CONFIMRED - The final countdown

[WestYorksRoyal]

Also, based on the content of the Exeter City game thread, I'd take all the comments around preferring "young raw academy talent over journeymen on a last pay day" with a pinch of salt

Ultimately we want to watch a team that wins more than it loses and the finances of English football as so far from the realms of reality that there is no point even trying to understand it

We need more experience to complement it, but the academy should remain the bedrock.

And when people talk about the cost of it, do a simple thought experiment. Had we been run competently, how much more transfer revenue would we have got for Loader, Richards and Olise? There's a very clear route to it paying for itself, and the reason it hasn't is incompetence. We need to be in the Championship for it to work, but look at the division we're in. Our mess of a club has an outside chance of promotion. Wycombe and Wrexham are pretty average but one will go up automatically. There won't be anyone as strong as Birmingham next season. We're only a handful of smart signings away from making it happen.

[Snowflake Royal]

Also, based on the content of the Exeter City game thread, I'd take all the comments around preferring "young raw academy talent over journeymen on a last pay day" with a pinch of salt

Ultimately we want to watch a team that wins more than it loses and the finances of English football as so far from the realms of reality that there is no point even trying to understand it

We need more experience to complement it, but the academy should remain the bedrock.

And when people talk about the cost of it, do a simple thought experiment. Had we been run competently, how much more transfer revenue would we have got for Loader, Richards and Olise? There's a very clear route to it paying for itself, and the reason it hasn't is incompetence. We need to be in the Championship for it to work, but look at the division we're in. Our mess of a club has an outside chance of promotion. Wycombe and Wrexham are pretty average but one will go up automatically. There won't be anyone as strong as Birmingham next season. We're only a handful of smart signings away from making it happen.

No one is suggesting we just scrap the Academy entirely.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Also, based on the content of the Exeter City game thread, I'd take all the comments around preferring "young raw academy talent over journeymen on a last pay day" with a pinch of salt

Ultimately we want to watch a team that wins more than it loses and the finances of English football as so far from the realms of reality that there is no point even trying to understand it

We need more experience to complement it, but the academy should remain the bedrock.

And when people talk about the cost of it, do a simple thought experiment. Had we been run competently, how much more transfer revenue would we have got for Loader, Richards and Olise? There's a very clear route to it paying for itself, and the reason it hasn't is incompetence. We need to be in the Championship for it to work, but look at the division we're in. Our mess of a club has an outside chance of promotion. Wycombe and Wrexham are pretty average but one will go up automatically. There won't be anyone as strong as Birmingham next season. We're only a handful of smart signings away from making it happen.

No one is suggesting we just scrap the Academy entirely.

No, just downgrading it so bigger clubs can easily poach our best talent and we're less attractive when recruiting.

[Sutekh]

Also, based on the content of the Exeter City game thread, I'd take all the comments around preferring "young raw academy talent over journeymen on a last pay day" with a pinch of salt

Ultimately we want to watch a team that wins more than it loses and the finances of English football as so far from the realms of reality that there is no point even trying to understand it

We need more experience to complement it, but the academy should remain the bedrock.

And when people talk about the cost of it, do a simple thought experiment. Had we been run competently, how much more transfer revenue would we have got for Loader, Richards and Olise? There's a very clear route to it paying for itself, and the reason it hasn't is incompetence. We need to be in the Championship for it to work, but look at the division we're in. Our mess of a club has an outside chance of promotion. Wycombe and Wrexham are pretty average but one will go up automatically. There won't be anyone as strong as Birmingham next season. We're only a handful of smart signings away from making it happen.

Next season it’ll be Derby and Luton rather than Brum I expect but by then our remaining Academy first teamers should be that much better. Issue is, if the club remains embargoed and no sign of a new owner, which youngsters are able to move up next

[Royal_jimmy]

I'd rather not downgrade the academy as well for the same reasons as others have said. Brentford did it but they had to the scouts to recruit well. We won't have that set up at all.

