Sshh! It's how we operate.

[Sarah Star]

I'm not sure it's looking that great for next season. Though they were passing the ball more, they still looked a bit nervous in front of goal at times and there's still niggling problems like Kebe running into trouble or not running as the case may be, or Marek being on a different wavelength to the person he's trying to pass to. On the other hand, there was some good interlinking play between certain players - like the two mentioned above and Tabb and Hunt.

It's still early days.

[Woodcote Royal]

While I agree that the time had come for a change in management, you do hugely overstate the issue. To describe the last 2 seasons as a 'disaster' is a gross misuse of that word. To decribe the same 2 seasons as an 'appalling decline' is equally grossly wrong. We are still ahead of where we were when Coppell took over, and well ahead of where we were at the turn of the century. Last season was not as successful as we hoped for - but it was not a disaster, nor an appalling decline.

Get real and smell the coffee, as they say somewhere overseas!

Like many of Coppell's apologists, it is you who needs to wake up and smell the Coffee.

Our status and league position is now almost identical to the day when he arrived and, unless we hit the ground running this season, our attendances will also reflect this sad truth.

How can finishing 1pt shy of a place in Europe to being denied promotion 2 years later by pot less Burnley, despite £11m? of parachute payments, be described as anything other than a disastrous decline, which included a needless relegation that your post conveniently forgets to mention?

[Who Moved The Goalposts?]

While I agree that the time had come for a change in management, you do hugely overstate the issue. To describe the last 2 seasons as a 'disaster' is a gross misuse of that word. To decribe the same 2 seasons as an 'appalling decline' is equally grossly wrong. We are still ahead of where we were when Coppell took over, and well ahead of where we were at the turn of the century. Last season was not as successful as we hoped for - but it was not a disaster, nor an appalling decline.

Get real and smell the coffee, as they say somewhere overseas!

Like many of Coppell's apologists, it is you who needs to wake up and smell the Coffee.

Our status and league position is now almost identical to the day when he arrived and, unless we hit the ground running this season, our attendances will also reflect this sad truth.

How can finishing 1pt shy of a place in Europe to being denied promotion 2 years later by pot less Burnley, despite £11m? of parachute payments, be described as anything other than a disastrous decline, which included a needless relegation that your post conveniently forgets to mention?

Some good points WR, but to lay all the blame at Coppell's feet is a bit unfair - he was just one cog (albeit a major one) of the machine. We all knew his faults. More worringly, if we all knew them, then so did the rest of the management and did little to intervene effectively and correct the situation.

No one can be sure if it would have really turned out this way, but if we had spent a few wisely targetted million more in season two of the Prem we may well still be there. Again, we all saw the weaknesses, so why didn't they, especially the DoF? I think SJM is still smarting over this - his best shot of making some serious profit from his involvement with RFC went down with the ship.

[Woodcote Royal]

As manager, most of the blame belonged to Coppell.

And, given that it was obvious by the end of last season that he'd learnt nothing from our needless relegation, all the board should consider themselves cuplable for not releasing him 12 months earlier....................I bet SJM has nightmares about that one regardless of what he says in public

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

You are joking WR, following our relegation last season was perfect for SJM, we made the play-offs relatively easily, we averaged just under 20k at home, we appeared on TV a lot, all brought more money into the club, and we failed to go up, meaning that this is the year for promotion.

In the perfect business world the business took in more money than it payed out, as will be shown by the accounts for the year ending 2009 when released.

At the start of the season we sold 3 players, Sonko, Shorey and Kitson for about £10m, spent out very little of that on replacements, we also released a couple of highish earners, in Little and De La Cruz.

Now we have replaced the management team, and rightly so, with Dillon and Downes also taking some responsibility, sold Doyle for £6.5m, and S Hunt hoping to follow, SJM will be a happy man if things carry on like this IMHO.

Now we look like bringing in loan players, a cheapish option, and bring them along for other teams, much as others have done for Henry and Church et al.

At some point we have to trust our own players, or like Cox they might as well move on elsewhere, bringing in loans from elsewhere can damage team morale, look at the great effect Kitson and Little had last season, feck all.

Vision, please post more, I much prefer your balanced views.

[Dirk Gently]

Hmmm, I think you're stretching things a little when you say we

..... also released a couple of highish earners, in ..... De La Cruz.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

Hmmm, I think you're stretching things a little when you say we

..... also released a couple of highish earners, in ..... De La Cruz.

Wasn't he on 8k a week or similar, sure a figure was talked about when he was givign 10% to the foundation, it is a high earner for a player hardly appearing.

