It is one man's fault

[Southbank Old Boy]

Yeah, completely ridiculous assumption.
Perhaps Coppell may look back and regret not strengthening the squad.
But after what he's done and how good a manager he is, lots of Reading fans are giving him some slack.

MAY look back and regret!!! If he doesn't then it's obvious that he should walk.

I don't like a lot of the comments that have been coming out along the lines of, "well it's done now," "it's not life and death" and all the noises about it being just the way it is. Too often it sounds like they're just willing to accept whats happened. If thats the case then they're nolonger up to the job because they've given up the fight.

[torbayroyal]

I am sure that this is far too simple but.. To me it all seemed to go wrong when Sidwell left. I wonder now if JM/SC regret not paying him what he was worth. How much will we lose by going down? how much more would his wages have been?

[Southbank Old Boy]

I am sure that this is far too simple but.. To me it all seemed to go wrong when Sidwell left. I wonder now if JM/SC regret not paying him what he was worth. How much will we lose by going down? how much more would his wages have been?

Sidwell's now on something like £50k a week. There is no way we should've been willing to match Chelsea on his wages.

[readingbedding]

Yeah, completely ridiculous assumption.
Perhaps Coppell may look back and regret not strengthening the squad.
But after what he's done and how good a manager he is, lots of Reading fans are giving him some slack.

MAY look back and regret!!! If he doesn't then it's obvious that he should walk.

I don't like a lot of the comments that have been coming out along the lines of, "well it's done now," "it's not life and death" and all the noises about it being just the way it is. Too often it sounds like they're just willing to accept whats happened. If thats the case then they're nolonger up to the job because they've given up the fight.

Coppell hasn't given up - he's the best we've ever had.
The vast majority of RFC fans can see sense and like myself are more than prepared to give him some slack.

Stevie Coppell's Blue and White Army!

[RoyalBlue]

I am sure that this is far too simple but.. To me it all seemed to go wrong when Sidwell left. I wonder now if JM/SC regret not paying him what he was worth. How much will we lose by going down? how much more would his wages have been?

Sidwell's now on something like £50k a week. There is no way we should've been willing to match Chelsea on his wages.

But had we made him a more realistic offer with regard to wages in the first place, he might not have ended up being touted around whilst he saw out his existing contract with us.

[Denver Royal]

Perhaps Coppell may look back and regret not strengthening the squad.

There's no 'perhaps' or 'maybe' about it.

The table doesn't lie and we're in the bottom 3.

We have screwed up this season, end of.

As a result, we have put ourselves in a position whereby we have a very good chance of going down.

That right there is reason enough for regret, regardless of whether we manage to stay up next Saturday.

[readingbedding]

Perhaps Coppell may look back and regret not strengthening the squad.

There's no 'perhaps' or 'maybe' about it.

The table doesn't lie and we're in the bottom 3.

We have put ourselves in a position whereby we have a very good chance of going down.

That right there is reason enough for regret.

Regardless of whether we manage to stay up next Saturday, this season has been a disaster.

It has in comparison to the year before, but I'm fine about it.
If we stay up, we stay up.
If we go down, we go down.
RFC will have learnt a lot from the last couple of years.
Whatever happens, I've enjoyed the experience.

[Denver Royal]

RFC will have learnt a lot from the last couple of years.

What do you suppose they will have learnt?

[SteveRoyal]

http://studenthome.nku.edu/~russelljo/f ... alling.swf

Explains our current situation.

[readingbedding]

Lots of things.
Learning to handle the increased media exposure, you cannot stand still in this Division etc, etc.

If you Google Steve Coppell and read the news about him, that will give you a clue as to what the club has learnt.

[Southbank Old Boy]

Coppell hasn't given up - he's the best we've ever had.
The vast majority of RFC fans can see sense and like myself are more than prepared to give him some slack.

Stevie Coppell's Blue and White Army!

He probably is the best we've ever had, but that doesn't mean he won't have a shelf life or is immune to criticism. Being the best we've ever had doesn't mean it means enough to him or that he, like the players, seem to be incapable of turning this round.

My biggest gripe, and my biggest worry is that Coppell doesn't seem to learn from these mistakes and that it doesn't seem to matter enough to him. I don't mean I want him effing and blinding and shouting the house down, but I do want to see some evidence that his mistakes hurt him as much as it hurts a lot of fans.

