Reading (A) Emirates F.A.Cup 4th rd, Jan 30th 3pm

[funk_hits_the_fan]

Money can buy success but builds plastic clubs with plastic fans that have no humility or appreciation from where the club they 'support' came. People like this Biscuit Man lording it with his smug, ridiculous attitude disrespects true Reading supporters that were there on the wet Tuesday nights on the open terraces at Elm Park, as much as he does ours.

You don't even probably feel a connection with Reading which is why you are on here trying to get some feeling of glory by thinking your winding us up. Your not, your pathetic. :lol:

[sallian]

I ventured out for my second away game of the season and for the first 35 minutes thought we were ok...not great but holding our own.After they scored we were very poor and when Etheridge went off it seemed to me our great start to the season could be coming to an end. One or two points:
1 we need another forward asap.
2Henry is a a full back not a left winger...we need Lalkovic back on Tuesday
3 the next few weeks will be a big test and we must all try and get behind the team. I was very disapponted with some of our "fans" today who seemed to want aggro. with Reading fans rather than supporting the team.
4when Chambers went off our lack of cover was apparent to all...lets hope young Morris can help us in that position.

Agree with that W1, playing Rico as a left winger hasn't worked.............he's a left back!

There is no threat up front, we need a player with the same type of impact that Brandy had, Jack Redshaw from Blackpool would fit the criteria.

Let us hope that the team can bounce back on Tuesday night at Doncaster.............could be a turning point.

Did you let Bradshaw borrow your invisible cloak Cully?

In a way he couldn't be faulted, strikers miss chances but what he struggles with both this season and last is the lack of quality passes to make chances. He really is living off scraps, we're so predictable for the majority of times that the opposition has plenty of time to mark him out of the game. As I stated previously, we need someone like Brandy alongside him. Lalkovic and Morris can provide the crosses/chances.

I agree Cully. I'm not criticising Bradshaw per se, but something ay right. He needs service.

no we need a fast, athletic, tall, strong forward who can win in the air and not run out of legs when charging into space....we also need a midfielder like that and a defender like that.....then we can compete with big athletic teams who out-muscle us and out-run us....this lightweight midget squad thing isn't going to work for us in the modern game

the players don't have to be particularly skilful as long as they aint donkeys.......there should be loads of those sort of guys around....just get them young and raw and improve their touch and decision making etc

[Darth Vader]

Who gives a fudge about reading cack fans cack club to follow no doubt.

Was a tough ask today maybe a few walsall fans were too confident, end of the day to me it was just a bonus game. The league is where it's at this year and we look set to be right up there.

[TheBiscuitMen]

Money can buy success but builds plastic clubs with plastic fans that have no humility or appreciation from where the club they 'support' came. People like this Biscuit Man lording it with his smug, ridiculous attitude disrespects true Reading supporters that were there on the wet Tuesday nights on the open terraces at Elm Park, as much as he does ours.

You don't even probably feel a connection with Reading which is why you are on here trying to get some feeling of glory by thinking your winding us up. Your not, your pathetic. :lol:

It all just sounds a bit bitter and pathetic. I've hardly been overly smug - more just reflecting on how delusional a good section of your fans were prior to the game.

[BathSaddler]

Christ almighty, Mr Biscuit. Delusions of grandeur or what.

I'd save that for your fans who were saying your squad was easily as good if not better than ours, prior to today of course.

I was not one of them, although I did say we had a chance on the day based on the fact there are only 12 positions or so between us. Not unreasonable.

[Brandon Flowers]

Definitely not unreasonable bathsaddler, considering our record against the big bad Royals before today was; won 29, drawn 23, lost 23!!!!
Think biscuit boy needs a history lesson....

Still I'm glad we're out the cup, was chuffed when we beat Brentford and genuinely looking forward to a good draw, when we drew reading I was totally flat. I've been to 83 grounds and reading has to be the most uninspiring dull ground/club I've ever visited hence why I chose not to go today...

See you at Donny, we have bigger fish to fry than today!

[The Bosted Slab]

The day started well as I managed to park on a nearby housing estate for free!

It soon took a turn after I walked passed the Holiday Inn where the adjacent building site is being built by GMI Construction (bad omen there I reckoned)!!

