Reading FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

[Ricco]

Good to see a consistent line-up. Though the one change I would make is Donacien for Spence and sound like Spence is being criticised for their goal, would be interesting to hear from those who have made more games.

[TODD66]

Not often you look at match stats and both teams have scored from every shot they have had!!

[Tangfastic]

2-0 up is a dangerous score..... . so 2-1 is perilous.

COYB. 3 points.

[Marvinbay1973]

Listening to radio Suffolk we sound really good COYB

[Bluemike]

Totally dominated the first half. Play like that again and we win

[JohnnyB]

Just hope we can hold on to this. The next 25 minutes are literally going to make or break our season

[TODD66]

Can't cope!!

[Marvinbay1973]

Can't cope!!

Know the feeling Please Please hold on

[Marvinbay1973]

Oh Dear 2-2

[Magicmark]

I've run out of fingernails lol

[Magicmark]

Oh sh#t

[Ricco]

2 Spence errors, 2 Reading goals in the resultant plays.

[JohnnyB]

[Tangfastic]

Gutted... but good effort. It’s a point.

Another bloody pointless international break.

[Marvinbay1973]

2 games now where we couldn't hold on to a lead, just hope the boys confidence doesn't get knocked.
PL has certainly made a huge difference

[Shed on tour]

Unfortunately a classic case of if you don’t put the game to bed when well on top then it will come back and bite you in the arse
First half display was superb but then what has happened many times in the past 2nd half was a different story. Really need to win games like this if we are to stay up.

[MasseyFerguson]

I don't know how I feel.

It sounds like we totally dominated the first half and, while levels dropped off in the second, it's a game we probably should have won.

The team is clearly playing with more cohesion and intent. Team selection is more consistent.

The problem is that two better performances have not yielded a win and we are still five points adrift.

So, I'm encouraged by the performances under PL but very concerned that the new manager bounce will dissipate before we close the gap on the glut of teams above us. The longer we go without a win the quicker the confidence of the squad will slip away.

[derick_ipsw]

PL says the 1st half display is the best he has ever seen from any team he has managed. Wow.

[nicscreamer]

Well that should at least give us heart. I long for blue mikes report

[Shed on tour]

PL says the 1st half display is the best he has ever seen from any team he has managed. Wow.

As I said previously the first half performance was superb, tbh if we had gone in at half-time 3 or 4 up Reading could have had no complaints. This is what is so sickening about the result especially as 3 points today were so important.

[Steve and Jo]

Feeling lot more confident now though. Huge shame only 1 point and not 3 but it keeps everything around same for league

If can just keep within 6 points then come January needing to strengthen. Two weeks now on training pitch, hopefully become even better especially in defence.. PL is giving us hope, the players are responding

Fingers cross we may get out of this mess

[AylesburyBlue]

Back from the game and gutted. First half was awesome. MM and PH didn’t produce a performance half as good as that! Second half reading pressured us (as expected) and we couldn’t hold out. Gutted.
The firsr reading goal was a joke, Spence literally letting them cross and then Bart beaten at his near post, AGAIN.
The two negative performances for me were 1) Chalobah, the game passed him buy, he didn’t attack, he didn’t defend... he offered diddly. 2) Jackson? This guy should be a sprinter not a footballer. So predictable, like a dog off the lead, simply runs in a straight line hoping the ball is smashed forward for him.
PL has made a massive impact on the style of play already, let’s try be optimistic what the future being wth PL at the helm, he’s clearly a good manager at this level. COYB.

[Charnwood]

Gutted... but good effort. It’s a point.

Another bloody pointless international break.

To be honest Tang I think for once it might just work in our favour giving the manager an extra week working with the players preparing them for the fight that lays ahead. I actually think we could just get out of this mess now we have a manager with the right level of experience.

[Blue Wilf]

Just home. First half was so positive and we should have easily been 3 up. I have not seen us spraying passes like that around since we beat Sunderland at home 5-2 ages ago. We applauded Town off at HT and Reading booed their team off as we had made them look very poor. We pressed hard, won every tackle and to see PL on the touchline heading and kicking every ball was fantastic. I felt really good at HT and felt we had real cohesion between team, manager and fans at last! Second half we played OK too to start with - again winning most balls and pressing hard. I really did not think we would concede as Reading had nothing to offer. Reading had their 15 minutes of possession eventually - as all teams do though and once again we got caught by the sucker punch which was totally gutting as we soooo deserved to win today. At the end, the team, manager and fan unity was very much there - i remain confident we will get out of this, I really do.

