sacreblueits442

...he will have legendary status, he scored the goal that won us our first and so far only FA cup, you can't rewrite history!!!

...he wasn't particularly that impressive when we played against him!!!

...1 goal for Reading, pretty much replicating that season right now!!!

...I think it is a strange perception that we will perform better with a team that comes at us!!! We are not great when pressed, we struggle to handle it, we get penned in and we try to play out and give the ball away and offer up chances. I would rather we come up against a team with a "deep block" than a team on the front foot and dictating how the game plays out. WBA are not going to be sitting back, they will pick up man to man, they will get chances early and we will give up an early goal. We must dissuade them from pressing us, matching their formation for this game, or pushing for overloads in certain areas. What we continue to do is not working.

...I would say, what we have seen, is the most he is willing to give us!!!

...are you saying not getting game time and sitting on the bench has not been enough incentive for him to perform!!!

...I would have thought that is the last place you would be looking to be making more passes!!! Quick and incisive is the key, we pass it around too much in the last third, the defence is back in place and the ball will eventually go back to our goalkeeper from the edge of the opponent's box.

...we have hit a wall, it is 10 feet high and Maresca can only find a stool to get over it!!! It will be interesting what he will improvise to help us get to the other side.

...got to be the best comment ever!!!

...although we do not know exactly what goes on in training but, do you believe that he applied himself !!! The way Maresca spoke about him getting up to speed, it was always on the lines of, he is not there yet, there is a fitness issue having had little pre-season. Even when he is on the pitch there is not much life in him and you would think he would be busting to get out on the pitch to show what he can deliver. We (LCFC) were the last option I believe and Chelsea wanted him to get the experience, I do not believe Casadei himself was as keen.

...I am surprised you felt that Ndidi was ideal, he is not good in front of a goal and is not creative!!! The right-sided #8 has always been the role that needed to be addressed. Ndidi gives us a lot, with a work rate and an uncanny ability to take up very good positions, if only he had the skills to create or finish, he would then be ideal. Casadei really should have walked in and claimed this role, seems he is not good enough.

...he is giving a good impression of one!!! This team is not that far off where we all see it can be, but a reluctance to take on other ideas, is going to heap pressure on himself. We have been off it in our last 5 games, we have had International breaks in order to reset, but we are still not performing and that is down to the adjustments made by other teams, we need to match their ability to embrace a change of philosophy.

...I would love to see Cannon start, we need something different!!! The way our strikers are being deployed, where they drop so deep just cannot help us going forward. If it is a ploy to draw a defender out by following the striker, then having dropped so deep all the CBs would have to do is pass them on, no need to get dragged out of position. You don't drop so deep, as dropping 5 yards off the backline encourages a CB to go tight, it leaves a space in behind to exploit and makes sense, Our #8 or winger now has the opportunity to go in on goal. The strikers cannot continually drop so deep.

...we have gone through a few years where we were not performing and it was a precursor to where we are now!!! People have seen a manager who previously was unable to grasp the situation and turn us around, it seems a bit deja vu, and PTSD is still a factor.

...perhaps we might have kept Barnes, Madders was a question mark and the sales might have been better priced!!! The team would have had better quality, but yes it is easier to rebuild in the second tier.

...I don't believe this is where he wants to be, but at least make a fist of it and speak to the Chelsea loan manager about where he stands with this loan!!! Strangely, he is so lethargic in games, not helping himself or the team with his performances. I imagine this was how he was at Reading after the January window last season, they still went down.

...the players are a bit programmed!!! Seem unable to take on individual responsibility and moves the onus and the ball to another player!!!

...I do not think playing this way that he needs to support, the 2 #8s and the pivot are enough to support the wingers!!! With the wingers receiving the ball with their stronger feet, they will be moving the ball quicker with one or two touches, with a better angle and understanding with slipping a pass through the CB and the full-back. They (the wingers) would be on their toes, not giving the defence or their keeper time to think, I think they would have a field day.

...we were sloppy at the back and in the middle last night, it feels like a drop in the players' approach to games!!! The heavy rotation to a point would have contributed to it, but I feel Maresca is on the back foot and the players are feeding off it and the ultimate belief is no longer there. I hope Maresca has identified players that will be coming in the January window and he is just managing this period as best that he can.

...we can release him quicker, we just need someone who is switched on to play him in!!! A Vestergaard with a punched pass would see him up against his defender, just needs the support from the other wing coming in at the back post. Looking to supply Cannon and playing the wingers on the side of their strongest foot, first-time balls whipped in with pace. Mads Souttar Vestergaard Justin Ricardo Winks Mavididi Ndidi KDH Fatawu Cannon

...we play into the hands high press, by attempting to play ourselves out every time!!! It is only effective if we allow it to be. We can go long, via Vestergaard or Faes hitting diagonal balls out to the wings, we could also go over the top of a press to negate what the opposition is trying to do. If Maresca wishes to prove a point, then he is going about it the right way, it will also erode the confidence of the players that he has worked so hard to instil. He has the right to follow his beliefs but knows there will be consequences adhering to this particular dogma.

...you really do not need the Manchester City squad!!! Borges was a better option than Mavididi, Archer a good option for a #8, Right Winger or striker and Rak-Sakyi I believe was a better option than Fatawu. Throw in Oscar Bobb and you have an exciting lethat front 4. They are intelligent and clinical in what they do, we have to source better, we do not need to spend big.

...I think he is just that bit unorthodoxy that we need for such a structured way of playing!!! Unless we are coaching the good bits out of him, I believe he will be a good asset to have in the team. I have only seen him in YouTube reels but he has a Nugent quality to him and a bit of a natural snout for being in the right position.

...dominating the ball is not exerting pressure on your opponents!!! To be honest, I believe other teams are now happy for us to have the ball, so long as they hold their defensive position, they can take a breather and look to press at the end of games. The only team that looked under the kosh at the end, was ourselves and it is now strategy being used to combat us. We need to be effective with our 60 odd %, we are toothless in the last third, other managers know that.

...the idea was to flood the box with more attackers, at the start of the season!!! We are not too keen on doing so having seen how open we are to be countered, so we do not over commit. Maresca's style is being watered down with its potency, but very strong in our defensive duties. The winger on the back post should be a given,it is basic, but Mavididi's crossing is not the best and as an inverted winger he is always going to see that option to be played, else it is to the byline and crossing with his wrong foot. I still believe they need to switch wings, as you can then play balls into the box a second or more quicker with one touch than, controlling the ball, squaring up the defender and then trying and failing to beat him. You have to get the defenders off balance, we allow them to get set, a first time pass into the box and they need to sort out their feet.