Back from the Game Thread - Blackpool (H)

[Elm Park Old Boy]

Fantastic. Get in!

Most enjoyable game since beating Watford in January. And frankly, this was a better performance than we saw that day from a team that then looked to be heading straight back to the premier.

Most comments I'd have offered have been made. I agree Macanuff and Tabb stood out for us. Church did exceptionally well as lone striker. I confess I had an anxious feeling when we were so much on top and everything seemed to find its way to their keeper.

Two remaining flaws for me. One was the continuing fragility of the defence, especially when Blackpool came at us second half. I suspect this is not so much down to the centre backs as the downside of having Howard and Matejovsky in front of them. On other days we may need to sacrifice a bit of the creativity they give us (which I thought was very impressive yesterday - don't understand the sniffiness of some comments, especially about Howard) and bring in Karacan to shield the centre of the defence - we were cut through the middle too easily at times.

The other flaw remains the need to finish off the many chances we are now (promisingly) creating. We're wasting too many and other teams will punish us for it.

It's still early days but i hope some of the hysteria that some culprits have been guilty of on HNA will now fade. My take on this is that we have been seeing over the last two months the inevitable result of radical transformation of the team. You can't instantly get the finished article. When you build a new team you start off having bad results (several we could name), then you have some games where you play a bit better but still lose or draw (leicester), then you start to wins. With young players and a new team you will still get setbacks but my hope and expectation is that having won yesterday will stimulate a decent run up to the new year. There's still a lot to do, but I saw lots of good signs yesterday, and Rodgers and the players deserve credit for the way they have stuck at it and started to turn things around.

[ZacNaloen]

^ I agree with all of that.

Here Here etc

[Row Z Royal]

You just know we're going to get thumped up at Derby after all this.

Not if he matches up with the formation of the whatever placed team in the league.

[winchester_royal]

You just know we're going to get thumped up at Derby after all this.

Not if he matches up with the formation of the whatever placed team in the league.

Good effort.

[Bowman's Quiver]

Yeah, blatant penalty mate.

Never in a million years. I was sat level with the 18-yard box in the lower west and Church wasn't touched. Should have been carded for simulation.

[Alan Partridge]

Probably all been covered, first match for me since the Leicester game and it was the same as that really. Promising first half, missed a ton of chances in the first 15mins, Blackpool then like Leicester had the chance of the half right on the whistle, but they missed it. If it had gone in I doubt Reading would have won, the confidence would have been shot. As mentioned at H/T, seasons can turn on things like that and that may well be true.

Second half I thought Blackpool in the main were the better side, Marek tried a clever pass, jeered by the idiots, got it back, pinged it out to McAnuff, good cross, Sigurdsson couldn't miss.

Blackpool then scored one of the best team goals I've seen in ages and it looked like a case of here we go again as it was them on the front foot. Church went off, Marek had it out wide, sensational ball in, swooping header from Rasiak and 2-1.

Even then Blackpool had 2 or 3 incredible chances especially the free header late on to level but Reading had earnt their bit of luck.

I am totally unconvinced with Reading defensively, it may have solely been nerves and the lack of confidence but Blackpool totally dominated the last 10minutes and won everything. I think Pearce is a certain weak link and I would restore O'Dea to the lineup, whose absense is a bit of a head scratcher, I thought in the main he'd done ok.

I thought McAnuff as everyone else has said was a constant threat and had an excellent game, I thought Marek again showed why he should be number 1 on the sheet, 1 assist and also played a big part in the first goal. Howard I want to like as he's a bit like MArek but without the talent but I thought he was sloppy in posession. Pearce I've touched on I thought was poor, and Church for all the workrate just simply isn't good enough to lead the line on his own for a Championship side. In his defense I think he's improved since the start of the season and maybe as a partner to someone he might be ok but when you play 1 up front he HAS to give you a goal threat, has to make the most of chances as you might not get many and he is just far too wasteful in front of goal.

