Good Friday Is A Bad Point

When : Friday 7th April 2023, 3pm

Where : SCL, Reading, RG2 0FL

Capacity : 24,161
Just when you don’t need it, up rocks the one fixture over the last few seasons that has been the most miserable piece of turd on the fixture list both in terms of Reading’s performances and the final result. On top of it all Birmingham haven’t been much to write home about either and all in all it’s usually been an awfully dull battle of who can be the least incompetent on the day.
Birmingham’s current form is pretty useful (but then Rochdale’s is probably pretty useful when compared to what Reading’s form is these days!) and they’ve won 2 in a row and 3 of their last 4. They won their last away trip at the fakes (the other blue and white hooped pile of cr@p on free fall in the division) and also beat Blackburn last time out so this will be hard. They’ve also kept two successive clean sheets so another reason to expect another dour, tedious waste of time on the day.
Usual threats from Birmingham are Scott Hogan and the eternal substitute that is Lucas Jutkiewicz to batter you for the last half hour. Troy Deeney has been absent recently through injury so that threat may well be missing but midfielders George Hall (apparently being watched by Liverpool), Reda Khadra and Tahith Chong have been contributing fairly successfully. Finally defender Auston Trusty has been popping up so presumably set pieces also need to be well marshalled.
The blues have 6 injured; Przemyslaw Placheta, Troy Deeney, Tate Campbell, Gary Gardner, Josh Williams and Dion Sanderson and a doubt over Jobe Bellingham while Reading are missing the standard double figure number of players plus the suspended Mamadou Loum. On top of that Andy Carroll is reported to be carrying a hernia problem and Amadou Mbengue a thigh problem but both seem able to turn out if needed.
Other games, concerning sides struggling, to watch for on Friday are:
Blackpool v Cardiff

QPR v Preston

Rotherham v WBA

Sheff U v Wigan

Watford v Huddersfield
Referee
Scott “this is my second ever tier 2 level league game” Oldham
Previously
n/a
Historically
Well at least this one doesn’t present much to live up to. Previous home league games with Birmingham have generally worked out to be utter disasters with Reading usually handing in performances that at best can only be described as shambolic.
Games with Birmingham only go back 35 years or so and in that time Birmingham have turned up in Reading on 19 occasions and won 8 times while Reading have struggled to a mere 5 victories. Most depressing are the last 8 games played at home to Brum which has seen the home team manage a fantastic return of 5 points while serving up some quite clueless and utterly inept performances (e.g. that dreadful 0-2 of January 2018).
So, if I were you, I’d avoid this one like you would avoid a crawl through a working sewage pipe in an Indian restaurant specialising in Vindaloos.
However if you are a masochist, this is how to follow the game

Use your favourite ticket obtainment procedure followed by whichever suitable means of travel enablement is preferred

Listen to Radio 5 Live and/or a myriad of other radio stations for score flashes

Ring/text a mate for updates

Use a RoyalTV subscription

BBC Radio Berkshire (FM : 104.4, 104.1 or 95.4 depending where you are in the area)

I'm hoping we can do better than gift them a 3 goal head start, the utter shambles of an away performance. Surely we're due some luck after that.

We're unbeaten in 2, so I don't hold out much hope.
FYI, I think the last time we went unbeaten in 3 was 4 October 2022. Six months ago. :lol:

Absolutely have to win this. Huge game.
João needs to start

This feels like a must win now. The points deduction will be a huge kick in the bollocks for those players. A win will be a big lift. A loss just demoralise them even more.

Assuming Mbengue is going to be out, which forces me to go a little maverick in my suggestion for a side to actually win, which Ince won't use.
......................Lumley

Abrefa, Yiadom, Holmes, NGW

.....Hendrick, Casadei, Fornah

Meite.................................Azeez

........................Joao
Casadei to go box to box and link with Joao or wait for the pull backs around the edge of the area.
Hendrick and Fornah to mostly sit and distribute, covering fullbacks bombing on, as we try to pass through the thirds. Meite to bully the fullback. Azeez to inject some pace, trickery and enthusiasm for playing.
Yiadom to give us a modicum of pace at CB and talk Abrefa through the game.
Would like a proper DM to sit and protect, but with Loum suspended, McIntyre, Hutch and probably Mbengue injured, we don't have one.

Don't care how - just win.
I'll be in the country and the last time 2 times I was coincided with home wins (for us I should add) - so fingers crossed that sequence continues.

Plenty of Friday`s games on SKY red button but Reading isn`t one of them. Looks as if away at Preston on Easter Monday IS

Games over Easter scheduled for the Red button treatment.
Good Friday

15:00 Queens Park Rangers v Preston North End

15:00 Sheffield United v Wigan Athletic

15:00 Stoke City v Bristol City

15:00 Swansea City v Coventry City

15:00 Watford v Huddersfield Town
Easter Monday

15:00 Birmingham City vs Stoke City

15:00 Cardiff City vs Sunderland

15:00 Luton Town vs Blackpool

15:00 Norwich City vs Rotherham United

15:00 Preston North End vs Reading

15:00 West Bromwich Albion vs Queens Park Rangers

15:00 Wigan Athletic vs Swansea City
Also, actually dreading the games without Tom Ince as though he argues and points at his own team-mates a lot he does provide much of the team’s creativity (though maybe if Mr Negative could perhaps start a player like Azeez all might not be lost).

