Madejski Sold out and failed again

[grey_squirrel]

I respect Madejski for his longevity and commitment to the club and a sport he doesn't really support (often he has said so), but I do increasingly question his ethics.

(Smee and especially Tranter, by the way, were the saviours of the Club. Not Madejski).

I have referred to him previously as a meglomanic and if the rumours that deals for the sale of the Club have collapsed 'solely' due to the naming rights, then I am correct. And that is appalling.

He has steadfastedly tried to embellish the local area with his property developing and social endeavours (including obviously RFC) - abosolutely fantastic, admirable and commendable - but always, it seems, and conditional with his name in lights. Publicity, publicity, publicity.

The futility is, The MadStad will always now be known and remembered as the MadStad regardless of whether it is subsequently - and almost inevitably - renamed in the future for sponsorship or commercial gain, convenants or not, like many others. Like the Sports Direct Arena (St James') et al, et al, so if this is his only beef to prevent a sale to worthy/wealthy purchasers, like maybe the Omaniis, then the man is a fool and you have to question his "best interests and intentions" for the Club. His legacy will always remain. His legacy will always remain in hearts and minds if not in material signage.

He made a mistake with the Zingarevichs, but wasn't the warnings clearly evident 6 years previously when an astute Premiership Chairman (Bill Kenwright) laughed their sincerity - correctly - out of town.

I, along with everyone else, hope he gets us out of this impending mess, but he is going to have to swallow his pride more than just continuously parading (and paradying) himself as some sort of hero and saviour. That boat, 'Sir' John, has long since sailed.

[kwik-silva]

Does anybody actually have a source for the naming rights

[Jackson Corner]

Lovely image of him hugging some woman at the end of the match celebrating not going up. Bagged £25m from some doggy Russian lolol . Fire sale now on, watch all the best players go (That means Akpan stays i'm afraid) all because he won't sell out because of stadium name rights.

You (pathetic latest generation of Reading Fans) really are so naive, like the Brighton Fans say so gullible believing Madejski is ever going to do anything to take this club forward.

Most embarrassing thing today ? wasn't the little turds running on the pitch (back to the next generation) it was the " There's only one JM" chant Why????? he sold out and f*cked up.

What a great two seasons this has been, total shite well done Madejski

I take it you were not around in 1990 when SJM took over the club? We were losing 5 grand a week the whole squad was up for sale and gates were about 3k. We were on the brink of oblivion. So you are right he has done nothing for this club.

[West Stand Flash]

Reading RTG fans living in the past again I see? There's a surprise.

Madejski has been ruining this club since 2006.

[Hendo]

Does anybody actually have a source for the naming rights

No, just like no one has a source for what the players are actually paid, won't stop people banging on that they know pog is on a gazillion a week and we pay the rent for every flat in London just so he can live there.

[Uke]

Reading RTG fans living in the past again I see? There's a surprise.

Madejski has been ruining this club since 2006.

Murdoch and the. Prem have been ruining clubs for much longer

It's impossible for a club outside the big 5 to survive thanks to them.

[harry]

Lovely image of him hugging some woman at the end of the match celebrating not going up. Bagged £25m from some doggy Russian lolol . Fire sale now on, watch all the best players go (That means Akpan stays i'm afraid) all because he won't sell out because of stadium name rights.

You (pathetic latest generation of Reading Fans) really are so naive, like the Brighton Fans say so gullible believing Madejski is ever going to do anything to take this club forward.

Most embarrassing thing today ? wasn't the little turds running on the pitch (back to the next generation) it was the " There's only one JM" chant Why????? he sold out and f*cked up.

What a great two seasons this has been, total shite well done Madejski

Moan moan moan.....if it wasn't for him we would just be in a shitty old stadium playing in the lower leagues. When some bloke who claims he's a billionaire and he was educated in Reading says he wants to buy the club you'd think all your Christmas's have come at once. No one on this board thought we would be done over so badly by that Russian t+sser. Be careful what you wish for. There are a hundred Vincent Tans probably to replace the one that Cardiff have and another hundred who are more than capable of putting us what Birmingham have been through. Do you really want to sell the clubs soul and play in red and change the name. Probably you do by the sounds of it, just so you can take the premierships blood money.

