14 Years Ago Today

[One Team]

Fourteen years ago today we appointed Steve Coppell. 

Perhaps of all Lansdown’s appointments this was the one where we all really thought we were kicking on to the next level, with someone of his experience of getting to and staying in the Premier League. 

I remember thinking when GJ was sacked how we must’ve have / should have someone good lined up, and on this occasion we actually really, really did. 

We never got to see it transpire of course as 4 months later he was gone before it’d ever really got started. 

Whilst the Nige situation is jarring, Coppell is perhaps the biggest missed opportunity of them all during Lansdown’s tenure, such a shame it didn’t get a chance. 

Edited April 22 by One Team

[Chairman Mao]

I was about 14 and convinced my dad (a Man Utd fan who idolised Coppell as a kid, proceeded to nearly get in a fight in the  Eastend about 5 games in for the fact he was screaming so much abuse at David James, so he settled in well..) to get a season ticket for the first time that year.

While there are some good memories, John Stead scoring a banger versus QPR on a Friday night, Adomah being Adomah and David Clarkson lobbing the Leicester keeper from about 40 yards at an extreme angle. I'll never forget the lowlight of seeing David James and Nicky Hunt deliver some of the most inept and unprofessional displays you will have the misfortune of watching. Maynard was injured for most of the season which didn't help. 

Edited April 22 by Chairman Mao

[Numero Uno]

4 minutes ago, Chairman Mao said:

I was about 14 and convinced my dad (a Man Utd fan who idolised Coppell as a kid, proceeded to nearly get in a fight in the  Eastend about 5 games in for the fact he was screaming so much abuse at David James, so he settled in well..) to get a season ticket for the first time that year.

While there are some good memories, John Stead scoring a banger versus QPR on a Friday night, Adomah being Adomah and David Clarkson lobbing the Leicester keeper from about 40 yards at an extreme angle. I'll never forget the lowlight of seeing David James and Nicky Hunt deliver some of the most inept and unprofessional displays you will have the misfortune of watching. Maynard was injured for most of the season which didn't help. 

Guess who decided to bring David James in? Clue....it wasn't Steve Coppell.

[IAmNick]

5 minutes ago, Chairman Mao said:

David Clarkson lobbing the Leicester keeper from about 40 yards at an extreme angle.

This was against Birmingham wasn't it? Unless I'm thinking of another goal / my mind is playing tricks on me. From near the halfway line in front of the old Williams stand?

[GrahamC]

Very strange man.

I understood why we appointed him, but don’t think we thought through the fact he wasn’t interested in taking over straight away.

He’s never managed at a decent level since then, perhaps those who think he was the right appointment should reflect on that.

Just now, IAmNick said:

This was against Birmingham wasn't it? Unless I'm thinking of another goal / my mind is playing tricks on me. From near the halfway line in front of the old Williams stand?

Pretty sure it was Leicester because they had Chris Weale in goal.

[Silvio Dante]

Coppell always struck me as a man who wasn’t necessarily in love with football, but when he was invested, he was all in.

I think that was one of the issues here - as I understand it SL pursued him and pursued him to a point where even though SC had reservations he said yes. There were major red flags though - IIRC he was to take over in the summer but rather than watch his new team he instead took in a Reading game.

It was a job he didn’t really want to do to start with, then when SL (and probably for the right reasons as he wanted to show us going for it) signed James over Coppells head it started getting even worse. We then have the horrible signings of Stewart and Hunt.

It was an awful appointment - not because of the manager, but because the manager didn’t want to do it. A part of me also thinks this is what has led to SL appointing lesser “names” other than Pearson subsequently- he got his fingers burnt. Maybe he feels we’re just not big enough to “buy” success to an extent and that’s driven a part of the strategy since.

[IAmNick]

2 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Pretty sure it was Leicester because they had Chris Weale in goal.

Just checked, you and @Chairman Mao were right!

[TV Tom]

12 minutes ago, Numero Uno said:

Guess who decided to bring David James in? Clue....it wasn't Steve Coppell.

Can't remember anyone moaning at the time, an ex-England keeper and a manager that won the Championship with a record points total that still stands today, hindsight is a wonderful thing 

[One Team]

12 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

Coppell always struck me as a man who wasn’t necessarily in love with football, but when he was invested, he was all in.

I think that was one of the issues here - as I understand it SL pursued him and pursued him to a point where even though SC had reservations he said yes. There were major red flags though - IIRC he was to take over in the summer but rather than watch his new team he instead took in a Reading game.

It was a job he didn’t really want to do to start with, then when SL (and probably for the right reasons as he wanted to show us going for it) signed James over Coppells head it started getting even worse. We then have the horrible signings of Stewart and Hunt.

