All the reports I'd heard about the 'Mad Stad' was that it was easy to find but hard to get to. Reports of traffic jams starting at Jct 10 on the M4 which could take at least an hour to get through. Usually in my ultra cautious way this would lead me to arrive before the team coach probably has. But I had no choice other than to chance a late arrival as I didn't finish work until 5pm before starting the trek across from the wrong side of London.
I know Watford on a night when its meant to be minus 4 and the game is on Sky isn't the biggest draw but there were no jams at all and, heavens above, the Madejski is a new stadium with parking!!!! What an innovation. Okay it cost £8 to park which usually would make me baulk but after recent experiences at Swansea and Derby I was happy to part with my hard earned cash for the legitimate chance to park less than half a mile from the ground.
Nice ground too, but as always with the new ones, lacking much character or tradition yet. The sponsoring of the team by Waitrose doesn't help, not really a football sponsoring company I would've thought but I think they go together rather well.
We had a minutes silence before the start in memory of Roy Tranter, the Reading director who succesfully fought off Robert Maxwell's crazy 'Thames Valley Royals' plan to merge Oxford and Reading back in the early 80's. He received a very well respected minute which he thoroughly deserved.
The referee for the occasion wasn't Stuart Atwell but the man Atwell replaced at No.2 in my all time hated refs list Andy D'Urso (Rob Styles remains at No.1). Unsurprinsgly there were several appeals for ghost goals to be awarded by the away end but to no avail. D'Urso was okay in that at least he didn't send any 'Orns off.
For the majority of the first half we played well, matching Reading, and having the majority of the possesion. Jack Cork looked brilliant holding the ball up well for us to get into many different attacking positions. This we did very well. The trouble is we look like a team who are just interested in getting into attacking positions without actually using them. Once we've established we can attack down the left wing, we stop, pass the ball back to around the half way line and then try to see if we can attack down the right. For each new attack we go through the same routine every time.
We remind me of a workman I had round to put up a Sky dish once who insisted on trying about 10 different positions for the dish to go even though they all produced exactly the same picture. In the whole game no-one ever seemed interested to try a shot on goal. Just as against Derby we looked like the best we'd do was 0-0.
Of course that was blown apart by some very poor defending. Scott Loach didn't have a good game and certainly should've kept the first one out as it hit his near post before going in. We looked no different when we came out in the second half and it was just a question of whether Reading would add to their total which, depressingly, they did another three times.
The Watford End still had fun though. We celebrated the Reading goals as if they were our own, and yet again the Nicky Wright Wright Wright chant was heard. Is he now a regular at away games? If he is, I've still not seen him.
Another chant which made a comeback that I hadn't heard for at least 7 years was 'Elton John's Taylor Made Army'. Rumours were flying round the stand that there is a press conference planned for Monday where Elton and GT will announce they are returning to the club. In what capacity no-one quite seemed to know. But after this performance we could certainly do with a bit of the old Taylor magic again. The trouble is I don't see his style fitting in with BR's at all. Although maybe that's why BR's stated he's going back to the drawing board in his post match comments.
