Anti-Reading sentiment

[Royalclapper]

I hate to say this, but I think Southampton should have, and deserved to, won the league last season. Played the better, passing, possession football which is more suited to the Premiership.

They have a better chance of staying up...........................

Let's see what the Russians do if this winless streek continues.

Blackpool played the better, passing, possession football. They absolutely tore saints a new one and didn't even make it into the Premier League.

[The Prisoner]

What a toss thread. There isn't an anti-Reading sentiment. We are just sitting targets for criticism as we have been largely dump and look out of our depth.

After watching the toothless series of schoolboy errors that we threw up against "crisis hit" Spurs what are the pundits supposed to say? Plucky effort? Well organised? They'll be safe?

The facts are that we are bottom, do not look like scoring many and the defence looks (at times) like they have never met each other before.

I actually thought we'd do better and that the signings we made looked decent, and whilst there is still time we are bottom and put on a horror show against Spurs.

The level of analysis is a different world in the Prem. The eyes of the world are watching, and we are easy prey for the hordes of pundits. Until we actually bother turning up don't expect anything else.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

Given how we've played, and the results we've got, why would any outsider predict anything but struggle for Reading?


Yes, premier league reporters are notorious for puddle-depth analysis, seemingly based on assuming a team will perform exactly the same in the rest of the season as the match they've just watched, but we really only have a 20 minute spell against Chelsea giving any hint that it'll be anything other than a long hard season.

[reading_fan]

My take on the four games so far:

Stoke - started the season with confidence, big crowd, won the league, potentially winnable fixture. Stuffing knocked out of us when they scored, took a while to recover, and just about got the result we deserved.

Chelsea - nothing to lose game, have a go at them, see how we do, riding a wave of confidence with the equaliser and going ahead.

Spurs - first half, looked like a team that hadn't played for three weeks and were pretty much starting again. Second half better, but not able to break down a better side

WBA - we didn't play badly, but we didn't look quite good enough. With confidence knocked with lots of wayward touches v Spurs, passing seemed slow and almost too considered, trying to get the passes perfect rather than the instinctive nature of last year.

The biggest concern from the four games is that we aren't creating enough chances. Coming away from the Hawthorns, there wasn't a chance where you could say "we should have scored that", and I don't recall a shot on target barring McCleary's bicycle kick. If we were creating chances and missing them, that would be one thing, but the fact we've come out of the last two games with just one shot on target in each is the concern. Newcastle is going to be a tough match, Swansea may offer more opportunities, and Liverpool is a difficult one to call, but I think we need to get four points out them to give us the confidence to kick on.

[Gordons Cumming]

I hate to say this, but I think Southampton should have, and deserved to, won the league last season. Played the better, passing, possession football which is more suited to the Premiership.

They have a better chance of staying up...........................

Let's see what the Russians do if this winless streek continues.

Blackpool played the better, passing, possession football. They absolutely tore saints a new one and didn't even make it into the Premier League.

Between READING and SOUTHAMPTON, Saints played the better football.

OK?

[Fox Talbot]

My take on the four games so far:

Stoke - started the season with confidence, big crowd, won the league, potentially winnable fixture. Stuffing knocked out of us when they scored, took a while to recover, and just about got the result we deserved.

Chelsea - nothing to lose game, have a go at them, see how we do, riding a wave of confidence with the equaliser and going ahead.

Spurs - first half, looked like a team that hadn't played for three weeks and were pretty much starting again. Second half better, but not able to break down a better side

WBA - we didn't play badly, but we didn't look quite good enough. With confidence knocked with lots of wayward touches v Spurs, passing seemed slow and almost too considered, trying to get the passes perfect rather than the instinctive nature of last year.

The biggest concern from the four games is that we aren't creating enough chances. Coming away from the Hawthorns, there wasn't a chance where you could say "we should have scored that", and I don't recall a shot on target barring McCleary's bicycle kick. If we were creating chances and missing them, that would be one thing, but the fact we've come out of the last two games with just one shot on target in each is the concern. Newcastle is going to be a tough match, Swansea may offer more opportunities, and Liverpool is a difficult one to call, but I think we need to get four points out them to give us the confidence to kick on.

You missed the P'boro match where we played our 1st XI and were embarrased at times against a team that has gone on to lose 7 in a row. O/wise wouldn't disagree.

[Maguire]

I hate to say this, but I think Southampton should have, and deserved to, won the league last season. Played the better, passing, possession football which is more suited to the Premiership.

shock:

lol

Massive lol

46 game season and in the run-in RFC went to St Marys and stuck three past them. Table doesn't lie.

[Royalclapper]

I hate to say this, but I think Southampton should have, and deserved to, won the league last season. Played the better, passing, possession football which is more suited to the Premiership.

They have a better chance of staying up...........................

Let's see what the Russians do if this winless streek continues.

Blackpool played the better, passing, possession football. They absolutely tore saints a new one and didn't even make it into the Premier League.

Between READING and SOUTHAMPTON, Saints played the better football.

OK?

Agree with the they have a better chance of staying up. They look to have done very well in getting Ramirez- he looked like a Liverpool certainty at one time. Defo carry a much greater threat than us.

[reading_fan]

If I remember correctly from what was said on Five Live on Saturday, Southampton have spent £32m this summer, making them the sixth highest spenders in Europe, including £12m on one player. This is somewhat different to the way we have done our business.

[Royalclapper]

If I remember correctly from what was said on Five Live on Saturday, Southampton have spent £32m this summer, making them the sixth highest spenders in Europe, including £12m on one player. This is somewhat different to the way we have done our business.

Yes, the spending is a massive difference. I think they look like they are here to stay. Too early to predict really, they could have a disaster and we might pick up, just doesn't appear that way at the min.