Ghost of Clough

37 minutes ago, roboto said:

That's the problem. The other teams need to stop taking unsavable shots at our goal... 😉 

"Unsavable"? You've never seen keepers stop similar shots before?

Goal 1 - Vickers' positioning was very good, but was too slow to get down

Goal 2 - He was hesitant at closing the attacker down, then too slow when he did. He needed to delay the closing down a bit longer, timing it so that he could instantly be at the attacker's feet as he arrived in the area. He gave far too much space to his right hand side then dived to his left. Both were contributory factors towards making an easy chance even easier.

8 hours ago, Ghost of Clough said:

Carlisle - Moxon (CM, 7.00), Gibson (RW, 6.86), Lavelle (CB, 6.77)

Wigan  - Humphrys (RW, 7.05), Tickle (GK, 6.91), Morrison (CB, 6.81)

Mansfield - Keillor-Dunn (AM, 7.53), Flint (CB, 7.24), Maris (CM, 7.23)

Chesterfield - No Whoscored ratings... Dobra has been loosely linked

Forest Green - McAllister (RW, 7.04), Inniss (CB, 6.71), Bunker (DM, 6.66)

Newport - Evans (CF, 7.07), McLoughlin (RB, 6.94), Bogle (CF, 6.90)

Doncaster - Ironside (CF, 6.85), Bailey (CB, 6.81), Anderson (CB, 6.81)

Going through these...

Carlisle - Moxon had a pretty ordinary game, Gibson came off the bench and struggled to make an impact, Lavelle had a solid defensive game

Wigan - Humphrys came off the bench and scored his penalty in the shootout. Tickle and Morrison were unused subs

Mansfield - didn't play

Chesterfield - Dobra got booked and came off after 70 minutes

Forest Green - didn't play

Newport - Evans scored, McLoughlin got a full 90, Bogle didn't play

Doncaster - Ironside came off the bench and scored his goal in the shootout. Bailey scored the equaliser, then scored in the shootout. Anderson wasn't in the squad.

41 minutes ago, Chesterfield_Ram said:

Could he potentially be loaned out to another team in League 1... with the option of recalling 

No

2 hours ago, Tyler Durden said:

From the BBC Sports website about Reading:-

One MP, Damian Green, is a Reading fan and was at Saturday's game against Port Vale which was abandoned after fans invaded the pitch to protest against owner Dai Yongge. 

"The word on the street is that he now doesn't want to sell and is just asset stripping and is doing it quite visibly with players," Green said.

"He is willing to sell any player of any value for what little he can get and wants to be left with the training ground as a piece of property having folded the club. 

Surely there's some half decent players still left at Reading we can get for a nominal fee?

The defenders I like are injury prone, so a big no. Wings, Savage and Knibbs are decent mids but wouldn't be a significant improvement on our starting 11 but would add depth. Azeez would be a starter on the right wing. Smith with be strong competition upfront and likely a regualr starters.

54 minutes ago, Blondest Goat said:

Wildsmith was dropped because of his form in his last couple of games.  You'd have very different results if you compared the two keepers stats from their last two league games.  

Thought Vickers would probably just come in for one game to give Wildsmith a kick up the backside.  Remind him his standards can't drop. Haven't seen anything from Vickers to suggest he is a better bet than Joe so think it would be harsh if Vickers keeps his place.

Against Oxford and Peterborough only...

Saves: 7

Goals Conceded: 5

Goals Prevented: -2.2 (alternative source used)

Save Rate: 58%

Clean Sheets: 0

Using the same source for individual games, Vickers has had a 'Goals Prevented' of -1.6 over these last 2 league games. He's also conceded 3 goals without making a single save (0% save %) across the two games.

38 minutes ago, ramsbottom said:

Considering we were 2 goals to the good, and very rarely being threatened.  What changes were people demanding?? 

I recall it was mostly Thompson on for John-Jules to help with the control of the game in the middle of the pitch and to freshen our press. Before and after their 2nd, a few wanted Brown on for John-Jules. It wasn't working for him last night, so bringing on the only attacking player on our bench was a sensible suggestion- 5 goals today for the U21s shows he's hungry for goals with a point to prove.

16 minutes ago, ramsbottom said:

It's always those with knee jerk reactions that are the loudest.  Up until the errors we were well in control and cruising.  It's alright folk moaning about Warne not reacting to their changes, but it's not like they stuck 5 up front, they simply changed a couple of players (and maybe) told those coming on to be a bit more positive.  It's not like they unlocked us with peak Barcelona tiki-taka either, they were gifted to them...

To many, a change at half time was needed. The calls for changes intensified shortly after our 2nd goal as we had no control of the game and were struggling to pass the ball at times. It shouldn't have taken 37 minutes and 2 goals conceded to realise a change was required.

Wildsmith
Saves: 52
Goals Conceded: 22
Goals Prevented: 0.6
Save Rate: 75%
Clean Sheets: 10

Vickers
Saves: 2
Goals Conceded: 4
Goals Prevented: -1.8
Save Rate: 33%
Clean Sheets: 0

There's one clear winner

4 minutes ago, ramsbottom said:

 

Same as you guys, I thought he had a solid game up until his mistake.  His cross for the 2nd was good and he put a good shift in considering it's his first league start for months.  Unfortunately it looks like he's going to be the new whipping boy until Collins hasn't scored for a few games.  I thought NML was equally as culpable for their first goal, letting Seddon muscle him off the ball instead of just giving it back to a defender was pretty crap play.  It's also worth mentioning that Elder was left in the lurch by the rest of the team going absolutely gung-ho in the build up to the 2nd.  I suspect everyone was a little too eager to get the 2 goal advantage back because there was no need for both our CBs to go marauding up field like they did...

