end of year report - end of season expectations

[Crowthorne Royal]

As the season began I thought the best we could hope for was play-off's. On Jan 5th 2009 I can now honestly say that if we don't make the play-off's I'll be amazed.
In fairness therefore one would have to say that RFC has over performed (against my expectation anyway).

Having watched most games this season (including 3 away) I find it hard to believe we are 2nd. I know that B'ham fans feel the same way.

We can be superb, B'ham and Wolves A and countless early season games at home we were great.

We can also be atrocious and when we are there are certain aspects of our game which I find infuriating, mainly because I cannot understand why we do some of the things that we do ?

The 3 'sins' that could see us in the play offs rather than automatic are :

1. Giving away posession far too easily - our passing has become poor and the way in which we surrender the ball is woeful at times.

2. Not filling the box with enough players when we are attacking - too many occasions when we don't commit enough people

3. Giving the oppo too much space - time and time again we allow players to run at us and create havoc. Examples are many, but 2 that stand out are......K Phillips & the recent game @ Soton when we just allowed them to walk through us

What I don't understand about these points is that Coppell seems oblivious to them. He never critiques a poor performance.

We have been playing poorly of late & I fear that the game against Watford could be lost if we don't improve on the sins above.

We have another great opportunity to get ourselves back in The Prem, we must not waste it or allow the lottery of the play offs to haunt us once again !

[Royal With Cheese]

Regarding the Brum goal, McFaddens fantastic run pulled Doobs slightly out of poisition and was enough to give Phillips the chance to score.

I'd agree with giving the ball away too much though. I'm sure Coppell, as any manager would, tries to address all the issues you've raised behind closed doors. We are not a club for airing any laundry - dirty or not - in public.

[Hoop Blah]

I'd pretty much agree with that Crowthorne.

I didn't think we'd settle into the season half as well as we have or get the results we have either but having watched the majority of games I still can't believe we've been as successful as we have. I dare say the other teams in the division have performed just a badly on more occassions though.

[OLLIE KEARNS]

1. Agreed although this is partly because our team ethic is to get the ball forward early in order to play the game in the oppositions final third. Many sides have out passed us at the Mad Stad this year but they all do so via a slow build up played in front of our two banks of four. Only Southampton have actually caused us any real problems with their passing and they were willing to play early forward passes to feet. That said, some of our ball retention in open play is very poor at times and can definitely be improved upon.
2. I think SC has now worked out that Harper and Cisse are his best two CM's and that Cisse is decent at making the extra man in the box. When he came on at Saints he had clearly been given licence to get forward as often as possible. Ironically this tactic actually cost us the goal in that Hunts attempted pass to him in Saints box gave the ball away with us all out of position. My guess would be that these two will play on Friday.
3. Both examples you use are what pro's would refer to as transitions i.e when there is a sudden change of possession. This is when all sides are most vunerable. Interestingly, Doobs was criticised for backing off Phillips at Brum and then made the opposite decision at Southampton in coming to the ball. The outcome both times was a goal. Just shows the danger that comes from giving the ball away cheaply.

[Maguire]

Reading play football according to the calibre of their players, they do it effectively, and they're up the top of the table for a reason.

If we don't sell key players then I expect us to be promoted.

[Archie's penalty]

1. Agreed although this is partly because our team ethic is to get the ball forward early in order to play the game in the oppositions final third. Many sides have out passed us at the Mad Stad this year but they all do so via a slow build up played in front of our two banks of four. Only Southampton have actually caused us any real problems with their passing and they were willing to play early forward passes to feet. That said, some of our ball retention in open play is very poor at times and can definitely be improved upon.
2. I think SC has now worked out that Harper and Cisse are his best two CM's and that Cisse is decent at making the extra man in the box. When he came on at Saints he had clearly been given licence to get forward as often as possible. Ironically this tactic actually cost us the goal in that Hunts attempted pass to him in Saints box gave the ball away with us all out of position. My guess would be that these two will play on Friday.
3. Both examples you use are what pro's would refer to as transitions i.e when there is a sudden change of possession. This is when all sides are most vunerable. Interestingly, Doobs was criticised for backing off Phillips at Brum and then made the opposite decision at Southampton in coming to the ball. The outcome both times was a goal. Just shows the danger that comes from giving the ball away cheaply.

Great analysis as always Ollie.

I think we should finish second this season and go up, but honestly who knows?

I hope that Watford's new open style of play allows us to beat them convincingly on Saturday. That's as far ahead as we can look really.

[JC]

1. Agreed although this is partly because our team ethic is to get the ball forward early in order to play the game in the oppositions final third. Many sides have out passed us at the Mad Stad this year but they all do so via a slow build up played in front of our two banks of four. Only Southampton have actually caused us any real problems with their passing and they were willing to play early forward passes to feet. That said, some of our ball retention in open play is very poor at times and can definitely be improved upon.
2. I think SC has now worked out that Harper and Cisse are his best two CM's and that Cisse is decent at making the extra man in the box. When he came on at Saints he had clearly been given licence to get forward as often as possible. Ironically this tactic actually cost us the goal in that Hunts attempted pass to him in Saints box gave the ball away with us all out of position. My guess would be that these two will play on Friday.
3. Both examples you use are what pro's would refer to as transitions i.e when there is a sudden change of possession. This is when all sides are most vunerable. Interestingly, Doobs was criticised for backing off Phillips at Brum and then made the opposite decision at Southampton in coming to the ball. The outcome both times was a goal. Just shows the danger that comes from giving the ball away cheaply.

