MATCHWATCH : Bristol City (h)

[NathStPaul]

Our youngsters are doing a pretty decent job tbh. Our senior pros are the ones who are letting us down at the moment. There are reasons to be encouraged but we sure as hell need to bring a few in to create competition for places and more options.

[Brogue]

Shame I can’t get to page two on the team board from my phone… sort it out Graham, anyone else have this issue that the page numbers don’t work when using their phone? Anyway if some can get to page two perhaps they could bump the pauno out thread thanks

[RoyalBlue]

You can't carry on scoring 2 each game and not win.

Defence needs a sort out.

Precisely. Defence is very poor. Can’t go on like this. Not sure what needs adjusting but something does. Perhaps a specialist left back might make the difference?

Dellor was claiming that Bristow's natural position is left back!

[scumbag]

That was quite simply atrocious. How on earth is a professional football team conceding goals like the first and second? It's beggars belief that they can't even master defending a basic set piece. We suddenly came to life towards the end but as usual its too little too late.

Also is Bristol City in South America? What a bunch of play-acting tits.

[RoyalBlue]

Shame I can’t get to page two on the team board from my phone… sort it out Graham, anyone else have this issue that the page numbers don’t work when using their phone? Anyway if some can get to page two perhaps they could bump the pauno out thread thanks

Yep, I no longer try to read the forum on a phone for that reason.

[scumbag]

Shame I can’t get to page two on the team board from my phone… sort it out Graham, anyone else have this issue that the page numbers don’t work when using their phone? Anyway if some can get to page two perhaps they could bump the pauno out thread thanks

It's happens to me and is very annoying but the best thing to do is click 'first unread post' at the bottom of the page and it'll take you to the next page. HTH

[Hound]

Don’t know where to start with that

Yiadom (defensively at least), Moore, Morrison, Rino and McIntyre were so so bad. So bad. Bristol were utter toss and yet looked like scoring every single time they crossed the half way line. What the hell was going on?

Bristow did less than nothing and clearly isn’t ready

TDB was good, Swift had a relatively poor game - Azeez good for an hour. Clarke can be proud of his little cameo.

But bloody hell you can’t defend like that. It was like we were shell shocked by how pathetic our defending was until about 70m

There was some good stuff at times and realistically Ejaria, Joao and TDB coming into that side if we can get them fit is exciting

But utterly inexcusable for the experienced back line

[Elm Park Kid]

Oh well, at least the game was exciting to watch.

[JR]

Our youngsters are doing a pretty decent job tbh. Our senior pros are the ones who are letting us down at the moment. There are reasons to be encouraged but we sure as hell need to bring a few in to create competition for places and more options.

Agreed. The most goals scored by a team failing to get promotion to the championship is 85 - we are currently on target for 92.

Let’s celebrate our attacking prowess and be reassured our defence will shore up over time.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Don’t know where to start with that

Yiadom (defensively at least), Moore, Morrison, Rino and McIntyre were so so bad. So bad. Bristol were utter toss and yet looked like scoring every single time they crossed the half way line. What the hell was going on?

Bristow did less than nothing and clearly isn’t ready

TDB was good, Swift had a relatively poor game - Azeez good for an hour. Clarke can be proud of his little cameo.

But bloody hell you can’t defend like that. It was like we were shell shocked by how pathetic our defending was until about 70m

There was some good stuff at times and realistically Ejaria, Joao and TDB coming into that side if we can get them fit is exciting

But utterly inexcusable for the experienced back line

can we convince John O’Shea to come on back?

nah, crack-on

[Notts Royal]

You can't carry on scoring 2 each game and not win.

Defence needs a sort out.

Precisely. Defence is very poor. Can’t go on like this. Not sure what needs adjusting but something does. Perhaps a specialist left back might make the difference?

In the space of 12 months we’ve gone from 3 Senior left backs down to 0. And we received sod all money for them.

Absolutely disgraceful & the club only have themselves to blame for it.

It also concerned me watching Yiadom tonight. He was average. The whole defence were a shambles.

The midfield looked leggy & ineffective

[Hound]

Our youngsters are doing a pretty decent job tbh. Our senior pros are the ones who are letting us down at the moment. There are reasons to be encouraged but we sure as hell need to bring a few in to create competition for places and more options.

Agreed. The most goals scored by a team failing to get promotion to the championship is 85 - we are currently on target for 92.

Let’s celebrate our attacking prowess and be reassured our defence will shore up over time.

Bit bizarre that our biggest attacking threat is a kid who appeared without any fanfare and has had about 3 games. Looks a great prospect though

[NathStPaul]

Our youngsters are doing a pretty decent job tbh. Our senior pros are the ones who are letting us down at the moment. There are reasons to be encouraged but we sure as hell need to bring a few in to create competition for places and more options.

Agreed. The most goals scored by a team failing to get promotion to the championship is 85 - we are currently on target for 92.

Let’s celebrate our attacking prowess and be reassured our defence will shore up over time.