I thought we played better than them in the first half over all, goals aside, and were only in trouble with Taylor's lapses.

The way Robson Kanu was allowed to turn and shoot was defending of the lowest standard imaginable, or so I thought, until their third goal.

Taylor should absolutely have been replaced at half time with Henry dropping back.

In the second half we were poor, offering nothing going forward and centrally in midfield allowed Reading far too much space and made it easy for them.

We are a shadow of the team that has performed admirably this season and Chambers is having to pick up far too many bookings attempting to cover for the deficiencies of others.

How on earth can the manager leave the likes of Morris and Lalkovic on the bench when the game was screaming out for their positive approach.

We have once again made it easy for the opposition by playing risk free sideways passing, hardly ever threatening to breech their defences.

Bradshaw hasn't got much hope of being presented with the type of service Vydra got today, although he should have done better with the one chance that he got.

Got back to the car absolutely seething, but soon cheered up once I heard the League One results.

[Des Lynam]

I'm starting to worry a little that our season is going off the boil, I know losing a cup game against a decent championship team isn't the end of the world, but there were some worrying signs of negativity from the new manager and some players losing their form.

The system SOD plays leaves Tom too isolated alone up front, Sawyers seems to be sitting deeper and the wide players are too far back. I'm not pretending I know it all, but I think if they were playing 443 with Milan and Forde playing like old school inside forwards either side of Tom, we'd make more progress - when one wide player has possession the other comes inside to partner Tom.

I like Rico but he's ineffective wide left; I'd rather see him play left back and sacrifice Taylor. I like Andy but he's an average League One full back, and Rico is probably good enough now to hold onto the LB position for as long as he's here.

Mantom has been poor this year, and I hope that Morris (loanee, not Kieron) is the next George Evans and can come in alongside Sawyers and form a good partnership that allows Romaine to get back to his creative best. It said something about our lack of creativity that our playmaker was mainly spreading the ball square to wide players rather than getting it forward - because he had no options to go forward.

I think a few new faces to freshen things up are needed too, everyone knows we need cover up front in case Tom misses a game or two, maybe someone big and physical who can change a game when we are 0-0 with 20 mins to go, but I also think some cover for Chambers. Our skipper has been fantastic all season and we missed him today when he went off, but if he got injured or suspended, I'd immediately worry.

[Guest]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee61yHIPzSA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Mazza01]

After watching the replays I think it's Taylor who slides into Etheridge and causes the injury :shock:

[SoccerHQ]

I don't want Burton and Gillingham up there u drip! but they seem more consistent than us, Gillingham can score and Burton can defend...and Burton are now scoring too...I think Clough would have been good for us, ........and we never take advantage of the other teams cocking up their results...so we can't really say jack about it

Have you not noticed Burton and Gills aren't beating the teams Walsall aren't beating....last week you were on your high horse about a 1-1 draw with Blackpool and a weak mentality....this week Blackpool 1-0 Gillingham.

And Burton have now lost 2 out of last 3 including yesterday to "nobody Rochdale.

[aaaae]

After watching the replays I think it's Taylor who slides into Etheridge and causes the injury :shock:

Yes think it was. If Rico had been playing left back with his extra pace he may have got back in time to cover the line. Oh well.

[Fish]

Five things we learned about Walsall yesterday (with apologies to the Daily Telegraph who do this sort of thing all the time)

1) The Saddlers looked assured and comfortable for most of the first half - and for short periods in the second. I saw nothing at all in the first thirty five minutes that suggested that we would come away with anything less than a draw.

2) We were - and are - not properly set up. Rico is completely wasted out wide on the left. He has the youth, pace and ability to play at the back and maraud forward at will. At the moment, with Taylor at the back and Rico ahead of him, we seem to have two people doing one man's job. As I said a waste of talent and resources.

3) Tom needs help - isolated for much of the game he was chasing lost causes. It might work in some formations but this seems to be the preferred tactical approach. It's not working and costing us points. The Blackpool manager, Neil McDonald said last week, that 'Walsall played some excellent football and had lots of possession but they didn't hurt us'. It was the same yesterday - according to the BBC, at half time, we had 55% possession (but no cutting edge).

