Reading
Cardiff City 0 Reading 3: The inquest has already begun
The play-offs are amazing, astonishing, tense, thrilling and, perhaps above all of these things, unfair. Not just in the sense that a team can finish twenty-odd points ahead of their eventual conquerors during the league season, but also that they can define a manager who wins more games than he loses as, essentially, a complete failure.
This is the label that surely awaits Dave Jones, the longest-serving manager in the …
Play-off podcast special: Of Swans, Royals and trips to Old Trafford
Andrew Gibney of the marvellous Gib Football Show podcast was kind enough to host a play-off podcast special, featuring myself and Seventy Two contributor John Verrall, following the final whistle at the Cardiff City Stadium last night.
You can listen to our thoughts here (right-click on the link and Save Target As to download):
Reading 0 Cardiff City 0: Match report
Reading and Cardiff battled out to a goalless draw in a fiery encounter at the Madejski Stadium, with neither side able to take an advantage from the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final encounter, writes Nate Saunders.
Goalscoring chances were a rarity throughout the match, with Cardiff’s Peter Whittingham coming closest; unleashing a shot from 25 yards out that fizzed past the post just after the hour mark.…
Reading 0 Cardiff City 0: A tactical perspective
Blackpool blogger Tangerine Dreaming takes a tactical look at the Championship play-off semi-final first leg between Reading and Cardiff City at the Madejski Stadium.
Prior form
Coming in to the game Cardiff were without a win in three games, whereas Reading had been enjoying some fine form and with home support they were marginal favourites for this first leg. However, as the match played out, both teams appeared evenly matched …
Bluffer’s guide to the play-offs: Reading
It looked set in stone for so long - and then Brian McDermott’s Reading made a late bid for promotion glory. The Royals fell short of the automatic place they briefly threatened, but they did make the top six. Reading fan Russell Hammant gives the lowdown on the high-flying Berkshire boys.
Feeling confident? How’s your form?
Form hasn’t been great recently but equally not disastrous, the last 5 games have …