Back from the Game - Palace

[loyalroyal4life]

Kind of funny that a player from League 1, was our best player. All he did was the simple ball at the right time

9/10 thats all u need to do. Least when he did play the cross field ball it went to intended target.

[79Royal]

I think we're probably going to play 4-5-1 for a little while yet, as that's the system we've been playing and practising for months now. Once We've had a chance to adapt to a new system in training (if that is what McDermott is doing), we may see 4-4-2 on match days.

[paultheroyal]

Harte looks a good player, obviously lacks pace but one of very few players to actually make passes with any conviction and he took his penalty very well.

Struggling with the pace comment, in my opinion he was untested in that department, and i would imagine that he would be on a par with Griffin.

[DelBoyRodders]

Ian Harte was brilliant. Just as anyone who knows anything about football will have already told you he would be.
Sadly Reading fans think that if a new signing doesn't cost £10M, or isn't an 18-year-old Brazilian, then he must be shit.
Ian Harte will end up as the best VFM signing this club has ever made.

[sandman]

He did ok yesterday but is being over praised because he's the new boy. As for the best Vfm signing Better than Hislop, Osborn, Cureton, Kitson, Shorey, Doyle to name a few ( I'm sure older fans will point to the likes of Friday and Senior) I don't think so.

[The Royal We]

Ian Harte will end up as the best VFM signing this club has ever made.

Doyle?
Kitson?
Inge?
Shorey?

I could go on.........

Don't disagree that he'll prove to be a very shrewd signing, but have some realism!

[SpaceCruiser]

Osborne,

Who?

[Royal Lady]

Osborne,

Who?

Let it go Spacey - if you didn't get so hung up on people's spelling, you'd chillax a lot more m9.

[sandman]

Osborne,

Who?

Shuld of Spelled it Proper, sory.

[Alan Partridge]

Probably in a minority of 1, but for long spells of that game i was utterly bored. Mainly at the sub standard level of play from both sides. Couldn't see a goal coming unless there was a mistake or a shot from 25 yards or something. As it happens 2 penalties, neither of which I thought were penalties at first glance.

Palace were absolutely terrible as I expected. They've had a lot of turmoil and were missing a couple of their best players but they literally had 1 chance in 93minutes of play. Even then the guy shanked it and Federici turned it aside.

Harte looks a good player, obviously lacks pace but one of very few players to actually make passes with any conviction and he took his penalty very well. Karacan too had a very strong secnd half but that midfield 3 doesn't convince me long term. It worked today against a poor Palace side but Gunnarsson and Karacan are too similar and Brian Howard is just average, he hasn't impressed me in any game i have watched him play. Reading's major strength is out wide and neither winger got into the game enough for me nor ran at thir full backs enough, McAnuff especailly was quiet in a game you'd thought he'd be right up for. Little mention for Shaun Cummings who for the most part did a decent job at full back, I think he's shown a lot of heart to come back strong after what was a dismal start to his RFC career.

Reading deservedly won the game, the scoreline was flattering in my opinion, I don't think Reading were 3 goals better and without a helping hand (no pun intended) from the referee it undoubtedly would have been a lot closer game.

*caveat lector - not back from the game*

This season as every season, the division is full of drab teams playing substandard football with third or fourth division standard players in one or two spots. Success in the championship is all about teams like the current Reading team winning games like today's by a comfortable margin. When we win, I'm happy; when we lose, I'm not. What else is there? Can you put your hand on your heart and say Torquay-Stanley was likely to have been close to the same entertainment value?

In hindsight no, a 0-0 draw with not many chances wouldn't have been first for a highlights show.

Then again when I go to Plainmoor I don't expect as much. It doesn't cost me as much to get in, Torquay are one if not the lowest payer in the division so there is scope for acceptance that the level of play isn't as good.

When you pay a good whack to watch a team that apparantly has 'aspirations of promotion' and is 2 divisions above then I expect slightly more in terms of entertainment and skill levels. If the referee hadn't awarded the penalties (as he shouldn't have done) I get the feeling it would have reproduced the same scoreline as the one at Plainmoor and shown the two sides up for the average sides they are.

Reading deserved to win the game overall, but it wasn't a particularly good game.

[Arch]

It's not that much cheaper.

[RoyalBlue]

^ Agree about Mills temper. He got booked, argued with the ref and then committed 2/3 fouls over the next 10 minutes...he was pushing his luck and it wasn't necessary.
My immediate reaction re the second pen was that it looked like a really good tackle...although I still shouted out for a pen along with half of East Stand. Looking at the pen on tv earlier this morning it was never a pen so we were a little lucky because after the second goal Palace were all over the place and we could have scored 7 or 8.

Disagree completely about the second penalty. From where we were sat in the East Stand, it was an absolutely nailed on penalty, which was probably why Long didn't even bother to appeal. Their player only got near the ball after he had wiped Long out!

Can't believe you have formed your view on the basis of the tv picture. It was shot from completely the wrong side to judge (West Stand) and therefore couldn't show what actually happened as Long was blocking the picture.

[Alan Partridge]

It's not that much cheaper.

£12 cheaper on Matchday prices.

[The Surgeon of Crowthorne]

An OK performance, with the stand-out players for Reading being Long, Jem and Harte. Mills looked determined to get sent off about half way through the first half, but calmed down a bit after that. Cummings did OK, not brilliantly well but not awful - which in itself is a massive improvement on last season. Boris gave a bit of a curate's egg performance. Jobi was a bit quiet. Kebbe had the beating of his man but wasn't able to show it much, pleased that he got a goal, though. Howard just isn't the man for the advanced midfielder role for me and he was back to the way he was playing when Brendan first put him in the side. A better replacement than Howard for Gylfi is needed if we're going to continue playing 4231.
When we were at our best last season, we had Howard and Tabb as the 2 defensive midfielders and I would prefer to see him drop back there and try someone else in the hole behind the striker.

[Row Z Royal]

It's not that much cheaper.

£12 cheaper on Matchday prices.

How much is the petrol?

[LoyalRoyalFan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liQK2tAMzfw

[Victor Meldrew]

I noticed yesterday that our car parking charge is £8-at that sort of price how come we have a black hole?
I bet it's not £8 in Torquay AP but then Arch would probably say that ours is a better standard of car park.

[Big Foot]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liQK2tAMzfw

THAT is the cause of the outraged posts earlier on in the thread?

LOL

[toppy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liQK2tAMzfw

THAT is the cause of the outraged posts earlier on in the thread?

LOL

Looks like a bunch of ladies chatting over their garden fence

[Tony Le Mesmer]

lol at the bloke at 0:16