Reading 2 - 1 Newcastle United - 27/10/07 - Post match reaction from page 10

[Guest Reading Fan]

I'm delighted that we beat the Toon but I was very surprised by the negativity of the Toon tactics. Whats Big Sam playing at?

 

Your team is seriously lacking spirit away from home. I can't believe your players were giving it 100% and if they weren't thats pretty disgraceful!

 

Why did you play 4 central midfielders? As soon as I heard that your central midfield would be Geremi, Barton, Emre & Butt I was absolutely delighted, I knew straight away that you would have no balance and you wouldn't attack us down the flanks. Owen and Martins received no service at all.

 

That was pretty shocking stuff. But I shouldn't really be surprised because when Big Sam brought Bolton to the Madejski last season they were just as clueless. I hope that isn't a sign of things to come for the Geordies from Big Sam. When you're managing Newcastle you got to be alot more positive than that. Especially when you are away to Reading. There was no reason for Sam's negative tactics to be honest. If you played a good open attacking game of football using Milner and Zog from the start you would have beaten us because you have the better players. At the end of the day we beat you tactically not cause we were better than you.

 

I don't think Big Sam realises that he is at a Big Club yet. He needs to start approaching games like a manager from a big club with players that are better than the opposition. Because you do have better players than most oppositions in the Premiership yet you played like Bolton from last season.

 

 

[ChrisJbarnes]

good post, couldnt agree more

[Mick]

I'm delighted that we beat the Toon but I was very surprised by the negativity of the Toon tactics. Whats Big Sam playing at?

 

Your team is seriously lacking spirit away from home. I can't believe your players were giving it 100% and if they weren't thats pretty disgraceful!

 

Why did you play 4 central midfielders? As soon as I heard that your central midfield would be Geremi, Barton, Emre & Butt I was absolutely delighted, I knew straight away that you would have no balance and you wouldn't attack us down the flanks. Owen and Martins received no service at all.

 

That was pretty shocking stuff. But I shouldn't really be surprised because when Big Sam brought Bolton to the Madejski last season they were just as clueless. I hope that isn't a sign of things to come for the Geordies from Big Sam. When you're managing Newcastle you got to be alot more positive than that. Especially when you are away to Reading. There was no reason for Sam's negative tactics to be honest. If you played a good open attacking game of football using Milner and Zog from the start you would have beaten us because you have the better players. At the end of the day we beat you tactically not cause we were better than you.

 

I don't think Big Sam realises that he is at a Big Club yet. He needs to start approaching games like a manager from a big club with players that are better than the opposition. Because you do have better players than most oppositions in the Premiership yet you played like Bolton from last season.

 

 

 

Agreed, sadly.

[Guest Sniffer]

Sad but true.

[Guest Reading Fan]

I wonder if Sam is too tactical for his own good sometimes?

 

Maybe its necessary when you manage a small club like Bolton. You got to get results by hook and by crook. And when your players are inferior to the oppositions you got to do what you can to stifle games and stifle teams.

 

But when your players are better than most other teams, surely you got to play to your strengths and not worry about the opposition and just steam roller them.

 

Reading play the same way every week. Apart from away at Old Trafford, Reading don't alter their tactics for anyone. The teams who beat us are the ones that play to their own strengths and steam roller us. Whenever its an open, honest game of football involving Reading, its normally the team with the better players that wins it.

 

There really was no excuse for Sams tactics. That was poor.

[madras]

I wonder if Sam is too tactical for his own good sometimes?

 

Maybe its necessary when you manage a small club like Bolton. You got to get results by hook and by crook. And when your players are inferior to the oppositions you got to do what you can to stifle games and stifle teams.

 

But when your players are better than most other teams, surely you got to play to your strengths and not worry about the opposition and just steam roller them.

 

Reading play the same way every week. Apart from away at Old Trafford, Reading don't alter their tactics for anyone. The teams who beat us are the ones that play to their own strengths and steam roller us. Whenever its an open, honest game of football involving Reading, its normally the team with the better players that wins it.

nope...too cautious perhaps

[TRon]

I wonder if Sam is too tactical for his own good sometimes?

 

Maybe its necessary when you manage a small club like Bolton. You got to get results by hook and by crook. And when your players are inferior to the oppositions you got to do what you can to stifle games and stifle teams.

