Why are we so poor on the road?

[windermereROYAL]

While still early days it would appear our league travel sickness has spilled over into this season and needs serious addressing,
Our last away win with the help of an own goal was at Hull city on November 12th last year.
The record since then is P14 W0 D2 L12, 2 measly points from 42.
It`s really quite staggering our away following is so good looking at those appalling figures

[Sutekh]

While still early days it would appear our league travel sickness has spilled over into this season and needs serious addressing,
Our last away win with the help of an own goal was at Hull city on November 12th last year.
The record since then is P14 W0 D2 L12, 2 measly points from 42.
It`s really quite staggering our away following is so good looking at those appalling figures

It gets worse, it's actually 20 league games away from home in which Reading players have failed to score more goals than the opposition players.

[CountryRoyal]

I’m not saying our away support is shit, but I’m not not saying that either.

[Clyde1998]

Our record since we've returned properly from Covid (the start of the 2021-22 season) has been:
Home: P49; W19; D13; L17; 52% win record (counting draws as half a win)
Away: P48; W9; D6; L33; 25% win record

The biggest issue seems to be with scoring. There's a massive drop off in away goals scored and only a slight increase in away goals conceded (once excluding outliers):

Mean goals per game since Covid return:
Home: 1.36-1.41 (excluding outliers: 1.50-1.26)
Away: 0.77-1.88 (excluding outliers: 0.44-1.45)

In our past twenty matches, we've scored only fourteen away (compared to twenty-three at home). Only on three occasions in the past twenty have we managed to score twice away (compared to seven at home) and we've failed to score in nine (five at home).

Our away win record in the past twenty is 13% (with draws half a win; 55% at home). Our home form has been very close to average - and we probably would've been mid-table last season if we'd replicated our home form in away matches.

If feel under Ince we set up not to lose away through sitting deep, which encouraged pressure on our weak defence and had basically no ability to counter attack. We'd be more willing to attack at home, hence the increase in goals scored.

I feel our away form will pick up this season based on the two games we've had. Even the two defeats we've had were games that on another day we would've got something from: scoring the penalty at Port Vale would've completely changed that game (although the second half was shocking); conceded a stoppage time goal at Exeter. We appear to have more ability to play well in different situations this season, whereas last season it was very one dimensional.

Our away record is very concerning though.

[Clyde1998]

I’m not saying our away support is shit, but I’m not not saying that either.

Cause or effect?

[JR]

I think this is a bit of a misleading thread.

This current team has played two games on the road - in the first game we thrashed a championship team 4-0 and in the second we played well but lost late in a game that could have gone either way.

Hardly a negative trend there. Fully expect us to turn over the U’s on Monday.

[Hound]

Yeah not nec expecting us to win the next one but it’s a totally different set up to ince’s last season

And reasons we weren’t winning away then was because we

Were rubbish
Constantly tried to play for 0-0
Defended too deep
Couldn’t defend
Couldn’t score
Had no pace
Had a losing mentality

Among other things

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Considering most of the matches I see are away from home, it's been pretty dire for a number of years, nearly a decade actually.

Even when we finished 3rd under Stam, when I used to go a fair bit more than currently, we just didn't look like scoring let alone winning. I can probably count on one hand the amount of games we've won, never mind actually entertaining games. A lot of games have been poor, although the home sides have contributed to that in a lot of cases.

I suspect that being in the bottom half of the Championship for what, 7 out of the last 9 seasons I think(?), probably hasn't helped. I think the only time I remember us being fairly decent on the road was Bowen's fairly short reign, at the cost of being poorer at home.

From a personal stand point, the last 10 years of watching us away from home, I can't say I have ever felt confident anywhere and the likelihood being that, if we were to concede the first goal, we'd usually lose. I can only really think of Preston and Wigan (2-3 and 1-3 respectively) where we went behind, only to go on and win. Those were fantastic days in isolation, solely because it was a massive shock to come behind and win, let alone winning itself.

[Snowflake Royal]

I’m not saying our away support is shit, but I’m not not saying that either.

It's less shit that many of the team's away performances

[Millsy]

I think this is a bit of a misleading thread.

This current team has played two games on the road - in the first game we thrashed a championship team 4-0 and in the second we played well but lost late in a game that could have gone either way.

Hardly a negative trend there. Fully expect us to turn over the U’s on Monday.

Exactly this.

As far as Selles goes away is fine so far. Otherwise the mentality can be damaging psychologically. 2 games - both decent.

[Sutekh]

The more worrying trend is just the general lack of creativity which has been apparent for a couple of seasons now, seems various managers just can't create a creative attacking team that gives the defensive side some respite and doesn't make their jobs quite so hard and soul destroying if they do concede. Ince was a master at creating a shot shy weak minded team while Selles seems to be starting to reverse the process with players like Vickers and Elliott being given opportunity but there is still a long way to go though have a feeling when it does click there'll be a proverbial thrashing coming someone's way.

[Royal_jimmy]

Hmm we've only played 2 away league games this season and we probably could have won both Port Vale and Exeter if we were more clinical up front.

I'd put our away from last year down to:

1) Defence: Having 2 centre backs who can't play together and weren't up to championship football + 2 weak wing backs. Unfortunately due to the embargo we weren't able to sign someone better as Sarr as equally useless. We had no pace so our defence played very deep.

2) Attack: we don't create an awful lot albeit that's improved this season and we don't score what attacks we do muster enough. I don't know if anyone has any stats but having been to a lot of the shit away matches I can't remember many games where we had more than a single shot on target. We need to sign a striker who knows where the net is.

Ince's negative tactics and a relegation hangover/inexperience from our new team has caused the poor results.

[RG30]

We carve up so few meaningful opportunities. The xG for instance is pitiful.

[Forbury Lion]

Might be a carbon monoxide leak on the team coach, leaves the players half asleep by the time they get to the away fixture.... Maybe they took a different coach to the Millwall cup game?

To be fair, this is a new team so you can only count the Millwall and Exeter games as their away form.

I think part of it is physiological - Opposition managers tell their team we're beatable as we've got terrible away form and their players are motivated as are the fans, meanwhile people keep reminding our team that we don't win away and that has a negative effect on them.