We Are A Team Once Again - Notes for Reading Friday, 24th Jan 2014 11:30 by HarryFromBath HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Saturday's game by delving into their forums. "Have we changed tactics? Are we still trying to play pretty football and losing the ball, or has Nigel realised that they just need to get stuck in, win the ball and push it up front?", "We have had nine shots on goal so far against Watford, more than our last four games together." Having scored a mere six goals in their previous nine games, Reading let rip against Bolton last Saturday. There was a hint of what was to come with a change of approach in their 1-0 win at Vicarage Road on the previous weekend. Reading 7 — 1 Bolton Wanderers"Stunning, totally stunning. It just goes to show how much of the game is a mental affair. Once the shackles of trying to walk the ball around and babysit it were off, we could show how we play. I don't think I've seen such a proper team performance for a long, long time." "We won't see that every week, but it's a hell of a performance to work from", "For the first 20 minutes or so we were pretty dire and playing hoof-ball as usual. When we went two up, we started to play with real confidence and abandon this strategy. The contrast was amazing. "We did not sit back and protect our lead. We went after more goals, looking for every ball, playing the ball to feet and looking for the ball rather than being scared of it", "Gone were the hopeful hoof-balls, as the midfield played the ball to feet, and set up goal after goal. It was a delight to watch." The Direct Style Vs the Adkins StyleIt would have been easy to think Royals were watching a different team from their comments during the 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest on New Year's Day: "The lack of pace and conviction makes it easy for the opposition to close down what little attacking we attempted." "It's hard to remember a time when we have looked so lacking in pace, energy and spirit. Adkins's Reading is sadly a long way from playing with an effective passing style. We have lost energy and directness, but it has not been replaced with an alternative." "The last time we tried 4-4-2 tactics in the Premier League, it was a disaster. The point of changing our tactics from a direct style to Adkins's style was Premier League stability. In August Adkins said he wanted us to be patient, dominate possession and play through the centre. Nigel Adkins"It's a shame it's taken Adkins over half a season when we knew it from the start", "It's funny what happens when he stops trying to get us to play like Barcelona", "We played with energy and width that we've been sorely lacking under Adkins, with a good mixture of long and short passing." "Adkins always looks to play with width and tempo. He did this at the Southampton and Scunthorpe, but he also wants to play with balance and control, so that we don't have to spend most of the game defending." "We have got some pace and tempo, playing 15 yards further forward and really pressing the ball", "The pace of passing is the biggest factor, but the movement off the ball has taken a sudden leap in the right direction." Defence"Against Bolton, we defended a higher line, and this denied the opposition midfield the space to set up their attacks", "In the old system, we were too slow at moving the ball, and this allowed the opposition to fill holes." "A couple of Alex McCarthy's kicks were really poor (against Forest). When we needed to get a move on near the end, he just kept waiting for the perfect option." The phrase "good saves but woeful kicking again" is repeated by many fans when discussing the 24-year-old former Town loanee.
"He made a great save (against Bolton) at 1-0. The game would have been a lot different without that stop". Several Royals said they would be happy to move McCarthy on for a decent transfer fee with Australia international Adam Federici on the bench. "Jordan Obita at left-back has been a predictable, if belated masterstroke by Adkins. It was obvious he could do the job. The shirt is his now." The 20-year-old former youth player "is outstanding going forward but is a little slow to react to danger as a defender. He will get better and better."