4) Walsall's paper-thin squad is...err...paper thin. A new (two month) replacement for George Evans may not be enough. Remember that we have already played 36 games this season and have at least another 19 to go, possibly 22, that will decide our fate. That's 55 games. Too many for too few.

5) Yesterday might be a metaphor for our season - a good first half but for a couple of disappointments, followed by an implosion in the second half. SoD needs now to make sure it is not, by meeting with Uncle Jeff this morning and demanding further team strengthening - as well as asking himself about some of his tactical decisions in the past few games.

[m&m]

From the highs of a truly memorable day out at a proper old ground with genuine atmosphere to the lows of a soulless New identikit shell with zero atmosphere.the journey from Brentford to Reading.

For half an hour we looked ok.nothing more but capable of making a decent game of it. The 2 goals in 3 minutes effectively killed the game.Yes Taylor was at fault for the first but the entire defence seemed to open up for the second.it may have been a different story if the Sawyers one had gone in but overall no real complaints as we didn't deserve much.
The jury is out on the new manager for me. Bringing on Cook was pointless. Why not Milan and drop Rico back to left back whilst taking off Andy Taylor who had a day to forget?

Finally a word for Readings fans.Their only song was"your effing #hit".Any true Reading g supporter should be embarrassed.No support for the home team at all.
Overall one to forget and move on to more important matters.

Oh and hope that Reading get stuffed in the next round.
?

[Leatherman]

Just to add my two penny worth:

For the first half of the first half we didn't look to shabby. Most of the sexy football came from us and if Bradshaw had swung his left peg at the ball instead of trying to get it on his right we could have been one up and good value for it.

Reading spent this time pumping long balls forward which didn't get them anywhere and changed tactics which gifted them a goal. Taylor should have done better and O'Connor shouldn't have ducked and maybe Etheridge could have done better due to the narrow angle. Whatever, from that moment on we looked beaten.

For a cup game where the pressure is surely on the 'big' club to win I thought we would have at least had ago and thrown caution to the wind. Nothing it seems could have been further from O'Driscoll's mind.

I wonder if O'Driscoll has had to stand in front of his players and perform like other Newbies have? Somehow I doubt it. That miserable bastards persona is having a detrimental affect on the team. If I was Bonsor, I'd drop O'DRiscoll for Tuesday's match and pick Witney instead.

Why he failed to change and adapt when Reading did is beyond me. Perhaps he didn't play Lalkovic because he enjoys his football and is the joker in the pack. Not suitable for first team football in O'Driscoll's mind. The other laugh a minute, Baxendale, was fudge off to Mansfield at the first opportunity. Coincidence? Possibly. I'd rather have Gordon Brown running the team than that useless twerp. Technically good? My Arsenal is he. He's transformed decent team who played with a smile on their faces in to a shadow of its former self. fudge him off now.

I just cannot understand what some of our lot were thinking of by trying to force their way up a tunnel after half time only to be held up by a wench in a hi-vis jacket and a couple of ugly fat blokes with stewards coats on. barclays.

On a brighter note, I managed to park on Costco's car park along with a few others I noted for free and, it was closer than the club's official car park :D . Also, the Reading supporter in the red shorts; I doff my hat to you; I hadn't realised Reading was that close to the beach.

After the match, we nipped into Costco to pick up a few odds and ends while the traffic thinned and, amongst the items purchased, was a box of 'Moist Flushable Wipes'. A statement I thought, that wouldn't have looked out of place written on the back of the team bus.

By the way, I thought the stadium itself was as good as I have been in for the modern style although it could have done with some decent pubs next to it. Sadly, this seems to be the norm as modern stadiu replace those that were built in normal streets like Fellows Park, Griffin Park and Fratton Park et al. :(

Yours depressingly,

Leatherman :( .

[ToeJoe Jnr]

Finally a word for Readings fans.Their only song was"your effing #hit".Any true Reading g supporter should be embarrassed.No support for the home team at all.
Overall one to forget and move on to more important matters.

Oh and hope that Reading get stuffed in the next round.
?

The thing that struck me was that at home we have away fans behind the goal and home fans behind the goal as it should be with the large section of fans in those areas.

Reading seemed to amass all their fans in the corner nearest to us and spent more time looking our way than at the pitch. Now maybe that is a result of being 15th in the Championship and probably watching some turgid rubbish on a rugby pitch. The stand behind the other goal was empty and could have been closed!

