" Two decent teams who played out an exciting game, which could have gone either way. " Very nice comments from you Suffolk Royal, I was at the game and sadly cannot agree with that assessment much. First half, Reading started the better side ( albeit not by much ) first 15. The game then became quite even. When we scored, we were marginally in control. Sadly, the equaliser came at a terrible moment in the game from our perspective. Second half though!?!? Crikey, we were pretty shocking I thought. LOADS of aimless Whoosh, you played some good football, however we gave the ball away for fun. Mings at LB had an absolute mare, however it'll do him the world of good the experience. If Cresswell is out for a while, he will really need to swim rapidly! The gap from the midfield to the attack was ridiculous, making it more or less impossible for Murphy or McGoldrick to offer a threat. We did on occasion, however for me the midfield was the issue. Skuse was EXCELLENT, kept the ball well, challenged well, won a lot in the air and needed passing options. Tabb had a handy game on the left too that said. Hyam/ Edwards though I thought were poor, especially Carlos who really should have been subbed a long long time before he was. “We were comfortable, I thought we played really well, I thought we played really well all the game. I’m delighted with the performance. " I really cannot agree with these comments from Mick! We often hoofed the ball, the gap from midfield to attack was poor, and last 20 minutes the players looked completely exhausted. First game back though, we could have got a result however didn't. That said, Taylor did well in his short appearance and will do very well for us this season. I realise it's only one game gone and 45 left, so HOPEFULLY we perform much better at home to Millwall and get our season on track
You were there Westlake, and I wasn't, so you have a better perspective than I do. But I did listen to the match and, overall, there didn't seem to be too much between the teams. The first game of the season is always a bit tenuous, new players and systems bedding in. But if both teams continue like they did yesterday, both have a reasonable chance of making some good progress this season. Whether it will be enough for a real promotion push remains to be seen, but it was a tough start to the season for both teams yesterday.
Was going to say I found your conclusion hard to understand royal! Reading had plenty more depth than us, and full back was a major concern yesterday. That said, both were up against good wide players, and the experience will have done both no harm. The sooner Cressy is back though, the better! Second half we really did look for large spells a very very poor outfit if I'm honest. LOADS of aimless hoofs, players not moving into space, not a lot of cohesion etc. How the radio commentator seemed to conclude we were similarly matched over the 90 is beyond me, at the end it was very much men vs boys. That said, it's only one game and only three points can be awarded! Mick has a lot of work to do to make us a force, however there isn't a manager I would rather have at the helm We didn't lose consecutive games last season, so I'm fully expecting a backlash vs Millwall at Portman Road Saturday. I wonder what side he'll go for Tuesday? Would like to see Gherkin / Vaseli / Berra / Anderson / Turncliffe / Nouble and Taylor all get starts!
Ok we lost and as John Wark said in Escape To Victory " I can live with that " as at least we were competing and it could have gone either way. Its better than the 4, 5 and 6 against that we had to put up with plus its away to reading.
Just got back from Reading...................I thought we played ok and if we had Cresswell we would of got a draw at the very least......Mings was having a very poor game Imo and it didn't take long for Reading to target him as the weak link, but Mings aside we looked competitive all round.....Goldie and the Murph look like a good strike force also Tabbs looking good, the central defence looked solid and Hewitt did ok, Edwards did not do much, Taylor again looked like he can make things happen when he came on....