It was an awful appointment - not because of the manager, but because the manager didn’t want to do it. A part of me also thinks this is what has led to SL appointing lesser “names” other than Pearson subsequently- he got his fingers burnt. Maybe he feels we’re just not big enough to “buy” success to an extent and that’s driven a part of the strategy since.

A superb point Silvio, the Coppell situation may explain a lot of his decision making since. 

Whilst I agree with your points it’s a shame it didn’t work out as at the point of his appointment we really thought “this is it!”. 

[One Team]

1 minute ago, TV Tom said:

Can't remember anyone moaning at the time, an ex-England keeper and a manager that won the Championship with a record points total that still stands today, hindsight is a wonderful thing 

Well quite. His previous game before playing his first for us was against Germany in South Africa at the World Cup. 

[Sixtyseconds]

18 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

I think that was one of the issues here - as I understand it SL pursued

A forty year old underpants model to play in goal. 

 

 

[LondonBristolian]

20 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

Coppell always struck me as a man who wasn’t necessarily in love with football, but when he was invested, he was all in.

I think that was one of the issues here - as I understand it SL pursued him and pursued him to a point where even though SC had reservations he said yes. There were major red flags though - IIRC he was to take over in the summer but rather than watch his new team he instead took in a Reading game.

It was a job he didn’t really want to do to start with, then when SL (and probably for the right reasons as he wanted to show us going for it) signed James over Coppells head it started getting even worse. We then have the horrible signings of Stewart and Hunt.

It was an awful appointment - not because of the manager, but because the manager didn’t want to do it. A part of me also thinks this is what has led to SL appointing lesser “names” other than Pearson subsequently- he got his fingers burnt. Maybe he feels we’re just not big enough to “buy” success to an extent and that’s driven a part of the strategy since.

I always wonder if there was a hidden mental health component.

Coppell had quit Reading a year earlier and I remember the Secret Footballer - quite possibly Dave Kitson, who was back on loan at Reading in the last months of Coppell's tenure- talking about playing under a managerial legend who'd fallen out of love with the game.

I always felt him joining us was a final test to see if he could rediscover his love for management, which he obviously couldn't. I actually think a bit too much is made of the David James signing. Yes, Lansdown went all in for a player without talking to the manager but I'm not convinced most Championship managers would be that upset their Chairman buying the (then) England goalkeeper. I wonder if the issue was not so much Coppell being over-ruled so much as he saw it as a lower profile job with a bit less pressure and then suddenly found us under scrutiny by the media as a dark horses for promotion.

[Numero Uno]

7 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

Can't remember anyone moaning at the time, an ex-England keeper and a manager that won the Championship with a record points total that still stands today, hindsight is a wonderful thing 

I can remember a few moaning re: James as it happens (not me) and they were shouted down. If you go over the head of the manager and buy a Goalkeeper as the focal point of your recruitment and he doesn't win you 8-10 points that season then you get judged in hindsight end of story and you deserve the flak that comes your way too. In terms of hindsight, nobody was moaning when Pearson was appointed blah blah blah..................it was only when Danny Simpson arrived that a few decided he was finished for good. No criticism of the Owner who was happy to pay said player's wages though.

[spudski]

SL was jizzing relentlessly at what Madjeski had achieved and wanted to replicate it.

Coppell chosen and David James made headlines which put City in the Red Tops. 

I remember people gushing about us being ' recognised'. 

 

[Silvio Dante]

3 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

I always wonder if there was a hidden mental health component.

Coppell had quit Reading a year earlier and I remember the Secret Footballer - quite possibly Dave Kitson, who was back on loan at Reading in the last months of Coppell's tenure- talking about playing under a managerial legend who'd fallen out of love with the game.

I always felt him joining us was a final test to see if he could rediscover his love for management, which he obviously couldn't. I actually think a bit too much is made of the David James signing. Yes, Lansdown went all in for a player without talking to the manager but I'm not convinced most Championship managers would be that upset their Chairman buying the (then) England goalkeeper. I wonder if the issue was not so much Coppell being over-ruled so much as he saw it as a lower profile job with a bit less pressure and then suddenly found us under scrutiny by the media as a dark horses for promotion.

Probably a sensible reading of it overall.

The biggest piece here is that he clearly had major reservations over the job. It’s forgotten sometimes that he left Man City after something like a month as well, and if he doesn’t think something is right, he doesn’t (or didn’t) stay. 

3 minutes ago, spudski said:

SL was jizzing relentlessly at what Madjeski had achieved and wanted to replicate it.

Coppell chosen and David James made headlines which put City in the Red Tops. 