 

But when your players are better than most other teams, surely you got to play to your strengths and not worry about the opposition and just steam roller them.

 

Reading play the same way every week. Apart from away at Old Trafford, Reading don't alter their tactics for anyone. The teams who beat us are the ones that play to their own strengths and steam roller us....

There really was no excuse for Sams tactics. That was poor.

 

I said after the Derby game that teams like them should be beaten away and steam-rollered at home, and got slated for it by HTL, NE5 and HTT to name a few. It wasn't arrogance as some tried to make out, just common sense and logic. Now that an opposition fan has said much the same thing maybe those people will see where I was coming from even though they probably won't admit it.

 

 

[Guest bluegeordie]

I'm delighted that we beat the Toon but I was very surprised by the negativity of the Toon tactics. Whats Big Sam playing at?

 

Your team is seriously lacking spirit away from home. I can't believe your players were giving it 100% and if they weren't thats pretty disgraceful!

 

Why did you play 4 central midfielders? As soon as I heard that your central midfield would be Geremi, Barton, Emre & Butt I was absolutely delighted, I knew straight away that you would have no balance and you wouldn't attack us down the flanks. Owen and Martins received no service at all.

 

That was pretty shocking stuff. But I shouldn't really be surprised because when Big Sam brought Bolton to the Madejski last season they were just as clueless. I hope that isn't a sign of things to come for the Geordies from Big Sam. When you're managing Newcastle you got to be alot more positive than that. Especially when you are away to Reading. There was no reason for Sam's negative tactics to be honest. If you played a good open attacking game of football using Milner and Zog from the start you would have beaten us because you have the better players. At the end of the day we beat you tactically not cause we were better than you.

 

I don't think Big Sam realises that he is at a Big Club yet. He needs to start approaching games like a manager from a big club with players that are better than the opposition. Because you do have better players than most oppositions in the Premiership yet you played like Bolton from last season.

 

blueyes.gif  Spot on, imo, and if Sam doesn't change his away philosophy, tactics, and selections quick smart, then there's going to be so much pressure on our home form that any dropped points at St James's will feel like a complete catastrophe.

 

Seriously, I don't wish to come across as a drama merchant / pessimistic cunt, but anything less than 3 points against Pompy, followed by another Derby or Reading-like away performance against the Mackems, and a promising start to the campaign would suddenly slip to being decidedly mediocre, especially considering that we'd then be facing three challenging fixtures in a row - Liverpool at home (although who knows what line-up Rafa's "wheel of fortune" selection policy will actually see us playing against), Blackburn away (who, given Sam would have been happy with a draw at Reading, he'll presumably be hoping not to lose to by anything more than 3 clear goals), and Arsenal at home (only this time we'll be up against the grown-up version, and not the Carling Cup Wunderkinder).

 

Hold on to your hats lads because, although I hope not, I fear that we might be in for a rough ride ahead. :icon_pale:         

[Parky]

I'm delighted that we beat the Toon but I was very surprised by the negativity of the Toon tactics. Whats Big Sam playing at?

 

Your team is seriously lacking spirit away from home. I can't believe your players were giving it 100% and if they weren't thats pretty disgraceful!

 

Why did you play 4 central midfielders? As soon as I heard that your central midfield would be Geremi, Barton, Emre & Butt I was absolutely delighted, I knew straight away that you would have no balance and you wouldn't attack us down the flanks. Owen and Martins received no service at all.

 

That was pretty shocking stuff. But I shouldn't really be surprised because when Big Sam brought Bolton to the Madejski last season they were just as clueless. I hope that isn't a sign of things to come for the Geordies from Big Sam. When you're managing Newcastle you got to be alot more positive than that. Especially when you are away to Reading. There was no reason for Sam's negative tactics to be honest. If you played a good open attacking game of football using Milner and Zog from the start you would have beaten us because you have the better players. At the end of the day we beat you tactically not cause we were better than you.

 

I don't think Big Sam realises that he is at a Big Club yet. He needs to start approaching games like a manager from a big club with players that are better than the opposition. Because you do have better players than most oppositions in the Premiership yet you played like Bolton from last season.

 

blueyes.gif  Spot on, imo, and if Sam doesn't change his away philosophy, tactics, and selections quick smart, then there's going to be so much pressure on our home form that any dropped points at St James's will feel like a complete catastrophe.

