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Wycombe Fans Verdict: Awful Performance Leaves Fans Fuming

Harry rounds up the reaction, after the Royals hit a low point of the season, losing to bottom of the league Wycombe with an abject performance.

By harry.chafer
/ new
PA Images via Getty Images

Well, that was a disaster wasn’t it. We haven’t been great for a while now, but Tuesday night summed it all up in one 90 minutes. Questionable tactics, abject performances, debatable decision making from players and staff, and gilt-edged chances blown - all things we’ve gotten used to recently, and all things that need to be eradicated sharpish.

We started off sloppy and second best, but gradually grew into the game, missing a couple of really good chances through Andy Rinomhota and Ovie Ejaria, and things were looking okay at half time. In the second half it all fell to pieces though.

A really, really poor goal to concede, along with baffling subs from Pauno and a missed Lucas Joao penalty to equalise all culminated into the worst 45 minutes of football we’ve seen from Reading in a very, very long time. And the fans were not happy. Not one bit.

Here’s how they all reacted to some of the key talking points. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t really make for positive reading...

More criticism for Pauno

Before a ball had even been kicked, the fans were in a bit of a sour mood - and that’s down to Paunovic’s choice of starting eleven.

It was just baffling. Utterly, utterly baffling. I completely understand that there is no easy game in this league, but in my opinion bottom of the league should be adjusting their lineup to combat how fifth in the league play. Not the other way round.

And then, to make things worse, Pauno went and subbed Olise off when we were 1-0 down, which is one of the most confusing tactical decisions I’ve seen a Reading manager make in a very long time.

I think it’s more than fair to criticise Pauno for Tuesday night. He is by no means immune from criticism, but, from looking through these tweets, I have to say the reaction seems, to me, very knee-jerk. I urge all fans to not forget where we were as a club before Pauno arrived. Step back, look at the bigger picture.

Here's what the fans had to say...

A new low

This season, for the majority, has been a season full of highs. So when you hit a low, it hurts more than ever. And Tuesday night was well and truly a new low. Pauno said after the Boro game that he would prepare his warriors for Tuesday, but his warriors didn't turn up.

The players looked dejected, out of ideas and off the pace, and they’ve set themselves up for a make-or-break scenario, which is exactly what we’re in now. We’re lucky that our destiny still lies in our own hands, but it won't be for much longer if we continue playing like that.

I’ve gathered a lot of tweets into this one category because, in honesty, it was hard to narrow down the fans’ anger into two or three different ones. But I think you'll be able to get the overall gist of how the fans were feeling on Tuesday evening...

Fans keeping their cool

I cannot believe that I'm writing a talking point like this after losing 1-0 away to 10-man bottom of the league, but I'm so bloody happy I am. It’s another sign of how Pauno has changed the whole culture of the club, and it's starting to rub off on the fans.

Yes, we were bad. Yes, Joao missed another penalty. Yes, Pauno’s decisions were questionable to say the least. Yes, the players didn’t look up for it and got bullied. But come on guys. Our fate is in our own hands, we’ve bounced back before and we'll bounce back again.

There were a lot of fans looking at the bigger picture after the Wycombe game...

Conclusion

What an absolute mammoth of a fans verdict that is, eh? And rightly so as it's the most controversial game of the season so far, full of talking points, but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons.

There are still 14 games to go, but the players now have the choice of whether they’re going to sink or swim. It’s down to them.

Keep the faith.

URZ.

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