Hi there, Thought you might be interested in what a couple of Reading fans thought of Convey's 10 minute cameo last night. Signs that he's finally settling down and finding his feet. Got these comments of HNA? royals.org "Convey 7/10. Came on for a ten minute cameo and damn near created a goal for Forster with a clever dink. I want to see more of him (on the pitch)" "Convey 6/10 not on for long but did well-great running, had a shot which was close to going in and generally got involved in the game. Has a lot of energy, pace and would like to see more of him" Also if you're interested in MH - "Hahnemann 7/10. Made some great saves, particularly one from a headed corner which he got down low too. At fault for the soft Ipswich goal though, racing out to the far line then being rounded by Kuqi who slotted it in from an acute angle." "Marcus 8/10 Excellent saves, good positioning and commanded his area well. Kicking a lot better" Cheers.
Thanks for that. I was actually at the match and thought Convey did ok but he still only had a couple touches. Hopefully he'll get some more playing time and quit missing open net attempts!!
Unfortunately, DC fans will tell you that this problem is chronic. US fans are hoping that your rainy weather cure him of this malady.
that could well be the key to the whole problem. I don't think it's rained yet in any of the games he's played, but the moment it does I'll be down to the concourse to stick a bet on him scoring. Perhaps he'll slip and slice one in from 30 yards. He was actually quite close against Watford.
How realistic are the prospects of Reading getting promoted? I know it's early, but what's the sense from those who are actually over there and seeing games?
Well they are currently leading "The Championship" so I'd say the chances are pretty good. They're typically a team that does well in their division, but doesn't get promoted. Fingers should be crossed this year...
Ditto. It would be nice to see him work his way into the starting lineup with continued hard work and simultaneously see Reading get promoted. What a great story THAT would be!
Just a question for the reading fans on the other side of the pond. Are his vision problems well known by Reading fans? Known at all? The boy's like half blind (an exageration).
Yep, that's correct. When I was over there in August to see two Reading games I saw the betting stands and was shocked. I went over to one of the security guards and we chatted for a few minutes, he said they have them in every stadium for people to bet on scores, first-goal-scorers, etc. and he couldn't imagine not having them in a stadium.
Reading returned to Division 1 for the 02/03 season (they were relegated after the 97/98 season). Expected to struggle, they finished in the play-off places then just missed the play-offs last season (03/04). I think Reading would be labelled as over-achievers during these past two seasons and the beginning of this one. However, the draw away to Ipswich Town is a good sign that Reading will be near the top this season as well. Will they get one of the automatic promotion spots? I doubt it, but hope they do.
Wow. Just wow. Is there a specific company that does it league wide? Or do the individual clubs manage the book?
Yea I was shocked too. That's why I talked to this security guard about it for 10 minutes, of course he was equally shocked when he learned that you couldn't place bets legally in our sports stadiums. I cannot remember for sure but I remember both booths were set up in a similar fashion at Reading and at West Ham...they had the same look too, so I gotta believe they are all run by the same betting company. I am sure someone actually in/from England can answer this one with certainty.
I don't think English fans eat many Coneys. I doubt there are any Sonic's over there, much less any foot long coneys. However, there is an American player named Convey that plays at Reading. Some say he's a bit too much of a hot dog with the ball, though...... Wait for it----wait for it.......groan!
Ladbrokes was the broker when I was over there a few years ago.. Interesting story comes from this topic.. I went over to England in 99' to visit some friends and to watch some live footy.. The first four Prem matches I went to all ended in 0-0 draws.. Just my luck.. I decided to cash in on said luck and on a Wednesday night in Birmingham, I went over to the Ladbrokes kiosk and put 50 quid on a 0-0 draw that night between Aston Villa and West Ham.. It paid off at 11-1.. Fifth consecutive 0-0 draw, but nearly $800 richer for the effort.. I'll take that trade anyday.. Anywho, the jink was finally broken with a 3-3 draw between Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday.. A draw still, but at least some goals were scored..
you have to remember that betting is completely legal anywhere here. I think you need a licence, but that's it. you can bet on the score, first goalscorer, last goalscorer, overall winner, winner at half-time/full time (i.e. but that Reading will be losing at half time, but winning at full time) etc etc etc. At a proper better shop you can bet on anything. You can stroll in and have a bet on how many times Britney Spears will get married before the end of next year, anything. It does seem kind of surprising to us that you don't appear to allow gambling. I rarely ever bet. I once had a bet though on trevor morley to be first goalscorer for Reading at Norwich. It looked so good, the cross was past the keeper and there was trevor at the back post just hanging in the air, waiting to nod it in to give Reading the 1-0 lead, and me £50, when adie sodding williams steamed in and headed the goal instead. what a git. btw, never ever bet on 0-0, always bet on "no goalscorer", because although the odds are the same, if the only goal (or goals) are own goals, they don't count as goalscorers in first goalscorer bets. So even if the game ends 5-5, if all ten goals were own goals, you'd still collect your winnings on non goalscorer.
generally most pundits are pretty clueless when it comes to anything outside the premiership, so they'll just play it safe, saying the teams that went down will probably do well, and the teams that came up will struggle, and the bigger clubs will always be tipped to do better than smaller clubs. I think being used to the premiership, where club size does to a large degree determine how good a team is, they find it impossible to grasp that Wigan, who only get about 7,000 a week, could actually have a better team than Sunderland, who get 27,000 a week. This division is very open, but the teams up at the top after about 10 games are generally still in that area come the end of the season (ditto those at the bottom) but there is always potential for a team to "do a Palace" and go from the relegation zone at Christmas to getting promoted come the end of the season.
There are many different bookmakers with in-stadium facilities. I very much doubt FA regulations would allow a club to run a book themselves. I've always found the US attitude towards gambling to be remarkably puritanical (and hypocritical given that most States seem to have no problem running their own lotteries).