Reading v Middlesbrough-December 1 [R]

[prvev]

Reading Middlesbrough
1 Marcus Hahnemann (G) (G) Ross Turnbull 21
16 Ivar Ingimarsson (D) (D) Emanuel Pogatetz 6
2 Graeme Murty (D) (D) David Wheater 31
3 Nicky Shorey (D) (D) Jonathan Woodgate 8
5 Ibrahima Sonko (D) (D) Luke Young 2
17 Bobby Convey (M) (M) George Boateng 7
6 Brynjar Gunnarsson (M) (M) Stewart Downing 19
15 James Harper (M) (M) Adam Johnson 28
10 Stephen Hunt (M) (M) Fabio Rochemback 10
9 Kevin Doyle (S) (S) Jeremie Aliadiere 11
12 Dave Kitson (S) (S) Dong-Gook Lee 18
Substitutes
32 Adam Federici (G) (G) Jason Steele 32
22 Andre Bikey (D) (D) Robert Huth 14
19 Liam Rosenior (D) (M) Lee Cattermole 27
4 Kalifa Cisse (M) (S) Ben Hutchinson 36
24 Shane Long (S) (S) Tuncay Sanli 17

[prvev]

0-0 at HT..

[prvev]

Kits! Marcus boots a goal kick up field, Doyle flicks it on to Kitson, who chips the keeper. 1-0.

[Neeto]

Goal for Boro scored by Sanli in the 83 minute.

[prvev]

Tuncay Sanli heads a cross in to make it 1-1. Damn.

[prvev]

Great play by Shorey to get a cross off, and Kits just misses his header. Damn.

[Neeto]

Full time 1-1. We really should have won this game by playing a team like Boro at home.:(

[prvev]

Finishes 1-1..

[RichardL]

Another day, another dollop of disappointment in a season a gloomy as the first half’s weather. The first of three December games looking “winnable” out of four yielded a point that looked as lonely as a man shopping for Christmas dinners for one. And this really was a game Reading ought to have won, against a Middlesbrough team without a win for 10 games, who gave an admirable demonstration of how they’ve managed to avoid winning for a quarter of a year.

The first half did have a few signs of encouragement for any Reading fans willing to take the time to look, with a crispness and invention about some, albeit a long way from all, of the passing and approach play. While it might have required imagination akin to re-picturing the glory of the forum in Rome from its ruins to picture a return of the kind of play and understanding which has been the norm for the last two years, there were signs there. Alas, like a child learning the violin, while small bursts of quality were appreciated, the overwhelming missed notes made the performance excruciating at times.

Blaming fingers would again be pointing to the midfield. Harper again performed an unidentifiable function in the middle next to Gunnarsson, who continued inclusion makes you suspect he has incriminating negatives featuring Coppell that he’s threatening to make public. In both action and deed he couldn’t have been more sluggish if he’d left slime trails in his wake, and despite numerous mistakes, clearly looked more threatened by salt than by being dropped. Hunt ran all day, but in no, and with no, particular direction, while Convey looked every inch the player coming back from a long spell out injured. He did provide one of the few moments that threatened to wake the crowd in the first half with a tame shot. Kitson also had a shot that he’ll feel he ought to have done better with, while another from distance looked good, but was comfortably saved. That all three came from the edge of the area or further, an area off the edge of the radar for Reading players generally, says a lot about the quality of the service to the strikers.

The second half, with Hunt & Convey switching wing to left and right respectively, got worse in terms of passing, as improbably as that seemed, but was somehow more entertaining, even if the word is used in its broadest sense. It also provided what ought to have been the platform for one of those comfortable victories over disappointing opposition that were regular occurrences at the Madejski last term. With all else failing, a long ball picked out Kitson, probably the only player this season to have looked anything like his old self, and he lobbed Reading into a 1-0 lead.

There then followed a lull in an already listless game, in which the most interesting moment was an altercation between Hahnemann and Sonko, when a mix-up between the two nearly let in Boro to score off a header Sonko shouldn’t have left. Marcus, as lip-readers would surely testify, told Sonko that leaving the header was a rather silly thing to do, with Sonko replying that it would have been awfully nice to have been told there was a player behind him. Sonko, like Convey, has looked a little out of sorts since returning, while Marcus had another rather mixed game, kicking as if it was his day’s ambition to give the ball-boys some more practice, failing to collect an easy cross, hesitating like a learner driver at a large junction at times, and again looking like he’s communicating with his team-mates in his own private version of Klingon. He did, on the other hand, do the bread and butter job of making a few saves, even if his garnish left something to be desired.