"Obita has been utterly convincing at left-back", "His set-piece deliveries are great." The winger was moved back for the last two games and has been a revelation. "If he can learn from (the currently injured) Wayne Bridge and keep progressing, he'll be such an asset in that position." "Shaun Cummings chooses the wrong passing option, is often out of position and doesn't overlap, leaving his winger totally ineffective." The 24-year-old former Chelsea youth player "is a great tackler but a liability if the ball is played over his head. He is desperately short of confidence." "Chris Gunter is solid but unspectacular, but is easily one of our best players at the moment." The 24-year-old former Forest right-back likes to get forward, but has the engine to get back quickly. It makes the oppositions full-back and winger think twice about attacking and leaving space behind him." "Stephen Kelly was okay when he joined but has been exposed time and again this season." The 30-year-old ex-Fulham player "is a real liability at right-back", "He loses the ball so many times, especially when he slows down on the halfway line." "Alex Pearce continues to look dodgy to me, and has been very poor all season. Sean Morrison has to start in place of him when he's back from injury." The 25-year-old youth product and Republic of Ireland international "panics too much and only passes to McCarthy or the crowd."
"Pearce still gave me kittens at 4-0 (against Bolton). He was the only defender who retained the ‘anywhere will do' attitude to clearing the ball", "His misdirected headers are not good enough", "His distribution is like that of an American football quarterback, just slinging it into their half." Karpars Gorkss"Berkshire's Baltic Baresi", "The Latvian Leviathan", "Another game, another goal, defensive bravery and great distribution, he's tearing up the Championship." The 32-year-old former QPR centre-back followed up his match winning goal at Watford with another in last Saturday's rout.
"Gorkss is like a box of chocolates", "He's not the defender to have in to play short and through the team, but I'm glad he's put last season's total shambles behind him", "He's the one player who is comfortable on the left side of a centre-back partnership." "He went on a run down the left touchline on Saturday, including a nutmeg and a cheeky wink to the crowd", "He's fantastic in the air", "I'm definitely falling back in love with him", "He's totally committed, and always in the right place", "I still wish he wouldn't hoof aimlessly forward." Central Midfield"No slow plodding, passing it around deep in our half. Instead it was quickly out to the wings or played into the channels like the good old days, with a midfield duo quickly backing up the front men", Reading have always been a 4-4-2 high tempo direct sort of team. It's in their DNA." "There was just so much drive and balance", "The central midfielder partnership of Akpan and Williams were the key to the win — hard working, dynamic, disciplined, passing well and supporting the front players." "They have forged a good understanding in central midfield, and it would be suicide to change that", "The partnership has looked better balanced than any we've put out so far this season." "Hope Akpan was majestic and looked a very different player today (against Bolton)", "He played well yesterday and against Watford. We need people like him to step up to the plate", "He was caught in possession a couple of times, but has lots of drive and is a really good athlete." The 22-year-old former Crawley man "works hard and does the simple stuff well", "Akpan adds some real pace and energy into the midfield", "He is a revelation compared with his early season performances. He shows great pace and determination." "He's here, he's there, he's every ******* where", "Bags of energy." Twenty-four-year-old USA international Danny Williams joined Reading from Hoffenheim this summer. "Williams is not an out-and-out midfielder, but he gives the team a lot of drive in the middle of the park." Danny Guthrie"Guthrie is intelligent, is eager for possession and plays the ball to feet, but he is slow and is not a team player", "He's technically superior to Williams and Akpan, but he's not strong or tall enough to dominate midfield", "He slows the tempo down so much that he is actually our Achilles' heel."
