BFTG Rotherham

[Hound]

How much did that side we put out cost today? Pretty much fcuk all. 5 loans, Swift, Yiadom, Meite frees, Blackett and Moore 1m and Garath’s been here for 6 years

We’ve wasted money on players but they’ve all been shipped out

[Hound]

The usual knee jerk nonsense in here I see.

Nah. We let a Rotherham dominate us for 75% of the match. At home. Absolutely disgraceful performance with no character or spine.

They had 2 shots on target. 2 reasonable chances other than the goal at a push. How is that dominating?

[leon]

The usual knee jerk nonsense in here I see.

Nah. We let a Rotherham dominate us for 75% of the match. At home. Absolutely disgraceful performance with no character or spine.

They had 2 shots on target. 2 reasonable chances other than the goal at a push. How is that dominating?

First half they could have had 2 and all second half we barely touched the ball. When they scored was it a surprise? No.

Dominated.

[Hound]

Nah. We let a Rotherham dominate us for 75% of the match. At home. Absolutely disgraceful performance with no character or spine.

They had 2 shots on target. 2 reasonable chances other than the goal at a push. How is that dominating?

First half they could have had 2 and all second half we barely touched the ball. When they scored was it a surprise? No.

Dominated.

It was a surprise considering they hadn’t had a shot on goal all half

That’s the kind of ‘dominated’ we used to justifiably give Jaap Stam shit for. Dominated the game with having a) less possession b) 2 shots on goal c) no other chances either. Doesn’t add up.

[Snowflake Royal]

Dominating doesn't require shots necessarily. I don't care how many shots they had before they scored. You give them enough free kicks corners and long throws at our box and sooner or later something will fall for them regardless of whether everything else doesn't lead to a sbot or not.

You simply can't let a team like Rotherham pile on pressure. You've got to take the game to them and make it safe.

[Hound]

Get the point but they had only 6 corners all game. It’s hard to completely stop throw ins when they have someone who can launch it in from distance.

It was hardly a barrage of balls going into the box, and all but one were comfortably dealt with

Fully agree we should have taken the game to them at 1-0 as mentioned in my OP however

[Zip]

Turned a corner my arse. So angry with Gomes for setting us to be so negative in the second half. We were so deep right from the start of the second half virtually committing no one forward. Then we take off Meite for O’Shea with thirty minutes to go.
What annoys me is that Rotherham’s defence was the worst I have seen at this level in years, This result could really come back to haunt us.

Martinez. 6 Decent but still some brain dead short passes out of defence
Yiadom. 6. Ok but no more than that
Moore. 6. Was he at fault for the goal? Put in some good blocks
Miazga. 6. Seemed solid enough
Blackett. 6. Good first half but went AWOL at times in the second period
Baker. 6. Some decent passes at times
Ejaria. 7. Took his goal well and looked dangerous
GMac. 7. Got an assist and had some good runs
Swift. 5. The usual flaky performance, Disappointing
Meite. 5. Looked off the pace
Oliveira. 4. Lost out too many times and very slow to react in the penalty box

O’Shea. 4. Offered very little
Harriott. 6. Worked hard in his brief time on the pitch
Barrow. 6. Why did he not dribble the ball nearer towards goal at the end?

[Zip]

The usual knee jerk nonsense in here I see.

In what was is it knee jerk? We are at the business end of the season playing a crappy team in opposition who had a pair of fullbacks who were the worst I have seen at this level and we spent the entire second half sitting deep hoping to hold onto a one goal lead. It was pathetic.

[Lower West]

My concern before the game was our midfield. After the game, with hindsight was even worse than I feared. Not going to criticise the individual players. Fault lies entirely at the door of the owners/management. During the January transfer window. We should have raided league one for a physical industrious box to box midfielder. This current team (without a Bacuna type) has no engine, no drive.

Like numerous times before. At half time the opposition manager simply nullified our tactics. We have no plan B to play out from the back. Little point in kicking long if we've 3 players on the edge of our own box. Tactically inept from Gomes. Not going to avoid relegation using a Stamesque tactic of an occassional counter attack and nicking one nil wins either. We don't have the players with the technique \ ability to take advantage of the few chances we do create.

Gomes seems to have a way of wanting to play the game. Rather than using the players at his disposal effectively. In a formation that uses their strengths.

[Lower West]

we spent the entire second half sitting deep hoping to hold onto a one goal lead. It was pathetic.

Rotherham were the better team in that period of the game. We were dire.

[Dick Habbin's hairdo]

So weird...

I saw it quite differently.

