Back from the game - Doncaster

[Maguire]

And LOL at Floyd (was it?) who said the home fans stayed with the team throughout - they booed them at 3-1!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 142304.stm

McD > McGuire. Don't get me wrong, I have little time for many of the gormless chavs who support RFC but at 3-1 down the chanting of supporting where I was sat actually got louder.

I heard booing, nothing else.

Mainly from Silver Fox.

edit:- McD was talking about 3-2 onwards, when I admit the crowd were into it.

[Ian Royal]

And LOL at Floyd (was it?) who said the home fans stayed with the team throughout - they booed them at 3-1!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 142304.stm

McD > McGuire. Don't get me wrong, I have little time for many of the gormless chavs who support RFC but at 3-1 down the chanting of supporting where I was sat actually got louder.

I heard booing, nothing else.

Mainly from Silver Fox.

There was maybe half a dozen people heard booing on the radio at half time if that helps.

On the subject of Long... This is just perfectly set up for him to be dropped in the next few games, then work his way back into the team post Christmas and get his usual run of half a dozen or so goals which convinces everyone maybe next season he'll come good, so we hang onto him once again when we ought to get rid and he then starts 11/12 with another disappointing barren run.

[LoyalRoyalFan]

How Martis didn't get a yellow card is beyond me. He committed about 10 fouls, walked off with the ball when we had a free-kick and was shouting abuse at the linesman and the ref.

[Berry]

My first game of the season..I run a Reading FC Development Centre in Swinedon and we brought the players down for photos on the pitch and the Match Experience...I can honestly say that the 90 odd people with me said it was one of the most exciting games they had ever seen.
I have converted at least 10 players from the Centre to Royals fans, It was a great day.

As a Reading fan though Ive never seen such a contrast in a game, I was behind the goal when Harte chested the ball down to the Donny forward and then jogged behind him....Very Slack defending, But then again when he took the Free Kick I told the boys this will go in, I was happy to be right.

One of the U7s with us came up to me after the game and said "This is the best day of my life" Another youngster converted to the blue and white way!!!

[Deadlock]

But then [Harte] comes up with an absolute pearler of a freekick which rather sums our team up really - somewhat inconsistent

I was amused by James O'Connor seeing Harte lining up to take the kick and running back to take up a position protecting the right side of the goal, only to see the ball sailing fractionally above his head into the net.

[Snowball]

On the subject of Long... This is just perfectly set up for him to be dropped in the next few games, then work his way back into the team post Christmas and get his usual run of half a dozen or so goals which convinces everyone maybe next season he'll come good, so we hang onto him once again when we ought to get rid and he then starts 11/12 with another disappointing barren run.

Long has scored 11 goals in his last 31 starts, 8 from open play. 1 goal in every 2.8 games and this includes his current dry-run

That is as good a percentage as Doyle/Kitson, better than either


GET YOUR BLINKERS OFF.

[Ian Royal]

On the subject of Long... This is just perfectly set up for him to be dropped in the next few games, then work his way back into the team post Christmas and get his usual run of half a dozen or so goals which convinces everyone maybe next season he'll come good, so we hang onto him once again when we ought to get rid and he then starts 11/12 with another disappointing barren run.

Long has scored 11 goals in his last 31 starts, 8 from open play. 1 goal in every 2.8 games and this includes his current dry-run

That is as good a percentage as Doyle/Kitson, better than either


GET YOUR BLINKERS OFF.

Check your facts snowspam. Kitson's scoring record for us was almost bang on one goal each two games. 2.01 in fact. Even including his loan spell it's 2.09 Significantly better. And Kitson scored more than 15 goals for us every full Championship season he played, despite significant periods out injured.

And check your facts again. Doyle's record was 2.58, again better than Long, not the reverse, and that's with several very disappointing barren spells. And lets not forget that certainly Doyle, and possibly Kitson got their records with a higher number of starts at Premier league level.

[loyalroyal4life]

Seriously hope N.Hunt starts next week

He is pure quality, gives 110% and i am sure he can do a job up top on his own

[Handsome Man]

Seriously hope N.Hunt starts next week

He is pure quality, gives 110% and i am sure he can do a job up top on his own

He worries me a bit. Good players can back from injury half the player they were, and Hunt looks like he might be one of them. Church and Long next week: it is up to the rest of the team to stop using Long as the target so often.

[brendywendy]

So he is a bit worse than 2 of the best strikers weve had? Both sides need to reign in their polarised views. Long played well,flicked on every header.if the rest of our attackers went past him as they should have been wed have had more joy. He works so hard and is too unselfish. Should have scored a couple. Agree maybe he needs a rest,or another shane long along side to run onto his flicks.

[SLAMMED]

What a game

[Kitson12]

Also worth noting is the fact we've scored 8 in two games WITHOUT Kebe, I think that's pretty good, and shows we don't need to rely on him.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

On the subject of Long... This is just perfectly set up for him to be dropped in the next few games, then work his way back into the team post Christmas and get his usual run of half a dozen or so goals which convinces everyone maybe next season he'll come good, so we hang onto him once again when we ought to get rid and he then starts 11/12 with another disappointing barren run.

Long has scored 11 goals in his last 31 starts, 8 from open play. 1 goal in every 2.8 games and this includes his current dry-run

Long has scored 2 goals this season from 13 starts, both penalties.

