Reading 2 Argyle 0

By: Jim | August 17th, 2008

I hate the South East. I mean, I *really hate it. From the moment one of the infamous Reading FC stewards yelled “Oi! No cameras allowed!” while I was taking pictures (through the stupid extra netting they put up at the MadStad) of the flipping warm-up, you could sense that the afternoon was not going to be pleasant. Surrounded by ex-Prem opulence, corporate obsequience and above all damn *branding*, the entire ambience was of meekly sitting there while the money boys gave it to you good. It was a brutal experience.

To give Ibrahima Sonko the freedom of the six-yard box once may look like misfortune. To give it to him twice is not just careless, it’s criminally negligent. Rory may well have “held his hands up in the dressing room” - it’s still not bloody good enough. Kebe ripped Barker to bits all afternoon. Walton looked exhausted from the kick-off, three games in a week being understandably beyond him. Doumbe and Seip were calm and assured, for the most part. Summers was involved with most of our good stuff (all heralded, by the way, from the time when Steve MacLean came on and we actually began to play some football, pressurize the decidedly dodgy Reading midfield) but also had an alarming tendency to scuttle sideways, Ray Wilkins-like. Puncheon was our most creative player, happy to take on and beat three players at once. If MacLean had got more than a quiff on his exquisite cross with about 20 left, we might have seen some fireworks late on. As it was, Reading fairly quickly re-established the grip they had on the game and if Convey had not been so profligate in front of goal could easily have embarrassed us further.

Some points to ponder:

1) Mackie isn’t ready to start. Nowhere near. Not on the wing, not up front, not at all. Use him as a 15 minute impact sub by all means, but don’t start with him. Let him run at a tired defence that hes got more of a chance of beating. Ingimarsson and Sonko laughed at him all game.

2) MacLean must start. He’s our best player. Keeping him on the bench because some of our idiot fans have a downer on him just isn’t good enough.

3) Jermaine Easter looked absolutely fed up.

4) Puncheon is great, but he needs the ball so……..

5) buy a central midfielder this week. And a striker. Please.