BFTG - Barnsley home

[AthleticoSpizz]

Lacklustre....specially up front

Cold, bored and surreally quiet....almost a game that wasn't.....a real wtf am I doing here moment.

Blackett motm, the brilliant Kelly far too clever for his "late to arrive" team mates

[bcubed]

Brrr it was cold.
Typical Championship game; lots of effort but just when some quality was required; both teams came up short.

Until Danny's shot late on we never looked like scoring-despite four times getting close in the box 2nd half-while they nearly scored twice.

Al Habs 5: One horror moment in 1st half-but TBF mainly a statue.
Gunts 7: Got forward more often than of late and twice should have done better in the opposition box.
Obita 6: Had his problems-but always an option going forward.
Moore 6: Had his problems.
Blackett 8 : MOM immense in defence, couple of poor passes.
Evans 6 : Having essentially five at the back didn't help
Williams 6: Best effort on goal;but too often on the back foot.
Kelly 6: Worked hard, but short on inspiration
Beerens 7: Always a threat
Kermit 6: Good and bad
Macca 6: again not at his best

Grabham 6: Why play him as inspiration in midfield, when we had Swift on the bench

Too many lobbed crosses, rather than driven ones & oh the pitch was the worst I have ever seen it at this stage of the season-bring on the heavy roller.

Ref average and inconsistent, but compared to recent weeks wasn't poor.

Still confident of top six

You like most of our fans are so negative. It's pretty much nailed on that we won't throw away an 8 point gap over 7th

Think this team is generally always going to be short of goals, especially if we keep playing one up front
Plenty of crosses today from both sides but no conviction from anyone to get on the end of them
As a result I don't think we will make playoffs

[marlowuk]

Amazing how opinions can differ!! But I thought it was an entertaining game and that we played better than I have seen for some time. Barnsley were decent, defended well and were a threat in attack but it was a game we should have won. We dominated possession and had 17 shots of which 5 were on target. They only had one shot on target.

We certainly started brightly which we haven't been doing recently and when we attacked at speed we always looked dangerous. I agree with most others that Blackett had a good game as did Evans so i'd have them as joint MOTM! Williams was surprisingly subdued and didn't really get into the game. McCleary had a difficult start to the game but quickly overcame that and he did well. The worrying thing for me was that when they attacked we often had sufficient defenders to control things but they were ball-watching, leaving opponents un-marked in dangerous positions. I think we need McShane back to organise the defence. Gunter is a very good player (some will disagree) but he is not a leader!

I too was surprised that Kelly was substituted but maybe he had an injury problem. However I thought Grabban showed some good vision and class. Popa didn't have time to make an impression and I thought Meite should have been brought on earlier. We were attacking almost exclusively by putting in crosses from the wing and his guile through the middle might have given a different option.

So 2 points dropped but a clean sheet. Down to 4th and we really need to get a win against Brentford on Tuesday.

[oh_ROAR]

Definitely the best performance from Blackett I've seen, I was worried seeing him start in a back four but he was solid.

Didn't think McCleary was bad but he looked like he needed a rest.
Hope to see some of the new signings making some starts soon

[bobby1413]

I've still not warmed up

[Sutekh]

Barnsley had to really good chances but couldn't hit the target. They had another great chance in the first half but great work from Blackett to chase down the breakaway put the Barnsley player off and he could only "pass" the ball to Habsi in the end.

Reading were otherwise superior but the ball just would not break for them in the box. Two superb saves from their keeper, another cleared off the line and a probable penalty not awarded by an inconsistent referee were the best of what Reading managed.

So not a poor performance really, yes some decisions could have been better made by everyone but in the end just one of those days.

Also you have to give credit to Barnsley for defending well and holding their shape and just getting in the way of everything. Notice that Angus Macdonald (ex-Reading youngster) and Gareth Roberts superbly marshalled their defence.

According to Jaap Lewis Grabban can also play in midfield, so guess where he'll be playing for nearly all of his time on loan here

Thought it was ridiculous to put Popa and (especially) Meite on so late in the game just what were they meant to do in just a few minutes other than get properly warmed up.

Finally we really do need to have plan B and a way to play when teams are obviously packing out the defence and it's into the last 10/15 minutes of games with no joy.

Wondering if it will actually be warmer on Tuesday evening.

[George_]

Another game where I've been frustrated with the subs.

Our bench was very strong yesterday and full of players that could make an impact. Meite offers pace and strength going forwards and against tired legs he would have made a real impact if he ACTUALLY had time to make a difference. Coming on in the 91st minute he wasn't going to make much difference to the game. Every game from after 70 minutes Beerens looks knackered but he rarely seems to get subbed or when he does like yesterday it was after 90 minutes. Popa looked lively when he came on but they actually need time to make a difference.

Grabban at CM was

[Platypuss]

First half was dire - just so timid.
Got on the front foot more in the second half, but the subs came too late.
About 95 minutes too late in Williams' case.

[RoyalBlue]

Amazing how opinions can differ!! But I thought it was an entertaining game and that we played better than I have seen for some time. Barnsley were decent, defended well and were a threat in attack but it was a game we should have won. We dominated possession and had 17 shots of which 5 were on target. They only had one shot on target.

We certainly started brightly which we haven't been doing recently and when we attacked at speed we always looked dangerous. I agree with most others that Blackett had a good game as did Evans so i'd have them as joint MOTM! Williams was surprisingly subdued and didn't really get into the game. McCleary had a difficult start to the game but quickly overcame that and he did well. The worrying thing for me was that when they attacked we often had sufficient defenders to control things but they were ball-watching, leaving opponents un-marked in dangerous positions. I think we need McShane back to organise the defence. Gunter is a very good player (some will disagree) but he is not a leader!

