v Reading (a) - 17/8/22 - Mark 1

[Armchair supporter supremo]

1 minute ago, Jimmy612 said:

Dolan has a fantastic work ethic and it gets him a very long way with the fanbase, alongside quite a lot of over zealous ‘fancy footwork’ and a seemingly lovely personality and warmth with the fans.  But I’ve said for 2 years, I do not see a good footballer there.  He’s deceptively slow, he’s obviously very small in stature, he’s not got a great first touch, he makes poor decisions…. I think a lot of folk got very excited by him far too early.  

Could never and would never criticise his infectious work rate and I would love him to prove me totally wrong, but I think he’s probably a level higher than he should be. 

Fair doos

Still a player that I'd prefer to have in the squad though for the time being at least

[yankfan]

The squad is simply too thin. The likes of Vale, Dolan, Edun can’t be relied upon. Pickering, Gally, Hedges should be cover cover.  3 days ago we had 2 players off with exhaustion, Gally out of his feet and the rest staggering to the finish line. No wonder the lot looks a step off it.  The only one who looked to give a toss was Ayala and we know he doesn’t have to train.  Reading had an extra day off without travel. 
 

bottom line is the 18 isn’t deep enough. We need 2 center halves, competition at left back, cover at right back and an attacking player. 

[Jimmy612]

1 minute ago, Armchair supporter supremo said:

Fair doos

Still a player that I'd prefer to have in the squad though for the time being at least

To be fair, last season he created 3 or 4 goals through sheer persistence and I hugely appreciated and admired his work rate.  I don’t think he’s a Champ starter though. 

[bluebruce]

6 minutes ago, Dolly blue said:

I really want to believe in Buckley….I don’t  doubt his skill, his ability to play a killer ball …but I do doubt his guts, his ability to graft …and sadly, his intelligence. Currently, he is a luxury , one we can’t afford in a 2 man midfield.
 

It reminds me of the Flitcroft / Dunn pairing ..one worked his arse off one waited to be given the ball. 
I have confidence in JDT …and I believe he will have discovered tonight who “the men “ are..I hope more “ men “ turn up on Saturday. 

I feel a 5-3-2 would probably have worked better tonight in hindsight. Probably against Sheff U too. Then again, we simply don't have enough defenders for it to work.

[J*B]

Interested to hear from our head coach tonight - can someone tag me into it when his quotes are out?

[Jimmy612]

I didn’t see much of the game… no one has mentioned Szmodics yet.  Guessing he was as poor as the rest of them?

[DuffsLeftPeg]

No need to panic, Reading played very well tonight and we weren’t at it at all following Sunday’s game which obviously took a lot out of them.

We are still top of the Championship with the most wins and most points and we’d have all taken that before the season started.

Hopefully reinforcements to the squad will come in soon as tonight highlights how we cannot expect to be at the top of our game at every match playing 3 times in 6 days. Until then, time to regroup and go again Saturday.

COYB 🌹 

Edited August 17, 2022 by DuffsLeftPeg

[BigBar]

4 minutes ago, Dolly blue said:

I really want to believe in Buckley….I don’t  doubt his skill, his ability to play a killer ball …but I do doubt his guts, his ability to graft …and sadly, his intelligence. Currently, he is a luxury , one we can’t afford in a 2 man midfield.
 

It reminds me of the Flitcroft / Dunn pairing ..one worked his arse off one waited to be given the ball. 
I have confidence in JDT …and I believe he will have discovered tonight who “the men “ are..I hope more “ men “ turn up on Saturday. 

I think alot feel like you, it's more of a belief. I wouldn't have him starting at all. I bang the drum because I think we would be alot better off with someone else in there. Sick of being told how much potential he has, I want success for rovers and can't help but feel. Imagine a Alex Mowatt, Lewis O Brien, John Swift, Josh Cullen or Harrison Reed in there. It's a vital area of the pitch and can't afford to have someone not up for the battle or graft.

[bluebruce]

I'm just reflecting on comments I've seen lately about our squad and our transfer needs...and the most ridiculous is definitely that we don't need to sign any more players. Can't remember who said it though.

[Trinidad Rover]

Just now, Jimmy612 said:

I didn’t see much of the game… no one has mentioned Szmodics yet.  Guessing he was as poor as the rest of them?

