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Reading Football Club. Their new Dilemma.
At the beginning of the ’07 – ’08 season I published
the post below in our local ‘Reading Forum’. I got no
end of stick for it, and eventually the post was removed.
What a great thing ‘Hindsight’ is?
Please read on and realise that at the end of this
season, Reading Royals Football Club fell back into
‘The Championship league’.
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In 2006 Reading FC found themselves in the
premiership fighting the ‘Giants’ of the game
like Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal
etc with a team of ‘Street-Fighters’ that had
dominated the ‘Championship league’ the
previous season.
They were considered by most as being total
outsiders who had no place in the premiership
and who would return from whence they came
with their tail between their legs.
Steve Coppell’s men were not your average
flung together bunch of ‘professionals’ with
ego’s too big to calculate. They were ‘fighters’
fighting for their life’s dream, and it showed,
with every tackle, pass and attack they made.
Their commitment as a ‘team’ was unquestion-
able and they got their ‘just rewards’ by proving
to the whole country that your team doesn’t have
to be made up of ‘NAMES’ to compete in the
Premiership.
You have to be a ‘Team’, and a ‘committed team’
at that.
So far, so good. We have the summer break and
‘transfer-fever’ hits Coppell and his stalwarts. He’s
thinking he can make a ‘better’ team by ‘buying-in’
a few big ‘names’ to strengthen his squad.
(Excuse me. Didn’t Reading Football Club just
teach all the big boys HOW to play the game and
WIN?)
The team of ’05 & ’06 were a ‘Bonded Unit’. Playing
their life out every time they were asked to by their
manager who had their TOTAL respect. They were
walking around more proud than they’d ever been
in their lives, with the press and public ‘clamouring’
to be seen in their presence.
You would think such ‘Loyalty’ would be rewarded
by the great John Madejski & Coppell wouldn’t you?
That they’d be SO pleased with the MAXIMUM effort,
devotion and necessary skills delivered by these
giants of men that the ‘obvious’ would be applied.
Give them all another year of GLORY.
Let them all who want to, go back out there and
PROVE it was no fluke. That they really WERE great
players with great hearts and skills. That their club
WAS extremely proud and grateful for them all giving
everything they had to give in the name of Reading FC.
That would be the ‘moral’ and ‘ethical’, let alone 100%
BEST route to take wouldn’t it?
Coppell and Madejski though start to listen to their
‘Marketers’ with the pound-signs flashing.
“We HAVE to spend more”
“We HAVE to buy in ‘bigger’ talent”
“Our fans, and the visiting fans will ‘expect’ it”
“All the other big clubs fight it out during the ‘Transfer-
Madness’ period. We have to join in”.
All statements made through ‘The marketing mind’.
What happened to ‘loyalty’, ‘respect’ and ‘honour’ ?
Where they really telling these men who had given
every last breath of theirs for ‘Reading Football Club’
last season that; “actually’ we think we can do better”.
“You’re good, very good, but just not good enough for
Reading FC any more. We’re looking to replace you
all at some point”.
Where are Reading FC at present in the Premiership??
Not riding ‘high’ like we were this time last season.
Something’s missing.
Where’s that ‘SPARK’ that was ever-present last
season?
‘Commitment’ in every tackle and pass seems to be
eluding many of the players this time round.
Steve Coppell is struggling for answers.
He’s come up with a good one though. Apparently the
Football League has it in for RFC and has arranged it
so that the players have to travel ‘further’ each week
than other clubs, making them ‘tired’. Too tired to play
like they did last season anyway.
Careful Stevie, you’re beginning to sound like a ‘Loser’.
It wouldn’t have anything to do with management
‘destroying’ that most valuable bond I don’t suppose?
Or the fact that management showed their total ‘lack’ of
appreciation for the ‘original’ WINNERS by immediately
going out and looking for ‘strangers’ to replace these
‘bonded’ team members? (Even though they couldn’t
find many prepared to join Reading Royals).
NO. That would be far too simple wouldn’t it.
Steve Coppell has ‘lost’ a part of that ‘bond’ he had with
ALL the players previously by demonstrating that ‘loyalty’
in this day and age counts for NOTHING!
Then we have John Madejski DEMANDING ‘loyalty’ from
the fans. Pleading with them to BACK their team every
week by forking out their ‘hard-earned-money’ to subsidise
the extravagant spending of club funds to ‘Buy-In’ the big
names to replace the ‘heroes’ that were more than Ready,
Willing & Able to take on the ‘might’ of the Premiership
again this season, and give their ASSES an even bigger
hiding.
Put your own house in order FIRST John.
THEN ask others for ‘Loyalty’.
NOT before.
Loyalty is a word that gets used far too often, but seldom
understood or practiced. It shouldn’t be TOO late for Coppell
and Madejski to turn the tide. But they’ll need to take a
STRONG look in their mirrors before they make another
regarding Reading Football Club.
Cheers,
Pete.
Originally posted;- 16/09/07
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As you can see. Coppel and madjeski HAVE been rewarded
for showing that their players are just ‘Financial Digits’. Not
REAL human beings with a Heart & Soul who might feel
dispondent at the thought;
’Maybe they’re NOT that good after all’.
Karma is an amazing thing which never fails to surprise us.
Am ‘I’ surprised that ‘The Royals’ went down this season??
What do YOU think?
Catch you later,
Pete.
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