BFTG Leeds

[Old Man Andrews]

Double posting an unwitty rebuttal is quite funny Ian.

[genome]

Only stuff that's not fair or wrong.

It was a joke, Ian. The photo is funny and taken at an inopportune moment. Do you have a sense of humour?

Find me something funny and we'll see.

Do you sit in the corner at parties and complain about people dancing and having a good time?

[Old Man Andrews]

It was a joke, Ian. The photo is funny and taken at an inopportune moment. Do you have a sense of humour?

Find me something funny and we'll see.

Do you sit in the corner at parties and complain about people dancing and having a good time?

It depends if his car keys have been pulled out of the bowl at that point.

[Hound]

Bloody hell Ian

[NewCorkSeth]

Right. Despite that being a loss I absolutely loved watching that game. The formation seemed a bit fluid for my liking (seemed to switch between a 4-3-3 and a 4-4-2) but we played very well.

I think our obvious problem was the width our defenders played with. All throughout the first half Leeds threatened (with no end result) by switching the ball fast to the other flank with good diagonals. I don't know if that's how they usually play but it worked a treat against us.

I have mentioned our full backs positioning before and did in the first half yesterday but they play too narrow. Clement, obviously aware of our frailties at the back, seem a to have instructed our full backs to act like they are attached to the other by a string. If one goes out wide (in defense) then the other is pulled in to assist with crosses. I reckon Bielsa noticed this and set his tactics up to counter it.

I had previously thought that Blackett did this because of his natural positioning as a CB but both did it yesterday. Yiadom is slightly better in the air but neither him nor Gunter are particularly good at marking the far post.

Our midfield was a weird mix of great and shite. Bacuna and Rinomhota were both excellent at their jobs. Even when Rinomhota was play as a RM he brought his authority to the game. Powerful running, good in the air and sensible in possession. He might turn out to be a quality mid. Bacuna was taking no nonsense.

Swift cannot play LW. He doesn't have the pace or the positional discipline. Play him central or leave him on the bench. Kelly had what I would call an "Evans" performance. Completely anonymous and ineffective.

Meite should be rested. 2 games in a row he barely got a sniff of a good ball. It's a shame and I hope it doesn't affect his confidence. Loader, despite being 3(?) years younger than his strike partner showed a maturity and instinct for positioning that I have been wishing Meite had for the last month or 2. I have no doubt once he finds the net for the first time he'll be well capable of banging them in.

Last but certainly not least Jaakkola has proven me wrong completely. Last season j thought he was as bad a keeper I had ever seen. He is so, so easily our number 1 now. He pulls off wonderful saves and in the last 2 games he has made saves with his body purely because of his very natural positioning. New contract imminent.

Jaakkola - 7
Yiadom - 7
Ilori - 7
Moore - 6
Gunter - 6
Bacuna - 7
Rinomhota - 8
Swift - 4
Kelly - 5
Meite - 6
Loader - 6

[NewCorkSeth]

Oh and also the sky commentators may as well have been Leeds players. They praised every tiny thing they did. At one point Rinomhota made a fantastic charging run forward and all the said was "and reading bring the ball forward"... They probably added "I wonder how Leeds will score from this" but I blocked them out.

[Hound]

was genuinely on the edge on my seat for the last 15 mins. Was a great game to watch

[Westwood52]

Back From The Telly

Pre match Sky had Swift playing behind the front two; with three midfielders behind him-OK no problem with that-makes the most of his talents-but oh no, right out of Clements Real Madrid playbook;Swift's playing left wing back. Which for a player who can neither tackle or run; was simply suicidal-a huge Clement tactical error-compounded by putting Gunts behind him at LB. Result was that for the 1st half we got absolutely rinsed down there and but for a lot of luck; could have lost the game within the first 30 minutes.


IMHO:

Jakolla: 6: Couple of outstanding saves-poor kicking as usual (does he actually work on this ? ) Could he have done better on the goal ? Seemed to have it in his grasp.
Gunter 1: Just awful. I have always supported him in the past, but the usual 6 or 7s he put in throughout his time at Reading-have just disappeared since last season. Why drop Blakett;non sensical.
Yiadom 6: Solid, if uninspiring.