2-1 was a much needed scoreline but i felt that not a huge amount had changed to be perfectly honest. I thought Blackpool had too many chances on our goal but thankfully due to some of their poor finishing Reading managed to come away with a much needed win.

MOTM McAnuff. He has been Rodgers best signing so far and looks a decent winger for this level, someone we really could have done with lat year when Hunt/Kebe were dire.

[John Madejski's Wallet]

Really great to see Tabb starting to come forward with his winger and cut in-field (ala Murts). Its what we've lacked this season on the right. He had a few games where he was concerned purely with defending and now he's starting to expand in his role. Top man!

[Dirk Gently]

Interesting to note also that Marek is starting to "direct" games the way he ought to be - at least a couple of times I saw him pointing out to McAnuff where to run to so he could pass it to him.

Once they've played together enough so that that sort of understanding comes automatically that can only be a good thing.

Also good to see The Sig playing in the middle - he was always wasted on the wing.

[winchester_royal]

Interesting to note also that Marek is starting to "direct" games the way he ought to be - at least a couple of times I saw him pointing out to McAnuff where to run to so he could pass it to him.

Once they've played together enough so that that sort of understanding comes automatically that can only be a good thing.

Also good to see The Sig playing in the middle - he was always wasted on the wing.

Just wondering here....but would people rather we stuck with 4-3-3 with Sig playing centrally, or returned to 4-4-2 with Sig out left, because there's no way we can have a Sig/Marek central pairing on their own.

[Dirk Gently]

Interesting to note also that Marek is starting to "direct" games the way he ought to be - at least a couple of times I saw him pointing out to McAnuff where to run to so he could pass it to him.

Once they've played together enough so that that sort of understanding comes automatically that can only be a good thing.

Also good to see The Sig playing in the middle - he was always wasted on the wing.

Just wondering here....but would people rather we stuck with 4-3-3 with Sig playing centrally, or returned to 4-4-2 with Sig out left, because there's no way we can have a Sig/Marek central pairing on their own.

I like what we have now, which is really more of a 4-2-3-1 than a 4-3-3. That's central to BR's footballing philosophy, and when we play it properly (with two wingers) it works fine for me.

[Ian Royal]

Interesting to note also that Marek is starting to "direct" games the way he ought to be - at least a couple of times I saw him pointing out to McAnuff where to run to so he could pass it to him.

Once they've played together enough so that that sort of understanding comes automatically that can only be a good thing.

Also good to see The Sig playing in the middle - he was always wasted on the wing.

Just wondering here....but would people rather we stuck with 4-3-3 with Sig playing centrally, or returned to 4-4-2 with Sig out left, because there's no way we can have a Sig/Marek central pairing on their own.

It's a tough one. A very tough one. I can think of quite a few possibilities, Howard being the player most likely to lose out, because I think we could do with more defensive qualities in midfield. I think it has to totally depend on the opposition, but we should see one of these two attacking line ups IMO.

...........Karacan, Matejovsky
McAnuff....Siggurdsson........Kebe
.................Church

Or

McAnuff, Karacan, Matejovsky, Siggurdsson
..............Church, Rasiak

Harsh on Howard though

[Dirk Gently]

Put like that, the only difference between the two option is how far forward does The Sig (or whoever it is) play.

Not really much difference between the two formations.

[Richi Royal]

Agree with most of what has been said already, McAnuff, Tabb etc all brillant.. marek finally starting to contribute to games as we all know he should.. although we looked shakey at the back at times .... everytime we went forward (apart from corners.....which need some serious work on) I thought we were going to create a chance.