Awful. Not seen anything yet to suggest he’s a decent signing in the games he’s played. He was miles off the pace and when he had the ball v poor decision making and lack of quality. We’ve been done by Barry bloody Fry there I think 

[BigUts]

Kaminski - 4 - got beaten far too easily for the 2nd and flapped at a cross which almost cost another. Made a good save from Long. 

Brittain - 3 - looked slow, lethargic and couldn't pass a ball. Awful performance and looked done in by Reading pushing on him so high up the pitch.

Phillips - 6 - Did OK but both he and Ayala had no protection. Can easily see that he makes rookie decisions with the ball but he is literally a child and that will all come with age.

Ayala - 6 - not the best from Daniel but had little to no protection from anyone around him. Was probably our best player on the pitch.

Pickering - 4 - distribution awful and offered no threat going forward. One of his worst performances since he arrived IMHO.

Buckley - 2 - I'm a massive Buckley fan but tonight he was honestly dreadful. When he did get the ball it was moved too slowly, gave the ball away too cheaply and didn't really try and challenge for the ball.

Travis - 4 - awful. Was powderpuff by his standards and lacked any bite.

Szmodics - 3 - anonymous. Offered nothing.

Dolan- 3 - see Szmodics

Vale - 4 - other than one run, see Dolan.

BBD - 4 - BB was back tonight. The ball couldn't stick on the odd occasion he had it and when in a couple of good positions made really bad decisions. As mooted before the game this is an easy shot at him, but straight from the off he was ducking out of challenges and not getting stuck in. The same can be said of many tonight but looks like he could be going.

 

Hedges - 5 - tried hard with no end product but still a significant improvement on Szmodics

Dack - 4 - tried some flicks and quick interchanges of play but was off the pace.

Gallagher - 3 - was back to his lacklustre best. I always want Sam to be so much better but the ball was just bouncing off him and he was a massive soft arse for the 3rd.

Morton - N/A

Edun - 5 - tried hard when he came on to no avail.

We were basically out thought and out fought tonight. Reading wanted it and we seemingly didn't. This game was definitely more Mowbray then it was JDT. Slow, lethargic and moving the ball around slowly. I can only hope we have expelled much energy tonight so we are reinvigorated for a very tough game Saturday.

[simongarnerisgod]

1 minute ago, BigBar said:

I think alot feel like you, it's more of a belief. I wouldn't have him starting at all. I bang the drum because I think we would be alot better off with someone else in there. Sick of being told how much potential he has, I want success for rovers and can't help but feel. Imagine a Alex Mowatt, Lewis O Brien, John Swift, Josh Cullen or Harrison Reed in there. It's a vital area of the pitch and can't afford to have someone not up for the battle or graft.

buckers was awol tonight,he often does disapear in away matches,it would`nt surprise me if morton replaces him on saturday

[joey_big_nose]

6 minutes ago, Jimmy612 said:

I didn’t see much of the game… no one has mentioned Szmodics yet.  Guessing he was as poor as the rest of them?

Yeah - him, Vale and Dolan identical really. Relatively small, not that quick, couldn't get the ball to stick. Playing all three of them at once seemed odd.

With Sammie I am a bit surprised we signed him given he is a very similar player as far as I can see to Dolan - while Markanday and Vale in a similar bracket also.

Edited August 17, 2022 by joey_big_nose

[Athlete]

After the 1st 3 games a lot started to get those blue tinted glasses on but the bottom line we are a worse squad than last season we need full backs a centre half a Centre Mid and a at.least one forward

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

4 minutes ago, Jimmy612 said:

I didn’t see much of the game… no one has mentioned Szmodics yet.  Guessing he was as poor as the rest of them?

Had no impact whatsoever.  Looks another mediocre player who may pop up with 4-5 goals and run around alot - but contribute little overall. 

[yoda's brother]

what happened to the red kit, maybe the (blue black ?) confused them

[Adam C]

That was awful. So depressing after a great start, and dispiriting to watch us give the ball away constantly. Reading went at us with desire and aggression, and the result was never in doubt. We were lucky to go in at half time only 1-0 down, and while the changes made at half time gave us a bit more attacking intent, it was nowhere near enough.

The whole performance was worse than anything I saw under Mowbray, and it reminded me of how the team performed for Henning Berg or Appleton. Sideways, backwards passes, losing possession constantly, unable to get the ball out of our own half. Everyone looked knackered which might be part of it but that only highlights how poor our squad outside the first XI is. Buckley was terrible, I don’t know what qualities Vale is supposed to possess, and Dolan was useless. We need to improve this squad.

