Southampton v Reading Saturday 8th December 2012 - Kick off 3.00 pm St. Maryâs Stadium Premier Game Introduction RFC AWAY - If youâre going and want to know more, see this great link about the stadium, travelling and food â http://www.footballgroundguide.com/southampton/index.htm The ground St Maryâs Stadium, Britannia Rd, Southampton, SO14 5FP FORM GUIDE Table Positions: Southampton 18th - 12 points (played 15 games) Reading 19th - 9 points (played 14 games) Southampton Recent form: Last five (most recent first) L-D-W-W-D Very few goals about in their games, except when Saints comfortably won at Q.P.R. 3-1. They also recently suffered a humiliating 0-3 away to Leeds Utd of the championship in the League Cup 4th Round. Reading Recent form: Last five (most recent first) L-L-L-W-D Obvious nerves showing now, but we are competing in every match; indeed Spurs was the only occasion we have lost by a two-goal (or more) margin in the league this season. Therefore, although we find ourselves pen-ultimate in the table, our goal difference is better than Southampton, Aston Villa, Wigan and Norwich sitting above us. Recent form table â last 8 games: Southampton 14th: W2 D2 L4 Reading 17th: W1 D3 L4 Bottom three are QPR (20th), Newcastle (19th) and Sunderland (18th) See table for yourselves - http://stats.football365.com/dom/ENG/PR/oform.html THE BOSS â the current manager of Southampton: Nigel Howard Adkins (born 11 March 1965 in Birkenhead, England) is a former footballer and is the current manager of Championship Club Southampton. As a player, Adkins was goalkeeper for Tranmere Rovers, Wigan Athletic and Bangor City. He graduated from the University of Salford in Physiotherapy. He managed Bangor City (1993-96) and Scunthorpe (2006-10) prior to Southampton. His modern style player management and care is obvious on many fronts, up to planning the playersâ diets and eating habits! WEB SITES Official Southampton Club Web Site: http://www.saintsfc.co.uk Unofficial individual club Web Sites â daib0âs suggestion: The Ugly Inside OPPOSING FANS SECTION Rivalries: Portsmouth, Spurs and Bournemouth ... The South Coast Derby is the name given to matches between the Saints and their fierce nearby rivals, Portsmouth F.C., from the city of the same name 17 miles from Southampton. Famous Fans: Here are a few - Roger Black â athlete, Craig David â singer, Sir David Frost â presenter, David Gowere (âThey think itâs overâ), Fiona Phillips â TV presenter for GMTV, David Haig (actor â Thin Blue Line), and probably the sexiest of all â Lucy Pinder, the glamour model. Nicknames and Mascots etc. The âSaintsâ â comes originally from St. Mary's Church Young Men's Association. The roots of the club can be traced to members of St. Maryâs Church Young Menâs Association, who played their football at various venues in Southampton for 13 years, prior to the move to The Dell in 1898. âSuper Saintâ is the club mascot. MATCH DAY EXPECTATIONS Attendances: Southamptonâs average at home this season is 30,540 fans per game, and that is an impressive (but perhaps expected) 93.4% of capacity. They are 12th in the attendance tables, good for a newly promoted side. Just for the record Readingâs average is now 24,097 and that will hardly be bettered as we are at 99.6% of capacity. The top five attendances are far, in order: Man Utd, Arsenal, Newcastle, Man City and Liverpool. And the only premier clubs not to have a 90% (or better) of their capacity filled are Sunderland, Aston Villa, W.B.A. and Wigan. Squads and Team News: Not available yet - please add any news in your posts and comments - one of the most important things to add here before kick-off! SCORE PREDICTIONS My own verdict: I am obviously hoping for a win, but I believe it will be difficult, and could go either way. Remember that Southampton need the points just as Reading does. Therefore Iâm going for an entertaining draw: Southampton 2 Reading 2 What do others say? The Oddschecker site, listing nearly all the major betting companies, shows once again, when Reading are playing away the odds are heavily stacked against the team. Not worth putting any money on Saints, you wonât make hardly a penny, but an away victory or for a draw you will find odds of about 3/1, and the draw option I donât see as too unrealistic ... For those whoâd like to read a really detailed match presentation please pop over to the specialist Reading FC forum âRoyals Rendezvousâ where you have even more sections covered and some of these current sections expanded (this present article is simply a resume) and many a photo up too ⦠http://royalsrendezvous.co.uk/topic/9775276/1 We even have a separate thread dedicated to your views. Hereâs to a good game, all comments welcome! Any snippet copied will be fully credited (and thanked) with your user name and the forum! ... daib0
Have to correct you - the mascot is Sammy Saint, who has recently hit the public eye for this opinion-splitting performance: [video=youtube;DGSy1SkbLsQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGSy1SkbLsQ[/video]
Do we really have a rivalry with Spurs? Also, Bournemouth would love to think they're our rivals, but it's really a one-way thing. We don't give a **** about them. Brighton are far more annoying.
