MATCHWATCH : Bristol Rovers (h)

[Sutekh]

When : Tuesday November 7, 8pm
Where : Madejski Stadium, Reading, RG2 0FL
Capacity : 24,161

The managerless Pirates are next to arrive looking for their three points. Former Accrington, Fleetwood and Shrewsbury striker Andy Mangan is in caretakership while Rovers are rumoured to be after Karl Robinson as their next manager.

The blue half of Bristol are 15th and have 19 points which is much better than Reading even without a points deduction. Form is 1 win from the last 4 in the league and no points at all from their last 3 on the road. However they will be on the back of a 7 goal smashing of Whitby Town (7 different scorers too) so no doubt confidence will be high.

As per the Whitby result, goals for the Gas have arrived from all over the pitch with 7 players having netted twice and one (striker Aaron Collins) on three so this is going to be a stern test for Selles' team, however Bolton have been turned over so why not the Rovers?

Ejaria remains in his usual crocked state while Mbengue serves game 2 of a 3 match suspension. CBC is also injured and Savage is one booking away from a 1 match suspension. Not sure who else might be unavailable after some had to run a bit on Saturday but wouldn't be a surprise to see WiFi returned to the bench while Smith gets to try and make up for his horrendous miss v Pompey.

Referee

Adam Herczeg

Previously

No previous games

Historically

A long record of games against the blue half gf Bristol but none in the league since January 2001. The two clubs have shared 40 previous seasons together and the home team usually proves dominant. In Reading there have been 25 victories for the royals to 10 for the Rovers with 5 drawn. Big wins though usually go the way of Bristol with a 5-1 and 6-0 to their credit previously so it's not unreasonable to expect a catastrophe on occasion.

How to follow the game

1. Get a ticket and travel to the game
2. Listen to Radio 5 Live and/or a myriad of other radio stations for score flashes
3. Ring/text a mate for updates
4. Use a RoyalsTV subscription
5. BBC Radio Berkshire (FM : 104.4, 104.1 or 95.4 depending where you are in the area)

[Snowflake Royal]

Don't win this and we're done. It'd be six League defeats in a row. Eight without a win. One point out of a possible 24. Three home defeats in a row, four with no win.

If Selles is ever getting sacked it's after this or Shrewsbury if we don’t get results.

Big pressure on after a change of shape and better performance v Pompey, followed by an uncomfortable win in the cup with the same old shit v L2 MK.

...................Button
Yiadom, Dean, Abbey, NGW
....................Hutch
Azeez, Wing.......Elliott, Knibbs
....................Smith

Subs: Pereira, Bindon, Carson, Savage, Vickers, Ehibhatiomhan, Mukairu

[RG30]

[Sutekh]

And at half time the score was 0-0

"highlights" from the game

[Hound]

Don't win this and we're done. It'd be six League defeats in a row. Eight without a win. One point out of a possible 24. Three home defeats in a row, four with no win.

If Selles is ever getting sacked it's after this or Shrewsbury if we don’t get results.

Big pressure on after a change of shape and better performance v Pompey, followed by an uncomfortable win in the cup with the same old shit v L2 MK.

...................Button
Yiadom, Dean, Abbey, NGW
....................Hutch
Azeez, Wing.......Elliott, Knibbs
....................Smith

Subs: Pereira, Bindon, Carson, Savage, Vickers, Ehibhatiomhan, Mukairu

Looks about right to me. What I find hardest with this team/squad though is that selection is dropping Ballard and Craig who have been ok, and someone like Rushesha who has been bossing the u21s.

Also time to bring back Holmes into the mix?

Having lots of players who appear to be pretty good but aren’t really influencing games is a major headache

[Hound]

Right it’s a must win for Selles as well

Lose this and surely no one will have any faith left in him at all

[South Coast Royal]

And at half time the score was 0-0

"highlights" from the game

Jason Roberts and Jamie Cureton-they took a liking to playing at our stadium didn't they?
Oh for a couple like them now.

[Snowflake Royal]

Don't win this and we're done. It'd be six League defeats in a row. Eight without a win. One point out of a possible 24. Three home defeats in a row, four with no win.

If Selles is ever getting sacked it's after this or Shrewsbury if we don’t get results.

Big pressure on after a change of shape and better performance v Pompey, followed by an uncomfortable win in the cup with the same old shit v L2 MK.

