BFTG - Yeovil Town

[LUX]

Alf was always gonna score

Big Foot in the flowery shirt?

[winchester_royal]

I wish I lived on Winchester Royal's planet happy but I can't feel happy from that performance. Yeovil haven't scored in four games, which is why we escaped, but it could have been another five or six. It's deluded to praise Yeovil and Peterborough (beaten deservedly two nil at home by Crawley today), both good teams but if you are getting battered by them, you are not aiming to be a premierleague club.

I'd be delighted with a hard fought win, but this was a fluke that we didn't get thrashed, for the second time. That's worrying from a defensive and morale point of view.

Yet the six nil obviously had a negative effect. Anyone saying we don't care about the cup is thinking from a fan's perspective. The players will have felt that result across the whole squad and then add in the sudden transfer demand from our longest serving outfield player and Adkins declaring he is bringing in three replacements, then I'm not surprised it was a subdued performance.

We should have been thrashed. But we werent, so morale takes a boost and we will improve. Am I happy, no, as we look a long way from top two. Satisfied? Absolutely!

Fluke? Should have been thrashed?

What a load of tosh. Did they have one real clear cut chance?

We've had plenty of 'good' performances since Adkins took over where we've created decent amounts but failed to keep the back door shut. Yesterday it swung too far the other way, the players weren't at their best, Yeovil were up for it on a tight pitch, but we came through it. It's completely disrespectful to Yeovil to be expecting to go to their place and play them off the park. They're in this league on merit and will beat a couple of decent teams at Huish Park this season.

I'm not happy with the performance, it was a shit game of football and if we play like that for the rest of the season we'll get nowhere, but I am happy with the position we now find ourselves in.

[Royal91]

I wish I lived on Winchester Royal's planet happy but I can't feel happy from that performance. Yeovil haven't scored in four games, which is why we escaped, but it could have been another five or six. It's deluded to praise Yeovil and Peterborough (beaten deservedly two nil at home by Crawley today), both good teams but if you are getting battered by them, you are not aiming to be a premierleague club.

I'd be delighted with a hard fought win, but this was a fluke that we didn't get thrashed, for the second time. That's worrying from a defensive and morale point of view.

Yet the six nil obviously had a negative effect. Anyone saying we don't care about the cup is thinking from a fan's perspective. The players will have felt that result across the whole squad and then add in the sudden transfer demand from our longest serving outfield player and Adkins declaring he is bringing in three replacements, then I'm not surprised it was a subdued performance.

We should have been thrashed. But we werent, so morale takes a boost and we will improve. Am I happy, no, as we look a long way from top two. Satisfied? Absolutely!

Fluke? Should have been thrashed?

What a load of tosh. Did they have one real clear cut chance?

We've had plenty of 'good' performances since Adkins took over where we've created decent amounts but failed to keep the back door shut. Yesterday it swung too far the other way, the players weren't at their best, Yeovil were up for it on a tight pitch, but we came through it. It's completely disrespectful to Yeovil to be expecting to go to their place and play them off the park. They're in this league on merit and will beat a couple of decent teams at Huish Park this season.

I'm not happy with the performance, it was a shit game of football and if we play like that for the rest of the season we'll get nowhere, but I am happy with the position we now find ourselves in.

Yeovil don't play attractive football, but they are effective and in the champ on merit as Winc said. No team in this league will be easy and they dragged us down to their level. We were probably complacent but Reading always play better against the better teams. Yes we won today but should have drawn, but people keep forgetting we should of smashed Bolton and Watford and won both matches. Swings and roundabouts.

[URZZZZ]

Mccarthy - 7
Gunter - 5
Cummings - 6
Pearce - 7
Morro - 7
Jem - 8
Guthrie - 8
Mccleary - 6
Drenthe - 6
Blackman - 3
Alf - 6

Williams - 8
HRK - 6
Akpan - 6

[loyalroyaldaz]

Royston enjoyed the win im guessing
http://instagram.com/p/dszfBJmh-D/

[yuomi]

For all the shite the Pog gets for being abject, lazy and unthreatening- Blackman is worse on pretty much every level. He doesn't even break the game up and harrass defenders in the way Pog did in the PL last season (pretty much his main contribution as I recall, other than looking sulky). In the time he has been here Blackman has contributed nothing and, on the evidence of yesterday's performance, not improved or developed as a player. It is astonishing to me that this kneejerk signing is still commanding a salary. To think there are still people who defend him and mutter phrases like 'huge potential' and 'time to develop'? Deluded claptrap. He makes Bambi look surefooted and has the eye for goal of Tony Hibbert. Ship him out, humanely euthenise him? Do what you have to, just stop subjecting us to watching his vague attempts at coordination and contribution.