I remember people gushing about us being ' recognised'. 

 

Top phrase!

[GrahamC]

13 minutes ago, Sixtyseconds said:

A forty year old underpants model to play in goal. 

 

 

That is massive hindsight.

As has already been pointed out, his last game before joining was at a World Cup for England & his career was stellar.

Easy to say now he was on a very quick decent in terms of standards (though he did still have some exceptional games for us).

Probably the same people moaning will be those saying we never “go for it”.

[LondonBristolian]

1 minute ago, GrahamC said:

That is massive hindsight.

As has already been pointed out, his last game before joining was at a World Cup for England & his career was stellar.

Easy to say now he was on a very quick decent in terms of standards (though he did still have some exceptional games for us).

Probably the same people moaning will be those saying we never “go for it”.

The problem with James is that the only people who thought he was good enough as a footballer were multiple Premier League managers, multiple England managers and the professionals who voted him into the PFA team of the year on three separate occasions. And what do those idiots know?

[The Coach]

That home against Millwall was the closest I’d ever come to a heart attack out of anger and stress. 
 

Believe we were favourites for the league (or one of them) and I believed it. That all quickly crumbled during the Millwall game.

[Major Isewater]

36 minutes ago, Sixtyseconds said:

A forty year old underpants model to play in goal. 

 

 

Yes but what underpants. 

[Sixtyseconds]

20 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

That is massive hindsight.

As has already been pointed out, his last game before joining was at a World Cup for England

Not really.

Howd that go?

But that wasnt the sketch.

The sketch was Guernsey Red was pursuin and signing players Steve Cop DIDNT want.

And Mr Cop let that pearl out to fans on the tour before the season started.

Finished before he started. 

 

[MarcusX]

52 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

Can't remember anyone moaning at the time, an ex-England keeper and a manager that won the Championship with a record points total that still stands today, hindsight is a wonderful thing 

Wasn't even ex-England, he'd just come back from the World Cup (albeit a disastrous tournament)

I personally was very happy with signing James at the time.

[devoncider]

1 minute ago, MarcusX said:

Wasn't even ex-England, he'd just come back from the World Cup (albeit a disastrous tournament)

I personally was very happy with signing James at the time.

his last game before taking to the pitch in the opener vs Millwall was against Germany in the World Cup knockout stages, very much a contemporary England goalkeeper that summer

[phantom]

1 hour ago, Silvio Dante said:

Coppell always struck me as a man who wasn’t necessarily in love with football, but when he was invested, he was all in.

The alarm bells started for me when he was asked about watching our game before taking over, he said that he was out of the country so couldn't be at our game, then that weekend he was pictured at Brentford with his son

[David Brent]

1 hour ago, IAmNick said:

This was against Birmingham wasn't it? Unless I'm thinking of another goal / my mind is playing tricks on me. From near the halfway line in front of the old Williams stand?

You’re possibly thinking of Trundle vs Birmingham 2008/09? 

[David Brent]

I watched Coppell’s ATK team in India a few years ago. He had a few jobs for someone who walked away from football when he quit here. 

[GrahamC]

3 minutes ago, David Brent said:

I watched Coppell’s ATK team in India a few years ago. He had a few jobs for someone who walked away from football when he quit here. 

India isn’t exactly the same is it?

Pub league standard.

He hasn’t gone near a job at a serious level since.

[David Brent]

4 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

India isn’t exactly the same is it?

Pub league standard.

He hasn’t gone near a job at a serious level since.

Of course it’s not the same. Pub league standard is being kind. But it’s still football, as was working for Crawley and Portsmouth. 

[TV Tom]

1 hour ago, Numero Uno said:

I can remember a few moaning re: James as it happens (not me) and they were shouted down. If you go over the head of the manager and buy a Goalkeeper as the focal point of your recruitment and he doesn't win you 8-10 points that season then you get judged in hindsight end of story and you deserve the flak that comes your way too. In terms of hindsight, nobody was moaning when Pearson was appointed blah blah blah..................it was only when Danny Simpson arrived that a few decided he was finished for good. No criticism of the Owner who was happy to pay said player's wages though.

I moaned when Pearson was appointed and i was shouting from the roof-tops for Cooper or Martin by the summer of '21. (Tin-hat on) 

[TV Tom]

13 minutes ago, David Brent said:

Of course it’s not the same. Pub league standard is being kind. But it’s still football, as was working for Crawley and Portsmouth. 

He's never stayed in a job for more than a year since he left us, i agree with what someone else said that i think he just fell out of love with football after Reading, i even forgot that he left Man City after four weeks

[mozo]

Supporting City is rarely boring and always ridiculous