Reality check

[howser]

There have been many threads on the site,that have been critisised by other more experienced multi-post members, that have openly been questioning the desires of Reading to stay in the Premiership. Surly now no one can be happy with the present situation. We have been pretty dismal all season apart from a couple of matches against the "top teams", and that was glaringly obvious today, if there was ever a match that we needed to win this was it, and again we have come up short, I have mentioned this on another thread this afternoon, I would be really interested in the views of the clubs management from chairman to manager to explain why we have found ourselves in this position, several times last season and re-itterated again year how we "punched above our weight" ok what if we did, and what have they done about it..............nothing !!

We have just come out of a 31 day transfer window and we are treated to the now standard "we will go with what we have got" and that is getting pretty boring as well now ! I am at a disadvantage as I live in the back of beyond in the North of Scotland, and so I rarely get the opportunity to see live matches, but originating from the town I have been an avid some say insane Reading supporter since my first match in 1963, and reaching the Premiership was just about the best thing ever. So this total lack of investment in proven Prem players, and trying to do everything on the "cheap" is becoming very frustrating ! What is the point of getting to the pinnacle of English football if you are then "frightened" to spend and try and stay there, in retrospect probably the worst thing we have done under the present owmership and manager is to have been lucky enough to have picked up Doyle, Hunt and Sonko for next to nothing and we now seem to of the belief that we can pick up players like that all the time, we have over the last year and a bit made some truely awful signings in the hope of another "cheap deal".

The Premiership is a very sound money making machine, however, our rivals in the relegation battle have attempted to use that money to remain in the top flight, and in doing so will regain that outgoing insvestment by remaining in the league, I am not sure what you achieve in getting relegated but having a healthy bank balance, I dont know ?

I am afraid that I have become fed up and bored with the "we will do our buisiness in the summer" and " we will do our buisiness in January" and even more admitting only recently that we have to strengthen, and have we ?? no, I would ne interested to know what the "stopping" of transfers is, as we all know we are linked with countless players during the window, for example Matt taylor was heavilly linked, not just in the web site pages, probably I think with some foundation so what is the stopper are we in the position that as soon as a fee reaches £3m+ then we are not interested, if that is so then we, under the present regime we better be contented to remain the Championship as we dont have the compassion or willingness to invest in proven players to stay or even deserve to stay in the top flight.

[PlasticRoyale]

Can't be bothered reading all that

More concise posts required

[Royal With Cheese]

Remember, just people post a lot doesn't mean they have particularly valid points.

If that were the case, Spacey would be writing for the Guardian and Tredder would support a decent team.

[Row Z Royal]

Can't be bothered reading all that

More concise posts required

'greed.

[Lower West]

Yet another spending money will solve all the teams problems thread............

I would prefer relegation to administration.............

[g]

Yet another spending money will solve all the teams problems thread............

I would prefer relegation to administration.............

we are in danger of administration as it is

[West Stand Man]

Yet another spending money will solve all the teams problems thread............

I would prefer relegation to administration.............

we are in danger of administration as it is

Based on what information?

[Sir Dodger Royal]

Administration you have to be joking. £100million in and six bob out.

That's the sort of administration Mrs Dodger would like.

Get in the Dodger world of Facts not the make believe world of the RTGs.

You know it makes sense.

[RoyalBlue]

Yet another spending money will solve all the teams problems thread............

I would prefer relegation to administration.............

You may well get both the way the club are going - if we go down the slide will not stop there. Investing money sensibly in good players does not lead to administration. Other clubs have learned from Leeds' mistakes and are investing in their squads with realtively little risk of encountering the doomsday scenario. Meanwhile we keep using Leeds as an excuse for our failings in the transfer market.

What got to me most about yesterday was the way they treated us like fools and kept bigging up Hunt's new contract. He alone can't save us - particularly if he plays like he did yesterday - and he was already under contract anyway.

JM 'get out there and make a big thing about our new signing Hunt - then the mugs in the crowd will forget all our other failings'.

[Alan Partridge]

We'll be ok because there are '3 worse teams' and we''ll 'easily beat the likes of Bolton at home' 'Bolton home W' 'we score enough goals'

compLOLacency. Beaten easily at home by a team who haven't won away, and we didn't score again.

[Royalee]

ReaLOLty check

ROFLTGs

CopeLOLl

HaROFLper

LOLita

The list goes on, it's depressing. I personally can't wait until the next FA Cup break already.

[Platypuss]

Yet another spending money will solve all the teams problems thread............

I would prefer relegation to administration.............

FaLOLse dichotomy alert.

[Royalee]

Yet another spending money will solve all the teams problems thread............

I would prefer relegation to administration.............

What, with the £40 million TV revenue and parachute payment while we can't afford wages of over 25k a week?

Get over yourself you fool.

[Royalee]

Oh, and on the subject of a manager who's done it before, try Big Sam.

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

Can someone explain. Why, despite knowing Sidwell was going to leave a year and a half have we not signed a single player of similar skills and ability?

Are midfield is utterly spineless and Marek may give it quality, but not bite.