Moore 6: Didn't really have that much to do; as a limited Leeds side just creamed us on our left flank. Shouldn't be captain-he's too easy going. The superman Prem performances of our Play Off season have just gone down the toilet.

Ilori 7 : Much improved. Confident on the ball and comfortable throughout. I suspect his real problems are against the bruiser type of big centre forward.


Kelly 1: Just awful. Don't want to see him again in a Reading shirt again. Just incapable of contributing anything really.

Rhino 7: MOM. When I've seen him previously he looked overwhelmed. But last night showed lots of spirit, commitment and energy. Until Ezad returns should play in front of the back four. Some tremendous runs with the ball-may not however have great passing ability-lets see.


Bacuna 6: Bit of a mixed bag really-but looks committed to the cause. Shame he's a bit of a hothead, as he would make a good skipper.


Swift 2: I like Swift; he's got a pass in him. but he cant run and cant tackle. Can only play behind the strikers. Had an absolute stinker last night.

Meite 3: Just not his night. Never in the game; apart from blocking Loaders shot on target. Don't know about playing him on Saturday, if he's carrying an injury.


Loader 6 : Very good 1st half-then tired badly in the 2nd. Given his age , he has to be fitter than that. Promising however.

Macca: Must have been really peed off, not to start and it showed. Did very little.
Sims: Did nothing really; but win a lucky pen, when going nowhere.
McNulty: Feel really sorry for the guy.His career at Reading just hasn't taken off. A successful pen last night might have been just the catalyst. It wasn't a bad pen, but he could have hit it harder. Might be a real asset in Div 1 if he starts well.

Leeds: Showed the benefit of a top class Manager, with a very limited squad. Our squad is so much better than Leeds. Yet they are 2nd, and we are down with the dead men; because we have a Manager who is unable to adapt a system to the abilities of the squad. Clement looks ready for the guillotine , and this is likely to be his last shot at management.

[Old Man Andrews]

On another note I must say I loved the watching some classic Mike Dean gesturing last night. The bloke was loving every minute of it. That yellow card he gave the Leeds player for diving was a work of art.

[Hound]

On another note I must say I loved the watching some classic Mike Dean gesturing last night. The bloke was loving every minute of it. That yellow card he gave the Leeds player for diving was a work of art.

yep. And tbf, thought it did a good job

[Snowflake Royal]

Right. Despite that being a loss I absolutely loved watching that game. The formation seemed a bit fluid for my liking (seemed to switch between a 4-3-3 and a 4-4-2) but we played very well.

I think our obvious problem was the width our defenders played with. All throughout the first half Leeds threatened (with no end result) by switching the ball fast to the other flank with good diagonals. I don't know if that's how they usually play but it worked a treat against us.

I have mentioned our full backs positioning before and did in the first half yesterday but they play too narrow. Clement, obviously aware of our frailties at the back, seem a to have instructed our full backs to act like they are attached to the other by a string. If one goes out wide (in defense) then the other is pulled in to assist with crosses. I reckon Bielsa noticed this and set his tactics up to counter it.

I had previously thought that Blackett did this because of his natural positioning as a CB but both did it yesterday. Yiadom is slightly better in the air but neither him nor Gunter are particularly good at marking the far post.

To be honest, I actually think what you're describing as a defensive weakness is good full back play. Your defence should never be too spread and the opposite side fullback should always tuck in to support the centre back. Yes it allows the diagonal switch, but you can usually get across to close down whilst the ball is in the air (Leeds were particularly good at the flat diagonal with a bit more pace). The issue was more that our wide attackers and midfielders weren't dropping in to support the full back in covering that option too. Although, I think Rinomhota helped out Yiadom a fair amount in that respect. A weakness of 4-3-3 and the more flaky attackers like Barrow, Swift and Aluko. I think it was also noticeable that Barrow was the most attacking of our three central midfielders and he tended towards the left side as well, leaving that flank rather exposed.

Loader gets a free pass on his first start and because he quite often switched with Meite.

Agree Gunts is soft on the back post, and to a lesser extent Yiadom.

