Thetownend.com

https://www.theguardian.com/football/football-league-blog/2022/jan/18/how-reading-hit-crisis-point-on-and-off-the-pitch-championship

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing. It does make you wonder just how many Championship clubs really are properly sustainable and how many are chucking unaffordable sums of money to make the Premier League - Derby are the Benchmark for Championship clubs in the shit, but it sounds like Reading aren't too far behind them. I found the below statement staggering.

Reading’s 2019-20 accounts show a wages-to-turnover ratio of 216%. “If they had got to the Premier League, the promised land, as they say, all of these problems would have gone away,” says one source. “Aston Villa managed to get up just in time. The owner has gambled, ploughing money in, but it has backfired.

Looking forward to playing them next season.

Being honest, though, how many of our fans were loving it when Black/Di Canio were spending freely. Obviously not at that level, but still.

I’m quite content with a club that is competitive - no matter what league we’re in.

Maybe a touch of holier than thou in that.

Hot on their heels will be the slave traders also.

Very interesting link.  Emotionally, I don't care either way about the plight of the Biscuitmen but am always heartened by the Slavers' travails.

I think there are signs that the Championship may be a false friend as an objective for STFC - except temporarily from time to time.

I'm thoroughly behind Clem and the Trust but, tbf, it won't ever be for us to give out sermons to others on financial prudence.

I wouldn't swap STFC's glorious, shameful and often mediocre history for any other club's.  Tbf, Madejski has helped launch Reading on one helluva journey also.

Reading is like us last year...its all gone Toxic.

Reading fan at work...he reckons he hasnt seen anything like it.

Cant afford to sack the manager (his words), players not wanting to play blah blah blah....sounds very familiar.

All this, unless you have an owner with long arms, deep pockets and in for the long haul the Championship has become as financially toxic as the PL.

I was under the impression Madejski still owned Reading. I must be living in the stone ages by comparisson.

75% Owned by Renhe Sports Management Ltd, 10% owned by Xiu Li Dai and Yongge Dai
25% Owned by Narin Niruttinanon

According to wikipedia and his says he sold up around 2012. I was none the wiser. Shows how little attention I pay to Reading.

Need to insist on this being posted whenever Reading FC gets a mention.  Sorry, but it's the rules.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rp3toJ9cAQ

wait a minute .......

(assume you mean 10% of Renhe sports management is owned by the Dai)

I forgot how cringe this was. Bird is quite hot, shame she can’t sing. Wouldn’t tolerate her bellowing that one out if she were ever so lucky to spend some time in my company…

Yeah, copy and paste job from wikipedia. The format is supposed to be two bullet points.

I was lucky to manage a minute of that.  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

Masturbating to a Reading video is new low..

🤣🤣

It's a few years old now.  And you'd think that the novelty might wear off after a while...but  the opposite happens.  The more you watch it, the more awful it becomes.

At some point, someone, somewhere actually thought this was a good idea.  And then, when they tried to do it, no one thought to stop them.

'...with our might...'

'...the glory of Reading...'

I'm dying here.

I knew it sounded wrong as I typed  :D

It says Nicky Hammond was great at recruitment- bought low and sold high.

Maybe Clem should offer him a return to the CG ?

(Unless of course it’s a different Nicky Hammond !)

It is 'our' Nicky Hammond. Presently at NUFC (having lost the 'y') who I suspect are paying him a little better than we could.

Sent from my SM-A125F

Ahh you’re probably right there

We have someone doing that job  :)

I see they had a gate 2k less than us yesterday. Order being restored.

As a Berkshire based town fan the plastics demise is a thing of beauty and means Mondays at work are becoming extremely enjoyable!

Wow, that song. Especially the Pitbul-esque 'rap' at the end  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

I dislike Reading. The town is a shithole too. The whole club feels very plastic to me; like a very slightly improved Franchise.