...................Button
Yiadom, Dean, Abbey, NGW
....................Hutch
Azeez, Wing.......Elliott, Knibbs
....................Smith

Subs: Pereira, Bindon, Carson, Savage, Vickers, Ehibhatiomhan, Mukairu

Looks about right to me. What I find hardest with this team/squad though is that selection is dropping Ballard and Craig who have been ok, and someone like Rushesha who has been bossing the u21s.

Also time to bring back Holmes into the mix?

Having lots of players who appear to be pretty good but aren’t really influencing games is a major headache

I'd rather Holmes than Dean tbh. But I don't want to ruin him any further.

Yeah. For me it's about stopping the rot, and then starting to bring back some of the less consistent or flair players.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Don't win this and we're done. It'd be six League defeats in a row. Eight without a win. One point out of a possible 24. Three home defeats in a row, four with no win.

If Selles is ever getting sacked it's after this or Shrewsbury if we don’t get results.

Big pressure on after a change of shape and better performance v Pompey, followed by an uncomfortable win in the cup with the same old shit v L2 MK.

...................Button
Yiadom, Dean, Abbey, NGW
....................Hutch
Azeez, Wing.......Elliott, Knibbs
....................Smith

Subs: Pereira, Bindon, Carson, Savage, Vickers, Ehibhatiomhan, Mukairu

Looks about right to me. What I find hardest with this team/squad though is that selection is dropping Ballard and Craig who have been ok, and someone like Rushesha who has been bossing the u21s.

Also time to bring back Holmes into the mix?

Having lots of players who appear to be pretty good but aren’t really influencing games is a major headache

I'd rather Holmes than Dean tbh. But I don't want to ruin him any further.

Yeah. For me it's about stopping the rot, and then starting to bring back some of the less consistent or flair players.

Just out of interest, who are our flair players? Wing and Elliot? Maybe Kelvin E and I'm hoping Smith will be once he gets a consistent run of games. Abbey is a consistent player as well. Most of those are in your XI bar Kelvin E who is in the squad, who is there to come back? That's not a dig or anything, just a genuine question of who others consider as flair players.

Although yes it's got to be a must win for Selles now, our away record is what it is which obviously needs improving but our home form was decent for a time but we've suffered back-to-back defeats, admittedly against top of the league and a side who recently changed manager which can create a bounce for the team, so maybe not as reflective as our position in the table (albeit still very disappointing). But this has got to be a win otherwise it's curtains.

[blythspartan]

The dread of going to games has returned for me, but hopefully we can grab a win tomorrow night. Honestly, I don’t know what to expect these days with Selles in charge. The days of when the starting 11 could almost pick themselves has long gone.

At least they no longer have a front line of Curo, Roberts and Zamora, so we should avoid a 6-0 thrashing. To think, even if we lose the next two games Selles will still keep his job.

[Hound]

Looks about right to me. What I find hardest with this team/squad though is that selection is dropping Ballard and Craig who have been ok, and someone like Rushesha who has been bossing the u21s.

Also time to bring back Holmes into the mix?

Having lots of players who appear to be pretty good but aren’t really influencing games is a major headache

I'd rather Holmes than Dean tbh. But I don't want to ruin him any further.

Yeah. For me it's about stopping the rot, and then starting to bring back some of the less consistent or flair players.

Just out of interest, who are our flair players? Wing and Elliot? Maybe Kelvin E and I'm hoping Smith will be once he gets a consistent run of games. Abbey is a consistent player as well. Most of those are in your XI bar Kelvin E who is in the squad, who is there to come back? That's not a dig or anything, just a genuine question of who others consider as flair players.

Although yes it's got to be a must win for Selles now, our away record is what it is which obviously needs improving but our home form was decent for a time but we've suffered back-to-back defeats, admittedly against top of the league and a side who recently changed manager which can create a bounce for the team, so maybe not as reflective as our position in the table (albeit still very disappointing). But this has got to be a win otherwise it's curtains.

Vickers and Eliot I would say are our main flair players

Knibbs, Azeez, Smith, Wing, Savage, Camara all a bit more basic hardworking players. Kelv, not really sure, flits between both

As usual suspect it’ll come down to putting away the chances. Azeez has to score at some point surely. Expecting Smith to bag one soon

I think we’ll probably scrape the win here, based on little other than at some time we’ll score a few more of the chances we get than concede the silly goals we concede

[karbota]

And at half time the score was 0-0

"highlights" from the game

Jason Roberts and Jamie Cureton-they took a liking to playing at our stadium didn't they?
Oh for a couple like them now.

