SC hasn't a clue.

[Royalee]

I wouldn't have a clue either who to pick from the bunch of over hyped and over paid bunch of players we have at the mo! Hardly any of them are worthy of a first team place!

Why the f*ck sign them then?

[Royalee]

And while we're on the subject of money, any manager refusing to sell the most overrated player in a club's history for ten times his asking price before putting him on £25k a week wouldn't have the right to complain even if he didn't have any budget (although Coppell has gone on record several times to say he has).

[Stranded]

Interesting quotes from Roy Hodgson recently which I guess almost sums up what we are seeing from some people now...

'I should be anti things like qualifying for Europe because if you over-achieve people don't accept it's an over-achievement,' Hodgson told the media. 'At Blackburn I took over a team that had survived by one point in the Premiership and, with exactly the same players, I took them to a European spot.

'It succeeded in getting me the sack because expectations rose enormously and, when we weren't in the top six the next year, they decided to get someone else in.'

[boy1985]

And while we're on the subject of money, any manager refusing to sell the most overrated player in a club's history for ten times his asking price before putting him on £25k a week wouldn't have the right to complain even if he didn't have any budget (although Coppell has gone on record several times to say he has).

no-one bid for him

[Royal_Belly]

I wouldn't have a clue either who to pick from the bunch of over hyped and over paid bunch of players we have at the mo! Hardly any of them are worthy of a first team place!

Why the f*ck sign them then?

Because they haven't always been playing as bad as this have they??!!! Those of us who go and watch the games know that the majority of the team can play better then what they all are at the moment. It just seems that the second half of the season something within the team has gone wrong - Coppell has tried to change it but *shock horror* he is getting slated for it, just like he gets slated if he sticks with the same team!

[Terminal Boardom]

Interesting quotes from Roy Hodgson recently which I guess almost sums up what we are seeing from some people now...

'I should be anti things like qualifying for Europe because if you over-achieve people don't accept it's an over-achievement,' Hodgson told the media. 'At Blackburn I took over a team that had survived by one point in the Premiership and, with exactly the same players, I took them to a European spot.

'It succeeded in getting me the sack because expectations rose enormously and, when we weren't in the top six the next year, they decided to get someone else in.'

At last some common sense prevails. I agree completely with RH's quotes. This is not fantasy football.

[Woodcote Royal]

Interesting quotes from Roy Hodgson recently which I guess almost sums up what we are seeing from some people now...

'I should be anti things like qualifying for Europe because if you over-achieve people don't accept it's an over-achievement,' Hodgson told the media. 'At Blackburn I took over a team that had survived by one point in the Premiership and, with exactly the same players, I took them to a European spot.

'It succeeded in getting me the sack because expectations rose enormously and, when we weren't in the top six the next year, they decided to get someone else in.'

Or, Fulham were doomed until they signed Hodgson but look where they are now and what happened to a similarly placed team from Berkshire who kept their under achieving manager for another 2 seasons.

[cmonurz]

YOU CAN'T CRITISIZE COPELL WE WOZ PROMOTED TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE!!!! ALWAYS A LE-GEND, SIR STEVE! HE CAN DO NO RONG!

[boy1985]

YOU CAN'T CRITISIZE COPELL WE WOZ PROMOTED TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE!!!! ALWAYS A LE-GEND, SIR STEVE! HE CAN DO NO RONG!

CRINGEEEE

[rhroyal]

The players clearly don't care. With the team changing they must know that one good performance and a win will secure them the shirt yet they clearly can't be bothered.

[Woodcote Royal]

I wouldn't have a clue either who to pick from the bunch of over hyped and over paid bunch of players we have at the mo! Hardly any of them are worthy of a first team place!

Why the f*ck sign them then?

Because they haven't always been playing as bad as this have they??!!! Those of us who go and watch the games know that the majority of the team can play better then what they all are at the moment. It just seems that the second half of the season something within the team has gone wrong - Coppell has tried to change it but *shock horror* he is getting slated for it, just like he gets slated if he sticks with the same team!

Yep, shock horror!!! Manager gets slated for THIRD new year meltdown in FIVE years

But it was all down to three different squads of players who turned cr@p as they finished off the Christmas turkey and nothing to do with the bloke who managed all these players.

Life is such a bowl of cherries in Coppelland

[Vision]

And while we're on the subject of money, any manager refusing to sell the most overrated player in a club's history for ten times his asking price before putting him on £25k a week wouldn't have the right to complain even if he didn't have any budget (although Coppell has gone on record several times to say he has).

LOL. 10 times the "asking price"? Go on I'll humour you please explain.

[PieEater]

Some of the excuses Coppell is coming out with this season are a joke:

- Playing away after international breaks. The message to the players is it's OK to lose
- Too many games so close together. It's the same for everyone (and I didn't notice Sheff U players tiring)
- Ball boys
- The wind gave them problems yesterday (there wasn't any)

etc

[boy1985]

Some of the excuses Coppell is coming out with this season are a joke:

- Playing away after international breaks. The message to the players is it's OK to lose
- Too many games so close together. It's the same for everyone (and I didn't notice Sheff U players tiring)
- Ball boys
- The wind gave them problems yesterday (there wasn't any)

etc

yeah can you believe it! a manager trying to take the pressure off his players and not blame them in the press. whatever next!


maybe what he says in the press is a bit different to what he says to the players?

