Coppell's lack of ambition

[Big Dan]

just the title of this thread defies belief

[weybridgewanderer]

if we were fighting relegation on 38 points right now and we stayed up coppell would be a hero

as it is we are safely in the top half of the league, have 54 points and people say coppell lacks ambition, knocked out of the leage cup by liverpool -champions league finalists - and the FA cup by man utd, the leage champions


FFS

just how fickle are some of you

[Farnborough Royal]

knocked out of the leage cup by liverpool -champions league finalists - and the FA cup by man utd, the leage champions

That's not the point!

The point is we didn't even try to win those games.

[weybridgewanderer]

knocked out of the leage cup by liverpool -champions league finalists - and the FA cup by man utd, the leage champions

That's not the point!

The point is we didn't even try to win those games.

sorry but that is just tosh

1-0 at old trafford and fought back for a draw

3-0 down after 6 minutes and nearly pulled it back to a draw

4-3 at anfield

gave our "squad players" run out meaning they were sharper for the games they have played

and don't give me all that "if we played our starting 11 then we would have beaten them" crap, the starting 11 played yesterday at home and didn't beat watford

[Behindu]

Anyone who doubts Coppell should never darken the Mad Stad door again.

End of.

The thread authour has already announced his intention to do just that in another discussion.


I have sympathy for the view that the club has changed dramatically in the last decade, but it's changed into what we wanted it to be and I can't really grasp the thought that now we are one of the top 10 clubs in the country some people can only moan.

And if Coppell lacks ambition you have to ask how people would describe the likes of Maurice Evans, Charlie Hurley and Jack Mansell. Great managers all who never came close to achieving what Coppell has done.

[sotonroyal]

I don't understand this notion that Coppell can do no wrong. Granted he is the most succesful manager in or history and has worked wonders this season, however to put it simply, yesterday he got it wrong and didn't seem to have the inclination to change the game to remedy. I do not understand why he must be immune from criticism.

Anyone could see the game was crying out for Doyle to come and have a run at their back four, yet he was left until 10 minutes from the end of the game. Having not scored against watford on our previous 3 attempts it is obvious that we needed to change our style of play yesterday. However, we kept putting balls into the box which the likes of shittu could deal with all day. Despite his failings someone like oster would have been ideal yesterday as he has the potential to unlock defences with a through ball. However, again this change was left far too late.

I eagerly anticipate the slating i will recieve for this thread....

[Behindu]

I
I eagerly anticipate the slating i will recieve for this thread....

You make a different point though.

Coppell makes mistakes and anyone saying he doesn't is argueing against the man himself !

He may not make as many as Jose, and Fergie makes plenty so he's in good company.

The debate here though is whether Coppell lacks ambition and doesn't want to win anything.

[sotonroyal]

i understand but to be fair such threads are always greeted with ironic cries of "coppell out." It seems like he cannot be criticised.

I believe yesterday he did show a lack of ambition in that despite us struggling to break watford down for large periods he showed no desire to change things.

[Victor Meldrew]

I think Farnborough Royal is rather brave (and a bit stupid like most of us on here) to raise this topic at this time.
Teams like Southampton and Charlton survived for many years in the Premiership but eventually the fans got fed up with just surviving and probably got a bit above themselves but look at them now.
Eventually we might well end up the same but at least for the next few years Premiership survival is the most important thing,to become a Premiership club like Bolton for example-never going to break into the top 4 but have a few European campaigns and maybe win a cup.

Having said that survival is the most important thing it doesn't mean that it becomes the only thing.
This year we knew by Christmas that we were safe or at least within a few points of safety.
So what was our aim then?
To finish as high as possible and make some decent money or really go for the FA Cup and....make some decent money.
With either of these strategies we were risking making it into a UEFA Cup place.

My own view is that you try to win every game,cup or league and if players get a bit tired or injured then so be it-they are just as likely to get injured on the training field.
Also this resting of players that has become fashionable (Mind you Ronaldo and Drogba the top players in the country and the most valuable don't get rested) often means a disruption in the way that you play and players don't always come back revitalised (e.g Lita and Harper yesterday).
It's almost impossible to find fault with Coppell and the way he has run things this season but it doesn't mean that Farnborough Royal shouldn't raise the topic of ambition for discussion after all we will probably finish only around 9th and not have come near to winning any cup competitions.
There is plenty of room for improvement.

[Behindu]

i understand but to be fair such threads are always greeted with ironic cries of "coppell out." It seems like he cannot be criticised.