I too was surprised that Kelly was substituted but maybe he had an injury problem. However I thought Grabban showed some good vision and class. Popa didn't have time to make an impression and I thought Meite should have been brought on earlier. We were attacking almost exclusively by putting in crosses from the wing and his guile through the middle might have given a different option.

So 2 points dropped but a clean sheet. Down to 4th and we really need to get a win against Brentford on Tuesday.

I enjoyed it too. After the game Dellor and Gooding were raving about how good Barnsley's defence was. However, for quite a sustained spell at the start of the second half we were ripping them to shreds down our right hand side. Plenty of good chances were created and wasted. Had we converted one of those, Barnsley would have been forced to push forward rather than rely on the counter attack and I am confident we would then have gone on to win by several goals.

[Lower West]

Grabban at CM was

Some of the touches and passes had showed what we are lacking. Head and up looking. Composed.

Just the sort of player the likes of Swift, Kelly, Evans could learn a lot from.

[harry]

Poor first half. Looked much better second.
Barnsley were never going to be the pushover some assumed and they proved to be defensively well-organised with a fair amount of threat going forward. Game could have gone either way. Draw probably fair. Disappointed as was hoping rather than expecting 3 points.
Better with 3/5 at back than 4.

AAH - 6. OK. Why on such a dodgy pitch do we persist in passing back to him when we know a forward will put him under pressure and he will have to hoof? Why doesn't the defender playing the dodgy pass back take the responsibility and play it forward. They probably have more time and better distribution. I'm not talking about every pass back to him, just the ones where his only option will be to lump it.
Gunter - 6. decent going forward, 1 jigsaw shot, the penalty claim was way too far away from me to judge - ref!!!!!! Booking was ajoke.
Obita - 7. Got forward well and put in some good crosses.
Moore - 7 solid.
Blackett -7. Mixed. 2 or 3 very good tackles and a great interception. 1 decent strong run. Several dodgy passes.
Evans - 6. OK. Covered well in 1st half without little to stand out. Thought he did well out of position as part of back 3 in 2nd.
Kelly - 6. Busy, but without ever producing much in 1st half. Unlucky to be subbed.
Williams - 6. Didn't notice him on pitch for about 25 mins. Got stuck in a bit as game progressed. Decent shot in 2nd half.
McCleary - 6. An off-game by his standards. Even then looked a threat at times.
Beerens - 7. A positive start to the game, couple of decent runs. I was somewhat surprised to realise that when it came to subs I thought GMac should go off first.
Kermorgant - 6. Unlucky not to score. Won lots of headers as usual.

Grabban - 7. Looked decent. Would have liked to see him up front.
Popa - 6. Short cameo. Looked lively. 1 needless offside & a mis-hit cross isn't enough to judge him on.
Meite - not enough time to score the winner I hoped for

[Victor Meldrew]

As ever such varied views.
My mate that I go with doesn't rate Blackett at all so maybe I am a bit influenced by him but I didn't see this MOM performance that some have suggested.
At last Gunter contributed to a game (other than his normal backward passing and pointing and chickening-out of headers)) by playing a few meaningful passes in the opposition half down our side in the second half-never a penalty and should have been booked for diving which the ref must have dwelt on by later booking him for nothing much.

Having wanted us to sign Grabban for so long I was disappointed that he didn't play up front instead of Kermorgant who spends far too much time at the back (where he is often our best defender) and in midfield instead of as a central striker-a good trier but too old and I am amazed that he has been given an extended contract.

IMHO from start to finish we didn't look like a side intent on pushing for promotion but more a side not wanting to lose the game.
With some tough fixtures coming up we really do need a win on Tuesday.

[genome]

a good trier but too old and I am amazed that he has been given an extended contract.

He's played nearly a season's worth of league games for us (42) and has 11 goals. Not bad for a 35 year old. That + his defensive contribution, he is well worth his new contract.

[Hampshire Royal]

The Barnsley defence was extremely well organised and a lot of our 'negative' passing game was forced because we just couldn't find a way through. Add to this a general lack of passion in the team, and from very early on in the game, it was clear that it had 0-0 written all over it.

As for the subs, Grabban and Popa, although they both did some good work, the drive of the team wasn't improved by either of the. The sub who actually tried to add some passion was Meite who for the two or so minutes he was on, did enough to suggest that had he been on longer the game would have been different. On at least two occasions, he put the fear of god in the Barnsley defence, and showed the passion which the whole team should have had.

As far as the defence goes, we definitely missed McShane. Moore had he worst game I've seen him play, but Blackett had his best game for us and, if we had to chose a MoTM from the Reading team, it would have been him.

In midfield, Evans played well, but we definitely would have benefitted from a fully functioning Swift.

[harry]

Wondering if it will actually be warmer on Tuesday evening.

No, just more romantic

[CountryRoyal]

Wondering if it will actually be warmer on Tuesday evening.

No, just more romantic

I broke up with the missus today so I'll be there.

Valentine's Day night out is amazing as well if you're single.

[bobby1413]

I broke up with the missus today so I'll be there.

How did you do it? (Leave no details out)

Asking for a m8

[Hound]

Valentine's Day is utter tosh whether you are single or not. A genuinely horrible idea of a day

Tuesday looks *much* warmer. Actually like spring. Hopefully our southern softies will enjoy the mild conditions more than yesterday's filth

[Hendo]

I broke up with the missus today so I'll be there.

Asking for a m8

lol

[muirinho]

Just out of idle interest, was everybody at the same match?