HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Saturday’s game by delving into their forums.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see us continue with what amounts to win-loss-draw for the rest of the season. It will see us safe at least “, “This team under Clarke is improving and it’s great to see the confidence return to the side, but we were never a top-six team in any shape for this season.”

Reading arrive at Portman Road on Saturday in a curious run of form. They are unbeaten on the road in four games, a run which included an impressive 2-1 FA Cup win at Derby last Saturday. Fans however have been left baffled by two poor anaemic recent midweek losses at home to Leeds and Wigan.

“Why are we so inconsistent?”, “How can the mental toughness we showed at Derby on Saturday evaporate so quickly?”, “We’re one bad result away from being dragged into a scrap, if we’re not there already”, “Two atrocious home performances in a row is no blip.”

Steve Clarke

“How could anyone who ever listened to Nigel Adkins not like Steve Clarke?” A poll asking whether Royals ‘had taken to their manager’ had a resounding 92% ‘Yes’ in response. “What he has done has not been spectacular or transformational, but little by little he’s improving. He’s on the right lines.”

“Steve Clarke, you are impressing me. I doff my cap to you, good sir”, “He has saved the club and got us playing as a team”, “He has turned the super tanker around and we are starting to move in the right direction. We can look forward to the rest of the season with some optimism.”

Royals admire his honesty. “Clarke is a straight talker who doesn’t get carried away whatever the result. He provides clear insight on the game afterwards”, “His comments after the Wigan defeat were reassuring. At least he could acknowledge how diabolical that was.”

“Short, tick. Bald, tick. Miserable, tick. Initials SC, tick - I’m in”, “I’d say Clarke looks more grumpy than miserable. Coppell always seemed to be haunted by some unseen ghosts of a terrible past lying just beyond the plain of human existence and bearing tidings of an apocalyptic future.”

Formation

“We finally look solid and organised”, “Clarke’s philosophy reminds me of Steve Coppell. We can pass the ball with the best of them in this league but there is a solid core and a bit of steel and heart. We are creating decent chances and there seems to be a plan to how we play.”

The Royals have played a 4-4-1-1 system such as in their line-up against Derby (above) last Saturday. “By setting up to invite teams on to us, Clarke has allowed us to counter-attack”, “We get the ball out to the wings as quickly as possible and attempt to cross it into the box.”

Fans felt that this system had been worked out in their recent losses. “We have no Plan B and we never play it through the middle - just hoof it to the wings and hope for the best. It doesn’t work when you have one striker and it doesn’t work when they double up on your wingers.”

Derby 1 - 2 Reading

“Back from a fantastic game - there was absolute carnage with the celebrations for both goals. Come on the Hoops!”, “C’est magnifique! That was great defending and confidence at the end as well”, “Yay us - quarter-finalists again”, “It was just the old cliché that ‘we wanted it more’.”

“A good performance by Clarke’s work-in-progress team”. Royals felt that the matched the Rams blow for blow, but their hunger for the victory made the difference in a game which saw Derby reduced to 10 men and which also saw a Richard Keogh handball in the penalty area go unpunished.

“I’ll be livid if we throw this away. Unless Pogrebnyak is injured, keep him on!”, “It looks like we’ve evened up their red card as the Yak doesn’t move.” Several Royal were left red-faced for criticising Steve Clarke’s match-winning substitution when Yakubu netted the winner in the 82nd minute.

Reading 0 - 1 Wigan

“That was an appalling performance with no redeeming features whatsoever”, “I was watching for the entire 103 minutes of that game and I truly wish I hadn’t. Wigan were a shambles and we were an embarrassment”, “That was the worst game I have ever seen.”

“I’m usually reluctant to be overly damning in my assessment, but have no hesitation in saying that was inept, spineless, gutless and a disgrace to this football club, its supporters and to be honest the game in general”, “McCleary went off for a piss - that’s how bad it was.”

