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Reading FC 0-1 QPR: The Alternative View

A miserable night, a miserable game, a miserable performance also know as The Hoop Derby

By davemc_exile
Dan Mullan/Getty Images

After a miserable trip to Manchester, the Royals entertained the Fake Hoops QPR on a snowy and cold Thursday night. A lot can be applauded to Sky for energising football... However, a Thursday night game, with a poor crowd, might actually point in the direction that Sky may have a little too much say.

Onto the game itself, from a Reading FC point of view, it wasn’t good. We can excuse the performance against a strong Manchester United side previous to this game — I mean, just look at the value of the bench! — However, against a struggling QPR side with 2 wins in the last 8 games, in reality the Hoop Derby shouldn’t have been this easy for QPR.

There are teams that you generally hate losing to, QPR being one of them, seeing as they stole our Hoops and won’t admit it. However, I haven’t seen this much interest in a Reading performance, from Leeds, Brighton and Newcastle for a long while.

Maybe, yes, we are probably over achieving, but it is an interesting problem to have!

Twittersphere

Pulling no punches, I really don’t like QPR and Holloway, so these comments might be ever so slightly biased…

The "One good pass suddenly you're better than Messi" effect

And 8 points from Relegation

You're hardly Newcastle…

Only one thing worse than QPR fans: Leeds fans.

Keep forgetting Leeds are Champions League winners…

Yep, good question.

Media

I suppose that the good thing about the game being on a Thursday night is there is little coverage. The Daily Mail called us "blunt" which is one adjective you could use. Their verdict on QPR is "impressive", however Stam is quick to point out that we aren’t an automatic promotion team.

Understandably, RTE’s coverage of the game is all about and that "cross/shot/hit and hope" that he did for Judas Mackie’s goal.

Sporting Life, are a little nicer to Reading, saying that although QPR won with ease we did try, but again they also mention our crowd of 12,655 which is probably our lowest league gate for a long time.

The West London Sport as usual get a little carried away, calling Wszolek the "Polish Messi"… let’s be honest any player that good won’t be in the Championship! Their main report is bland to say the least, and say that the Royals didn’t threaten at all.

The Express for some bizarre reason focus on comments from Jamaal Lascelles (Newcastle's captain) for thoughts on the game, who understandably was hoping QPR could beat us.

On the main websites then, Sky Sports have a 2 minutes 13 seconds of coverage, and they are fairly nice towards us, saying that we were dominant but didn’t create a lot.

The BBC are a little less complementary calling it a drab game and also making a couple of points, we have the second best home record in the league after Newcastle and also that we haven’t won on a Thursday since 1991.

Over at GetReading then, and Jonathan Low picks up from Charles Watts after his January transfer and makes the point that we didn't create anything. It's ok having dominance, but you really do need to do something with the ball.

Saying that, this ties into the point that Reading really don’t do midweek games as Wimb mentions in his article.

Summary

Two games without a win and the next game against Derby is critical. Win there and we are back on track, loose and the doubts will start to set in.

We are in the need of good news in Berkshire and hopefully the takeover — which I have no doubt is at the back of the fans, players and managers minds — is starting to cast a shadow over the club. The sooner it’s all sorted, the better.

Let’s be realistic – we were not going to win them all – but did it really have to be Mackie and the Fake Hoops?

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