Swindon Town vs Reading - official match day thread

[Abrahammer]

Sounds like a good performance, as Forest proved last year results in these games mean nothing.

[Ginginho]

Very good first half, much the better side.
Smith looked good in the middle, but does lunge in far too much for my liking. If he carries on like that this season he will get booked and sent off so many times.
Risser looks like captain material, always talking to players and looking around making sure he knows what's going on around him. Looks a very good player, in a similar vein to Douglas.

Flint was probably my man of the match, not followed too far behind by Ritchie.
Looked much more composed and decisive from what I saw of him last season and looks good on the floor and in the air, could be a real asset this season.

De Vita and Connell were lively and their movement was good.
Phil Smith also had a good game, made a couple of very good saves in the 1st half.

Not too many negatives really,Timlin isn't a wide man, but didn't play badly.

The 2nd half wasn't as fluent, mainly because both teams made so many subs.
Reading got into it a bit more and created a few chances.

[Costanza]

Right, that's that then... Onwards to 2011/12.

Where did the pre-season go!?!

[Berniman]

Blimey PDC can talk can't he!  BBC Wilts better extend their finish time if every week is like that.

Good to hear though, he certainly knows what he wants, and doesn't pull any punches.

[1989Monkey]

Blimey PDC can talk can't he!  BBC Wilts better extend their finish time if every week is like that.

Good to hear though, he certainly knows what he wants, and doesn't pull any punches.

Missed the interview, what was said?

[Gnasher]

Back from the game. We looked good in the first half and had far more shots than Reading. They had more possession but didn't do allot with it. Second half we were poor, or more like Reading started playing like a Championship side! Possession must have been 80% Reading and we were lucky to concede only the two goals.

I was very impressed with Ritchie (110% effort) and Flint (won everything in the air). De Vita and Kennedy also played well. Smith made some excellent saves, but had one or two dodgy moments. Was less impressed with J. Smith as he gave the ball away quite a bit. McCormack played quite well when he came on, as did Ferry. Caddis was shit at RB, probably the poorest player on the pitch. Not overly impressed with Connell either. The rest were okay.

My main concern was Caddis at right-back and the lack of options up front. Bodin and Atiku would not have scored if they stayed out there all night. I was also suprised at how often we hoofed the ball - didn't expect that from a PDC team.

Hopefully we'll get in that no 9 soon, but there's enough quality I think to beat Crewe.

[THE FLASH]

On thge bus back to sunny calne.

I thought we looked good value in the first half before all the changes but Reading were pretty shite.

Scored one goal from three clear cut chances in the first half.

Changed the team around and then went to rat shi as Reading improved and we went to pieces after s many changes (that should be done in friendlies)...

Overall, Flint loked awesome today and we knocked it about well.

The fullbacks did ok until the midfield went to piss and they handle a constant wave.

Far too lightweight up front especially in the second half.

Conell looked good up front but nt as a target man......one is needed and fucking urgent!

[kaufman]

I never saw the squad numbers and turned up late therefore I stupidly got Smith mixed up with Risser. Was hoping Risser was going to be a migoilranzi type player yet he seemed to wander around 2nd half like ty gooden stuck in centre mid.... Was i the only one disappointed with him? Number 13 yes?

[Huwwy]

Missed the interview, what was said?

A lot, but basically he thought we did well. Great to see a manager answer with passion, but he spouted on longer than my missus when I come home bladdered!

[Don Rogers Shop]

Don't know if i am reading too much into it but pdc said that was close to our starting 11 and McCormack has also said that so can we assume flint may be ahead of commazzi?

[RJack]

Comazzi is suspended for the 1st game according to FIFA over a red card he got over a year ago. PDC is disputing it but if he can't get it overturned then Flint & Devera will start opening game.

[Kinky Tom]

i'd say flint deserves to start anyway

[Batch]

Did Comazzi  get any game time today?

Edit: Just say RJack post over the suspension. Makes sense then.

[barry85]

My take (and marks out of 10):

Smith 7 - better than last season but I still have a nagging doubt
Kennedy 8 - warming to him more and more
Devera 7 - good 1st half
Flint 9 - won everything, my man of the match
Caddis 6 - no need to give that penalty away
Ritchie 8 - tireless performance throughout
Risser 7 - bit disappointed with him really
Connell 6 - didnt do a lot
Timlin 5 - looked lost at left wing
De Vita 7 - worked hard and good skill
J Smith 7 - like him a lot
MCCormack 5 - poor today
Amankwaah 7 - solid
Thompson 6 - out of position?
Ferry 7 - not long enough to impress
Atiku 6 - looked a bit lost to me
Comazzi 7 - like him, talks well
Bodin 5 - too lightweight

Did I get everyone?

All in all - encouraging performance, esp 1st half.  But as someone else has said we did well last pre-season against Forest...

[reeves4england]

Smith 7 - looked pretty solid really
Kennedy 7 - one or two early mistakes but did fairly well against a difficult opponent
Devera 7 - looked solid
Flint 8 - won everything in the air, only one hairy moment where he nearly lost it on the edge of his own box
Caddis 7 - I think others have been harsh. He did ok defensively against Robson-Kanu and combined very well with Ritchie
Ritchie 8 - classy, energetic and a real threat
Risser 6/7 - not really worked him out yet... a few good moments and certainly a good leader, will need to see more before I understand how he plays
Connell 7 - found space quite often, was lively, and had tricky feet
Timlin 6 - we were lacking something on the left... he's not a winger
De Vita 7 - didn't look out of place and did well for our goal
J Smith ? - another one I'm unsure about, didn't watch him closely enough
MCCormack - came on, did a couple of good things and a couple of silly things
Amankwaah - did a good job for the last few minutes
Thompson - didn't have much chance to get into the game
Ferry - looked lively, even if it was brief
Atiku - didn't really impress, although we were struggling to get into attacking positions by the time he came on
Comazzi - didn't see enough of him to judge
Bodin - still think he needs to go out on loan for a few months, wasn't quite up to scratch today