Reality check

[Millsy]

He's a decent football league manager, but there is a HUGE difference nowadays between the style of management and skills required in the top flight compared to the rest of the footballing ladder. Ask yourselves why Warnock, Robson, Pardew, Taylor, Adams and others who have all had good records in the Football League have come a cropper in the Premiership. Then you look at people like Moyes, Allardyce until recently, Redknapp and the like, who can all bring in players from all over the world with sizeable egos and stick them straight in without fearing making tactical changes. There lies the difference between Coppell and this club progressing.

The reason I have backed Coppell in the past is because of his achievements at a lower level, but as you can clearly see from when he failed to strengthen Palace and then simply couldn't cope with the pressure of managing Man City with big name players there is a pattern beginning to form.

Rubbish.

Sorry.

Knee jerk nothingness.

Coppell took Palace to what position in the Prem? Relegation happened when he was director, not manager.

What is the difference exactly between Prem and Football League - simply that Prem managers can put in foreign big ego players?? Sounds weak and unconvincing. What IS true is that the REALITY of being in the Prem is very different from being in the football manager. Nothing to do with Coppell. The reality is we are a small club who can't attract big players. With time and credibility we will.
Coppell took a bunch of lower leaguers and took them to just missing out on Europe. But it's not his fault if the reality of our situation is that we cannot attract the right players (or he won't get the funding for it).

And even by that logic, IF we go down the best man ever to get us up would be Coppell.

THE GREATEST TRAGEDY IN THE HISTORY OF RFC WILL BE THE DAY COPPELL LEAVES, FOR WHATEVER REASON. That's the day we can guarantee we'll be back to the good old days of fighting to stay in the Championship, with the perhaps occasional playoff heartache.

[fridaysback]

You know what?

Some of you lot really make me laugh.

1)Coppell isn't the right man to take us forward.

2)He's second rate.

If he's so poor how did he manage 2 consecutive years as Manager of the Year?

Reading FC will never have a better manager as the one we have now.

Idiots

A voice of reason, SC works with probably the smallest budget (wages) in the Prem doesn't believe in quick fix solutions like some of you lot suggest (like lets do a Roy Keane and pay over the odds for any mediocre player we can get ). FICKLE

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

I don't think the time is right for naming replacements yet,.

why not?

You are the one saying Coppell should be replaced with a manager with a track record of keeping teams in the premiership, yet you don't seem able to actually name any managers that fit the bill.

It's a bit like those who said we should be out signing players of proven premiership quality to fill our problem positions, yet at best they could only suggest players who failed over several years as possible replacements.

The list of out of work managers with a proven record of keeping teams up in this division pretty much starts and ends with Sam Allardyce. If you can name some others then please do, rather than pretending "it's not the right time".

[Royal Rother]

Floyd, forgive me if I've missed it, but I haven't seen anyone peddle the "3 worse teams line" for a few weeks now.

Things have moved on - time for you to do the same.

3 points tomorrow, and even you will be feeling more positive.

God willing.

Pretty please.

[Royal Rother]

We don't need any centre backs, we need a manager capable of managing in the Premiership for a sustained amount of time - something missing from Coppell's CV.

To come out with a statement like that you must have someone in mind.

I believe Coppell kept CP for 4 years in the top flight. Who would you like who's got a better CV than that?

Or would you like to retract that particular statement?

[Alan Partridge]

I still back Coppell 100,000% for me there isn't anyone who could manage this squad of players any better, replacing him now would be suicidal and isnt' going to happen.

However ( you kknew this was coming didn't you! )

This is a genuine question and observation, Coppell seems to be the basolute perfect manager when things are going well, he is a master of the understatement and keeping players focused on the run in. Whenever his teams are at the top of the league they usually last the course, even at Brentford where they didn't go up by absolute fractions..twice, they weren't fancied at all at the start of the season. Was a matter of time till they fell away..they pushed us all the way. Brighton were top of the table, took Palace up twice? Won the league with us...

But when it's a scrap, how many of his teams have survived? I don't know the stats tbh, be interesting if someone knows his managerial career a bit more than me!!

Brighton - Relegated
Palace - Relegated at least once
Reading - ???

Just an observation, maybe Coppell is the perfect manager when it's a case of keeping foucs but when the chips are down, it's a battle and there is low confidence..is he the right man? Time will tell in Reading's case.

I truly believe if Reading go down he would walk anyway. Not sure losing some of his better players and rebuilding quite a bit of the team all over again would appeal to him.

[Royalee]

With regards to sustaining top flight football, I was wrong in terms of the time span, but he did take Palace back down before he resigned.

