Reading FC Match Report: 2017/2018 Season - Championship
WOLVES 3 READING 0
Reading: --
Wolves: M Doherty (40), B Afobe (58), M Doherty (73)
Post Match Fans' Opinion
Brum Royal
Ok the train back to Brum.
Zero attacking intent throughout. First half we tried to be compact and it worked to an extent but there was no drive or impetus to them hit quickly on the counter attack. Second half we clearly were holding for damage limitation but were not as defensively tight and Wolves could and should have won by mote. Basically it was a 90 minute game of attack v defence and it was an utterly predictable result. Wolves always felt like they were cruising through it and never really had to step it up to beat us. Too often had to resort to going longon the vague vicinity of JDB as the man on the ball had no options to pass to.
Jakkola - 4. A good double save on a one on one, but at least one goal was his fault (the second) having come partway to get the ball then bailing out and getting stuck in no man's land
Gunter - 5. Quiet game as most of the time we tried to go down the left
Blackett - 5. Given very little defensive protection by Aluko and left 2 on 1 quite often
Illori & Moore - 5. No major howlers but never really looked comfortable
Clement - 4. Largely anonymous
Evans - 4. Largely anonymous
Aluko - 3. Ball watching defensively several times as balls in behind left him on the back foot often and Blackett over exposed. Minimal contribution going forward
Edwards - 5. Tried hard.
Barrow - 5. Marked out of the game and given minimal decent quality ball to feet
JDB - 6. Had high balls fired in his general direction all night. Won a few headers. Hard to criticise him for appalling service he received.
Zero attacking intent throughout. First half we tried to be compact and it worked to an extent but there was no drive or impetus to them hit quickly on the counter attack. Second half we clearly were holding for damage limitation but were not as defensively tight and Wolves could and should have won by mote. Basically it was a 90 minute game of attack v defence and it was an utterly predictable result. Wolves always felt like they were cruising through it and never really had to step it up to beat us. Too often had to resort to going longon the vague vicinity of JDB as the man on the ball had no options to pass to.
Jakkola - 4. A good double save on a one on one, but at least one goal was his fault (the second) having come partway to get the ball then bailing out and getting stuck in no man's land
Gunter - 5. Quiet game as most of the time we tried to go down the left
Blackett - 5. Given very little defensive protection by Aluko and left 2 on 1 quite often
Illori & Moore - 5. No major howlers but never really looked comfortable
Clement - 4. Largely anonymous
Evans - 4. Largely anonymous
Aluko - 3. Ball watching defensively several times as balls in behind left him on the back foot often and Blackett over exposed. Minimal contribution going forward
Edwards - 5. Tried hard.
Barrow - 5. Marked out of the game and given minimal decent quality ball to feet
JDB - 6. Had high balls fired in his general direction all night. Won a few headers. Hard to criticise him for appalling service he received.
Anonymous
Wasn't at the game so I'm not going to go all Ian Royal, but we have three options.
Keep Jaap, close our eyes and hope for the best.
Sack Jaap and put all our hopes in a caretaker type.
Sack Jaap and go for a.long term replacement straight away, giving the new man time to look at the squad before the summer.
Each has its risks, personally I'd go for option three and hope for the best.
Keep Jaap, close our eyes and hope for the best.
Sack Jaap and put all our hopes in a caretaker type.
Sack Jaap and go for a.long term replacement straight away, giving the new man time to look at the squad before the summer.
Each has its risks, personally I'd go for option three and hope for the best.
EverHopeful
didn't go either but result not too unexpected - just disappointed that we didn't have a go or probably incapable of doing so.........i'm with option 3 - can' t get any worse and might make the last few games more interesting and atmospheric! never know we might get the three wins we need if we can attack more often rather than side ways passing
Hound
I’d think we’d do very well to nab anyone decent from another club at this stage of the season. Not saying it’s impossible but would be a big risk, and maybe end up in having to offer a longer contract etc than if we got someone in pre season
If anything is going to happen, would surely be after Norwich with the 2 week break. Can’t see it though
If anything is going to happen, would surely be after Norwich with the 2 week break. Can’t see it though
Snowflake Royal
You can't assess thr squad on how they're playing now, it's nothing like what most are capable of.
It also takes five minutes to work out we need a fit striker, right back, left back and right winger/forward. And unless we get rid of literally everyone, Tevreden knows what we need and will already be working on it.
There's little chance in an up turn in form at this stage, so there's no point in asking someone to dirty themselves with this mess now.
Plus who we want may be drastically different whether we're in League Obe or the Championship next season
It also takes five minutes to work out we need a fit striker, right back, left back and right winger/forward. And unless we get rid of literally everyone, Tevreden knows what we need and will already be working on it.
There's little chance in an up turn in form at this stage, so there's no point in asking someone to dirty themselves with this mess now.
Plus who we want may be drastically different whether we're in League Obe or the Championship next season
paddy20
didn't go either but result not too unexpected - just disappointed that we didn't have a go or probably incapable of doing so.........i'm with option 3 - can' t get any worse and might make the last few games more interesting and atmospheric! never know we might get the three wins we need if we can attack more often rather than side ways passing
Then why are you posting on this thread?
The Reverend
I went. I was sat in the Wolves end with mates.
That was probably the worst Reading performance I've ever seen. Worse even than anything under Burns or Bullivant. I think we made maybe three or four attacking moves the entire match.
It looked like the aim was to come away with a nil-nil and to be fair we did a reasonable job for 40 minutes but with both Ilori and Blackett in the starting XI there was always going to be a calamitous error. It came from Jaakola. A ridiculous chipped pass out that meant the defender had no time to control the ball before Wolves were all over him. Once we went behind there was no plan B
Unless plan B was to go away with a 1-0. There was certainly no effort to get a goal back. But that didn't work either.