We aren't winning this game based upon what I have seen from both clubs in the last few weeks.
The reason we are in the mess we are is because of complete apathy on all sides. Supporters, management, owner, Director of Football. Everything. If the club as a whole doesn't wake up right now we are in League 1 next season and I cannot see us getting out of it for years if we do. We lose Friday we go down imo, simple as that.

Agreed on this, we need to continue the decent home record. 7 points is realistic against Brum, Burnley, Luton and Wigan at home in my opinion. Less than that and it's curtains for us.

This is an absolutely huge game. Hopefully those who haven't been there return to the SCL to try and get the team over the line. I can't help but think Reading missed a trick yesterday by not sacking Ince. I think with a new manager in we could've seen a good attendance and more positive support.

Agreed on this, we need to continue the decent home record. 7 points is realistic against Brum, Burnley, Luton and Wigan at home in my opinion. Less than that and it's curtains for us.
I think that's fair but also the problem with relying on home form because of how terrible our away form has been. That said, our home record against the top half of the league is pretty bad too, so Luton and Burnley are going to be big asks. I think one thing going for us with the Luton game is they could well be conseving for the play-offs by the time we play them.

Regarding sacking Ince - If his likely replacement this season is already at the club (Bowen or Hunt) then surely all we need to do is to get them involved in training, team meetings etc. so they can put across their ideas to both Ince and the team in order to improve performances? Perhaps Ince wouldn't like being undermined like this but he could likely see the benefit to the team given the situation we are in.

Agreed on this, we need to continue the decent home record. 7 points is realistic against Brum, Burnley, Luton and Wigan at home in my opinion. Less than that and it's curtains for us.
I think that's fair but also the problem with relying on home form because of how terrible our away form has been. That said, our home record against the top half of the league is pretty bad too, so Luton and Burnley are going to be big asks. I think one thing going for us with the Luton game is they could well be conseving for the play-offs by the time we play them.

The only plus point of the Burnley game, is they will likely be promoted by the time they play us (need 2 points), so they may well have relaxed a little giving us a better chance of getting a point.

I just can't see us winning more games than Huddersfield. You can say what you like about Warnock but he knows exactly how to win games in a relegation battle.

Whilst I agree with the sentiment, just who is going to come in to take over such an injury ravaged squad. The only realistic option (after Graham Potter or Brendan Rodgers :wink: ) would be Mark Bowen and would that be different enough?

Possibly not, but I can see us picking up more points that QPR between now and the end of the season, which obviously takes Huddersfield out of the equation.

Possibly not, but I can see us picking up more points that QPR between now and the end of the season, which obviously takes Huddersfield out of the equation.
Yeah forgot about them, they are in free fall. Reckon they are capable of putting a run of two wins and a couple of draws together though, can't say the same for us.
Forgot about Cardiff too. Reckon then might be our main rivals for the final relegation place.

Whilst I agree with the sentiment, just who is going to come in to take over such an injury ravaged squad. The only realistic option (after Graham Potter or Brendan Rodgers :wink: ) would be Mark Bowen and would that be different enough?

As much as it is a risk I probably would've put Noel Hunt in charge. Lets be honest anyone can tell players to smash the ball up to Carroll, we have no other tactic than that. I think peoples problem with the team in general, as well as being crap, is how much of a tosser Ince is

Stating the bleeding obvious, which somehow always seems to elude P Ince, you will always find it difficult to win games unless you set out with the intention of winning them and maintain that mindset throughout the game.
Will Ince now finally change his approach to games?

Tbf to ince, he was fairly correct in it was almost job done, and picking up a few draws along the way would have seen us safe.
We do now need to win games. It’ll be interesting to see if there is a change of mindset

Agreed on this, we need to continue the decent home record. 7 points is realistic against Brum, Burnley, Luton and Wigan at home in my opinion. Less than that and it's curtains for us.
I'm going to confidently predict that if we go down we'll be promoted within 5 seasons. Probably 3.

Whilst I agree with the sentiment, just who is going to come in to take over such an injury ravaged squad. The only realistic option (after Graham Potter or Brendan Rodgers :wink: ) would be Mark Bowen and would that be different enough?
Yes.

Given he's known the points deduction was coming for the best part of a month, I doubt it arriving will change anything.

Meite and Carroll doubtful. Great.

Any word on Mbengue... he looked crocked last time out?
Don't mind Carroll out if we try to actually play football instead of hoof.

Agree, that's one crap tactic less Ince won't play. However, both haven't been ruled out. Just facing late fitness tests.

Woking press say Mbengue is fit, for what I believe is Inces biggest ever game as a manager.

With that back 4 we would be very weak against the aerial threat of Jutkiewicz but am not sure who else to play there.

We really do have problems for this big game.

TBF Ince said in today's presser that wins were needed now and the mindset is different.
Yaks also on twitter re run in, don't think he would be if out on Friday