Brentford was a better ground where I didn't have to drink in a hotel! Any club that employs Alan Pardew in my eyes are satanic anyway!

[sallian]

I don't want Burton and Gillingham up there u drip! but they seem more consistent than us, Gillingham can score and Burton can defend...and Burton are now scoring too...I think Clough would have been good for us, ........and we never take advantage of the other teams cocking up their results...so we can't really say jack about it

Have you not noticed Burton and Gills aren't beating the teams Walsall aren't beating....last week you were on your high horse about a 1-1 draw with Blackpool and a weak mentality....this week Blackpool 1-0 Gillingham.

And Burton have now lost 2 out of last 3 including yesterday to "nobody Rochdale.

well we are also not beating teams they are beating

I hope you are right about them not being solid enough to to hold their position, but they still seem more likely than us to me....we keep ballsing up opportunities to go top....and our play seems to be getting worse, and we are struggling to score and letting in a boat load of goals now

[Leatherman]

Finally a word for Readings fans.Their only song was"your effing #hit".Any true Reading g supporter should be embarrassed.No support for the home team at all.
Overall one to forget and move on to more important matters.

Oh and hope that Reading get stuffed in the next round.
?

The thing that struck me was that at home we have away fans behind the goal and home fans behind the goal as it should be with the large section of fans in those areas.

Reading seemed to amass all their fans in the corner nearest to us and spent more time looking our way than at the pitch. Now maybe that is a result of being 15th in the Championship and probably watching some turgid rubbish on a rugby pitch. The stand behind the other goal was empty and could have been closed!

Brentford was a better ground where I didn't have to drink in a hotel! Any club that employs Alan Pardew in my eyes are satanic anyway!

They did the same at Elm Park. Hats off to all our fans who stood there for ninety minutes doing exactly the same; stood in the stair ways blocking other people's views because they didn't want to Sit in the seats they had bought tickets for. I can't wait for them to appear in the Upper Tier; perhaps Bonsor could fix a tractor tyre from the roof to keep them occupied if ever they do.

[SaddlerSteve]

I wouldn't be surprised about the Reading fans attitude.
They were the same 15 years ago at the Millenium.

Giving it large before the game, saying we were going to get battered by a "bigger" club.
Made hardly any noise during the game and were outsung by our smaller group of fans.
Funny after the game seeing a few crying their eyes out and whining that we got flukey.

Plastic mongs.

[coop63]

First things first - I couldn't make the game so am responding/expressing what I've felt in a few previous games...

SOD seems to be persisting with an increasingly dodgy set up with Rico somewhat under-utilised out of the wing and a 'prone to exposure' Taylor at left back!!! Why???

Rico is clearly one of the best left backs outside the PL and would have no problem walking into most Championship teams IN THAT POSITION...... What does SOD think he's doing in persisting with Taylor when this quandary is there for all to see??? I agree with a previous point that we are using 2 players to fill the left back role :roll:

Secondly, Bradshaw is being wasted too with a restricted options position - he feeds off service and isn't a 6' 3' target man - why play him in such an isolated role?

If he continues to restrict using Milan to the odd 10 minute sub role he will begin to irritate the fans to the point where they'll start having a go at him - nonsense approach to one of the gutsiest and motivated players in the squad!!

OK - now that's off my chest let's move onwards and upwards after the weekends bloopers by the close competition! I'll be at the Donny game with a hopefully decent number of fellow saddlers to try to capitalise and move into a top 2 position :wink:

UTS

[pumajaguar]

I was never one of Deano's happy clappers but I'm shocked by some of the negativity on here. You'd think we were finished. An unlucky draw with Blackpool and a loss away to a team a division up and O'Driscoll is crap all of a sudden? Yes I think he's got a few things wrong, but give the bloke a chance

[SoccerHQ]

I don't want Burton and Gillingham up there u drip! but they seem more consistent than us, Gillingham can score and Burton can defend...and Burton are now scoring too...I think Clough would have been good for us, ........and we never take advantage of the other teams cocking up their results...so we can't really say jack about it

Have you not noticed Burton and Gills aren't beating the teams Walsall aren't beating....last week you were on your high horse about a 1-1 draw with Blackpool and a weak mentality....this week Blackpool 1-0 Gillingham.

