Coppell's latest backtrack

[Alan Partridge]

http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/readi ... cy?rss=yes

Thoroughly disappointing yet obvious news.

Funny how we've gone from a team 'that will spend this window, needs reinforcements, needs to push on to the next level etc etc etc etc etc etc' to 'we'll go with what we've got'.

Never have thought we'd lost 4 league games on the trot with 13 goals going in our net in the process.

Some people wonder why others question how much Reading REALLY want to be here?

It's the mixed messages that come out of the club within the space of 3 weeks.

Personally I think this is not only risky but the wrong thing to do this season, of course only time will tell on this but very disappointing news for me.

[The whole year inn]

So this mystical experienced Premiership defender that was destined to arrive was a total fabrication?

A Premiership club without a fit right winger = laughable


We have to up season ticket prices to account for the increased cost of surviving in the Premiership = LOL.

What is RFC's net spending since promotion?

[cmonurz]

Likewise, I am hugely disappointed that once more Coppell has said ‘the right things’ approaching a transfer window, only to back-track at a later date. If it wasn’t so often repeated, it wouldn’t be so obvious an admittance that once more, the club has been unable to attract the right players to sign for Reading. No right-winger and no centre-back. Not good enough.

Let’s just hope it doesn’t cost us a place in the Premier League next season.

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

It's the same every time.

I got shot down for saying Coppell wouldn't do what he said he was gonna do. It was the same in the summer. Before the window opens he talks about all these things he's gonna do. Where are the 3 - 4 players who have improved are starting 11 that Coppell said we need to sign every season? What happened to Coppell admitting he'd made a mistake in the summer not signing enough players and he'd fix it in Jan?

Someone should find all the articles Coppell did in October and November and compare them to what he's saying now.

The worst thing is I'd knew this would happen, even if evryone else shot me down for saying so.

[Royal Lady]

So this mystical experienced Premiership defender that was destined to arrive was a total fabrication?

A Premiership club without a fit right winger = laughable


We have to up season ticket prices to account for the increased cost of surviving in the Premiership = LOL.

What is RFC's net spending since promotion?

I have no idea, but I'd hazard a guess that we haven't even spent all last season's PL/TV money on new players/improved wage deals for existing players, let alone any of this season's money.

[Blue Blooded]

Funny how we've gone from a team 'that will spend this window, needs reinforcements, needs to push on to the next level etc etc etc etc etc etc' to 'we'll go with what we've got'.

Is this really mixed messages?

They have clearly spent money abeit not very much or in the way that would perhaps be appropriate.

As for going with what they have maybe right now there is really little choice. They could keep bidding for players and not getting any joy with contract negotiations. Perhaps it is a pragmatic approach because if they are not going to get the right players - is there any point in risking undermining any of the players we already have?

[Platypuss]

"So, for this club to be ambitious we've got be be acquiring three substantial signings every year.

"To be honest, it's a minimum of three.

"As time goes by, those signings will become more expensive.

"For us to make those signings, they've got to want to come here.

"They've got to see the ambition, it's got to be tangible in the form of expensive signings, a bigger stadium.

"Everything about the Club has got to meet the demands of the modern Premier League player."

Nope, no mixed messages at all!

[Old Biscuitman]

I usually support SC's judgement, but it's worrying if he is making his decision not to pursue a central defender based on what may be a one-off performance from Cisse. That makes it sound very much like a convenient excuse for failure to attract a player or for our parsimony with wages.

[The whole year inn]

So despite all the talk from August until Christmas, saying the sqaud needs improving and that we need to spend to stay in the Premiership....

Reading go and sign a Czech Midfielder that hasn't played for two months and a French 2nd division Malian utility (?) player that has been left out of the incredibly strong Mali sqaud (LOL) for the ACON.

Does anyone see Coppell improving his abysmal transfer record since arriving in the Premiership with these two beauties?

All at a cost of less than 2 million

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

So this mystical experienced Premiership defender that was destined to arrive was a total fabrication?

A Premiership club without a fit right winger = laughable


We have to up season ticket prices to account for the increased cost of surviving in the Premiership = LOL.

What is RFC's net spending since promotion?

We should be thinking right Cisse's looks alright, we've got plenty of big strong centre halves, so lets get a ball playing centre half better than Ivar.

But of course that might upset people and that's Coppell's problem.

[Platypuss]

A Premiership club without a fit right winger = laughable

Ahem - Oster will be back soon.

[cmonurz]

Transfer spending is always difficult, as we don’t disclose many of our fees, but I would be surprised if we had a net transfer spend of £5m since May 2006, which, against increased ticket prices and countless TV revenues, is, imho, taking the piss. Wouldn’t matter so much, but the club’s actual transfer activity bears no resemblance to the ambition that is claims to have.

