Sent Off From The Bench

After weeks of every game being the biggest of the season so far it was almost relaxing to go into a match we never had a chance of winning. Leeds were comfortable victors, without really breaking a sweat. What was a little annoying is that all the goals in the first half were so avoidable. Mo Barrow tracks Luke Ayling's run well before slipping, allowing the Leeds player to easily pull the ball back to the penalty spot for an simple finish. Goal two sees Pablo Hernandez surrounded by at least four Reading players, but still somehow in a few yards of space. His quick turn and shot hits the woodwork, before dribbling along the line and in. A good finish but he shouldn't have been allowed the time. Similarly for the final goal of the game Blackett stands off Hernandez - who had already shown his talent - before a little shift to the right allows the Leeds' player the angle he needs to pick out the far corner. Strangely I didn't think Reading played badly in the first ...

Reading showed three moments of quality to overcome a combative Wigan side. Wigan's first goal comes down to a lack of midfield presence. Ejaria gets pushed off the ball, Yiadom dives in, and all of a sudden Wigan overload the box. Powell's finish trickles in, but was perfectly placed inside the corner. I did think there was a foul on Blackett with no real advantage, his foot seemed to get trodden on. That being said he didn't really break a sweat getting back, which is also an issue for Wigan Goal #2. If we're being super critical Moore probably gets himself a little too deep - actually ending up right in front of Martinez - and Baker should probably be tracking Powell's run. At the end of the day, we were in a bad position from the moment we lost the ball. The first piece of real (Royal?) quality came with John Swift standing over the ball in first half stoppage time. In the programme versus Rotherham there was a fairly lengthy piece that touched on his dead ...

Finally. Three away points. If we're being deadly honest, we didn't deserve anything from the match. After their equaliser it was the first time I've ever really felt completely let down by a side. On paper they have an absolute abundance of talent. There's a handful that have been on the books at the biggest sides in their respective countries but they seem so brittle.  It was only the sheer relief, and importance, of the result that stopped the EPR 3 just being 'papers over cracks' again and again. Things started well enough - McCleary and Oliveira will get the credit for the opening goal but it was almost entirely made by Blackett. A beautiful ball just beyond the full back allowed McCleary to race onto it, draw three men to him, and pull it across for Oliveira. Yet again our loanee forward found the net. His celebration was, presumably, a reaction to some pretty tasteless Ipswich chants, but had I already been on a yellow card I may have been slightly le...

Surprise, surprise another draw against a fellow relegation rival. On the whole disappointment reigns after another promising start only to tail off in the second half. Rotherham were pretty content to sit back in the first half - which let Reading play their football. Culminating in a goal that is pretty much the definition of Gomes football. The majority of the team touched the ball in a flowing, counter-attacking move from back to front which Ejaria finished into the top right corner. That meant that in the second the away side needed to show more impetus, and they took control of the match. Reading dropped deeper and deeper until the inevitable happened. While Rotherham may have earnt their title as route one specialists, their goal was well worked. A beautiful ball in the from the centre-right nodded down to Ajayi who finished from within the six yard box under Martinez. Both sides had chances to win it - in fact Reading had numerous. Oliveira missed from two yards following...

While the game itself may not have been the talking point of Saturday's fixture, Reading battled to a good point against a disappointing Villa side.  On paper the visitors have a side to trouble the automatic places, from Croatia's first-choice goalkeeper Kalinić, to perennial Chelsea loanee Tammy Abraham but their gameplan of pinging it up to the big man never really looked like paying off. Admittedly they had chances - El Ghazi forced a decent save by Martinez, but Tammy Abraham nodded the follow up wide from 6 yards. He was racing to get there ahead of Blackett and Miazga but probably should have done better. Equally our new GK probably should have tried to tip it further wide but in the end no damage done. On another occasion the crossbar helped save him when Elphick beat him to the ball from a corner. That said he more than redeemed himself when Abraham met a beautiful El Ghazi cross. You could argue he got slightly too much on it, which directed it closer to Martinez...

With Reading languishing in 23rd you'd expect January to be a busy period to try to improve the squad, particularly with what José Gomes has been saying. However, I may be misguided, but I do think the quality in the team currently outweighs anybody who could be available unless the owners are prepared to plough cash in. As highlighted by the manager the outgoings will be almost as important as the other way. I know The Tilehurst End somewhat stole my thunder here, but I'm going to lay out who I would keep from the first team squad. Some are to be reassessed during summer - players that could be useful if they step up their game and adapt to Gomes' style of football. Goalkeepers Vito Mannone Sunderland fans may have been disappointed at him leaving given their luck in goal last season, but considering he was brought in as a replacement for Ali Al-Habsi he's not performed to the level needed. How different could the table look if he'd managed to keep out M...

Reading finished 2018 surprisingly well with a spirited defeat away at Millwall followed up with a good point at QPR, so it was only right that they kickstart 2019 with an abysmal loss at home to Swansea on New Year's Day for a third successive defeat at the Madejski. Omar Richards, briefly heralded as one of the next great prospects from the academy, was found wanting on a number occasions and really could be seen to be at fault for all of the first half goals. For the first he never closed down the cross, which gave Naughton all the time in the world to pick out McBurnie. On the second he's not strong enough to really pressure Leroy Fer, and gives him a free header across goal. And he lets van der Hoorn ghost in at the back post to finish from a free kick. In my mind Richards is not the left back in a back four, he has far too many defensive frailties. I could see him fitting in at wing back on a back five, but he also needs to trust himself more going forward. The first ...