Back from the Game - Coventry (H)

[melonhead]

One other point, which I don't think I've seen mentioned, has anyone taking the piss out of McDermott for playing Harte and Mills together?

When Dellor suggested it a while back some of the experts on here (and McDermott himself to be fair) laughed the idea off as some wacky no-hope solution.

kind of forced into it rather than sitting down and thinking- actually , you know what, dellor is right

[Hoop Blah]

I'm not trying to say that he's suddenly started taking advice from the tactical master that is Dellor, but he had other options in the squad that he decided against using in favour of the option that was laughed out of town a few weeks back.

Another bug-bear of mine is our injury management these days. I've said it a lot over the last few years but long gone are the (Clark) days when we hardly suffered injuries. How many were missing this weekend? 5 or 6?

[Fox Talbot]

Yet another poor and uninspiring performance at home which makes it just one of a long line of forgettable victories for me. The resilliance of this team, and it's ability to turn poor performances into great wins, is something to be proud of, albeit at the same time really not liking watching them.

Federici had a blinder, with a couple of nice camera saves added in, which says it all.

When did we last play well?

Agreed - this is possibly the most unenthralling promotion race we've ever been involved in.

Fair play to BMD though, I was expecting unenthralling mid-table mediocrity, so it's a plus of a kind.

[ZacNaloen]

I'm not trying to say that he's suddenly started taking advice from the tactical master that is Dellor, but he had other options in the squad that he decided against using in favour of the option that was laughed out of town a few weeks back.

Another bug-bear of mine is our injury management these days. I've said it a lot over the last few years but long gone are the (Clark) days when we hardly suffered injuries. How many were missing this weekend? 5 or 6?

They had to train in the dome last week, I wonder if that had anything to do with it, not exactly like running on grass in there.

[melonhead]

I'm not trying to say that he's suddenly started taking advice from the tactical master that is Dellor, but he had other options in the squad that he decided against using in favour of the option that was laughed out of town a few weeks back.

Another bug-bear of mine is our injury management these days. I've said it a lot over the last few years but long gone are the (Clark) days when we hardly suffered injuries. How many were missing this weekend? 5 or 6?

its been freezing cold, and the players have been training on astroturf/playing on hard pitches , and doing alot of extra gym work- pretty understandable

[Hoop Blah]

Why is it understandable?

If you prepare and warm down sufficiently and get the level of training correct then there should've really be an issue, unless it's just a freak run of impact injuries which you can't really legislate against (apart from through better conditioning, to an extent).

[melonhead]

its understandable because injuries occur more often in cold weather, and on hard pitches.......

[TFF]

We were lucky in the end weren't we?

I wouldn't want to see that line up again - better sides, or a Feds off day, will be our undoing. Odd selection really, against a side with two stand in full backs McD opts to field behind Kebe a centre back who while clearly capable (he can pick a pass can't he?) was never going to run the overlap and another full back in front of Harte on the other side.

Much of our attacking threat was negated before we started. Cywka clearly has something about him and if McAnuff is still unfit I'd like to see him start against his old club.

was a strange game- think lucky is over stating it, a couple of long range efforts was all they had.
agree on the selection being odd, but dictated by alot of late injuries

agree totally on cywka-deserves a start for sure.

Brian's not listening

http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/footb ... rby_county

[melonhead]

i wouldnt expect him to even be able to hear me tbh

[Hoop Blah]

its understandable because injuries occur more often in cold weather, and on hard pitches.......

If it's muscular injuries then the clubs not doing something right in their preparations or choice of training.

If it's impact because of the surface they're playing on then again I'd question their approach and choice of training.

If it's impact from a good old fashioned clash or tackle in training or a game then no issues with that, it's just part of the game, but not dictated to by the weather. I don't remember any of our injuries occuring during a game though so I just think something isn't quite right somewhere.

[Silver Fox]

Not a great game but 3 points and last I looked we were 2 points off third, which is nice

LOLz @ anyone going outside the Feds/Gorkks/Pearce triumverate for POTS BTW

[No Fixed Abode]

MOTM was Federici for me. Some good saves which kept Reading in the game.

[Cypry]

its understandable because injuries occur more often in cold weather, and on hard pitches.......

If it's muscular injuries then the clubs not doing something right in their preparations or choice of training.

