RFC - a total shambles

[Schards#2]

But the point you are mising is that it is clear that the club have been trying to fill those gaps and that, for whatever reasons, have not been able to attract the quality they would like within the budget set.

You either support the Board and the manager in carrying out that policy or you don't. I do.

But in the meantime giving the team anything other than 100% support for their honest endeavours seems futile and feeble. The players are only as good as they are, and, in my opinion they are good enough to stay up - just.

If we go down it just means they were not good enough to stay up, that's all - it doesn't mean that they gave less than 100%, it doesn't mean that the club is a shambles, that Coppell can't hack it when the pressure is on and all that rubbish.

There is a long-term financial plan here to ensure the long-term stability of the club. That works in the supporters favour as well as the owner. In times of financial instability and uncertainty, deviate from the policies that drive those plans at your peril - as I suspect the next few years will indicate to several recent / current Premier League clubs great cost.

Do you honestly think that supporters will suddenly turn up and boo the team and sing "sit down for Steve Coppell, he's not worth standing for" just because many of us can see that we're potentially heading for trouble? Your holier-than-thou attitude day in, day out on here is getting tedious and you quite obviously don't know our supporters as well as you seem to think you do. I'll be very surprised if I hear any sort of booing aimed in the direction of our team or manager at any upcoming game. Our support at the games is what counts to the players and management. If some of us wish to discuss our concerns on here, we'll jolly well do so, without having to put up with criticism from the likes of you.

Do me a favour will you? When you have a strong point to make, please don't use "jolly-well" in future - it just makes me laugh.

Do me another favour and read the content of the Team Board after and during recent defeats and tell me if that constitutes 100% support for their honest endeavours. I think not.

And tell me you have not heard booing and aggressive reactions to mistakes made by those players from the stands. And tell me you think that won't get more noticeable in the coming weeks if we do really get pulled into the mire. Sorry but that's just ostrich syle naivety.

Are you really suggesting that this team board should only contain 100% support for the team and their honest endeavours (as in the example you set with Lita , of course!)??

If so, time to shut up shop Graham!

Lita's endeavours were anything but honest - a player who main trick is falling over when someone breathes on him could never get my 100% support.

Look, I don't mind constructive criticism it's the tone of much of it that gets my goat. And the "fact" that we are doomed because of this that and the other.

Very few people have denied that we have a major problem on our hands this season, but to say the club is a shambles when it is actually one of the most astutely run in the country, to say we are down if we lose to Bolton, etc. etc. etc. all these things are just plain silly.

I don't have a pair of RTGs; I have always applied a balanced realism to what is happening and knee jerk over-reactions of either extreme irritate me.

If you took the trouble to read what RL has actually said rather than tarring her with what others have said, you might see that you're actually responsible for most of the knee jerk reactions here.

[brendywendy]

Very few people have denied that we have a major problem on our hands this season,

I actually strongly disagree.

There exists a group of very 'vocal' posters who refuse to allow almost any debate on the issues of the side. Yes, there's over-reaction after defeats but stopping/trying to stop even 'reaction' to a defeat really, really doesn't help.

everyone on here realises we are now very deep in a relegation fight for the rest of the season even those whose RTG are superglued to his face
we just differ from the STGB in that we believe we are strongly placed to finish outside the botom three and move on to next seasosn rebuild
i would still rather be here than on the pitch at elm park wondering how we had got relegated to the third tier
in my eyes we are one of the best run clubs in the country
have a squad of players who are good enough to stave off relegation,
a great manager
a fantastic set up-clunb wide.money available, players coming in, and a very good run in after january


its tough, and not as much fun as last year, especially when watching the away games
but a month ago we started to climb away, get some good results and performances away from home, beat liverpool at home etc
and are slowly but surely establishing ourselves as a decent prem outfit
charlton, bolton, pompey etc all went through this, and came out as bigger stronger clubs, mainly becuase they stuck with their management teams

[Gordons Cumming]

Looks like Reading are now only 2 points off a relegation place.

With no points expected until February 2nd, it looks like we're DOOMED!!!!!

[holsgrove breaks a leg]

Well so much for the 'over reaction' thread on hob nob because quite frankly anyone who thinks there isnt cause for concern now must be completely blinkered. Praise must go to a strong Villa outfit- Laursen was a man mountain, Young a terrific winger and Agbonlahor and Carew a constant menace. However i keep mentioning it like a scatched record but niavety alone is costing us massively- defending as a unit has been an utter shambles from top to bottom. Doyle was constantly out hussled and looked a shadow of his usual self (more of that later) whilst guna at CB and mid offered no protection or inventive play what so ever. Ingi was exposed time and again and looks way out of his depth. The system Coppell played was similar to that v Spurs and i do have time for the man marking formation but against top four teams away only not Villa where we just went into our shell. DLC for me did all he could to cover for the hapless ingi and guna when cross field balls were being pinged from everywhere. The utter lack of pace of ingi and guna at the back was frankly embarrasing and serves to remind that in Sonko,Duberry and Bikey we have CB's who can compete far better at this level.