“The less said about this game the better. That was just completely awful.” With centre-back Michael Hector unavailable, Steve Clarke moved Nathaniel Chalobah back into defence and brought Oliver Norwood in to partner Danny Williams in central midfield for Tuesday night’s game.

Hesitant defending, sloppy midfield play and a toothless attack contrasted with Saturday’s Cup win. “For the last half-hour it was long punt after long punt”, “We are like a team of strangers who panic as soon as Wigan so much as breathe near us”, “It was horrific, shambolic and embarrassing.”

“Can we play away from home for the rest of the season please?”, “The real issue is that we set up much better to play away from home. Keep it narrow and tight, and hit teams on the counter. There is no need to change anything for the next couple of away games.”

Reading 0 - 2 Leeds

“Changing a winning side, strange substitutions, defensive errors and nothing up front - it’s like Nigel Adkins never left. Obviously we’re going to have off days between now and the end of the season, but that really was bad”, “We deserved nothing and Leeds did a job on us.”

“Leeds scarcely touched the ball in the first 15 minutes. We passed it well without really threatening their goal”, “Then the rot set in - missed passes, poor control, a lack of understanding between players, dithering on the ball, comedy shooting and a total absence of movement off the ball.”

“Oh, Stevie - you have everyone onside and then go and play a stupidly deep five-man midfield at home to one of the league’s worst sides”, “I don’t think there’s a huge difference between our usual 4-4-1-1 and 4-5-1, but none of the midfield supported Pogrebnyak enough.”

Steve Clarke rested Simon Cox for this game. With “Pogrebnyak so isolated he had to do everything himself” Leeds grew in confidence and won the match with second-half goals from Luke Murphy and Sam Byram. “After 60 or so minutes we were so inept that Leeds felt like world-beaters.”

Defence

“Clarke has improved the group defensively”, “We are defensively much stronger with largely the same players. That is down to the tactics employed.” The Jekyll-and-Hyde nature of Reading’s play can clearly be seen in their defensive displays.

“Wigan won every second ball. We back passed ourselves into trouble time after time. The most grotesque example was the one to Federici that gave him so little room that he ended up in a wrestling match with their forward.”

Adam Federici

“At this point, Feds is player of the season. How many unbelievable saves has he made?” The 30-year-old Australia international “reads the ball and is positioning himself better too. My heart is no longer in my mouth when a ball is floated over”, “He has made great saves at crucial times for us.”

“He had some difficult shots to handle against Derby and was very assured. His position to make important stops was great as well”, “Federici was very solid. There were no full-stretch saves but he did his job admirably. We have been spoiled with him doing the spectacular lately.”

“Federici was at fault for Leeds’ first goal. It bounced in front of him but he should be saving those.” His errors led to goals in each of the two recent home losses. “He took one too many touches on a back pass after the first one bobbled and we conceded the corner which Wigan scored from.”

“Stephen Kelly has always made us look better defensively”. The 31-year-old former Fulham man has replaced injured Chris Gunter at right-back. “After months on end of enduring Gunter, it has been a shock to see a right-back who can cross a ball when he gets into good attacking positions.”

“Kelly put in a few good tackles against Leeds”, “One outstanding passage of defending late on against Wolves to block the ball a couple of times and then get it clear”, “He didn’t get forward enough against Wigan and we lacked width as a result.”

“Jordan Obita is the most one-footed player I have ever seen. Show him inside and he is lost”, “If he can’t cross, all he can do is a double-switch back on to his left foot”, “Run, stop, turn around, pass to Pearce, repeat.” The youth product “suffers from having no protection from our left-wingers”.

The 21-year-old left back “can be sloppy”, “Obita put us into trouble three times [against the Owls], one of which lead to a crucial save”, “He has good recovery pace so we don’t need to pull players back”, “He is a good attacking threat, but gives away too many freekicks in dangerous positions.”

