Telegraph Articles

[southbank1871]

Couple of decent Telegraph articles:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2006/08/19/sfntyl19.xml

Here's to keeping cynicism well off the playing field
By Clive Tyldesley
(Filed: 19/08/2006)

I think we are all keeping our fingers crossed for Pluto. If the smallest member of the solar system somehow keeps its status as a planet, we can even start to believe that Reading may survive in the top flight. For supporters of Liverpool and Manchester United, the Madejski Stadium may just as well be in outer space. Get to Neptune and ask. But it will be good if their first visit is not their last, and if junction 11 of the M4 becomes an established Premiership bottleneck. The traffic there may stand still but football must not.

The bookmakers get it right with depressing regularity. Chelsea are the shortest price title favourites in memory, and there are no prizes for guessing the next three names in the betting. It's 50-1 upwards for everyone else. The newly promoted teams are the three tipped to drop off the Premiership map. Can anyone follow the outstanding lead of Wigan Athletic and West Ham United and change the order of the universe in which football fans live? Somebody must, or it will all become as inevitable as a melodramatic end to an England World Cup bid.

The quarter-final defeat to Portugal did a lot more damage than the bruising to Ricardo Carvalho's scrotum. However gallant, however galling at the time, it left a bitter taste in the mouth that is still there. Sven-Goran Eriksson became the sacrificial scapegoat, but it wasn't all his fault. The apparent certainty that this generation of England players is good enough to beat the very best has been challenged. The most famous of those players has now been discarded. It was a reality check, and football desperately needs a few of those. Reality is one thing but it cannot afford for its public to turn cynical.

I enjoyed the World Cup. I saw a lot more good games than bad games. Haring up and down German autobahns with little time to worry about splits within the Wags, I found the atmosphere surrounding the tournament welcoming and uplifting.

It was only when I returned home that I ran into friends and relations who seemed altogether disaffected by the whole show. Too much diving, too much dissent, too much money in the players' and agents' pockets. Same old, same old.

This country watched the tournament on television in its millions. When viewing figures rise above the numbers who routinely switch on for the annual fare of domestic and European competition, football reaches a wider audience of occasional fans. It is my mum and dad, and rugby and cricket pals who provide the different perspective on the game's most familiar ills.

"Why don't referees just send off every player that argues with them? It would soon stop." "Why don't they use the video evidence to cite the players that dive?" "Why don't they introduce a wage cap?" Those of us that make a living from the game have been asked those questions a million times. "Aah, but it's not that simple," we reply knowingly. No, but it's not that difficult either.

Listening to a radio phone-in titled "Is the Premiership a rip-off?" on 5 Live yesterday morning, it was easy to dismiss those callers who had decided against renewing their season tickets as late summer ranters. A few good results, and they will be back. But football cannot afford to take the loyalty of its customers for granted anymore. The changing price level of Premiership tickets has led to "a changing profile in the people who make up Premiership crowds". Not my words, but those of Charlton Athletic chief executive Peter Varney, speaking on the programme.

The newcomers may be filling most of the old guard's seats but they are not as committed. It's not in their blood. They are more likely to bring their clients than their children. In canvassing their hardcore fan base, Charlton discovered that there were issues burning even bigger holes in the concerns of regular supporters than ticket prices. Worries about the dominance of the top four and disquiet over displaced kick-off times were the most common complaints. Both are among those inescapable realities of the modern game, but both are leading to that growing cynicism. Football needs to listen more. Charlton play at West Ham today. It's the last Saturday game at Upton Park until Nov 25.

On the same radio programme, Arsenal's managing director, Keith Edelman, was talking about ticketing for next Wednesday's game against Sparta Prague. Er, next Wednesday's game is not against Sparta Prague, it's against Dynamo Zagreb. It was a slip of the tongue, and I make plenty of those. But anything that reinforces the sense of detachment that ordinary supporters are feeling from their beloved clubs is particularly dangerous now. It doesn't seem real anymore.

I get the feeling that the demonising of Cristiano Ronaldo was more to do with the player's repeated tumbles and tantrums than any part he played in Wayne Rooney's red card. He was just a pain in the neck, a big kid. Enough already. Ordinary people want to believe that football has ordinary people too.

Look at how Owen Hargreaves' stock rose in the summer. He is not England's most talented player but he looked England's most earnest at the World Cup. Never mind kissing the shirt, just sweat in it. Hearts in the right place go a long way, and there are plenty of them. I was fortunate to spend some time with Gareth Southgate and Martin O'Neill on my World Cup travels. Both are honest to goodness blokes with feet nailed to the floor. I hope their genuine approach will survive the pressures to help lift the flagging credibility of the Premiership. We have all heard enough sneers and snipes for a while. The pantomime season is months away.

