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MOTM V Reading?  

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  1. 1. MOTM V Reading?



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The difference between the two teams last night was that Reading kept it simple but had end product whereas we were complete opposite.

 

I think we over complicate our play due to lack of pace in wide areas and up front. De Ridder was a threat but i don't think we gave him the ball quick enough to allow him to go one on one with fullback. Passing became very laboured in 2nd half with Lallana quiet. Our crossing was very ineffective with very few crosses coming from byeline and instead being floated in from deeper postitions which was easy for reading to deal with. Kebe's cross for their first goal is the type of cross Lambert and Sharp would thrive on.

 

I thought Cork and Hammond had good control of midfield up until our goal then De Ridder come on and reading made tactically switch at which point we gave them more possession in middle of park.

 

Fonte didn't cover himself in glory for any of their goals and wasn't strong enough against Roberts. Felt sorry for Jos as he had good game except for the chance in 1st half where he should of scored.

 

I thought the pitch looked great but noticed the ball was not zipping about which may of been a factor in our laboured passing.

 

Still 3 games to go and a lot can still happen but really think we need at least 7 points from remaining games. The positive is that our fate still in our hands.

 

COYR

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The difference between the two teams last night was that Reading kept it simple but had end product whereas we were complete opposite.

 

I think we over complicate our play due to lack of pace in wide areas and up front. De Ridder was a threat but i don't think we gave him the ball quick enough to allow him to go one on one with fullback. Passing became very laboured in 2nd half with Lallana quiet. Our crossing was very ineffective with very few crosses coming from byeline and instead being floated in from deeper postitions which was easy for reading to deal with. Kebe's cross for their first goal is the type of cross Lambert and Sharp would thrive on.

 

I thought Cork and Hammond had good control of midfield up until our goal then De Ridder come on and reading made tactically switch at which point we gave them more possession in middle of park.

 

Fonte didn't cover himself in glory for any of their goals and wasn't strong enough against Roberts. Felt sorry for Jos as he had good game except for the chance in 1st half where he should of scored.

 

I thought the pitch looked great but noticed the ball was not zipping about which may of been a factor in our laboured passing.

 

Still 3 games to go and a lot can still happen but really think we need at least 7 points from remaining games. The positive is that our fate still in our hands.

 

COYR

 

Not sure that we actually do many crosses, we do diagonal punts into the penalty area,plenty of time for the keeper and CBs to get into place and sort it out.

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I understand that many bookies in the Reading area have gone bust this evening. It would appear that most people in Reading backed Neptune Collonges in the Grand National.

 

Apparently the National Lottery organisers in the area are fearing the worst this evening!!

Edited by Tamesaint
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Not sure that we actually do many crosses, we do diagonal punts into the penalty area,plenty of time for the keeper and CBs to get into place and sort it out.

 

They work when Lambert targets the fullback at the far post. Clever ploy.

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Can anybody say why De Ridder comes on? As I would expect him to get wide, beat players and get a cross in. His pace and skill is without question. But what does he do? Surely a few crosses to Lambert might do the trick?

They work when Lambert targets the fullback at the far post. Clever ploy.
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Can anybody say why De Ridder comes on? As I would expect him to get wide, beat players and get a cross in. His pace and skill is without question. But what does he do? Surely a few crosses to Lambert might do the trick?

 

Lambert is seldom ever centre of the 6 yeard box when a cross comes in. He nearly always puts pressure on the fullback at the far post. Far harder to find him from a conventional crossing position. The angled cross works better as it cuts out the centre backs and leaves the fullback exposed. Our RM is only there to draw defenders and play back into space for Richardson or butterfield to cross from deep. Just doesn't suit a conventional wingers style of play.

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Lambert is seldom ever centre of the 6 yeard box when a cross comes in. He nearly always puts pressure on the fullback at the far post. Far harder to find him from a conventional crossing position. The angled cross works better as it cuts out the centre backs and leaves the fullback exposed. Our RM is only there to draw defenders and play back into space for Richardson or butterfield to cross from deep. Just doesn't suit a conventional wingers style of play.

 

In which case you don't need De Ridder who is a conventional winger whose pace is therefore wasted. We also have another forward, Sharp. What's to stop a conventional cross from the byeline into the six yard box to Sharp. he scored just such a headed goal against Doncaster.

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In which case you don't need De Ridder who is a conventional winger whose pace is therefore wasted. We also have another forward, Sharp. What's to stop a conventional cross from the byeline into the six yard box to Sharp. he scored just such a headed goal against Doncaster.

 

I agree, it doesn't suit de ridder as his instinct is to turn and run. Which is probably why he doesn't play often. Our game isn't based on wing play which must be very frustrating for a player like Steve.

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I just stealed myself to watch the highlights that have just been put up on Saints Player.

 

Watching again at how well we played fills me with even more disbelief we got nothing from that game.