And don't forget the Meeks (tore us apart) one of Reading FC's most underrated players, and that magic midget Jamie Cureton could still do a job for us at this level.

[Snowflake Royal]

Looks about right to me. What I find hardest with this team/squad though is that selection is dropping Ballard and Craig who have been ok, and someone like Rushesha who has been bossing the u21s.

Also time to bring back Holmes into the mix?

Having lots of players who appear to be pretty good but aren’t really influencing games is a major headache

I'd rather Holmes than Dean tbh. But I don't want to ruin him any further.

Yeah. For me it's about stopping the rot, and then starting to bring back some of the less consistent or flair players.

Just out of interest, who are our flair players? Wing and Elliot? Maybe Kelvin E and I'm hoping Smith will be once he gets a consistent run of games. Abbey is a consistent player as well. Most of those are in your XI bar Kelvin E who is in the squad, who is there to come back? That's not a dig or anything, just a genuine question of who others consider as flair players.

Although yes it's got to be a must win for Selles now, our away record is what it is which obviously needs improving but our home form was decent for a time but we've suffered back-to-back defeats, admittedly against top of the league and a side who recently changed manager which can create a bounce for the team, so maybe not as reflective as our position in the table (albeit still very disappointing). But this has got to be a win otherwise it's curtains.

Elliott, Vickers, Camara, Mukairu, Azeez, Knibbs, Kelv, Ballard, Smith to some extent.

Consistency, Bindon, Holmes, Carson, Savage etc, even Abbey to an extent. Yeah he consistently gets praise, but he's also had a fair few wobbles leading to chances or goals.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Right it’s a must win for Selles as well

Lose this and surely no one will have any faith left in him at all

That was true for the last 2 league games he lost.

[Snowflake Royal]

Right it’s a must win for Selles as well

Lose this and surely no one will have any faith left in him at all

That was true for the last 2 league games he lost.

Don't think anyone expected a result against Pompey.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Right it’s a must win for Selles as well

Lose this and surely no one will have any faith left in him at all

That was true for the last 2 league games he lost.

Don't think anyone expected a result against Pompey.

Probably, but any game should be competitive in this league. It's not like they're Man City. He used up his leeway against Fleetwood.

[Clyde1998]

The dread of going to games has returned for me, but hopefully we can grab a win tomorrow night. Honestly, I don’t know what to expect these days with Selles in charge. The days of when the starting 11 could almost pick themselves has long gone.

At least they no longer have a front line of Curo, Roberts and Zamora, so we should avoid a 6-0 thrashing. To think, even if we lose the next two games Selles will still keep his job.

Looking back at that Bristol Rovers attack and it's terrifying. They also had Barry Hayles and a young Nathan Ellington on the books that season!

[Clyde1998]

Don't win this and we're done. It'd be six League defeats in a row. Eight without a win. One point out of a possible 24. Three home defeats in a row, four with no win.

If Selles is ever getting sacked it's after this or Shrewsbury if we don’t get results.

Big pressure on after a change of shape and better performance v Pompey, followed by an uncomfortable win in the cup with the same old shit v L2 MK.

...................Button
Yiadom, Dean, Abbey, NGW
....................Hutch
Azeez, Wing.......Elliott, Knibbs
....................Smith

Subs: Pereira, Bindon, Carson, Savage, Vickers, Ehibhatiomhan, Mukairu

Looks about right to me. What I find hardest with this team/squad though is that selection is dropping Ballard and Craig who have been ok, and someone like Rushesha who has been bossing the u21s.

Also time to bring back Holmes into the mix?

Having lots of players who appear to be pretty good but aren’t really influencing games is a major headache

I'd rather Holmes than Dean tbh. But I don't want to ruin him any further.

Yeah. For me it's about stopping the rot, and then starting to bring back some of the less consistent or flair players.

Holmes is starting for the U21s tonight, so I doubt he'll be in the squad tomorrow night.

[Hendo]

That was true for the last 2 league games he lost.

Don't think anyone expected a result against Pompey.

Probably, but any game should be competitive in this league. It's not like they're Man City. He used up his leeway against Fleetwood.

I mean, it was quite a competitive game v Pompy.

[skipper]

That was true for the last 2 league games he lost.

Don't think anyone expected a result against Pompey.

Probably, but any game should be competitive in this league. It's not like they're Man City. He used up his leeway against Fleetwood.

Agreed! Fleetwood was the last straw.