Great analysis as always Ollie.

I think we should finish second this season and go up, but honestly who knows?

I hope that Watford's new open style of play allows us to beat them convincingly on Saturday. That's as far ahead as we can look really.

Or even Friday

[bishbosh92]

Agreed with most of this tbh, weve done better than i expected the frustrating thing is we could of done so much more.

Last two games Wolves have drawn and weve had the chance of closing the gap but weve missed our chance by Drawing Against Cardiff and Saints. Cardiff we Deserevd at least a point but at saints we were poor especally first half and were lucky to come away with a point.

[OLLIE KEARNS]

As an aside I was watching ESPN classics at the weekend and Palace (managed by SC)v Liverpool FA Cup Semi Final of 1990 was on. Palace played almost exactly the same as we do now in terms of pattern of play with the big difference being that they had the famous Wright / Bright combination running the channels and causing general mayhem. It just brought home to me how much we need another quality striker at the club to go with Doyler.
Not decrying Noel Hunt as I think he is a very good box player and he's generally performed very well so far. However, if we can get someone just that next step up in terms of class then I'm convinced that we would go very close to actually winning the league let alone getting promoted.

[Hoop Blah]

I agree Ollie, we're now playing the type of football that I thought we'd see straight from the off when we appointed Coppell (and at the time I wasn't overlly impressed with the appointment!).

I still think that Coppell kind of fluked upon the 05/06 team as everything just clicked into place for him and Sonko, Kitson, Little and Sidwell set the division alight. Credit where it's due though, he obviously brought the right pieces of the jigsaw and sent them out there in the right way.

For one who was never thrilled by his appointment his success has been an absolute joy....even if he does devaule the cup!!!

[brendywendy]

LOL at fluking a 46 game long season with 106 points
nowt flukey about it as can be seen by his continued success with todays lesser team


and ive heard coppel critique bad performances every time weve had one this season

[OLLIE KEARNS]

Ultimately most great teams come together via the combination of a bit of luck and a solid structure upon which to apply it. He brought a proven structure with him but there was definitely some luck as far as the personnel was concerned. Doyler was probably the biggest slice as nobody could have expected him to achieve such heights in so short a space of time. Other pieces would be Little playing the best football of his career and Shorey developing into a high class attacking (not so hot defensivley but then we didn't do much of that in 05/06 )full back. Plus a very balanced CM pair with Harps and Sidwell.
And I agree with you about the FA Cup

[Hoop Blah]

LOL at fluking a 46 game long season with 106 points
nowt flukey about it as can be seen by his continued success with todays lesser team


and ive heard coppel critique bad performances every time weve had one this season

By fluked I meant as in when he stumbled upon the winning formula. Once he found it he made the ultimate use of it.

Why do I think that way? Mainly because the season before, and infact some times since, he's seemed lost when trying to fix it when things have gone wrong with the same or similar blend. Also he himself didn't seem to expect Doyle to pay off in the way he did in his first season.

Making the most of what came his way is a hell of a gift that a lot of other managers aren't lucky enough to have.

[brendywendy]

he built the team,after assessing what he already had, took some brave decisions, and brought in what was needed after a very dissapointing end to the previous season
then after playing well and getting beaten at home in our first match went on to trounce the league

he has also done the same thing whilst at other clubs, so im not sure how you can assert it was fluke, by any means

[OLLIE KEARNS]

Would have to agree that the lack of a Plan B is one weak point in what is otherwise a top notch manager. He rigidly sticks to his 4-4-2 structure even when it's not working or he is lacking the right personnel to play it. Aside from rare 4-5-1's v Arsenal and "man to man" v Man U of course.
Does anyone remember the Blackburn game at home when we lost 1-2 ? We dominated the first half and could easily have been more than 1-0 to the good. Mark Hughes then made some tactical changes and we had no answer.
Tugay absolutely ran the show in the second half playing in a football equivalent of a quarter back role. All that we had to do was drop one of our front two in to stop him getting the ball and we would have counter balanced the change that they made. But, we marched on with our 4-4-2 and lost the game.
That said the "4-4-2 and get it forward quickly" tactic is pretty much a war of attrition and previous posters have alluded to the need for the oppostion to match our fitness and intensity levels if they are to avoid defeat. Something that most aren't able to do in all fairness. SC's overall game plan and the way he fits players into his jigsaw is top class. If he could only add the ability to tweak things into a Plan B when needed then we'd be an even better side. Although he'd probably be managing Man U by then

[Archie's penalty]

