Reading vs Aston Villa Match Thread

[Neil Hawkes]

According to Smith Hause was outstanding in a practice match in midweek .So why is he not playing ?.As the weeks go by i am finding it hard to understand some of his team selections and decisions

Perhaps because he wouldn't last the whole match and will be brought on later in the game, if needed. He clearly wasn't match fit the last outing we witnessed - a practice match is not the Championship.

[sickbeggar]

jesus, the guy's been here 3 months and he's supposed to have re-built the team already? I don't know what people were expecting in the transfer window but 6+ new players was perhaps a tad optimistic.

he came with a reputation of swashbuckling no fear attacking football

inside 3 months he's morphed into a combination of Bruce,Lambert and Mcliesh

He did fine when he had a half decent XI to chose from. With injuries he's now down to turd polishing. I'd defy any manager to turn this squad into Barcelona. If you're not going to give him any time to put his stamp on the team then we might as well sack him now and bring in another promotion expert.

[TheMalandro]

Is there any chance our defence and goalkeeper can go 90 minutes without a fuck up? Please, just be anonymous today.

[djbone]

Not sure what else he could with the squad we have.

Put Mings at left back thereby continuing to play an injured Chester?
Rely on Hause who looked iffy defensively on his showings so far?
Put Hutton at LB and bring in that defensive colossus Elmo at RB (given Bree gone)?
I was disappointed with our window dealings too (esp the lack of a new DM) but you can't lay that all at Smiths door.

[CJ]

We should be putting these to the sword routinely - they're 22nd in the table, don't score many, tend to draw rather than win, and were pretty crap when we played them (and contrived to draw) in August. Not overly enthused with that line-up, especially Taylor in again, but I guess DS hasn't got many options. Roll on Jack coming back. Think we'll nick it 2-1

[TheMalandro]

Not sure what else he could with the squad we have.

Put Mings at left back thereby continuing to play an injured Chester?
Rely on Hause who looked iffy defensively on his showings so far?
Put Hutton at LB and bring in that defensive colossus Elmo at RB (given Bree gone)?
I was disappointed with our window dealings too (esp the lack of a new DM) but you can't lay that all at Smiths door.

I read that as Pat Mings, that’s a better name.

[john e]

jesus, the guy's been here 3 months and he's supposed to have re-built the team already? I don't know what people were expecting in the transfer window but 6+ new players was perhaps a tad optimistic.

he came with a reputation of swashbuckling no fear attacking football

inside 3 months he's morphed into a combination of Bruce,Lambert and Mcliesh

With all due respect, that's nonsense imo.

safe, cautious, boring exactly the same as what we had before, exactly what we didn't want again

I not saying saying we can't win today we should do no matter what team we put out I'm talking long term here

[LukeJames]

jesus, the guy's been here 3 months and he's supposed to have re-built the team already? I don't know what people were expecting in the transfer window but 6+ new players was perhaps a tad optimistic.

he came with a reputation of swashbuckling no fear attacking football

inside 3 months he's morphed into a combination of Bruce,Lambert and Mcliesh

Not sure how you can say he's morphed into those. We're the leading scorers in the league since he came in, even with players that we all want nowhere near the squad.

[brian green]

Will the Age of Whelan ever end?

[DrGonzo]

Suprised and disappointed to see Whelan...


Anybody showing this live??  Not sure if I want to watch tho'..

[Ian.]

Whelan played well last week. Hourihane can go missing but has still set up two and scored one in his last four starts, so it's not like he contributes nothing.

People seem determined to moan whatever team he picks. Smith isn't to blame for Grealish being injured.

Or to blame the the squad at his disposal to implement his brand of football.

[Fred Crump]

jesus, the guy's been here 3 months and he's supposed to have re-built the team already? I don't know what people were expecting in the transfer window but 6+ new players was perhaps a tad optimistic.

he came with a reputation of swashbuckling no fear attacking football

inside 3 months he's morphed into a combination of Bruce,Lambert and Mcliesh

With all due respect, that's nonsense imo.

safe, cautious, boring exactly the same as what we had before, exactly what we didn't want again

I not saying saying we can't win today we should do no matter what team we put out I'm talking long term here

Seriously John, I’m not being sarcastic this time, but of the players available, who would you pick to be more swashbuckling ? The only one I would change is Kodjia - for all his faults I think he asks defences more questions than Albert ( of late) or El Ghazi.

[brian green]

The squad at his disposal has been supplemented by players who are yet to get up to match speed.  Good luck with that Dean.

[LowerNorthStand]

I used to look at the team sheet earlier in the season and think YES this is a good team which will cause serious problems. Now I look at it and think god help us 

[boutrosboutrosgnarly]

jesus, the guy's been here 3 months and he's supposed to have re-built the team already? I don't know what people were expecting in the transfer window but 6+ new players was perhaps a tad optimistic.

he came with a reputation of swashbuckling no fear attacking football

inside 3 months he's morphed into a combination of Bruce,Lambert and Mcliesh

Not sure how you can say he's morphed into those. We're the leading scorers in the league since he came in, even with players that we all want nowhere near the squad.

He clearly hasn't it's nonsense