Bit bizarre that our biggest attacking threat is a kid who appeared without any fanfare and has had about 3 games. Looks a great prospect though

*And will be off to a much better team come next July

[Orion1871]

"How shit must you be? We're winning away". No matter how shit you are away lads it can't be as bad as we are at home.

Yet another home game where the opposition press us with pace and we ponderously pass the ball between the two centre backs and the keeper getting ourselves in trouble.

Paunovic and his coaches need to rethink how we defend set pieces and very quickly.

[windermereROYAL]

Don’t know where to start with that

Yiadom (defensively at least), Moore, Morrison, Rino and McIntyre were so so bad. So bad. Bristol were utter toss and yet looked like scoring every single time they crossed the half way line. What the hell was going on?

Bristow did less than nothing and clearly isn’t ready

TDB was good, Swift had a relatively poor game - Azeez good for an hour. Clarke can be proud of his little cameo.

But bloody hell you can’t defend like that. It was like we were shell shocked by how pathetic our defending was until about 70m

There was some good stuff at times and realistically Ejaria, Joao and TDB coming into that side if we can get them fit is exciting

But utterly inexcusable for the experienced back line

Absoluely this, i couln`t believe what I was seeing, we can just be thankul we weren`t playing a half decent side rather than one that haven`t won in 13 games, an it showed, they were awful, but still good enough to beat us.
The first two goal were simple in the extreme, long throw/kick into the box, flick on and a free unmarked effort inside the six yard box, whoever the defensive coach is now should be out the door, appalling!!!

[Elm Park Kid]

We'll just have to take the Keegan's Newcastle approach to games.

I would love it if we avoided relegation. Love it.

[3points]

Yiadom has been poor since he came back from injury. Last season we were much tighter defensively with Tom Holmes in there. And going forward Yiadom brings very little. He cannot cross and just cuts inside and runs into defenders. Zero end product. He’s my new escape goat.

What happened to Rino tonight. That must rate as one of his worst performances in a Reading shirt. I’m usually a massive fan but he was so far off the pace tonight. Surprised Tetek didn’t get a few minutes at the end to replace him

[Crowbar6753]

That was a hard watch, yes, we are short of depth and missing a few of our best players, but the slow, ponderous playing out from the back and continual passing backwards and sideway's is so so boring!! No wonder we can only get 12,000 fans at home.
I'm sorry but this has to be on the manager and coaching staff!! everything on social media has been the loss of Joao and how poorly Puscas is as a lone striker...so what formation do we play, yep one up top again!!!!

For me the manager has so far learnt diddly swat from last season with no Plan B!!!! We got found out last year and everyone knows how to play against us, and rightly so, we never change, teams put the high press on us and we're fooked.

That new lad from Watford came on at played at the tempo we should be playing. Its not all doom and gloom, but the management have some serious calls to make.

a. Find a new formation that suits the players on hand.
b. Scrap the zonal marking in defence.
c. Play at a higher tempo.
d. Don't be afraid to drop senior pro's who are out of form (Moore, Morrision)
e. Go long when high pressed.
f. Go to Plan B if Plan A isn't working (There's no shame in this)
g. Get Azeez on a new contract quickly before it's to late......
h. Get a new left back, quickly.

[royalsroyalsroyals92]

Yiadom has been poor since he came back from injury. Last season we were much tighter defensively with Tom Holmes in there. And going forward Yiadom brings very little. He cannot cross and just cuts inside and runs into defenders. Zero end product. He’s my new escape goat.

What happened to Rino tonight. That must rate as one of his worst performances in a Reading shirt. I’m usually a massive fan but he was so far off the pace tonight. Surprised Tetek didn’t get a few minutes at the end to replace him

Yiadom for me, seems to be one of those players who looks good because of the energy he puts in, but I think defensively he isn't great, and offensively, he lacks end product. Does anyone have stats of win ratio from when he plays vs when doesn't? The Millwall game where we took of Tom Holmes for Yiadom and then let our lead slip kind of sits in my head far too regularly.

Saying that - he isn't a scapegoat. Defensively we were awful today and most problems came from the left hand side - and watching how we attempted to defend the set pieces made me feel a little bit sick.

And finally, Puscas. I've always wanted him to come good, and have optimistically believed he would. I think there's a player in there somewhere, but certainly not one who fits this system and probably not one good enough for this league. Just looks a tiny shadow of the player that ripped Cardiff apart - and also, from his body language, I think he knows his time here may be up

[Hound]

We do go long when pressed and it inevitably ends with is finding the opposition CB which is what they want us to do

Didn’t think Bristol pressed at all to be honest - few token closings down. Hardly Brentford level

It’s the constant miscontrols, slightly off passes and not looking for the forward pass that’s the issue. The amount of time we rushed a clearance because the previous easy unchallenged pass wasn’t right was unacceptable

We can play through the lines and can do it well. But it was horrendous tonight