Back from the game - Watford

[Man Friday]

Anybody?...

[peterroyal76]

Yes I'm back.

[AirRaidSiren]

Anybody?...

P!ssed off gave a good analysis of the game in the Watford thread

[SydenhamRoyal]

Well why not

For the first time this season that I have seen we played with real heart and passion, tho I am told that away to Forest saw similar commitment.
It wasnt always pretty and it was in some ways much more a McDermott Reading style today, out to the wings more, much quicker, and less fannying around at the back - when we did go back to the keeper, it was cos we needed to, and it didnt happen often.
Pog was immense, and won nearly everything in the air, and only stopped jumping when Blackman came on, so we clearly have a policy of only one player allowed to try and win headers. He also looked a bit quicker to me than say 6 or 12 months ago. Obita at left back was an inspired decision from Adkins, and I wouldnt be surprised if he stays there.
Akpan was not as bad as I feared he would be, McAnuff I thought had a decent game, Alf didnt seem to do much, beyond chasing their defenders down, tho I did think this helped make them hurry. The only player I was disappointed with was McCleary, and I think Drenthe should have replaced him, to give us more of an outlet and give them something to worry about and less free to attack.
My scores
McCarthy - 8 a couple of fantastic saves, distribution ok
Obita - 8 strong in defence, and an attacking threat going forward
Pearce - 7 when his job is simply to stop he is fine
Gorkks - 7 some dodgy moments, but +1 for the goal
Gunter - 7 good attacking threat
Akpan - 6 still like Bambi on ice, but werent as bad as v Charlton when he came on as a sub on 60 and should have been subbed by 65
Williams - 6 some good tackles, and when he gets going with the ball he is great, but disappeared for much of the 2nd half and we looked like being over run
McCleary - 5 disappointing, offered little going forward, and he can be so exciting when we wants to be. Where's the McCleary that terrorised Ashley Cole at Chelsea last season?
McAnuff - 7 - good captains performance, passionate.
Alf - 5 mostly anonymous
Pog - 9 immense, and if it takes 3 or 4 of them to try and stop him, that's space elsewhere

[winchester_royal]

Committed performance that was much improved from the last few weeks with a very good opening period bringing about what ultimately proved to be the winning goal.

Had to dig in after that, but I thought we were pretty accomplished in doing so, and could have added a couple more.

The whole back 5 were fantastic, Obita a stand out, and tbh I thought Akpan played pretty well. Midfield went missing occassionally but that was to be expected given it was 3 v 2 in there. Alf battled like a lion today and offerred so much more outside the box, much improved. Pog was his usual self and gave the Watford defenders a battering. Yeah, plenty of good performances.

Gr8 away support as well, considering how the last couple of months have gone.

[AthleticoSpizz]

^ thanx thats a great read


for a pleasent change

[Basingstoke Royal]

First away game for a while. Three points, clean sheet and good atmosphere in the away end.

At last some passion and 100% effort. Pressed high up the pitch, closed down quickly and played with pace and urgency. We look so much better when we do these things.

Much better than previous weeks.

Obita was great at left back and needs to stay there.

Pog dominated again but needs players to support him when he gets hold of it.

Akpan made a massive difference today. Went quietly about his business but is the type of midfielder we have needed to win the midfield battle in recent weeks. Williams and Guthrie is too lightweight. Akpan broke up the play well and made a big contribution today.

I thought the away support was great today. Standing for the full 90mins and I didn't hear anything from the Watford fans. Fourth time I have been to vicarage road and once again the home support was non existent. Interestingly Watford fans are commenting about how quiet we were. Sour grapes I think.

[P!ssed Off]

I thought the away support was great today. Standing for the full 90mins and I didn't hear anything from the Watford fans. Fourth time I have been to vicarage road and once again the home support was non existent. Interestingly Watford fans are commenting about how quiet we were. Sour grapes I think. :lol:

Nah, my uncle (Reading fan) was sat with the Watford fans on the stand along the side of the pitch and said Reading fans sounded quiet.
Didn't help having a big empty space next to the away half of the stand, the sound wasn't contained inside the stadium.
T'was also my fourth time at Vicarage Road as well.

[Huckleberry Hound]

Thought Williams & Akpan had their best games for us so far. Guthrie not really missed.

We're still not on top form, but nice to see a much more positive attitude, both on & off the pitch. Getting an early lead helped!

Obita filled in really well at left back (wing back?) Saw no need to replace him with Cummings towards the end - guess we were going a little more defensive.

All in all a good day out. Can't remember the last time I said that.

[paultheroyal]

Thought Williams & Akpan had their best games for us so far. Guthrie not really missed.

We're still not on top form, but nice to see a much more positive attitude, both on & off the pitch. Getting an early lead helped!

Obita filled in really well at left back (wing back?) Saw no need to replace him with Cummings towards the end - guess we were going a little more defensive.

