Who still wants Madejski to sell?

[Millsy]

I want him to go as soon as he can find someone decent to hand over to - not because I dislike him. Just because he in't cut out for anything more than yoyoing the Champ <--> Prem.

He will take us nowhere.

He harped on about ambition, and he was right for the sort of ambition he was talking about. He wanted us in the Prem and he managed it. No complaint there. But he's not the man to take us any further or even keep us there. He totally and utterly bottled it.

His actions and decisions since our promotion just go to show he is not cut out to be a Premiership chairman.

[Ian Royal]

I want him to go as soon as he can find someone decent to hand over to - not because I dislike him. Just because he in't cut out for anything more than yoyoing the Champ <--> Prem.

He will take us nowhere.

He harped on about ambition, and he was right for the sort of ambition he was talking about. He wanted us in the Prem and he managed it. No complaint there. But he's not the man to take us any further or even keep us there. He totally and utterly bottled it.

His actions and decisions since our promotion just go to show he is not cut out to be a Premiership chairman.

Dude, where have you been for the last 139 years? yoyoing between the 1st and 2nd tier IS taking US somewhere.

[Rex]

The premiership is a cess pit of debt though. We would never be anything other than a yo yo club if we still had massive investment. Eventually thoughthat yo yo effect would settle down but after how much debt has been accrued. The gamble would ruin this club and to hit a consistent peak in performance is just a financial step up in investment that we (the club / SJM) cannot afford to gamble on at this moment in time. This season was a transition season but luckily we are still here discussing a club in financial existance.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

What is very interesting is that Burnley are being held up as the way to run a club financially in the Prem, despite them spending around £10m in the summer on new players.

[Wycombe Royal]

What is very interesting is that Burnley are being held up as the way to run a club financially in the Prem, despite them spending around £10m in the summer on new players.

Let's see what their finances are like if they get relegated and fail to get back up at the first attempt.

[Wycombe Royal]

He will take us nowhere.

He harped on about ambition, and he was right for the sort of ambition he was talking about. He wanted us in the Prem and he managed it. No complaint there. But he's not the man to take us any further or even keep us there. He totally and utterly bottled it.

His actions and decisions since our promotion just go to show he is not cut out to be a Premiership chairman.

Those comments are so wrong on many levels.......

[Hoop Blah]

Sun Tzu, your staunch defence is admirable but if we didn't have financial pressures that meant we needed to pay off the overdraft, couldn't get further cheap credit from the banks because of the general state of the economy and specifically football finances and therefore needed to cut our costs it's quite likely that the likes of Harper, Rosenior and Hahnemann would still be here.

Those like Doyle, Hunt and Bikey probably would've still been sold off, but it's a fair arguement to suggest that if we didn't need to 'cut our cloth' we might've put up more of a fight to keep them. We wouldn't have HAD to sell them, but it is likely we would've done because they didn't want to be here.

Having said that, I think Madejski has done a pretty decent job, and will continue to do so. As Rabidbee said, running the club within our budgetry constraints is the right thing to do, if that means we can't sustain Championship football then so be it. Personally I think once the dust settles and we get a chance to evolve a new team (as opposed to have to build one overnight which Rodgers had to do), we have the financial clout to live amongst the bigger players in this league.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

What is very interesting is that Burnley are being held up as the way to run a club financially in the Prem, despite them spending around £10m in the summer on new players.

Let's see what their finances are like if they get relegated and fail to get back up at the first attempt.

My thoughts exactly, I really dont see how they are being held as such a good way to run a club.

[Hoop Blah]

I felt he and the club were too cautious in the summer of 2007 but maybe just maybe he was right and that millions more invested in players at that time may not have guaranteed Premiership survival........ leading to the club being in one hell of a mess now.

Just to pick up on this...I'm not sure this was down to Madejski's caution, I still firmly believe this was down to Coppell.

Everything Coppell has said about the Premiership years indicates he had the money there to improve the team but didn't. It would appear that Madejski was willing to support the manager with money (although not an endless supply) but he chose the cautious approach and didn't spend it.

I really don't think the Chairman should be held responsible for that.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

What Coppell did have was a very large squad in the second season, unfortunately we had a few long term injuries, Convey-Little-Murty-Sonko. You only have to look at how other clubs in the Prem drop back when they lose important players, often it is very hard to replace them. Bullard at Hull for example, you just know that any player in for him is really only temporary, until he gets fit again.

