Back from the game (Kettering Away)

[NR_Royal]

Right, first of all, I'm not very good at these threads. I'm sure somebody else must have gone to the game so they can add to this thread.

To sum up, I think we played well, however I feel that we looked average at best. We dominated possession throughout the game, and we could get the ball up to the final third using good build up play (as opposed to hoofing). The main problem was that we simply did not create enough chances, and when we had the chance to get a shot in, we either passed the ball across goal and the chance disappeared OR we screwed up the shot. Long, Cisse and Hunt all had chances to bury the shot only to miskick the ball to much disappointment. Church looked better than Long IMO.

There were only about 5 or 6 times when we played well enough for a round of applause. To be fair, most of the game took place in our attacking half, and Kettering had few chances. The first goal only came through a penalty ( ), and we looked OK on the counter attack, however their final goal was actually something special. A Delap style throw in and a decent shot. Gutted.

I can't really give ratings, so I'll leave that for someone else, however SHunt looked better playing although it was clear to see the reluctance of the team to pass to him. Bertrand was always looking for the ball and enjoyed making runs at them. Feds should 100% be No.1, and we definitely need a striker.

[winchester_royal]

Did Henry's injury look serious?

[Ian Royal]

Without NHunt we look very bare on goals. That's pretty obvious without seeing a match.

Hope Long, Mooney and Church can play a part, but we could realy use getting Smith in.

[leww_rfc]

Without NHunt we look very bare on goals. That's pretty obvious without seeing a match.

Hope Long, Mooney and Church can play a part, but we could realy use getting Smith in.

i know there not two of the biggest teams(didcot and kettering). but 2 goals for church i think is pretty good for him to get into stride for the start of the season. Few on the sweden tour and then a hattrick against Chelski and he'll be on perfect form.

[Wizard]

I thought we looked quite good. Lots of nice build up play, seemed to lack the cutting edge though.

Matejovsky, Harper, Church, Robson-Kanu and Karacan all played well I thought, and Pearce was my man of the match, looked composed and assured in almost everything he did.

Rosenior only hoofed it once or twice, looked to play it to Harper, Gunnarsson, Tabb or Karacan quite often, which was nice to see. Bertrand always wanted the ball, looked good going forward and strong in defence.

[winchester_royal]

I'll ask again....how bad did Henry's injury look?

[Wizard]

He hobbled off without the aid of the physio. So hopefully not too bad.

[REALROYAL]

Didnt see the game, but i think we all know 2 new strikers are a must

[Ian Royal]

Didnt see the game, but i think we all know 2 new strikers are a must

Given we won't be playing a traditional 2 upfront and we have NHunt to return, I think 2 would be a waste of time.

[firstdivision]

We passed the ball well, had most of the posession, but looked like we wanted to walk the ball into the net.

Bertrand looked good, possessed good attacking qualities and had a shot from outside the box, others seemed unwilling to shoot opting for the pass instead.

We need a striker...

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

Essentially it was exactly the same as at Didcot, but against a better team. I'm not too concerned about letting two goals in as Kettering only had two proper chances in the whole game and took them.

The concern is that our final ball is just as bad as it was last season and you feel we won't score unless it's absolutely on a plate for us.

The defeat could well be exactly what we need though. Had a bounce or two gone our way, we could well have come away with a comfortable if not exactly impressive looking win, and the temptation would have been to think everything in the garden is rosy. Losing might just make a few people think that being tempted to go with what we have has become a less attractive option.

[woodley_royal_124]

Rev Alginon Stickleback said

The concern is that our final ball is just as bad as it was last season and you feel we won't score unless it's absolutely on a plate for us.

The trouble is it WAS often on a plate, like the last match of the season againt Birmingham.....and look at the difference it made ?!

[towserSL2crew]

Bit low on people in the box when we went forwards, time after time there was no-one in there for the wingers to cross to.Again Hal Robson Kanu really impressed me. New lad looked good and Church will score lots of goals this term.
Im still very hopefull.

[winchester_royal]

Was it Kebe or Hal R-K on the right?

[NR_Royal]

Was it Kebe or Hal R-K on the right?

I believe Kebe was on the left 1st Half and HRK was on the right in the second half?

[floyd__streete]

Kettering 2-1 Reading. WoROFLld cLOLass modeLOL

For 60 minutes of this game Reading kept neat possession and Kettering goalkeeper Harper made one or two excellent first half saves to keep the score down. Church tucked away the goal at the end of a tidy move, Kebe with the final pass. Second half, all Reading, square passes, absolutely no shots on goal and then a defensive lapse and Kettering were back in it with a stonewall pen after Hamer desperately pulled their man down (he'd have been off in a competitive game). Thereafter absolutely no-one in blue and white could grab the game by the scruff of the neck. Sound familiar? We lost to a frankly diabolical goal smashed in acres of space at the far (right side) post in the last minute.

I must say that I have grave concerns over any manager who thinks a back four which includes Gunnarsson, Cisse and SHunt is worth experimenting with. The punchline being that out of this back four, the worst performer was the recognised right back; Liam Rosenior, who most of the time makes football look like the hardest game in the world to play. I liked Simon Church who led the line well. I disliked Shane Long who for the second game in succession looked like he'd eaten all the pies and would struggle to get a game for the opposition let alone a team who fancy they will do well in the Championship. Hal Robson Kanu looked lively, Karacan was totally awful giving away possession like a pretty NPower girl gives away 4/6 cards at Lords. The most concerning aspect of a baffling afternoon was why Rodgers seems to insist that every goalkick is taken short and the ball passed around the back four as if he is managing Barcelona; very dangerous when you have clumsy oafs like Cisse playing centre-half, he was absolutely atrocious by the way.

In summary then: all fur coat and no knickers. Sign a f*cking striker.

[winchester_royal]

TBF to Rodgers though Floyde, leading up to the 1st game Cisse and Gunnarsson are currently the only CB's other than Pearce who will be available for Forest, therefore Rodgers probably feels as though he has to give them a go.

The football we're trying to play will take time to really make its mark. One only has to look at how Watford struggled for a month or so at the start of BR's reign to realise that it will take time. But their form improved dramatically towards the end of the season, showing he is worth sticking with.

[floyd__streete]

TBF to Rodgers though Floyde, leading up to the 1st game Cisse and Gunnarsson are currently the only CB's other than Pearce who will be available for Forest, therefore Rodgers probably feels as though he has to give them a go.

Perm 2 from Gunnarsson/Cisse/Pearce for 2 centre-half spots, Sir Jimmy Saville could out-pace any of those three. Could be a tough August !

[Snowball]

I was just about to post to say that when Rodgers arrived at Watford
he tried to get them to play lots of close passing football and they
barely scraped a point a game.

Then (according to Watford fans) he compromised a little and struck
a balance between possession and the long ball. Their points record after
that was excellent.


Maybe he starts out and insists on the passing, passing, passing, and gradually
finds the best blend between that and other methods. First you have to get players
comfortable and patient. The last few seasons, especially the last two, there's
been a lot of long ball...

[Sun Tzu]

Could be a tough August !

Why not pop down to Thomas Cook and book a few weeks in Spain then...

Save yourself some heartache and save us all your miserable whining