As for replacements, I have said that IF we go down then Coppell should go. Nowhere on these boards have I uttered the words 'sack Coppell', but at the moment he is displaying a lack of tactical nouse and ability to sign top players and integrate any signings into the first team. If and when we go down, as looks more and more likely (although I'd love to see us go and stuff Bolton today), I will make my recommendations as to his replacement.

As Victor Meldrew said, Coppell remains just about in credit at the moment while we are still in the Premier League, which means I will not be calling for his head at matches or giving anything other than my support on a matchday. HOWEVER, if things do not change by the end of the season I want Coppell to go and I will draw you all up a shortlist of managers to succeed him.

[The whole year inn]

You morons will get a reality check in three months' time when we go down as a result of Coppell's lack of bottle.

Let's playyyyyyyyyyyyy block-a-cock.

Grown men using the foe facility.

It's only a website

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

With regards to sustaining top flight football, I was wrong in terms of the time span, but he did take Palace back down before he resigned.

As for replacements, I have said that IF we go down then Coppell should go. Nowhere on these boards have I uttered the words 'sack Coppell', but at the moment he is displaying a lack of tactical nouse and ability to sign top players and integrate any signings into the first team. If and when we go down, as looks more and more likely (although I'd love to see us go and stuff Bolton today), I will make my recommendations as to his replacement.

As Victor Meldrew said, Coppell remains just about in credit at the moment while we are still in the Premier League, which means I will not be calling for his head at matches or giving anything other than my support on a matchday. HOWEVER, if things do not change by the end of the season I want Coppell to go and I will draw you all up a shortlist of managers to succeed him.

so why be so cagey now?

Why do you feel you have to wait until the team is relegated to do so? What use would appointing a manager to keep us up be if we were already down?

It just comes across that you haven't got a clue who you'd want instead who meets your mandatory criteria.

It's rather like all those who said we need to have an English manager for the England team. Fine stirring words, and it was hard to disagree with the sentiment, just as it is perhaps fair to suggest the Coppell isn't in his element when things are starting to come apart at the seams (from a Reading perspective you could look at the hopeless collapse in 2005), but how many of those people who said they wanted an English manager could actually name an English manager they wanted?

So yes, in the current situation it might be better to have a man there who knows a thing or two about how to keep a struggling premiership team up, but unless such managers actually exist and are available in the real world, it's a rather pointless point to make.

[Royalee]

For the record, as far as England were concerned I wanted Capello from the start, even when Mourinho's name was touted. As far as Reading boss goes, I'm not being cagey, but I won't hound the manager out before the season has finished - I think we will go down and if we do then feel free to ask me who I want as manager when we're down. That's not being cagey, it's called waiting for the right moment to express my views.

[Gordons Cumming]

Coppell can go when he wants as far as I'm concerned.

If he'd read and taken seriously alot of the garbage written on here he'd have probably done us all a favour and cut his throat.

He's the best we've had by a country mile. Don't let a few bad results cloud your opinions.

Get a little perspective......

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

For the record, as far as England were concerned I wanted Capello from the start, even when Mourinho's name was touted. As far as Reading boss goes, I'm not being cagey, but I won't hound the manager out before the season has finished - I think we will go down and if we do then feel free to ask me who I want as manager when we're down. That's not being cagey, it's called waiting for the right moment to express my views.

without being unkind, this is an insignificant message board, not the editorial of The Times. Nobody gives a flying toss about whether it's "the right moment" or not. You make it sound like you are respectfully doing Coppell a favour.

You think Coppell isn't good enough because he didn't match the criteria you invented, yet you seem clearly incapable of actually thinking of anyone who does meet your criteria.

Quite simply, put up or shut up.


To be fair, you are young, and have grown up with the bi-polar world of football coverage that's taken shape since the premiership came into being. When you are young things are always black and white anyway, usually because you are too naive to stop and think about things for more than 30 seconds, but the media image in football now is to state the manager has lost the plot and needs to go at any sign of trouble. Slowly but surely we are turning into a nation of Geordies in football terms, demanding instant and continuous success, and demanding the manager gets sacked at the first sign of underachievement, while moaning that we deserve more.

[Get Carter]

Big decision soon Mr Mad - lack of quality, lack of tactics & lack of investment.
Look what Megson & Bruce are doing for Bolton and Wigan - relegation now looks likely as Coppell and Co have no ideas how to stop a losing run. His team selection made Bolton look like Real Madrid.

[cmonurz]

A voice of reason, SC works with probably the smallest budget (wages) in the Prem doesn't believe in quick fix solutions like some of you lot suggest (like lets do a Roy Keane and pay over the odds for any mediocre player we can get ). FICKLE

Yeah, Keane, what a knob-end. Sunderland above Reading at the moment.

Here is Sunderland's starting XI in their final Championship game last season:

Fulop, Wright, Evans, Collins, Leadbitter, Edwards,Whitehead, Nosworthy, Murphy, Stokes, Yorke.