The one weakness about our academy though is we may lack players in certain positions who might not be good enough to step up to the first team, which is where you need the transfer window to fill in gaps. Mind you a few loans won't cost us much!

[WestYorksRoyal]

Also, based on the content of the Exeter City game thread, I'd take all the comments around preferring "young raw academy talent over journeymen on a last pay day" with a pinch of salt

Ultimately we want to watch a team that wins more than it loses and the finances of English football as so far from the realms of reality that there is no point even trying to understand it

We need more experience to complement it, but the academy should remain the bedrock.

And when people talk about the cost of it, do a simple thought experiment. Had we been run competently, how much more transfer revenue would we have got for Loader, Richards and Olise? There's a very clear route to it paying for itself, and the reason it hasn't is incompetence. We need to be in the Championship for it to work, but look at the division we're in. Our mess of a club has an outside chance of promotion. Wycombe and Wrexham are pretty average but one will go up automatically. There won't be anyone as strong as Birmingham next season. We're only a handful of smart signings away from making it happen.

Next season it’ll be Derby and Luton rather than Brum I expect but by then our remaining Academy first teamers should be that much better. Issue is, if the club remains embargoed and no sign of a new owner, which youngsters are able to move up next

We're not under an embargo in the summer. We failed to pay HMRC in the summer of 2023 which resulted in a 3 window ban on paying transfer fees. This was Jan 2024, last summer and Jan 2025. And even then, we'd have been able to sign free transfers which we know can be productive at this level. The HMRC bill then remained unpaid until November 2023 for which we got deducted points, but there was no embargo extension.

We're also currently under embargo for not submitted accounts, which a new owner can easily fix.

Get this takeover done and we can go back to only playing academy productive who are ready. In this squad, that would probably mean loans or U21 football for Kanu and Strickland and reduced roles for Garcia, Wareham and Camara.

If the takeover doesn't happen it's a disaster so all bets are off.

[Esteban]

We need more experience to complement it, but the academy should remain the bedrock.

And when people talk about the cost of it, do a simple thought experiment. Had we been run competently, how much more transfer revenue would we have got for Loader, Richards and Olise? There's a very clear route to it paying for itself, and the reason it hasn't is incompetence. We need to be in the Championship for it to work, but look at the division we're in. Our mess of a club has an outside chance of promotion. Wycombe and Wrexham are pretty average but one will go up automatically. There won't be anyone as strong as Birmingham next season. We're only a handful of smart signings away from making it happen.

Next season it’ll be Derby and Luton rather than Brum I expect but by then our remaining Academy first teamers should be that much better. Issue is, if the club remains embargoed and no sign of a new owner, which youngsters are able to move up next

We're not under an embargo in the summer. We failed to pay HMRC in the summer of 2023 which resulted in a 3 window ban on paying transfer fees. This was Jan 2024, last summer and Jan 2025. And even then, we'd have been able to sign free transfers which we know can be productive at this level. The HMRC bill then remained unpaid until November 2023 for which we got deducted points, but there was no embargo extension.

We're also currently under embargo for not submitted accounts, which a new owner can easily fix.

Get this takeover done and we can go back to only playing academy productive who are ready. In this squad, that would probably mean loans or U21 football for Kanu and Strickland and reduced roles for Garcia, Wareham and Camara.

If the takeover doesn't happen it's a disaster so all bets are off.

When is the next set of accounts due? Last year, I thought we were supposed to submit at the end of March, but were then granted an extension to 30th June, due to the ongoing exclusivity period at the time (I've lost track of who that was with now). Does that then mean that we've got to submit another set of accounts by 31st March this year?

I would think the EFL will take a dim view if we're two years behind. Hopefully that doesn't lead to further punishments.

[Stranded]

Next season it’ll be Derby and Luton rather than Brum I expect but by then our remaining Academy first teamers should be that much better. Issue is, if the club remains embargoed and no sign of a new owner, which youngsters are able to move up next

We're not under an embargo in the summer. We failed to pay HMRC in the summer of 2023 which resulted in a 3 window ban on paying transfer fees. This was Jan 2024, last summer and Jan 2025. And even then, we'd have been able to sign free transfers which we know can be productive at this level. The HMRC bill then remained unpaid until November 2023 for which we got deducted points, but there was no embargo extension.

