Even *I* am actually quite concerned

[Chaney]

That team needs investment!!!

no shit sherlock?

[Woodcote Royal]

If the man never learns any lessons how the hell do you think he has managed a long and successful career in football management and won 2 of the last 3 seasons' Manager of The Year Awards, in what, his 14th and 15th years in the job?

His recent ineffectiveness should not just wipe the memory of everything he has achieved in the game. He has always sat back, looked at things calmly, then made his move. The fact he didn't act last year will forever stay in some people's memory sadly - we KNOW he's a thinker, we KNOW his style, why expect it to change all of a sudden? The big question I ask you guys is why you think it is reasonable to think that, after 1 year of ineffectiveness, he won't ever be decisive again?

No one doubts Coppell's intelligence but it's clear as night follows day that he's making exactly the same mistakes here as he made at Palace with the same net result.

So, not only has he been here years ago and learnt very little from the experience, he's not even changed the approach that led to our totally avoidable relegation over the last 12 months.

Yesterday, just as on countless occasions last season when the team he'd picked week after week was yet again failing to deliver on the pitch, he had strikers on the bench chomping at the bit to show that they could better than the 2 he'd picked for the third match on the trot, having produced next to nothing in the previous 2.

So what happened? For the countless time he did nothing until the match was lost Yet more points tossed away by Mr "Do-nothing"

It's not too soon to discuss the manager's departure, he should have left in the summer.

Apart from the obvious lack of a specialist left back (also totally unforgivable and the manager's fault) I think things look very promising as far as our squad is concerned.

What we need most of all is a manager who lacks Coppell's tunnel vision and unwarranted favouritism to get the most out of this squad before the parachute money runs out.

Just like Michael Vaughan, Englands most sucessful cricket captain, it's time for our most successful manager to step down..........................and the sooner, the better.

[Royal Rother]

Yeah well, decent post, I'll give you that WR. (Could surely have done without the name-calling though. There's far too much of that sort of disrespectful rubbish on here.)

I think he will start making changes, but if he doesn't then I'll be joining you soon enough I guess.

(There just is no reason to carry on playing Doyle and Lita when he has alternatives available. If the only change made for the next league game is someone in for Sonko then I'll be making a big step part-way across the divide! Come on Coppell FFS don't let me down....)

[kwik-silva]

I've gotta agree with RR, I don't think he should step down, and I think he will make changes, I don't see any other way that we're going to score goals, and he has to know that!

[SCIAG]

Yeah well, decent post, I'll give you that WR. (Could surely have done without the name-calling though. There's far too much of that sort of disrespectful rubbish on here.)

I think he will start making changes, but if he doesn't then I'll be joining you soon enough I guess.

(There just is no reason to carry on playing Doyle and Lita when he has alternatives available. If the only change made for the next league game is someone in for Sonko then I'll be making a big step part-way across the divide! Come on Coppell FFS don't let me down....)

How can you slate Sonko? He's been our best defender and striker. His suspension is for Luton AFAIK, if that's what you were trying to say.

[Arch]

On paper our first choice eleven is quite something, but just look at our options on the bench and the remainder of the squad as a whole - piss poor.

I can only see a mixed season and missing out on the play-offs at this rate.

That team needs investment!!!

I don;t think the first paragraph is really right. I think for the last couple of season we've had fairly even quality across the squad up to as many as twenty players. It's the two or three game breakers that we seem to lack. Look at this team:

AFed
Murty Duberry Pearce Golbourne
Henry Bikey Matejovsky Karacan
NHunt Long

Not a team you'd want starting for us, admittedly, and unbalanced, but for eleven players who didn't start yesterday is it really "piss poor"? Like everyone on Planet RFC, I think we clearly a short of a starting LB and I'm not convinced about RW either, but depth isn't the problem. It's first team quality. But I don't think you can lay the blame entirely at the door of the purse-string holders. Doyle, Lita, Harper, Ingimarsson, Convey, to a lesser extent Rosenior while with Fulham, have in the past shown quality far in excess of what's necessary to flourish in this league. Job one should be to try to fix the malaise in these players before just writing them off.

[Archie's penalty]

On paper our first choice eleven is quite something, but just look at our options on the bench and the remainder of the squad as a whole - piss poor.

I can only see a mixed season and missing out on the play-offs at this rate.

That team needs investment!!!

I don;t think the first paragraph is really right. I think for the last couple of season we've had fairly even quality across the squad up to as many as twenty players. It's the two or three game breakers that we seem to lack. Look at this team:

AFed
Murty Duberry Pearce Golbourne
Henry Bikey Matejovsky Karacan
NHunt Long

Not a team you'd want starting for us, admittedly, and unbalanced, but for eleven players who didn't start yesterday is it really "piss poor"? Like everyone on Planet RFC, I think we clearly a short of a starting LB and I'm not convinced about RW either, but depth isn't the problem. It's first team quality. But I don't think you can lay the blame entirely at the door of the purse-string holders. Doyle, Lita, Harper, Ingimarsson, Convey, to a lesser extent Rosenior while with Fulham, have in the past shown quality far in excess of what's necessary to flourish in this league. Job one should be to try to fix the malaise in these players before just writing them off.

From one person who (rightly or wrongly) is accused of being an RTG to another, Arch do you think Coppell can fix this malaise? I am starting to doubt whether he can. A lot of our players need a serious kick up the proverbial behind...