[NewCorkSeth]

Right. Despite that being a loss I absolutely loved watching that game. The formation seemed a bit fluid for my liking (seemed to switch between a 4-3-3 and a 4-4-2) but we played very well.

I think our obvious problem was the width our defenders played with. All throughout the first half Leeds threatened (with no end result) by switching the ball fast to the other flank with good diagonals. I don't know if that's how they usually play but it worked a treat against us.

I have mentioned our full backs positioning before and did in the first half yesterday but they play too narrow. Clement, obviously aware of our frailties at the back, seem a to have instructed our full backs to act like they are attached to the other by a string. If one goes out wide (in defense) then the other is pulled in to assist with crosses. I reckon Bielsa noticed this and set his tactics up to counter it.

I had previously thought that Blackett did this because of his natural positioning as a CB but both did it yesterday. Yiadom is slightly better in the air but neither him nor Gunter are particularly good at marking the far post.

To be honest, I actually think what you're describing as a defensive weakness is good full back play. Your defence should never be too spread and the opposite side fullback should always tuck in to support the centre back. Yes it allows the diagonal switch, but you can usually get across to close down whilst the ball is in the air (Leeds were particularly good at the flat diagonal with a bit more pace). The issue was more that our wide attackers and midfielders weren't dropping in to support the full back in covering that option too. Although, I think Rinomhota helped out Yiadom a fair amount in that respect. A weakness of 4-3-3 and the more flaky attackers like Barrow, Swift and Aluko. I think it was also noticeable that Barrow was the most attacking of our three central midfielders and he tended towards the left side as well, leaving that flank rather exposed.

Loader gets a free pass on his first start and because he quite often switched with Meite.

Agree Gunts is soft on the back post, and to a lesser extent Yiadom.

I get it but think that they are a little too tight to their CB.

Rinomhota did a wonderful job helping on defensive duties.

[Snowflake Royal]

Yeah ok. I can see Gunter's terror at closing down means he gets out a bit slow and maybe tucks in a yard ish too much.

I do agree dropping Blackett was weird. Possibly to do with pace for the break maybe?

[NewCorkSeth]

Yeah ok. I can see Gunter's terror at closing down means he gets out a bit slow and maybe tucks in a yard ish too much.

I do agree dropping Blackett was weird. Possibly to do with pace for the break maybe?

No idea. He's dipped a little in form but I can't see a reason to drop him. Maybe it's his concentration levels? Clement thought Gunters experience would be more valuable than Blacketts ability.

I like Tyler but he does switch off at inopportune moments. But then again he is good with the ball at his feet with is important against a hugh pressing team like Leeds. Ilori rinsed a couple of players purely because of his calmness and confidence on the ball.

[Victor Meldrew]

Interestingly the direct reverse of last season's game there.
Last year they had a late penalty and missed it-we won 1-0.
This time we had a late penalty, missed it and they won 1-0..

Watched on TV and, like other posters, thought the side worked hard but lacked making very many chances.

It seemed as though Clement's tactics were for everybody to run about a lot and thereby stopping Leeds playing-with Bacuna, Loader, Rhinamota and Ilori being selected.

Once again we play well up to a point but that has been our season so far.
It is what teams in the lower reaches of the league do-the better teams put everything in for 90 minutes and tend to have better concentration levels.
We do lack something and still have at least 3 players per game who are soft and need to toughen up.

If this were a one-off I would be feeling optimistic about our chances-we have enough quick players to score goals on the break as we did last season when Mo was on top form.
Maybe that will be our way forward.

Unfortunately it wasn't a one-off and I'll just say about Gunter:-
For a player with trillions of record-breaking international caps how come:-

He doesn't he know how to take a throw-in? (penalised for a foul throw)
Why does he always throw himself to the floor to try and get a free-kick (found out last night and embarrassingly penalised for hand-ball)?
WTF was he doing punching the ball away when still in play (not seen by the officials)?
He is just a sick joke of a player who is poor positionally, even when playing on the right, and is just feeble-not the sort you want with you in a relegation dog-fight.

