Stoke should have won. Bearing in mind that Reading do not often come back from losing positions salvaging a point against a team recently relegated, regardless of their initial run of form, can only be seen as positive. Especially when their midfield is so strong, and ours so susceptible to being overrun. It's with the midfield that it's probably best to start. Bacuna given the captain's armband looked assured, and Rinomhota is going from strength to strength. It was the latter's bursting run into the box and cross that set up McNulty for his first Reading goal. The cross may have taken a deflection, but he really did deserve the luck. Swift again looked out of place, he seemed to drift around in the game without doing an awful lot. He had an almost spectacular turn on the edge of the Stoke box, and a nice shot just wide but both felt like they were in the first fifteen minutes. I'm not sure he understands the role that Clement is asking him to play. In fact
From the man who's still convinced that Nick Blackman is a good player.