Wolves positively purred. They play the football Stam wants us to but they've spent £millions getting the right players to do it. Their passing was accurate and snappy and they move through the thirds confidently. Their movement off the ball was fantastic.
The crowd was nervous before the match and the feeling amongst my mate's mates was that they'd rather have been facing Burton after the Villa game than us, a bit of a bogey team. Had we approached the match like we did the Leeds game we might have given them something to worry about. Stam's tactics quickly put them at ease and it was just a matter of waiting for the goals. We've given them just the confidence boost they needed.
That was probably the worst Reading performance I've ever seen. Worse even than anything under Burns or Bullivant. I think we made maybe three or four attacking moves the entire match.
It looked like the aim was to come away with a nil-nil and to be fair we did a reasonable job for 40 minutes but with both Ilori and Blackett in the starting XI there was always going to be a calamitous error. It came from Jaakola. A ridiculous chipped pass out that meant the defender had no time to control the ball before Wolves were all over him. Once we went behind there was no plan B
Unless plan B was to go away with a 1-0. There was certainly no effort to get a goal back. But that didn't work either.
Wolves positively purred. They play the football Stam wants us to but they've spent £millions getting the right players to do it. Their passing was accurate and snappy and they move through the thirds confidently. Their movement off the ball was fantastic.
The crowd was nervous before the match and the feeling amongst my mate's mates was that they'd rather have been facing Burton after the Villa game than us, a bit of a bogey team. Had we approached the match like we did the Leeds game we might have given them something to worry about. Stam's tactics quickly put them at ease and it was just a matter of waiting for the goals. We've given them just the confidence boost they needed.
John Smith
For this reason, sacking Stam now would be a total disaster. There is no one worth bringing in, especially no one who would want to risk a relegation on their CV - it would be Adkins allover again: getting in the 'next best of a very bad bunch'.
Let's ride this season out - we aren't going down - and reassess in the summer.
genome
For this reason, sacking Stam now would be a total disaster. There is no one worth bringing in, especially no one who would want to risk a relegation on their CV - it would be Adkins allover again: getting in the 'next best of a very bad bunch'.
Let's ride this season out - we aren't going down - and reassess in the summer.
I'm inclined to agree that sacking Stam probably won't make much of a difference right now, but a total disaster? What exactly is the situation we're in now?
Snowball
It is alway "just possible" that a manager has a bad season and comes good the following season,
and we should remember that "somehow" Stam got us to 3rd place last season with, IMO, weaker
players.
One HUGE difference is that last year's Kermogant is no longer with us
and we didn't seem to replace Williams well enough (altho' I thought
Bacuna was the answer there...)
Imagine, for example, how we would look with the same squad plus Shane Long.
I think we would be a million miles from relegation
But, what I cannot get, under Stam, is why we are a shambles defensively. (We weren't great last season, either).
We have needed a reliable DM, a Leigertwood, all season, someone who should be first on the team-sheet. We have needed a powerful fast striker, not necessarily to get 20+ goals himself, but as a threat when sides push up. We have had McShane slowly lose form with age then be injured, then we get Elphick who is immediately crocked. We have lost Obita, we lost a talismanic keeper.
Think back to the beginning of the season. Some of our new players are great players when at their best, but they need to be played consistently, in their best positions and TRUSTED. Sam's greatest failing, IMO, is he's killed the confidence in so many of the players, and once that starts, you're in a vicious circle.
There is maybe 10% of me that thinks, if Stam stays and we stay up, that we will be the surprise team next year, BUT
BUT BUT
We rarely play with enough tempo, most games bore me (including last season) and I just want to experience the rush again, even if it's "just a long ball in the channels for a Long-type player to chase down)
Overall, I think he should go if he loses Saturday. I would try to bring in McDermott as a caretaker manager with a view to giving the job permanently if he shows he can use this set of very good players and earn say 1.2 to 1.5 ppg for the remaining games
and we should remember that "somehow" Stam got us to 3rd place last season with, IMO, weaker
players.
One HUGE difference is that last year's Kermogant is no longer with us
and we didn't seem to replace Williams well enough (altho' I thought
Bacuna was the answer there...)
Imagine, for example, how we would look with the same squad plus Shane Long.
I think we would be a million miles from relegation
But, what I cannot get, under Stam, is why we are a shambles defensively. (We weren't great last season, either).
We have needed a reliable DM, a Leigertwood, all season, someone who should be first on the team-sheet. We have needed a powerful fast striker, not necessarily to get 20+ goals himself, but as a threat when sides push up. We have had McShane slowly lose form with age then be injured, then we get Elphick who is immediately crocked. We have lost Obita, we lost a talismanic keeper.
Think back to the beginning of the season. Some of our new players are great players when at their best, but they need to be played consistently, in their best positions and TRUSTED. Sam's greatest failing, IMO, is he's killed the confidence in so many of the players, and once that starts, you're in a vicious circle.
There is maybe 10% of me that thinks, if Stam stays and we stay up, that we will be the surprise team next year, BUT
BUT BUT
We rarely play with enough tempo, most games bore me (including last season) and I just want to experience the rush again, even if it's "just a long ball in the channels for a Long-type player to chase down)
Overall, I think he should go if he loses Saturday. I would try to bring in McDermott as a caretaker manager with a view to giving the job permanently if he shows he can use this set of very good players and earn say 1.2 to 1.5 ppg for the remaining games
This Championship game took place 2230 days ago in the 2017/2018 season.