Stoke City Fans Verdict: Loyal Royals React To Bore Draw

Well, that wasn’t very fun was it? I think that game will definitely go into the ‘forget it ever happened, and let’s never talk about it again’ folder. Unfortunately though, we have to talk about it just a little bit more.

It’s an obvious thing to say, but we all want to get promoted. And beyond the obvious reasons for why we want that to happen, there will be other more personal reasons for each fan too - which is what football is all about.

And after Saturday’s game, I think there is a brand new reason that every fan will add to their list - not having to play away at bloody Stoke. We’ve seen some horrible games at the Bet365 stadium in the last few seasons, but none more boring than the one on Saturday.

Which is disappointing because there was a chance there to make another big statement, but at the end of the day it is another point and clean sheet away from home, which is never a bad thing.

Here’s how the fans reacted to some of the key talking points, if there actually were any...

Boredom

To go from the ecstasy and pure excitement of the last game against Bournemouth to the utter boredom of Saturday’s game is the footballing equivalent of watching the original Hangover and then Hangover II straight after.

The game featured a grand total of one shot on target for Reading, and that came in the second half from Ovie Ejaria - a shot from range that was easily saved. It was just an awful game of football, and the fans certainly let that be known on Twitter...

Positivity

It really is a sign of how well Pauno has done to change the culture of this club when we draw 0-0 without creating one clear-cut chance or shot on target and the fans are still positive and optimistic afterwards.

Of course it helps when you're fourth in the table and winning games, but I wrote a piece on this a while back about how Pauno is changing the mindset of the fans and he’s doing an incredible job of it.

The fans were in a relatively good mood, all considering. Acknowledging the bad attacking performance, respecting the way we still managed to grab a clean sheet and a point, and looking forward to a tasty looking match on Wednesday evening.

It's so refreshing to see the fanbase with this kind of mindset, something that will only help the team and something we’ve been missing for a long, long time...

Conclusion

Before I started writing this, I didn’t know my overriding emotion from Saturday’s game - but after seeing how positive and optimistic the fans were after our worst performance of the season, I think i’m pretty chuffed with a point.

It didn’t click at all against Stoke, we were sloppy and passive in possession and didn’t look a threat at all - but we didn't lose. And we got a clean sheet. That’s the difference between this team and teams from seasons gone by.

Next up is a enthralling contest with Brentford on Wednesday. We can't play that bad again, and I’m confident we’ll react with a strong performance.

URZ