Time for a moan

Right, first thing's first. Instead of dozens of dozy stewards who do next to nothing each week, can we get a handful of them converted to turnstile operators? Four of the ten turnstiles to the East terrace (Harvey Gardens) were shut yesterday and I queued for five minutes which shouldn't be necessary with a 15,000 home gate. It was at least the second game in succession where we've done this. Not a major problem last night but it may be before the end of the season if we get caught out by a larger than anticipated walk-up gate.

Grant Basey might not be as good a player as Kelly Youga but we should all remember that he is still only 21. He has made a decent job of covering for Youga and some focus on his positives should outweigh the odd honest mistake like last night where he was skipped past having had to get back to attempt a covering tackle. Too many of of fans expect perfection from defenders and the game doesn't work like that.

Similarly, Miguel Llera has done a sterling job in my mind back-filling for Sam Sodje who we should remember earned himself a four match suspension. No-one was complaining when he got forward to salvage a point against Swindon and, whilst he does have a habit of slicing clearances, we should note that he is invariably getting to these balls to put something on them, not necessarily being beaten. Again, last night I thought he and Dailly were solid under pressure but some on the Messageboards immediately single him out for blame. Presumably because it must be someone's fault that we conceded a goal?

We aren't blessed with any of the division top five scorers, so have to accept that what we have is much of a muchness. Deon Burton has over-performed in my book and put in another shift last night although we were short of decent supply. Mooney was chasing scraps too and whilst he wasted the best chance we had, we should remember he's a Reading reserve player and still new to first team league football. I'm not making excuses but these are the players we have and we don't have the funds necessary to buy anything better.

McKenzie is an experienced grafter and I am not sure we will ever get more from him than the odd cameo appearance and goal. Dickson is a non-league player with some unorthodoxy about his game that gives fans hope but he is still very inexperienced at this level and struggles to stay onside. He achieved instant hero-status because of his desire to play and the goals he scored whilst on loan at Gillingham but his return this season for Bristol Rovers wasn't enough to secure him an extension and he has hardly been prolific since getting his latest chance in red.

When you assess our forward options, it's clear that supply and goals from midfield is what has propelled us to challenge for promotion. When that doesn't work well, as per last night and in the Hartlepool game, it's no wonder that we don't get it all our own way. Jonjo Shelvey will develop into a big game player but he's still only 17 and is not producing enough regularly enough to warrant an automatic place in the side. He should be being used as an impact player and should understand why he's being dropped after poor matches rather than persevered with. By comparison, Lee Bowyer never ambled through matches at his age.

Nicky Bailey is simply the best midfielder we have, but he needs to be partnered by a holding midfielder with more pace than Jose Semedo. Semedo is decent when he plays a bit deeper and gets the extra two yards in which to play the ball out but he struggles when closely marked, like last night. I'm not sure we have a better middle pairing but the manager needs to know when to change it. Substitutions don't always mean someone has been playing poorly. Sometimes they are tactical and players need to understand that.

Lloyd Sam is the best winger at the club and we shouldn't forget that in most games this season he has been double or treble-marked which has inadvertantly created opportunities for other players. He doesn't always provide a string of match-winning crosses but he should be given more support and consideration than he gets from an impatient Valley. He does have off games, of course, but if we don't win games there is usually someone laying the blame at his failure to provide the ammunition.

We don't have a decent left winger which is the biggest gap in the clubs arsenal. Kelly Youga does a fine job over-lapping and this probably makes a back for poor Grant, although he can get down the wing and cross on occasions as he proved against Hartlepool. If we do one piece of business in this window, please let it be a left winger. We might just get another ten per cent out of Lloyd Sam if we can create some balance to our play.

Finally, after an 18 match unbeaten home run we slipped up last night. It wasn't a great performance but Leyton Orient made it difficult and we missed our chances. The team didn't deserve to walk off to a chorus of boos. You wouldn't have heard that at Carrow Road or Elland Road in similar circumstances. A dignified silence can sometimes be more powerful than the urge to boo however self-satisfying it might be.

Moan over.