“I like Michael Hector. He makes some mistakes but his pace usually gets him out of them”, “There are occasions where he could do with concentrating on getting the basics right and taking less risks. He nearly allowed a striker to get goal side of him trying to pinch a ball [against Sheffield Wednesday].”

The 22-year-old centre-back and youth product “was at fault for Leeds’ second goal, but he had no options after going on a marauding run”, “Hector did well initially bringing the ball out but just panicked after that”, “The forwards had chucked it in and he was trying to create something.”

Alex Pearce

“Pearce is the perfect captain. He keeps the passion internalised until the final whistle.” The youth product “held the back together very well against Derby”, “The main reason for our improvement has been Pearce’s return to form. Under Adkins he looked like he had lead in his boots.”

“Pearce couldn’t win a header and seemed disillusioned under Adkins”, “He was immense and hardly put a foot wrong in the win over Sheffield Wednesday”, “He was solid and won everything in the air against the Wednesday giant [Atdhe Nuhiu] and his distribution was good.”

The 26-year-old had a poor game against Wigan. “Playing with Chalobah unsettled him - he always seems to need a calming influence next to him otherwise his game suffers”, “Pearce was in a loop of stop, turn and belt the ball back to Federici in the most dangerous fashion possible.”

Central Midfield

“We never play through the middle. We create chances in a one-dimensional way, getting it out to the wings and crossing it”, “Our problem is our creativity”, “Patient passing build-up has never worked for us. We have always been more successful as a quick counter-attacking team.”

“We need to be braver and assertive going forward”, “Wigan picked up on every loose ball in the middle of the park from our non-existent midfield”, “If you have slow forwards, you need a creative midfield to score and our midfield creativity is still lacking.”

“Oliver Norwood was a contender for Player of the Season, but has been eased out of the team by Chalobah.” The 23-year-old former Huddersfield man “seems to have lost any semblance of form”, “What has happened to him?” “His game fell apart against Leeds in a way I have not seen before.”

“Norwood couldn’t pass and looked as tired, slow and unpredictable as the pitch itself against Wigan”, “His usual incisive passing ability” against the Owls gave way to “misplaced passing which led to a number of Leeds chances”, “He seemed incapable of shooting within 30ft of the Leeds goal.”

“I was really impressed with the shape Hope Akpan was in against Wolves.” The 23-year-old ex-Crawley man has come on from the bench in recent games. “You wouldn’t think he was out for two months. Excited to see what Clarke makes of him as he has the attributes to be a good midfielder.”

“Nathaniel Chalobah misplaces passes and contributes little going forward.” The 20-year-old Chelsea loanee, “was off the pace against Derby and looked a weak link”, “What was he doing playing Bent onside for their goal?” “There have been glimpses of quality but he doesn’t influence the game yet.”

“If Chalobah is a centre-half, then I’m Titus Bramble.” He had a poor game against the Latics. “He gave the ball away with every pass, missed two sitters and was turned every time by their players”, “Chelsea? My fat arse. The guy gives the ball away more than the rest of the team combined.”

Danny Williams

“Williams battled hard against Leeds”, “He tried to drive the team forward when the rest of the midfield did nothing”, “He was guilty of not releasing the ball and running into opponents, but he was willing to try something”, “He always runs into traffic, losing the ball instead of passing it.”

The 25-year-old USA international and former Hoffenheim man “drives the game well but runs into trouble. He isn’t quite as tough in the tackle as he was before his knee injury”, “He didn’t stop running and hassling the Derby midfield all afternoon”, “He is passionate but can get hot-headed.”

“Williams would be immense if he played the ball early. He always seems to take one touch too many”, “His effort is immense but on several occasions in games his first touch has been so poor that is second is a tackle. He never has the ball fully under control and looks like he will fall over.”

Wide Midfield

“We really do need a left-winger to come in”, “We need a pacy left-winger”, “Left wing seems doomed to failure this season with Robson-Kanu or Blackman turning in woeful performances”, “Sheffield Wednesday targeted our left flank and they won’t be the last team to try this tactic.”

