Every loss is a pretty naff feeling. But the ones when you leave feeling like the players just didn’t turn up, and there was more on the table if we just upped a couple of percentage points, are perhaps the most frustrating.
Look, these games happen. Wigan Athletic knocked it about nicely and played better football than their league position suggests, but we should’ve given them a better game and can’t have any real complaints about the result.
As ever, there was plenty to discuss for the fans post-game, but unfortunately those talking points weren’t as positive as they have been in recent weeks…
Lewis Wing
The captain’s performances have been a topic of discussion for a little while now, and it was no different after Saturday’s result.
Now is not the time to go into my full thoughts on the matter, but essentially I think he’s been made of a bit of a scapegoat and deserves a bit of patience from us. Some agree with me on that, some not so much…
Consistently inconsistent
Inconsistent seemed to be the word of the day for the Loyal Royals after the defeat. And, to be honest, it’s a pretty apt word for what we’re seeing at the moment – particularly when you compare the home and away performances.
We’re fortunate that, in a league like this, we could still find a way into the top six playing like this. But, to be sure of that – or try and get anything better – you need to be consistent week after week.
At our best we can beat any team in this league, but promotion teams don’t lose games against bottom of the league…
A poor performance
It’s a very fine line between trying not to overreact to a defeat but also being rightly disappointed and frustrated at a poor result and performance. And let’s face it, Saturday was poor.
Yes, we created chances. But as a 90-minute performance, we’ve shown we can be so much better – even without the likes of George Earthy and Jack Marriott – so there are no excuses.
The fans were rightly unimpressed with what they saw…
Conclusion
Frustratingly, we can’t change the result now. There just has to be a marked improvement in the next two. From a personal perspective, even two wins in the next two won’t fully quash my doubts.
Putting the MK Dons result to one side, we need to see a closer gap in our intent and urgency between our home and away performances.
We’ve shown we can put goals past anyone, home or away, but it feels like Leam Richardson is so much more reserved on the road – and I just don’t think he needs to be. The sooner he realises that the better.
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