Slow starters this season

[andrew1957]

I know that there have been lots of comments about how many 0-0 half time scores that there have been this season, but the statistics are quite staggering.

So far we have played 28 games and the scores at half time have been as follows:

Winning 2 Drawing 21 Losing 5

Of the 21 games being drawn at half time - a staggering 18 have been 0-0

Reading have taken the lead 10 times - whereas the opposition have taken the lead 16 times and there have been 2 nil all games.

Of the 10 times RFC have taken the lead, the final result has been 9-1-0

Of the 16 times the opposition have taken the lead, the final score has been 4-3-9

In a normal successful season RFC typically take the lead about half the time as compared to the opposition. This year has been unusual in that we have started slowly so often and taken the lead in little more than a third of games to date.

However our recovery from being a goal down has been excellent - as has our ability to hold onto a lead when we get one.

If the guys could just step it up a little and take the lead more often in the last 18 games - then we really do have a great chance of getting into the top 2.

[cmonurz]

I 100% agree that we will probably win more games if we score the first goal more often.

[jazz]

I 100% agree that we will probably win more games if we score the first goal more often.

Even more games if we score the winning goal more often.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

I would ignore the first 6 games as we were adjusting to the summer and the Wembley defeat still.

[Snowball]

[Ian Royal]

I would ignore any game that involves us scoring first.

McDermott started the season with a big problem in defence. His replacement for Mills was shit and the rest of the four were diabolically slow. Since then he's clearly spent a lot of focus on building a solid defensive basis from which to then start looking at building an attack. It's been a real shame that we also lost our big goal scorer.

If we'd only had one of the defence being a combination of geriatrics and chucklebrother rejects or the attack being goal-shy we'd have been in with a great chance of challenging to win the title. One got fixed at the end of August and hopefully the other got fixed in January and we can have another funny play off crapshoot ending in inevitable failure.

[Snowball]

McDermott started the season with a big problem in defence. His replacement for Mills was shit and the rest of the four were diabolically slow. Since then he's clearly spent a lot of focus on building a solid defensive basis from which to then start looking at building an attack. It's been a real shame that we also lost our big goal scorer.

Well-spotted Ian.

Luckily, after about 6 games it started to be sorted, tho it wasn't yet perfect.

Now we are VERY solid, yeah? Since then just 19 goals conceded in 22 games...



I think the reason we weren't scoring was we were trying to play it tight for an hour or so
because McD didn't think we had enough to outscore the opposition

[Tails]

Can Snowball draw up a table to reflect this as it'll probably make for good Reading.

[The Real Sandhurst Royal]

Of the 21 games being drawn at half time - a staggering 18 have been 0-0

A 1-0, 2-0 or 2- 1 lead at half time would read better, rather than the 0-0 affairs I have watched in the first half this season!!!

[Snowball]

Can Snowball draw up a table to reflect this as it'll probably make for good Reading.

Is that good reeeeeding or good "REDDING"??

[Franchise FC]

I know that there have been lots of comments about how many 0-0 half time scores that there have been this season, but the statistics are quite staggering.

So far we have played 28 games and the scores at half time have been as follows:

Winning 2 Drawing 21 Losing 5

Of the 21 games being drawn at half time - a staggering 18 have been 0-0

Reading have taken the lead 10 times - whereas the opposition have taken the lead 16 times and there have been 2 nil all games.

Of the 10 times RFC have taken the lead, the final result has been 9-1-0

Of the 16 times the opposition have taken the lead, the final score has been 4-3-9

In a normal successful season RFC typically take the lead about half the time as compared to the opposition. This year has been unusual in that we have started slowly so often and taken the lead in little more than a third of games to date.

However our recovery from being a goal down has been excellent - as has our ability to hold onto a lead when we get one.

If the guys could just step it up a little and take the lead more often in the last 18 games - then we really do have a great chance of getting into the top 2.

Someone's going to prove this wrong, but a 'normal' 'successful' season seems very unlikely to have a 50:50 split on taking the lead.

[Tails]

Can Snowball draw up a table to reflect this as it'll probably make for good Reading.

Is that good reeeeeding or good "REDDING"??

It was a bad pun.

[floyd__streete]

If the guys could just step it up a little and take the lead more often in the last 18 games

Yeah, come on guys.

[Snowball]

If the guys could just step it up a little and take the lead more often in the last 18 games

Yeah, come on guys.

If we take the lead in all 18 games and don't concede we will probably make the POs...

[M-U-R-T-Y]

I would hypothesise that Reading would win more games if they scored more goals than the opposition.

[andrew1957]

We have now taken the lead 12 times this season and gone on to win 11 and draw 1.

We have scored 19 in these games and conceded just 1 (to Southampton).

These must be some of the best ever stats for holding on to a lead.

[Simon's Church]

Only us Southampton and Blackpool are yet to lose after scoring first.

[RobRoyal]

Only us Southampton and Blackpool are yet to lose after scoring first.

I'll see you that and raise you:

We've only conceded one goal all season in games where we've scored first.

[Ian Royal]

How do Saints and Blackpool compare in the number of games they've scored first in and how many they've drawn?

How do Saints and Blackpool compare in the number of points they've picked up when they've gone behind?

[SydenhamRoyal]

We all seem to know how poor we have been at scoring in the first half. Those games where we HAVE scored in the first half, we have mostly not scored at all in the second, but havent scored more in the second half than in the first. So if we score in the first half against Burnley, might as well go home as we know the score already