Sunderland started this season at a much lower base than when we got promoted, and Keane has spent accordingly.

[Gordons Cumming]

A voice of reason, SC works with probably the smallest budget (wages) in the Prem doesn't believe in quick fix solutions like some of you lot suggest (like lets do a Roy Keane and pay over the odds for any mediocre player we can get ). FICKLE

Yeah, Keane, what a knob-end. Sunderland above Reading at the moment.

Here is Sunderland's starting XI in their final Championship game last season:

Fulop, Wright, Evans, Collins, Leadbitter, Edwards,Whitehead, Nosworthy, Murphy, Stokes, Yorke.

Sunderland started this season at a much lower base than when we got promoted, and Keane has spent accordingly.

Do you know how much?

Also do you know what their average attendances are?

They are a bigger club and more likely to attract players than us.

[cmonurz]

They are a bigger club and more likely to attract players than us.

[RoyalBlue]

I really cannot believe all the negativity after tonight's game.

We have just lost 1-0 to a team that had £150M or so talent on the pitch and has been able to pay £15M this month for one player alone.

The entire cost of the Reading squad is just £13.5M by my calculation.

Even if we had spent £10M or so this transfer window do you really think it would have made a difference.

The lads played well and did us proud tonight (especially second half) just as they did against Man U.

We have much easier games coming up and our fight to stay up will only really start on Saturday against Bolton.

Our defence looks much more solid - Cisse and Ingi may well be the partnership to see us through.

Now is the time for number 13 to step up and really support the team - a win against Bolton will set us up well for the last part of the season.

I suspect you, and everyone else who kept on about not worrying about getting points off the 'difficult' teams because we could take them off the teams at the bottom, got something of a reality check yourself today.

Not aimed at you in particular (you just started the thread) but excuses for today and positives to take out of that game/performance ?(Marek can't keep us up on his own!)

[International Royal]

Big decision soon Mr Mad - lack of quality, lack of tactics & lack of investment.
Look what Megson & Bruce are doing for Bolton and Wigan - relegation now looks likely as Coppell and Co have no ideas how to stop a losing run. His team selection made Bolton look like Real Madrid.

Haven't posted in ages, too depressed by this board. I thought it would go into meltdown today. Comments like the above just make it worse.

SSC is still the man, many of the posters on here don't know what crap is (fans in the last few years don't know what it's like to finish outside the top 10 in whatever league). Relegation scraps are part of football. Stop going on about ther teams, Megson or Bruce are not good managers. We will get out of this. The players to do it are the ones with character, it's people like Gunna (who many don't rate), Murty, Sonko, Hunt, Doyle, Kitson, Harper who will get us out of this.

Today's line line up was positive, attack minded and the selection that the vast majority of the this board wanted. Other than Cox on the right and Pearce in defence and Heny on the bench for some. This run will turn, I would never bet against this team. We might even win next week at Everton.

It's time to keep the faith.

[Get Carter]

Simon Cox has been sold to Swindon and never given a chance - Lita has not scored one league goal this season - we needed a quality right winger - we will be relegated by the time Blakey is fit.

[Southbank Old Boy]

Big decision soon Mr Mad - lack of quality, lack of tactics & lack of investment.
Look what Megson & Bruce are doing for Bolton and Wigan - relegation now looks likely as Coppell and Co have no ideas how to stop a losing run. His team selection made Bolton look like Real Madrid.

Haven't posted in ages, too depressed by this board. I thought it would go into meltdown today. Comments like the above just make it worse.

SSC is still the man, many of the posters on here don't know what crap is (fans in the last few years don't know what it's like to finish outside the top 10 in whatever league). Relegation scraps are part of football. Stop going on about ther teams, Megson or Bruce are not good managers. We will get out of this. The players to do it are the ones with character, it's people like Gunna (who many don't rate), Murty, Sonko, Hunt, Doyle, Kitson, Harper who will get us out of this.

Today's line line up was positive, attack minded and the selection that the vast majority of the this board wanted. Other than Cox on the right and Pearce in defence and Heny on the bench for some. This run will turn, I would never bet against this team. We might even win next week at Everton.

It's time to keep the faith.

I know all too well what it's like to be stuck in a relegation battle thanks, thats why I'm so disappointed with the lack of quality in our squad right now. I wanted us to show a bit of desire to pull away from the others down at the bottom end, not just hope we turn a corner and scrape through to survival.

As for today's line-up being positive and attack minded, we ended up having to play a forward who was clearly still suffering from the effects of flu (I can't remember Kitson looking so far off the pace all season) upfront whilst his first choice strike partner (who should've been covering for his mate not being in the side) had to play out of position on the right wing again because we didn't have a fit right winger available.

If it wasn't so depressing it'd be joke!