Skip to main content

Cardiff 2-1 Reading

Should preface this with the fact I wasn't actually at the game

Going into the game Cardiff had won four on the bounce at home, so a loss was to be expected but it was the manner of the defeat that is disappointing for Reading fans. Alex Pearce putting the ball in the wrong net - again - before dragging Le Fondre back for a penalty, an incident he as sent off for after the referee finally found a red card to show him.

Yet again defensive lapses cost The Royals in a game they dominated for large periods. The first half saw Reading have 61% possession, and still went in 2-0 down thanks to Pearce. Worse still is that Cardiff were woeful, winning a measly 55% of challenges and hitting wayward passes a third of the time.

Pearce's sending off saw Obita drop to LB, with Gunter moving into the middle. Cox came off for McCleary, and in the one positive he looked good despite being out for 6 months. One of our better chances came when he ran at the defense and played the ball out wide to Murray, but the striker's cross was just too close to the keeper for Garath to get on the end of it.

Obviously Reading did bag a goal, although the goalkeeping was atrocious. Somehow letting the ball through his legs. It did give slight hope, but that was all it gave as late pressure wasn't enough to secure a point. Reading have only come back from behind [to win] three times in Adkins' reign, and, as I've said many times before, that's horrific when you consider McDermott's tenure.

Adkins has obviously stuck with us when he didn't need to, and that's admirable, but it's not working at the moment and he needs to find a plan B [and C]. The excuses are slowly running out as players come back into the squad with limited improvement. 2 wins from 12 games is pathetic, and although many supporters believe he should be given 'until January' he'll never make it that far if results don't pick up. My problem is that he shouldn't need January when the team of available players is actually incredibly strong. Hector, and possibly Obita, being the only two players genuinely lacking experience.

Adie Williams may be annoying, but he's right in the fact that Murray and Hector are the only two players without international experience - admittedly Obita's only being at U20. I can't put my finger on the problem in defence, but they've obviously capitulated completely. Gunter, however, has almost as many caps for Wales as he does in the blue and white hoops, Pearce was part of the mythical run of 1-0 victories that saw us promoted, and Obita won player of the season from left back last year.

Federici
Gunter Hector Pearce Obita
Williams Norwood
Mackie Cox Kanu
Murray

Tell me, seriously, where improvement is needed, because I'm struggling to see it.

Finally, was the booing of Le Fondre necessary? Of course not, but this is a player that made noises about leaving us almost every transfer window he was with us, the fact that he was eventually sold to pay an impending tax bill is fairly irrelevant. Personally, I wouldn't have partook seeing as some of my best Reading memories involve the guy but it's understandable. Morrison has a far better case either way.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scout Report: Brentford

It almost feels superfluous to write about a Brentford team who have already been covered so extensively. Famed for their player recruitment the core of their side is a young, attack-minded group of players who seemingly love to play together. They tend to play 4-3-3, with Watkins as the main striker, and Benrahma and Mbeumo attempting to find space to either side of him. The midfield three is given stability by Christian Norgaard in the holding role, while Dasilva and Jensen are free to push on. Even goalkeeper David Raya Martin is crucial to the team's attacking intent. His quick distribution reminiscent of Marcus Hahnemann bowling out to Bobby Convey to set the winger away. That said defensively the Spaniard can occasionally be caught out, infamously allowing Ryan Tafazolli to pass the ball from the halfway line into the Brentford net. That's not the only mistake he's made this year - a missed punch condemned Brentford to a loss at Kenilworth Road, and similarly lead to
Post a Comment
Read more

Reading FC Season Review | 2020/2021

When your season starts with your manager having to watch your opening match from the hotel because he's not been hired in time to beat the quarantine, anything above getting relegated should probably be classed as a success. And Reading exceeded surely even the most optimistic of pre-season predictions. Veljko Paunovic Veljko Paunovic almost exclusively utilised a core group of players in a 4-2-3-1, only changing things when enforced. One of the consequences of that is that Reading had more players play over 3,000 minutes than any other side (roughly three-quarters of the season). That consistency is often seen as a good thing, but in a condensed season, it surely contributed to the injury woes. It can't have helped that the manager also used the second-fewest number of players over the course of the season. His substitutions were often categorised as late (Reading's subs played just 16 minutes on average, only Norwich's played fewer) or non-existent (Reading were 19t
Post a Comment
Read more

If Anything, Reading's Win In Wales Is Just More Of The Same

Paunovic has been under increasing pressure in recent weeks. Last Tuesday he received criticism from all quarters after a dire midweek defeat to Sheffield United, where he changed the shape of the team to nullify the opposition threat. Although there were some interesting takes by those who didn't seem to fully appreciate the formation, it was clear that it wasn't just the opposition's attacking threat that the manager put the mockers on. And yet, one win seems to redeem all. My personal view on The Gaffer is that, given the injuries in the squad, he's doing as well as could reasonably be expected. Obviously he's made errors, but he's also been handicapped by off field matters. The six-point deduction has made the gap to relegation closer than it ought to be, but the team are clearly good enough to comfortably pull clear over the course of the season and, indeed, have been achieving if Reading had started on minus 6.  So my issue isn't with him, but with th
Post a Comment
Read more