Special mention to Rodgers....it takes a VERY brave man to change the system after 3 good performances (and two good results), is it stubborness to make his beloved formation work??...possibly....but last year we were completly overrun by teams who came and stuck 3 in the middle (forest, swansea, bristol city, ipswich, southampton etc immediatly spring to mind..) and the critisism was shot at Coppell for not matching them up when we clearly needed an extra man in there. Rodgers realised that blackpool would probably overrun our midfield with only 2 in there due to the way they play, so changed the system....we are not good enough to not worry about the opposition and assume they should match up to us. It now seems we have two ways of playing depending on the opposition and that will make us harder to play against.

In reply to those who criticised Rodgers at the end for comming out and 'milking' the applause...i personally thought it was more of a aknowledgement to the fans who were brillant and had, on the whole, supported the club through a tough period. He has taken alot of stick, rightly, at the begining for chopping and changing etc alot and chatting about world class models etc, but has taken more than his fair share for decision such as transfers over which he has no control and is purely down to the bored. He deserved the applause and i am sure it was a really special moment for him.

For me at the end when the players came over and applauded and especially when Rodgers came out to applaude it was the first time in a long time (probably since the first season in the prem) when i have felt a real connection with the club....it felt like the beginning of something really good and the corner was finally turned and he wanted us to be part of that. There was no players with over inflated egos who didnt want to be there and didnt give a shit about the club instead a honest group who were willing to run through walls for the club and they were as delighted as us.

I honestly believe for the first time in a few years (probably around January in the first prem year) we are heading in the right direction. Do i think we will get promoted...no..(although if we put a good run togeather we could sneak into the playoffs)..do i think rodgers is god....no.... but i do feel we have an exciting new, growing squad with an ambitious manager who given more time to gel (and a new good striker and defender) could make something happen. For the first time in ages I am looking forward to the next game.

[winchester_royal]

Interesting to note also that Marek is starting to "direct" games the way he ought to be - at least a couple of times I saw him pointing out to McAnuff where to run to so he could pass it to him.

Once they've played together enough so that that sort of understanding comes automatically that can only be a good thing.

Also good to see The Sig playing in the middle - he was always wasted on the wing.

Just wondering here....but would people rather we stuck with 4-3-3 with Sig playing centrally, or returned to 4-4-2 with Sig out left, because there's no way we can have a Sig/Marek central pairing on their own.

I like what we have now, which is really more of a 4-2-3-1 than a 4-3-3. That's central to BR's footballing philosophy, and when we play it properly (with two wingers) it works fine for me.

They certainly seemed to know what they were meant to be doing in the formation this time round. There was a sense of direction and purpose that wasn't there earlier in the season.

[Alan Partridge]

Agree with most of what has been said already, McAnuff, Tabb etc all brillant.. marek finally starting to contribute to games as we all know he should.. although we looked shakey at the back at times .... everytime we went forward (apart from corners.....which need some serious work on) I thought we were going to create a chance.

Special mention to Rodgers....it takes a VERY brave man to change the system after 3 good performances (and two good results), is it stubborness to make his beloved formation work??...possibly....but last year we were completly overrun by teams who came and stuck 3 in the middle (forest, swansea, bristol city, ipswich, southampton etc immediatly spring to mind..) and the critisism was shot at Coppell for not matching them up when we clearly needed an extra man in there. Rodgers realised that blackpool would probably overrun our midfield with only 2 in there due to the way they play, so changed the system....we are not good enough to not worry about the opposition and assume they should match up to us. It now seems we have two ways of playing depending on the opposition and that will make us harder to play against.

In reply to those who criticised Rodgers at the end for comming out and 'milking' the applause...i personally thought it was more of a aknowledgement to the fans who were brillant and had, on the whole, supported the club through a tough period. He has taken alot of stick, rightly, at the begining for chopping and changing etc alot and chatting about world class models etc, but has taken more than his fair share for decision such as transfers over which he has no control and is purely down to the bored. He deserved the applause and i am sure it was a really special moment for him.

