MATCHWATCH : Port Vale (a)

[tidus_mi2]

I know he has to defend his team but some of those post match comments are baffling.

[fred sharpes nose]

Richardson full of excuses. Tims comments - its Physological. OK thats the managers job to sort out.

Do you think the players are totally on side with him ?

Has he got the wholehearted support of the dressing room?

His personality on interviews makes me not like him much

Very angry 4 points dropped in 1 minute over two games

Poor substitutions

Struggle to see the moitivation he generates to inspire the team

[tidus_mi2]

In more positive news, Sean Patton scored a couple more goals for Aldershot.

[info@farwayhideaway]

Terry Bullivant is back in disguise. I'm hopping mad. There was so much optimism last year when we had a load of youngsters taking the team to the brink of the play offs. Richardson is a terrible appointment. The owners have had the wool pulled over their eyes.

[windermereROYAL]

Only Bradford city to come next, lost 6 of their last 7 on the road, couldn`t wish for a better fixture than a visit to charity fc.

[morganb]

Could it be the lack of Academy players in the side. Don't think any started today, Dorsett and Kelvin E came on

We have less home grown backroom staff too

Against Bolton I was expecting us to hold on. Today I knew we'd concede, even when we'd entered the last minute

There was booing of the players in the away end. I was one of them. I don't remember ever booing a Reading side before...

[info@farwayhideaway]

Let's face it. Americans know nothing about football.

[MR. CYNICAL]

However painful that was it's ridiculous to call for him to be sacked. If RC really did sack him, I'd be calling for a new owner.

Why?

[Hound]

Could it be the lack of Academy players in the side. Don't think any started today, Dorsett and Kelvin E came on

We have less home grown backroom staff too

...

Posted along these lines in tbe other thread. I’d swap a couple of wins to be watching some of the Academy lads in the side 100%. Two Kelvins, Craig, Wareham, Dorsett maybe even Ahmed and Osho - would far rather be watching these lads each week and I suspect the crowd would be behind them more as well

Suspect they’d look like they care a bit more sometimes as well

[RoyalBlue]

I know he has to defend his team but some of those post match comments are baffling.

A great way for him to defend his team would be for him to be honest and admit that he personally f*cked up!

[Hound]

Just seen the highlights and their goal. Wtaf was that? Where was the defence - like any of them? Horrific.

Had assumed it was some set piece or something

[Brogue]

Just seen the highlights and their goal. Wtaf was that? Where was the defence - like any of them? Horrific.

Had assumed it was some set piece or something

How many teams regularly make substitutions on the back 4. We do it every game. Taking ward and Williams off in the last 20 mins means we have to reset completely. Yes Williams had cramp - well of course he oxf*rd did! I find it baffling he started. He hasn’t played in weeks. The state of the pitch was well known before the game was it a wise decision to start him on such a heavy pitch after not playing for weeks? It’s this sort of stupid stuff that’s on the manager. I mean the guy hadn’t even had a couple of run outs in the reserves before today. He was always going to cramp up and not last the 90. And then we are in the position of shuffling around the back 4 for the last quarter of the game. It’s just shit management

[South Coast Royal]

Just seen the highlights and their goal. Wtaf was that? Where was the defence - like any of them? Horrific.

Had assumed it was some set piece or something

How many teams regularly make substitutions on the back 4. We do it every game. Taking ward and Williams off in the last 20 mins means we have to reset completely. Yes Williams had cramp - well of course he oxf*rd did! I find it baffling he started. He hasn’t played in weeks. The state of the pitch was well known before the game was it a wise decision to start him on such a heavy pitch after not playing for weeks? It’s this sort of stupid stuff that’s on the manager. I mean the guy hadn’t even had a couple of run outs in the reserves before today. He was always going to cramp up and not last the 90. And then we are in the position of shuffling around the back 4 for the last quarter of the game. It’s just shit management

I very much agree.
Most teams substitute midfielders and forward players but tend to keep the back line in place.

