Copps interview

[silent majority]

Is up on the DRFC website;

https://www.doncasterroversfc.co.uk/news/2023/february/coppinger-transfer-window-review/

[lee.j09]

“With the resources that we had, it’s been difficult and challenging”

Changes needed

[Chris Black come back]

Oh god. Why did he say that even if true. The whole interview is just throwing petrol on the Netto FC fire.

[foxbat]

well if that's how it is , that's how is. Nothing the supporters can do , apart from turning up 8n more numbers,  maybe.

[Donny Exile in York]

Oh god. Why did he say that even if true. The whole interview is just throwing petrol on the Netto FC fire.

Cos its true. Even our legend and Head of Football is saying it as it is. Time to get your head out of the sand. 

[silent majority]

I knew someone would pick out one line and ignore the rest.

[wing commander]

 At the risk of upsetting Copps stalwarts i thought that was a really poor effort..

We have so many out of contract players and not all will be offered deals, We have brought in loan players bar 1 in January and lost one of our best players to a rival as our ambition didn't match his.

Coppinger needs to be explaining what he thinks our LONG term strategy is as a club as we will be faced with yet another rebuild from scratch job when the loans go back,players get released and other we want to keep move on regardless.

Maybe i'm being to harsh on him as obviously he is trying to be as diplomatic as possible with what he's been given by our out of touch owner,chairman and CEO who are quite happy to see us being a bottom half league 2 side..

[Donnybax]

It’s not a good interview is it. Talks about long term planning and yet we signed 4 loanees and a 30 year old journeyman from non league. I don’t feel very optimistic after reading it especially considering the “with our resources it’s been challenging”

[Campsall rover]

“With the resources that we had, it’s been difficult and challenging”

Changes needed

Trust you to see that interview as a negative.

Give me strength.  Everything Copps said in that interview was a positive.
If you’re not happy with our playing budget then you better empty your bank account.

[Campsall rover]

It’s not a good interview is it. Talks about long term planning and yet we signed 4 loanees and a 30 year old journeyman from non league. I don’t feel very optimistic after reading it especially considering the “with our resources it’s been challenging”

Donnybax please tell me what calibre of player you expected us to sign in January.
How many clubs in League 2 have signed proven quality players on permanent deals in January.
Come on then list them please.
When I see your comprehensive list then I will happily apologise.

[roversdude]

Well we can’t work with resources we haven’t got can we
Positive statement from Copps but no matter what anyone says some people are going to dig for negativity

[silent majority]

Why not listen to DM about the January window and why it was so bad for all clubs;

https://twitter.com/robstaton/status/1621516222813831176

[Campsall rover]

At the risk of upsetting Copps stalwarts i thought that was a really poor effort..

We have so many out of contract players and not all will be offered deals, We have brought in loan players bar 1 in January and lost one of our best players to a rival as our ambition didn't match his.

Coppinger needs to be explaining what he thinks our LONG term strategy is as a club as we will be faced with yet another rebuild from scratch job when the loans go back,players get released and other we want to keep move on regardless.

Maybe i'm being to harsh on him as obviously he is trying to be as diplomatic as possible with what he's been given by our out of touch owner,chairman and CEO who are quite happy to see us being a bottom half league 2 side..

Yes of course they are happy to see us bottom half league 2.
Are you serious?

Well if we win our games in hand we could be in the play off places. 15th in the league is not relevant given we have not played as many games as most teams above us.
Look how tight that league table is above us.
We have a 6 point cushion to 16th place.

There is some serious moaning going on which isn’t justified.  Yes we all want promotion this season of course we do.
It is still possible this season. But if it does not happen then next season it NEEDS to happen.

[steve@dcfd]

We can pick bones out of the interview but it is what it is.
We will only know if with the resources we had we’ve got the players to Bounce back decisively. I don’t mind the loans because if we are not paying undisclosed fees then loans are better than permanents last January should have shown us that.
There have been numerous League 2 clubs both above around and below us that have paid undisclosed fees for players.
The only way we will know if we are going in the right direction and good decisions have been made is where we finish in the league.
Also how many players sign contracts they are offered.
We don’t get it right then next summer will be worst and that’s when I fear relegation will occur. So Copps Blunt and DS you’ve got a big 3.5 months to turn this club round otherwise you will have failed

As I’ve said before you have to have the right funds to get a good level of player Copps as said it been challenging.

[Barmby Rover]

I knew someone would pick out one line and ignore the rest.

People pick that out because, for people not living in a rose tinted glass bauble that denies the truth, our squad is being produced at a cheap rate where poor resources are given to the training staff, and what is produced from a cheap squad is an unpredictable, poor standard of football. 6 games in February, 5 against clubs above or around us, and the game on Saturday. How many points? I want to be wrong, but I would say 4, maybe 5. Fingers crossed we do better, but i am far from expectant.