We could sell it to a dodgy newspaper magnate, change the name to Thames Valley Royals and play in yellow at Didcot. I'm sure everyone would love that. Having bankrolled us for years SJM is now in a tricky position thanks to Anton's disappearance as well-documented in the Tilehurst End article referenced elsewhere on this thread. Maybe SJM has made the odd mistake but they have been in good faith and most if not all of us in the same position would have done the same.

If you've got millions to p*ss down the drain you know who to contact. If you haven't, then whingeing about someone who has lost a fortune while bailing us out for years and at the same time questioning whether a few hundred for next year's season ticket is value for money seems hypocritical.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Does anybody actually have a source for the naming rights

No, just like no one has a source for what the players are actually paid, won't stop people banging on that they know pog is on a gazillion a week and we pay the rent for every flat in London just so he can live there.

No but it is clear that some are on wages the club cannot afford - see the Drenthe article in Get Reading.

We were all told the club would still pay its way under the new regime

[Pseud O'Nym]

Reading RTG fans living in the past again I see? There's a surprise.

Madejski has been ruining this club since 2006.

ALOL

[RoyalBlue]

Lovely image of him hugging some woman at the end of the match celebrating not going up. Bagged £25m from some doggy Russian lolol . Fire sale now on, watch all the best players go (That means Akpan stays i'm afraid) all because he won't sell out because of stadium name rights.

You (pathetic latest generation of Reading Fans) really are so naive, like the Brighton Fans say so gullible believing Madejski is ever going to do anything to take this club forward.

Most embarrassing thing today ? wasn't the little turds running on the pitch (back to the next generation) it was the " There's only one JM" chant Why????? he sold out and f*cked up.

What a great two seasons this has been, total shite well done Madejski

Moan moan moan.....if it wasn't for him we would just be in a shitty old stadium playing in the lower leagues. When some bloke who claims he's a billionaire and he was educated in Reading says he wants to buy the club you'd think all your Christmas's have come at once. No one on this board thought we would be done over so badly by that Russian t+sser. Be careful what you wish for. There are a hundred Vincent Tans probably to replace the one that Cardiff have and another hundred who are more than capable of putting us what Birmingham have been through. Do you really want to sell the clubs soul and play in red and change the name. Probably you do by the sounds of it, just so you can take the premierships blood money.

We could sell it to a dodgy newspaper magnate, change the name to Thames Valley Royals and play in yellow at Didcot. I'm sure everyone would love that. Having bankrolled us for years SJM is now in a tricky position thanks to Anton's disappearance as well-documented in the Tilehurst End article referenced elsewhere on this thread. Maybe SJM has made the odd mistake but they have been in good faith and most if not all of us in the same position would have done the same.

If you've got millions to p*ss down the drain you know who to contact. If you haven't, then whingeing about someone who has lost a fortune while bailing us out for years and at the same time questioning whether a few hundred for next year's season ticket is value for money seems hypocritical.

Only it was Madejski who saved us from Didcot was it?!

As for bankrolling - care to put a figure on that? Guarantee it was nowhere near the figures that he and his fans have made out in the past and what's more, it will all have been done in a very tax efficient manner. Care to put a figure on how much tax he avoided (that was legal) by his year of tax exile during the Burns reign? Then take off the money that he did get from Zingarevich and add in the goodwill for anonymity to fame, and I doubt the 'poor' old bugger has suffered that badly.

'Lost a fortune'? Possibly due to his own poor business decisions? 'Odd mistake' they might have been in small/odd in the past but only a fool would claim that the way he handled the sale was anything other than at least Premier League in the world of business mistakes. Most of us would have made the same mistake? I think not. Many of us have sold our houses and, thanks to the good advice and assistance of our advisors did not end up with someone owning 51% but refusing to pay the remainder leaving them in control of our house! (banks and building societies excepted!).

One thing the Tilehurst End piece failed (by choice, I believe) to emphasise was that the mess/predicament that Madejski finds himself in was of his own making. He is the guy who decided to sell, who vetted and selected the buyer and who signed off on the agreement that had a hole in it big enough to sink the Titanic.