Which brings me back to junction 11. Reading's Steve Coppell is another inhabitant of the real world. He gave a pre-season trial to a defender from Cameroon, who was sent off for butting an opponent in a tour game in Sweden. Coppell showed him the door straight away. Last season the Championship winners did not collect a single red card. Their back four played in nearly every game and picked up eight bookings between them. Reality dictates that number may rise with Ronaldo running at them, but I'll be surprised if Coppell and his staff allow cynicism to play any part in their first season in the top flight. I saw a lot of Reading last season and they got their success the right way. It would be nice to think that way can work for them again. It's only a game.

Their excellent captain and right-back, Graeme Murty, got married last summer. His wife asked me if I could help her get him a special wedding present, a Liverpool shirt signed by Steven Gerrard. Not a problem. Gerrard obliged immediately. In November, Murty will lead his team out alongside him at Anfield. Pluto and Jupiter in the same universe as the rest of us. That's the way I have always been taught.

[southbank1871]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2006/08/19/sfnsmi19.xml

Coppell striving to retain blend that has served Reading so well in the past
By Alan Smith
(Filed: 19/08/2006)

The off-season, in truth, could have gone better. A lot better, in fact, according to Steve Coppell, the man who skilfully directed proceedings last season as Reading set about obliterating the Championship competition.

The record books show that the Royals ended up with a whopping 106 points, having won promotion in late March, earlier than any other post-War side. It had been a quite stunning display of confidence, concentration, organisation and togetherness, one that should have provided a clear head start in their Premiership planning.

So far, at least, it hasn't worked out that way. Attracting players to the Madejski Stadium has proved harder than expected.

"It soon became obvious that Reading was not an attractive proposition for a lot of players," Coppell reflected this week as he contemplated a campaign, starting with the visit of Middlesbrough today, which will tell him a great deal about the existing squad.

"It seems that players with aspirations don't look upon Reading as the final stop on their journey; a stepping stone definitely but established Championship players - and they were our targets at the end of last year - thought they could do a little bit better than us."

It hasn't been a question of money. John Madejski, the owner, benefactor, chairman and chief driving force, has made plenty available. Only the other day, two £5 million bids were rejected for a couple of players in France. No, it is more the club's modest profile, wage structure and uncertain short-term future that have stood in the way of moving things on.

Mind you, in candidly explaining the situation, Coppell does a great job in hiding any frustrations.

"Our market is very, very small and we've probably wasted a fair amount of time this summer by going after certain players and then finding out for various reasons that the deals have fallen through."

If that summary sounds bleak for the hordes of Reading fans looking forward to top-flight football for the first time in the club's 135-year history, a counter-balance can be found in the potential of those who won promotion. Characters like Steven Sidwell, Nicky Shorey, Dave Kitson and Kevin Doyle offer purpose and promise. Rather than his first-choice XI, Coppell is more concerned about strength in depth.

"I said from day one that anyone who watched us last year couldn't look at the team and say: 'Oh, there's an obvious weakness there. He's scrambled his way into the Premiership.' Most of the players deserve the opportunity to play there. The holes that were apparent were from a depth point of view.

"If I can sign another two or three players before the transfer window closes I will do because if we have a couple of injuries our season could be over. That's our main concern at the moment. We are vulnerable in terms of numbers.'

In recruiting reinforcements, though, Coppell is very conscious of retaining the special "chemical blend" that has brought them this far. "It would be easy to bring somebody in on twice the money but it wouldn't be right," he says. "That's important - that we don't get people coming in, no matter how good they are, who will make the other players resentful.

"It's funny, the players themselves are saying we need more players in, that we need to strengthen, when the chances are it might mean them losing their place. If I was a player in the same circumstances, I'd think 'no, sod it. We've won the league, we've done what no other team have ever done before, give us a chance'."

Along with that chance comes the extra pressure that forms part and parcel of England's showpiece division. The added expectation, the huge media interest, the intense television scrutiny - new challenges to conquer for a set of players that can hardly muster up a Premiership appearance between them.

"We're gonna get the smart-arse judgments throughout the season from critics who say we're not good enough - can't do this, can't do that. Occasionally we'll also get pats on the back from people who say we're refreshing and doing our own thing. Somehow we've got to be able to withstand the knocks, ignore the plaudits and concentrate on trying to win the next game."

