Post-match: view from Reading

[peaty]

Being a big fan of TerryR's "View from (the opposition)", I thought I'd have a look at what Reading fans are saying after today's game. Mostly on their forum "Hob Nob Anyone?"

I'm mostly looking for their view of us. . . but after a game like this, it's hard to get past their sheer misery at the result. (Been there, done that, eh?)

Despite this, what stands out are the negative reviews for Obita (LB) and Beerens (LW). This highlights the good job Fred & Aluko did on our right flank. (One Reading fan writes: "Their no.24 had an abolsute blinder". But I think we knew that.)

No real complaints (so far as I can see) about their sending off.

Anyway, here we go:

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This is so bad. Most disjointed performance of the season. McShane ridiculous booking in two minutes set the tone. To be fair to Fulham their pressing is the best i have seen against us this season.

Obita is getting destroyed down his side and having an awful game. Van den berg is just bluster and thunder and seemed to lost all control. Our passing and attacking instinct is non existent. Beerens got hit first ten mins and now anonymous. When we did get a free kick... yep you guess it... ten seconds back with al Habsi.

We were battered. With 34 points on the board the team have done remarkably well so far this season. Whether we can sustain this looks debatable. We certainly can't be without players like Swift and Moore.

What a joke that was far worse than last year - we were never at the races 2nd to every ball. Moore was a massive miss and Joey looked no better than a pub player...

Thank god this is our last league game in West London this season.

So what we know is, we're hard to beat and grind out wins comfortably if we can get our noses in front, but if we get found out early we're prone to falling apart completely and getting smashed. But we knew that already - see Newcastle and Brentford.

I shouldn't let things get to me so much but every time I hear the Fulham fans chanting "We want 6" I would just love to punch a Fulham fan square in the face, good thing I don't know any of them.

Stam had taken us to an unbelievable 3rd in the table and we were missing Moore and still don't have a striker and Fulham used tactics that worked on us.

Complete and utter shambles of a performance including the manager. Finally a team put a well organised high press on us right from the start and we couldn't deal with it.

Everyone was awful but Beerens is an absolute liability when we're not on top in a game. The Fulham right back constantly overlapped against Obita with Beerens watching from afar. 

Obita was outclassed, and with Beerens missing in action their right back was doing what we really need Gunter to do. Everyone was poor really - they just seemed to run through us all the time. Some good saves from AlHabsi but WTF are all the short goal kicks about? 

Dellor asking on Twitter when the last time a team in third place in any league lost 5-0 or greater. 4 games ago, Fulham 5-0 Huddersfield. Short memory there Tim.

Firstly, credit to Fulham, they got their tactics spot on. We just couldn't deal with their high press and pace and they forced us into giving the ball away countless times in the first half. Second half was just ridiculous, so much time and space and gaps for the Fulham players to run through. Utterly baffling. Also, their no. 24 had an absolute blinder.

Not for the first time we cant cope with team pressing high. You'd think that with us playing this style the players would have been coached in what to do in those circumstances. If they have, then it would seem that the solution they've been told is to panic.

Firstly, as bad as I thought we were, Fulham were excellent. Gave us no time on the ball and created so much space. However, we were terrible, didn't win the 50/50s or second balls. All summed up by al- habsi passing it to their player in the first 5 mins. You can't really pinpoint one bad performer, everyone was a shambles.

My first away game of the season and sitting with my Fulham-supporting mate in with the Fulham fans!! A thoroughly miserable experience but born out of a thoroughly miserable performance by Reading. 'I hate to say this', my mate said after the game, 'but, to be honest, you are the worst side we have played at The Cottage this season!'. And, being honest myself, Fulham were the best Championship side I have seen all season!!

From the kick off we were not at the races. Fulham pressed us high and chased every ball and every lost cause and we had no answer. . . Fulham were quick, clever and up for the game. The slick passes and flick-ons were working for them and they looked several classes above us. I didn't see the incident that led to Williams being sent off but, with 10 men, we actually looked more up for the fight until they scored the 3rd goal! Then the heads went down. . .

Great day out. Terrible football. Every single year.

<<<

[Sgt Fulham]

"Dellor asking on Twitter when the last time a team in third place in any league lost 5-0 or greater. 4 games ago, Fulham 5-0 Huddersfield. Short memory there Tim."

So satisfying!

[terryr]

CHEERS!
A good read

[e4b]

Thanks for that,a good read on a Sunday morning

[Jonaldiniho 88]

Thank you. Interesting read and very self gratifying. Does any regular attendee think we got the tactics right for the game specifically or just executed our usual tactics well?

[SP]

Love listening to the away fans views walking through the park after the game (if we've won).  A couple of classics yesterday, 'the ref won it for FFC' & 'Reading didn't take advantage of their 10 minutes of pressure at 2-0 down'.

[bill taylors apprentice]

Thank you. Interesting read and very self gratifying. Does any regular attendee think we got the tactics right for the game specifically or just executed our usual tactics well?

The tactics and application of them was spot on but more than this, the players were more dynamic (most of the time) around the oppositions 18 yard box.

There was less of the passing for passing's sake and more of a willingness to get the ball forward quickly and into the danger areas while the inter passing was used at the right times for the right reasons and generally ended with a positive attack.

[bill taylors apprentice]

Love listening to the away fans views walking through the park after the game (if we've won).  A couple of classics yesterday, 'the ref won it for FFC' & 'Reading didn't take advantage of their 10 minutes of pressure at 2-0 down'.

They must mean the same ref who failed to book a number of their players who committed fouls worse than Aluko's and the "ten minutes of pressure" when we still created more clear chances than them !

[SP]

Love listening to the away fans views walking through the park after the game (if we've won).  A couple of classics yesterday, 'the ref won it for FFC' & 'Reading didn't take advantage of their 10 minutes of pressure at 2-0 down'.

They must mean the same ref who failed to book a number of their players who committed fouls worse than Aluko's and the "ten minutes of pressure" when we still created more clear chances than them !

I was struggling to remember any period of Reading dominance let alone ten minutes worth.

[Finnegans Wake]

Cheers Peaty. Really interesting. That`s a few times we`ve had the oppo say something along the lines of `best we`ve seen all season`.

[peaty]

CHEERS!
A good read

You were the inspiration. Hope you don't nicking your method! :)