Would have to agree that the lack of a Plan B is one weak point in what is otherwise a top notch manager. He rigidly sticks to his 4-4-2 structure even when it's not working or he is lacking the right personnel to play it. Aside from rare 4-5-1's v Arsenal and "man to man" v Man U of course.
Does anyone remember the Blackburn game at home when we lost 1-2 ? We dominated the first half and could easily have been more than 1-0 to the good. Mark Hughes then made some tactical changes and we had no answer.
Tugay absolutely ran the show in the second half playing in a football equivalent of a quarter back role. All that we had to do was drop one of our front two in to stop him getting the ball and we would have counter balanced the change that they made. But, we marched on with our 4-4-2 and lost the game.
That said the "4-4-2 and get it forward quickly" tactic is pretty much a war of attrition and previous posters have alluded to the need for the oppostion to match our fitness and intensity levels if they are to avoid defeat. Something that most aren't able to do in all fairness. SC's overall game plan and the way he fits players into his jigsaw is top class. If he could only add the ability to tweak things into a Plan B when needed then we'd be an even better side. Although he'd probably be managing Man U by then

Where would you place Coppell in a list of British managers in the last 25 years?

[OLLIE KEARNS]

Would have to agree that the lack of a Plan B is one weak point in what is otherwise a top notch manager. He rigidly sticks to his 4-4-2 structure even when it's not working or he is lacking the right personnel to play it. Aside from rare 4-5-1's v Arsenal and "man to man" v Man U of course.


Where would you place Coppell in a list of British managers in the last 25 years?

That's a difficult one Ar.P for a couple of reasons.

1. I don't watch all other managers as closely as I do SC for obvious reasons. The Blackburn comment was borne from being at the game and being able to form an opinion at a given moment in time. Something I can do at Reading week in week out but only on odd occasions for other sides / managers.

2. He hasn't managed a top class side where the required skill set and associated pressures are very different. There was the Man City debacle (for which we may one day find out the true reasons for him leaving) but aside from that he operates in a similar structure time and time again.

So, I would say he is one of the very best managers at achieving success levels that are far in excess of the clubs financial levels i.e over achieving. That comes from having complete conviction in the way he wants his team to play and the ability to identify the players that can fit into that pattern. It's been called the Reading way but it's reallly the SC way if you look at his past.
On the other hand it's hard to place him in the upper reaches because he hasn't managed under the different circumstances and pressures that a top club impose on the manager. In fact you could argue that top clubs haven't come in for him because they recognise the lack of a Plan B as his achilles heel.
What I would say is he is the perfect manager for a club like ours and we should cherish him while he's here. Hope that kind of answers the question

[Archie's penalty]

Would have to agree that the lack of a Plan B is one weak point in what is otherwise a top notch manager. He rigidly sticks to his 4-4-2 structure even when it's not working or he is lacking the right personnel to play it. Aside from rare 4-5-1's v Arsenal and "man to man" v Man U of course.


Where would you place Coppell in a list of British managers in the last 25 years?

That's a difficult one Ar.P for a couple of reasons.

1. I don't watch all other managers as closely as I do SC for obvious reasons. The Blackburn comment was borne from being at the game and being able to form an opinion at a given moment in time. Something I can do at Reading week in week out but only on odd occasions for other sides / managers.

2. He hasn't managed a top class side where the required skill set and associated pressures are very different. There was the Man City debacle (for which we may one day find out the true reasons for him leaving) but aside from that he operates in a similar structure time and time again.

So, I would say he is one of the very best managers at achieving success levels that are far in excess of the clubs financial levels i.e over achieving. That comes from having complete conviction in the way he wants his team to play and the ability to identify the players that can fit into that pattern. It's been called the Reading way but it's reallly the SC way if you look at his past.
On the other hand it's hard to place him in the upper reaches because he hasn't managed under the different circumstances and pressures that a top club impose on the manager. In fact you could argue that top clubs haven't come in for him because they recognise the lack of a Plan B as his achilles heel.

What I would say is he is the perfect manager for a club like ours and we should cherish him while he's here. Hope that kind of answers the question

Yep that's a good job of answering quite a difficult question.

If you ask the fans of teams like Palace, Brentford and Brighton they certainly speak incredibly highly of the guy.

Am certainly going to miss him when he goes. And I expect I speak for about 95 % of all Reading fans when I say that. I wonder if it is too early to call Coppell's reign as his era yet?

[OLLIE KEARNS]

Too early for an era just yet I guess and I still wonder if he'll stay on next season one way or another. I'm also very interested to see what he does in this transfer window. He's always said that the Chairman will back him with money if he asks for it and I think we're one good striker away from taking a huge step towards promotion. Will he adopt "top manager syndrom" and go for it or will he buy someone from the Turkish Second Division I guess we'll know soon enough.

[Archie's penalty]

Too early for an era just yet I guess and I still wonder if he'll stay on next season one way or another. I'm also very interested to see what he does in this transfer window. He's always said that the Chairman will back him with money if he asks for it and I think we're one good striker away from taking a huge step towards promotion. Will he adopt "top manager syndrom" and go for it or will he buy someone from the Turkish Second Division I guess we'll know soon enough.

Indeed we will. I think I would also want him to continue should we go up. But Coppell himself may feel it's the right time to move on.