“Is Nick Blackman the greediest player ever to wear a Reading shirt?”, “He reminds me of the bloke at five-a-side who never passes and always tries to score.” The 25-year-old left-sided former Blade is “back to his usual shocking, arrogant, lazy self”, “He flatters to deceive time after time.”

“Blackman has pace and skill. If he could display the footballing intelligence and guile of Pogrebnyak, he would be a bloody good player”, “His movement is good but he’s the living definition of ‘no end product’”, “He was too casual when he came on against Derby. One pass led to a counter-attack.”

“Jamie Mackie is a lovely bloke who has made no attacking impact this season. Given that we’re heavily reliant on our wingers to produce, that isn’t a good sign.” The 29-year-old former QPR right-winger is on loan from Forest. “He works hard and gets his passes away but isn’t the most creative.”

He struggled when replacing Norwood in the centre against Leeds. “Mackie might have improved things if we were winning, but lacked composure”, “It was a baffling swap. The creativity we had there was replaced by a headless chicken running about and offering very little.”

“Hal Robson-Kanu has consistently failed to deliver. He is simply one of the most frustrating Reading players ever. For every good game, there are a dozen where he underperforms”, “He slows the tempo down. When he loses the ball he never busts a gut, but jogs leisurely to win the ball back.”

The 25-year-old left-sided midfielder “still manages the usual muck-ups we have come to know and love. He drifts inside too much”, “He’s improving as Clarke’s regime continues”, “HRK was good against Derby and took his goal well”, “His through ball to the Yak for the winner was inch perfect.”

Garath McCleary

“The opposition game-plan is pretty clear. Mark McCleary out of the game, press us and frustrate us. We then resort to hoof-ball.” The 27-year-old ex-Forest right-winger “was totally anonymous against Wigan apart from one decent run near the end, and he also did a wee.”

The Royals have really struggled when their “only dangerous wide player” has not been on his game. “McCleary had one of his uninterested days against Leeds”, “He was just not bothered at all”, “He didn’t get much help from Kelly against Leeds. He works so well with Gunter at right-back.”

“He looked dangerous every time he got the ball at Wolves and his pace was frightening.” McCleary has tired in recent games. “His game against Sheffield Wednesday tailed off to a point where he seemed to have slightly lost it and he couldn’t be substituted quickly enough.”

Strikers

“The most worrying similarity between Adkins and Clarke is the one-dimensional way in which they create chances”, “We have not really had much problem attacking on the counter when there’s space. It’s breaking down a set defence where our problem lies.”

“Simon Cox frustrates me. He gets into some brilliant positions with space, better than any other players, but his shooting has been awful. He could have had a hat-trick against Derby”, “We lost our attacking threat against Leeds and also against the Owls when he went off and Pog was isolated.”

The 27-year-old former West Brom and Forest man’s work without the ball is praised. “Notice how little space the Derby midfield had with his working back. Cox is not an out-and-out goalscorer but what he offers in incredibly invaluable. He also holds the ball up very well.”

Pavel Pogrebnyak

“Poor Pog was on his own for most of the Leeds game”, “He showed some good footwork even if he lacked support in this bizarre formation”, “His strengths lie in his dropping deep, receiving the ball to feet and laying it off. He’s not quick enough to then burst into the box.”

“I wish him to be a success but he can’t jump or hold up the ball. He has the pace of Brian the Snail and the turning circle of an oil tanker”, “He’s too slow to get on the end of things - always”, “He puts in a shift but has to feed off scraps”, “The poor bloke worked his breasts off against the Owls.”

The 31-year-old ex-Fulham man “is a player that Shane Long or Kevin Doyle would love running past and off. We want him to lead the line and receive balls to his head and chest. He’s not awful. He just doesn’t fit what we want or need”, “He has to come out wide as often neither winger is there.”

