Things I wont miss next season.....

[Crowthorne Royal]

OK, hats off to our most successful manager ever. Coppell you are a wonderful hunam being and to top it off a very successful manager.

I salute you and all that helped our great club achieve 2 seasons in The Prem.

This season though has to have been one of the most infuriating in terms of missed opportunities, mistakes, basic errors and poor tactics.

I will certainly not miss..

Hahnemman's lack of interest in distributing the ball to his full backs

Liam Rosenior's windmill and 'never say die' approach to football with no substance to his play at all

Duberry getting the ball and wanging it over 30 yards to nobody......and unforgiveably telling Bikey to do the same!

As Paul Weller once sang' Our ever changing m...' - not moods but midfield - it was a lottery who would play there each week

Shane Longs 'twinkletoes' running on the pitch to no great effect

Kitson......the worst comeback in the history of RFC (At the Mad Stad to be fair to the lanky ginger one)

Stephen Hunt's fall to look like a poor mans Robbie Savage from playing like Michael Essien in our first season in The Prem

Kebe.....'Nuff said

And finally Coppell......

Having a 'Man City moment / few months' after Xmas in 3 seasons out of 5
Never losing his rag
Always lying that he never looked at the league table
Always putting subs on too late
Refusing to accept that we were shite after Xmas in 2 seaons out of 5 (a little bit of acceptance this year)
Buying Brentford players before considering anyone else
Never berating woeful performances by some of his 'favourites'
never having a Plan B
Having a ridiculously high corner count and never achieving anything of any note from them
Not being able to achieve anything once teams stopped our wingers playing
Banging long balls up the pitch to dimunitive strikers....week in week out and allowing big lump centre halfs to be MOM...Think, Preston, Bristol City, Charlton, Forest, Barnsley & Ipswich etc.
Allowing players so much space that they'd run, run and run some more and often shoot and score..

Philips @ B'ham
Mcgugan (Forest) at The MS
Paterson @ The MS

I'm sure there are many more but I can't think of any right now.

Bring on 09/10

[strap]

Got to say there isn't too much I'd disagree with that post. Sums up last season fairly accurately.

[savage 4 england]

Allowing players so much space that they'd run, run and run some more and often shoot and score..

Philips @ B'ham
Mcgugan (Forest) at The MS
Paterson @ The MS

That has been happening for years at the mad stad, especially in the 2nd half.

[melksham_royal]

+1. Spot on

[Kitson12]

You forgot Harper's sideways passing!

[gazzer, loyal royal]

You forgot Harper's sideways passing!

i wish i could

[Kitson12]

You forgot Harper's sideways passing!

i wish i could

Most of us prefer just to cry in a corner whenever it happens.

[Millsy]

I agree.

I hate to make this an anti-Coppell thread because it should be clear by now that I pretty much want to marry him and wouldn't compain if he was to manage us for years on end (in the right frame of mind, but see below)

But...

in addition to the things you say I think the biggest weakness of him - which to be fair the anti-Coppell folk did point out when he first joined - is that he is an emotional type of character. It might seem a bit silly to say this given his general poker face, but I think he just takes things to heart. He left clubs before based on his emotions and I have no doubt after Christmas when the wheels started falling off he really took it to heart and just folded in on himself. How on earth can you motivate players when you're deeply affected by things yourself. When he left you could hear it in the poor guy's voice. He genuinely feels shattered that he coudn't take us back up at the first attempt and considers himself a failure. That must gave rubbed off on the players. He certainly wasn't an optimistic motivator. It's a real shame actually. But I guess it's where his strength lies too: he takes things so seriously and thinks so much that when he's thinking straight he gets things perfect and produces the highest league points in the history of English football. As soon as things go tits-up however, he loses his head and is of no use to anyone.

An enigma. And still my favourite manager ever.

But probably the best thing that he went now if what I say above is in any way true.

I look forward to someone who can kick butt when the chips are down at least.

[Archie's penalty]

Good post to be fair CR. +1.

[Barry the bird boggler]

Not being able to achieve anything once teams stopped our wingers playing

Doesn't that rather suggest that our wingers actually played at some point?

[fireman_jules]

OK, hats off to our most successful manager ever. Coppell you are a wonderful hunam being and to top it off a very successful manager.