 

I watched the sky + recording earlier, some of our movement and passing was on par with us early in the season. It was one of those games which came at the wrong time of the season.

 

Play like that as P'Boro, as people keep saying, we will win easily.

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Playing like that would have given us a win 5/6 times out of ten IMO. That's the beauty of football, its surprising and unpredictable. Something you are not ;)

 

In fairness, all the positivity cliches on this site are also as equally unsurprising and predictable. That was my whole point.

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Our defending was poor. I agree that on another day we could, and maybe should, have scored 4 or 5, but defending like that worries me. Fonte was at fault for goals 1 and 3, and the 2nd goal is amateur all the way through from hammond losing possession to the 3 defenders holding hands on the 6 yard box and leaving Le Fondre to just run in and score.

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Seeing that again I think Fonte instead of trying head back to KD a ball that was hanging in the air and on which he could get no pace, should have done what I've seen him do loads of times this season and stood his ground so that Le Fondre runs into the back of him and Fonte gets a free kick. Third goal though late in the match and made no difference.

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I watched the sky + recording earlier, some of our movement and passing was on par with us early in the season. It was one of those games which came at the wrong time of the season.

 

Play like that as P'Boro, as people keep saying, we will win easily.

 

What were the penalty shouts like? At the time I thought the ref could easily have given two for pushes I haven't seen the highlights?

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Two days on and I'm feeling almost as down about this result now as I was back on Friday night. I see many on here resorting to the old 'we were robbed' style responses, and while I certainly know where they are coming from, on reflection I can't really agree. For all our possession Reading were always dangerous and most of the chances we made weren't all that clear cut really, even Lambert's equalizer was itself a deflection was it not ? The fact that we defended very poorly should be painfully obvious to all.

 

Reading will (very likely) win this division now and if they do who on here can honestly say they would not deserve to ? The cruel truth behind this result is that some of us now may not live long enough to ever see our beloved old club finish a season as champions of anything significant, this is a particularly bitter pill to swallow after having come this far. I feel there has been something lacking in the fighting spirit of this club for many years now, the reason for which are hard to explain. I seen us relegated (twice) in the last 10 years and I don't think we put up a proper fight on either occasion. We've all but surrendered the title against Reading when I feel a proper gutsy team is going to score a last minute equalizer, instead of conceding yet again. Even that utter shambles of a club down the road showed us yet again yesterday what it means to fight to the bitter end.

 

The Brighton away game triumph almost exactly 12 months ago proved that we can do it on occasion, so we all collectively (players, management, and fans) need to rediscover the kind of fighting spirit we showed that day pretty damn quick, or this season is heading for the play-offs (and the crapper) in all probability.

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Two days on and I'm feeling almost as down about this result now as I was back on Friday night. I see many on here resorting to the old 'we were robbed' style responses, and while I certainly know where they are coming from, on reflection I can't really agree. For all our possession Reading were always dangerous and most of the chances we made weren't all that clear cut really, even Lambert's equalizer was itself a deflection was it not ? The fact that we defended very poorly should be painfully obvious to all.

 

Reading will (very likely) win this division now and if they do who on here can honestly say they would not deserve to ? The cruel truth behind this result is that some of us now may not live long enough to ever see our beloved old club finish a season as champions of anything significant, this is a particularly bitter pill to swallow after having come this far. I feel there has been something lacking in the fighting spirit of this club for many years now, the reason for which are hard to explain. I seen us relegated (twice) in the last 10 years and I don't think we put up a proper fight on either occasion. We've all but surrendered the title against Reading when I feel a proper gutsy team is going to score a last minute equalizer, instead of conceding yet again. Even that utter shambles of a club down the road showed us yet again yesterday what it means to fight to the bitter end.

 

The Brighton away game triumph almost exactly 12 months ago proved that we can do it on occasion, so we all collectively (players, management, and fans) need to rediscover the kind of fighting spirit we showed that day pretty damn quick, or this season is heading for the play-offs (and the crapper) in all probability.

 

I do see where you are coming from in some ways, I'm the same - 2 days on and I'm still struggling to shake this one off - because the title which has been in our hands for so long, has slipped away at the last minute. Obviously promotion is the be all and end all, whatever happens - but I wanted to see us win a league, I wanted to see us lift a proper trophy in front of full St Mary's. We may still do it, but it's a tall order now as we need Reading to slip up a couple of times.

 

But we'll dust ourselves down and we'll do the job at Peterborough, I'm sure of it. These guys have come so far in the last 12 months and after getting so close to achieving the unbelievable I can't see them letting it go lightly. Although we did defend poorly against Reading, they were clinical about it. I don't think we'll face another team as well organized and clinical as them again this year, which has to be a bonus. We played well and you could see the drive and determination in the players which needs to come to the fore in the next 3 games.

 

The Hull result a few weeks ago looks a long way away now, but that was an epic Tuesday. Who's the say this Tuesday can't be the same.....?

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