All in all a good day out. Can't remember the last time I said that.

Obita = cramp. Cramp not crap.

[BenReadingFC]

Fulltime at Vicarage Road

[kwik-silva]

I think that Watford's inability to take their chances handed us that match, but we looked better than we have in a while. I think playing without Guthrie definitely gives us more pace going forward. Just need to get more shots on target. It looked like a step in the right direction though, but the Bolton game is really one we can't lose.

[SHORT AND CURLY]

The tempo was much improved, the midfield worked and Pog was MOM by a mile. He never stopped putting their defenders under pressure. If he had someone similar to play off similar to his style, we have a forward line that would terrify defenders and take some stopping. Unfortunately Alf huffed and puffed without much joy however he should have had a penalty.
Mcarthy made some good saves and the central defence and midfield worked better as a unit without Guthrie.

I don't know if Adkins has at last given the players a much needed kick up the backside but something was different to the normal pathetic displays.

The ref was appalling and their player who was eventually got sent off, should have gone a lot earlier.
Alf should have had a penalty when dragged down by one of their defenders, what made it more frustrating is a few minutes later we are penalised in midfield for a nothing foul

The pressures on Nige. I want to see the same commitment against Bolton.
You get another week of grace from me.

Oh and Watford fans make our fans sound like that rabble at the Den.

[Cripple Creek]

Thanks for all the views for those of us who can't make games. They are cherished. Delighted to see that Obita did so well at left back and great to hear that Pog puts so much into every performance (well, that's what it sounds like from here). Very odd really that dropping or losing to injury probably the most gifted player (I'm talking of course of Guthrie) is what it takes to improve but that often seems to be the case in teams full of decent. admirable but unexceptional players.

[sandman]

Well what a surprise. Guthrie's out of the team for the first time since our last win and lo and behold we won again. Much better performing more towards the Reading way than whatever it is we've been playing recently.

McCarthy - Fairly quiet game made one good save from Deeney. 7

Gunter - Didn't really stand out. Quietly effective. 7
Gorkss - Solid defensively and took his goal well. 8
Pearce - Another solid central defence performance. 7
Obita - Been hoping to see him play at LB since the Wigan game and he did very well defensively and overlapped well in attack 9 MotM

MCleary - On a poor run of form atm. 6
Akpan - Wanted a chance, got it and performed well. 7
Williams - Best game in a Reading shirt. Good on and off the ball. 7
McAnuff - Great to see him back as captain. The selection of him as captain has always been controversial in certain quarters but you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone and after a period of Guthrie being captain you appreciate Jobi even more. Experience helped Obita and was unlucky not to score in the first half after a great run. 8

Pog - Good centre forward performance. Held the ball up well and gave the Watford defenders problems all game. 8
ALF - Quiet. 6

[lardydah]

Did anybody else notice that their manage barely spent any time within his technical area? A few times he even stepped onto the pitch during his screaming sessions!

Shouldn't this be enforced by one of the officials? Though I guess to be fair, there was no stand to send him to!

[Pandoras Box]

Big LOL from the TWatford forum.

But fair play to Reading who managed to time waste about half an hour out of the game. It was almost an art form

Reading are an awful side. I was sitting half way up the Rookery and got hit by more balls than Will Young's chin. HOOF.

Jesus Christ you know you're in trouble when you can't beat Reading. They were completely there for the taking today, barely threatened and had little backing from their **** poor following.

Atmosphere (lack of). Could hear a pin drop at some points.

Late in the game down by the Reading fans who mostly sat all game(apart from at the end and when they scored)

[tlcs]

Did anyone notice yesterday how many times McCleary lost his footing , once acceptable but 5 times !!!

[Ian Royal]

The pressures on Nige. I want to see the same commitment against Bolton.
You get another week of grace from me.

How gracious that you're happy for a manager that as us one point off the Play Offs to get at least one more week at the club.


Some of our fans are oxf*rd ridiculous.

[RoyalBlue]

Big LOL from the TWatford forum.

But fair play to Reading who managed to time waste about half an hour out of the game. It was almost an art form

Reading are an awful side. I was sitting half way up the Rookery and got hit by more balls than Will Young's chin. HOOF.

Jesus Christ you know you're in trouble when you can't beat Reading. They were completely there for the taking today, barely threatened and had little backing from their **** poor following.

Atmosphere (lack of). Could hear a pin drop at some points.

Late in the game down by the Reading fans who mostly sat all game(apart from at the end and when they scored)

This surely has to have been copied from a different game in a different season?!!

Getting hit by balls in the Rookery? Those were shots from Watford's own woeful players (Watford were in yellow!). Us hoofing? Thought we got a nice mix today, good passing football at times, more direct when needed. A Coppell type blend.
Little backing? Need their hearing testing,
Sat most of the game? Where the f8ck were they looking!
Timewasting? No our throw ins are always that slow!