This basically. Reading from the top - the first 5 GD's are: 26, 22, 12 (us), 21 and 18. The previous few matches we've missed chances to really destroy teams (even the 4-0 against Villa flattered them) - come the end of the season our relatively poor GD may come back to haunt us.
I'm starting to think this about us under AVB. Given what we've seen so far I don't think we'll see as many routs like the 9-1 Wigan game and the Newcastle game last year as we did under Harry, but at the same time I don't think we'll be routed and embarrassed as often. It's a more cautious approach that shows when we're on top and are patient and keep the ball rather than the more 'blood and thunder' approach of the last few years. Of course arguably this also happened today because we didn't have Bale and also we (in my view) still lack a proper playmaker to unlock defences but I've said that enough times now so I'll shut up about it for now! But I think there's been enough evidence of this approach so far this season to support my view. Still, a good win, now we need to start targeting the Cup this weekend.
The amount of times Hazard and the rest of the Chelsea players have gone down looking for a penalty compared to the amount they get is probably actually quite poor. I'd rather our players stayed on their feet and played on rather than trying to "play smart" by hitting the deck more and getting a couple of extra penalties here and there.
I agree, but it's a little strange that we haven't had a single penalty in the league so far, despite having a lot of games where we dominate possession and spend a load of time in the opposition box. Gareth Bale's reputation probably doesn't help us, but we also seem to have a number of players who just won't go down no matter what, like Dembele and Sandro. They both seemed to be literally carrying Reading players on their backs at some points of today's game. Note that Webb didn't give a single caution. He'll be praised for his willingness to allow the game to flow and he played a number of sensible advantages. He failed to do anything about some rather obvious shirt pulls and repeat fouling, though.
We don't have possession in the box that often, I don't find. When we do get it in the box it's usually because Bale/Lennon/Defoe/whoever has already left their defence for dead and has acres of space. If we're going to get more penalties, Bale and Lennon need to drive into the box more often and either Dembele needs to be played forther forward or other players need to gamble and take players on. I'd rather that when we got the ball 20 yards out players tried to create chance by going past players and causing them problems, at the moment we just seem to pass it around sideways a bit and then have a long range shot. Out of interest, have we conceded any since the opening day? I can't think of any. I can't remember a game with so much cynical shirt pulling and shoves, a good ref would have booked one early and others would've thought twice but you're right, the FA probably thinking zero bookings and zero contraversial, big decisions = great game from Webb.
Villas-Boas talking up Lennon again. Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas: "We did well to close out the festive period with 10 points from four games and hopefully we will continue this form to put ourselves in the position we want to be. "Aaron Lennon is such a magnificent player and sometimes he does not get the recognition he deserves but his form has been extraordinary. He has been magnificent for us, scoring goals, like last week, and is such a good player."
Lennon had another great game and Dembele and Sandro were excellent as usual - so strong and calm n the ball. Good to see Ade get a goal, but from all those chances we should have closed out the match much sooner. Bad points were our left side going forward - especially in the first half. Sigs was playing as an inside forward and has no left foot to speak of. Naughton too, when he does venture forward, it is inevitably to cut inside. Trouble is that 8/10 times he stops and passes back and we lose any impetus!! Hopefully Benny coming back with Bale ahead of him will restore the natural balance. All in all, another 3 points, but we do need to have a couple of strong goal-scoring games to address the deficit against our CL place rivals....
I posted as a Reading fan 'in peace' on your fan site 'Tottenham Hotspurs Unofficial Supporters Site' that your quality was there shining for all to see, at least I'm happy for an improved showing from the Royals, hopefully you won't think we're so beyond hope as you must have done after the Madejski Stadium game. We really gave it a go against both Manchester clubs, both Liverpool clubs, yet as I had feared - and stated prior to our match today - you were a step too far for our recently revived optimism, and it's only fair to say so. How far can you go? With this flair I'd honestly estimate that a third place finish might be within reach... Good luck lads
Ah... but that's the difference with ManU isn't it. The more subtle stuff is just (if not more) important than the obviously bad decisions that go their way. The decisions I mean is that the opposition try this sort of tactic but get a yellow early on, thus curtailing their ability to do so - but with us in lots of matches (like Stoke recently), the oppo doesn't get an early yellow. Such a thing affects the balance of a game considerably but the importance is generally overlooked.
Thanks Daib0 Always had a soft spot for the Royals, so hope you stay up. Think you maybe need to believe more in your own abilities, as apart from that brief period in the 2nd half, the lack of ambition meant that we seldom actually lost possession. That 5-10 spell suggested you had more to offer. Good luck for the rest of the season!
Thanks I'd like to see Reading stay up but to be honest I really don't think you will unless you improve a lot but I like McDermott as a manager and hope you stick with him. I also enjoy seeing Jay Tabb, I used to go to a few Brentford games a year and always liked the player, was he injured today? As for us 3rd would suit us just fine I think Chelsea will get a bit ahead of us by the end of the season but I think it'll be close between us, Arsenal and possibly Everton for 4th. We've got some great players but we don't always get the results we need and if we don't get another quality midfielder we'll have to rely on Dembele not getting injured, our record without him is awful. Anyway, all the best for 2013, hope I'm wrong and you stay up and we finish 3rd.
Class performance today from your fans in your appreciation for Sigi. You gave him a great welcome before kick-off, applauded him when he went over to take corners in front of you and then you gave him a standing ovation when he went off. Well done
Good luck to you as well, and cheers. Good team effort from you, and I continue to be very impressed with Prg, Prgby, well, my wife calls him Piggyback. You had us sweating almost the whole game, so I don't think you're beyond hope at all. I still think what I thought at the beginning of the year, which is you need a better playmaker for Piggyback to ride. Otherwise you'll have to keep working hard, believing in yourselves, and hope for the best. Maybe the win against West Ham and a lead at WHL can be something to build on. I can't remember a season where teams fighting relegation looked this strong.
Another strong effort, though another case where it could have been 6-1 and wasn't. Gylfi keeps contributing to goals and looking dangerous, even though I guess he hasn't won the fans over. What I'm really hoping at this point is that Arsenal's dip has causes other than a hangover. Nice article on the game at the Telegraph--bit of an encomium for AVB. Interesting stats at http://www.whoscored.com/Statistics. There's a certain amount of chatter (the stats tend to reward the Bundesliga and Serie A, among other things), but a lot of interesting stuff. Bale as 18th best player no surprise, but Vertonghen at 42nd or so is perceptive, as is Dembele at 60-something. Dembele has the highest pass completion percentage I saw, nearly 92%. Vertonghen also makes their all-star team, which, again, is very sensible.