Most teams send both CBs up for corners. Usually, a couple of the smaller/quicker players hang back on the half way line (typically the full backs)

2 minutes ago, Rampant said:

Are any of these lads close to the matchday 18 do we think? In terms of ability that is. Or do they need a spell on loan first? 

We started with 4 first team players so I'd hope they're close 😅 Sibley and Thompson involved with the first half goals. Ward and Fornah the other two involved.

DRobinson and DBrown are the closest from our U21s but would benefit from loans for slightly different reasons. Robbo needs first team minutes now so he can kick on and progress, whilst Brown needs a loan to get over the mental gap between U21 and first team football. I see him as being in a similar situation as Whittaker when he was put in the first team too early - he looked a bit lost and wasn't playing anywhere near to what he was capable of and showed in U21/23 games. On ability, I would put them at L1 and L2 level respectively.
Weston and Bartley a little further behind, perhaps NL level. Bartley's physicality means he'd be able handle himself at that level too.

5 goals for Brown. 3 assists for Allen

Still going for more...

2 minutes ago, Jubbs said:

Now 7-1, Weston hattrick in 15 minutes lol

Brown just got his hattrick too. 8-1

A 6 minute hattrick for Weston (15 mins on the field) 🤪

1 minute ago, Gringo said:

In the infamous words of the Liverpool legend that was Alan Hansen " you cannot win anything with kids", he was wrong when talking about Man united, but I believe his comment is correct when talking about the current Rams Team. Looking at last nights game our goal scorers were Barks aged 30, Collins aged 33, and Hourihane aged 30. In fact our top 5 scorers this season include those 3 plus Waggy aged 33 and NML aged 31.  The latest great new young sensation JJ flattered to deceive and is absolutely not an answer to lowering the average age of our goal scorers ( he may however win a prize for falling over dramatically), and I can see no youngsters in the squad who come close to the abilities of our OAP mainline scorers. I have been a quiet critic of Warne's managerial style, but I now accept and believe we need experienced journeymen to achieve promotion, we definitely will not get promotion playing kids.

"we definitely will not get promotion playing kids." We'll never find out because Warne favours experienced players, even from his loan signings. Thompson, Rooney and Brown are the only players aged 21 or younger to feature this league season and been on the pitch for a total of only 467 minutes (limited by injuries)

I'm also not surprised our top scorers are all 30+. John-Jules and DBrown are the only forwards (CFs or wingers) who are under 30 (Wilson is a wing back playing out of position). The two of them have played 300 minutes combined in the league.

Perhaps the answer is actually signing younger attack minded players. A confirmed target is 26 year old Blackett-Taylor so it doesn't quite fit your OAP narrative. 

59 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

Senior players need minutes. I also mentioned previously that Ward could do with a few u21 games to rebuild his confidence. Based on the subs, it looks like they won't get a full game: Perry (Ward), Gough (Sibley), Hawkins (Fornah), Weston (Thompson)

These 4 subs were made at half time

4 minutes ago, Rampant said:

What match is this? U21 games are usually featured on Flash Scores. Is it a friendly?

Central League Cup. None of these fixtures have been listed on Flash Scores or similar

Ward shot just wide following another Thompson cut back.

3-0 at HT

9 minutes ago, ryanjohno94 said:

Wonder if he's going to watch Owen moxon who plays for Carlisle looks a good player

Below, I've highlighted who I consider to be the three most likely options

The top 3 rated players from the 4 clubs I previously mentioned (min 20 games played):
Carlisle - Moxon (CM, 7.00), Gibson (RW, 6.86), Lavelle (CB, 6.77)
Wigan  - Humphrys (RW, 7.05), Tickle (GK, 6.91), Morrison (CB, 6.81)
Mansfield - Keillor-Dunn (AM, 7.53), Flint (CB, 7.24), Maris (CM, 7.23)
Chesterfield - No Whoscored ratings... Dobra has been loosely linked

Bolton and Barnsley are also playing, but I'd be extremely surprised if they sold to us.
Other clubs in action (L1 or lower):
Forest Green - McAllister (RW, 7.04), Inniss (CB, 6.71), Bunker (DM, 6.66)
Newport - Evans (CF, 7.07), McLoughlin (RB, 6.94), Bogle (CF, 6.90)
Doncaster - Ironside (CF, 6.85), Bailey (CB, 6.81), Anderson (CB, 6.81)

Sibley's on fire!

A few minutes ago, Thompson rounded the keeper, cut back for Brown who had a shot cleared off the line.

Just now, Eoghan1884 said:

Can it be watched anywhere ?

Don't believe so

7 minutes ago, Eoghan1884 said:

A line up of 

Thompson 

Ward Bartley K.Robinson Sibley

Fornah D.Robinson Tommo

Wheeldon Allen

Dajaune

thats a ridiculously strong lineup for the 21s today. 

Senior players need minutes. I also mentioned previously that Ward could do with a few u21 games to rebuild his confidence. Based on the subs, it looks like they won't get a full game: Perry (Ward), Gough (Sibley), Hawkins (Fornah), Weston (Thompson)

56 minutes ago, YorkshireRam said:

This is it. Was tempted to go with Sibley over Elder but you're right we need to give Elder the game time to improve. I'd definitely have Fornah on the bench if he's fit though, probably over Robinson?

I'd rather develop someone with more potential. I've said it before, but I consider Robinson to be a lower L1 player so should be getting game time at this level

51 minutes ago, Sparkle said:

When we get Smith from Sheffield Wednesday it will be Vickers nearly all the time because he kicks it longer than Wildsmith and that’s where our game plan will sit - it might work as well, midfield will be a chore though 

Long ball would be a plan B. Plan A would still be to get it wide and cross. I'd still have Wildsmith starting no matter how we play