MATCHWATCH : Hull City (a)

[Snowflake Royal]

I know I’m a broken record but we’ve won 4 out of 5 games that Long has started, and have won every one that he’s started as part of a front 2.

..................Bouzanis
Yiadom, Holmes, Hutch, NGW
Meite, Hendrick, Fornah, Ince
...................Long, Joao

I'd probably have Hoilett on the right with Meite up top instead of Joao if we were to go down that route. I could see it working, but I could also see us burning out pretty quickly and getting overrun. Not sure if any forwards would be able to drop in to affect a pivot, in the opposition's side, on the ball.

Long and Meite up top is a bit all hard work and no guile.

Joao remains top scorer with a health strike rate despite not overly impressing. And would give more variation and chance to play with the ball rather than just break.

[blythspartan]

I am hoping to get to this one as I am up in Chesterfield working. A good mate has a spare ticket going in the Chris Chilton Stand, so I’ll be in with the Hull fans. He’s had bragging rights over the last few years apart from once or twice. Never a fixture I enjoy but hoping for at least a draw. Ugly 1-0 win would be perfect. Think they’re expecting a decent crowd.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

..................Bouzanis
Yiadom, Holmes, Hutch, NGW
Meite, Hendrick, Fornah, Ince
...................Long, Joao

I'd probably have Hoilett on the right with Meite up top instead of Joao if we were to go down that route. I could see it working, but I could also see us burning out pretty quickly and getting overrun. Not sure if any forwards would be able to drop in to affect a pivot, in the opposition's side, on the ball.

Long and Meite up top is a bit all hard work and no guile.

Joao remains top scorer with a health strike rate despite not overly impressing. And would give more variation and chance to play with the ball rather than just break.

Possibly. Just out of possession I don't think Joao gives us that much and to compensate for a lack of a third midfielder and getting overrun, potentially having 2 strikers that can press CB's and wide players who can lock onto full backs, you can end up bypassing the midfielders quite often and forcing long balls on a more frequent basis.

There can be an argument for any of our forwards with 2 up top though. I also think Meite is more than just a presser with Long, Long can stretch the defence with Meite, but the latter is also a powerful runner and difficult to stop.

[Sutekh]

This will be one of the hardest games as on top of the proverbial “new manager bounce” is the fact that Reading have only beaten Hull once since 19th November 2005 which is once in the last 14 games.

Those 14 games have yielded a massive 9 points in the form of 6 draws and a 3-0 home win in September 2018. The club have also lost each of the last 3 visits to Hull scoring twice and conceding 8 in the process.

Therefore going have to be very well organised to get something from the game and be able to go to the Tenerife training camp feeling a little upbeat.

Just for the record the Reading team for the last time the club won in Hull was; Hislop, Wallace, Kerr, Hopkins, Williams, Parkinson, Gilkes, Gooding, Quinn, Lovell and Taylor.

[karbota]

......................Bouzanis
Yiadom, Holmes, Hutch, NGW
.........Hendrick, Loum, Fornah
Meite....................Ince
.......................Joao

Andresson, Rahman, Mbengue, Ejaria, Hoilett, Long, Carroll


oxf*rd balance, Ince didn’t work out of the thick of it, but neither has either shape. Get Meite back where he's best. NGW's pace and enthusiasm. Hutch in defence and a proper back 4.

Absolutely baffles me that your line includes Joao and Loum, do you ever watch Reading?

[Royals and Racers]

4 Changes- Bouzanis, Hoilett, Meite and Long

[Sutekh]

Bouzanis, Hoilett, Meite and Long all start





Presuming Hutch is injured again.

[windermereROYAL]

Hutch came off with a tight calf the other night, shouldn't have picked him with 2 games to go till the WC.

[Snowflake Royal]

Can't say I much like the look of it.

More Rahman over NGW. Light in midfield. Hoilett back at RWB presumably - although I guess it could be a flat 4-4-2 but that seems bloody unlikely. Tbh, it really should be though with those players.

At least we have a CB on the bench.

[RoyalBlue]

Hutch came off with a tight calf the other night, shouldn't have picked him with 2 games to go till the WC.

Agreed. It does seem that we make many of our own injury problems. One moment (the day before?) Hutchinson is very unlikely to be fit for the Watford game, the next moment he's thrown right into the thick of it all. It looked a gamble at the time and it's one that very much failed to pay off.

[Loafer]

Why no Loum?

[Snowflake Royal]

Hutch came off with a tight calf the other night, shouldn't have picked him with 2 games to go till the WC.

Agreed. It does seem that we make many of our own injury problems. One moment (the day before?) Hutchinson is very unlikely to be fit for the Watford game, the next moment he's thrown right into the thick of it all. It looked a gamble at the time and it's one that very much failed to pay off.

And all to play him in midfield during a CB crisis.

It's hard to call it anything but poor management.

[Royal Monkey]

Cos he’s absolutely awful ????

[Hound]

Hutch came off with a tight calf the other night, shouldn't have picked him with 2 games to go till the WC.

Agreed. It does seem that we make many of our own injury problems. One moment (the day before?) Hutchinson is very unlikely to be fit for the Watford game, the next moment he's thrown right into the thick of it all. It looked a gamble at the time and it's one that very much failed to pay off.

And all to play him in midfield during a CB crisis.

It's hard to call it anything but poor management.

Not sure about that. He played pretty well for an hour and now has a month to recover. Seemed a reasonable gamble to take

[Sutekh]

Agreed. It does seem that we make many of our own injury problems. One moment (the day before?) Hutchinson is very unlikely to be fit for the Watford game, the next moment he's thrown right into the thick of it all. It looked a gamble at the time and it's one that very much failed to pay off.

And all to play him in midfield during a CB crisis.

It's hard to call it anything but poor management.

Not sure about that. He played pretty well for an hour and now has a month to recover. Seemed a reasonable gamble to take

But why not take it v Hull rather than seemingly rushing him back and getting a recurrence?

[Orion1871]

Seems like football supporters aren't getting the hang of this whole silence thing.

[Snowflake Royal]

Well Yiadom and Rahman have started poorly. Poor passes, dodgy control...

[Franconian Royal]

Any other expats in Germany not able to watch this one? This has screwed my weekend up BIG time

[Sutekh]

Game over.

[Snowflake Royal]

oxf*rd sake, Mbengue puts himself on his arse at the corner, free header and great save from Bouzanis.


Jesus that is dreadful.