Five Things: Forest vs Reading

<strong>1) Danny Williams is the spark in midfield we’ve been desperately missing</strong>

It has been apparent for a few weeks now that our midfield hasn’t been as strong as it was looking at the start of the season, with the long term injury to Jem Karacan and Royston Drenthe appearing to take a lifetime to get back to fitness. Even with the addition of Chris Baird, there was just something missing. Step forward, Danny Williams. He looked very good on Friday, with pace, accuracy and a passion to get stuck in. I think he’s going to be very exciting for the rest of the season if he can stay fit.

<strong>2) Adkins is right to stick with Jordan Obita for the time being</strong>

The nineteen year old proved on Friday why Nigel Adkins is so confident to play him regularly at the moment. Even though he has times where he is pushed off the ball quite easily, his ability and his desire to do well cannot be faulted. His first senior goal was a great way to mark a good performance from the youngster, and as things stand I’d choose him to be starting on the wing instead of Hal Robson-Kanu.

<strong>3) Kaspars Gorkss is still a very good defender</strong>

As stated in my player ratings, I’m enjoying seeing the Latvian back in a Royals shirt. However disappointing he was during our short second stint in the Premier League (but weren’t most of them, let’s be honest?), I still believe he is a very good championship defender, and as proved on Friday, he isn’t afraid to get up for corners and be an aerial threat in the box. He adds a little bit more experience to our reasonably young back five (with the exception Bridge/Kelly), which can never be a bad thing in this tough league.

<strong>4) We can play well for a full 90 minutes</strong>

Okay, so we conceded two goals on Friday night, but I don’t remember feeling particularly disappointed by any of the players’ performances throughout the entire match. I don’t really remember the likes of Alex Pearce and Robson-Kanu doing that much, but I guess it’s better to be unmemorable than being remembered for a sloppy pass or a bad tackle. The body language on the pitch was also a lot better than I have seen in recent games, so hopefully the team can build from this very good win and get our winning streak going again.

<strong>5) Friday night football isn’t always bad</strong>

I’m not usually a fan of Friday night football. It’s neither a midweek game, nor a weekend which is slightly unnerving for me! However, I always like a thrilling game under the floodlights, especially in the cold when you have to wrap up really warm, and Friday certainly didn’t disappoint. The atmosphere created by the 886 travelling Royals was great, probably the best this season. When it got to 2-2 not one of the players or the fans seemed to give up, and the eruption when Obita got the winner was amazing. Apologies must go out to my Mum for nearly bundling her over when our third goal went in; I’ll try not to do it again!