* The Original Unofficial "Official" Boro v Reading Match-Day Thread *

r00fie1

r00fie1

Well-known member
Its that time again>>>>
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In spite of last week`s defeat to a resurgent West Brom, we are far from out of the race for second place - or more realistically, out of the play-offs. We are still third and right up there - five points above seventh place Norwich! We are the second highest goal-scorers in the Championship, behind run-away leaders, Burnley. Of the 11 games we`ve lost all season, seven of those came before Carrick`s arrival in October [!]. We`ve lost one game in six, compared to Blades two in six and one draw in all competitions. We are two points above our latest rivals - Blackburn Rovers, who have won three and drawn three of their last six. Its not all over by a long chalk, or as Michael Carrick always says"...by a long stretch...". It hurt to get beat and end our five match winning run. But we wont let one defeat stop us improving and keep up the challenge for the Premiership. Does anyone really believe Michael Carrick will allow our progress be halted by one defeat?!

Reading wont be venturing to Teesside to get turned over. Carrick believes they will be aiming to take the points back to Berkshire, so we have to be ready. More from Carrick later. But, for now, its time to look forward to tomorrow`s match. One game at a time. Keep out the white noise and media chatter and look to keep the Boro on an upwards trajectory. The last time we got beat, we went on a fifteen point run. We dont know if that will happen again this time? We wait and see.
 
Championship Table:
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Championship Table and Weekend Fixtures:

Tonight: Hull v West Brom


Championship Table
[Hull 2 west Brom 0]
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Fixtures:

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Boro v Reading League Trend:
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Boro v Reading Home and Away:
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Championship Home Form Table:
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Laughing said:
me and bumface already sorted this roofie. It's either 3-1, 3-0 or 4-0. 3-1 was bumfaces prediction, silly ****.
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My 'good feelings' about games are usually right, you cheeky tw@t. I could have made a fortune, but I've never put a bet on in my life. I've never even bought a lottery ticket.
 
Top Scorers - Reading:

Tom Ince - 9 [+ 5 Assists]
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Andy Carrol - 6 [+1 Assist]
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Lucas Joao - 5
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Jeff Hendrick - 4 [+1 Assist]
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Paul Ince:
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Royals boss previews a visit to the Riverside​

Off to the Riverside this weekend, where Reading boss Paul Ince spent three years as a Middlesbrough player in the Premier League.

And no doubt it’ll be a tough encounter; we beat Boro on home turf thanks to a stunning goal by Tyrese Fornah – but since the appointment of Michael Carrick, the Teesside club have hit a hot streak of form as they make a charge for promotion back to the top flight.

But the Royals boss is backing his side to give their all and come away with something to show for their efforts this weekend.

“They have some really good players and when we played Middlesbrough at our place, we probably caught them when they were going through a bad spell,” Ince said. “But we all knew with the players they’ve got in their squad, that they weren’t going to be struggling.

“A change of manager, and they’ve gone on an incredible run. And Michael Carrick has done a fantastic job there – I’m pleased to see an English manager like him doing well.
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“So this weekend will be a tough game for us. But we went to Burnley and should have beaten them – so we aren’t going to be fearful going to Middlesbrough.

“Our away record is poor, Middlesbrough are flying – people may think this weekend is a foregone conclusion. But it doesn’t always pan out like that.
“We’ve got a good side, a great spirit, a good togetherness and on our day we can beat anybody.

“The enormity of the games – all three teams this week are challenging for promotion, so we know they will be high intensity games. So getting the personnel right for each game is going to be so important, but as much as you plan it can go out of the window with a few more injuries.”

www.readingfc.co.uk

Ince: “Boro will be tough… but we have great spirit and togetherness!”

Royals boss previews a visit to the Riverside
www.readingfc.co.uk www.readingfc.co.uk
 
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Paul Ince - "The Guv`nor"