And Burton have now lost 2 out of last 3 including yesterday to "nobody Rochdale.

well we are also not beating teams they are beating

I hope you are right about them not being solid enough to to hold their position, but they still seem more likely than us to me....we keep ballsing up opportunities to go top....and our play seems to be getting worse, and we are struggling to score and letting in a boat load of goals now

It's just the inconsistancy I don't get.

Criticising the lack of killer mentality in Walsall last week and turning a blind eye to Gillingham blowing 2 nil leads at Wigan and Doncaster and losing to Blackpool yesterday.

Way you're talking is it's like Burton and Gillingham are 10 points clear. I look at yesterday as both blowing a golden chance to get some distance away from Walsall and Wigan.

No one's going to win this league by 10 clear points. Maybe if Wigan had started their season before middle of October. It's going to be nip and tuck right through to the end imo. I'm also banking slightly that the kind run of games in April and May when it looks like Walsall will be playing a whole bunch of mid table teams who'll hardly lift a leg will also prove crucial.

[coop63]

I was never one of Deano's happy clappers but I'm shocked by some of the negativity on here. You'd think we were finished. An unlucky draw with Blackpool and a loss away to a team a division up and O'Driscoll is crap all of a sudden? Yes I think he's got a few things wrong, but give the bloke a chance

I'm not down on SOD at all I just don't understand why he is so accepting of the obvious problem at left back that we actually have a complete solution for!!

Rico's primary role is left back - not a mystery but fact.. When we get e posed it almost always involves Taylor (who, before anyone comments) I do actually rate but is now looking leggy and prone to errors... He is an excellent option from bench if needed in my opinion

Getting back to you point, SOD has many qualities but in al truth, we haven't been playing too well for large periods of recent games and as we hit the so called 'business end' of the season - we might be susceptible to exposure from opposing teams coaches with a bit of homework on our regular set up..

[coop63]

I don't want Burton and Gillingham up there u drip! but they seem more consistent than us, Gillingham can score and Burton can defend...and Burton are now scoring too...I think Clough would have been good for us, ........and we never take advantage of the other teams cocking up their results...so we can't really say jack about it

Have you not noticed Burton and Gills aren't beating the teams Walsall aren't beating....last week you were on your high horse about a 1-1 draw with Blackpool and a weak mentality....this week Blackpool 1-0 Gillingham.

And Burton have now lost 2 out of last 3 including yesterday to "nobody Rochdale.

well we are also not beating teams they are beating

I hope you are right about them not being solid enough to to hold their position, but they still seem more likely than us to me....we keep ballsing up opportunities to go top....and our play seems to be getting worse, and we are struggling to score and letting in a boat load of goals now

It's just the inconsistancy I don't get.

Criticising the lack of killer mentality in Walsall last week and turning a blind eye to Gillingham blowing 2 nil leads at Wigan and Doncaster and losing to Blackpool yesterday.

Way you're talking is it's like Burton and Gillingham are 10 points clear. I look at yesterday as both blowing a golden chance to get some distance away from Walsall and Wigan.

No one's going to win this league by 10 clear points. Maybe if Wigan had started their season before middle of October. It's going to be nip and tuck right through to the end imo. I'm also banking slightly that the kind run of games in April and May when it looks like Walsall will be playing a whole bunch of mid table teams who'll hardly lift a leg will also prove crucial.

I agree but the inconsistency is becoming consistent and that's the problem!!!!

You are right, no one is gonna clearly run away with this league but if consistency is proven to do anything it's to reinforce and run in tandem with form (good or bad.) just watch where Barnsley will end up - with 6 straight wins they've rocketed themselves up to a few points from a playoff position from a potential relegation position - teams are dropping points all over the place and it'll be the guys with consistency that make the places up...

[SoccerHQ]

Alright but Barnsley won't keep on winning forever, I'm sure you'll get a decent price on them winning automatic promotion.

As far as I see it it's 2 from 4 for automatic promotion. Wigan have the momentum in amongst the odd dodgy result while the other 3 have not in this league been in this position for a long long time so pressure will tell on them all.