Feed The Yak

“Is Yakubu made of actual jelly? He looked way off the pace against Leeds.” The 32-year-old former Everton and Blackburn player joined the Royals on January transfer deadline day and has appeared from the bench in the last three games. “The BBC called him a big signing.”

His winning goal against Derby was met with great acclaim. “A Premier League quality finish that slowed amazing control and accuracy”, “I’ll tell you what - when he eventually got up to full speed chasing the ball he looked pretty rapid”, “He didn’t even pretend to jump against Derby.”

“Talent is enduring and it shows”, “He looks ridiculously unfit, though he had some lovely hold-up play and lay-offs”, “I liked it when he tried to jump against Leeds”, “Play it to his feet. He’s capable of holding it up and has a good first touch, but don’t expect him to run.”

“It’s going to be fun watching the Yak and the Pog charging [slowly] towards goal. I wouldn’t want to get in their way”, “The last 20 minutes against Wigan with Pog playing deep and Yakubu up top was laughable”, “Even if [he is claimed to be] 40-years-old and two stone overweight, the Yak is the best finisher at the club.”

Royals’ Views on ITFC and the Game

“McCarthy has turned Ipswich around. They are now a true promotion candidate and they won't be frightened about playing us in any way”, “If we play like we did against Wigan we'll get a thumping, but even at our best Ipswich will be far too strong for us”, “They will fight to the bitter end.”

“We were very lucky to beat Ipswich at the start of the season. They should have won that game.” Despite good away form, only 9% of Royals have opted for an away win against 64% going for the Blues. No-one has forecast a Reading clean sheet and a 3-0 home win is the most expected score.

“This is the easiest defeat for me to predict for us this season - 3-0 to Ipswich”, Another Royals drubbing, 0-3, with two for Daryl Murphy and one for Noel Hunt”, “Easy pickings for Ipswich - 3-0”, “2-0 loss - another step closer to the relegation which too many people are saying is unforeseeable.”

“I have absolutely no idea on how many goals we are going to concede or what the margin of the defeat will be”, “Reading nil, and more humiliation I suppose”, “We need to man up down there and show some fight. Ipswich are a strong team but fair. We need to get stuck in from the first whistle.”

A number of Royals have sensed that the spirit in both teams is markedly different, and this will play a huge part in determining the outcome on Saturday. “The message was clear from Fulham - with just 15 games now left go, this Ipswich group is determined to see the job through to the bitter end.”

“Murphy suffered a broken nose but carried on after having it crudely clicked back into place. Tabb was left seeing stars after a clash of heads. Bru covered so much ground he was running on fumes at the end, while Noel Hunt’s bravery at the end meant he was stretchered off after falling awkwardly.”

Their optimists are pointing to their recent good record against us. “We have gone on a pattern of alternating our good and bad performances. Add in a very good recent record against Ipswich, six wins in the last seven. I'll be a bit confident.”

Websites

The busiest Reading message board is Hob Nob Anyone and additional interesting comment can be found at Royals Rendesvouz.

Photo: Action Images

Swailsey added 11:07 - Feb 20 "Coppell always seemed to be haunted by some unseen ghosts of a terrible past lying just beyond the plain of human existence and bearing tidings of an apocalyptic future.” Outstanding comment.
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paulthebluealien added 11:16 - Feb 20 Good stuff I don't think they're feeling it are they. I hope they're right.
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carlo88 added 12:26 - Feb 20 "Worked his breasts off". Wonderful. Was reading their site and it was very entertaining; there's some great fan forums out there. West Ham (KUMB) is one of the best.
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BYRNE_16 added 19:58 - Feb 20 love it!
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horsehollerer added 23:11 - Feb 20 Great stuff. And some very nice things said about us. Especially: "Ipswich are a strong team but fair."
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BillBlue added 10:17 - Feb 21 Lovely write up Harry, thank you again. I am left wondering if MM reads this weekly article because, with all they have to say, I do hope he doesn't go back into his shell and try to win a point then defend.
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