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Post by andyl on Mar 2, 2015 18:32:03 GMT
So will we press on? Will they be thinking of the cup? Another difficult game. I expect
amos,MacNaughton, Wheater,Mills,Ream Feeney, Vela Danns Eidur, Clough Le Fondre
But unlike the previous regime NL is quite unpredictable
Will he rest Danns or Feeney or both. Ream to midfield. A chance for Slavchev?
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Post by andyl on Mar 2, 2015 18:33:08 GMT
Oops I omitted Bannan. He'll play but instead of whom in my list?
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Post by greydad on Mar 2, 2015 19:48:03 GMT
I would like to see McNaughton given a start, enabling Vela to continue where he left off on Saturday. Would also like to see Janko given a chance in place of Feeney, but it doesn't seem likely. My choice would be Amos, McNaughton, Mills , Wheater, Ream, Janko, Vela , Danns , Bannan, LeFondre and Clough, with instructions to defence to keep aimless punting to a minimum!
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Post by OohMac on Mar 3, 2015 13:31:14 GMT
Think Lennon played a blinder with McNaughton. Questioned him knowing that how we would react. Top notch man management there. Obviously some would sulk but obviously Lennon measured it right and now we can use McNaughton and free up Vela. Think Eidur will come in for Heskey as he looked a little fatigued but apart from that I wouldn't change it too much. Think we'll get a win tonight, long week for Reading who must have one eye on a winnable FA Cup match and a place at Wembley. 2-0
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Post by flimwellfan on Mar 3, 2015 16:05:51 GMT
Has anyone kept a note of how many of our squad are on loan but are regularly selected? I think this is important because come the end of the season NL will have some pretty tough decisions to make, given our tight financial position. I expect us to win tonight because although it is a "6 pointer", Reading will have one eye on the FA Cup so will be keen not to pick up any cards or injuries.
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Post by Trotter on Mar 3, 2015 17:59:54 GMT
My prediction is a cast iron certainty that we will gain 3 points tonight, nothing more certain of that and IF I was a betting man I would be making this my top money bet.
Bolton 3-0 ....... But my bet would be a home win
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Post by riochforthereebok on Mar 3, 2015 19:53:28 GMT
I'll take any positive result tonight and hopefully ALF will reverse his hat trick against us and dish it out to them , so I'll take a 7-1 result  1-0 |
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Post by OohMac on Mar 3, 2015 22:03:22 GMT
Last kick of the game again. 3 injuries, worryingly Clough off. These are bad traits we have.
Another sickener that you can't put down as coincidence. Stats wised we bossed it but we've not finished teams off for a while now and we've paid the price. Millwall and Rotherham lost againz golden chance to go far from them and leap frog them. Disappointed in more points slipping at the end and the injuries this cannot be plain bad luck.
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Post by andyb72 on Mar 3, 2015 22:44:09 GMT
Zach Clough dislocated shoulder apparently. Must be the unluckiest club in regards to injuries.
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Post by andyl on Mar 3, 2015 22:48:21 GMT
That was a cruel finale. We deserved three points from a hard fought and niggly encounter. We overcame three critical injuries to MacNaughton, Wheater and Clough and even 15 minutes or so when Janko was limping. We had through Le Fondre's persistence and Eidur's experience taken a lead and we really looked like holding on to it. In the end Dervite who was quite dreadful tonight made one weak clearance too many, they broke away yet again and this time Mackie fired a low shot to Amos's left. It looked save able. I'd need to see it again to be sure. Other than that I can recall a shot early in the second half after Mills gave the ball away and a scramble where a goal bound shot was blocked by someone as their only chances. We broke through more than enough to have sealed the game with good final balls. Janko had missed a good chance before we scored and we had one or two others. We had lots of corners and some one on one chances but couldn't find the right shot
it was a game marred by some really poor refereeing. We were denied two blatant shirt pull penalties, lots of fouls went unpunished and the referee seemed to duck responsibility for many decisions he should have taken. Players encroached at will, stole yards at throw ins , yapped away at him and he seemed to have no discipline. I thought Reading were leaving feet in and getting away with it . The shirt pull on Mills musthave been obvious to everyone in the ground
overall I thought we played a lot better than Saturday despite the disruptions. Bannan had an excellent game and really made us tick in midfield and we offered threats to left and especially right where Janko had the beating of his man all night long. Ream too had a fine game barely misplacing a pass. Bannan did mess two up badl but his strength was that he was trying to push us forward. Vela did nicely when he came on as did Eidur who scored and also kept the ball well. If only some of the others had been able to do the same. I thought Danns had a much better game. Mills was solid but his distribution was poor. There was very little interest in short balls and inter passing from the back certainly in the first 50 minutes
I feel quite frustrated It was two points cast away . Reading were down and out and yet again we didn't see the game out!