I fully agree Sonko has been shocking recently but an injury like his is bound to affect mobility and pace- when he comes back im hopeful it will be regained. Sonko quite clearly has the pace and strength that Ingi and Guna have never had which is exposed time and again. FWIW i cannot believe Coppell didnt give Pearce his debut, a young lad full of energy and of considerable height which was needed. Yet time and again Guna and Ingi keep their place when in my mind they have reached the end of the road. I think Cisse showed glimpses of skill and promise yesterday but he must be kept at CM. Doyle needs a rest, he is hard working but is clearly a man short of confidence in front of goal - Lita should now bw given his opportunity. Come the Chelsea game it is likely we could be hovering around the relegation zone- we need to shake the current side up. If this means taking the likes of Ingi and Guna out of the team then so be it.

not sure how an away defeat at villa constitutes that reaction

what the feck did you expect?

ok then where exactly have i gone wrong in my above explanation of readings current situation??? Unfortunately realism and stating the facts are something that do come into play-im just stating what i currently see unfolding here albeit with an understandibly darkened mood. The fact is we have let in as many goals as Derby which is a major worry to begin with.

[Royal Rother]

Very few people have denied that we have a major problem on our hands this season,

I actually strongly disagree.

There exists a group of very 'vocal' posters who refuse to allow almost any debate on the issues of the side. Yes, there's over-reaction after defeats but stopping/trying to stop even 'reaction' to a defeat really, really doesn't help.

I would suggest that there exists and equally vocal group in more than equal measure who refuse to entertain the notion that we are a well-run club who are, on balance, likely to stay up and that the long-term future of the club is probably in the safest hands in the country.

[papereyes]

Very few people have denied that we have a major problem on our hands this season,

I actually strongly disagree.

There exists a group of very 'vocal' posters who refuse to allow almost any debate on the issues of the side. Yes, there's over-reaction after defeats but stopping/trying to stop even 'reaction' to a defeat really, really doesn't help.

I would suggest that there exists and equally vocal group in more than equal measure who refuse to entertain the notion that we are a well-run club who are, on balance, likely to stay up and that the long-term future of the club is probably in the safest hands in the country.

That is a fair comment.

[brendywendy]

Well so much for the 'over reaction' thread on hob nob because quite frankly anyone who thinks there isnt cause for concern now must be completely blinkered. Praise must go to a strong Villa outfit- Laursen was a man mountain, Young a terrific winger and Agbonlahor and Carew a constant menace. However i keep mentioning it like a scatched record but niavety alone is costing us massively- defending as a unit has been an utter shambles from top to bottom. Doyle was constantly out hussled and looked a shadow of his usual self (more of that later) whilst guna at CB and mid offered no protection or inventive play what so ever. Ingi was exposed time and again and looks way out of his depth. The system Coppell played was similar to that v Spurs and i do have time for the man marking formation but against top four teams away only not Villa where we just went into our shell. DLC for me did all he could to cover for the hapless ingi and guna when cross field balls were being pinged from everywhere. The utter lack of pace of ingi and guna at the back was frankly embarrasing and serves to remind that in Sonko,Duberry and Bikey we have CB's who can compete far better at this level.

I fully agree Sonko has been shocking recently but an injury like his is bound to affect mobility and pace- when he comes back im hopeful it will be regained. Sonko quite clearly has the pace and strength that Ingi and Guna have never had which is exposed time and again. FWIW i cannot believe Coppell didnt give Pearce his debut, a young lad full of energy and of considerable height which was needed. Yet time and again Guna and Ingi keep their place when in my mind they have reached the end of the road. I think Cisse showed glimpses of skill and promise yesterday but he must be kept at CM. Doyle needs a rest, he is hard working but is clearly a man short of confidence in front of goal - Lita should now bw given his opportunity. Come the Chelsea game it is likely we could be hovering around the relegation zone- we need to shake the current side up. If this means taking the likes of Ingi and Guna out of the team then so be it.

not sure how an away defeat at villa constitutes that reaction

what the feck did you expect?

ok then where exactly have i gone wrong in my above explanation of readings current situation??? Unfortunately realism and stating the facts are something that do come into play-im just stating what i currently see unfolding here albeit with an understandibly darkened mood. The fact is we have let in as many goals as Derby which is a major worry to begin with.

agree totally

just dont undertsand the (over)reaction today to what was a wholly expected away defeat playing no worse than in any of the other 3-0/3-1 beatings we have taken this season

admittedly it would be good to see an improvement, like we did in december
but with the situation as it is, it wasnt too likely was it

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

What I understand less is the polarising of opinions. Apparently you are either realist who sees us on the brink of relegation, or an RTG who can see no wrong in the situation.

Prior to christmas we had a little cusion of points that everyone knew would be eaten up a bit by the next few weeks' fixtures. The difference hasn't been that we've done particularly worse than expected, but that those below have done better, and that 8 point gap has been refuced by 6 points, rather than perhaps 4 that might have been expected. Yes, we have to play Man Utd & Chelsea, but remarkably, so do the other teams.

