[prvev]

Big match. A win here before the very difficult stretch of games would be great. I don't know if we'll see the guys who didn't play today (Bikey, Little, de la Cruz, Kitson) or if they'll get back into things by playing in the Carling Cup match against Darlington.

The game will be at 10 ET, I don't think there will be any coverage on TV.

[olegunnar]

On a personal note its too bad its not on television as this is a rare weekend I actually have access to FSC.

Absolutley hellish run of matches to begin after this one all the way through the middle of November. It would not surprise me if we got anywhere from 0 - 3 points in those 7 matches (I am counting Tottenham as difficult which you may disagree with). So I am not necessarily counting on Europe at this point. We had been handed a very friendly set of games to begin the season.

Kitson will not be available for the weekend per the official site. Our recent record against Sheffield United is outstanding (three wins and a draw away from home in the last four seasons if I remember correctly)

[rms5555]

Originally Posted by olegunnar

Absolutley hellish run of matches to begin after this one all the way through the middle of November. It would not surprise me if we got anywhere from 0 - 3 points in those 7 matches (I am counting Tottenham as difficult which you may disagree with). So I am not necessarily counting on Europe at this point. We had been handed a very friendly set of games to begin the season.

We should be able to at least pull a draw from the Hammers. Chelsea will probably be our first home Premiership defeat unless we pull off a miracle. I think Arsenal is beatable right now, I don't have much of a read on Portsmouth, but they appear to have only triumphed over weaker opponents, I think we can get a good road point out of that match. Liverpool is another match that I think we can get a point out of. Tottenham at home should be another home victory. I'm thinking 9 points out of those matches is within reach.

[olegunnar]

Well I really hope you are right my friend. If we can do that I would say right away that we are more than safe this season.

[mschofield]

If we can pull a win out of this blades trip, I think it will go a long way towards making October survivable. Realistically, after 12 games (including that run), 12 points would be pretty decent. I've got to think we're going to get at least a couple points off the major clubs. We do have the opening rd of the CL in our favor, as thoughts will be elsewhere. But given how tough the coming stretch is, we need points from blades.

[prvev]

I think 12 is a good goal. Hopefully 9 (or at least 7) after this match, maybe a point or 3 against Portsmouth (although they seem to be playing great at the moment, no goals allowed), and I'd guess that among the rest of the games a few could be stolen. Then after that there are games against Charlton, Fulham, Bolton (revenge for '95? yes, there have been two games since, but this is in the premiership), Newcastle, and Watford. All of those games hold a good possibility of getting points, with the possible exception of Newcastle. .

Anyway, I'm getting too far ahead of myself. Beat Sheffield first. If you have Setanta, I guess they will be showing a replay of the match at 3 eastern. Better than nothing.

[Pablo Chicago]

3 pts off Sheffield, and maybe...maybe a point earned from the Hammers, Gunners, and Spurs. I'd be happy to pick up 6 points over this run.

An upset against any of the others would be icing on the cake.

[T_Rock]

This may sound weird, but after looking ahead at the fixtures after this game, Reading really has to focus on getting three points against Sheffield United. To stake a claim at having a future in the Premership, Reading has to have maximum points against teams that are going to struggle to stay up. Winning these games takes pressure off when playing the giants of the league. Obviously, a win against the big boys will be something we will not soon forget, but losing to the bottom feeders can lead to real disapointment later in the year.

[mschofield]

Originally Posted by trock008

This may sound weird, but after looking ahead at the fixtures after this game, Reading really has to focus on getting three points against Sheffield United. To stake a claim at having a future in the Premership, Reading has to have maximum points against teams that are going to struggle to stay up. Winning these games takes pressure off when playing the giants of the league. Obviously, a win against the big boys will be something we will not soon forget, but losing to the bottom feeders can lead to real disapointment later in the year.

I don't think we're certain to go down if we lose to blades, but you're correct, this is a game we need, at least, a point from. as much to steal points from a relegation candidate as stockpile them ourselves. three would be great.
However, staying up is going to mean beating a couple of the top feeders this year (not nec top four, but certainly top eight), and winning a couple games on the road. Reading should have had points from aston villa. this would be a great time to get the first road points.
For that, this is a game blades also know they have to win, and they haven't been totally outclassed yet. they're a very decent side, and it's going to be a battle.

[ChancellorElmer]

We definitely need to get points out of this game. I think they can win this, Sheffield is not a lot better than they were last year, and we beat them twice at home and drew twice on the road.