As much as I want us to get something from Saturdays game, I can't see anything other than a Southampton win. If our defence can hold it together then maybe, but so far this season they've struggled to concentrate for a full 90 minutes. Saints have some class midfield and forward players and they could capitilise if our defence goes walkabout. A reverse score of our last trip to St Marys I reckon. 3-1 to Saints.
A few possible articles of interest coming up: Let's take it into Saturday RFC Official Site http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article/lets-take-it-into-saturday-041212-524539.aspx Southampton v Reading – Picks of the Week bwinbetting http://bwinbetting.com/leagues/premier-league/southampton-reading-picks-week,33752.html Morrison targets must-win clash Club Call http://www.clubcall.com/reading/morrison-targets-must-win-clash-1511629.html Adkins eyes home success Club Call http://www.clubcall.com/southampton/adkins-eyes-home-success-1511578.html and a tweet just out from RFC: ReadingFC News ‏@ReadingFC__News Pavel Pogrebnyak and Danny Guthrie both injured in 2nd half of today's behind closed doors friendly defeat to Stevenage (2-0). #readingfc
The only team to get an easy win over us so far this season has been Spurs, so its very doubtful it will be easy for Southampton. That said, our defence has cost us dear this season. They have a tendency to go to sleep at critical times in games. If our forwards can play like they did in the first half against Man Utd, and our defence can play like they did in the second half, for the whole game, then my money would be on us winning. Unfortunately there is a great big BUT after that statement.
Reading fans may be interested in this article. Looking at your set-plays: http://sfcplayerstats.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/scout-report-reading-attacking-set-plays/
Interesting stats, thanks for the link. The Shorey stat is particularly interesting. I have to say I was surprised we took him back, and a little disappointed, but he's proved me wrong, he really has played well so far this season. As I've said previously, our defence has generally been our let down this season and you have players who can punish weak defending. It will be an interesting game. I'm giving you the edge but live in hopes that we might get something from the game.
Should be a good game. Ramirez is still out of the country but returns to Saints tomorrow but no one knows what state he's in so he may be on the bench. Hope not as he should be too good for your defence. My prediction is 3-1 Saints. If we do win it will open a bit of a gap between Saints and Reading. Is that a bit worrying Royals fans?
In a word, Yes. We have come so close this season. We can score goals, but we can't stop the opposition from scoring, at least, as many as us. If that trend continues then theres only one outcome for us this season. Still, as a Reading fan of very many years, whose active supporting was in the old third and fourt divisions, I'll take the success we've enjoyed over the last ten years or so. We may go down, but I'll just continue enjoying the ride. Looking forward to the game whatever the outcome.
0-0 half time and we've been second best by the sound of it. A goal dubiously disallowed for Saints and a possible penalty not given for us, so its 1-1 in regard to favours by the ref. We usually have one good half in a game so lets hope the second half is it in this game.
Im sure i read further up in the thread that it would'nt be a comfortable victory for us?. Thats probably the worst away team to come to St Marys in uite a while, and one of the most comfortable victories were likely to have this season.
And it was me who said that Olly. How stupid do I feel? After last weeks performance against Utd, I, like many Reading fans, thought we would, at least, give you a game. Like I also said post match on your forum, 1-0 flattered us. Time is running out for us, even though it is only December. Unless some major changes are made soon we'll continue to be the whipping boys for everyone this season. Good luck to you guys though. Good entertaining team and good manager. Can't see you doing anything but survive with some ease.
have to say, im quite surprised how your season seems to be going, i think you are paying the price for shoddy transfers, i remember all the Reading fans really getting at us Saints fans when you signed Pog, saying how you had signed a proven premier league forward and we at the time had signed no one. In reality most Saints and Fulham fans knew that Pog was toss.
Well toss is right so far from what I've seen. 60 grand a week for doing not very much. I'm also aware that a lot of criticism was aimed at Southampton for some of the players you did eventually buy, this player and that player not worth the money. Well, the proof of the pudding eh? Those buys are what will keep you in the prem and give you the base to build for future seasons. A lot of our fans are criticising McDermott and calling for his head. I'm prepared to cut him some slack. He's a novice manager but has performed miracles in his time in charge of Reading, having to rebuild his team in each of his championship seasons due to the owner selling off our best players, Long and Sigursson being the two clear examples. And for me, thats where our problems is. Too much of the old club hierarchy having too much say. Anyway, I can drone on as much as I like, it won't change anything. Off to Sunderland on Tuesday and start again. Cheers.