Huntley & Palmer OK, the mass consensus of opinion is that no-one particularly minds Coppell playing a scratch reserve side through any round of the FA Cup. Unless we get to the latter stages and have secured Premiership safety.
What would you feel about Reading rejecting an application to enter the Intertoto Cup based on the same viewpoint. It starts in June, offers no financial incentive in the early stages, puts extra strain on an already small squad. Would you stand by Coppell's decision to not enter it if elligible? Would you not want the opportunity to watch Reading in Europe?
I don't know whether he'd say no, no-one can answer for him.
I guess he could say that European experience would 'be invaluble to the team, you can't put a price on that...' and so on.
On the other hand, he could say 'it's too soon for the players that we have, we're too thin and need to bulk up our squad before we even begin to think about a European campaign...'
The thing is that some fans seem to be so short-term and can't see the wood for the trees.
Coppell has always done things with the club's best interest at heart.
No ego, no gamble, maintaining the priority.
I'm sure he feels that we can augment the squad, improve, gain experience and attack success on a lot of fronts.
But he feels that the best chance of success this year is attaining the best possible League position for Reading, without distraction and I agree.