Hahnemman's lack of interest in distributing the ball to his full backs

Liam Rosenior's windmill and 'never say die' approach to football with no substance to his play at all

Duberry getting the ball and wanging it over 30 yards to nobody......and unforgiveably telling Bikey to do the same!

Maybe this is why he didnt give the ball to the full backs then !!!

[holsgrove breaks a leg]

Rosenior clutching his head in his hands after another woeful cross or pushing the ball too far after a run as if to say that the mistake is such a rarity

Hunt senior failing to trap even the simplest of balls

Duberry failing to get ahead of his man at set pieces and hoofing wildly in the penalty box

[One Beer is never enough.]

I wont miss all the anti-Coppell threads, and the bleatings of Royalee et al.

Unless of course the next manager doesnt turn out to be better than Coppell and is unable to meet the exceedingly lofty expectations of some of the support. But at that point the ant-?????? threads will no doubt start.

[pooandwee]

Allowing players so much space that they'd run, run and run some more and often shoot and score..

Philips @ B'ham
Mcgugan (Forest) at The MS
Paterson @ The MS

That has been happening for years at the mad stad, especially in the 2nd half.

+ the fella at Plymouth

[Dan - B15 Royal]

Allowing players so much space that they'd run, run and run some more and often shoot and score..

Philips @ B'ham
Mcgugan (Forest) at The MS
Paterson @ The MS

That has been happening for years at the mad stad, especially in the 2nd half.

+ the fella at Plymouth

...dont forget David Bentley's goal at the Madejski to give Blackburn all 3 points that day.
(I know its a premiership example adding to this years list but it highlights the point that its happens reguarly).

[Arthur Pint]

All those faults and he still managed to make us the 24th best team in England this season.

Just imagine what he could have achieved had he been able to fix all those things.

Never berating woeful performances by some of his 'favourites'

I disagree with this, Coppell never publicly berated anyone for a woeful performance such is his management style, I'm not really sure berating someone whether it be in public or behind closed doors is a terrific management technique anyway?

[papereyes]

Having a ridiculously high corner count and never achieving anything of any note from them

What disappointed me more was that we turned from a team converting them at will to a team who'd fail to beat the first man most times and then having Duberry or Bikey trying to wear an opposition centreback if the ball did manage to get to the 6 yard box.

[gazzer, loyal royal]

You forgot Harper's sideways passing!

i wish i could

Most of us prefer just to cry in a corner whenever it happens.

or head one of duberry's clearances back onto the pitch from the stand

[brendywendy]

I wont miss all the anti-Coppell threads, and the bleatings of Royalee et al.

Unless of course the next manager doesnt turn out to be better than Coppell and is unable to meet the exceedingly lofty expectations of some of the support. But at that point the ant-?????? threads will no doubt start.

[wolsey]

I agree.

I hate to make this an anti-Coppell thread because it should be clear by now that I pretty much want to marry him and wouldn't compain if he was to manage us for years on end (in the right frame of mind, but see below)

But...

in addition to the things you say I think the biggest weakness of him - which to be fair the anti-Coppell folk did point out when he first joined - is that he is an emotional type of character. It might seem a bit silly to say this given his general poker face, but I think he just takes things to heart. He left clubs before based on his emotions and I have no doubt after Christmas when the wheels started falling off he really took it to heart and just folded in on himself. How on earth can you motivate players when you're deeply affected by things yourself. When he left you could hear it in the poor guy's voice. He genuinely feels shattered that he coudn't take us back up at the first attempt and considers himself a failure. That must gave rubbed off on the players. He certainly wasn't an optimistic motivator. It's a real shame actually. But I guess it's where his strength lies too: he takes things so seriously and thinks so much that when he's thinking straight he gets things perfect and produces the highest league points in the history of English football. As soon as things go tits-up however, he loses his head and is of no use to anyone.

An enigma. And still my favourite manager ever.

But probably the best thing that he went now if what I say above is in any way true.

I look forward to someone who can kick butt when the chips are down at least.

Couldn't agree more - I am proud that SC has been our manager, proud of the ethos that he has emphasised (which I would guess is the same as SIR JM), confident in the underlying viability of my (our) Club, but the last last 5 months have been like watching a loved one suffer a serious illness. His resignation, although sad, was a release for all concerned.