Just sent this to Reading FC

[Platypuss]

That's strange Captain, because I'm sure the cheque for Sidwell was made payable to Arsenal Football Club.

Sidwell was an Arsenal player who CHOSE Reading over Brighton.

How that can be equated with poaching or nicking a Brighton player I'll leave to you to justify.

 

[skr80]

only a matter of time b4 SC tries to get our players i reckon - cullip / knight got to be on his list...

That's strange Captain, because I'm sure the cheque for Sidwell was made payable to Arsenal Football Club.

Sidwell was an Arsenal player who CHOSE Reading over Brighton.

How that can be equated with poaching or nicking a Brighton player I'll leave to you to justify.

 

[Simster]

Hmmm....I thought he was pratically crying over the issue. He was saying how he would NEVER poach a manger. OK he hasn't poached Coppell, but he has still left us without a manager. What really annoys me about him is his attitude about the whole thing. It's one rule for some and another rule for others.

But it isn't. It's nothing like the same thing. West Ham approached Reading about Pardew. Reading told them to piss off. West Ham then went public saying "we'll get our man whatever way we can". Pardew resigns. That's blatent poaching.

Reading approach Brighton about Coppell. Albion say "yes, you can speak to him". Coppell haggles over money using the Albion job to crank up his salary and then fucks off having sent us down and not completed the job of getting us back up.

Put it another way: would you want Steve Coppell working for us if his heart wan't in it?

Coppell is the splitter with no integrity. And in the long run (i.e. when we get a stadium) Knight's open door policy will pay dividends. Fans/club size aside, we will get the pick of the candidates over Reading because we'll have a reputation of allowing employees to make their own career decisions.

 

[BrightonBird]

OK Reading didn't "nick" him, but he was playing well for Brighton and it miffed us fans that he left to go to Reading (in the same division).

It seems to me that every time we have a good player (or manager) - Reading are in the background, trying to get them.

If you remember rightly, they've tried getting Zamora and Knight off us as well recently.

Not knowing much about Reading (I don't really care to read about them) I would like to know if they have a good youth team. It seems to me that they don't produce any home grown talent? May be I;m wrong? Could someone pelase confirm?

 

[BrightonBird]

But it isn't. It's nothing like the same thing. West Ham approached Reading about Pardew. Reading told them to piss off. West Ham then went public saying "we'll get our man whatever way we can". Pardew resigns. That's blatent poaching.

Reading approach Brighton about Coppell. Albion say "yes, you can speak to him". Coppell haggles over money using the Albion job to crank up his salary and then fucks off having sent us down and not completed the job of getting us back up.

Put it another way: would you want Steve Coppell working for us if his heart wan't in it?

Coppell is the splitter with no integrity. And in the long run (i.e. when we get a stadium) Knight's open door policy will pay dividends. Fans/club size aside, we will get the pick of the candidates over Reading because we'll have a reputation of allowing employees to make their own career decisions.

To your comments:

1. He's gone through correct channels, but I still think he is a hypocrite as he has left us without a manager. He winged about Pardew going and made it clear that he wouldn't do that. If he honestly thought that they had been treated badly, then he would have made more of an effort to go for a manager without a club.

2. Coppell had a loop hole in his contract that allowed him to talk to other clubs (it was probably part of the reason why we got him in the 1st place). Of course we didn't want him to go, but had no choice.

3. No - wouldn't want him to work for us if he thinks like that. But he's a bloody good manager and could have gone far with Brighton.