As for knocking those who are questioning spending hundreds on a season ticket, you are comparing apples with pears. The fairer measure is to look at the percentage of disposable income (after essential living costs) that supporters spend on supporting Reading FC and then compare that to the percentage of disposable income that Madejski is laying out. If you do that, I suspect you will find a fair number of supporters are actually spending a higher percentage of their disposable income on Reading FC but without all of the ownership perks.

quote="grey_squirrel"]I respect Madejski for his longevity and commitment to the club and a sport he doesn't really support (often he has said so), but I do increasingly question his ethics.

(Smee and especially Tranter, by the way, were the saviours of the Club. Not Madejski).

I have referred to him previously as a meglomanic and if the rumours that deals for the sale of the Club have collapsed 'solely' due to the naming rights, then I am correct. And that is appalling.

He has steadfastedly tried to embellish the local area with his property developing and social endeavours (including obviously RFC) - abosolutely fantastic, admirable and commendable - but always, it seems, and conditional with his name in lights. Publicity, publicity, publicity.

The futility is, The MadStad will always now be known and remembered as the MadStad regardless of whether it is subsequently - and almost inevitably - renamed in the future for sponsorship or commercial gain, convenants or not, like many others. Like the Sports Direct Arena (St James') et al, et al, so if this is his only beef to prevent a sale to worthy/wealthy purchasers, like maybe the Omaniis, then the man is a fool and you have to question his "best interests and intentions" for the Club. His legacy will always remain. His legacy will always remain in hearts and minds if not in material signage.

He made a mistake with the Zingarevichs, but wasn't the warnings clearly evident 6 years previously when an astute Premiership Chairman (Bill Kenwright) laughed their sincerity - correctly - out of town.

.[/quote]

Isn't/wasn't Bill Kenwright a good mate of Madejski's? If so, I presume that either Madejski didn't speak to him (strange) or did and decided to ignore his input on the basis that he knew better (stupid).

[Wimb]

Even if Madejski's bankrolling was in the form of loans, it's still bankrolling the club. How else are we to cover the losses we've made just about every season except 06-08? The loans are at a tiny interest rate and leave us in a much better position to owing a bank the cash.

[Royal Lady]

I haven't read all the whole thread, but AZ shafted SJM as well as the rest of us because he didn't buy the remaining part of SJM's shares. So don't think SJM is crowing about this for one minute.

He could have just walked away, but he hasn't - but the stark truth is, he doesn't have the money to repay all the debts (nor should he have to, as AZ owns 51% of the debt) and he doesn't have the necessary money to plough into the club to bring in new players. It's clear AZ sold us up the swanny with the signings of Drenthe and Pog - and their wages, you can speculate as much as you like, but you can bet, as Dirkers said in his post on The Tilehurst End, that they aren't on the average wage for Championship players. I suspect AZ also gave us a debt on the new training ground - he may have bought the land with a bank loan, which the club now has to pay back, I don't know if that is gospel, but it wouldn't surprise me. We can speculate on the reasons AZ pulled out, but it's highly likely daddy realised what a money pit we were and told him he was on his own with regard to investment and AZ didn't have enough of his own.

I will never blame SJM for the problems we are facing now - he did what he thought, at the time, was best for both the club and himself - he wanted out and thought he had brought a safe pair of hands in. The fact that he hasn't just given up and is still here and trying to keep us going is testament to his feelings for the club and the town. Yes, I was annoyed that he said there would be money available in January - but I'm guessing he didn't mean HIS money and thought he was very close to signing a deal with a new owner, so I won't even blame him for that.

We are in a really difficult position now, with expensive players who won't move on because nobody else will match their ridiculous wages, a Chairman who wants out and has done for some time and does not have the necessary amount of money to keep us going, no potential investors from what we can perceive, and a £38m debt which some new owner is going to have to take on at some point if he buys out AZ and SJM.

So let's just be thankful that, for now, we still have a club.

[Big Ern]

I am actually relieved Madejski is still around, otherwise we would have someone who owns 100% of the club not giving a shit about it. That being said, Madejski took the club as far as he could with out first promotion and since then has been holding us back as he does not have the money to allow us to compete. He wants to sell and do the right thing, just his first attempt at selling was utter dogshit so one only hopes he can do better this time around.

