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Fulham Fans Verdict: Reading Fall To Demoralising Defeat

The Royals were outclassed all over the pitch on Tuesday night as recently relegated Fulham rolled them over 4-1. Here’s how the fans reacted to some of the key talking points.

Well, that was a night to forget, wasn’t it? Coming up against a top team in Fulham was hard enough, but doing it with 10 men for 75 minutes and a team ridiculously low on confidence made it 10 times harder.

Fulham were good in the first half on Tuesday night, but my God did Reading make it easy for them. Even with 10 men, the minimum we as fans expect is a bit of aggression, passion and fight - something that, funnily enough, this team has shown recently against Wolves and Swansea. But not against Fulham.

The second half was better, but the damage was already done and Fulham went on to a comfortable win. It was a performance and result that left the fans frustrated, upset and angry at the situation we now find ourselves in.

After the optimism and excitement that the transfer window built up, this recent run has been a crushing blow back down to the earth for the fans and the players. Here are some of the key talking points that got the fans talking on social media after the games - and, as you can imagine, it’s not pretty...

Swift red card

John Swift is arguably our most important player - just look at the fact that he’s been directly involved in 60% of our goals this season. So to see him walking off after seeing red midway through the first half was a huge blow to Reading’s chances of getting a result.

The first yellow looked, in real time, a fair attempt of trying to get the ball - but it was a foul. However, Scott Parker was adamant after the game that Swift was lucky not to get a straight red.

The second was just a bit of stupidity from the midfielder. Whether he slipped or not, to dive in like that when you know your on a yellow card is silly really. And now we’re without him for maybe the biggest game of the Jose Gomes era so far.

Understandably, the fans were left confused and annoyed when they saw Swift walking down the tunnel, and said so on Twitter...

The first-half performance

It was bad - very bad. 10 men or not, you need to show a bit of bite to win the ball back and not just fall apart. Yes, Fulham are a good team, but the defending once we went down to 10 was abysmal. Liam Moore and Michael Morrison were dragged all over the shop, crosses weren’t being closed down, and the Fulham players had all the time in the world to knock it around.

As previously stated, the second half was an improvement - but let’s not allow that to hide the capitulation of the opening 45. The players need to be able to adapt and take some responsibility - and the fans certainly let them know that after the game...

Gomes’ future

Again, whether you agree with it or not, the future of the gaffer was also a huge talking point in the fanbase after the full-time whistle against Fulham. The Loyal Royals seem to be split at the moment: some saying he deserves more time, some saying it’s just not good enough and it’s not different what we had to suffer during the Paul Clement era.

Personally, I feel he more than deserves more time - this is a transition period and changing the manager would just see the beginning of another one, taking us back to square one. But football is a game of opinions, and the fans were more than open to share theirs regarding their thoughts on Gomes...

Conclusion

A tough evening at the Madejski Stadium. A really poor performance that will have done nothing for the players confidence - or the mood amongst the fanbase - apart from make it even worse.

Do not underestimate how important the Bristol game is on Saturday - get three points there and things look a little rosier going into the international break - so get behind the lads and support them all the way.

URZ