Just find it amusing of all of them Coventry have blown up first. Anything to say SkyblueKnight?

[Ancient Moaner]

4) Walsall's paper-thin squad is...err...paper thin. A new (two month) replacement for George Evans may not be enough. Remember that we have already played 36 games this season and have at least another 19 to go, possibly 22, that will decide our fate. That's 55 games. Too many for too few.

5) Yesterday might be a metaphor for our season - a good first half but for a couple of disappointments, followed by an implosion in the second half. SoD needs now to make sure it is not, by meeting with Uncle Jeff this morning and demanding further team strengthening - as well as asking himself about some of his tactical decisions in the past few games.

Have to agree with these points, however we all know that a manager would have to slit his wrists in frustration in front of uncle Jeff, and he still wouldn't budge when it comes to team strengthening. We must remember this is Walsall F.C. Commercial Enterprises Ltd., and the football team that plays on the pitch every other Saturday is a very inconvenient intrusion into the running of said enterprise.

I also have to agree with a poster above, who mentions that SOD seems to be a rather boring 'uninteresting' spectre that HAS changed the squad back into a vision of the Deano era of dull as dishwater, plodding, dispirited ordinariness, which I regret may come to haunt us. Wigan, who unlike us, have invested to strengthen their squad, look likely to sweep to the top of the League unhindered.

Lets hope that on Tuesday the boring SOD will try to rearrange the team so that we are back to the way we were before he arrived. If he doesn't and we blow it, our season may begin to unravel, which would be sad, very sad.

[Fish]

4) Walsall's paper-thin squad is...err...paper thin. A new (two month) replacement for George Evans may not be enough. Remember that we have already played 36 games this season and have at least another 19 to go, possibly 22, that will decide our fate. That's 55 games. Too many for too few.

5) Yesterday might be a metaphor for our season - a good first half but for a couple of disappointments, followed by an implosion in the second half. SoD needs now to make sure it is not, by meeting with Uncle Jeff this morning and demanding further team strengthening - as well as asking himself about some of his tactical decisions in the past few games.

Have to agree with these points, however we all know that a manager would have to slit his wrists in frustration in front of uncle Jeff, and he still wouldn't budge when it comes to team strengthening. We must remember this is Walsall F.C. Commercial Enterprises Ltd., and the football team that plays on the pitch every other Saturday is a very inconvenient intrusion into the running of said enterprise.

I also have to agree with a poster above, who mentions that SOD seems to be a rather boring 'uninteresting' spectre that HAS changed the squad back into a vision of the Deano era of dull as dishwater, plodding, dispirited ordinariness, which I regret may come to haunt us. Wigan, who unlike us, have invested to strengthen their squad, look likely to sweep to the top of the League unhindered.

Lets hope that on Tuesday the boring SOD will try to rearrange the team so that we are back to the way we were before he arrived. If he doesn't and we blow it, our season may begin to unravel, which would be sad, very sad.

Or as the press used to say in years gone by, 'Walsall struggle to avoid promotion is underway'. Hope not.

BTW: I see another Atlantic storm is due to hit Monday / Tuesday. Not another postponement, surely?

[Ancient Moaner]

4) Walsall's paper-thin squad is...err...paper thin. A new (two month) replacement for George Evans may not be enough. Remember that we have already played 36 games this season and have at least another 19 to go, possibly 22, that will decide our fate. That's 55 games. Too many for too few.

5) Yesterday might be a metaphor for our season - a good first half but for a couple of disappointments, followed by an implosion in the second half. SoD needs now to make sure it is not, by meeting with Uncle Jeff this morning and demanding further team strengthening - as well as asking himself about some of his tactical decisions in the past few games.

Have to agree with these points, however we all know that a manager would have to slit his wrists in frustration in front of uncle Jeff, and he still wouldn't budge when it comes to team strengthening. We must remember this is Walsall F.C. Commercial Enterprises Ltd., and the football team that plays on the pitch every other Saturday is a very inconvenient intrusion into the running of said enterprise.

I also have to agree with a poster above, who mentions that SOD seems to be a rather boring 'uninteresting' spectre that HAS changed the squad back into a vision of the Deano era of dull as dishwater, plodding, dispirited ordinariness, which I regret may come to haunt us. Wigan, who unlike us, have invested to strengthen their squad, look likely to sweep to the top of the League unhindered.

