Reading are at the Mad Stad today in an important relegation fixture. This is a must win to give the royals some breathing room from the drop zone.
Reading USA Ivar Murty Shorey Cisse Harper Hunt Matejovsky Doyle Kitson Lita Bolton Jaaskelainen Cahill O'Brien Steinsson Campo Gardner Guthrie Nolan Taylor Davies Helguson
FT Reading 0-2 Bolton Very dissappointing result. We had to get something done at home this was horrible. We are now 1 place from the drop zone with a tough match against Everton next week.
When I compare this result to the (lack of) activity in the transfer window, I see a club that has resigned itself to relegation.
Our strikers sure picked the perfect game to stop scoring. I think there is enough blame to spread around the team except for Matejovsky and Shorey. The team forgot to bring their shooting boots. 4th from bottom, its time to start changing things up a little. 12 games left and we have no more excuses.
Oh dear oh dear. As the dark storm clouds that had seemingly enveloped Berkshire for most of January gave way to crisp sunshine, optimism was in the air that the green shoots of recovery would start to sprout this afternoon. The sunny weather sadly also brought with it an icy chill as the now very real spectre of relegation arrived to rattle its chains as the night drew in. Reading started promisingly enough. Traditionally, against Bolton, you have to earn your right to play, and the Reading players were in their counterparts' faces like flies on a humid afternoon. For the first 20 minutes, Bolton barely got out of their own half, doing little to contain Reading's high-energy approach. As time ticked by though, it became clear that despite controlling the play, Reading didn't look like scoring. In fact they didn't even look like having a shot. How much of it was a Bolton tactical plan, and how much of it was Reading's failing it's hard to tell, but the premier's favourite tactical whipping boy lived up to their stereotypical billing, smothering the life out of the game like a murderer with his favourite pillow, while prestenting an impenetrable phalanx at the back. As Reading's desperation grew, so did the height and length of the balls hit to the front men. This is not Reading's style - or at least it's not the style when playing well. We are worse at head tennis than Anna Kournikova is at the real variety, and sadly rather less easier on the eye. With Bolton's team full of men who look like they wrestle bears on their days off, it was an inexplicable way to play and it resulted in a first half ending without Reading registering a single shot. Not just a shot of target or a decent chance half chance, but shot of any description. Even when presented with numerous set piece chances, the ball without fail not only failed to clear the first man, but typically it didn't even get above the height of Campo's kneecaps. Reading's one bit of inspiration was from new signing Marek Matejovsky, who sprayed a decent number of invariably wasted through balls about. His two very impressive 10 minute cameos previously had lead to fans pinning hopes that he'd be the midfield messiah we'd been missing all season, but midway through the half he showed he's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy, as a needless and wayward challenge in the box lead to a clear penalty. Matt Taylor, by many accounts a Reading target in the transfer window, stepped up and hit the kick true enough, but Hahnemann guessed the right way to make a fantastic save. USA! USA! rang round the ground, at least until he kicked his nth long kick either of the day that either found a Bolton head or missed the big green thing altogether. Typically a penalty save can lift a team. Today it didn't, and Bolton had a brief spell of wanting to play instead. A quick free kick lead to a cross from the right, and with more players seemingly hopelessly out of position than in the correct one, Nolan had the sort of freedom you don't get outside schoolboy football to run unchallenged right through the middle of the area to tuck the cross in for the opening goal. The second half was virtually a non event. Reading's best effort, when they eventually had one, was a header cleared off the line which look suspiciously like it came off a Bolton head at a corner. Ingimarsson scuffed as scrapy effort wide. Lita and Hunt combined to give hunt a chance that was unlikely to succeed from such a narrow angle. At some time during that, Bolton had a half-hearted forray into the Reading half chipped a ball to the intially offside-looking Helguson, who poked it past Hahnemann with the coolness of a man expecting the flag himself. But the goal stood and the game was as good as over. On this showing, with Reading looking a broken team, it perhaps wasn't just the game over, but the season as well. They say it's always darkest before dawn, but at the moment that sunrise is looking a long way off.
Somehow, someway SC has got to stop the bleeding. Our forwards were on holiday, the midfield is where footballs go to die lately, and the back line has holes wide enough for my grandmother to run through.
Goodness, I don't understand this team. After such a valiant effort at Stamford Bridge, they lay an egg against Bolton. We may be able to stay up, but I certainly hope they do more than they did in the winter in the summer window.
Really gutted to be honest, never really seemed to get going. how did Nolan manage to just have that free shot??? USA playing well, good performances recently. as long as we do better than birmingham and fulham we're be ok but today was really a major set back. Anyone looked on ebay?? someone is selling an elm park seat, did they have seats at elm park, boyfriend tells me it was all standing?? still love you murty
Elm Park had seats down one side, but wasn't the height of luxury http://www.oldgrounds.co.uk/elm_park_reading.htm aah, how I'd love it if they could somehow transplant the southbank into the madejski
What a major disappointment that was. After two solid games against top flight teams we all were expecting a good result but unfortunately we were given a dismal half-hearted performance. Is it just me or does Reading play to level of their competition? Against MAN U and Chelsea we played inspired football and looked to make our mark but against teams in our own level of the standings we look flat and listless. I suppose I don't know this team as well as Coppell but something needs to be done to wake up our forwards. Kitson may have been a little slow coming off his illness but Lita should be eager to make an impression as he has be limited for much of the season. Regardless of the cause of this funk Coppell needs to light a fire under the squad and force a sense of urgency as the relegation zone is way too close for comfort. I really believe that this team is a Premier League team however they must show that in the coming months. I don't know what the fix is but something needs to change.