His previous 18 starts saw his score 8 goals, not nine. Of those 8 "open play" goals, one was a penalty and another was from a free kick.

Or are you counting goals scored as sub in his "goals from 31 starts" stat, as well as counting goals from free kicks as goals from open play?

[Snowball]

I'm sorry, I was looking at the shots to goals data

145 appearances 56 goals = 1 goal every 2.59 appearances Kitson
155 appearances 55 goals = 1 goal every 2.82 appearances Doyle, identical to Long's recent form
031 appearances 11 goals = 1 goal every 2.82 appearances Long, his latest 31 appearances, as discussed

[Snowball]

His previous 18 starts saw his score 8 goals, not nine. Of those 8 "open play" goals, one was a penalty and another was from a free kick.

Or are you counting goals scored as sub in his "goals from 31 starts" stat, as well as counting goals from free kicks as goals from open play?

Which one was the free-kick? I checked all his goals

[Ian Royal]

He is counting one goal as a sub in his 31 one starts, which is actually from before his sample of games from what I can work out. Which is why I've tallied up career goals and starts for several of our recent strikers and found that actually that means their records are all superior, as a like for like comaprison.

[Snowball]

His previous 18 starts saw his score 8 goals, not nine. Of those 8 "open play" goals, one was a penalty and another was from a free kick.

Or are you counting goals scored as sub in his "goals from 31 starts" stat, as well as counting goals from free kicks as goals from open play?

Which one was the free-kick? I checked all his goals

Were you thinking of this goal? Or have I missed a free?

We kept up that earlier pressure in some style, and with only eight on the clock we scored a cracking goal. Brian Howard fed Grzegorz Rasiak, who in turn did well to shift it on and supply Kebe. It was not easy for the Malian to control, but he got it under and turned it forward for Shane Long. The Irishman had plenty to do as he took possession 30 yards out, but he took it in his stride, left his man for dead and lashed home low past Stephen Bywater in some style.

30 Yarder but NOT a free-kick.

[Snowball]

He is counting one goal as a sub in his 31 one starts, which is actually from before his sample of games from what I can work out. Which is why I've tallied up career goals and starts for several of our recent strikers and found that actually that means their records are all superior, as a like for like comaprison.

Gwathoppa posted a stat for Shane's last 25 games (incorrect, anyway because it was 24 games, Long was injured for one)

Precisely 25 Long-Games ago Shane scored, and in the FIVE games prior to Gwathoppa's "selection" he did very well indeed, two versus Villa, two versus Plymouth (one a pen) (2-1 so he won us all three points) and the only goal v Barnsley (another three points) and a goal v Doncaster (we won 2-1)

Here they are again


These games were the ones that Long played in immediately before your deliberately selective matches.

5 games, six goals, five goals in open play

In fact, for his last 31 starts, Long has scored 11 goals, 8 of them in open play (including his game for Ireland) A goal every 2.8 games

For Reading 10 goals in last 30 games, 7 of them in open play (1 in 3.0) Highly respectable.

00 H 1-0 Barnsley. LONG goal in open play. Long wins the points
00 A 2-1 Doncaster. LONG, header in open play
00 H 2-1 Plymouth. LONG scored in 51st minute OPEN PLAY, then scored second 94th minute penalty WINNER. Long wins the points
00 H 2-2 WBA
01 H 2-4 Aston Villa LONG: Two great goals in open play. Long puts Reading 2-0 up at Half-Time

02 H 4-1 Derby County LONG: Scored a brilliant thirty-yarder in open play
03 H 2-0 Bristol City
04 H 1-0 QPR
05 A 1-1 Middlesbrough
06 A 2-1 Leicester City
07 H 1-1 WBA
08 A 1-2 Ipswich Town
09 A 0-0 Cardiff City
10 H 1-2 Newcastle
11 H 6-0 Peterborough LONG: Great goal in open play
12 A 2-2 Scunthorpe Did Not Start
13 A 0-3 Watford
14 H 4-1 Preston


As far as I can see all those goals were scored in STARTS. Which goal are you saying was scored as a sub?

[Royalee]

Go away Snowball.

[Snowball]

He is counting one goal as a sub in his 31 one starts, which is actually from before his sample of games from what I can work out. Which is why I've tallied up career goals and starts for several of our recent strikers and found that actually that means their records are all superior, as a like for like comaprison.

Ian I can see no goals scored as a sub in that run of games. Which one do you mean?

"His sample" ie my sample was mean to be thirty games, his last 30 STARTS but there is one game in there where he came on late as a sub, a 2-2 draw where he didn't score.

The reason I choose his latest thirty is because that's indicative of him as a maturing player
and was exposing the rather nastily-selective 24/25 by Gwathoppa, that 24/25 coming
immediately after a very fine goal-scoring run.

I have a spreadsheet on Doyle where his 17 goals included 3-3-2-2-2 = 12 goals in 5 games (not consecutive games)... that leaves an awful number of blank games


Considering Shane's tough start this year and the job he is being asked to do, 10 in 30, 1 in 3) 11 in 31 (2) (1 in 2.82) if you include two games for Ireland this season is very good indeed when we consider that 6.5 MILLION-pound man Doyle was 2.82 for his Reading career.