If it's impact because of the surface they're playing on then again I'd question their approach and choice of training.

If it's impact from a good old fashioned clash or tackle in training or a game then no issues with that, it's just part of the game, but not dictated to by the weather. I don't remember any of our injuries occuring during a game though so I just think something isn't quite right somewhere.

Not sure about HRK, he's been out for a couple of weeks now, or Cummings, but Griffin "picked up a knock" in training last week, and Jobi has had a hernia op (as per his program notes on Saturday)...

I think the choice of Mills on the left wing was pretty much forced - shame Obita went out on loan really, could've seen him starting...

[Hoop Blah]

Could've used either Cywka or Antonio on the wing, with Kebe on the left if needs be, if he thought they were up to it.

Not saying that the Mills option wasn't the right choice, but that there were others who may be seen as more natural for the role that were overlooked in favour of the option that many here poo-poo'd not long ago.

We're keep being told how our squad is so big and full of quality yet a couple of wingers out injured and we're left with the Mills & Harte combo.

[ZacNaloen]

Wingers in the squad

11 MF Jobi McAnuff (captain) (and injured)
14 MF Jimmy Kébé
19 MF Hal Robson-Kanu - injured
28 MF Michail Antonio - Injured
37 FW Jordan Obita - Out on Loan
41 MF Tomasz Cywka - not a starter yet
51 MF Ryan Edwards - only 17/18



I can see there may be an argument for starting with Cywka although I'm sure there's a good reason he hasn't been asked to start yet the only real option left was someone from the youth team or ask one of our more attacking full backs to play as a winger.

[Hoop Blah]

Thought Antonio was just bombed out not injured. Might well be wrong on that though.

Cywka has obviously been bought in to add more attacking options and I was surprised to see him miss out in favour of Mills when we were at home to the bottom of the league side.

[ZacNaloen]

Injured according the radio

Clubs statement certainly makes it look like he was dropped though, "not involved" always makes me think the players in some sort of disciplinary trouble

[Snowball]

Did not everybody presume Connolly would play as soon as he was fit?

Do you believe he'd come from a premiership club to be warming the bench?

I fully expected him to play.

I've said before that we get "political" injuries and was battered for it.

Whereas I'm not saying people are LYING there's another way to look at this.

Imagine Cummings and Griffin and McAnuff etc are "playing with injuries" getting injections,
maybe strapped up, or just carrying niggles so they are playing at 97%

A manager has a class player he would like to play, so between him and the medical staff
they "Decide to rest players X and Y, to allow them to get fitter." They COULD HAVE played
if the cover was not there but they are taken out. It's "lucky" that the replacement (Connolly)
is a class player. Now get the shirt off him...


Mills seems an odd case, but listen to his interviews and he sounds like he expected to play
and he just got a contract. Maybe McDermott rested McAnuff because we have three games
in a week,

[Snowball]

Injured according the radio

Clubs statement certainly makes it look like he was dropped though, "not involved" always makes me think the players in some sort of disciplinary trouble

Listening between the lines to the radio on Saturday
it most definitely sounded like things were "happening"

One pundit actually said, "Are you calling McDermott a liar?"

Thursday Dellor was told there were no probs with any of Griffin, Cummings, McAnuff
and yet THREE got injured (and Antonio was out too) all on the same day.

What amazing odds!

[TFF]

Did not everybody presume Connolly would play as soon as he was fit?

Do you believe he'd come from a premiership club to be warming the bench?

I fully expected him to play.

I've said before that we get "political" injuries and was battered for it.

Whereas I'm not saying people are LYING there's another way to look at this.

Imagine Cummings and Griffin and McAnuff etc are "playing with injuries" getting injections,
maybe strapped up, or just carrying niggles so they are playing at 97%

A manager has a class player he would like to play, so between him and the medical staff
they "Decide to rest players X and Y, to allow them to get fitter." They COULD HAVE played
if the cover was not there but they are taken out. It's "lucky" that the replacement (Connolly)
is a class player. Now get the shirt off him...


Mills seems an odd case, but listen to his interviews and he sounds like he expected to play
and he just got a contract. Maybe McDermott rested McAnuff because we have three games
in a week,

Jobi needs a groin op and is out for six weeks but don't let the facts get in the way.