With Reading only looking likely to concede after giving away possession at yet another set piece, the game really hinged on a bizarre substitution by Coppell. With the tiring Gunnarsson being bypassed so effectively that the highways agency were looking to officially reclassify the route round him as the B382, his departure for the final phase of the game looked the obvious call. Not so. Convey went off and Gunnarsson was moved to the wing, where a unique experiment of having a winger who lacks pace, crossing ability or dribbling skills could be tried out. Dropping into defensive midfield duties, rather than the defensive midfield on the bench, central defender Bikey was chosen instead, giving us a formation which was more of an usual shape than the scary 55 year old six-foot-two transsexual who regularly startles passers-by in the Cemetery Junction area of town. The formation did indeed prove to be as equally unconvincing, and Boro’s players were suddenly able to treat passing and possession like a newly found toy, with little hindrance to their progress. Only Boro’s total ineptness for the previous 77 minutes made you think they wouldn’t score, but in reality, with everyone questioning the tactical change to the degree of wondering where Coppell had dropped acid, constructed his tactics sheet from moonbeams and roaring lilies, and declared his foot was a talking being named Florence, it was no surprise when they did. That he declared post match that he felt the best way to win was to be positive in the final phase did little to dispel the idea.

A move down the right again found Shorey out of position, with the position in question being “at West Ham”, and about the only decent cross of the match found the head of Tuncay, and to the Turk’s delight, he levelled the scores.

In the end Reading were lucky not to lose all three points, but could have actually won it, but Kitson’s header went just wide. As he’s been about the only bright spot in the dismal 20W glow of this season so far, I won’t complain, but there are an awful lot of other individuals out there for whom blame deserves to be left at their doors like a turd wrapped in a burning newspaper. The game v Liverpool can be written off barring a miracle on current form and performance levels, so the next two big games, home to Sunderland, and prior to that away to Birmingham, up in Slade country, will go a long way to seeing if it will be a merry Christmas for everybody.

[The Biscuitman]

Worst. Game. Ever.

I felt like asking for my money back

[Katsbox]

By far the best thing about that game is Richard's summary - thanks, as always. I particularly enjoyed you raking Gunnarsson over the coals - he and Harps make the worst team in the middle - where 1+1 = 0. And I'm glad (? well, that's not really the word for it) to finally see some criticism of Shorey. The rock is crumbling a bit this season - maybe the crowd could start chants of "Shorey for Reading" to get him going again.

I just could not believe Reading were hunkering down at the end like we were defending Man U. Ugh.

Reading really need to it turn around for the rest of Dec... you know, after Liverpool. Maybe expecting nothing from Liverpool, they can relax a bit and get a result that can give them the spark they need (I'm realist with the heart of an optimist).

[Pablo Chicago]

With Reading only looking likely to concede after giving away possession at yet another set piece, the game really hinged on a bizarre substitution by Coppell. With the tiring Gunnarsson being bypassed so effectively that the highways agency were looking to officially reclassify the route round him as the B382, his departure for the final phase of the game looked the obvious call. Not so. Convey went off and Gunnarsson was moved to the wing, where a unique experiment of having a winger who lacks pace, crossing ability or dribbling skills could be tried out. Dropping into defensive midfield duties, rather than the defensive midfield on the bench, central defender Bikey was chosen instead, giving us a formation which was more of an usual shape than the scary 55 year old six-foot-two transsexual who regularly startles passers-by in the Cemetery Junction area of town.
Spot on. That one left me scratching my head too.

[T_Rock]

Finally had a chance to watch the game. Ugh.

[Convey Crew]

Not worried of relegation but watching this season is not fun at all. Even when the transfer season starts I doubt they will make any significant moves. I just hope that their answer for a new striker is not Eddie Johnson. He is a good player but not a player that will make an impact anytime soon. He will take at least a few years to get used to the EPL. Does anybody think The Royals will shock the world and beat Liverpool?