 Left back, centre back, forward a must for me. Vale is nowhere near the standard required at this level. He was shockingly bad, seemed lazy and lacking in technical ability and pace. We will not get far with him and Gallagher as our choices up front. I’ve seen Pickering a few times and wondered why he got so much criticism. This year I get it. In the last match everything against us came through him. This time it’s the same and his passing was atrocious. He offered nothing. We urgently need a lb. Ayala was class tonight, the only player who can consider himself to have put in a shift. Defensively solid, tidy, committed. Unfortunately, Philips will take a while to establish himself. I thought he was solid last time out but tonight he looked overawed, decision making was poor. Ayala will spend a month or two out this season, when that happens we are screwed if there is not another championship quality CB in there. At least one. 

I’m really deflated tonight, it seemed like a new dawn but now I’m worried that the bubble has burst after only 4 games. When BBD goes we need to reinvest in the squad. Plus we’ll have to replace him! Big couple of weeks incoming, I hope GB and JDT have what it takes. 

[BigBar]

1 minute ago, simongarnerisgod said:

buckers was awol tonight,he often does disapear in away matches,it would`nt surprise me if morton replaces him on saturday

Well it's about time he got called out on it by more than myself and a handful of others. Alwsys stress it's not personal and it isn't, not sure Morton is the answer either, need a man in there. 

[yankfan]

3 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

buckers was awol tonight,he often does disapear in away matches,it would`nt surprise me if morton replaces him on saturday

There seemed to be a genuine lack of trust from both him and Travis in anticipating and moving to the spaces between the press.  First time I’ve seen it from them. They were a step off the pace, reacting to the pass instead of instinctively moving into space. Not sure if they were knackered from Sunday, concerned with being caught out of position or just off of it. But they were poor. 
 

Hedges has gotten a lot of praise for his 3 assist but his play in the middle has been littered with give aways. Today was no different. Szmodics seems best suited to press and attack from winning the ball up the pitch…today there was no press so he was useless. 
 

I understand Dolan and Vake to start as we need to be able to rotate players when the matches come this close but neither of those two looked like championship players. As many matches that are to come we desperately need better alternatives. 

[Exiled_Rover]

14 minutes ago, Trinidad Rover said:

Awful. Not seen anything yet to suggest he’s a decent signing in the games he’s played. He was miles off the pace and when he had the ball v poor decision making and lack of quality. We’ve been done by Barry bloody Fry there I think 

Rubbish. 

He had to drop into our half to even sniff the ball today - that's not what we signed him for. He's a very tidy player.

[Sweaty Gussets]

11 minutes ago, BigBar said:

Well it's about time he got called out on it by more than myself and a handful of others. Alwsys stress it's not personal and it isn't, not sure Morton is the answer either, need a man in there. 

Haha, you're fucking obsessed lad. 

[joey_big_nose]

12 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

I feel a 5-3-2 would probably have worked better tonight in hindsight. Probably against Sheff U too. Then again, we simply don't have enough defenders for it to work.

Yeah - I think that's probably what will come out in the post mortem... Probably Morton should have come on to have an extra body in the middle to compete. 

Issue with 532 though is we've got so many forwards (8*) to just play two leaves a lot on the bench. The temptation is to play 4231 to get 4 forwards  on at a time.

And as you say we would be sacrificing one of those established forwards to play Pickering at LCB... Tough sell.

*BBD, Gallagher, Hedges, Sammie, Dolan, Vale, Dack, Markanday 

[Madon]

Reading this thread is bloody well depressing. We are top of the league ffs. We go again on Saturday 🔵⚪

[Wing Wizard Windy Miller]

11 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

buckers was awol tonight,he often does disapear in away matches,it would`nt surprise me if morton replaces him on saturday

I agree that Buckley has talent but you can't go AWOL in the middle when playing in a 2.  He's 23 in a couple of months so not like he's a kid anymore.  

Agree that the Liverpool lad should get a run out in his place at weekend.

 

[simongarnerisgod]

1 minute ago, Exiled_Rover said:

Rubbish. 

He had to drop into our half to even sniff the ball today - that's not what we signed him for. He's a very tidy player.

he is`nt a defensive player at all