[Donnybax]

It’s not a good interview is it. Talks about long term planning and yet we signed 4 loanees and a 30 year old journeyman from non league. I don’t feel very optimistic after reading it especially considering the “with our resources it’s been challenging”

Donnybax please tell me what calibre of player you expected us to sign in January.
How many clubs in League 2 have signed proven quality players on permanent deals in January.
Come on then list them please.
When I see your comprehensive list then I will happily apologise.

my comment was about the long term planning part of it. How long had we scouted Lavery for? He’d scored 1 goal before December for Scunthorpe so it can’t be that long can it?
I have no real issue with us adding loanees in January, we had plenty it space in our squad to add some and it’s what I expected us to do in January. But you can’t sign all loanees and a journeyman striker and then bang on about long term strategy, it doesn’t add up.
 I don’t really feel it’s my place really to be suggesting players to the club or yourself unless I’m mistaken? It would be a bit difficult when I have absolutely no idea what our budget is and I don’t really understand your point. I don’t see the interview as a positive and you do. We have a difference of opinion that could be discussed, I don’t see why you need to be a smart arse.

[Lincoln Rover]

I agree with SM. Why do we pick one sentence “ comment” & concentrate on that.
Copps, DS & Gavin can only work with the tools/monies they are provided with. There’s been the clammer to hear from Copps & now we’ve been told. Did he refuse to answer, did he lie ? Nor from what I saw & heard.
Simple, if you don’t want to know the answer, then don’t ask the question. He & others have been honest….don’t shoot them for telling the truth.

[Campsall rover]

Did I listen to a different interview.

Flabbergasted at the comments regarding this interview.

[GazLaz]

“Process and strategies”. You can’t believe in processes and “momentum”, contradicting thought concepts in my opinion.

[MachoMadness]

Writing off this season, not lumbering us with more overpriced dead wood unlikely to improve us to the level we need, so we can get players who fit with the new strategy in summer, is long term planning. Whether it works or not remains to be seen.

[big fat yorkshire pudding]

There are positives in what he says.  The biggest being looking to get players that fit how we want to play and that shows a bit more strategy than just getting players in.  That's exactly what we should be doing.

I'd also say the clear thought on who they want to keep is a positive but they need to get them nailed down and shift the ones who don't fit.

The negative in it is the comment on resource, but I think we've done that to death and we all probably agree we need more resource.

Overall the success of the window will be defined on Saturday and Tuesdays over the next 3 months.  If we have a strong finish to the season it's a step forward.  On the pitch that's what I want to see the next 3 months, progress and a way of playing to build for next season.  Off the pitch I'd like to see moves to unlock more funding, how that comes about has and will be done to death.

[Campsall rover]

Writing off this season, not lumbering us with more overpriced dead wood unlikely to improve us to the level we need, so we can get players who fit with the new strategy in summer, is long term planning. Whether it works or not remains to be seen.

Don’t think the season has been written off but you are correct MM we will not be lumbered with many players next season the HoF and head coach don’t want. That’s a good thing is it not.
There is simply no pleasing some people.
If we signed Messi there are some would say he is too old and has no re sale value. I simply despair.

[silent majority]

I knew someone would pick out one line and ignore the rest.

People pick that out because, for people not living in a rose tinted glass bauble that denies the truth, our squad is being produced at a cheap rate where poor resources are given to the training staff, and what is produced from a cheap squad is an unpredictable, poor standard of football. 6 games in February, 5 against clubs above or around us, and the game on Saturday. How many points? I want to be wrong, but I would say 4, maybe 5. Fingers crossed we do better, but i am far from expectant.

Are you suggesting that I'm one of those?

The difference between me and those who keep harping on about our budget and how poor it is are those who are using words like 'cheap rate' and 'cheap squad' without anything to support those opinions. I'm not happy about our league position, but I'm also in a position to know that the budget is more than good enough to get us out of this!

[pib]

We can't keep "writing off" seasons. We've done that at least twice in the last 4 years. A club that knows what it's doing will have a plan in place for setbacks (like a manager or player leaving) and will take it in it's stride.

[lee.j09]

I knew someone would pick out one line and ignore the rest.

People pick that out because, for people not living in a rose tinted glass bauble that denies the truth, our squad is being produced at a cheap rate where poor resources are given to the training staff, and what is produced from a cheap squad is an unpredictable, poor standard of football. 6 games in February, 5 against clubs above or around us, and the game on Saturday. How many points? I want to be wrong, but I would say 4, maybe 5. Fingers crossed we do better, but i am far from expectant.