Words borne from experience. A high-class winger in his day for Manchester United and England, this economics graduate went on to manage, among other clubs, Crystal Palace on three separate occasions, winning promotion to the old First Division in his first spell.

Could that track record be an advantage over the next 10 months?

"The top flight is totally different now. I think my experience will only help from a perspective point of view. You read about poor Darren Clarke's wife and think football isn't that important. My experiences have given me more depth in my perception of football."

That's partly why he prefers to work with a rolling one-year contract, so as not to get stuck in a job he dislikes.

"I want to manage where I'm wanted," he says. "I box it off a year at a time. Come the end of this season, the club will make a decision, I'll make a decision and the chances are they will be the same one."

Before that moment, however, there are an awful lot of adventures waiting in the pipeline, some of which won't prove too enjoyable.

"In certain games I fully expect to be convincingly beaten. We've got to have the mental strength to then put that to bed and not dwell on it too much and bounce back. That will be a critical test - being able to bounce back. His biggest fear on the eve of the big kick-off is that he and his team let themselves down.

"Having earned the right to be here, we don't want to give it up cheaply. We certainly don't want to give it up without earning some respect. "I am intrigued to see what the players are capable of. We can all have our best guesses but nobody knows for sure."

A quiet summer will soon turn into an enlightening autumn and winter.

[SouthDownsRoyal]

Funnily enough I thought about posting about these too, just picked up the Torygraph and read the articles and a good read too, also interesting to note the predictions from about 8 of their writters and various pundits too.

[southbank1871]

Funnily enough I thought about posting about these too, just picked up the Torygraph and read the articles and a good read too, also interesting to note the predictions from about 8 of their writters and various pundits too.

Yeah? Haven't seen those... What do they say?

[Hogmeister Royal]

Funnily enough I thought about posting about these too, just picked up the Torygraph and read the articles and a good read too, also interesting to note the predictions from about 8 of their writters and various pundits too.

Yeah? Haven't seen those... What do they say?

6 of the 9 pundits predict we'll go down

[southbank1871]

Funnily enough I thought about posting about these too, just picked up the Torygraph and read the articles and a good read too, also interesting to note the predictions from about 8 of their writters and various pundits too.

Yeah? Haven't seen those... What do they say?

6 of the 9 pundits predict we'll go down

Sweet! Can't really argue I guess, we're bound to be one of the favourites. Just have to hope we can prove them wrong.

[SouthDownsRoyal]

Funnily enough I thought about posting about these too, just picked up the Torygraph and read the articles and a good read too, also interesting to note the predictions from about 8 of their writters and various pundits too.

Yeah? Haven't seen those... What do they say?

6 of the 9 pundits predict we'll go down

Their predictions were:-

Alan Hansen - Reading/Sheff Utd/Watford

Alan Smith - Reading/Sheff Utd/Watford

Graham Taylor - 'Boro/Charlton/Sheff Utd

Tim Rich - Watford/Fulham/Sheff Utd

David Bond - Sheff Utd/Reading/Fulham

Clive Tyldesley - Sheff Utd/Charlton/Watford

William Johnson - Charlton/Reading/Watford

Christopher Davies - Fulham/Reading/Watford

John Key - Reading/Charlton/Sheff Utd

[Bristol Paul]

Excellent couple of articles-cheers

[Huntley & Palmer]

Funnily enough I thought about posting about these too, just picked up the Torygraph and read the articles and a good read too, also interesting to note the predictions from about 8 of their writters and various pundits too.

Yeah? Haven't seen those... What do they say?

6 of the 9 pundits predict we'll go down

Their predictions were:-

Alan Hansen - Reading/Sheff Utd/Watford

Alan Smith - Reading/Sheff Utd/Watford

Graham Taylor - 'Boro/Charlton/Sheff Utd

Tim Rich - Watford/Fulham/Sheff Utd

David Bond - Sheff Utd/Reading/Fulham

Clive Tyldesley - Sheff Utd/Charlton/Watford

William Johnson - Charlton/Reading/Watford

Christopher Davies - Fulham/Reading/Watford

John Key - Reading/Charlton/Sheff Utd

I've always had nothing but absolute respect for Graham Taylor. Good man

[rabidbee]

One from the Times here:

Coppell can make the difference for Reading
By Russell Kempson
GRAEME MURTY, the Reading captain, has seen Steve Coppell, his mild-mannered manager, get angry. Just the once, when Reading trailed 2-0 against Plymouth Argyle at Home Park in November 2004, but he will never forget it.

“He absolutely lost it,â€

[Huntley & Palmer]

Guardian has us to beat Boro in their squad preview as well