It's not as if Port Vale were lucky in the end as they had quite a few moments in our box in the second half.

It was interesting having the Port Vale commentary-they were moaning like mad in the first half about their players not looking up for the fight and giving the ball away.
They were also raging that Young was clearly offside before the penalty and there were no TV angles to establish if it was.

A poor second half for the second , no third time in a row as we let Wycombe into the game but got away with that one because of Marriott but today he didn't even have a sight of goal.
Talking of Marriott, the manager kept him on for longer than usual when supposedly he was a doubt for the game.
The other one thought unlikely to play was O'Connor because of what the manager described as a dreadful facial injury and yet he played the whole game.

I am beginning to think that this manager talks with a forked tongue-maybe that is why the players don't know what they should be doing after the half-time chat.

[Hound]

Marriott nearly always plays the 90 doesn’t he? Don’t see him come off after say 65/70 very often.

[Uke]

Could it be the lack of Academy players in the side. Don't think any started today, Dorsett and Kelvin E came on

We have less home grown backroom staff too

Against Bolton I was expecting us to hold on. Today I knew we'd concede, even when we'd entered the last minute

There was booing of the players in the away end. I was one of them. I don't remember ever booing a Reading side before...

[The Cap]

Looked like an easy and deserved 4-0 win coming for us, PV were awful, worst side I've seen.

Well done Reading.

[Snowflake Royal]

Unbelievable. Dorsett once again playing the game in slow motion to be beaten to that ball for the cross to score.


Wish the game had been called off, that pitch was absymal and our inability to play on it stopped us winning.

Let’s be honest here, if the pitch had been perfect we’d prob have played much the same. Same for both teams etc

It’s the way we play - it’s got us good results but sometimes it’ll bite you on the arse as it has twice this week

I don't think so. Port Vale really weren't good enough to pen us back the way Bolton did in normal conditions.

The game turned on us repeatedly losing possession due to the conditions. Passes that otherwise would have found their mark didn't. It was far less hoof clear to no one. I counted at least half a dozen cases that triggered Vale pressure.

[Clyde1998]

Just got back. Deja vu all over again. Trying to hold out for a 1-0 win against the weakest side in the division is complete joke. Port Vale deserved at least a point, but we allowed them to get back into the game.

Pitch wasn't anywhere near as bad as I was expecting, tbh. Not great, but certainly nowhere near as bad as the Grimsby pitch for their game against Wolves. Can't be used as an excuse.

Only the negative tactics can be blamed for us conceding equalisers in the 96th minute in consecutive matches.

[windermereROYAL]

I`d actually like to know what the players feeling are for being asked to play this way? is it instructed or just plain instinct to drop back and defend for their lives?
When the equaliser went in it from the player reaction it just seemed like they didn`t care, no heads in hands, no dropping to their knees just, oh well never mind.
Did they go over to the fans at the final whistle?

[stealthpapes]

When the equaliser went in it from the player reaction it just seemed like they didn`t care, no heads in hands, no dropping to their knees just, oh well never mind.
Did they go over to the fans at the final whistle?

I don’t know if the highlights show the whole bit of play but we cleared the ball and half the side pushed up, one or two right into PV half but half the side dawdled. Ball into the gap, cross to far post, equaliser.

Their scorer, 21, had been gash since coming on.

But, to get to the reply, yeah, from my spot, halfway up the stand in the centre of the goal, the players (Pereira especially) looked broken.

About 40% of fans turned and left immediately, the remainder 2:1 split between booing and “sacked in the morning chants “ vs clapping. Players took time to come over, ball had been up other end and there was some delay on final whistle.

Match thoughts: gutting at the end, up to 75th minute was solid but subs changed the game, both the attacking ones then and the more defensive ones ten minutes later. Paddy Lane missed target when through about a minute or so before the end. In general, they were trying to find Marriott too often and too early. Doyle’s best game I’ve seen (but not great). Young, Ward, Williams all good, but these were the players we subbed off.