[Royal Lady]

Well I for one would rather read the more positive views of RR and BW rather than the negative rantings of Fag Ash Lil and her Luddite husband who even bet against the club they say they support!

Yes that's quite hilarious. Firstly, you have a go at me RR for not bringing anything to the debate and then not only does Yellowcoat merely make a post calling me stupid names, but you reply with a mere smilies. If you're going to tell people what to do on this board, at least have the good grace to follow your own instructions.

And Yellowcoat, you don't know me and I don't know you. I could, if I was as immature as you refer to you as a "little Hitler" you being a steward and all that, but I don't, as I'm slightly more mature enough to realise that not everyone is the same.

[Royal Rother]

Sorry, it was funny. You should jolly well learn to laugh at yourself. You'll be less stressy as a result.

[brendywendy]

Well I for one would rather read the more positive views of RR and BW rather than the negative rantings of Fag Ash Lil and her Luddite husband who even bet against the club they say they support!

Yes that's quite hilarious. Firstly, you have a go at me RR for not bringing anything to the debate and then not only does Yellowcoat merely make a post calling me stupid names, but you reply with a mere smilies. If you're going to tell people what to do on this board, at least have the good grace to follow your own instructions.

And Yellowcoat, you don't know me and I don't know you. I could, if I was as immature as you refer to you as a "little Hitler" you being a steward and all that, but I don't, as I'm slightly more mature enough to realise that not everyone is the same.

[url]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmauUbBKXII[/url]

[Royal Lady]

I laugh at myself everyday RR. I do not, however, think it brings anything to a debate of this nature, for someone completely unknown to me to be making disparaging remarks about me and my husband.

[Lower West]

To say Reading FC is in a shambles is utter tosh....... The club is in its by far its best state in its 137 year history. We may not see it for a while to come, but the investment in the club structure will pay dividends in the longer term.

As a supporter I always say if a player doesnt want to play for a club LET THEM GO.......

Teams are built and then have to rebuilt.... look at Man Utd and Arsenal for good examples. So the Championship winning team has come to the end of its shelf life. Thats football. Maybe we will return to the wilderness for a season, but we will return, even stronger. Hopefully with home grown talent.

[Royal Rother]

You should get on Spacey's bad side RL!

[Tony Le Mesmer]

Apart from one stupid tackle from Sonko, our form in recent weeks has been in keeping with the rest of the season. We only win at home and 4 out of our last 5 have been away. We hit a tough runs of fixtures and its all panic.

You can argue til you are blue in the face about our transfer policy, at the end of the day RFC are not going to spend stupid money that could harm the long term future of the club. even if that means relagation. How would you rather our club run, like ours at the moment, of like Sunderland's and spend £30-40m on crap?

We support a very well run club that has had pretty much been playing "winning" football success since we left EP. We still haven't finished in the bottom half since we moved and have imporoved on the previous seasons finish in all bar one season.

It seems to me that most of our fans, even some longer standing ones, either dont know or have forgotten what its like to support a "losing" team.

[brendywendy]

I laugh at myself everyday RR. I do not, however, think it brings anything to a debate of this nature, for someone completely unknown to me to be making disparaging remarks about me and my husband.

your wrong
it does

[Tredder]

Very few people have denied that we have a major problem on our hands this season,

I actually strongly disagree.

There exists a group of very 'vocal' posters who refuse to allow almost any debate on the issues of the side. Yes, there's over-reaction after defeats but stopping/trying to stop even 'reaction' to a defeat really, really doesn't help.

I would suggest that there exists and equally vocal group in more than equal measure who refuse to entertain the notion that we are a well-run club who are, on balance, likely to stay up and that the long-term future of the club is probably in the safest hands in the country.

Primark scales?

[Royal Lady]

I laugh at myself everyday RR. I do not, however, think it brings anything to a debate of this nature, for someone completely unknown to me to be making disparaging remarks about me and my husband.

your wrong
it does

Fair do's then. You won't mind me calling you a cock then.

[Gordons Cumming]

Well I for one would rather read the more positive views of RR and BW rather than the negative rantings of Fag Ash Lil and her Luddite husband who even bet against the club they say they support!

Yes that's quite hilarious. Firstly, you have a go at me RR for not bringing anything to the debate and then not only does Yellowcoat merely make a post calling me stupid names, but you reply with a mere smilies. If you're going to tell people what to do on this board, at least have the good grace to follow your own instructions.

And Yellowcoat, you don't know me and I don't know you. I could, if I was as immature as you refer to you as a "little Hitler" you being a steward and all that, but I don't, as I'm slightly more mature enough to realise that not everyone is the same.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmauUbBKXII[/url]

The url contained a malformed video id


how ironic?

[brendywendy]

I laugh at myself everyday RR. I do not, however, think it brings anything to a debate of this nature, for someone completely unknown to me to be making disparaging remarks about me and my husband.

your wrong
it does

Fair do's then. You won't mind me calling you a cock then.

no probs with that at all you old bat!
better people than you have, one of my favourite insults

id rather be me than you though

surprised you have managed to refrain from the noose this morning