosu, even before any of the untried youngsters (or Tanner) get a look in. Complete overkill and a waste of resources, unless we were looking at using two of them centrally.

[Esteban]

A lot of people around me were complaining that Fosu and Stacey didn't start. Even if they were fully fit (which they're not), they've only played 90 minutes of Championship football between them. It would be unfair to expect them to turn in better performances than HRK or Blackman. If they get 15-20 appearances each this season, that would be a good return. In addition to a striker, another winger would be a good addition.

Stacey alone has 180 minutes. Fosu has 60. Fair point on their fitness, particularly Fosu who hasn't resumed full training - although again, I'd ask why Clarke would bother putting Stacey on the bench unless he was prepared to bring him on when we were crying out for width and penetration. I do think a fully fit Stacey would have been a better option today than Blackman and certainly Williams.

I think another winger would be totally unnecessary. That would give us McCleary, Hurtado, the new guy, HRK, Blackman, Stacey, and Fosu, even before any of the untried youngsters (or Tanner) get a look in. Complete overkill and a waste of resources, unless we were looking at using two of them centrally.

Good point about Stacey's minutes, I'd forgotten about his substitute appearances. And I agree with the point on Stacey being on the bench, yet having little chance of getting on.

Although Blackman and HRK have played the majority of their games for us on the wings, both of them would prefer to play as a striker. I can only think of a handful of games where they've had a positive impact from a wide position, so I wouldn't include them in your list. McCleary, Hurtado and a new winger, with Fosu and Stacey sharing the fourth spot would be my preference for the wings. That would leave our striking options as Pog, Sa, new signing, Blackman/HRK/Cox and Samuel providing back-up when fit (depending on how bad his injury is).

For me, Cox and HRK are the two superfluous players in our squad, though Samuel's injury potentially brings one of them back into the fold. That assumes we have the means to bring in a striker and another winger of course, which we may not.