The 26-year-old former Magpie missed the victories over Watford and Bolton, and many Royals have blamed him for the team's recent ponderous play. "Guthrie was overused as our main playmaker and was quickly found out. All teams had to do was throttle Guthrie and the team was paralysed." "Guthrie is always half a yard behind his man, and therefore never in a position to tackle", "Too slow, too casual", "He gives the ball away too much", "He needed to be dropped as he was the cause of most problems on the pitch. Shame it took an injury for this to happen." Wide Midfield"So nice to see wing play again, rather than wingers always cutting into the packed centre near the halfway line", "Crosses can actually be dangerous if you have a decent midfield backing up the front men." "I heard on the radio on Saturday that Garath McCleary has something like 13 assists this season and the next player after him is Pog (Pogrebnyak) with four. He's so important to our team, but hasn't been getting much limelight", "You cannot argue with his work rate." The 26-year-old Jamaica international and former Forest right-winger "has a fantastic cross and is benefitting from playing with Gunter, with whom he has a great partnership", "I do think McCleary has been our most dangerous attacking threat and consistently so." "Jobi McAnuff was everywhere in attack and defence and really led by example. He seems to have instantly found an understanding with Obita on the left flank." The 32-year-old ex-Watford man "works so incredibly hard", "He needs to work on his incredibly poor shots on target ratio." "Nick Blackman plays quite a specialist role as a wide forward exploiting the left channel." The 24-year-old former Blade "is quick and rangy, has a good left peg and has the ability to go past people." "There are times when Blackman offloads the ball, rather than running at the defence or shooting when there are good opportunities to do so", "He is the new Stephen Hunt. He has lowered expectations to the point that he wins plaudits for running around without achieving anything." Royston Drenthe"Half the North Stand laughed at Royston Drenthe when he waddled down the line ‘warming-up' in the second half on Saturday", "His half-arsed attempts at stretching at half-time were something to behold", "He has been unfit, injured or rubbish depending on the match, sometimes all three.""He's a maverick in that he ignores and argues with the coaching staff mid-game and thinks he knows best", "He's not delivered the goods, but he has looked like he could be one of our best attacking players if he pulled it together", "I hope he goes this month." The 26-year-old former Real Madrid man has featured occasionally from the bench. "I couldn't care about him. He's got work to do to get back in the squad", "He's the most naturally talented player we have", "Fat and uninterested. Drenthe has been an absolute flop of a signing." Strikers"It was nice that today we had two strikers who were taking the ball with their back to goal, laying it off first time to the wings, then spinning and running towards the goal", "A key factor in Saturday's win was the very successful tactic of closing the opposition down high up the pitch." Reading fans had been frustrating at their lack of goals. Billy Sharp returned to Southampton at the start of the month after a loan spell, leaving the Royals with a partnership labelled by one supporter as "a goalscorer who cannot work, and a worker who cannot score." That was before Bolton. Pavel Pogrebnyak"Bolton players looked terrified of him on Saturday and gave him way too much space. He was immense but frustrated not to score from open play. His lack of goals is still his weakness, but he will get his own hat-trick sooner or later if we keep playing like this."
The 30-year-old Russia international and former Fulham striker "is completely transformed from the man he was in August", "Pog was far too busy working his socks off to cause havoc and fear in the Bolton defence while creating goals for others." "He's starting to make the most of his physique and strength to hold off challenges and win headers", "He does seem to be devoid of much decision-making", "I love the fact that Pog is so dedicated to the cause", "It's been fantastic watching him over the last couple of months." Adam Le Fondre"ALF is primarily a goal-poacher. He has a fairly limited team contribution if he's not being set up with chances", "When you have a finisher who has proven to be as good as ALF, we should organise the team around exploiting that."
Many Royals were growing quite exasperated with the 27-year-old former Rochdale striker before Saturday's clobbering of Bolton, in which he bagged a hat-trick. "He's a fantastic finisher, but needs to do more to help himself on the pitch", "He's the best finisher at the club, but he needs to do more outside the penalty box", "He's a good option off the bench or starting as cover", "I'll happily drop the egotistical little p**** back to Rotherham", Royals' Views on ITFC and the Game"Team for Ipswich — see Bolton (H). End of thread", "The big test will be at Ipswich next week. Do we build on this ‘new found' strategy or revert to the tippy-tappy hoof-ball play of the past few months?" "A midfield including Stephen Hunt and Jay Tabb, and managed by Mick McCarthy is hardly Nigel's tippy-tappy, is it?" There has been little discussion on any message board about Saturday's game. I will update the forum tomorrow morning with any relevant matchday thoughts. WebsitesThe busiest message board is the polite and well informed Hob Nob Anyone.
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Alex McCarthy
Jordan Obita
Alex Pearce