[PieEater]

I am actually relieved Madejski is still around, otherwise we would have someone who owns 100% of the club not giving a shit about it. That being said, Madejski took the club as far as he could with out first promotion and since then has been holding us back as he does not have the money to allow us to compete. He wants to sell and do the right thing, just his first attempt at selling was utter dogshit so one only hopes he can do better this time around.

While it's true that the first sale turned out to be utter dogshit, what mess would we be in if he has sold 100% to AZ. In hindsight that flawed sale turned out to be somewhat of a blessing that he still had an interest to carry on his association with the club.

At least if there is a firesale his Madj would still have the clubs interest at heart. I can't believe RFC owned 100% by AZ would be better off.

[Faithful Son]

What an absolute load of bollocks.

Without SJM we would still be in League one / third tier just like we spent about 99% (you do the math, I can't be arsed to work it out to 97.45% or whatever) of out time in the Football League until he saved us.
And if you had various businesses plus yourself to look after, you telling me you would spend it all on us?

No you would not, unless you are worse with money than George Osboune or Gordon Brown/ Alistair Darling

Now grow up and don't call me darling

This +1

[Uke]

Isn't/wasn't Bill Kenwright a good mate of Madejski's? If so, I presume that either Madejski didn't speak to him (strange) or did and decided to ignore his input on the basis that he knew better (stupid).

Or you could equally presume Kenwright told him to be careful and not sell 100% until he was sure the money was there?

Or balancing the level of his desperation for cash versus the risks of TSI he decided to only sell 51% with an "I'm back in contro"l clause should there be a default?

Either assumption is based on as much fact as your presumptions

[harry]

I respect Madejski for his longevity and commitment to the club and a sport he doesn't really support (often he has said so), but I do increasingly question his ethics.

(Smee and especially Tranter, by the way, were the saviours of the Club. Not Madejski).

I have referred to him previously as a meglomanic and if the rumours that deals for the sale of the Club have collapsed 'solely' due to the naming rights, then I am correct. And that is appalling.

He has steadfastedly tried to embellish the local area with his property developing and social endeavours (including obviously RFC) - abosolutely fantastic, admirable and commendable - but always, it seems, and conditional with his name in lights. Publicity, publicity, publicity.

The futility is, The MadStad will always now be known and remembered as the MadStad regardless of whether it is subsequently - and almost inevitably - renamed in the future for sponsorship or commercial gain, convenants or not, like many others. Like the Sports Direct Arena (St James') et al, et al, so if this is his only beef to prevent a sale to worthy/wealthy purchasers, like maybe the Omaniis, then the man is a fool and you have to question his "best interests and intentions" for the Club. His legacy will always remain. His legacy will always remain in hearts and minds if not in material signage.

He made a mistake with the Zingarevichs, but wasn't the warnings clearly evident 6 years previously when an astute Premiership Chairman (Bill Kenwright) laughed their sincerity - correctly - out of town.

.

Isn't/wasn't Bill Kenwright a good mate of Madejski's? If so, I presume that either Madejski didn't speak to him (strange) or did and decided to ignore his input on the basis that he knew better (stupid).

My reference to the TV Royals episode was not meant to suggest SJM saved us from that. It was purely saying beware of any old bloke with big pockets - linking previous poster's ref to Tan at Cardiff to "Sir" Robert Maxwell.

If you're prepared to knock someone for spending millions on this club, at least stump you're money up and help the club out.

[melonhead]

Does anybody actually have a source for the naming rights

Nope

[melonhead]

Moan moan moan.....if it wasn't for him we would just be in a shitty old stadium playing in the lower leagues. When some bloke who claims he's a billionaire and he was educated in Reading says he wants to buy the club you'd think all your Christmas's have come at once. No one on this board thought we would be done over so badly by that Russian t+sser. Be careful what you wish for. There are a hundred Vincent Tans probably to replace the one that Cardiff have and another hundred who are more than capable of putting us what Birmingham have been through. Do you really want to sell the clubs soul and play in red and change the name. Probably you do by the sounds of it, just so you can take the premierships blood money.

