[alex1]

Upped the tempo second half and opened Reading up, after very poor first half.
Barry and Brunt good through passes finding gaps. Livermore below par today. Edwards had good debut.

[Semaj Riatsila]

We struggled the first 30 minutes even though lots of possession. But from then on we controlled the game.

Barry might be slow but he had a great game and passed the ball to his own players. Gayle and Barnes on a high long may it continue. J Rod more in the game today. Great to see Edwards get some quality time in the field.

It’s a game of 90 minutes and the Albion show they can play for 90 minutes and not 30.

Great result COYB

[TheBrom]

Another poor first-half performance followed by a better second-half performance. If we can learn to extend our second half performances to the majority of the 90 minutes, we'll do well this season.

However, I'm still concerned about our slow and ageing midfield (rotating Brunt, who is a winger, and Barry who looks like he's running through cement, may not be sustainable over 46 games).

Funny I thought Barry was one of the better players on the pitch today

[Semaj Riatsila]

Funny I thought Barry was one of the better players on the pitch today

He was.

[WBArgo]

Funny I thought Barry was one of the better players on the pitch today

I thought he ran the show - and is considerably better than Brunt in the middle. I'm happy there's a break anyway, it gives our older players like him a bit of a rest.

Weird game as ever with Moore, could easily be 2-0 down at half time, then win with some comfort at the end.

[Baggies]

Another great home result, and back 2nd in the table.  Can't argue with the teams character and will to win.

A poor 1st half with a team that is playing a lot of games without rotation. It seems to get better after the subs which is a positive.

Still only 1 clean sheet all season in the league and I want to see some changes soon.

Dowling needs to be negotiating hard with Leicester to keep Barnes, but also looking at contingency ppans for if he leaves. Phil Foden on loan maybe?

[gerry m]

Well went shopping at half time as it sounded like we were awful, come back home and we've won 4-1. they certainly know how to put us through the mill.

[koren]

Poor 1st half but we improved in 2nd half.
Gayle early goal after the break was crucial. After that we started to control the game.

I always think Moore's subs decisions are too conservative. But today I'm happy to see he proves me wrong.
It's a gamble to bring on Edwards when the scoreline was 1-1.
Edwards did ok in my opinion, especially when he goes forward.   
Hopefully he and Field could get more chances in the coming games.
1st half showed that our midfield was too slow, Field could be an option to tackle this problem.

[maccbaggie]

So do you think we’re not doing well?

At the moment we're second - if we're second at the of the season then we will have done very well.

[TheJacko2000]

Twice in a week Livermore removed from centre midfield and we immediately start passing quickly and incisively to feet and more importantly forwards and to each other.


Deserved the win in the end, that should be the last we see of Mears despite the assist.

[gerry m]

Another great home result, and back 2nd in the table.  Can't argue with the teams character and will to win.

A poor 1st half with a team that is playing a lot of games without rotation. It seems to get better after the subs which is a positive.

Still only 1 clean sheet all season in the league and I want to see some changes soon.

Dowling needs to be negotiating hard with Leicester to keep Barnes, but also looking at contingency ppans for if he leaves. Phil Foden on loan maybe?

Foden is a superb young talent but cant see us getting him but would be awesome if we did.

[KYA]

For heavens sake, I’m not sure that question is engaging maccbaggie at the appropriate level of intellectual critical engagement! 

Two points a game 31 goals in 11 matches it's beyond me  .

[BaggieBoy04]

Another good result by us COYB any idea how Leeds Middlesbrough did I was out so didn't get any scores apart from ours.

[DutchBaggies]

Leeds drew 1-1 with Brentford in the early kick off.  Leeds equalized from set-piece late on.  It was live on TV over here, and was a decent game.  Sawyers was head and shoulders above anything on the pitch.  Middlesbrough well beaten by Forest by all accounts (0-2). 

[Chipperfan]

Overall I enjoyed the game though first half we were second best and really could have been more behind after 45 minutes, although from where I was sitting it looked as if we ought to have scored when Gayle slid in towards Barnes’ cross shot from the left side but didn’t make contact.

Posters who know the game better than me will know the technicalities but for me we came out second half with far more purpose and began moving the ball much more quickly and positively. Once we equalised it was only going one way, and Reading clearly lost confidence and wilted.

Excellent predation by Gayle for our first, brilliant move and finish by Barnes and two excellent headers by Bartley (did Gayle get a touch to his first?).

On the downside, booing the team off at half time? Really? And then the cheering when Mears left the pitch was a disgrace. He’s one of us. He may be limited but he wears the stripes, support the bloke.

[Andio]

Gayle got the second goal Chipper, I didn't notice the touch at the time myself.

[Atomic]

Game of two halves.