Positives - PL and his management team (together, passionate and focused). Sear's resurgence. Chambers fighting spirit and leadership - he gets lots of stick on TWTD but he is Ipswich through and through. Scuse - was in the thick of it today and great effort. Downes - class act and hard working. We are creating chances at last. This is the same squad that Hurst had but is like watching a competent Championship team again which could not have been said a few weeks ago.

Negatives - Bart for me I am afraid. I have been worried by him for ages cos he does NOT own his area and looks hesitant. I really think we need to sign a new keeper - just my view. He is not the messiah he was made out to be in pre-season in my opinion. Spence (although he did most things right, he has some positional issues).

Final big positive was the travelling support. Loud, having fun and 100% behind the team from start to well after the finish.

Keep the faith everyone. I know we need points and have tough games coming up but we can do this in this bonkers league. We will surprise a few teams in the coming weeks I can assure you. COYB's - we will do this!

[JohnnyB]

Really good to read such positivity here and on twtd tonight especially from those at the game. I’ve got to say when Reading equalised I thought maybe relegation was inevitable. But after reading about the game, it really feels like something great is happening to the club - players transformed, systems solid, style rejuvenated. Who would say now we won’t give WBA something serious to think about? And Brizzle, and after that Forest and Boro?

One thing that seems integral to the new system is the importance of the front man holding up play and enabling the wide and midfield players to get into attacking positions. It seems Jackson may not be up to that particular job, and his introduction was part of Reading getting back into the game (those of you who were there please tell me if that’s not right). Roberts has done really well by all accounts, but I wonder what the soon returning Harrison may have to offer in that role.

[Bluemike]

I have such a mixture of emotions right now, proud of how the boys played, particularly in that first half where we totally dominated it and played some cracking stuff, maybe we should have been Two or Three goals clear, you've all read what Paul Lambert thought of that opening Forty five, he is not exaggerating, it was a joy to watch, the passing crisp and the work rate with the closing down etc was top drawer, the obvious down side of it was that we could not replicate that level for the entire game and as a result we failed to hold on to what would have been a deserved win based on the first half.

It was so pleasing to see an unchanged team too, something we don't get too often. Town got off to a flying start and looking impressive right from the off we found ourselves in front in the opening Five minutes, courtesy of a cracking strike from Gwion Edwards from outside the box, unfortunately we were hardly back in our seats and it was honours even, a hopeful ball down our Left side saw Spence fail to close down his man who cross picked out Meite nicely but in all honesty his overhead type strike should have been dealt with by Bart who again was woeful in his attempt, not only was he slow to react but his arms appeared to be by his sides and not even attempting to anticipate where it was going, how many times is he going to be beaten at his near post ?

The incredible start to the game continued as unbelievably we got ourselves back in front a couple of minutes later, this time Bart launched one right down the middle of the pitch and somehow sears was clear and in on goal, this time Freddie didn't disappoint as he calmly slotted it home. great celebrations ensued in the away end as we could not really believe what we were seeing, Two goals from open play inside Twelve minutes ? Town still looked hungry and were passing it around with aplomb, chalk and cheese to what we have seen for bloody years in truth, Jordan Roberts was carrying on from where he left off last week and was causing them problems with his strength, Sears was a good foil for him with his tireless running, the Midfield trio of Chalobah, Skuse & Downes were winning most of the loose ball and had control of the middle of the park, it really was hard to find fault, aside from the sloppy goal we gave them of course.

Jordan Roberts so nearly made it Three with a nice glancing header that at the time looked to me that it just cleared the post but in fact their keeper getting fingers to it to guide it away, so unlucky not to get his first goal. Town really were well on top with crosses and corners being drilled into the reading area, shots were being blocked and headers put just over but it was good stuff. Skuse then played in Roberts who's shot was saved by their keeper but again it was another effort on goal. Town had bossed almost the entire half and should really have been clear by more than One goal, their only real serious effort had somehow got them back level but the signs were very good.