We're also currently under embargo for not submitted accounts, which a new owner can easily fix.

Get this takeover done and we can go back to only playing academy productive who are ready. In this squad, that would probably mean loans or U21 football for Kanu and Strickland and reduced roles for Garcia, Wareham and Camara.

If the takeover doesn't happen it's a disaster so all bets are off.

When is the next set of accounts due? Last year, I thought we were supposed to submit at the end of March, but were then granted an extension to 30th June, due to the ongoing exclusivity period at the time (I've lost track of who that was with now). Does that then mean that we've got to submit another set of accounts by 31st March this year?

I would think the EFL will take a dim view if we're two years behind. Hopefully that doesn't lead to further punishments.

If a takeover is close then the EFL will be fully involved and will make it clear to any new owners that they expect all outstanding accounts to be submitted by "X" date to avoid any further sanction.

If the deal falls through, we'll we will be fcuked in so many ways that failing to submit accounts will be the least of the issues.

[Snowflake Royal]

We need more experience to complement it, but the academy should remain the bedrock.

And when people talk about the cost of it, do a simple thought experiment. Had we been run competently, how much more transfer revenue would we have got for Loader, Richards and Olise? There's a very clear route to it paying for itself, and the reason it hasn't is incompetence. We need to be in the Championship for it to work, but look at the division we're in. Our mess of a club has an outside chance of promotion. Wycombe and Wrexham are pretty average but one will go up automatically. There won't be anyone as strong as Birmingham next season. We're only a handful of smart signings away from making it happen.

Next season it’ll be Derby and Luton rather than Brum I expect but by then our remaining Academy first teamers should be that much better. Issue is, if the club remains embargoed and no sign of a new owner, which youngsters are able to move up next

We're not under an embargo in the summer. We failed to pay HMRC in the summer of 2023 which resulted in a 3 window ban on paying transfer fees. This was Jan 2024, last summer and Jan 2025. And even then, we'd have been able to sign free transfers which we know can be productive at this level. The HMRC bill then remained unpaid until November 2023 for which we got deducted points, but there was no embargo extension.

We're also currently under embargo for not submitted accounts, which a new owner can easily fix.

Get this takeover done and we can go back to only playing academy productive who are ready. In this squad, that would probably mean loans or U21 football for Kanu and Strickland and reduced roles for Garcia, Wareham and Camara.

If the takeover doesn't happen it's a disaster so all bets are off.

I thought it included the summer, but if not that's brilliant news.

[Crusader Royal]

I believe that a Cat 1 academy requires an annual minimum budget of £2.5 million.
No idea whether that excludes capital costs of providing training facilities but I suspect it doesn’t - it’s what is spent each year on coaching, ancillary support, travel, education and whatever else is involved.

[rabidbee]

But as academy costs are excluded from FFP rules, this is one area where owners with deep pockets and a desire to invest in a club can make a real difference. They can pump in their money like there's no tomorrow, if they like, with the added bonus that any future sales will appear as pure profit (and so boost our income in future FFP accounting). It's a win/win, if the owner has the money to burn.

[Armadillo Roadkill]

But as academy costs are excluded from FFP rules, this is one area where owners with deep pockets and a desire to invest in a club can make a real difference. They can pump in their money like there's no tomorrow, if they like, with the added bonus that any future sales will appear as pure profit (and so boost our income in future FFP accounting). It's a win/win, if the owner has the money to burn.

Wholly agree with this. Not sure which part of this other people are struggling with.

It's also, if done right, going to provide a better return than many other investment vehicles that the ultra rich might indulge in.

Let's say it is £2.5 million per year to run a Cat 1 academy. The way it's been going at reading these past years, that's only around the cost of transfer fees to be competitive. So any sales are a bonus. And it give us teams we can connect with, rather than filling a team with loanees and journeymen (both of which have their place, but as part of the mix, not the spine of the team).

