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Player Ratings – Bournemouth (A)

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After a miserable performance against Bournemouth, Vital Reading takes a look at the players’ individual performances from the loss on Tuesday night

After a miserable performance against Bournemouth, Vital Reading takes a look at the players’ individual performances from the loss on Tuesday night.

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Alex McCarthy – 6 – Couldn`t do a lot about any of the goals, so you can`t really give him a low ratings. Distribution was a problem again though and with Pog and Alfie not aerial-winning players, any long ball from the keeper was never going to work.

Chris Gunter – 5 – Pugh was dragging Gunter all over the place in the first half and while he kept him more quiet in the second, he still caused problems for him all game. There was no attacking intent from Gunter to support Drenthe either, who was struggling against Harte.

Alex Pearce – 5 – Was not as bad as his defensive partner, but not far off. The pace of Grabban and technical ability of Kermorgant was a nuisance for him all game. No attempt to try and pass the ball on the deck either – constant hoof – not that he is the only guilty party though.

Kaspars Gorkss – 4 – We have seen a few bad ones from Gorkss in his Reading career, but this was the worst I have ever seen from him. The first half was treacherous for him, as Grabban was dragging him about like ragdoll. Looked very nervous on the ball and I was surprised he lasted after half time – don`t expect him to start against Leicester on Monday.

Wayne Bridge – 5– Good to see him back, but probably wasn`t the best game for him to come back. Despite Ritchie playing on his side, he came central quite often, meaning no one was marking him, causing problems as a result. While he showed the odd moment of quality, it is clear he is not match fit yet.

Royston Drenthe – 5 – Harte joked that he had the Dutchman in his pocket all game and he wasn`t far wrong. You would have hoped that Royston would use his obvious advantages of pace, but rarely managed to get one-on-one and when he did, he was normally on his weaker right side. Effort was there, but was no quality whatsoever.

Jordan Obita – 6 – One of our better performers on the night in a less-familiar central midfield position. While he didn`t shy away from 50-50 challenges and attempted to keep his passing short and simple, it was too much of an ask for the youngster to keep up with the Bournemouth midfield.

Jobi McAnuff – 5 – Jobi in central midfield doesn`t work anymore, simple as. While he never lacks in effort and determination, he can`t play at a high enough tempo like Guthrie and struggled with Bournemouth`s pressing style. It is amazing how much Guthrie and Williams were massive misses in the game for us.

Hal Robson-Kanu – 6 – Probably looked like the only player that was going to conjure something up in a toothless attacking display. The only player out there that had the pair to take on players and while he had a few openings, he unfortunately didn`t make the most of them. Great finish for our goal though.

Adam le Fondre – 5 – Apparently he played 60 minutes?!

Pavel Pogrebnyak – 5 – Like a few other players in our squad, the big Russian is a confidence player – when we don`t play well, he doesn`t play well. His usually good first touch deserted him and was often getting dragged out wide and feeding off scraps. Can`t remember him and Alfie linking up once throughout the game.

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Mikele Leigertwood – 6 – Good to see Ledge back on the field, it was only a shame he couldn`t come on from the start. Gave the ball away a few times, but has to be understandable considering he is still not match fit. Depending on Guthrie and Williams` injuries, could he be the one to save our season in the final games?

Stephen Kelly – 5 – Kelly at left back is a painful sight, especially as his left-foot is as useful as a chocolate teapot. Strange decision to put him there by Adkins, especially with Obita still on, as we had a few good openings down that side, but his inability to cross meant those attacks came to nothing.

Nick Blackman – N/A – Was on for 15 minutes, but cannot remember him doing anything meaningful.

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2 comments

  • Andy Turner says:

    Were you actually at the game how you can find anyone a 5 or 6 is beyond me. I thought they were hopeless and completely outplayed by a good footballing side who probably now deserve to be in 6th spot. The only one I would give a 5 to was Leigertwood when he came on.

  • Y19-Royal says:

    Yes, the majority were bad, but I thought HRK and Obita put in a decent shift in that they were our only players that looked like could make something happen.

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