Reading Post Match Thoughts

[frogmiller]

I dont like moaning about the Millers but I have a few questions.
Why is Forde playing before Newell? Newell is perhaps the best taker of free kicks and corners? He can be a match winner.
Why is Vaulks rarely taking long throws recently?
Why didnt Robertson start?
Not the best performance today, particularly first half. Relieved we have a point. Tough game again next week. UTM!!

I don't mind Forde as he gives the team more defencively than Taylor. Yesterday Taylor was at his worst defending in front of Mattock who must have covered more blades of grass than anyone else on the pitch.

[millavanilla]

If we had started 442 yesterday it would have been 5 down by half time. Thing I didn't like was starting 11. We had stronger players on the bench than we started with and like many have said on here. We need to be on it for 90 minutes to get a result..

Reading will not go down this season. They have 7/8 first team players out and have for most of the season at various times..
The lad at CB was only 18 they had wingers playing FB as one poster on the reading forum said
"Let's be honest. If we had a full squad to choose from only 4 of theses would get in todays side".

Must agree about the 4 4 2..we get caught easily enough playing with one up front never mind two..although we'd probably score more..oh mr porter....

[frogmiller]

If we'd had Swift would we have won?

Good shout! He was great to watch.

[frogmiller]

Unfortunately today we started top heavy with wingers again.

We can look back on this as lessons learnt. That is as long as we don't make the same mistakes 3 weeks running. We were too light in midfield and playing Willow off Smith hasn't worked all season and didn't again yesterday. Taylor and Willow weren't at the races today and we were overrun in midfield for all of the match.
Ajayi has gone back to doing the basics again and only on miskick all match meant that he is on his way back to form.
We didn't mix up the corners yesterday as each one was put under the bar.
We weren't good yesterday and I think that for the first time this season the team actually went out thinking that they would win. A undeserved point but a welcomed one nevertheless!

[tom12026]

We should have beaten Reading because they are below us?.
Middlesborough,Derby,Swansea and of course the clubs from up the road all thought that about us.
Thankfully it doesn,t work that way or it wouldn,t be worth going as we would know the result before we turned up.
Incidentally,how many cast a surreptitious admiring glance at the skill of Swift or Eze(QPR) or the kid(7) from Swansea(Roberts?).I know I did.
Come on WBA-youre going DOWN!!.

[mellowmiller]

Yes we got a point but we were lucky, Reading should have been out of sight by half time. Credit to the team for keeping going right to the end and snatching a point but surely Warne must realise it won't always be like that.
What's going to happen when a team do take their chances and we find ourselves 3 or 4 down at half time? We don't have enough quality to recover from a setback like that and how would it affect morale? Some of our fickle supporters would certainly turn on the team, there were a few boos at half time yesterday and we were only one down!
The concern I have is that I don't think our lads can battle any harder or give any more than they are doing whereas teams like Reading and one or two of the others below us can probably improve sufficiently to get out of trouble.
A couple of shrewd loan signings in January would certainly help and I hope we make them early enough in the window to improve our chances of staying out of the bottom three.

[great_fire]

We should have beaten Reading because they are below us?.
Middlesborough,Derby,Swansea and of course the clubs from up the road all thought that about us.

Talking about at home though.

Doesn't it give the wrong message to the players?

"We're playing a team two places below us in the relegation zone at home but we don't really think we can beat them so let's keep it tight and play for a draw or a 1-0 if we're lucky."

Have some confidence and go for it.

Played two strikers second half anyway.

I know the midfield is a problem and that should be addressed next month.

[mikemiller]

Reading were quite good at passing - better than us - but looked vunerable to a ball hit over the top. We looked dangerous from corners, but should have had more variation. The Reading keeper, rightly booked for timewasting, also made some good second half saves as the Reading goal was bombarbed. He did well to only concede one goal, whereas Rodak didn't have much to do after half-time

[caytonmiller]

im not convinced its a problem great fire just a little unbalanced...

It looks like warne is sticking to the 451 so he needs to balance the team.
back 5 should pick themselves from here on in maybe vyner for jones
we have a very talented left footer in manning so for me towell vaulkes and manning should give the middle balance. smith and williams make up the remaining 2 from 3 that leaves left wing for newell.

[flourbasher]

I agree with the comments about sticking with 451. pW knows we're likely to get overrun but it's the choice of 5 in midfield that's puzzling.
He generally goes 442 for the last quarter of the game anyway so it's his gameplan to try and keep it tight
3 wingers ? Some of the three aren't effective enough and we can't afford to carry players in our first XI.
Is he not picking Manning so McLaren thinks he,s not playing well and won't recall him. Maybe he's not doing enough in training? Good player who can't even get on the pitch.
Robertson and Raggett to start with semi in midfield Vs wba