Reading v Wigan - Player ratings

Adam Federici: 7

The one man in the starting lineup who can hold his head up high after today's game. Federici made series of fine saves and it's only thanks to the efforts of our Australian number 1 that our goal difference didn't suffer too badly.

Stephen Kelly: 5

Kelly had his worst game in a Reading shirt but truth be told he can't take too much blame for this one and he did his best when possible. Some of his touches and clearances were a bit wayward and we rarely saw him in Wigan's half but he did his best.

Adrian Mariappa: 5

Much like Kelly it's not a game that Mariappa will be especially proud of but then again he didn't have a horror show either.

Sean Morrison: 3

This was a big chance for Morrison to cement a place in the team and sadly his lack of experience showed as he was at fault for the second goal at an absolutely vital stage in the match. To what extent he can be blamed for the third is something I won't be able to fully judge until seeing a replay but at first glance he was just left for dead by some fine movement by Figueroa. Morrison has a big future in the game and at times he showed that with some big headers and strong challenges but how often has his good work been undone by giving away a goal? I'm sorry to say it but he's just not ready for this level and if Pearce was dropped for Huth turning him at Stoke, there's no way Brian can keep Morrison in the side for Everton.

Ian Harte: 4

Looked flat footed and struggled to make an impact with his set pieces. The fact he was getting left for dead by Emerson Boyce was a little concerning to say the least. Not his finest game but again I don't think there's too much more he could have done with the game 'alive'.

Jobi McAnuff: 4

In the first half the only positive thing Jobi did was win a free-kick by the touchline as other than that all I noticed was passes to nowehere. Jobi just seemed off the pace today and not quite with it, as demonstrated by one moment in the first half when after some neat interchange with Akpan, he just passed it out of play. You can never fault the skipper for a lack of effort but in less than 3 weeks he's now played in Mexico, at Stoke,flown to Dubai then going to Old Trafford and captaining the side in a massive home game with Wigan.

Is our captain really up to playing so often now? You have to question whether starting him at Old Trafford or flying him out to Dubai was really the best idea based on today's showing.

Mikele Leigertwood: 3

A promising start that soon turned into misplaced passes, late tackles and generally chasing shadows. I don't need to say much about Leigertwood really, you know what you're going to get and in a game like today he just demonstrated why he's not Premier League quality and why his sides have a habit of being relegated. Top bloke but not good enough.

Jem Karacan: 4

Jem needs to show he can actually do something with the ball because if he can't show that and soon, then he's never going to be better than a Phil Parkinson. That's not a bad thing because Parky was a legend but as much of a legend as he was, he was never going to be a top flight footballer and so far Karacan has shown such maddening inconsistency that you have to wonder if he'll be able to retain a job in the Premier League. His job is that of a spoiler but his performance today was none better than that of the discarded Jay Tabb and how he stayed on ahead of Hope Akpan is a mystery. Again, hopefully just a bad day and he will prove these words wrong.

Hope Akpan: 6

Akpan wasn't at his best but he was easily the pick of the midfield trio in the first half. He made some great tackles and played some decent balls, though he should have done better with a good headed chance. Hope was sacrificed at the break for Alfie and he can feel hard done by to have been the one to be taken off.

Jimmy Kebe: 5.5

This wasn't Jimmy's best day but he still looked our best attacking threat, hitting the side netting with a left-footed effort and providing a great teasing low ball across the area that so nearly found Pavel Pogrebnyak. He faded badly after the goals but you can see why Brian opted to bring him off, to save him for the bigger challenges ahead.

Pavel Pogrebnyak: 1

Before the red card, Pog would have been on about a 5 but such a stupid tackle that's cost him three games and Reading any chance of a point in this one is just unforgivable. We signed him to be our talisman but has his moment of madness just cost us survival?

Subs:

Adam Le Fondre: 5

Alfie worked as hard as he could as the lone striker but it's not his best role and he never got a sniff of goal. Showed some good touches but he'll now have the job of proving he can win us games from the start.

Noel Hunt: 4

Ran around, tried his best but barely touched it. His one chance to do something saw him provide a poor cross that didn't find Alfie.

Garath McCleary: 4

Didn't really touch the ball.

So that's how we saw it but please let us know how you saw it in the comments section below.