[cmonurz]

As for going with what they have maybe right now there is really little choice. They could keep bidding for players and not getting any joy with contract negotiations. Perhaps it is a pragmatic approach because if they are not going to get the right players - is there any point in risking undermining any of the players we already have?

“Ok, our initial offer is £250 per week, and petrol fully expensed. And a Reading FC Calendar 2007/08.”

[Smoking Kills Dancing Doe]

"So, for this club to be ambitious we've got be be acquiring three substantial signings every year.

"To be honest, it's a minimum of three.

"As time goes by, those signings will become more expensive.

"For us to make those signings, they've got to want to come here.

"They've got to see the ambition, it's got to be tangible in the form of expensive signings, a bigger stadium.

"Everything about the Club has got to meet the demands of the modern Premier League player."

Nope, no mixed messages at all!

So what's changed?

No pressure to back up what you say outside the window.

[SpaceCruiser]

What is RFC's net spending since promotion?

According to soccerbase.com:

Player From Fee Date
Emerse Fae Nantes £ 2500000 02-08-2007
Liam Rosenior Fulham Signed 31-08-2007
Marek Matejovsky Mlada Boleslav Signed 07-01-2008
Total: £ 2500000

Players out

Player To Fee Date
Seol Ki-Hyeon Fulham Signed 31-08-2007
Total: £ 0


Player From Fee Date
Seol Ki-Hyeon Wolves £ 1500000 11-07-2006
Sam Sodje Brentford £ 350000 14-07-2006
Graham Stack Arsenal Signed 01-08-2006
Ulises De la Cruz Aston Villa Free 25-08-2006
Oliver Bozanic Central Coast Mariners Free 29-01-2007
Greg Halford Colchester £ 2500000 30-01-2007
Michael Duberry Stoke £ 800000 31-01-2007
Kalifa Cisse Boavista £ 600000 16-05-2007
Total: £ 5750000

Players out

Player To Fee Date
Jamie Young Wycombe Free 02-08-2006
Chris Makin Southampton Free 16-08-2006
Curtis Ujah Tamworth Free 22-03-2007
Steven Sidwell Chelsea Free 22-05-2007
Greg Halford Sunderland £ 2500000 11-06-2007
Jonathan Hayes Leicester Signed 04-07-2007
Total: £ 2500000


2,500,000 + 5,750,000 = 8,250,000 - 2,500,000 = 5,750,000 net.

The annoying thing about soccerbase is that it sometimes hides the true value of a player behind the "signed" tag. So the net spending I've just put there is probably incorrect!

[The whole year inn]

Coppell went to university, if I side with him surely I must look intelligent?

Bollocks.

The money is there, spend it FFS. RFC need a right winger NOW.

Tons of people on this board, let alone at RFC as a whole have been paying vastly increased ticket prices since promotion.

It is February 2008, 18 months since promotion and we are still watching the same side that won the Championship.

A fantastic achievement! If this was the plan then don't increase ticket prices.

If the club planned to actually try and improve the squad then the ticket price hike is expected.

RFC fans = mugs

[readingbedding]

It's not a backtrack, he had no real control over the players he wanted to join, to actually join.

He was looking at players, he didn't say that he signed them.

Once again, the emotional moaners are clutching at straws, any excuse eh.

[The whole year inn]

A Premiership club without a fit right winger = laughable

Ahem - Oster will be back soon.

As H&P said, his random passes will be due to the rest of our squad not being on his wavelength.

Because John Oster is world class

This time last year he was third choice, now RFC are considering him as our saviour?

[RoyalBlue]

Absolutely incredible but at the same time sadly no real surprise from RFC. And please guys, stop saying they tried their best and failed. Even if that is true then their best clearly isn't good enough for this league.

This is one almighty gamble they are taking and they had better damn well get it right. No amount of spin, excuses or anything else will save the management on and off the pitch from quite rightly being absolutely pilloried if we end up getting relegated at the end of this season.

Cue Cisse (our saviour) getting injured on February 2nd. As for the return of Little and Oster........

As has already been stated - a PL outfit trying to go the whole season without a class specialist right winger - well you'd laugh if it wasn't us.

[cmonurz]

It's not a backtrack, he had no real control over the players he wanted to join, to actually join.

He was looking at players, he didn't say that he signed them.

Once again, the emotional moaners are clutching at straws, any excuse eh.

Any excuse to bury your head in the sand? Whether it is Coppell’s ‘fault’ or not is irrelevant. He made a statement pre-transfer window about signing the players we need to improve our chances of staying up, and now he expects us to swallow the tired old ‘I am happy with what I have’ line.

Whether it is poor scouting, the inability of management to sell the club to prospective players, or our rigid wage structure, the clubs approach to transfers is completely malfunctioning.