Ken's Reading intro to kick us off!
READING BETWEEN THE LINES
I know an awful pun about Reading FC, but the Royals founded in 1871 are the 5th oldest English club that are still in existence participating in the four English Divisions (for the record Boro are 12th). However the Royals didn’t turn to professionalism until 1895 and weren’t elected to the Third Division South until 1920, and remained in that Division until six years later when they gained promotion to the Second Division and during that time twice paid host to Boro at Elm Park winning 2-1 in 1926 but losing to Boro 3-2 a year later. They were then relegated back to the Third Division South at the end of the 1930/31 season and remained there right up to the Second World War and beyond . They were probably unlucky not to be promoted to the Second Division again in both 1949 and 1952 when they were Champions, but in those days only the Champions of the two Third Division titles were promoted.
Having then spent 8 of 13 seasons in the Fourth Division Reading held the record for the number of successive wins for the start of a season with 13 in the 1985/86 season with a certain Trevor Senior, eventually becoming well known to Boro supporters, being top scorer for 7 seasons out of 8 for the Berkshire club. However the real turning point for Reading came in the 2005/06 season when they won the Championship with a record 106 points and only losing twice all season. Even so they were one of the favourites to be relegated from the Premier League in the following season. However they shocked Boro in their opening match at their new home named the Madjeski Stadium after their benefactor John Madjeski. In the televised match Boro had taken a 2-0 early lead with goals from Stewart Downing and Yakubu only for Reading to score twice in two minutes just before the interval with goals from Kitson and Sidwell, and the winner from Leroy Lita 10 minutes into the second half. Reading finished 8th in that season but were relegated the season after.
The Royals have had a somewhat chequered existence since with one season in the Premier League in the 2012/13 season, 3rd in the Championship in the 2016/17 season but finishing 20th in both 2017//18 and the following season, but here they are again in a playoff position. Nevertheless Boro’s record away to Reading is fairly even with 6 wins for Boro, 5 for the Royals and 6 draws. After the win against Huddersfield, Boro may now be considered reasonably safe from relegation, but if they have aspirations for a playoff place I reckon this Saturday’s match is a ‘must win’ game, not merely a ‘not lose’ one. However Millwall won at the Madejski a week or so ago, so why can’t Boro?
Unfortunately I haven't got Werder's access to edit and move posts (or maybe I do but just haven't figured it out) but the above is Ken's kick off for the Royals on Saturday!
And Woody continued Bournemouth's unbeaten run with a win last night. It is now four matches in all competitions. Two wins and a draw in the league. His presessor had seen Bournemouth lost their fourth Championship game in succession before the dismissal.
Football is a funny old game, isnt it? Up the Boro!
We rode our luck in the end against Huddersfield so there will have to be a repeat of the second half of the first half performance on Saturday or at least a repeat of the Norwich display when we snuffed them out rather than attempted to play. If we start like we did against the Terriers and finish in the same manner (hopefully though with all 11 men) I don't think the Royals will be as wasteful in their finishing.
That Reading game above that Ken refers to when we blew a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 was from memory the game when Julio Arca made an impressive debut then went off injured (wasn't he then out for some months?) after his injury the game turned on its head and we fell apart. Wasn't it also Southgate's first game as Manager for the Boro?
Strangely as has been pointed out on here previously by Len I think Warnock's Boro seem to do well against the better sides through negative tactics than against the poorer sides who are not as adventurous. I'd love a win to get a bit of a run going but although of little use in bridging the gap a draw would be a good result. At some point though this season we need to start a run of positive results so let's hope we get some momentum going.
Thanks Ken (and RR for pasting across).
I'll add the opener I had drafted in case there were no takers:
Boro head for the Madejski this Saturday for a Royals rumble with fellow play-off contenders, Reading. With both managers wrestling over which XI can deal the biggest blow to their rivals and leave their play-off ambitions on the ropes, Neil Warnock will be hoping that victory over Huddersfield in midweek will be the cheap shot in the arm his side needed as he looks to build a platform for the remainder of the season.
Most usually, Reading have neither a former Boro manager nor any former Boro players so at least we don’t have to worry about any previous employees coming back to slap us in the face.
When the two sides met at The Riverside back in October, they played out a 0-0 draw to the delight of the mystic OFB. At that point, however, Reading had a 100% record, conceding only one goal in the four games played. Reading followed up their draw with us with three further victories to take them six points clear at the top of the Championship with only the Boro denying them maximum points.
Since then, The Royals have dipped a little but have remained firmly in the top six all season and, like Boro, secured a further three points in midweek with a comfortable victory away at early-season rivals, Bristol City.
The current form table shows Reading in a surprising 13th place with 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats in their last 6 games and a home form record of 3 wins and 3 defeats from their last 6. Typical Championship!
Boro’s form overall is poor as we know but away from home we are 6th with 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats, so perhaps not quite as bad as we thought.
How, however, will Neil Warnock see this game? Will it be a case of scrap and contain against a good side? Or will it be “get at them and score goals”?
With Fletcher and Watmore fit and impressing in midweek, it would be a strange choice to bench them again unless they have serious fatigue. Kebano has equally impressed in his short spell to date so perhaps Warnock finally has the tools to be a little more expansive at a time of the season when draws do little for us.