 

Seriously, I don't wish to come across as a drama merchant / pessimistic cunt, but anything less than 3 points against Pompy, followed by another Derby or Reading-like away performance against the Mackems, and a promising start to the campaign would suddenly slip to being decidedly mediocre, especially considering that we'd then be facing three challenging fixtures in a row - Liverpool at home (although who knows what line-up Rafa's "wheel of fortune" selection policy will actually see us playing against), Blackburn away (who, given Sam would have been happy with a draw at Reading, he'll presumably be hoping not to lose to by anything more than 3 clear goals), and Arsenal at home (only this time we'll be up against the grown-up version, and not the Carling Cup Wunderkinder).

 

Hold on to your hats lads because, although I hope not, I fear that we might be in for a rough ride ahead. :icon_pale:          

 

 

Yes and Sam has rather foolishly brought it all on himself with his negative 'shut up shop' away muppetry.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I really hoped that Sam would surprise us by not committing the obvious and predictable mistake of approaching away games so negatively and getting beat by average sides.

 

Sadly though, we could see this coming a mile away and he hasn't been able to avoid it. I just hope that this defeat will give him a wake-up call that he can put out the same team away, against most teams, and come away with more results than we are doing.

 

It feels a bit like a rabbit in the headlights, we could see this coming against Reading but coudln't get out of the way of it.

 

I'm very surprised that Sam can't see he is taking the wrong approach. He had better realise soon or he won't last long.

[merlin]

Reading Fan is spot on with his/her comments - the players DO seem to lack spirit away from SJP and that, coupled with the lack of cohesion/decent passing & possession indicates to me that something is wrong on the coaching side.

Without harking back(ONCE AGAIN !!) to the past too much, our best passing games were played under KK & SBR - both of these managers gave ample credit to their coaches ; with KK was Fazackerly(now at Man City, so is there a connection with their form this season..!!??) and with SBR was John Carver..

 

There gave been adverse comments by Boro fans about Steve Round following his spell at their place, and I am uncertain how much influence Pearson has under the new regime..

 

What IS certain is that the away performances ARE unsatisfactory, no matter how anyone tries to dress them up and the fact that an away side's fab can see our deficiencies better than some of our own speaks volumes...!

[sparta]

I'd say hindu is just confused but I actually think he doesn't know good football from bad. With the exception of the first half aginst Bolton I don't think we've " looked good " in any of our games. Then I didn't expect Bolton to be so bad and everybody took them to the cleaners.

 

I'd ask the question, although we have points and bearing in mind we haven't played a good team this season, how many people can actually say that they have come out of a match... or watched one on the telly...and been happy with the performance.? Happy with the quality of the football we've just played? Some good individual goals and performances but the football has been s**** overall.

 

Spurs were rubbish and we barely beat them. Everton weren't much better and had just flown in from God knows where in the early hours of the morning after a UEFA cup game and we barely beat them. Man City skinned us. Reading could easily have beaten us by three goals if they weren't as bad as us.

 

 

 

I'm sorry mate, but I still think you're talking complete tripe.

 

I've been in attendance at every home game this season, as well as Boro away and Man City away.

 

Spurs - Although we didn't create a great deal, we never looked like we were going to lose it. I agree Spurs were poor but we can only beat what's in front of us.

Everton - Could, and probably should have been 3 nil up at half time after creating a lot in the first half. Poor 25mins in the second half but Sam turned the game on it's head with his substitutions.

Wigan - Had enough chances to win comfortably, ended up leaving it late, but we deserved the win.

Man City - First half was quite good. Lacked creativity, but our allround play was good. Poor second half.

Bolton - Played some cracking stuff first half. Poor in the second half but that can be expected when you're 3nil up at half time.

West Ham - There was a point in the first half when I thought we were poor, but overall we were dominant and deserved the win.

 

I think people are just getting ahead of themselves. IN MY OPINION, we have shown a good deal of progress, especially in home games, and if we can transfer that to our away form, I'll be happy.

 

But then again, I'm not of the opinion that we have a divine right to finish in the top 6 this year. There are a lot of teams as good as us or better fighting for positions (notably Portsmouth, Blackburn, Everton, Man City, and maybe even Villa and West Ham).

 

Top 8 for me would represent a good season, and significant progress.

 

agreed