That aside, we went west and committed a robbery yesterday. There is no way we can go anywhere else in this division, play that badly, and get on the coach after without our arses in a doggybag for the journey home. Gunter is a downright unsettling 'player' to watch and, but for the presence of McCarthy (please got let the window shut before a PL team comes forward with realistic money for him), we would have been out of it by half time. Worst game for Royston by a mile, you can't help but think he's starting to wonder if this experiment is working, body language starting to be reiminiscent of the Pog towards the end.

All in all, I hope that was a one off. We can't play that badly all year or we'll go down.

[Huntley & Palmer]

Royston enjoyed the win im guessing
http://instagram.com/p/dszfBJmh-D/

Fair play to him, getting a flight out to Madrid to go out on the shant with his agent. Beats Yates'

[Big Foot]

Alf was always gonna score

Big Foot in the flowery shirt?

Spotted confirmed - 'keeper will save this bottom left' is what I believe I was saying at the time.

[Royal91]

For all the shite the Pog gets for being abject, lazy and unthreatening- Blackman is worse on pretty much every level. He doesn't even break the game up and harrass defenders in the way Pog did in the PL last season (pretty much his main contribution as I recall, other than looking sulky). In the time he has been here Blackman has contributed nothing and, on the evidence of yesterday's performance, not improved or developed as a player. It is astonishing to me that this kneejerk signing is still commanding a salary. To think there are still people who defend him and mutter phrases like 'huge potential' and 'time to develop'? Deluded claptrap. He makes Bambi look surefooted and has the eye for goal of Tony Hibbert. Ship him out, humanely euthenise him? Do what you have to, just stop subjecting us to watching his vague attempts at coordination and contribution.

That aside, we went west and committed a robbery yesterday. There is no way we can go anywhere else in this division, play that badly, and get on the coach after without our arses in a doggybag for the journey home. Gunter is a downright unsettling 'player' to watch and, but for the presence of McCarthy (please got let the window shut before a PL team comes forward with realistic money for him), we would have been out of it by half time. Worst game for Royston by a mile, you can't help but think he's starting to wonder if this experiment is working, body language starting to be reiminiscent of the Pog towards the end.

All in all, I hope that was a one off. We can't play that badly all year or we'll go down.

You're a oxf*rd oxf*rd.

Couldn't disagree with what you said more.

[bobby1413]

Well I had a pretty shit day overall and I hate Yeovil as a place to watch football.

Train journey there was fun and all good. Get off at Yeovil Junction and literally in the middle of nowhere. Bus to town wasn't too bad, felt sorry for everyone walking as it seemed a fair distance. Wetherspoons was good, huge, good service, etc...

Bus to the ground was a bloody nightmare. I think it took 45 minutes, thankfully we left town just before 2 and at that point, thought I would arrive at the ground really early.

No alcohol in the ground - I did hear that would be the case, so wasn't massively shocked.

After the game was the worst. Asked a steward where the bus back is from, followed his (correct) instructions and waited at the bus stop for an hour. There were about 30 others there all increasingly frustrated, except for the Yeovil lot who didn't seem bothered.

I followed a group of RFC fans around the corner in the end to a different bus stop and after another 20 minutes got the bus. Got into town about 20 minutes after that - so about 2 hours after the game finished.

Walked around the tiny town for about 10 minutes trying to find a shop to buy beers and just some water from, no where I could see. Again, bus to the deserted train station and train to Basingstoke where I managed to buy a drink, felt like I was dying of dehydration.

Journey from Basingstoke to Reading was a good laugh, good atmosphere.

...........................
THE MATCH
...........................

I can't believe how positive some people are being, saying "3 points is 3 points", etc...

Yea it is. But we played utterly shit. It was a terrible game and pretty boring at times. The penalty was flukey and I wouldn't mind winning like that if we dominated and just didn't get the goal despite loads of shots on target.

[Eaststandman]

Went to the game with an open mind, hoping to see signs of positive changes in our style and substance, seriously disappointed though, as it was a very poor game!

