angieram

I think as a full back. At least he was when I saw him a few times.

31Vickers 6 2Wilson 6 5Bradley 4 35Nelson 6 6Cashin 5 20Elder 6.5 4Hourihane 4 23Ward 4 8Bird 4 7Barkhuizen 4 27Blackett-Taylor 5.5 16Thompson 6 17Sibley 4 11Méndez-Laing 5.5 9Collins 5 19John-Jules 5.5 ATG

You don't know how many times I have raised this. Always the same answer "We are following instructions from the home club.."

It was blowing a hooley- not the night for playing those sort of balls. We were all screaming for the guys to keep it on the deck! They do panic a bit at times.

If he comes back with an injury, it would be just our luck. 😢

Ward was only on the pitch a few minutes last night, and still managed to lose the ball to a Reading player in a very dangerous situation. I think Wilson has defended okay during his short spell at right back, but it does limit his offensive play.

They don't though, do they? At least not individually. Collectively, maybe. But there are plenty of posters a bit undecided about the quality of football and about Warne's tactics at the games. Against Burton, against Lincoln, against Reading. Even against Oxford until we launched a storming fight back. I'm at nearly every game and there are a fair few of the regulars - the ones who encourage for the full 90 minutes, that stay behind and applaud the team regardless of results - that are still feeling ambivalent about Warne's style in particular and whether he is getting the best out of this set of players. That is telling. I'm not talking about the ones trooping down the stairs making obscene hand gestures at the few players who dared approach the stands to applaud us, I'm talking about the die-hards.

They have bought/brought in players with money they haven't got. Lots have been commenting on it on the transfer threads for months.

I do worry that, even with our best players available, we lack the tactical nous to beat teams with this formation, though. We won throw ins and corners a plenty last night, but their backline was tall and strong and we were never going to beat them with our "out wide, crosses and set-pieces" mentality. The swirling wind didn't help but we didn't do enough to try to play into and round those big defenders along the grass. We were all calling out for it at the game, but it was never going to happen. Look at the highlights. Apart from one header, all our good moments came when we played along the floor. Yet we wasted countless set pieces because we couldn't match them in the air. (Watching Bradley trying to get his head on some of those high balls at the end was just comical!) The way Warne sets us up only works if teams come at us and give us space to play on the break. But we are good enough as a team to dominate possession most games - despite being told to treat the ball like a hot potato. Opposition then sits in, defends the cross, we are caught disastrously over-committed in attack and we then look vulnerable on the counter-attack. But somehow it's all Bird's and Hourihane's fault. 🤔

Yes. And some.

If you're going to make this trade-off (and Warne definitely is, that's not going to change) then your extra forward player has to absolutely make that difference. For us it all too often doesn't.

Does our website admin know something we don't? Because the way this headline is worded suggests we're going to lose on Saturday as well.

I feel your pain.

Reading 2 - 3 Rams FRGS Mendez-Laing

We are round the corner.

Where are you staying tonight?

Yep, we've been here about an hour. Grey, windy and drizzly. Perfect footy weather!

Ah, but I'll know how he's played by then, I'll be there!

Why? We're probably their most lucrative fixture of the season. As we are for most clubs.

Welcome to Corey Blackett-Taylor. I'm looking for a thread about whether he's a good signing in relation to his playing ability. Can anyone point me in the right direction, please?

This is from the protest group that led the previous pitch invasion. Hopefully they have the ear of the Reading supporters.

I'm not sure why Sibley doesn't take some of the free kicks and corners when he's on the pitch - mix it up a bit with Hourihane. That way the ones that Hourihane takes later in the game when Sibley's gone off might be better, too.

Really interesting article and background on Ryan. Thank you for sharing.

At least you had some! No ladies toilets, just 3 non-flushing portaloos for us. For 1800 supporters, probably about 400 females. I called over the head steward and threatened legal action, was promptly escorted over to the clean, well-lit facilities in the main stand, which were empty, of course. Sorry for the aside, Ellafella.