Sidwell would have tracked Nolan, Harper just watched him score.

Can someone explain why despite knowing Little was seriously injured at the end of last season, the only right winger we've managed to sign is someone Coppell knows nothing about, has never watched and who himself doesn't consider himself a right wing?

But it's ok there's at least 10 teams worse than us, I mean 9 teams, I mean 8 teams, I mean 7 teams, I mean 6 teams, I mean 5 teams, I mean 4 teams, I mean 3 teams, I mean 2 teams, oh bugger.

But at least the players who took us up still feel loved.

Still we're too good to go down.



Oh and administration!!!

Do people forget we've received £60m alone from domestic tv revenue alone this season? A decent centre mid, a right winger and a ball playing centre half would not cause us financial problems and it's ridiculous to think it would.

[andrew1957]

I have to say that when I started off this thread I believed that if Reading played with half the passion that they did against Man U or in the second half against Chelsea that we would beat Bolton comfortably.

I am big enough to admit that I was wrong. Frankly I cannot recall a worse performance ever that I have attended (and I have been going for years) and I left the game feeling totally deflated yesterday. What was most distressing was that Bolton were a very poor side and yet beat us easily.

I still believe that we will stay up - more becasue those around us are no better than us and the Bolton game will be a wake up call to the players and management BUT clearly if we carry on playing like that we will probably go down.

I choose to stay positive and believe that lessons will be learned and enough points gained to keep us up BUT I do agree that we will have to make significant changes before 2008/9.

[Get Carter]

Just a couple of days ago, the RTG's were calling anybody who felt we may go down abusive names. Check out the facts - 6 consecutive defeats with 5 goals scored and 16 conceded (4 goals scored in 6-4 defeat at Spurs). This is RFC's worst run for 9 years and we have not scored a goal for 360 minutes. Coppell knew Sidwell was going for a whole season and still chose to replace him with bargain basement buys and coupled with the fact he did not replace Little, we are now paying a very heavy price. Yes, Coppell has been superb for RFC, but he took his foot off the gas at the end of last season. It is particularly frustrating, because a couple of months ago when Coppell appeared to admit his mistakes in not investing in the summer, it looked like he was going to correct it in the Jan window, but yet again loses out on players like Matt Taylor - then we get the old drivel about happy with what he has got. If Coppell & Co really are happy with what they have got, is it any wonder we are hurtling toward the championship - we have a team that ships in goals at a ratio of over 2 per game (start with the goalkeeper), and we rotate right wingers more than Rafa - why don't they try Murty, since Burns bought him as a right winger!

[howser]

The team does ship goals, what has happened to the highly talented and highly thought of defnesive coach ?? I read that lots of you enjoy his ranting and raving at other teams and match officials maybe its time he did some shouting at this shambolic defense that he is producing each week !

[The Quiet Man]

It isn't Coppell you should be blaming for the current state of affairs the decisions are taken by JM and he has been clear and consistent in his pronouncements since winning promotion which can be summarised as:

- the club has achieved his original objectives and reached the premier league
- JM will not finance the premier league either in ground or player investment that is the job for the 'billionaire' he hopes to sell to

To date there has been no plan B announced to cope with the lack of a sale and the desperate need for player investment to compete at this level so we continue with the cheap as chips approach that has got us where we are today.

Some facts that should influence the current perspective:

- when we were promoted from the championship SC said that our wage bill at that time was around 13/14th in that division, i.e. we have massively overachieved to get promoted. I would suspect we are clearly bottom of the wages league for the prem by a considerable distance.

- SC has been as diplomatic as he can be but reading between the lines there have been plenty of hints about player investment, very similar in both playing style and disputes in playing direction that were evident the year before we got promoted (a 442 side that it not a 442 side because the personnel cannot deliver the style of play required).

The worry for me is that relegated or not will JM sanction the investment to keep us a credible side. If we go down can you see JM sanctioning a lets get the best championship players and get straight back up like Birmingham - I think not I would see a very general decline and possibly a struggle to stay in the championship as JM gets even more disillusioned at football.

[RoyalBlue]

Can someone explain. Why, despite knowing Sidwell was going to leave a year and a half have we not signed a single player of similar skills and ability?

Are midfield is utterly spineless and Marek may give it quality, but not bite.

Sidwell would have tracked Nolan, Harper just watched him score.

Can someone explain why despite knowing Little was seriously injured at the end of last season, the only right winger we've managed to sign is someone Coppell knows nothing about, has never watched and who himself doesn't consider himself a right wing?

You forgot to mention that he's injured as well!! Oh, and the fact we let our other specialist winger go at the end of the season in exchange for someone who can't even make it onto the bench!

The team does ship goals, what has happened to the highly talented and highly thought of defnesive coach ?? I read that lots of you enjoy his ranting and raving at other teams and match officials maybe its time he did some shouting at this shambolic defense that he is producing each week !

Remember the last passionate ranter and raver we had? Eventually it began to lose its effect, he was given the heavo and things started to pick up.

Maybe giving the defensive coach the push now (for clearly failing to achieve what was needed this season) might send the rest a bit of a wake up call.