Paddy:
I thought that we approached the game in a very unprofessional manner, thinking that we could win just by turning up. Unfortunately, we were complete and utter shite, and deserved what we got. I hate John Salako, as will anyone else who remembers his loudmouth antics when we lost 4-0 at Fulham.
Woody:
I thought we picked the wrong team, and we stank. We competed in no areas of the pitch, and against a very average Reading side we put in the worst performance of the season. The lesson is: if Blake, Davis or Little are available, they must play all the game, as these are the players the opposition do not want to see on our teamsheet.
Dermot:
We started badly, played badly, and finished badly. We were just not there today. It was worse than Rotherham at home. The changes that Stan made showed that he basically started with the wrong side, whether he admits it or not. He took off McGregor, who wasn't playing badly, and moved Briscoe to left back so he could accommodate bringing on Little. The side looked disjointed. The players didn't seem to know what to do, and the changes just made things worse.
Reading didn't look that good, but we didn't want to beat them. They gained in confidence and belief after their first goal. One of the linesmen was bad. He made two bad decisions leading to their first goal - he gave them a throw-in that wasn't, and then failed to give a clear offside.
I thought that Beresford and Taylor did OK today, though Taylor was a bit subdued - probably because if he got another yellow card, he would miss the Fulham game.
Michael:
I am unable to comment, because Burnley failed to turn up for the match. Having said that, it's time Dean West was dropped, because he's crap.
Joan:
Why did I get up at quarter to six and trudge through the snow to get a bus to get me here? Why was Glen Little not on from the start? We needed him.
John:
I was so disgusted that I forgot to buy my new bear! I must remember to buy it in three weeks' time (or will it be two bears then?).
For only the second time in 10 years, we heard an announcement on the tannoy at Manchester Road station. The announcement was to let us know that the train would be 10 minutes late - which wasn't too bad compared to the Burnley players, who were more than 10 minutes late all afternoon.
Editor's note: as regular readers will know, John buys a bear from the Club Shop after every home defeat. We used to find this amusing, but it's probably a good thing he didn't buy one today. He might have required an operation to remove it!
Poll of the day
How it works: A key issue from the day is highlighted, and each London Claret present at the post-match inquest casts one vote. Today's poll saw 8 votes cast. We were too depressed to think about anything relating to the game, but our chosen topic is not totally unrelated to Burnley...
The question: A certain Mr Glenn Roeder was instrumental in almost getting Burnley relegated a few seasons ago. Now, he is working his "magic" on another team that plays in Claret and Blue. Our question today is: are West Ham staying up, or going down?
The result: An almost unanimous outcome for this one. 1 voter believes that the Hammers will cling on to their Premiership status. 6 voters look forward to another London-based League match next season. And 1 voter abstained on the basis that he hates West Ham so much that he can't be objective, but would certainly like Glenn Roeder to be relegated. The panel also recommended that (regardless of the outcome) the Roedent MUST be sacked.
Pic of the day