Also exempt from FFP is spend on women's football. And, I think, money spent on infrastructure, like pitch maintenance, a lick of paint, an new PA, and a roller disco.

[blythspartan]

The title of this thread might need to be changed to something less positive again. Someone on x has found out that the satisfaction of the charges regarding the shares of the club and Bearwood etc from Couhig and co have been removed from the register. Not really sure what this means for the sale of the club.

[Stranded]

What will be, will be.

Probably Couhig trying every trick to force the sale to him but we'll see.

[rabidbee]

Both charges are still shown as being satisfied on Companies House: https://find-and-update.company-informa ... 42/charges

<shrug>

[Linden Jones' Tash]

Both charges are still shown as being satisfied on Companies House: https://find-and-update.company-informa ... 42/charges

<shrug>

any idea what this bit means?

"05 Mar 2025 Information not on the register The material was formerly considered to form part of the register but is no longer considered by the registrar to do so.
This document is being processed and will be available in 10 days"

[mikey_1871]

The title of this thread might need to be changed to something less positive again. Someone on x has found out that the satisfaction of the charges regarding the shares of the club and Bearwood etc from Couhig and co have been removed from the register. Not really sure what this means for the sale of the club.

I'm fairly sure we knew that already, and knew it before the recent exclusivity was announced

[El Diablo]

Cutting your academy to fund the 1st team is a bad decision of Dai proportions. Good players come and go; the ability to produce good players is a sustainable advantage over your competitors. It would be like selling some foundational material beneath your house to buy a summer house in the garden.

Totally agree..

[El Diablo]

The title of this thread might need to be changed to something less positive again. Someone on x has found out that the satisfaction of the charges regarding the shares of the club and Bearwood etc from Couhig and co have been removed from the register. Not really sure what this means for the sale of the club.

I'm fairly sure we knew that already, and knew it before the recent exclusivity was announced

So Couhigs filed in the past couple of days a reply & defence to Dai's counterclaim - but currently these are filings - no hearing as at yet has occurred.

Like others have said no changes on Co. house with regard the January dated satisfaction of charges, so maybe the registrar has reviewed the basis/argument for the satisfaction and reversed his decision , per Lindon Jones Tash post ' The material was formerly considered to form part of the register but is no longer considered by the registrar to do so. This document is being processed and will be available in 10 days"

What that means , is its a notice of withdrawal of financial standing / data / Accounts that have been posted onto Co. House as a record of fact. In 10 days those (incorrect records) disappear and are updated with the latest accurate record .

Think I read somewhere that Couhig was contesting the charges had not been satisfied, and also somewhere RFC had said they'd found a way around it.

Not great.

[Linden Jones' Tash]

The title of this thread might need to be changed to something less positive again. Someone on x has found out that the satisfaction of the charges regarding the shares of the club and Bearwood etc from Couhig and co have been removed from the register. Not really sure what this means for the sale of the club.

I'm fairly sure we knew that already, and knew it before the recent exclusivity was announced

So Couhigs filed in the past couple of days a reply & defence to Dai's counterclaim - but currently these are filings - no hearing as at yet has occurred.

Like others have said no changes on Co. house with regard the January dated satisfaction of charges, so maybe the registrar has reviewed the basis/argument for the satisfaction and reversed his decision , per Lindon Jones Tash post ' The material was formerly considered to form part of the register but is no longer considered by the registrar to do so. This document is being processed and will be available in 10 days"

What that means , is its a notice of withdrawal of financial standing / data / Accounts that have been posted onto Co. House as a record of fact. In 10 days those (incorrect records) disappear and are updated with the latest accurate record .

Think I read somewhere that Couhig was contesting the charges had not been satisfied, and also somewhere RFC had said they'd found a way around it.

Not great.

so for a layperson - the original information has been reviewed by the registrar and found to be lacking and will be replaced within 10 days?

does it imply new information has been put forward or just that the original has only now been reviewed and found lacking?