[Royal Rother]

Yeah well, decent post, I'll give you that WR. (Could surely have done without the name-calling though. There's far too much of that sort of disrespectful rubbish on here.)

I think he will start making changes, but if he doesn't then I'll be joining you soon enough I guess.

(There just is no reason to carry on playing Doyle and Lita when he has alternatives available. If the only change made for the next league game is someone in for Sonko then I'll be making a big step part-way across the divide! Come on Coppell FFS don't let me down....)

How can you slate Sonko? He's been our best defender and striker. His suspension is for Luton AFAIK, if that's what you were trying to say.

Oh, is it? I always get suspensions wrong!! (Yes, that was what I was trying to say...)

[Denver Royal]

It's not too soon to discuss the manager's departure, he should have left in the summer.

The decision to retain him in the Summer could be debated.

But once that decision was made, I think you have to now give him til at least Xmas, don't you?

They would look pretty darn stupid if they got rid of him now.

[rg6royal]

It's not too soon to discuss the manager's departure, he should have left in the summer.

The decision to retain him in the Summer could be debated. But once that decision was made, I think you have to now give him til Xmas, don't you?

They would look pretty darn stupid if they got rid of him now.

Who will be his replacement then?!

[Rex]

That is the question!!. bloody knee jerk reactions without a strategy.

[rg6royal]

Pardew In, Pardew In!

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

Is JM gonna pay off Coppell's contract?

He won't get sacked.

In all seriousness is pointless replacing him now.

[howser]

With only a week to go before the window closes the options for chamging the manager are non-existant, a new manager would want to bring in new players, ha now there's a joke !! so to qoute a famous Readin saying "we will go with what we have"

(in answer to the "who would his replacement be", Steve Clark from Chelsea)

[Pseud O'Nym]

His suspension is for Luton AFAIK, if that's what you were trying to say.

Oh, is it? I always get suspensions wrong!! (Yes, that was what I was trying to say...)

I thought that suspensions come into force 7 days after the game in which the red was shown too, hence he's suspended for the Palace game not Luton.

I do agree we seem to be starting this season where we finished the last, with strikers who are incapable - for whatever reason - of scoring. So, start N Hunt and Long/Mooney. N Hunt certainly looked up for it when he came on Saturday.

[Platypuss]

His suspension is for Luton AFAIK, if that's what you were trying to say.

Oh, is it? I always get suspensions wrong!! (Yes, that was what I was trying to say...)

I thought that suspensions come into force 7 days after the game in which the red was shown too, hence he's suspended for the Palace game not Luton.

Nope. Suspensions for red cards are immediate. Suspensions for totting up (5 yellows etc) take 7 days.

[papereyes]

Yeah well, decent post, I'll give you that WR. (Could surely have done without the name-calling though. There's far too much of that sort of disrespectful rubbish on here.)

I think he will start making changes, but if he doesn't then I'll be joining you soon enough I guess.

(There just is no reason to carry on playing Doyle and Lita when he has alternatives available. If the only change made for the next league game is someone in for Sonko then I'll be making a big step part-way across the divide! Come on Coppell FFS don't let me down....)

I hope he will start making changes.

Teams tend not to suddenly 'click' simply through repetition. Something changes and then they improve.

[cmonurz]

I am struggling to motivate myself much to write about the team, it's just a bit demoralising. I've firmly been bitten by the depression bug around Reading and our performances. Not helped by watching the game in the sports cafe in Haymarket next to a sofa full of Charlton fans.

It's been mentioned on another thread, and probably on this one. The management, and the team, are too reactive at the moment. 442, 442, 442 and 442. Why don't we try something different - is Coppell scared? What is it about our management, or the players, that means we don't do anything differently, week in week out. The team is stale - the squad needs an injection, a couple of new players, something to brighten up the team. Harper to Hunt to Doyle to Lita - yep, been there, done that.

[SCIAG]

With only a week to go before the window closes the options for chamging the manager are non-existant, a new manager would want to bring in new players, ha now there's a joke !! so to qoute a famous Readin saying "we will go with what we have"

(in answer to the "who would his replacement be", Steve Clark from Chelsea)

Who's never managed and just signed a long term contract with Chelsea. That'll work.

[RoyalBlue]

Don't be so melodramatic. There doesn't need to be a dramatic improvement. Getting (arguably) our 2 best players back in the team should help somewhat wouldn't you say? As should playing 2 hungry strikers who offer something (anything!) to the cause.

If we are not Top 6 by Christmas I should imagine Coppell will go of his own accord but there are enough reasons for optimism if you are prepared to look for them that I doubt that will come to pass.

I didn't say Coppell would be sacked (that would cost Madejski money for starters). I would fully expect him to fall on his own sword.

There doesn't need to be a dramatic improvement from the pile of cack we have witnessed so far this season?!! You're probably right if we don't want automatic promotion this season. Our two best players returning? Which of Sidwell, Kitson, Little and Shorey would that be then?!! We still need a decent replacement for Sidwell, a specialist right winger who will consistently cause other teams problems and create decent chances for our strikers, and a specialist left back. Again that will cost 'ducks arse' money, so what chance that happening?!

As for hungry strikers - well I would be pretty hungry but it doesn't mean I would score any goals! Even far better footballers than me! will still struggle to score in the absence of any decent service.