BFTG . Derby

[loyalroyal4life]

I thought we played ok, nothing to write home about but certainly not a poor performance, Derby did not look a threat and even with 10 men thought we could grab a draw.

Bond does look suspect, Vydra worked hard but his first touch was a bit wayward especially first half.

I am confident we will come away with something Saturday.

Hoping for return of GMac now.

[Sutekh]

1. Game lost due to a piece of Portugues petulance. How come other most club's Portuguese stars roll about on the floor as soon as someone touches them yet our one goes into a Billy Whitehurst mode. Now he's going to be targeted by opposition defenders when he does get back in the team.

2. Good solid performance really, lots of good to take out of it in some ways. Not overly impressed with ultra defensive "park the bus" Derby but you can tell they will easily be one of the better sides in the division

3. Bewildered by Clarke's tactical genius of taking off Vydra for Williams. Yes take of Vydra but why Williams? If you're going to move Blackman up top then you put on McLeary or perhaps John not stick Williams out wide and go for them on the counter attack with pace.

4. For the record what is Ferdinand's injury. Have we seen the last of him this season? Or was he just dropped for some reason.

[genome]

Sa 5

Not sure how Sa, who's nativity cost us the game, can be rated anywhere remotely that high.

Baffling.

He was great before that. And getting mixed reports on whether it was really that bad, most seem to say he it wasn't like he went full-on crazy and gave him a proper headbutt. The Derby player did he best to get him sent off.

[BR2]

Agree with most of what has already been posted.
I thought for the first 30 minutes or so we carried on from where we left off on Friday and looked like a side that just might be good enough to challenge the top spots this season then calamity-the one and only player we have who can play as a genuine hold-up striker loses his head.
With all the signings and existing players we unfortunately have nobody to play that role and presumably Clarke will put Blackman or Kanu there who both have shown they can't do that job-one of them might be able to at international level where there is so much more room and with Gareth Bale being marked by about 3 defenders but IMHO neither of them have the attributes to play centrally.

I do agree with those that felt Clarke's substitutions were a bit negative as surely we needed pace rather than effort, i.e. McCleary ahead of Williams and one of my mates said that he felt disappointed that we didn't have a go and mainly sat back waiting for things to happen.
I don't think Derby are as bad as some are making out and will probably finish in the top 6 as they are an organised unit and keep the ball quite well.

Enough in these last two games to give us real hope (and enjoyment) for the months to come.
I doubt that John Stones is quaking in his boots at the prospect of facing Kanu next Tuesday-also remembering specifically the dreadful away game v Bournemouth last season have we ever won a game when both Kanu and Blackman are on the pitch together for any long period of time?

[Hoop Blah]

I thought that was another decent performance last night with lots good performances.

Highlights for me were the Norwood-Tshibola partnership in the middle (whatever Clarke has said to Norwood has had a significant effect as he looks a much better and competitive player this season) and the way the formation seemed to change depending on the situation of the game.

We suddenly look a very fluid and capable team instead of the rigid and defensive side from the first few games.

[Ian Royal]

I thought that was another decent performance last night with lots good performances.

Highlights for me were the Norwood-Tshibola partnership in the middle (whatever Clarke has said to Norwood has had a significant effect as he looks a much better and competitive player this season) and the way the formation seemed to change depending on the situation of the game.

We suddenly look a very fluid and capable team instead of the rigid and defensive side from the first few games.

I think what Clarke said is "Here are some players who will find space, show for the ball and have technical ability. You're welcome. "

[Vision]

I doubt that John Stones is quaking in his boots at the prospect of facing Kanu next Tuesday-also remembering specifically the dreadful away game v Bournemouth last season have we ever won a game when both Kanu and Blackman are on the pitch together for any long period of time?

I know we're all getting on a bit but you've only got to remember back to our last away game BR. In fact that victory was only in doubt once HRK got injured.

I agree though losing Sa will make a difference.

[genome]

We played some very nice one-touch football last night.

Also I enjoyed when Vydra either fluffed a shot/lost the ball (can't remember) and then frantically ran 40 yards to tackle the Derby player. I love seeing that from a Reading player.