Neither side were impressive and the majority of comments on here are broadly valid (IMHO) with regard to individual performances. McCleary was certainly unfortunate on a personal performance basis to be substituted, but a change was necessary and Williams had a positive effect on the game.

Thought Yeovil were average in many, many ways, but we didn't look much better in fairness! The biggest difference for me was the lack of cohesive, team spirited attitude from us, Yeovil had more, collectively, and we were fortunate to be individually better than them in crucial areas and times, (McCarthy)

3 points and a clean sheet away from home is a bonus when you don't play well and the result flattered us to be fair.

IMHO what do we need, apart from a striker and improved players in key areas, is a catalyst to inspire the team into a common interest and that doesn't seem to be present in any form, on or off the pitch just now.

Billy Davies does it for Forest (god knows how, but he does) and Parky used to do it for us, I don't get that feeling from the present situation.

[percy_freeman]

Football was crap, Yeovil is crap, Jenny, our taxi driver was brilliant and the YTFC stewards are the dogs bollocks. good day but suffering today.......

[Reading4eva]

Sorry I didn't reply last night, had a bit of sunstroke believe it or not! Didn't realise it was open air at Yeovil. I now look like a Tomato!

Yeovil aren't being given enough credit for how they closed us down. They will be fine come May. However our own performance needs to improve as playing like that we will be beaten by the Forests and QPRs of this league.

[RoyallyFcuked]

I just watched the highlights on FLS, our best chance was a wayward shot by Drenthe LOL. I was gutted when I forgot to buy tickets for this on the Thursday and when I remembered on the Friday, we had sold out. Now I'm glad it happened, I can imagine the kind of pathetic performance we gave, the type I have grown used to recent times. We still don't create enough chances and we wouldn't have won if it weren't for a dubious penalty and then we everyone on here would be in uproar after a 0-0 draw with Yeovil. My mate who was at the game said we were dire. After being optimistic at the start of the season I am now a bit concerned.

Also, we weren't we shooting towards our fans in the second half? A bit surprised and disappointed by that as the fans and players didn't even get to enjoy the one good moment from the game together, our goal.

[Huckleberry Hound]

Distinctly average performance, apart from McCarthy & a five-minute spell just after Williams came on.

None of the back four give me any confidence. Cummings has the skinniest legs of any footballer I've ever seen.

Looked a soft penalty at the time, even softer seeing it on the FLS. Still, it makes up for the one Watford got a few weeks back.

Walking behind some Yeovil fans after the game, they were moaning about how "big clubs like Reading had to cheat in order to beat little old Yeovil" and "Le Fondre should fcuk off back to Rotherham where he belonged".

Linesman in front of our stand in the second half was shocking; seemed utterly unable to keep up with play & missed a couple of blatant offsides as a result.

[Eaststandman]

Highlight of the game, the Yeovil fan in front of me, (I was in the seats next to the Reading fans) showing off his guns to some piss takers after the goal and offering a fight to any/all takers, muppet!

Oh and giving three musketeers from Reading a lift back into town, hope you had a great night out in the (fleshpots of) Yeovil......

[ItsAdzy]

Poor performance, good result.

[Lower West]

New team. New tactics. Team a work in progress.

Atkins is working with the limitations of the players we have. Seems as though as he is settling on his choosen 1st teamers.

No cover for back 4 on too many occasions. Guthrie and Karacan are still some games short of building a partnership. Likewise elsewhere on the pitch.

Passing is too slow at times. Sure that this will improve as games go by.

Far better control in closing out the game. Which they failed to do against Yeovil.

So personally I'll take the 3 points and the few positives. Than worry about anything else.

[madreadingfan]

Reading fans going home in style...



Reading fans from Yeovil end



Smoke bomb



Another view of smoke bomb and fans from Yeovil end

[Royalclapper]

Thought Yeovil did a good job in doubling up on Drenthe, he was obviously less effective because of this and not sure why Adkins would go mental on him, it's up to the manager to find an alternative threat. Williams certainly lifted the side when he came on due to the added physical presence and his more direct running into the danger zones.

All said, we absolutely stole the points off them and I thought their endeavour merited a point even though they are pretty toothless up front. McCarthy had his usual decent game, while the Yeovil keeper had very little to do all afternoon - Guthrie MOTM.