[John Smith]

Unfortunately it wasn't a one-off and I'll just say about Gunter:-
For a player with trillions of record-breaking international caps how come:-

He doesn't he know how to take a throw-in? (penalised for a foul throw)
WTF was he doing punching the ball away when still in play (not seen by the officials)?

100%

Utterly inexplicable and it's clear he doesn't have the right attitude in a Reading shirt. I can't imagine what goes through a player's mind to take a risk like that, especially in injury time when surely we'd want to get the ball to the keeper to get it back up field. The whole performance defied belief.

[RoyalBlue]

Unfortunately it wasn't a one-off and I'll just say about Gunter:-
For a player with trillions of record-breaking international caps how come:-

He doesn't he know how to take a throw-in? (penalised for a foul throw)
Why does he always throw himself to the floor to try and get a free-kick (found out last night and embarrassingly penalised for hand-ball)?
WTF was he doing punching the ball away when still in play (not seen by the officials)?
He is just a sick joke of a player who is poor positionally, even when playing on the right, and is just feeble-not the sort you want with you in a relegation dog-fight.

Of course, those sort of things aren't seen from numerous other players in leagues all around the world at all levels from grass roots right up to the highest!

Over many years of watching football I have seen quite a few players handle the ball when it wasn't completely over the line (the tv angle can't possibly be conclusive in that regard, so maybe the assistant ref didn't miss it/get it wrong) in their eagerness to get it back into play or waste time, depending on the game situation at that point.

Sky commentator also commented on the number of players who do go to ground too easily when challenged in a tight situation and later on in the game a Leeds player did exactly the same but in front of Jasper rather than his assistant so got away with it.

[RoyalBlue]

Oh and also the sky commentators may as well have been Leeds players. They praised every tiny thing they did. At one point Rinomhota made a fantastic charging run forward and all the said was "and reading bring the ball forward"... They probably added "I wonder how Leeds will score from this" but I blocked them out.

Very blinkered Royals' fan view. They actually praised our players on numerous occasions. They were, however, OTT on their worship of Douglas. MOM? Don't think so, particularly if his keeper hadn't saved him. Last night was more Douglas Sports that Leeds or Sky Sports.

[Zammo]

While he didn't have a good game, some really low ratings for Swift there.

Even out of form he is the best creator we have, so I can't see him being dropped in the immediate future. It should be accepted he is a luxury player who will give the ball away while attempting to create chances, and offer low defensive activity. He is likely to look worse against a team that will offer us limited possession - it looks like we had just under 35% today - as he will surrender (rare) possession cheaply and we have to defend more, with his limited defensive skillet therefore exposed.

Who else do we have who could play that role?

He has all the talent in the world, but absolutely no fight whatsoever.

[Victor Meldrew]

Unfortunately it wasn't a one-off and I'll just say about Gunter:-
For a player with trillions of record-breaking international caps how come:-

He doesn't he know how to take a throw-in? (penalised for a foul throw)
Why does he always throw himself to the floor to try and get a free-kick (found out last night and embarrassingly penalised for hand-ball)?
WTF was he doing punching the ball away when still in play (not seen by the officials)?
He is just a sick joke of a player who is poor positionally, even when playing on the right, and is just feeble-not the sort you want with you in a relegation dog-fight.

Of course, those sort of things aren't seen from numerous other players in leagues all around the world at all levels from grass roots right up to the highest!

Over many years of watching football I have seen quite a few players handle the ball when it wasn't completely over the line (the tv angle can't possibly be conclusive in that regard, so maybe the assistant ref didn't miss it/get it wrong) in their eagerness to get it back into play or waste time, depending on the game situation at that point.

Sky commentator also commented on the number of players who do go to ground too easily when challenged in a tight situation and later on in the game a Leeds player did exactly the same but in front of Jasper rather than his assistant so got away with it.

Your conclusion is that this is fine then, all in the same match from an experienced International footballer?
I don't want him playing for us anymore and the sooner Newport or Wrexham come in for him the better.
He worsens our team rather than improves it and I don't want him to become the only player in the club's history to help gets us relegated in his time down from Premier League to Div 1.
Get rid.