I was going to save myself a lot of time this week by using much of the text from last week’s column and just replacing the name of the opposition in question, because unfortunately it was rinse and repeat as far as the performance at Exeter City was concerned.
My matchday bingo card was as close as it’s ever been to a full house, the only exception being my ongoing optimism that we may win the game in the final minute.
Bingo cards aside, the fact is we are now witnessing some of the most stagnant
and predictable football in years (IMO), and whatever else you choose to use as an excuse for it, the management and coaching staff are failing.
They are failing because they seem to be incapable of changing a system that makes little use of our best players, failing because they are unable to react when things are not working, and failing because we keep making the same mistakes repeatedly.
Against Exeter I worked out (yes it was that boring) that we gave the ball back to the opposition due to a misplaced pass or the ball going straight out of play roughly every other minute. Now, tell me how you build any momentum when we continue to do that and end up chasing rather than playing?
On two of those occasions, we gave possession back to Exeter due to foul throws from the same player. Not a professional look at all!
While I appreciate that the player in question is very young and inexperienced, let’s remember that taking a throw-in is a fundamental part of the game from an early age, and shouldn’t even need to be part of any pre-match reminder or routine.
I have coached under-10s who knew how to take a throw-in, yet we have professional players who give up possession from a throw-in twice in one game. Such incidents only back up my theory that the players are fed up, poorly coached, lack concentration, and look as if they want to be anywhere but on the pitch, representing this football club.
I will not even go into other stats from the game as I find it depressing to write and then read back several times, so I will just leave you with this little gem. We had ONE shot on target in 90 minutes, and that was from an Exeter misplaced pass to their goalkeeper.
The thing is, stats like that are becoming the norm, so it isn’t as if this was a one-off poor performance. We create nothing going forward as every attack breaks down, we win little in midfield because we have wide-open spaces for the opposition to exploit, and look vulnerable when defending because we can’t get the basics right, and as the guy sitting behind me at Exeter said, we have become very easy to play against.
As always, I try to take some positives from the game, and the fact we didn’t lose is the obvious one, while Paudie O’Connor started and completed his first game for the club and looked very assured at the back, albeit while not 100% match-fit.
Matt Ritchie playing 83 minutes and using all his experience to win several free-kicks when under pressure was very much needed, although the decision to replace him and Ashqar Ahmed with two full-backs was somewhat baffling, especially when you have more attacking players among the substitutes, one of whom we introduced on 99 minutes!
My only other take from the game was my unfortunate encounter with Exeter’s local village idiot in the Centre Spot Bar after the game, who decided that he would spend his time after the match asking supporters whether they were Exeter or Reading, and why they had dared to enjoy a post-match pint in his manor (his words not mine).
Now, over the years my dedication to Reading FC has been rarely questioned, so I found it quite ironic that the guy questioning everyone on their football allegiance had a strong Birmingham accent and several Aston Villa tattoos, so clearly a lifelong Exeter City fan.
This Saturday we travel to Cardiff City, and once again we can be very proud of the away support, with more than 2,000 (as I write this) making the journey to Wales.
Despite Cardiff’s lofty position in the table, recent results have been mixed and certainly not on par with their fantastic start to the season, so I’m hopeful we can get something from the game.
Despite my less-than-positive analysis of our play and the need for change, I honestly think this is one of those games where a surprise result is not out of the question.
Cardiff City 1-2 Reading
(Robinson / Marriott, O’Connor)
19,180
Until next week, much love and c’mon URZZZ!
Dixey
