Hanging on against 10 men..........................not a great performance. Why so many changes in personnel? Full back choice especially strange with Brayford on the left and Connoly on the right.
Terrible game between 2 poor sides. If Slade sets up like that with that line up Watford will hammer us. Axe both Le Fondre and Jones and play KJ up front on his own. Extra midfielder needed but can Slade change from 442?
I suppose it's a win of sorts. We could and should have put a poor 10 man Reading to the sword last night but instead, sat back and allowed them back into the game. Much to do yet Mr. Slade. Thank you Alex Pearce.
I thought the mental thing was taking Connolly off! We were solid and neither FB was under any pressure. As soon as Fabio came on they had a route in. I'm being a little harsh but he was 10 yards out of position that allowed them to win the corner they scored from. If Connolly had still been on we'd have been defending a throw. Most disappointing was trying to time waste our way through the 2nd half from half time. It must have been Slades instructions. Marshall was ****ing about with goal kicks and bray ford took an age to take a free kick in the first 5 minutes after the break. It told reading we were hoping to hang on and if they scored we'd be very nervous.
I'll take the 3 points but that was all very average stuff from both sides. The poor conditions were no excuse for the lack of any real quality when in possession - in fact I thought Reading were the better side at that for much of the game. Good points were the performances of both wide men Noone and Pilks, and a back 4 in general that looked very solid if unspectacular. Downside, at the back it appeared to be a clear mistake by Marshie for their goal, and up front Macheda was hopeless. In the middle Whitts stood off their midfield and allowed them to pass it around us, whilst Gunnar tried hard to close them down but it wasn't coming off for him like it did at Brum. If Slade plays this setup at Watford it'll confirm to me that he has no idea how to mix it up to suit the task in hand. Going there with Macheda and ALF up front will allow them far too much space in the middle of the park - something that Reading managed to find with just 10 men. Jones up front with someone like Ravel or Daehli playing just behind him would cause Watford far more problems than the current front two setup. I'd even just play Jones up there on his own and support him with another out and out midfielder like Adeyemi for an away game like this one coming up.
It has to be Jones up front. I agree Macheda was useless. Variety of options to be the extra man. Id even consider Fabio taking Pilks position and Pilks playing behind Jones. If its Macheda and Le Fondre again then ill lose all faith in Slade. Back 4 defended well and I thought Whitts played ok. Noone and Pilks had moments but also lost possession to easily at times. Gunner battles but his touch and passing ability doesnt match his effort. However the way we were we need players with bottle. Ultimately at best that 11 are a mid tabe outfit. There are better options on the bench but will Slade use them.
On reflection, we had enough chances in that game to have won very comfortably, as they say it is often very difficult to break 10 men down and Reading i felt set up in the second half for damage limitation. It got frustrating on many occasions but thats the championship for you. A good win against a side who will be around us at the end of the season, unless our away form picks up. Give Slade a chance, after all he has won every home game since being here.
I will give him a chance. To his credit hes picked a settled side who seem to know their roles and picked up wins which I dont think OGS would have and we were heading one way. I dont agree with the currect selection or system but hes the manager. However our away form is totally shocking. If he goes into the Watford game with the same tactics and line up then I will have no confidence in him. We will need an extra body in midfield and someone up front capable of holding the ball.
I agree 100% about changing the selection away from home. I too would play KWJ with someone off him. I like the pilks/fabio idea. Best thing is it keeps Fabio out of the defence As is pointed out above however 'wrong' Slade has it we're 4 from 4 at home. He can't do much more than that.
