the game's being shown at 2:15 on FSC, or as soon as the live Arsenal/Man City game concludes. wish I hadn't checked the Reading score... oh well.
the problem everyone, possibly even some of the players, have is saying "it's only Wigan" and assuming it should be one of the easier games. They didn't struggle last season, and it's probably easier to play a big team that's feeling sorry for itself than a smaller eager one. fatigue probably was something of a factor, especially with the team down to 10 men on Wednesday for an hour. It is still early season, when players are not yet 100%, and Wigan had the luxury of no game in midweek. As always, teams will pick up points where perhaps they are unexpected, and drop them where you might expect more. And we almost never do well at Wigan. Trivia buffs* might be interested to know that Wigan v Reading is the first ever professional fixture that's taken place in all four professional divisions. * and nobody else
I just finished watching the tape delay. I don't think Bobby played poorly, he just didn't get many chances because they seemed intent on giving it to Seol even though he wasn't accomplishing anything. Bobby made some nice runs and some nice passes in the few opportunities he had. Maybe he just needs to be more aggressive.
^^^ Exactly. For whatever reason, Reading were forcing the ball right, even if the defense was set up. To the extent I'm a Reading fan, I'd be looking more for a pacey defender than a strong aerial presence. I know Ugo Ihemelu lacks experience and caps, but he's the type of player they should be looking for. Not Gooch. IMO.
two defenders have been signed in two days. Ulises de la Cruz signed yesterday, and Lokomotiv's Andre Bikey today. One problem Reading do have is a midfield that isn't the best at tackling. When two or three aren't doing all of their job, as appeared the case today, it puts a lot of pressure on the defense, and makes defending that much harder.
Not to mention that their captain right fullback is an utter black hole going forward, and nobody could win a header. I don't understand why sometimes goalkeepers keep pounding the ball up field even though his teammates never ever win a first or second ball. Frustrating game to watch today.
Poor performance by Convey -- basically invisible. The Reading central midfield was also quite poor, very little decent possession.
bikey is suppossed to be pacey, from early season reports (only saw highlights of him in sweden. His head butt was certainly swift enough).
Since we're in YA, I'd say this was particularly true for Convey. In the two games I saw, his defensive efforts have been poor. Postitionally, he's OK, but very little pressure from him on the ball or doing things to force errors. Offensively, he's been OK with a few good through balls from a central position, but he looks - dare I say it - a bit self-satisfied ... as if he had nothing more to prove. He needs a dose of intensity.
Convey needs to be more aggressive when he has the ball, that's probably why his teamates are ignoring him. Everytime Seol gets the ball he goes after the defenders, sure he loses the ball more often than not, but at least he's trying to do something and sometimes does (see game 1).
Bobby definatly attacked the defense in the first game, and didn't watch the 2nd match but was rated fairly well with a 7. Seol got the same rating as Convey did vs. Wigan.
I have an idea for Reading. Hit a corner in directly! After about the 5th failed short corner I started fast-forwarding looking for goals. Convey, when he had the ball, looked somewhat dangerous. He just didn't have the ball that much. Whoever said Reading was underwhelming hit the nail on the head. That was a relegation fodder level performance.