Can Reading survive much more? on 11:07 - Mar 14 with 4300 views | davblue | Wycombe have an Uzbek guy coming on board who’s worth 6 billion, I suspect he’s behind this purchase as I wouldn’t have thought the Americans could purchase it. Quite sad that Reading are being stripped, not sure Wycombe can be blamed for getting a 50 million training ground on the cheap if it’s for sale as the narrative seems to be building. |  | |  |
Can Reading survive much more? on 11:35 - Mar 14 with 4171 views | textbackup | Evans to swoop in and save the day |  |
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Can Reading survive much more? on 11:36 - Mar 14 with 4174 views | JammyDodgerrr | Quite apathetic towards them as a club, but it is mind boggling what is effectively being allowed to happen to them. Sad to see |  |
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Can Reading survive much more? on 11:39 - Mar 14 with 4161 views | Swansea_Blue |
Can Reading survive much more? on 11:07 - Mar 14 by davblue | Wycombe have an Uzbek guy coming on board who’s worth 6 billion, I suspect he’s behind this purchase as I wouldn’t have thought the Americans could purchase it. Quite sad that Reading are being stripped, not sure Wycombe can be blamed for getting a 50 million training ground on the cheap if it’s for sale as the narrative seems to be building. |
I'm amazed it's valued at £50 million. Whole clubs are sold for much less in L1. |  |
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Can Reading survive much more? on 11:42 - Mar 14 with 4140 views | SouthfieldsBlue |
Can Reading survive much more? on 11:36 - Mar 14 by JammyDodgerrr | Quite apathetic towards them as a club, but it is mind boggling what is effectively being allowed to happen to them. Sad to see |
Problem is its quote a unique situation in many respects. The current owner simply doesn't care if the club/asset survives, and can't be induced to sell. Point deductions are normally actually effective as they put the hurry up on the sales process, but clearly doesn't here. Government lacks levers of any sort either, we can't go around seizing businesses just because they are badly run/being asset stripped. But this does just point to the demise of the club. |  | |  |
Can Reading survive much more? on 11:46 - Mar 14 with 4108 views | Keno |
Can Reading survive much more? on 11:42 - Mar 14 by SouthfieldsBlue | Problem is its quote a unique situation in many respects. The current owner simply doesn't care if the club/asset survives, and can't be induced to sell. Point deductions are normally actually effective as they put the hurry up on the sales process, but clearly doesn't here. Government lacks levers of any sort either, we can't go around seizing businesses just because they are badly run/being asset stripped. But this does just point to the demise of the club. |
It smacks of Bill Archer and Brighton all over again. which if doesnt know about it is googleable or I will provide a brief synopsis as follows - Archer bought Brighton. sold the ground, pocketed about £8mill (allegedly) and left the club without a ground. |  |
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Can Reading survive much more? on 11:57 - Mar 14 with 4010 views | davblue |
Can Reading survive much more? on 11:39 - Mar 14 by Swansea_Blue | I'm amazed it's valued at £50 million. Whole clubs are sold for much less in L1. |
As i understand it. The training ground was built for 50 million, Wycombe are buying it for 22 million. Rumours are they are going to rent it to Reading. When i say Wycombe, it will be the Uzbek guy as Wycombe don't have that money nor do their American owners. [Post edited 14 Mar 2024 11:58]
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Can Reading survive much more? on 12:06 - Mar 14 with 3911 views | Illinoisblue |
Can Reading survive much more? on 11:07 - Mar 14 by davblue | Wycombe have an Uzbek guy coming on board who’s worth 6 billion, I suspect he’s behind this purchase as I wouldn’t have thought the Americans could purchase it. Quite sad that Reading are being stripped, not sure Wycombe can be blamed for getting a 50 million training ground on the cheap if it’s for sale as the narrative seems to be building. |
If there’s laundry to be done, football is seemingly the place to do it. |  |
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Can Reading survive much more? on 12:13 - Mar 14 with 3860 views | SouthfieldsBlue |
Can Reading survive much more? on 11:46 - Mar 14 by Keno | It smacks of Bill Archer and Brighton all over again. which if doesnt know about it is googleable or I will provide a brief synopsis as follows - Archer bought Brighton. sold the ground, pocketed about £8mill (allegedly) and left the club without a ground. |
Current owner also has form for clubs liquidating. And I don't see the FA or EFL realistically being able to step in, at this rate I'd be surprised to see them allowed to start the 24/25 season. |  | |  |
Can Reading survive much more? on 12:15 - Mar 14 with 3832 views | PrideOfTheEast |
Can Reading survive much more? on 11:35 - Mar 14 by textbackup | Evans to swoop in and save the day |
Wouldn’t rule that out |  | |  |
