Reo Coker BLASTS "Soft" Team

“We crumbled – we were soft,” he said. “They were soft goals to give away and it was a soft character to show considering the situation we’re in.

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Nice as it is to hear something from the club that's not bullshit, I'm not convinced these outbursts are in the team's best interests.

I admire for NRC for doing it but I can't help feeling it will cause unrest in the dressing room, he does it nearly everytime we lose.

Shame OC can't come out and say this kind of thing instead of leaving it up to the players.

I'm assuiming he's got OC's agreement to say these things as captain, but how come we don't hear it from the manager, as he must agree to some extent, otherwise he would't authorise it.

I don't believe a word of it!

He's about the third or fourth player this season who have said something like this - Zat Knight was the last one a couple of games back.

No player would give an interview like this without the club approving it first, so it wouldn't surprise me if it was something like a good cop / bad cop routine - you know, where Coyle says all the 'nice' things and someone else says we are 'shite' and we need to do better!

I don't know who is in charge of PR at the club but I simply can't 'buy' what they are trying to sell us about Coyle and the club.

There seems to be a general malaise about the club, almost as if they are just going through the motions until we are either safe, or down. A very severe, almnost terminal, case of inertia.

I don't see why the senior pro and team captain coming out and saying we were soft on Saturday is evidence of a conspiracy, especially when you consider that every word he says in that interview is true. Didn't Coyle also criticise the players in public recently? When he did that, a lot of people criticised him for it saying he was hiding behind the players. Now, when a senior player does it, it's part of a media campaign.

Not at all. OC has criticised the players, agreed, but at the same time he's always finding 'positives', and for the number of games where we've been very obviously second best, he insists on making these confusing statements. I think that nearly all the fans would like not only a bit of consistency, but some honesty, and less patronising views. If the team are crap, and we all see it, why say for the umpteenth time that there were 'positives' Just when are these 'positives' actually going to be built on, to make a difference.

It's just his management style, gloswhite. You start criticising players in public and telling people "we were shit" every time we lose, and you end up unemployable like Graeme Souness.

Ultimately it's all bluster in the media anyway. Coyle has to say something, he is obliged to speak to the media. None of us know - or can even make educated guesses - about what goes on at Euxton. I do know he hasn't been afraid to drop people after consistently poor performances though - Jussi, .Steinsson, Robinson, Knight, Petrov, K Davies, Klasnic. Ngog, Eagles have all been dropped this season.

yeah, I know your right, but its so frustrating, hearing the same drivel, game after game. You make a good point about dropping people. Although we all moaned about the team, his hands were tied, to some extent, because of injuries, a small squad, etc, although when he's had the leeway, he's taken a little time to flex his muscles, but now seems to be a lot quicker in making the decision. The problem now is that he's unlikely to get a settled team together for the run-in.

Talking of soft.....at half-time during the Wigan game Reo-Coker and the backroom staff urged Coyle to change formation. He refused saying he would look "weak" by appearing to change to the formation the fans and media wanted.

My mole had asked me not to post this info, but I feel I have to.

Do you have other parts of your body that talk to you ?

Natasha Whittam wrote:Talking of soft.....at half-time during the Wigan game Reo-Coker and the backroom staff urged Coyle to change formation. He refused saying he would look "weak" by appearing to change to the formation the fans and media wanted.

My mole had asked me not to post this info, but I feel I have to.

You mock, but 100% true.

Natasha Whittam wrote:Talking of soft.....at half-time during the Wigan game Reo-Coker and the backroom staff urged Coyle to change formation. He refused saying he would look "weak" by appearing to change to the formation the fans and media wanted.

My mole had asked me not to post this info, but I feel I have to.

I could see this happening, ego is a big part of football. Many a manager has let his ego get in the way of victory.

What's weak about changing the formation ? If it had won us the game everyone would be saying Coyle was a tactical genius for recognising a change was required. As it turns out he just looked like an idiot as usual.