The second half started much like the first only this time it was reading who nearly scored an early goal, Bart atoned for his earlier sloppiness with a good block from right in front of our goal, there was definitely a shift in control with Reading now pushing us back as the temptation was there for us to drop deeper and try to hold what we had. Roberts was replaced by Jackson midway through the half and we seemed to lose a lot of our presence up front. We were playing more on the break now but still had a couple of really good openings, one in particular where Jackson raced away but failed to find the vital pass with sears in a good position in the box. With time running out we again gave what looked like a poor goal away, it was hard to see exactly what happened but it appeared hesitancy in the box saw Meite gifted his second with a header that looked unchallenged from where we were, gutted to say the least but at times in the second half it had been coming. Thankfully the last real effort of the game saw reading blast one high over the bar from a decent position which saw the game end all square.

Based on the first half we killed them, I was so pleased with pretty much everything I saw aside from a stupid gift of a goal, our passing and movement was great to see, not a hoof in sight, our work rate and closing down was on the money and we created chances for a change. There was always going to be a period of the game where we had to defend and so it proved as after the break they pushed us back but Bart did not have many saves to make despite their improvement. I think it is fair to say some of our boys ran out of steam and were running on empty, Sears, Roberts, Edwards & Skuse all looked done in at the end, we lost a bit of our dominance in Midfield too after half time but it was a gutsy effort all the same.

Bart (6)....Partly at fault for the goal in my opinion, poor kicking nearly gifted them a great chance, did make One vital save. Needs to step it up.

Spence (6)...Also could have done better for their first but did do some good defending too.

Chambers...(7) Solid as always and led the team well, got his head to plenty of ball.

Pennington...(7) Another good performance and positions himself so well, reads the game well, some say he hesitated for their second but I would need to see it again.

Knudsen (7)...much better today and defended well for the majority of the game, caught out of position a couple of time towards the end when tiring.

Edwards (6)...Super strike to give us the lead, still not quite coming off for him at times and needs to work harder defensively

Skuse (7)...Clearly carrying an in jury but still battled well and won plenty in the opening half, also got a couple of shots away, some lovely cross field passes when we were dominating them.

Downes (7)...Really impressed in that first half, so composed when in possession, lost it a bit after the break as they went more direct.

Chalobah (6) Not his best game for sure, lacks nothing in effort but still very raw at times and plays on the edge

Sears (7) Another goal for Freddie and well deserved. is definitely starting to look like a player again, the distance he runs must be off the scale, my MOTM.

Roberts (7) Showed that last week was no flash in the pan, so close to his first goal, could have had Two but was generally a handful to the Reading defence all the time he was on.


SUBS :-

Jackson (5)....Finding life in the Championship tough, has great speed but makes wrong decisions, was isolated towards the end though.

Rowe (5)...Not much time to influence the game and saw little of the ball when he came on.


To sum up, play like that first half and we will be absolutely fine, I am convinced of that, as Lambert said we will win games, when some of these draws turn into wins the momentum will gather, are there Three worse teams than us in this division ? One hundred percent yes, we have a lot to do but I am confident with this manager we will soon see an upturn in the amount of points we have, yes we have some tough ones coming up but we are improving so much too, some of the football before the break was of a very good standard and great to see. We will not become the finished article overnight but there are massive strides being taken. COYB'S

[Mach_Polish_Blue]

I had said to the people at half-time that my long trek was worth every penny. Did I feel like that after the final whistle? Despite the result I'd day yes because I haven't seen anything like that from Town team for a few seasons. The way in which we dictated the game in the 1st half, players' commitment and effort. Yes we played poor opposition today and our next away opponents in Nottingham and Stoke won't allow us similar kind of performance but you can play what is in front of you. Whether we played top or bottom opposition in the last few seasons the pattern was mostly the same, sit back, let an opposition have a go at us and hoof it. Apart from moments of brilliances from Ryan Fraser or Tom Lawrence we had rarely seen something like what we have today. Massive bit of a fresh air.
Remember Reading away on Friday night two seasons ago for example? I don't mean 5-1 game. I mean the 2-1 defeat with three penalties which was a torture to watch.

