Steve Coppell: should he stay or should he go?

The Reading manager has been considering his position since his team were relegated to the Coca-Cola Championship on the last day of the season. John Madejski, the Reading chairman, says that he will not dismiss Coppell and around 300 supporters demonstrated outside the Madejski Stadium last night demanding that he stay on. But are they right?

The likeable Scouser struggled in Reading's second season in the Premier League. Does he have the qualities to lead the team back into the top flight? Or is his time with the Royals up?

Cast your vote and leave your comments below.

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Comments

[Mark Pendred]

I don't think that Steve Coppell did enough to keep his team in the premiership. He lost a big player in Sidwell and i don't think adequate replacements were bought or players to create competition for the players that stayed.

Either this is a lack of backing from the board, or a lack of judgement from the manager. So either way he surely won't have the tools to make another shot at getting to the premiership and staying there.

[Lee Price]

Likeable? In what sense? It is down to him, ultimately, that his side got relegated- if they had approached the season with a tad more gusto, or if Coppell hadn't of opted against making a foray into the January transfer window, things could've been very different.

The beginning of the end was the eight match losing streak and, while the backing Coppell is receiving from the club's fans is admirable, it is mis-placed. A rebuilding job is needed, with probably someone new with fresh ideas to lead it.

[Ian M Jones]

Coppell should leave to go on to bigger and better things. He is one of the best managers in the league, who fell down this season because of his loyalty to his current players he didn't buy new players. His next stage would be going to a big club with money to burn. Just look at the payers he brought through: Wright, Bright, Solako, Thomas, Martyn, Sidwell (who is too good to be in Chelsea's rerserve team) etc etc. One of the big chairman must be sharp enough to see this and snap him up!

[Kev D Hare]

It would be disatrous for Reading should Mr Coppell decide to look for pastures new. He is a good manager whose side as let him down in a big way this season for reasons which (I feel) can only be attributed to a large dose of second season complacency within the ranks undermining the performance of the team