I believe yesterday he did show a lack of ambition in that despite us struggling to break watford down for large periods he showed no desire to change things.

I don;t think you can judge ambition over 10 minutes though.

Coppell is playing the long term game and we'll only really know if he was right in 2 or 3 seasons time.
He could argue that the Bolton result was achieved by making pretty late substitutions - no one accused him of lacking ambition when it worked then !

[Ian Royal]

i understand but to be fair such threads are always greeted with ironic cries of "coppell out." It seems like he cannot be criticised.

I believe yesterday he did show a lack of ambition in that despite us struggling to break watford down for large periods he showed no desire to change things.

Coppell isn't really a manger who makes dynamic changes with half an hour to go though is he. That is possibly a flaw. It doesn't mean he is throwing the game or has a lack of ambition.

I can't believe that when he says Europe would be of little benefit and cause us a big headache people think he would actually attempt to lose a game. Or not try very hard to win. It's just idiocy, any manager doing that would very soon get the sack and find it very hard to get other jobs. We just didn't play well enough and let in a couple of sloppy goals. It happens. We can't go all season only losing 1 or 2 games, and you can't expect that every game you lose will be because you were outplayed by talented opposition.

A manager should be judged over the course of a season and Coppell has done fantastically well over two seasons showing plenty of ambition in them. We could have turned up this season and played negative tactics to just stay up. We didn't we went at teams who were often in theory far superior. We didn't go into cruise control last season, we kicked on and broke a points record. We didn't get to 40 points and just give up like Pompey seemed to for a while.

For the long term development of the club it would probably be better if we didn't make Europe. That doesn't mean we're going to stop trying.
It was better that we didn't go up in '95, but that didn't stop the players at Wembley trying their absolute hardest to make it.

[Whistle]

I want us to be in Europe next season - simply for the honour and prestige of it. We may never get another chance.

You simply cannot rely on us always making progress brick-by-brick, season-by-season.

Being in Europe might only mean one two-leg tie in France, for heaven's sake, as he'd play the ressies! Lot less hassle than the Peace Cup and a lot more accessible and desirable for us fans.

[BonBoh]

I can't understand all the sudden moaning.

Coppell has achieved more than any other manager at this club.
Why won't you understand that we are a small club. We have been building steadily over the past 10 years.
I would like to see us get into Europe if possible but if we don't then we have still had a fantastic season - above all expectations!

The priority for Reading FC will be to stay in the Premiership for a few more years. We are expanding our stadium over the next 2 years to get up to 38,000 spectators. If we can fill a stadium with that kind of crowd every home game then we will grow in size as a club.
Success doesn't come overnight.
The board has a good idea of what they can afford and Coppell is the man to work the magic and make it happen. Coppell likes working with a small squad as it helps team bonding. Everyone plays regularly and mostly, players will understand it and be happy.
As you have seen this season, even that has not been easy with De La Cruz, Oster and Seoul not being happy about not playing regularly.
Wouldn't we all like to support Reading in the Premiership for the next few seasons and watch the club grow in a healthy manner. We can pick up other accolades in a few years time.

If we make Europe this year it will be nice. If not, then it was still a brilliant season.
Stop bitching and start being a real supporter.

[JimGRoyal]

Sorry but I can't see the point of this board if it is run like a soviet where no criticism is allowed.

2 games in one week.

Newcastle we had a great formation, it worked, we won. Great game.

Yesterday we had the best part of 20 corners. Frustrating game. Gunarsson scores from corners and has in my view been our inspiration in the past few games. The game was crying out for Doyle to run at defenders. Whilst Coppell is fantastic at spotting, buying and nurturing young raw talent, he has a blindspot IMHO over early dynamic substitutions. Yesterday wasn't the first time. That's all.

[loyalest royalest]

Coppell is planning for the long run. That is a greater demonstration of his ambition.

[AthleticoSpizz]

our best league finish ever


and Coppell lacks ambition

[Farnborough Royal]

our best league finish ever


and Coppell lacks ambition

In the cups he does

[Big Dan]

and you criticise people for criticising steve coppell?

i hope we suffer 3 relegations and move back to elm park personally and bring back martin hicks.now that's ambition

[AthleticoSpizz]

our best league finish ever


and Coppell lacks ambition

In the cups he does

erm, when was that?

[Alan Partridge]

and you criticise people for criticising steve coppell?

i hope we suffer 3 relegations and move back to elm park personally and bring back martin hicks.now that's ambition

least it'll be cheap to get in again.