More likely, however, is that George Saville will be restored as we look to spoil The Royals and draw blue blood on the counter.
For me, though, Reading are eight points ahead of us in fifth and we can’t afford to let that gap grow without a fight, whilst Cardiff are roaring up the league to join the contenders and have overtaken us. Time to go for it – finishing seventh or twelfth makes little difference when all is said and done.
Come on Boro.
Thanks Ken for taking up the baton and thanks to RR for his decoration work.
We have so far only won one against the top six sides Swansea (H) and lost to Norwich (H) Brentford (H) Watford (A), with draws against Bournemouth (H) Reading (H) and Brentford (A).
If we want to keep play our off hopes alive then we need a few wins against our top six rivals to make up the current six point gap, so this weekend would be a good one to start.
Reading had a good away win on Tuesday at Bristol and their form over the last 6 games has produced 8 points from W2 D2 L2, as against our 4 points from W1 D1 L4, putting them in 12th place in the form table as against our 20th; based on those statistics a home win looks more likely.
In the event that PM's red card is overturned then NW will have a selection dilemma as he indicated that DF should be available for this one and would then have three centre backs to chose from unless he uses DF, PM and GH as a back three.
It would appear that this one will be too early to slot Tav back into the side but he should be available for Bristol next Tuesday.
JH, NK, DW and AF should be guaranteed a starting position based on their performances on Tuesday. It will be interesting to see which formation he uses and who he opts for in midfield/defence.
I would prefer our early season defence of four at the back, AD DF GH MB with NK JH PM MJ and DW AF. This could be a 442 or 4132 or 4231.
No matter who plays or what formation is used we cannot start as poorly as we did on Tuesday and need to be much better disciplined and organised or, as RR has pointed out, Reading will not be as forgiving as Huddersfield. CoB 😎
One thing I’ve learned about previewing Boro’s opponents is that it’s not an easy task. Werdermouth, Redcar Red and OFB have been excellent in doing this, but I’m afraid I’m not as computer literate as those three gentlemen. With two matches a week going into March I just thought I’d try to loosen their load a little, but really I’m formostly an historian and statistician and I found that trying to write a leading article much more difficult than I had imagined. So thanks for giving me the opportunity, but I now realise my limitations so perhaps it’s time to let someone else have a go.
@ken. Ken please do not belittle yourself, all your contributions are welcomed and informative reading which we all benefit from. Keep them coming. 😎
@ken All contributions are welcome, ultimately we all contribute adding to the content as we go. Some of it even makes sense and interesting reading (occasionally) in between all our ramblings and venting. All are equal in our own unique ways on Diasboro and your contributions have earned legendary status, having kept us entertained for many hours over the years.
Thanks Ken appreciate the leading article it was packed with facts and salient data which is more informative than anything I usually do!
We all have different styles of writing and I only started to do a few leader articles to try and share the workload of RR. Now Andy has weighed in with a couple of leaders it becomes a lot easier to manage because as you rightly say the games are coming thick and fast.
RR and I have discussed the lead posts and there is no way either of us wish to take over and dominate the posts and appreciate others joining in to share the load.
I’m sure Andy RR and I can work out a shared workload that is not too onerous for us but feel free to shout up if anyone wants to join in.
Its difficult to communicate other than the blog as we don’t have access to each other’s email information but I’m willing to disclose mine so we can plan who is doing which leader and share around.
Of course what we have with this particular post is we actually have three leaders for our review and enjoyment. We have the opener by Ken followed by RR and Andy which sets out what the Boro have to do on Saturday to try and get some more points on the board.
It shows how hard Werder worked over the past few years getting the blog off the ground, designing the layout and then writing the lead articles. It was extremely unfortunate that he had to endure some interference with his work and unfounded criticism.
My wish is that Werder returns after his sabbatical and that we can share the workload so that it does not become a chore again.
All the posters can be proud of the standards that have been established and maintained on the blog and long may it continue.
OFB
Ken, I greatly enjoyed your historical perspective on the game. It's not a "limitation' but a very useful context. Thanks for all of your efforts.
Thank you Ken for the opener. Different t is just that, different. Neither better nor worse, so don't put yourself down.
I didn't realise Reading had such a limited history in the top flight. Interesting isn't it, that we do have a lot more history in the first division/premiership and yet here we are going to Reading as the clear underdogs.
Eyeballs in the sky are not sufficient for us now, so let's hope we will pull off a shock victory in the Thames Valley.
