It's not the formation that are the issue. It's the players available. Stevens and Baldock are ineffective going forward, and the midfield three are ineffective. Norwood is great one week, woeful the next, and incapable of putting in back to back performances. Hourihane was sat so deep today that he was practically a sweeper. So that left Osborn, a left footed player playing on the right of midfield to create anything going forward. All three played safety balls all game in just giving it to the nearest Blade without any attempts to drive forward or open up Reading. It was slow, predictable, ineffective and shit. Granted we have a lot of injuries but that midfield three is shit and we haven't had a consistently effective one all season.
Baldock annoys me more than any player and has done for the last three seasons. He's massively over rated. He doesn't dribble with the ball or attempt to take on his man. When he gets played in past him he stops, passes backwards, then receives the ball back from the same player he just passed to before crossing it into a now crowded box, as he's given the opposition all the time in the world to get back through hesitation. He never puts in an early cross, even when he's unmarked and past his marker. Even when he does cross it, it's either over hit or too close to the keeper. He's crap.