There is no need for an introduction to this report, the performance was absolutely abysmal and there is no other way of describing it.
The fact that this was a local away game for the three Sussex Baggies does not make the result, and a performance lacking any form of commitment, any easier to take. If the drive home seemed to take forever for us, I dread to think how the Albion fans who had travelled from the Midlands felt as they returned home after this game.
The team
As he had promised on Friday, Roberto Di Matteo named a strong side for this FA Cup game. Boaz Myhill replaced Scott Carson in goal, the only change in the back four saw Paul Scharner replace Gonzalo Jara at centre-back, who moved into a holding midfield role. The midfield also comprised of Giles Barnes, Chris Brunt, who was captain for the day, Graham Dorrans and James Morrison, with Ishmael Miller starting up front on his own.
Our bench seemed almost as strong as our starting line-up, with the likes of Simon Cox and Marc-Antoine Fortune being joined in the squad by Jonas Olsson, making his long-awaited return from injury.
First half
In truth, the first 25 minutes of this game was the only period where we genuinely looked as though we could cause their defence any problems. Ishmael Miller’s pace was causing them a few problems and he was unlucky not to score on four occasions in the opening exchanges.
The first of his chances saw Miller lose his footing at the crucial moment when clean through on goal, the second saw him go down rather easily under a challenge from a Reading defender and just minutes later, he sent a low shot across goal just wide after being put clean through on goal by Graham Dorrans. Miller even had a goal harshly disallowed for a foul on Reading goalkeeper Adam Federici.
However, this was as good as it got throughout the 90 minutes and we soon reverted back to the form we showed at Fulham, just four days previously. We were only saved from going behind by a superb save by Boaz Myhill, who reacted quickly to tip Noel Hunt’s close range header over the crossbar. This save came just minutes after Ian Harte had sent a 20-yard free-kick just wide.
Reading continued to take control of the game at this point, although Myhill was not forced into any more action other than to claim a couple of crosses.
The 2,272 travelling Albion fans were beginning to become frustrated with the performances of several players, most notably Miller, who seemed to lack interest in the game unless one of the midfielders was capable of playing an inch-perfect pass for him to run onto.
The frustration turned into anger five minutes before half-time, as we went behind. Shane Long was the scorer for Reading, as he latched onto a through-ball and finished calmly past Myhill and into the far corner of the net to give the hosts the lead.
There were one or two jeers from the Albion fans upon hearing the half-time whistle, as it became clear that we were on course to lose our sixth consecutive game in all competitions.
Second half
The second half started with Jonas Olsson replacing Paul Scharner. This was supposed to be a chance to see the organisation we had been missing at the back in Olsson’s absence, but 15 minutes into his return from injury, he had picked up two yellow cards and left us in a position where it would be virtually impossible for us to get back into the game.
Half-way through Olsson’s 15-minute return from injury, Miller had to be substituted after pulling up with what looked like a hamstring injury. Coincidentally, this occurred just a couple of minutes after a large number of Albion supporters had expressed their frustration at him backing out of a challenge.
The game petered out at this stage, with the only talking point in the final 30 minutes coming when Miller’s replacement, Roman Bednar, appeared to be pulled back by Reading defender Alex Pearce when trying to reach a cross from fellow substitute Jerome Thomas.
On reflection
On reflection, this is as bad as it has been under Roberto Di Matteo. We lacked any kind of commitment and desire to get the win today and when you consider that this was pretty much a full-strength side, I certainly think we have plenty of reasons to worry about whether we are capable of staying in the Premier League this season.
Too many players today looked as though they didn’t care whether we won or not. Giles Barnes and Ishmael Miller both did very little and put in hardly any effort, so it was no surprise to see them both substituted before an hour had been played.
Marek Cech was very poor at the back, with Jimmy Kebe having the beating of him every time, and James Hurst unfortunately showed why he is not ready to be considered for a regular starting place with a display which made him one of the weak links in our side.
Our midfield in general went missing for much of the game. Gonzalo Jara provided a rather ineffective shield in front of the back, with James Morrison and Graham Dorrans being out-muscled in midfield by the Reading players who just seemed to want to win a bit more than we did. I also don’t think I have ever seen Chris Brunt, who wore the captain’s armband in the absence of Scott Carson and Jonas Olsson, misplace so many passes in one game and look so disinterested in what is going on around him.
The only player to emerge with any credit from this game is Boaz Myhill, who was being proclaimed as “Albion’s number one” after making a superb save in the first half and looking generally solid when asked to claim crosses and carry out other routine tasks in goal which we had been accustomed to seeing Carson struggle with! Based on this performance, Myhill has got to start against Blackpool and will hopefully continue from where he left off today.
I don’t want to sound as though I am criticising everything to do with the football club, but I do think questions have to be asked of Roberto Di Matteo after the last few performances. I have been to five of our last six matches and so have a very good idea of just how poorly we have played at times. Unfortunately, today was not the first time we have seemed to show a lack of commitment and this is a real concern as we head into an incredibly important run of league games.
If Jeremy Peace still has faith in Di Matteo’s ability to keep us in the Premier League, he has to provide money for Di Matteo to strengthen the squad this month. Our current squad showed today that we are not capable of competing with an average Championship side, so I dread to think what some of the better Premier League sides will do to us when they visit The Hawthorns between now and the end of the season.
There are plenty of reasons to be very concerned about our chances of survival in the Premier League this season after today, but if we can strengthen our squad this month and get a much-needed victory against Blackpool next week, everybody will hopefully be a bit more positive again.
Boing Boing!