I didn't think we were quite as bad first half as some were saying but we weren't really at it, we looked slow and a bit leggy. We did create a couple of openings though. Every time Reading broke on us we looked vulnerable.

The second half didn't start any better really but once we got the first goal (surely their keeper should've collected the cross) the game changed. After that Reading never really looked a threat and we suddenly looked a yard sharper.

Good move by Moore taking Livermore off, he looked leggy and just not sharp today and Brunt came on looked fresher and started spraying passes all over the place.

I felt sorry for Tyrone Mears. He is poor but it's not his fault he's here and he's doing his best but we need Phillips back. Thankfully the international break gives him time to get fit again.

All in all after we got our first goal I thought we were superb, before that we looked like we needed a bit of a break.

The good thing is if we concede we know we're capable of scoring goals.

Good days work, great to see goals flying in at the Hawthorns after years of Pulis's durge.

Happy tonight.

[Atomic]

Funny I thought Barry was one of the better players on the pitch today

Barry was excellent particularly second half.

[skyclad99]

I thought he was very good today, particularly the 2nd half as mentioned. I thought Gibbs worked tirelessly and Hegazi seemed more composed as well. A strange game but very enjoyable.........a happy baggie tonight

[tommcneill]

I was out so only got the updates

Wasn’t worried at 1 nil down knew we would score and pretty much as soon as we did we then just killed them off

Our attack is brilliant but need to tighten the defence up

Mention to Bartley, I’ve been critical but he got a goal today so I doth thine cap

Another good result

[17GD]

Not long got back. It truly was a game of two halves. First half we looked laid back and offered zero threat. Reading seemed to win every ball and looked comfortable. At times it was infuriating, because Gibbs was happy to keep passing back to Bartley instead of taking on their full back.

Second half, we had some urgency and played out faster. Reading seemed to switch off and we were clinical. I thought Edwards okayed exceedingly well when he came on, showed pace and skill, not afraid to have a go at taking on the opposition.

My only grievance today was with the seats. Sat a few seats from the home dugout and didn't see any of the goals because DM and GJ were stood in the way...literally blocking the Smethwick goal throughout...

Great win and nice to go to the break on the back of a little run.

[elmo_in_swansea]

Not long got back. It truly was a game of two halves. First half we looked laid back and offered zero threat. Reading seemed to win every ball and looked comfortable. At times it was infuriating, because Gibbs was happy to keep passing back to Bartley instead of taking on their full back.

Second half, we had some urgency and played out faster. Reading seemed to switch off and we were clinical. I thought Edwards okayed exceedingly well when he came on, showed pace and skill, not afraid to have a go at taking on the opposition.

My only grievance today was with the seats. Sat a few seats from the home dugout and didn't see any of the goals because DM and GJ were stood in the way...literally blocking the Smethwick goal throughout...

Great win and nice to go to the break on the back of a little run.

I guess he's not called Big Dave for nothing!

[Windmill Baggy]

At the moment we're second - if we're second at the of the season then we will have done very well.

At the moment Moore and the team are doing very well. Things aren't perfect, and I suspect Moore is well aware of what needs changing. However he seemed to be hamstrung over the summer regarding bringing in new faces due to funds only being available after players had been sold and by the time this had happened (Chadli sale) time was short, hence the relatively late bids for Dack and Tavernier.

Bringing in Mears/Hoolahan on temporary contracts, playing Brunt centrally, using Robson-Kanu as a substitute etc. are all pragmatic decisions determined by the circumstances thrust upon him.

Many will think their are better options in the squad to cover these areas but at the moment DM's decisions have seen us reach a 2 points per game target needed to be on course for automatic promotion.

Personally I think his performance to this point has been very impressive and he has shown himself to be a very intelligent coach. I don't think any other manager could have done a better job.

Emphatic result today and the goals keep flying in. I fancy us to be on 50 points come the half-way point come January which would give us a spot of breathing space for the run-in for which I feel we will have strengthened certain areas in the window to give us the best chance of getting over the line.

Great job so far DM!

[stever60]

Mears is the pick I don’t get. He adds nothing to the team and would appear totally out of his depth. Not sure why DM keeps picking him.

[Oldbury24]

Poor first half.  A leggy and tired looking Livermore partnering Barry who was running through quicksand. No creativity and very disjointed. Mears looking a passengar, a full back maybe but never a wing back.   Gayle nicks the kind of goal you can only get in the championship and the whole thing changes.  Darren Moore puts Mears out of his misery (after his assist) and Bunty comes on looking sharp as a tack.  Three goals later and Edwards gets a standing ovation for a track back and tackle. 

I said to my boy at half time that if we could play that poorly and still create chances if we improved we would score a hatfull.  Hat filled.  Happy Baggies.