Lets hope that on Tuesday the boring SOD will try to rearrange the team so that we are back to the way we were before he arrived. If he doesn't and we blow it, our season may begin to unravel, which would be sad, very sad.

Or as the press used to say in years gone by, 'Walsall struggle to avoid promotion is underway'. Hope not.

BTW: I see another Atlantic storm is due to hit Monday / Tuesday. Not another postponement, surely?[/quote]

Local weather forecasters up here 'wetting themselves' about how bad it is going to get. I was planning on a trip across the Pennines, but two games in hand may still be the byword come Wednesday morning. :?

[Scaly Egbert]

Interesting to read some of the comments here.

Where does the idea that Reading fans were arrogant yesterday come from?

I've no doubt we (I'm a Reading fan) had a few gobby fans who might have been making comments outside, but what club doesn't have those? Assuming such fans represent the entire fan base is a little daft.

Where does the idea that because we've moved to a new ground, moved up a tier in status, and gained a lot more fans, we must therefore look down our noses at former peers come from? Has any actual Reading fan said that, or is it just something you assume we think? It's common theme among fans of traditional third tier clubs, who seem determined to make a case for our current status being some kind of temporary blip. It reminds me of people who never leave their home town, who moan that those that have left and bettered themselves think they are too good for their home town now.

It's something quite common in football. We are almost insanely traditional, and we not only seem to love "old historic clubs" doing well, but seem to resent any club that rises significantly above their former status. It's one reason why nobody seems to like the likes of Crawley and Stevenage, but hail Accrington Stanley doing well.


As for the fans, the "4-0 on your big day out" song (or variants of) gets sung to almost anyone. For some it's a bit of a self-depreciating song, knowing full well that virtually nobody regards a trip to Reading as a big day out, although there are no doubt many fans who don't get the joke and are serious. There's a definite theme among all fans these days for having no grasp of hypocrisy. We had Cardiff fans singing about "empty seats" at our place, despite their crowds being lowers than ours, in a bigger stadium.

And yes, the fans do spend a lot of time winding the away fans up. It's a bit of a tradition, usually to pick on one fan in the away end and see how annoyed they can make him get.

And yes, there wasn't much of an atmosphere. The place was half empty, and the game went from half-paced tedium to being probably over within about two minutes. It doesn't exactly make for high excitement. We've also been watching a team that been pretty dull for the best part of three seasons now. Until recently, we'd endured a run of only having scored in, I think, six home leagues games in a year.

Yes, there are many Reading fans too young to remember life in the 3rd tier at Elm Park. They'd probably need to be about 30 to remember those days, given that our last 3rd tier game at Elm Park was almost 22 years ago. I'm sure they are well aware of the club's history, and know we used to be an average 3rd tier club. They just won't see the relevance now. Anyone who has only watched Reading in the last dozen seasons won't have known an average below 17000, and the lowest since promotion in 2002 is over 15000. Like it or not, the fact is we aren't the same club we were 25 years ago.



I'd also say, if any fan after a defeat starts a post with "I'm not just saying this because we lost, but..." then yes, they are just saying it because they lost.

There is much to be critical of. The Madejski Stadium might offer one of the best views going, and in a better setting, might be a popular ground, but it is still a little dull, and the area is hugely uninspiring.

The atmosphere can be great, but usually isn't. A drop in atmosphere is hardly unique these days, sadly.



Anyway, enough of that. Good luck for the rest of the season, and good luck on going up. It does worry me a bit though that there seems to be a bit of a gulf developing between league one and the championship. You seem to need to be able to pull around 14000 these days to have any hope of staying up more than a year or two, and most clubs in the lower two divisions can't ever achieve that now without moving.

[SWS1]

I'm more depressed reading (most of) the stuff on here than I am about the result :(
As for SOD, I respect the views of many on here (if they go to the games, I've got to) and the comments do ring true, especially those regarding Taylor, Henry and Milan. I'd certainly like to see Rico and Milan in the team. But I'm willing to give SOD a chance: :| chopping and changing rarely improves things but it would be such a pity if we were not "there or thereabouts" come the end of the season after such a great first half.
Glass - still - half full. :D