Can Reading survive much more? on 12:35 - Mar 14 with 3710 views | JakeITFC |
Can Reading survive much more? on 11:57 - Mar 14 by davblue | As i understand it. The training ground was built for 50 million, Wycombe are buying it for 22 million. Rumours are they are going to rent it to Reading. When i say Wycombe, it will be the Uzbek guy as Wycombe don't have that money nor do their American owners. [Post edited 14 Mar 2024 11:58]
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£22m doesn't seem like a bad deal considering - quite a niche and geographically constrained thing a football training ground. Of all the teams to go to the wall I think Reading would probably be towards the top for me, but it's an absolute failure of governance that things like this continue to happen to community clubs. The stories of Bury and Macclesfield have caused no change of note yet and when you see an international bastion of the UK in Manchester United treated as they are by their ownership it shows it isn't just the so called smaller clubs that are at risk. Made the point at the time, but we have to be tremendously thankful for the due diligence that Marcus Evans did in selling the club. |  | |  |
Can Reading survive much more? on 12:40 - Mar 14 with 3665 views | RegencyBlue |
Can Reading survive much more? on 11:35 - Mar 14 by textbackup | Evans to swoop in and save the day |
Surely Reading fans have suffered enough! |  | |  |
Can Reading survive much more? on 12:49 - Mar 14 with 3611 views | ElderGrizzly |
Can Reading survive much more? on 11:39 - Mar 14 by Swansea_Blue | I'm amazed it's valued at £50 million. Whole clubs are sold for much less in L1. |
Known as the Mel Morris approach to football valuations |  | |  |
Can Reading survive much more? on 14:42 - Mar 14 with 3376 views | xrayspecs |
Can Reading survive much more? on 11:07 - Mar 14 by davblue | Wycombe have an Uzbek guy coming on board who’s worth 6 billion, I suspect he’s behind this purchase as I wouldn’t have thought the Americans could purchase it. Quite sad that Reading are being stripped, not sure Wycombe can be blamed for getting a 50 million training ground on the cheap if it’s for sale as the narrative seems to be building. |
Not sure if it is asset stripping, more incompetent ownership. The current owner has invested £160m into the club, money he is not going to see again. If you look at their wage bill (£25-35m per season), transfer spending (net £25m over four seasons 2017/2018 to 2020/21) against their average income (£17m), then no wonder they have been losing so much money (£100m in last three seasons for which accounts have been published). Hence points deductions. The January transfer sales (£4m) and training ground sale (I had heard a lot less than the figure quoted on here) seem to be simply to be able to pay their bills to the end of the season. Sad state of affairs. [Post edited 14 Mar 2024 14:44]
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Can Reading survive much more? on 15:32 - Mar 14 with 3266 views | textbackup |
Can Reading survive much more? on 12:15 - Mar 14 by PrideOfTheEast | Wouldn’t rule that out |
Blimey… |  |
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Can Reading survive much more? on 16:20 - Mar 14 with 3145 views | tractorboy1978 |
Can Reading survive much more? on 14:42 - Mar 14 by xrayspecs | Not sure if it is asset stripping, more incompetent ownership. The current owner has invested £160m into the club, money he is not going to see again. If you look at their wage bill (£25-35m per season), transfer spending (net £25m over four seasons 2017/2018 to 2020/21) against their average income (£17m), then no wonder they have been losing so much money (£100m in last three seasons for which accounts have been published). Hence points deductions. The January transfer sales (£4m) and training ground sale (I had heard a lot less than the figure quoted on here) seem to be simply to be able to pay their bills to the end of the season. Sad state of affairs. [Post edited 14 Mar 2024 14:44]
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I don't think Dai Yongge gives a damn about the club anymore. It smells very much of asset stripping and recouping money for anything he can. He's got previous form for it back in China too I believe. Worryingly for Reading, he also owns the stadium. |  | |  |
Can Reading survive much more? on 16:40 - Mar 14 with 3075 views | Keno |
Can Reading survive much more? on 16:20 - Mar 14 by tractorboy1978 | I don't think Dai Yongge gives a damn about the club anymore. It smells very much of asset stripping and recouping money for anything he can. He's got previous form for it back in China too I believe. Worryingly for Reading, he also owns the stadium. |
"Worryingly for Reading, he also owns the stadium" see comment re Bill Archer |  |
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Can Reading survive much more? on 16:41 - Mar 14 with 3074 views | BlueandTruesince82 | Wasn't Mike Ashley keen at one point? I know selling a club is difficult but the owner doesn't even seem to be trying. Not really clear what he hopes to or think he can achieve at this point? Is he just asking too much for the club, is there really no buyer? They'll be non league at this rate |  |