Amos 5 MacNaughton (inj) Mills 6 Wheater 6 till inj) Ream 8 Vela 7 Janko 7 Danns 6 Feeney 5 Eidur 6 Le Fondre. 5 Bannan 9 Clough 4 ( till injured) Dervite 3
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Post by greydad on Mar 4, 2015 0:30:07 GMT
At half time I would have taken a 0-0draw quite happily...3 injuries conspiring to further disrupt N L's plans to effect progress towards the security of mid-table. A spirited second half , with Bannan and Ream in particular showing excellent use of the ball, aided and abetted by Janko's determined and often skilful attacking, saw the perseverance and persistence of LeFondre create a well taken goal by Eidur. Feeney and Danns showed much improved effort and end product, and the team as a whole seemed capable of seeing the game out. Unfortunately, a late sequence of poor defensive play led to an undeserved equaliser, not so much from a footballing perspective, but certainly in a sense that Reading were given a share of the spoils that their persistent fouling and general spoiling tactics did not warrant. A stronger referee would have taken requisite action, perhaps even having the 'bottle' to penalise at least one of the shirt pulls.. as Andy L highlighted previously, the tug on Mills was so blatant it would have been visible from Winter Hill! Good fortune is certainly not with the Wanderers at the moment, hopefully the full week's rest between fixtures might facilitate recovery from at least one of the injuries , but the glass seems less than half full on that score. A valuable point no doubt, but it should have been 3, at least one penalty ought to have rendered the late strike meaningless. As a footnote to a game littered with bad fortune for a Wanderers supporter, I checked my phone on leaving the ground to find an urgent message from home to get back asap as our plumbing had sprung a leak. Water and heating were turned off, and a very hard working and good natured plumber reacted to a late call by promising to come asap in the morning...it never rains but it leaks it would seem, an apt summation of Wanderers late defensive lapse and personal domestic circumstances!
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Post by riochforthereebok on Mar 4, 2015 10:09:57 GMT
There's nothing wrong with 1-0 wins!!!! Arsenal did it for years and my prediction was looking good, but why oh why can we not at least see the game out, keep possession and play for time??? We really should have used the poor referee and the loss of 3 players as a motivation to drive us to victory, the players shouldn't need the managers inspiration.
Puts things into perspective though when Detby get stuffed 2-0 by Brighton
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Post by davidm on Mar 4, 2015 10:25:18 GMT
I’m a bit a bit more critical than most.
Yes, the referee was awful. Yes, Reading were cynical and niggling but we need much more control and calmness about our play at the end to stop these endless 90th minute goals going in.
In the build up to the equaliser, we lost the ball in midfield badly when both Danns and Bannan made airy-fairy challenges and the defence went AWOL to leave a man unmarked on the edge of our area.
We also need more composure when attacking. Bannan went for the wonder goal in the last few minutes when he should have done what Le Fondre did and play the ball back to Janko who would have had an open goal.
It is a continuing failure of the team as a whole.
Don’t get me wrong, we deserved to win and were so unlucky with the injuries. Two out of the three injuries were inflicted by fouls missed the officials. Reading were average and deserved nothing, particularly for their rugged attitude to the game.
I thought that the first half was dreary. We have lost the spark that we had a few weeks ago and all our play is laboured.
Second half was an improvement but chances were few and far between.
Amos - 6 A couple of standard saves. Looks calm. As AndyL says, I am not sure about their goal.
Vela - 6 Surprised that he was dropped. A few loose passes when in decent position but still has class.
Mills - 6 It would have been a 7 but for his ranting and raving in the first half. The ref was terrible but you can’t go round acting like that.
Dervite - 5 I have him down as being asleep for the goal. He is still off the pace of the game for me.
Wheater - 6 Looked good until his injury. Looks like he will again be missing for a while due to injury.
Ream - 6 I thought he had problems in the first half. A lot of Reading’s attacks came down their right but, of course, he got little help from Feeney.
Feeney - 5 Disappointing. His final ball is still awful.
Danns - 5 Struggle. He and Bannan now play so deep there is a massive gap between the back 6 and the front 4.
Bannan - 6 I would like to see him play 5 or 10 yards farther up the pitch as a lot of his good work is done so far away from the opposition’s goal that it achieves little. Should have got his head up and laid a chance on for Janko in the last few minutes.
Janko - 6 Some good pace. Needs to work on the accuracy of his final pass. Good chance in second half which he sidefooted when a volley might have gone in.
Clough - 6 Just barged over all the time he was on the pitch.
Le Fondre - 6 Worked hard and created the goal. He is a bit too isolated for me. A bit more support is needed.
Gudjohnsen - 6 Some nice touches. Took his goal well.
Manager - 6 A major problem now with injuries. Noticed that none of his foreign loanees appeared on the team sheet.
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Post by andyl on Mar 4, 2015 12:23:18 GMT
Yes David I almost said the same re Mills. And although he had a point when backed into such situations would not arise if he and Dervite would meet the ball in the air at its high point. Sometimes they are a very poor excuse for central defenders relative to their predecessors. Wheater is fine but if he can't stay fit he cannot solve anything.
Mills distribution was terrible. Once he caused a breakaway. One reason Bannan and Danns playedtoo deep (and in Danns case too negatively) is that Mills, &Amos kept punting it forward to our small forwards and it came back before they could move.I don't mind the use of two defensive midfielders even if lying deeply but Bannan is too lightweight to succeed.
In the first half Ream 's job was made much harder because of Feeney ' s approach. He comes back erratically and always ball watches
We have now conceded 4 (+1v Liverpool) late goals and we have git away with others. On three of those occasions we had the ball by the corner post and lost it. O for Diouf who could book in by the flag if needed! But we give the ball away too readily. So much better if we played it around in midfield and pushed up. There is as you say a huge gap for opposition midfield to gather their decisive counter strikes
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Post by bonaparte on Mar 4, 2015 13:28:37 GMT
Hi all, poor match all round, only one piece of real skill from EG to ALF splitting defence beautifully.
Don't agree with you Andy re Bannan, agree with DavidM only worth a 6. We lack creativity going forward which neither Danns nor Bannan can provide, Danns tries but more often than not runs into blind alleys and gets dispossessed too easily. We miss M Davies or D Pratley to run at defences. No one shows for the short ball from keeper or back 4, 4-2-4 attack means that the ball has to be launched to our diddy men and the result is foregone. Inevitable that by giving the ball away too often, same old story, we get our comeuppance.
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