The goal was a thing of beauty and one of the best I have ever seen from a Reading side.

Yes, that was simply one of the best goals I have ever seen RFC score in 50 years. Won the ball out wide on half way, play it all around to feet including back to Martinez under pressure, pass it through the middle, out wide, beat the man, cut back, goal. Great stuff.

As for the other 94 minutes - lots of huff and puff but no real confidence to believe we could win it. Miazga and Swift (again) the standout players.

WTAF was O'Shea doing coming on? Utterly bizarre.

Still, I'm a huge Gomes fan because he's turned the squad around in a month - cleaned out a lot of deadwood, been decisive, made in the main right decisions and we're in far better shape than we were a week or so before Chrimbo. At least he has a plan.

[Lower West]

Yes, that was simply one of the best goals I have ever seen RFC score in 50 years. Won the ball out wide on half way, play it all around to feet including back to Martinez under pressure, pass it through the middle, out wide, beat the man, cut back, goal. Great stuff.

Goal we conceded. Three on one break. Simple pass out wide was all that was required. Lose the ball. We are carved wide open.......... Goal.

Seems little different to last season when we gifted away goals needlessly.

[Schmeichel the dog]

Given what has gone before, it was always going to be a tight game and anyone thinking otherwise is deluded. Rotherham are not the best team but were always going to put up a fight. We were comfortable at 1-0 but after half time sat back far too much. Bringing on O’Shea with over 20mins left was stupidly negative and I think cost us ultimately. We have too attack these sorts of games. Recent results demonstrate that we are simply not a 1-0 sort of team. After they scored we had three decent chances to win the game which showed that Rotherham were there for the taking, had we adopted a more positive approach. My two Rotherham supporting mates admitted Reading were the better team but that the game demonstrated why both teams are where they are. Rotherham’s lack of ability and Reading’s lack of balls. Still think we’ll be OK though....just!

PS Honorable mention for no. 13 today. Best performance in a long while!

[CavershamRoyal]

We'll rue today if we end up going down.

Rotherham offered little attacking threat and were really there for the taking. What is really frustrating is that from ~80 minutes onwards, we played some really good stuff. It was high intensity, attacking, quick, occasionally pretty stylish. It seems fatigue isn't an issue, so why are we sitting back for the rest of the game against a bang average team at home?

Can't be bothered to do individual ratings, nobody really played exceptionally badly or exceptionally well - every player was probably between a 5 and a 7. Blackett, Miazga, Ejaria towards the top of the list, Meite towards the bottom.

I would have preferred to have seen Gunter/Richards in for Baker and Blackett in the CDM role, but honestly I don't think team selection was a major issue. It wasn't like Rotherham were destroying us down the middle all game. The big problem was just sitting back and not going for it when we had the opportunity!

The O'Shea sub was weird but I can at least see what Gomes was trying to do - not that it was necessarily the right thing to do. Personally would have gone Barrow for Meite a bit earlier. We're simply not well organised nor confident enough to plan to hold a one goal lead for 30 minutes.

At least the atmosphere was good. Our position is worrying, though - a win today and the table would have looked a lot rosier. I think it's 50/50 which division we're playing in this time next year.

[Lower West]

Personally would have gone Barrow for Meite a bit earlier.

Meite was in the team for Rotherham set pieces and throw in's. Rotherham only have one very predictable style of football. Barrow would have been a huge gamble.

[Platypuss]

Nah. We let a Rotherham dominate us for 75% of the match. At home. Absolutely disgraceful performance with no character or spine.

They had 2 shots on target. 2 reasonable chances other than the goal at a push. How is that dominating?

First half they could have had 2 and all second half we barely touched the ball. When they scored was it a surprise? No.

Dominated.

Rubbish. A load of long throws does not equal domination.

O'Shea on for Meite was nuts, mind.

[Born Again Royalist]

You omly have to look at the bench today to see negativity on selection 4 of them were defensive, Gunter, O shea, Mc Shane plus keeper. This was a game we had to Win not defend

[Lower West]

You omly have to look at the bench today to see negativity on selection 4 of them were defensive, Gunter, O shea, Mc Shane plus keeper. This was a game we had to Win not defend

Who was missing?

[Zip]

You omly have to look at the bench today to see negativity on selection 4 of them were defensive, Gunter, O shea, Mc Shane plus keeper. This was a game we had to Win not defend

Who was missing?

Midfielders.

[JR]

The usual knee jerk nonsense in here I see.

Hear hear!

The opposition are always incredibly poor and every ref is useless apparently.

It’s very tiresome!