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Can Reading survive much more? on 16:45 - Mar 14 with 3054 views | Vegtablue |
Can Reading survive much more? on 16:20 - Mar 14 by tractorboy1978 | I don't think Dai Yongge gives a damn about the club anymore. It smells very much of asset stripping and recouping money for anything he can. He's got previous form for it back in China too I believe. Worryingly for Reading, he also owns the stadium. |
This would be his hat-trick, did it in Belgium too. |  | |  |
Can Reading survive much more? on 16:45 - Mar 14 with 3053 views | xrayspecs |
Can Reading survive much more? on 16:20 - Mar 14 by tractorboy1978 | I don't think Dai Yongge gives a damn about the club anymore. It smells very much of asset stripping and recouping money for anything he can. He's got previous form for it back in China too I believe. Worryingly for Reading, he also owns the stadium. |
We can agree to disagree. Under his stewardship, the annual wage bill has been at time been double their annual revenue. They spent net £15m on transfers in 2019/20 and 2020/21, as a championship club without parachute payments. They gave Andy Carroll a big contract to get them back in the PL. And Paul Ince as manager. There are plenty of warning signs of unsustainable spending in their accounts. It looks like he has gambled to go up and it has failed. That does not look like asset stripping to me. Local Reading fans have estimated there is a £1m funding gap to cover their costs this month, hence the firesale of the training ground. |  | |  |
Can Reading survive much more? on 09:44 - Mar 15 with 2507 views | Ryorry | How incredibly depressing for their fans, feel for them & their local community. By some freaky coincidence, about 3 nights ago I had a kind of "flashback to Evans" nightmare, in which myself & a friend were on a shocker of a journey trying to get to the Madejski stadium for an away game. Train broke down or something, then a bus, & we had to resort to fruitlessly trying to flag down a taxi! Quite symbolic really. |  |
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Can Reading survive much more? on 09:57 - Mar 15 with 2468 views | LeBlue |
Can Reading survive much more? on 09:44 - Mar 15 by Ryorry | How incredibly depressing for their fans, feel for them & their local community. By some freaky coincidence, about 3 nights ago I had a kind of "flashback to Evans" nightmare, in which myself & a friend were on a shocker of a journey trying to get to the Madejski stadium for an away game. Train broke down or something, then a bus, & we had to resort to fruitlessly trying to flag down a taxi! Quite symbolic really. |
A friend of mine is a coach for their academy sides. It is a complete and utter shambles of a club. The training ground looks superb from the outside but the equipment, or lack of, is non-league. They have no clear pathway for youth talent and often flog off anyone with a chance of making it at the first opportunity. Absolute zero investment in anything long term. |  | |  |
Can Reading survive much more? on 10:23 - Mar 15 with 2406 views | itfc_bucks | My boy is on the books at Wycombe. The club are on the cusp of a major investment and the chance to bag a properly class training ground for a pittance is exciting the whole background of the club. Tough toots for Reading. |  | |  |
Can Reading survive much more? on 10:43 - Mar 15 with 2348 views | tractorboy1978 |
Can Reading survive much more? on 16:45 - Mar 14 by xrayspecs | We can agree to disagree. Under his stewardship, the annual wage bill has been at time been double their annual revenue. They spent net £15m on transfers in 2019/20 and 2020/21, as a championship club without parachute payments. They gave Andy Carroll a big contract to get them back in the PL. And Paul Ince as manager. There are plenty of warning signs of unsustainable spending in their accounts. It looks like he has gambled to go up and it has failed. That does not look like asset stripping to me. Local Reading fans have estimated there is a £1m funding gap to cover their costs this month, hence the firesale of the training ground. |
Don't deny he's spent money (very badly) and their accounts look dreadful. He obviously has no interest in continuing to fund the club though so he has two options - sell it or sell off any assets and syphon the money back out of the club. I'd suggest selling the training ground is a calculated decision he's made as it further kills any chance of selling the club. Who is going to buy a club leasing it's ground and training ground with virtually no other assets? The £1m shortfall may well be covered but it will be interesting to see what happens with the other £20m. |  | |  |
Can Reading survive much more? on 10:54 - Mar 15 with 2309 views | _clive_baker_ | You have to feel for Reading fans, you wouldn't wish it on any proper football fans for their club. Have to say there's always been something about Reading I've never warmed to, maybe it was playing them year in year out as Championship mainstays. Can't really put my finger on it, just always seemed a very soulless club and atmosphere, quite vanilla. |  | |  |
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