Are you suggesting that I'm one of those?

The difference between me and those who keep harping on about our budget and how poor it is are those who are using words like 'cheap rate' and 'cheap squad' without anything to support those opinions. I'm not happy about our league position, but I'm also in a position to know that the budget is more than good enough to get us out of this!

Exactly. Maybe if we all knew there’d be no issue then ?

Difference is many of us don’t know they’ve even changed the way that they used to submit the accounts.

We never hear from the chairman.

I mean going off what most fans see on the pitch we aren’t good enough. As well as the choices we continually go down when recruiting staff similarly.

[Arsenal Of The North]

I personally thought the interview was poor, give nothing away really, has to back the club and the transfer business.

I think we all know maybe 1 or 2 will be offered new contracts but the rest we will all be glad to see the back of!

I don’t see much value in trying to pay over the odds for players to get in the winter window just for the sake of it, 2 years we have done that. And look where it’s got us!

We need a total reset (well almost) and our best chance is doing that in the summer when there’s a much larger pool of players to pick from.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Whatever resources clubs have, I would be shocked if any of them found the transfer window anything but difficult and challenging.

He also mentioned balancing the short, medium and long term which to me means we have to be agile and resourceful enough to deal with short term issues (injuries for example) trying to maintain squad strength, depth etc which means a mix of loans, short term and long term contracts. To put all our eggs in one basket would be foolish as we could carry too many contracted players that we don't want.

I was thinking the formal 12 week review period seems quite long but then again, Copps has to allow DS to get on with the job without being a parrot on his shoulder.  No doubt they have plenty of informal chats in the meantime.

He doesn't look like a man who's struggling to get to grips with the role and he reinforces our desire to play good  football with a good mix of young talent guided by more 'experienced' pros.

Maybe I would like a little more detail on a couple of things but overall I was content with what he said.

As he said, it's all about actions now on the pitch and trying to get some momentum which we've been starved of for too long.

Edit. One thing I will say  is Robbie needs to change his interview technique. I'm fed up of him asking leading questions often framing the response with answers rather than allowing the interviewee answer freely. This just leads folk to believe it's a going through the motions interview.

[ravenrover]

I thought Copps handled  the interview well without giving much away .The recruitment does looks to be good and if the style of play is as we played the 2nd half, without the silly errors, on Saturday I am quite enthused
Take away those sillly defensive errors from the 2nd half on Saturday and I was quite excited by the way we played going forward. Mansfield were on the ropes at 2-1 we ripped theiir defence a good one playing to feet and on the floor.  The 3rd goal killed that momentum but we still created a number of chances to get us back in the game after that.
Play like the 2nd half without the silly defensive errors tomorrow and  3 points will be coming our way JMHO

[silent majority]

I knew someone would pick out one line and ignore the rest.

People pick that out because, for people not living in a rose tinted glass bauble that denies the truth, our squad is being produced at a cheap rate where poor resources are given to the training staff, and what is produced from a cheap squad is an unpredictable, poor standard of football. 6 games in February, 5 against clubs above or around us, and the game on Saturday. How many points? I want to be wrong, but I would say 4, maybe 5. Fingers crossed we do better, but i am far from expectant.

Are you suggesting that I'm one of those?

The difference between me and those who keep harping on about our budget and how poor it is are those who are using words like 'cheap rate' and 'cheap squad' without anything to support those opinions. I'm not happy about our league position, but I'm also in a position to know that the budget is more than good enough to get us out of this!

Exactly. Maybe if we all knew there’d be no issue then ?

Difference is many of us don’t know they’ve even changed the way that they used to submit the accounts.

We never hear from the chairman.

I mean going off what most fans see on the pitch we aren’t good enough. As well as the choices we continually go down when recruiting staff similarly.

Well, at least somebody knows!! Is that a good thing? I'm not sure how the club is supposed to deal with that. We, as the VSC, have always had these in depth discussions about the financial picture of the club, after all it's what you'd expect a supporters trust to concentrate on and we've always reported on what we've seen.

Yes the accounts have changed, and I did ask the question as to why when you asked me the last time. I'm expecting a more detailed response from the FD at the club but initially the response I've had so far suggests the tactic is designed to shield our finances from other clubs and deter them from prying too much. In negotiations with others it does help if the others are not too familiar with your profit/loss each season.

Yes, we never hear from the Chairman. I go along with that, he should do much more than he does.

Yes, if we just base our opinions on what we see on the pitch then most would agree we're getting something wrong.

[silent majority]

“With the resources that we had, it’s been difficult and challenging”

Changes needed

I doubt there's a single manager, or HoF or DoF, in the country who would say they have enough money to do their job.