[Hoop Blah]

I think what Clarke said is "Here are some players who will find space, show for the ball and have technical ability. You're welcome. "

What's impressed me most though, and where I think we've seen the biggest change, is that Norwood is thundering into some hefty challenges and looks like he relishes them.

I know someone has previously posted some stats about his tackling last season before, but the tackles he went in for last night were proper blood and thunder 50/50's that he came out of with the ball, and a couple in front of the East Stand in particular, that I just couldn't see him making last season.

He's always shown the ability to play clever quick passes as well as ping great long racking balls to switch play but it's his defensive work that impressed me most. Maybe it's just Quinns influence as he certainly loves a full on tackle.

[Sutekh]

Sa 5

Not sure how Sa, who's nativity cost us the game, can be rated anywhere remotely that high.

Baffling.

Well there you are then he didn't deliberately headbutt Shackell he just tripped over his nativity design and fell headlong into him. Therefore should be easy to get his red overturned as you can't victimise people on grounds of their religion.

[PeterReadingborn59]

So Tshibola gets, perhaps rightly, booked but then several Derby players got away with equally bad challenges before and after that. Worse still was the way that Blackman was cynically bundled over from behind when he was racing through the middle, in possession of the ball and about 30 yards from goal. Incredibly no yellow card. In contrast, later in the game, Gunter tries a soft pull back on their player just inside our half, which didn't even stop the run, and when play breaks down a bit later gets called over for a yellow! Shocking inconsistency which should be punished by the assessor!

I agree the referee was poor in stopping Derby kick Sa around the pitch, particularly on one occasion when the player just went straight through Sa from the back.

Just one thing to bear in mind is that a referee can caution a player for persistent fouls, so when a player does receive a caution it might be that he has come to the referee's attention before rather than just for the most recent foul committed.

But last night it was clear the away teams will be out to stop Reading's flow through any means available as Blackman and Vydra are amongst the fastest players in the division.

[Ian Royal]

I think what Clarke said is "Here are some players who will find space, show for the ball and have technical ability. You're welcome. "

What's impressed me most though, and where I think we've seen the biggest change, is that Norwood is thundering into some hefty challenges and looks like he relishes them.

I know someone has previously posted some stats about his tackling last season before, but the tackles he went in for last night were proper blood and thunder 50/50's that he came out of with the ball, and a couple in front of the East Stand in particular, that I just couldn't see him making last season.

He's always shown the ability to play clever quick passes as well as ping great long racking balls to switch play but it's his defensive work that impressed me most. Maybe it's just Quinns influence as he certainly loves a full on tackle.

I saw him make a few similar challenges under Adkins. The whole team looks confident and determined, which I think is a product of having a balanced side linking well.

[Snowball136]

On the SA Incident...

I was in line and got a good view.


Not sure what started the whole thing but Shackle (sp?) gave a load of verbal
and was very intimidating, moving towards SA. He then "chest-butted" SA who
stood his ground.

Shackle then pushed his forehead at SA. Not a head-butt exactly. They were chest to
chest and he just "leaned'. They both pulled back ever so slightly (at this point it
would be a yellow each, maybe a red for Shackle) but then Shackle feinted a head-but
and SA fainted back, slightly more obviously. IMO there was no head contact from the
so-called head-set.

Sa was beautifully conned by a defender trying to get him sent off and frankly he
should be fined.

The linesman, who was useless all night, bottled it, IMO.

In all honesty, neither really deserved a red, but the Derby man
was just as guilty, so two reds or two yellows.

[Maguire]

Obvs the red card was the game changing moment and cost us a chance of three points but, like everyone else, I was impressed by much of the football Reading played. It's been a long time since we had a team who could move the ball as well and as quickly.

Blackman I thought looked talented again and worked very hard, Norwood looks a brand new player, Tshibola again played very well, McShane is a colossus.

Derby - well organised and (long-term) dangerous enough up front to challenge this season even if they didn't create a lot last night. They were the away team TBF so with that in mind I thought they matched us up to the red card.