For me at the end when the players came over and applauded and especially when Rodgers came out to applaude it was the first time in a long time (probably since the first season in the prem) when i have felt a real connection with the club....it felt like the beginning of something really good and the corner was finally turned and he wanted us to be part of that. There was no players with over inflated egos who didnt want to be there and didnt give a shit about the club instead a honest group who were willing to run through walls for the club and they were as delighted as us.

I honestly believe for the first time in a few years (probably around January in the first prem year) we are heading in the right direction. Do i think we will get promoted...no..(although if we put a good run togeather we could sneak into the playoffs)..do i think rodgers is god....no.... but i do feel we have an exciting new, growing squad with an ambitious manager who given more time to gel (and a new good striker and defender) could make something happen. For the first time in ages I am looking forward to the next game.

I personally think he changed it because of Long being injured. If he'd started Church and Rasiak and we were 1-0 down, to change it what would he do? No strikers on the bench, he would either have to keep the two of them on (having not worked) or take one off and go 1 up front and you can imagine the backlash if that didn't work.

Playing the percentages and by having Rasiak as sub he could go 2 up top if it hadn't worked, but as it happens the system worked well Saturday and Rasiak was used because of injury.

One thing is for sure, Reading desperately need another striker. Be it one of the lads out on loan or a loannee from another club/

[brendywendy]

great stuff- great game- could easily have gone the other way-but when they hit the bar i thought our luck had turned, they are up there on merit, and yet again weve made a high up team look very ordinary for large swathes of the game.

tabb was awesome- never let that big lump he was marking have a second to settle on teh ball
and agreed-good to see some murtyesque runs forward

marek was the difference imo-even if he gives it away stupidly occasionally- it was his pinpoint cross for the winner, and him who set off the break for the first.

impressed again with macanuff- ably supported by kebe in the first half who showed the same work rate strength and application, hope hes not injured.
bertrand was quietly efficient-and id kill to get him permanently-chelsea would be loathe to let him go, but if we continue to impress, and he plays every game- it could be up to him, not them.

the work rate from the whole team was impressive though, never stopped running and hassling, right in theior faces as soon as they got possession.

defence is problematic-but always will be when we have two slow DMs, id like mills back in there instead of pearce-but happy for pearcey to continue to prove me wrong in there atm. a bit of confidence may do him and the team the world of good.

7 points out of 3 gam,es since leicester, and it looks like we really did turn that corner that day-de4psitye the loss
certainly dont begrudge BR coming out for the applause- agree it was more a thankyou for the proper fans for sticking with it over a really long, tough period, and rarely transmitting our frustration to the pitch during the games themselves. i cant think of another clubs fans who would have stuck with it so well tbf.

on to a struggling derby- a win there could propel us away from trouble, and set us up well to continue this run- some form at last.

[willz_royal]

Tabb was great going forward, but he is too suspect when marking to be a reliable defender.

Left ingimarsson with 2 attackers on the back post for the burgess chance.


but yeah, brilliant performance

[floyd__streete]

A deserved win an all in all and a decent performance although I felt that we lost our way in the middle of the first half after such a bright opening. Reverting to 4-5-1 was a curious choice by Rodgers but fair play we won the game and as someone had already mentioned it did give an opportunity to Sigurdsson to play in the centre again as he is no winger. I felt that selecting 3 sort of 'attacking' central midfielders was a brave move, I think perhaps if we are going to go 4-5-1 again I might prefer Karacan to Howard in that formation.

Two goals were well created and Marek had a hand in them both, which is fortunate for him as I felt he had an all round mediocre game and gave tha ball away far too often. He is clearly a talented footballer, but I still wonder whether he is particularly suited to the blood-and-guts of english football. That said he is clearly one of our most talented players and deserves to start for that reason alone. I am still very concerned about our striking options; Church was withdrawn injured, we already have Hunt out and Long is nursing an injury. I am not hugely convinced about the quality of Rasiak's all round game but again fair play, he won't miss a free header from 5 yards out!