Paul Ince was the first black player to Captain England. He wasnt called "The Guv`nor" for nothing. He was never afraid to stick the boot in for the bal,l and was classed as one of the "hard men" of English football - alongside the like of Vinny Jones.
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He started his 25 year football career at west Ham United - the same club as Boro Manager Michael Carrick. He was signed on a YTS [Youth Training Scheme] and ended up with a contract under Hammers Manager John Lyall. He played 72 times for them and was written into football folk-lore, hitting two goals in a 4-1 win over defending champions Liverpool - a team he was later to join, much to the chagrin of former club Manchester United!
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In 1989 Ince signed for Manchester United for £1M`s. He became part of a strong midfield and played alongside Brian Robson and Neil Webb. He made 281 appearances in a six year career at Manchester United, winning 2 Premier League Medals, 2 FA Cup Winners Medals, the League Cup, three Charity Shields, The European Cup-Winners Cup and the European Super-Cup! Not bad! Sounds like another United legend we know much closeer to home!
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After two years playing for Inter-Milan he joined United`s fiercest rivals Liverpool, making 81 appearances in two Premier seasons! United fans never forgave him.
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From 1999 untill 2002 he signed for the mighty Boro, under the Managership of Brian Robson. He eventually made 106 appearances for the Mighty Boro. He was inspirational, not just on the pitch, but in the dressing room. Although in his early 30`s by then, he was a match for any opponent.
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His England career saw him play alongside some of the greats, including Gazza, Alan Shearer, Tony Adams, Ian Wright, Gary Neville, Gareth Southgate, Teddy Sherringham, David Seaman, Sol Campbell and Graem Le Soux.
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He received 53 England Caps in a star studded career.
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Ince`s Managerial Career began at Macclesfield in 2006, including MK Dons, Blackpool and Notts County, before joining Reading in February 2022.
 
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A Reading Fanzine View:
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Paul Ince: 12 Months On​

Exactly a year on since Paul Ince joined the club, Harry evaluates what he’s got right and what he’s got wrong.
By: harry.chafer Feb 19, 2023, 10:07am GMT

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Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images

As the old saying goes, ‘time flies when you’re having fun’. Well, I may have to question that because it’s now 12 months to the day since Paul Ince was appointed as interim manager. And while it’s gone flown by in a bit of a blur, the word ‘fun’ isn’t the first one that comes to mind.
His appointment was met with utter bemusement by the entire fanbase and since then - as everything and everyone seems to do in football - he has split opinion among the Loyal Royals.

This is a tribal sport; it seems you must sit on one side of the fence or the other in any kind of debate. However, there are things that Ince has got right in his time so far and there are also things that he has got wrong. So, I’m going to look at his time in charge of the Royals so far with a bit more of a balanced perspective (well, I'm going to try to anyway).

What Ince has got right​

The obvious observation about Paul Ince’s reign so far is that we’re in a much better position now than we were when Ince joined - both on the pitch in terms of results and league standing, and off the pitch too.

Now, you could say that it couldn’t really have got any worse. We were a shambles of a club when Veljko Paunovic was finally put out his misery. However, Ince has done a fair amount to help us become a better team.

Firstly, and arguably most importantly, he kept us up last season. For the future of this club, that was absolutely essential. It was by no means pretty and I'm not saying he’s revolutionised us as a footballing team since he came in (far from it), but he instilled qualities that were non-existent before he arrived that played a huge part in us surviving the drop. This team has 10 times more fight, aggression and spirit now than it did 12 months ago, and Ince has to be given credit for that.
Reading v Stoke City - Sky Bet Championship
Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images
In my opinion though it’s off the pitch where Ince has impressed the most. He made it crystal clear towards the back end of last season that he wouldn’t be staying at the club unless promised things were sorted out behind the scenes. Some much needed and impressive appointments have been made since Ince joined.

Mark Bowen joined as head of football operations, Brian Carey was appointed director of recruitment, Eddie Niedzwiecki as head of player development and, most recently, Jared Dublin as head of scouting. Essentially, it’s looks as though we’ve started to get our house in order.
You have to assume Ince has been a huge driving force behind the scenes for vast change within the club, or else, by what he was saying towards the end of last season, he wouldn’t have signed a multi-year deal and wouldn’t be here now.

​

What Ince has got wrong​

There are two sides to every coin as they say, and this coin is no different. To say Ince’s reign as manager hasn’t been all sunshines and rainbows would be a criminal understatement.

Yes, he has made us a harder team to beat and yes, none of us expected to be the position we’re in now back in August. However, it’s fair to say that Ince has his limitations as a manager.

He is by no means a tactician and the problem with the way he sets the team up is that when it’s bad, it’s really bad. Even when when we win, it’s not a pretty watch. Although you can brush questionable performances off when you’re winning (as we were at the start of the season), it becomes too hard to ignore when you’re not.

An optimist would say Ince’s style of football (if you can call it that) is direct and compact. A pessimist - or perhaps a realist - would say that it’s just not very good. Ince prides himself on the aforementioned fight, aggression and spirit. However, it could be suggested that those are just the basics of a football team. And perhaps Ince, although he’s done well to get the team to this point, doesn’t have the managerial capabilities to coach anything other than the bare basics.
Stoke City v Reading - Sky Bet Championship
Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images
There have been plenty of times when starting lineups have baffled, substitution decisions (or the lack of for that matter) have frustrated and his post-march comments have bamboozled.

I have this vision of Ince putting the name of every player into a hat (apart from Joe Lumley, Andy Carroll, Tom Ince and Jeff Hendrick) and picking them out at random 10 minutes before each game to choose his starting lineup.