Summary: reasons to be cheerful despite a disappointing night

[MoorgateRoyal]

On the SA Incident...

I was in line and got a good view.


Not sure what started the whole thing but Shackle (sp?) gave a load of verbal
and was very intimidating, moving towards SA. He then "chest-butted" SA who
stood his ground.

Shackle then pushed his forehead at SA. Not a head-butt exactly. They were chest to
chest and he just "leaned'. They both pulled back ever so slightly (at this point it
would be a yellow each, maybe a red for Shackle) but then Shackle feinted a head-but
and SA fainted back, slightly more obviously. IMO there was no head contact from the
so-called head-set.

Sa was beautifully conned by a defender trying to get him sent off and frankly he
should be fined.

The linesman, who was useless all night, bottled it, IMO.

In all honesty, neither really deserved a red, but the Derby man
was just as guilty, so two reds or two yellows.

I saw it as they were squaring up face-to-face, but Sa was the first to move his head in a very deliberate, obvious manner towards Shackell.

It was right in front of me, although I'd love to see a full replay of the incident to be sure of what happened.

Either way, I think Shackell did well (from Derby's point of view) to provoke Sa into reacting. That must have been mentioned before the game, as some of the rough challenges on Sa also suggested. But also, as I said before, he could have gone down after the 'head butt' and caused a mass brawl, so I will credit him for at least staying on his feet. If the ref sees a player do what Sa did, he will likely send him off regardless of the opponents' reaction.

Sa will need to learn how to deal with shit defenders who will provoke him instead of trying to defend properly against him, which Shackell didn't do all night, and hopefully he will learn from the mistake and control himself better next time.

[Oilroyal]

Thanks Snowball136 pretty graphic description but one thing is for sure the bookies had a good night from most of us anyway.

[Snowball136]

FRIST HALF

I'm surprised people think we dominated the first half. We played with pace and skill (not so much of the beautiful, slick passing of Friday's game) and we edged it, but Derby had their moments. A couple of good shots (Blackman and Norwood, but both from distance. Not checked how many of our shots this season are from distance. Might explain our relatively low conversion rate.)

Blackman was Man of the First Half for me (just). He is working SO much harder, has an eye for a shot and worked hard all over the pitch including in defence. Tish was superb and is going to be a big-money star if he keeps going. The next Viera. Norwood was very good again and his long-range shooting might be worth a few extra goals this season.

Quinn was very good. In fact, first half, the midfield was damn good.

We are still gelling, but already looking special, and I fully expect, reasonably soon, a great run of league wins interspersed with occasional draws, a few 5-0 wins to come. We are easily good enough to be top six at least.

Defence was sound against a decent Derby attack. They will be top six, probably top three IMO unless we finish above them and squeeze them out.

I missed the exact moment but there was a moment when a Derby player got into space with a clear sight of goal (after a block). I was fully expecting them to score but suddenly we were breaking. That must have been some tackle.

Also, after his booking, Tish still made a great last-minute take in the corner. Brave lad.

Sa was suckered for the sending off.

SECOND HALF

We played as if 0-0 was OK and Vydra was isolated. Derby had lots of time on the ball, especially the back four and I thought that if they scored they'd get three. But we fought manfully and were at the point where a brave 0-0 draw would have looked like a great result.

I didn't see if a defensive error led to the goal or whether Ince got lucky or got a good bounce. In truth it was always likely that Derby would find a goal. They are no mugs and will be challenging all season.

[Royal Ginger]

As they did on Friday they played the whole game at a full sprint, chased every lost cause and gave it both barrels for effort. Was great to watch, but I wonder how many 'cup finals' their legs have in them.

[tidus_mi2]

As they did on Friday they played the whole game at a full sprint, chased every lost cause and gave it both barrels for effort. Was great to watch, but I wonder how many 'cup finals' their legs have in them.

I'm less worried about them running themselves into the ground since the squad depth is so much better this season.

[maffff]

Hoping for return of GMac now.

Return of the GMac
It is
Return of the GMac
Come on
Return of the GMac
Oh, my god
You know that I'll be back
Here I am.