Town came out with the intention TO WIN the match which is a nice change. Sears and Roberts. Both of them wouldn't probably be starters if all players were fit. But if they continue playing like that they are going to give Lambert a selection headache. Sears in particular seems like a player completely reinvigorated by Lambert, I dare to day it is already his best spell since the end of the play-off season. The shackles are gone and he is benefiting from the Lambert's tactical approach. He never gave Reading defence a moment of breath until he got jaded in the 2nd half.
Roberts....it's clear to see that he lacks a bit of quality to perform at this level but he never stops trying. Plays as good as he can and that will do for me. He kept absorbing their defence throughout and really deserved big ovations when he was getting subbed. His alternate Jackson who also came from League Two is a different story. I don't understand why some idiots keep slating him. Not being good enough at this level ain't a sin. He was offered a contract by Ipswich so why blaming him? However he is badly struggling and the pace is his solitary attribute. Nothing besides. Things might have been smoother for him if he had Championship quality alongside him to learn from (Waghorn, McGoldrick).
Edwards constantly threatening them too. The Town front three were the best players on the pitch in the first half that was a pure pleasure to watch. We dominated the game, pressed them and created chances. Apart from their equaliser which was partly Bialkowski's fault they hardly threatened. It was all Ipswich and we looked like a top 6 opposition in compare to Reading. The hosts had to make changes at half time and it paid off for them as they stepped up and became more dangerous.

Town though not as good as they were before the interval tried to hit them on the break. Unfortunately the tiredness seemed to have crept in. Reading's tactical change was a significant factor too. Of course we can't be critical of them. The lack of quality striker(s) and lack of strength in depth turned out to be a problem. Jackson far from good, Ward who has been letting us down not even on the bench again. People might say that Dozzell should have come on but we have to trust Lambert. If he thinks that Dozzell isn't good enough to help the team then so be it.

12 minutes from time Reading made another substitution that heralded a danger. The veteran O'Shea replaced by attacking midfielder Swift so that meant a kitchen sink to be thrown at us.
An equaliser was somewhat a defensive mistake as Pennington had to deal with their two forwards in the air. Where were others? Why was the cross allowed by Knudsen?

We still could have lost which would have been a travesty as Reading players hit the ball over the bar from the close range twice towards the end of the game.

Yes, disappointed with having failed to win but buoyed with what Lambert has done so far during such short time. He would dance on the touchline for the whole game and encourage players. What a contrast to Hurst who would have stood with the folded arms like a bollard.

In my opinion the prime target has been done today as we are still 5 points from safety. I don't think we'll get out of the bottom three before the end of 2018 given our tough schedule so it's imperative we are still 5 points behind at worst following the Millwall game on New Years Day. Evans whose disastrous ownership got us into this mess will have to spend a lot to give Lambert a chance otherwise the latter might walk out like he did at Blackburn a few seasons ago. He was promised funds by Venkys as he himself wasn't interested in mediocrity. The funds never came so he walked out. And now even Venkys realised that they have to spend if they want Blackburn to be competitive. They are going to conclude a deal which will cost them 7m as this is the price for Ben Brereton to become their permanent players. So Evans not only has to spend large sum of money but we somehow have to entice a good goalscorer(s) to join us otherwise we are relegated. Simple as that. The lack of Championship quality strikers and failure to replace Waghorn, McGoldrick and Garner with an adequate quality hits us very hard.

Given what Lambert has done so far we have to be pleased. Compare his first two games to the Hurst last two (Queens Park, Leeds) and there is a hell of difference in terms of players' confidence and commitment.

[nicscreamer]

Wow guys, that’s wonderful to read. Two games in and the difference is immense! We will survive! Come on you blues

[arana peligrosa]

I got highlights some time recent. The opposition goal near the end ruined an otherwise steady and improved performance. Deserved more than a solitary point from the event but fair play that boy they got is something of a talent.

Lambert will pull the team clear of the drop zone over time and while I accept the season is feasibly over even before New Year there is time ahead to show what the new manager can bring in terms of style and focus. If only he had been appointed in the summer in place of Hurst the team would have found itself in more accomplished territory.

f*ck the international break also, gets on the goddamn nerves. Seems to occur after a good score or encouraging game, would want to continue right from the off without further needless interruption.

[Tangfastic]

Pity that we didn’t get those 3 points, but those reports give us optimism. Lambert’s done a great job in just two games where we’ve been in positions to win. Especially good to hear about that first half. How often can we say we dominated a half in the last few years ?

Tough games coming up, but it’s a bonkers league as we know and if we show the same effort we could pick up a win or two.

We could do with a bit of luck going our way, but also a bit more concentration defensively. We’ve been saying where’s the goals are coming from, but probably need to step up defensively.