[Hoop Blah]

Coppell did have a pretty big squad yes, bloated with players he bought in that just weren't good enough*.

Little and Convey being out were big blows, without a doubt. That we never managed to get cover in for Little when it seemed obvious he was going to be out for a long time was a big mistake.

* I noticed this morning that Alan Bennett has now been loaned out by Brentford...he can't even stay in their team and we signed him as a Premiership player!!

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

He wrote good plays tho.

AGreed that the squad was bloated, too many that took no part, due to not being good enough.

[papereyes]

Coppell did have a pretty big squad yes, bloated with players he bought in that just weren't good enough*.

Little and Convey being out were big blows, without a doubt. That we never managed to get cover in for Little when it seemed obvious he was going to be out for a long time was a big mistake.

* I noticed this morning that Alan Bennett has now been loaned out by Brentford...he can't even stay in their team and we signed him as a Premiership player!!

What I always liked was the argument that "oh, but they didn't cost much" - take the fees, add them up, take the wages, add them up, and its money poorly spent and could we really afford that?

No, not really.

[rabidbee]

I think you just have to accept that any transfer is a gamble, and even the world's best players don't always fit at a new club. We were looking for guys that had potential to become good, because we couldn't really afford the finished article, so that was always going to be more of a gamble, and less likely to work. Personally, I preferred it as a strategy than buying Premiership journeymen whose careers consisted of being relegated with a variety of teams.

[Hoop Blah]

I agree we needed to gamble on a few cheap punts to supplement the squad, like a Doyle or Long, but without bringing in a bit more proven quality (and so less of a gamble) alongside these your exposing yourself to basically not having a squad good enough.

We didn't sign a single player who had any worthwhile proven ability (Doobs was the closest) whilst we were in the Prem. Every signing was a rank gamble, and very few of them paid off.

[rabidbee]

I suspect that Madejski baulked at the wage demands of the kind of "established pros" who have made a career of not being quite good enough for the Prem.

[Hoop Blah]

I suspect that Madejski baulked at the wage demands of the kind of "established pros" who have made a career of not being quite good enough for the Prem.

Our wage bill was right up there with the other clubs paying those wages though, and of course Coppell said that he could've added the likes of Taylor and Cahill if he wanted to but decided against it.

I can see why you'd think it, but the limited evidence is against it.

[Ian Royal]

We just got the balance wrong. We had a little too much emphasis on the cheap punt, squad player for the future player. Most failed. Unfortunately virtually every player we went for as a first team starter also failed, or wouldn't come or Coppell bottled signing.

Lescott, Brown, O'Neill, Taylor(?), Cahill....

Instead we got Fae, Halford, Matejovsky, Rosenior, Kebe & Cisse. Half of which aren't even capable of proving themselves consistently at Championship level.

Matejovsky might have been a bigger success if bought in the summer as a direct replacement for Sidwell to come straight in with a preseason IMO.

[papereyes]

I suspect that Madejski baulked at the wage demands of the kind of "established pros" who have made a career of not being quite good enough for the Prem.

Our wage bill was right up there with the other clubs paying those wages though, and of course Coppell said that he could've added the likes of Taylor and Cahill if he wanted to but decided against it.

I can see why you'd think it, but the limited evidence is against it.

I think that's the key bit.

Unfortunately virtually every player we went for as a first team starter also failed

Marek will tear the Championship apart

[Woodcote Royal]

I suspect that Madejski baulked at the wage demands of the kind of "established pros" who have made a career of not being quite good enough for the Prem.

Our wage bill was right up there with the other clubs paying those wages though, and of course Coppell said that he could've added the likes of Taylor and Cahill if he wanted to but decided against it.

I can see why you'd think it, but the limited evidence is against it.

Couldn't agree more with this and your previous post.

However, I look at it from a different angle.

Coppell didn't sign one player in the Prem years who was nailed on to take the place of any member of his precious "106" and I don't believe this was an accident on his part. He was only interested in signing cover.

We even had to start our second top flight season with Hunt at left back while Steve was praying that Shorey would stay when it was plainly obvious that the player had wanted out for months.

He should have left a hero but ultimately we will pay a heavy price for his blind loyalty in those last 2 seasons in charge.

EDIT.

Sorry, I was refering to our first season back in the Championship regarding Shorey.