We could sell it to a dodgy newspaper magnate, change the name to Thames Valley Royals and play in yellow at Didcot. I'm sure everyone would love that. Having bankrolled us for years SJM is now in a tricky position thanks to Anton's disappearance as well-documented in the Tilehurst End article referenced elsewhere on this thread. Maybe SJM has made the odd mistake but they have been in good faith and most if not all of us in the same position would have done the same.

If you've got millions to p*ss down the drain you know who to contact. If you haven't, then whingeing about someone who has lost a fortune while bailing us out for years and at the same time questioning whether a few hundred for next year's season ticket is value for money seems hypocritical.

Only it was Madejski who saved us from Didcot was it?!

As for bankrolling - care to put a figure on that? Guarantee it was nowhere near the figures that he and his fans have made out in the past and what's more, it will all have been done in a very tax efficient manner. Care to put a figure on how much tax he avoided (that was legal) by his year of tax exile during the Burns reign? Then take off the money that he did get from Zingarevich and add in the goodwill for anonymity to fame, and I doubt the 'poor' old bugger has suffered that badly.

'Lost a fortune'? Possibly due to his own poor business decisions? 'Odd mistake' they might have been in small/odd in the past but only a fool would claim that the way he handled the sale was anything other than at least Premier League in the world of business mistakes. Most of us would have made the same mistake? I think not. Many of us have sold our houses and, thanks to the good advice and assistance of our advisors did not end up with someone owning 51% but refusing to pay the remainder leaving them in control of our house! (banks and building societies excepted!).

One thing the Tilehurst End piece failed (by choice, I believe) to emphasise was that the mess/predicament that Madejski finds himself in was of his own making. He is the guy who decided to sell, who vetted and selected the buyer and who signed off on the agreement that had a hole in it big enough to sink the Titanic.

As for knocking those who are questioning spending hundreds on a season ticket, you are comparing apples with pears. The fairer measure is to look at the percentage of disposable income (after essential living costs) that supporters spend on supporting Reading FC and then compare that to the percentage of disposable income that Madejski is laying out. If you do that, I suspect you will find a fair number of supporters are actually spending a higher percentage of their disposable income on Reading FC but without all of the ownership perks.

quote="grey_squirrel"]I respect Madejski for his longevity and commitment to the club and a sport he doesn't really support (often he has said so), but I do increasingly question his ethics.

(Smee and especially Tranter, by the way, were the saviours of the Club. Not Madejski).

I have referred to him previously as a meglomanic and if the rumours that deals for the sale of the Club have collapsed 'solely' due to the naming rights, then I am correct. And that is appalling.

He has steadfastedly tried to embellish the local area with his property developing and social endeavours (including obviously RFC) - abosolutely fantastic, admirable and commendable - but always, it seems, and conditional with his name in lights. Publicity, publicity, publicity.

The futility is, The MadStad will always now be known and remembered as the MadStad regardless of whether it is subsequently - and almost inevitably - renamed in the future for sponsorship or commercial gain, convenants or not, like many others. Like the Sports Direct Arena (St James') et al, et al, so if this is his only beef to prevent a sale to worthy/wealthy purchasers, like maybe the Omaniis, then the man is a fool and you have to question his "best interests and intentions" for the Club. His legacy will always remain. His legacy will always remain in hearts and minds if not in material signage.

He made a mistake with the Zingarevichs, but wasn't the warnings clearly evident 6 years previously when an astute Premiership Chairman (Bill Kenwright) laughed their sincerity - correctly - out of town.

.

Isn't/wasn't Bill Kenwright a good mate of Madejski's? If so, I presume that either Madejski didn't speak to him (strange) or did and decided to ignore his input on the basis that he knew better (stupid).[/quote]
quotepocalypse

[westendgirl]

Isn't/wasn't Bill Kenwright a good mate of Madejski's? If so, I presume that either Madejski didn't speak to him (strange) or did and decided to ignore his input on the basis that he knew better (stupid).

Or you could equally presume Kenwright told him to be careful and not sell 100% until he was sure the money was there?

Or balancing the level of his desperation for cash versus the risks of TSI he decided to only sell 51% with an "I'm back in contro"l clause should there be a default?

Either assumption is based on as much fact as your presumptions

If the reason BZ opted out of Everton that I was given by someone ITK then Bill Kenwright would not have warned SJM off.