Thanks to all for your support, but I’ve always been a perfectionist and self critical of myself. Sometimes it used to drive my wife up the wall, but that’s the way I am. I’m quite willing to add historical and statistical facts to any preview, though I don’t want to monopolise this forum and am astonished that my contributions exceed those of Werdermouth and Redcar Red, but that’s obviously because I’ve written so much about other subjects particularly music which has always been close to my heart. I even wrote my own eulogy for my own funeral a few years ago as I’m aware that most of my friends have died. However that is probably academic now as at the moment funerals and indeed weddings and christenings have had to be restricted in the numbers allowed to attend due to coronavirus. Luckily I have many happy memories of my wife with about 11,500 photographs all catalogued to remind me of her particularly, although I can’t remember the sound of her voice. It’s a strange world we live in today and I find that researching and posting on this forum is the one thing that keeps me awake although I’m not as alert as I was two or three years ago. But diasboro has been a godsend, although there seem to be fewer contributors since Werdermouth’s sabbatical although I acknowledge his need to slow down. I’m grateful especially to Clive Hurren who I’ve never met, but who phones me frequently to talk about Boro and cricket. I hope to continue my historical story of Boro strikers, none of whom I’ve seen until I get to Mickey Fenton but all of whom have made a lasting impression on me especially when talking to my grandfather all those years ago. Maybe when I finish writing about Boro strikers I’ll write about Boro goalkeepers. One thing if there is life after death I’ll continue to bore the pants of anyone who’ll listen to me talking about the Boro.
Good to see that the club has won its appeal and the red card given to PM has been rescinded. CoB 😎
The club has won its appeal against the red card shown to Paddy McNair during the win against Huddersfield on Tuesday.
The Northern Ireland international was shown a straight red card by referee Jeremy Simpson following a challenge on Juninho Bacuna nine minutes from time.
The club immediately lodged an appeal against the card and are delighted that it was overturned at an FA hearing on Thursday.
An FA statement read:
An independent Regulatory Commission has removed Paddy McNair’s three-match suspension following a successful claim of wrongful dismissal.
The Middlesbrough FC defender was sent off for serious foul play during an EFL Championship game on Tuesday [16/2/21] against Huddersfield Town FC.
OFB can you explain why it was a three game ban and not just one?
More specifically what the specific circumstances are between the two and why one is one game or three games?
I have seen various reports since Tuesday saying one game but the Sky commentators on the night said three games and I note the MFC announcement above also said three games?
signed:
Confused in Redcar
I appreciate that there is a limit to what is realistic to expect, the panel can overturn a red card and the automatic suspension. The problem with that kind of retrospective action is that it does nothing to mitigate what happens in the match where the "offence" occurred.
So, a team goes a man down after a red card. Then spends the rest of the game under the cosh and ends up conceding a goal or more and so potentially losing points.....
We got away with that on Tuesday, but it was a close run thing.
I don't know what the answer is ....
I still play football and the rules should be the same all over the world. I thought it was one match suspension if two yellows are given. And three matches with a straight red.
But our player was given a red card last summer and the suspension was two games given by the Finnish FA. So I am as confused as you are, RR.
Up the Boro!
I appreciate that there is a limit to what is realistic to expect, the panel can overturn a red card and the automatic suspension. The problem with that kind of retrospective action is that it does nothing to mitigate what happens in the match where the "offence" occurred.
So, a team goes a man down after a red card. Then spends the rest of the game under the cosh and ends up conceding a goal or more and so potentially losing points.....
We got away with that on Tuesday, but it was a close run thing.
I don't know what the answer is ....
Powmill,
Sadly we all know it's too much to ask the referees and linesmen to be a little more competent. They don't seem to be able to cope with VAR either. I think OFB said a fifth official in the stand but no doubt that would create another set of problems.
I think that first thing is the return of the crowd... purely as a moderator of course!
Stay safe,
UTB,
John
I always assumed that a straight red card means a 3 match ban but two yellows are only one match bans, unless the totting up of yellow cards might mean a more serious ban.
@redcarred. It depends upon the nature of the offence. PM's sending off was for serious foul play which carries a three match ban as does violent conduct.
Two yellow cards or a red for deliberate hand ball and stopping a goal scoring opportunity is a one match ban whilst using offensive, abusive or foul language incurs a two match ban.
This is from the FA website www.thefa.com 😎
@k-p-in-spain Yes, that makes some sense. Thank you. Up the Boro!
For example, a sending off due to a second yellow card will result in a one-match ban, as will a red card received for a professional foul. Dissent leading to a red card will generally earn a two-match ban, while violent conduct can be punished with a suspension for three
OFB
The answer is having match officials who are better and give correct decisions and know the difference between a hard fair challenge and violent conduct.
I gave my opinion straight after the game and said no foul and there must have been many ex and current refs who agree with me
OFB
Good post but they are not rules but LAWS of the game which are international and as posted elsewhere the Laws for the game are the same for every country and are clear for length of duration.
Not sure why your player only got 2 match ban....
OFB
For example, a sending off due to a second yellow card will result in a one-match ban, as will a red card received for a professional foul. Dissent leading to a red card will generally earn a two-match ban, while violent conduct can be punished with a suspension for three
OFB
So Paddy's foul was classed as violent or dangerous foul play as opposed to a straightforward professional foul which makes it all the more bizarre to be rescinded.
@original-fat-bob Sorry my English, mate. I think it was dissent with my team mate. Up the Boro!
your English is better than mine don’t forget we’ve talked and a pleasant afternoon it was too seeing the Boro.
OFB
Which is why I was confident it would be rescinded as it wasn’t violent conduct or dangerous foul play.
A serious error of misjudgment by the assistant referee who allegedly made the decision
OFB