A run of games now against sides in the bottom half gives us an opportunity to pull away from a scrap at the bottom which we do not want to be involved in. Whether we are turning the corner remains to be seen, but Brendan Rodgers should celebrate evenings like last night because he has taken a good deal of stick and perhaps deserved a break and a bit of luck (ie. Blackpool hitting the post with a clear cut chance and then the ropey defending in injury time going unpunished).

[handbags_harris]

Probably all been covered, first match for me since the Leicester game and it was the same as that really. Promising first half, missed a ton of chances in the first 15mins, Blackpool then like Leicester had the chance of the half right on the whistle, but they missed it. If it had gone in I doubt Reading would have won, the confidence would have been shot. As mentioned at H/T, seasons can turn on things like that and that may well be true.

Second half I thought Blackpool in the main were the better side, Marek tried a clever pass, jeered by the idiots, got it back, pinged it out to McAnuff, good cross, Sigurdsson couldn't miss.

Blackpool then scored one of the best team goals I've seen in ages and it looked like a case of here we go again as it was them on the front foot. Church went off, Marek had it out wide, sensational ball in, swooping header from Rasiak and 2-1.

Even then Blackpool had 2 or 3 incredible chances especially the free header late on to level but Reading had earnt their bit of luck.

I am totally unconvinced with Reading defensively, it may have solely been nerves and the lack of confidence but Blackpool totally dominated the last 10minutes and won everything. I think Pearce is a certain weak link and I would restore O'Dea to the lineup, whose absense is a bit of a head scratcher, I thought in the main he'd done ok.

I thought McAnuff as everyone else has said was a constant threat and had an excellent game, I thought Marek again showed why he should be number 1 on the sheet, 1 assist and also played a big part in the first goal. Howard I want to like as he's a bit like MArek but without the talent but I thought he was sloppy in posession. Pearce I've touched on I thought was poor, and Church for all the workrate just simply isn't good enough to lead the line on his own for a Championship side. In his defense I think he's improved since the start of the season and maybe as a partner to someone he might be ok but when you play 1 up front he HAS to give you a goal threat, has to make the most of chances as you might not get many and he is just far too wasteful in front of goal.

2-1 was a much needed scoreline but i felt that not a huge amount had changed to be perfectly honest. I thought Blackpool had too many chances on our goal but thankfully due to some of their poor finishing Reading managed to come away with a much needed win.

MOTM McAnuff. He has been Rodgers best signing so far and looks a decent winger for this level, someone we really could have done with lat year when Hunt/Kebe were dire.

^^^ This is spot on.

[andrew1957]

A huge contributing factor to getting results in football is confidence and what I find most encouraging is that Reading seem to be getting more and more confident each time I see them play. At times the passing between players was brilliant - particularly in the first 25 minutes - when we should have been out of sight. I love the way we are playing now as compared to the end of last season when performances were all about hoof ball.

We have probably played better sometimes in the last 17 games and not won - we have certainly had our fair share of bad luck, but today the combination of better luck and more confidence won out. The last few minutes were always going to be frantic as our players were so desperate for a win, but I genuinely expect that the team will now go from strength to strength when they play at the Madstad over the next few weeks.

I will not bother with player ratings as I thought everyone had a reasonable game. I don't think Pearce deserves the stick he gets in some quarters - I thought he did well in what was a horrendously wet and windy day for a centre half to endure. In fact the quality of football from both sides was astounding on such a poor day weather wise.

Marek was very poor last time out and still has worrying moments when he puts the defence under pressure but he was very good offensively yesterday.

I am not sure this team can work against the best sides in the division. I think we need the likes of a Karacan or Cisse in central midfield to break up play in front of the back four. I see the current team selection as very brave in that we have 4 defenders and 6 offensive players. That may well work in the next few games against lower ranked sides but I think we would get ripped apart again by Newcastle and West Brom if we played them tomorrow.

Still things are looking much brighter and I still think in the end that BR will turn out to be an excellent manager for us and prove his doubters wrong.