The lack of accountability is frustrating also. We’re pretty used to managers making excuses and odd comments in interviews - remember when Paunovic said we ‘played well apart from the four goals’ in last season’s 4-0 loss to QPR? But I think Ince has taken it to the next level. This is a guy who questioned the roles of physios when he first arrived at the club.

Conclusion​

Ultimately, in my opinion, Ince did a great job last season. He kept us in the league which is what he was employed to do - as bizarre as the appointment was.

However, his limitations have really come to light in recent weeks. He instilled the basics into us, made us a team that will fight for 90 minutes and not give up. But I just don’t think he has the ability to take us forward long term.

The work he has done off the pitch cannot be ignored and that’s probably keeping some fans on his side at this point. He has been a huge part in us finally starting to sort ourselves out away from the pitch. And for that we should always be grateful, because we were a club going in only one direction - downwards.

thetilehurstend.sbnation.com

Paul Ince: 12 Months On

Exactly a year on since Paul Ince joined the club, Harry evaluates what he’s got right and what he’s got wrong.
thetilehurstend.sbnation.com thetilehurstend.sbnation.com

[r00fie1: Be careful what you wish for](y)
 
This article I posted seperately, but have decided to include it in our usual match-day thread. (y)

Michael Carrick
"We`ve lost a game, but its not the end of the world".

By
r00fie1
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At his recent Media conference, Michael Carrick was honest, frank and determined to put last week`s defeat against West Brom into perspective. There was a lot of "anger", "disappointment" and "frustration", but the solution is to look at the "big picture" said Carrick. "We`ve look at it[the result] and learnt from it. Football is about the big picture [and] I thought we played really well - in parts".

He gave a clue to what the players and coaches had learnt saying "there will be challenges ahead....they`l be different ways of playing, different ways of breaking teams down...so we`ve worked on that". Its about trust and what "we have already done together. You`ve got to adapt of course, thats part of the game."

Defeat?
"Its never nice to go through set-backs. We`re all trying to win games and when you dont....its not really an enjoyable experience, but at the same time, it really sharpens you. You get the extra motivation and want to do better" [This from a player who had to deal with defeat in the Champions League!]. "We are definitely not accepting it [defeat]. You`ve got to be a realist and understand thats football".

"Since Tuesday, the boys have been right at it [training] and thats a great sign".

"We`ve lost a game, but its not the end of the world"!

Reading?
On being asked by a reporter if Reading would be "up for it" on Saturday? Carrick replied unequivocably - "I think its pretty disrespectful to be honest to say they wouldnt be up for it. As a football team manged by Paul Ince, knowing him as a player and a Manager, I think his team....have a really great fighting spirit and they`re a good well organised team. They will pose us threats that we have got to look after. we are not taking that lightly at all. If anything, we`re really looking forward to the game and really focused.......because we`ve had a bit of a setback ourselves". Sounds like the lads are chomping at the bit? We look at teams..... at their techniques and how they approach games and look at how we can create more chances to score more goals.

"Is it squeeky bum time"

[Reporters ask the most stupid questions....]

Carrick: "I think its just, we`ve got another game to play. Its as simple as that. ....We have to do the things we are good at and things will take care of themselves......I dont think we have to make [big] changes. We`ve got to improve. Just because its the end of the season doesnt make any difference in terms of winning football matches"!

⚽⚽Foot Balls:

Paddy - [after last weeks elbow in te face] = nose job
Rodrigo - back in training.
Clarke - a little bit longer.
Chuba - "Reports of new contract"? [reporter]
Carrick: "I didnt see those reports! I havent got any updates to give you"!
Andy Carroll "threat"?
Carrick - "I played against him when he was at West Ham"!
Can Chuba score 20 goals this season?
Carrick: "I certainly hope so. Lets hope it continues".

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STAT FACT:

The stage is set for Chuba Akpom to become the first Boro player to hit 20 league goals in one season since Bernie Slaven in 1989/90.
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Akpom has hit a double in his last two home appearances and six of his last seven strikes came at the Riverside. (y)
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Looking to outdo him will be veteran Geordie striker Andy Carroll, who hit the opener here last season but curiously has never scored in 13 H2Hs with Michael Carrick during his playing days.:love:
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[Michael Carrick and Andy Carroll line up for a friendly between England and Italy in 2012].

1677917356029.png It feels unusual as a fan, when you know our Gaffa has played against one of todays opposition - not all that long ago either. Considering he also knew Ince as a player and played against him when he was at Boro.......makes you smile (y)
 
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The missus has worried me now with her prediction of 2 -1 to reading. She has got the last 4 results right since i started asking her for her 'gut feeling' . Hope she wrong though
 
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