[Royal_Belly]

Why the f*ck sign them then?

Because they haven't always been playing as bad as this have they??!!! Those of us who go and watch the games know that the majority of the team can play better then what they all are at the moment. It just seems that the second half of the season something within the team has gone wrong - Coppell has tried to change it but *shock horror* he is getting slated for it, just like he gets slated if he sticks with the same team![/quote]

Yep, shock horror!!! Manager gets slated for THIRD new year meltdown in FIVE years

But it was all down to three different squads of players who turned cr@p as they finished off the Christmas turkey and nothing to do with the bloke who managed all these players.

Life is such a bowl of cherries in Coppelland [/quote]

If you are so anti Coppell why even bother supporting his team week in week out then?? It must be a real drag having to come on here and moan about him and his team etc every week - watching Reading must not be fun for you!!! My god the abuse the likes of TB1 and TB2 must've got from you!

Anywho the majority of the team who promoted us to the Premiership are still playing for Reading fc are they not?!!

[Stranded]

Interesting quotes from Roy Hodgson recently which I guess almost sums up what we are seeing from some people now...

'I should be anti things like qualifying for Europe because if you over-achieve people don't accept it's an over-achievement,' Hodgson told the media. 'At Blackburn I took over a team that had survived by one point in the Premiership and, with exactly the same players, I took them to a European spot.

'It succeeded in getting me the sack because expectations rose enormously and, when we weren't in the top six the next year, they decided to get someone else in.'

Or, Fulham were doomed until they signed Hodgson but look where they are now and what happened to a similarly placed team from Berkshire who kept their under achieving manager for another 2 seasons.

Or as is the most likely scenario, we had one excellent season in this division which exceeded everyone's expectations then rather than flirting with relegation the first year up, we again exceeded expectations. Now after a year where we were narrowly relegated, yes following mistakes by all parties, we are likely to be in the play-offs.

Now, I'm not saying it's been great this year and a change may be due but, honestly, if we hadn't overacheived that first year in the Prem, then I'd wager that there'd be nowhere near the amount of anti-Coppell vitriol at the moment.

[Hoop Blah]

The success of those two seasons has made a rod for his own back but it still doesn't hide the fact that we've seen a number of costly mistakes over the two seasons since that have put us in the position we're now in.

I wouldn't expect us to be challenging for Europe every season, I wouldn't even expect us to be challenging for auto promotion out of this league every season, but what I do expect is to see the club trying everything it can to win every game it plays and get the best out of the resources we have.

We did that for a couple of seasons undefr Coppell, then we rested on our laurels and the whole ethos of the club seemed to change. We've paid the price for that.

[brendywendy]

YOU CAN'T CRITISIZE COPELL WE WOZ PROMOTED TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE!!!! ALWAYS A LE-GEND, SIR STEVE! HE CAN DO NO RONG!

CRINGEEEE

whooooosh?

[brendywendy]

Why the f*ck sign them then?

Because they haven't always been playing as bad as this have they??!!! Those of us who go and watch the games know that the majority of the team can play better then what they all are at the moment. It just seems that the second half of the season something within the team has gone wrong - Coppell has tried to change it but *shock horror* he is getting slated for it, just like he gets slated if he sticks with the same team!

Yep, shock horror!!! Manager gets slated for THIRD new year meltdown in FIVE years

But it was all down to three different squads of players who turned cr@p as they finished off the Christmas turkey and nothing to do with the bloke who managed all these players.

Life is such a bowl of cherries in Coppelland

so in woodcote and royalee world(not a world i ever wish to visit)
has coppell somehow changed his management style and team set up and tactics after xmas in those three seasons?
no, he still does the same things, his attitude is the same, his motivational techniques dont suddenly change after the turkey either do they?!

[Woodcote Royal]

Or as is the most likely scenario, we had one excellent season in this division which exceeded everyone's expectations then rather than flirting with relegation the first year up, we again exceeded expectations. Now after a year where we were narrowly relegated, yes following mistakes by all parties, we are likely to be in the play-offs.

Now, I'm not saying it's been great this year and a change may be due but, honestly, if we hadn't overacheived that first year in the Prem, then I'd wager that there'd be nowhere near the amount of anti-Coppell vitriol at the moment.

A lot of the anti Coppell stuff now is in response to those who want to blame anyone but him for the last 2 seasons.

Of course our 2 best seasons were huge over achievements but no more than the last 2 have been under achievements.

We should not have been relegated and with a squad only marginally weakened from the drop, we have become a very average championship side.

It's a bit like someone in the current government trying to blame the pre 97 Tory's for things that are not right now.

Teams like Blackpool are run on a comparitive shoe string and yet they made Steve Coppell's team, picked from Steve Coppell's squad, look no better than them.

He's the manager, it's his squad and if they don't want to play for him (or,more likely, have lost faith in him, like I have) Steve Coppell has to take responsibility for that.