[Agent Balti]

I'm not sure it's looking that great for next season.

It never was, when did that change? We are not contenders this season.

...and there's still niggling problems like Kebe running into trouble or not running as the case may be, or Marek being on a different wavelength to the person he's trying to pass to...It's still early days.

Not quite sure when the penny will drop...Kebe is Kebe, what you see is what you get. Those niggles won't be trained out of him, not now not ever - he's not some 18 year old starlet...he's, what, 23 or 24?

Marek being on a different wavelength is something that can be worked on, hopefully Brendan will be able to mould the players to work around Marek rather than run into dead ends. He's the ace in our pack, if there's one element of creativity in our squad it's Marek.

[Dirk Gently]

Hmmm, I think you're stretching things a little when you say we

..... also released a couple of highish earners, in ..... De La Cruz.

Wasn't he on 8k a week or similar, sure a figure was talked about when he was givign 10% to the foundation, it is a high earner for a player hardly appearing.

Maybe, but in comparison to most of the others it's a pretty low wage. I'm pretty certain DLC was in the lowest 50% of earners at the club.

[Hoop Blah]

Marek being on a different wavelength is something that can be worked on, hopefully Brendan will be able to mould the players to work around Marek rather than run into dead ends. He's the ace in our pack, if there's one element of creativity in our squad it's Marek.

After 18 months with the squad you'd hope he/they had managed to get in tune with each other.

He has a lot of ability, but if he can't read what the other players are doing and still puts balls into places they're not getting to it's all a bit pointless. I've never agreed with the 'he's too good for them' line when it's been used in the past for other, and I certainly don't think it's true now.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

It is 8k off the wage bill tho, and thats the bottom line, that may well have paid for Doyle or hunts extra, but might have left us with less cover of experienced players, there is a wage budget as well as a transfer budget i would have guessed.

8k == 400k a year, somewhere in the region of 800 ST holders money, as it happens i still like the way JM runs the club, mostly, but to move ahead we need it all to move ahead, we have the ground and facilities, now we need to just up the overall level of quality of the players, IMO

[Sarah Star]

Not quite sure when the penny will drop...Kebe is Kebe, what you see is what you get. Those niggles won't be trained out of him, not now not ever - he's not some 18 year old starlet...he's, what, 23 or 24?

If Kebe consistently failed to make those runs or consistently failed to beat defenders with his tricks etc then I'd agree with you. The fact that he manages it in some games and not in others suggests to me that there's something that can be worked on - judgement or skill or something, I'm not sure what. It may be that he'll always be like that, but it might be that he just needs help to develop in a way that he's not been taught before. That's my view anyway.

[Dirk Gently]

Not quite sure when the penny will drop...Kebe is Kebe, what you see is what you get. Those niggles won't be trained out of him, not now not ever - he's not some 18 year old starlet...he's, what, 23 or 24?

If Kebe consistently failed to make those runs or consistently failed to beat defenders with his tricks etc then I'd agree with you. The fact that he manages it in some games and not in others suggests to me that there's something that can be worked on - judgement or skill or something, I'm not sure what. It may be that he'll always be like that, but it might be that he just needs help to develop in a way that he's not been taught before. That's my view anyway.

Never forget that if he wasn't so frustrating and inconsistent he'd not be playing for Reading. There's no way we'd be able to afford him!

[Agent Balti]

Marek being on a different wavelength is something that can be worked on, hopefully Brendan will be able to mould the players to work around Marek rather than run into dead ends. He's the ace in our pack, if there's one element of creativity in our squad it's Marek.

After 18 months with the squad you'd hope he/they had managed to get in tune with each other.

He has a lot of ability, but if he can't read what the other players are doing and still puts balls into places they're not getting to it's all a bit pointless. I've never agreed with the 'he's too good for them' line when it's been used in the past for other, and I certainly don't think it's true now.

Isn't it the reverse of what you're saying though? It's the players need to read where Marek is trying to place the ball? I'm not advocating he's too good, I think Coppell under-utilised him and as such we never got the best out of him. If any player is in and out of the side then we would never see the best. (Still, taking him off in the 2nd leg v Burnley was a terrible, terrible decision by Coppell.)

Hopefully, Brendan will be able to make the midfield tick around Marek...he seems a more of a Rodgers player than a Coppell player to me.

[Sarah Star]

Not quite sure when the penny will drop...Kebe is Kebe, what you see is what you get. Those niggles won't be trained out of him, not now not ever - he's not some 18 year old starlet...he's, what, 23 or 24?