He's had plenty of slack but how far do you continue with a manager that seems to have a problem moving the team on?

[Denver Royal]

They are learning that you cannot stand still in this Division etc, etc.

They are only just learning that now? You and I could have told them that years ago.

[readingbedding]

Coppell hasn't given up - he's the best we've ever had.
The vast majority of RFC fans can see sense and like myself are more than prepared to give him some slack.

Stevie Coppell's Blue and White Army!

He probably is the best we've ever had, but that doesn't mean he won't have a shelf life or is immune to criticism. Being the best we've ever had doesn't mean it means enough to him or that he, like the players, seem to be incapable of turning this round.

My biggest gripe, and my biggest worry is that Coppell doesn't seem to learn from these mistakes and that it doesn't seem to matter enough to him. I don't mean I want him effing and blinding and shouting the house down, but I do want to see some evidence that his mistakes hurt him as much as it hurts a lot of fans.

He's had plenty of slack but how far do you continue with a manager that seems to have a problem moving the team on?

I still trust Coppell, everyone has their line in the sand.
He is not immune to criticism, or abuse.
He gets paid very well, and all the side-effects from frustrated fans are obvious and I'm sure he accepts them.

Your line in the sand is different to mine.
For me, It all boils down to an honest and genuine mistake - a 100% trust in the side that he had at his disposal.

He knew what he had to do to get Reading out of the Championship, it carried on when we finished 8th in the Prem but now, it's broken down and in need of restoring.

Difference between you and me is that I firmly believe that he still has the best interests at heart and will continue to look to improve the squad next season, whatever division that we may be in.

Next season - who knows where we'll be and what will happen.
But I'm happy that Coppell has the Board's 100% support at the moment.
Some fans may want him sacked, but that will not happen I'm afraid.

[readingbedding]

They are learning that you cannot stand still in this Division etc, etc.

They are only just learning that now? You and I could have told them that years ago.

Years ago?
Don't think so.

You'd really have to speak to the man himself or Google him I guess.

[Denver Royal]

Before we got promoted, were you of the opinion that teams can 'stand still' in the Premiership?

[Southbank Old Boy]

I'm not saying he hasn't got the clubs best interests at heart, just that he's making mistakes that he probably shouldn't have made.

The comments on his desire and how much it means to him wasn't meant to mean he wasn't bothered, just that he seems to just shrug off the errors and say "we'll finish where we deserve to etc" when he could've done more about it in the first place. He doesn't seem too bothered (although no doubt he is) by the fact it's his judgements that have got us into this mess.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think someone who was perhaps more bothered by it wouldnt have taken such a gamble. A bit like a careful tenner on a longshot compared to putting a grand on a short odds favourite. You wouldnt take the long odds gamble with money you didn't/couldn't afford to lose but your not so bothered to throw away a tenner.

[readingbedding]

Before we got promoted, were you of the opinion that teams can 'stand still' in the Premiership?

I don't think I saw you posting this last season.
Everything's great in retrospect and when the going's tough eh...

Typical!

[Royalee]

Before we got promoted, were you of the opinion that teams can 'stand still' in the Premiership?

I don't think I saw you posting this last season.
Everything's great in retrospect and when the going's tough eh...

Typical!

That'll be a yes then.

[Southbank Old Boy]

Before we got promoted, were you of the opinion that teams can 'stand still' in the Premiership?

I don't think I saw you posting this last season.
Everything's great in retrospect and when the going's tough eh...

Typical!

To be fair a lot of posters were saying just this last season, this summer and this January.

[readingbedding]

I'm not saying he hasn't got the clubs best interests at heart, just that he's making mistakes that he probably shouldn't have made.

The comments on his desire and how much it means to him wasn't meant to mean he wasn't bothered, just that he seems to just shrug off the errors and say "we'll finish where we deserve to etc" when he could've done more about it in the first place. He doesn't seem too bothered (although no doubt he is) by the fact it's his judgements that have got us into this mess.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think someone who was perhaps more bothered by it wouldnt have taken such a gamble. A bit like a careful tenner on a longshot compared to putting a grand on a short odds favourite. You wouldnt take the long odds gamble with money you didn't/couldn't afford to lose but your not so bothered to throw away a tenner.

I'm sure Coppell is bothered, haven't you read any of his comments about his mistakes and the responsibility he takes for them?
There's no point in crying over spilt milk, there are no time machines and no going back.