If Kebe consistently failed to make those runs or consistently failed to beat defenders with his tricks etc then I'd agree with you. The fact that he manages it in some games and not in others suggests to me that there's something that can be worked on - judgement or skill or something, I'm not sure what. It may be that he'll always be like that, but it might be that he just needs help to develop in a way that he's not been taught before. That's my view anyway.

Never forget that if he wasn't so frustrating and inconsistent he'd not be playing for Reading. There's no way we'd be able to afford him!

But if we managed to change him into "New Improved Kebe" it would be in our interests to do so now he's here surely.

[Agent Balti]

Not quite sure when the penny will drop...Kebe is Kebe, what you see is what you get. Those niggles won't be trained out of him, not now not ever - he's not some 18 year old starlet...he's, what, 23 or 24?

If Kebe consistently failed to make those runs or consistently failed to beat defenders with his tricks etc then I'd agree with you. The fact that he manages it in some games and not in others suggests to me that there's something that can be worked on - judgement or skill or something, I'm not sure what. It may be that he'll always be like that, but it might be that he just needs help to develop in a way that he's not been taught before. That's my view anyway.

I'd love to believe you, seriously I would. But I can't see it...as Dirk says, it's much like the Darren Caskey situation of old...if he could actually have some pace...if he wasn't so fat...he'd be truly awesome. And if that was the case, he wouldn't be with us in the first place. Players find their level...and this is Kebe's very, very top level. However, a players development is pretty much cemented early in their careers...only experience helps you after that (and your team mates), if the kinks in Kebe are ironed out (ironing board not advisable) then good on him, but with all the crossed fingers and gnashing of teeth - I just don't buy it.

[Thaumagurist*]

it's much like the Darren Caskey situation of old...if he could actually have some pace...if he wasn't so fat...he'd be truly awesome.

Come on, he wasn't that fat.

[Snowball]

Not quite sure when the penny will drop...Kebe is Kebe, what you see is what you get. Those niggles won't be trained out of him, not now not ever - he's not some 18 year old starlet...he's, what, 23 or 24?

If Kebe consistently failed to make those runs or consistently failed to beat defenders with his tricks etc then I'd agree with you. The fact that he manages it in some games and not in others suggests to me that there's something that can be worked on - judgement or skill or something, I'm not sure what. It may be that he'll always be like that, but it might be that he just needs help to develop in a way that he's not been taught before. That's my view anyway.

I'd love to believe you, seriously I would. But I can't see it...as Dirk says, it's much like the Darren Caskey situation of old...if he could actually have some pace...if he wasn't so fat...he'd be truly awesome. And if that was the case, he wouldn't be with us in the first place. Players find their level...and this is Kebe's very, very top level. However, a players development is pretty much cemented early in their careers...only experience helps you after that (and your team mates), if the kinks in Kebe are ironed out (ironing board not advisable) then good on him, but with all the crossed fingers and gnashing of teeth - I just don't buy it.

How old was Tony Book when he left non-league to play for Man City? 29?

How about Stuart Pearce?

[CMRoyal]

If Kebe consistently failed to make those runs or consistently failed to beat defenders with his tricks etc then I'd agree with you. The fact that he manages it in some games and not in others suggests to me that there's something that can be worked on - judgement or skill or something, I'm not sure what. It may be that he'll always be like that, but it might be that he just needs help to develop in a way that he's not been taught before. That's my view anyway.

Never forget that if he wasn't so frustrating and inconsistent he'd not be playing for Reading. There's no way we'd be able to afford him!

But if we managed to change him into "New Improved Kebe" it would be in our interests to do so now he's here surely.

The modern manager of any stripe loves "challenges". Well, there's one for BR - find an effective role for Kebe in a team that relies more on possession than the 1-in-10 moment when one of your wingers creates a half-chance for the strikers. SC's approach was tolerant of a player like Jimmy; can't see that being the case under Clodagh.

[Snowball]

Not quite sure when the penny will drop...Kebe is Kebe, what you see is what you get. Those niggles won't be trained out of him, not now not ever - he's not some 18 year old starlet...he's, what, 23 or 24?

If Kebe consistently failed to make those runs or consistently failed to beat defenders with his tricks etc then I'd agree with you. The fact that he manages it in some games and not in others suggests to me that there's something that can be worked on - judgement or skill or something, I'm not sure what. It may be that he'll always be like that, but it might be that he just needs help to develop in a way that he's not been taught before. That's my view anyway.

Agreed