CONFIMRED - The final countdown

[MouldyRoyal]

Administration would very probably mean starting next season on -12 points. if we still have a team that is.

That's fine. Bigger things at stake than a L1 relegation battle.

Quite, I'd take Reading in L2 over no Reading at all.

[rabidbee]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/apr/02/reading-rob-couhig-rejects-offer-dai-yongge?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Not exactly acting like someone who claims to have no interest in blocking the sale is he?

FWIW, unlike most posters on here I don't understand the legalities but can't we just sell the club and put 6 million quid of the proceeds in escrow? The judge didn't even say we had to do that did he? I don't understand why Couhig gets to say (through his media chum) what we can and can't do

RC has to release his securities on the club's assets in order for them to be sold. He wants a legally binding contract that the money will be set aside. (Of course, Platek could put £12m into escrow now, and RC could be given the necessary assurances that the money will be set aside until his suit is resolved. Ultimately, it comes down to a) whether Couhig trusts the arrangements and b) whether he's actually playing straight.

[Linden Jones' Tash]

it feels like rich people messing about at being rich people...

except its with something lots of people care about...

I have a lack of specialist knowledge so cannot really understand what a 'signed legal document' regarding escrow would look like...


Why would the buyer need to sign it - isn't it just the seller agreeing to place a specified amount from the sale into a third party account that is blocked until the court case is resolved?

its like a bunch of bald men fighting over a comb at the moment...

[rabidbee]

I think Couhig wants Platek to agree to put £12m into escrow, and for Dai to say he will accept that, rather than Platek paying the full sum to Dai and Couhig having to trust Dai to put £12m into escrow after the sale.

[MouldyRoyal]

it feels like rich people messing about at being rich people...

except its with something lots of people care about...

I have a lack of specialist knowledge so cannot really understand what a 'signed legal document' regarding escrow would look like...


Why would the buyer need to sign it - isn't it just the seller agreeing to place a specified amount from the sale into a third party account that is blocked until the court case is resolved?

its like a bunch of bald men fighting over a comb at the moment...

Because the buyer would need to pay the amount directly into escrow. If it was paid to Dai first, you are then relying on Dai being honest and setting it aside in case he loses his case with Couhig. Escrow is designed to protect both sides from dishonesty by leaving the money with a neutral third party, but to do that the money can't go in Dai's hands.

[Extended-Phenotype]

Clearly won’t go down well with most of the fans, that.

But if the agreement sent to Couhig wasn’t legally binding, then why would he accept it? Shrug. For all he (or we) knows, there isn’t a buyer to even counter sign the agreement. In which case, isn’t his rejection a good thing? Otherwise it would mean RC lifting the liens and Dai not selling, folding the club and selling it for scrap.

But to be honest I am starting to wonder if I am just defaulting to defending RC out of habit (or optimism). I guess I just can’t really see the point of him publicly behaving like a dick; like it or not he needs the fans onside if he ends up with the club. And if he is content with missing out but having his dues secure, then why wouldn’t he want the agreement to be legally binding?

Again it feels like the club is the one dicking about sending worthless bits of paper to someone who is suing them.

Ffs, it’s so difficult to unpick this. Sad thing is, I don’t think we will ever be confident in any story we may eventually be told, if we ever get one.

[Armadillo Roadkill]

Rob Couhig. What a great guy. Wants nothing but the best for the club. I can see why so many of you support him no matter what he says or does. He's not a problem at the moment is he?

[andrew1957]

Probably a stupid question, or one that has been answered.

Notwithstanding that without a takeover going through the club doesn't last the summer - if we are 'suspended' by the EFL this week, are we removed from the league, or are our remaining fixtures treated as (3-0?) walkovers? Given we have enough points already to avoid relegation, do we in effect then have until next season's league is fully ratified to sort our shit out?

I am pretty sure that this exact situation has no precedent and so the EFL are in uncharted territory.

I am pretty sure they will extend until 4th May to keep the integrity of the league, but if sale has not gone through by then, I doubt we will be allowed to take part in the play offs should we get in top 6. Otherwise there would be uncertainty hanging over the league if by some miracle we got promoted. Most likely outcome is that they leave us in L1 and give an absolute deadline of say end June and if sale is not sorted by then they will expel us and L1 next season will just have 23 clubs. That would be the least disruption for the league system/EFL which is their main responsibility. I think they could fairly say they have done all they can by that point.

I don't see that Administration is a possibility as the club would be unsaleable all the time RC holds mortgages and so the Administrators would have to close the club in any case. Basically RC is the only realistic buyer - but then Platek will sue Dai as that will breach his exclusivity agreement.

Football clubs have become rich boys toys and as they are all narcissistic and won't back down, we are effectively doomed.

[Sutekh]

What a mess

From memory, Tim Dellor claimed last week he had been told by the club that the £12m was sitting in a bank account ready to go

This article claims the £12m doesnt exist yet, and would be proceeds of any eventual sale

So are the club asking RC to give up his securities now and the club (Dai) pinky promises to put £12m in the bank in the future when (if) a sale ever takes place?

If thats the case then I don't blame RC for rejecting it

Is rejected even the right word? If what I wrote above is true there is nothing to “accept” it’s just made up fantasy money

Reading the article, and it is the Grauniad so who knows how accurate it is, it would imply the offer has been rejected because it has NOT been accompanied by a legally binding agreement signed by the odious one rather than there not being the £12m available. Can quite understand RC’s stance after months of dealing with this idiot and, as we know, RC still wants to buy the club so makes some sense in wanting to manoeuvre Platek out of the picture.

Problem now is how it moves forward as Platek was only going to fund things if the escrow was accepted so if he pulls out the schoolboy will have to speak to RC or the club fails to pay bills and we get another winding up order from the HMRC.

Has anyone started to get to the point of not caring about any of this ****** stupid palava any more. What happens will happen and there’s sod all we can do about it. Looking forward to the FL finally throwing the book at the club tomorrow and then getting the standard cr@p from the club saying that that man still intends to sell.

[Sanguine]

Rob Couhig. What a great guy. Wants nothing but the best for the club. I can see why so many of you support him no matter what he says or does. He's not a problem at the moment is he?

I want this resolved as much as anyone - but we can't expect a guy with no relation to the club before a year ago to accept the potential (likely) loss of millions just because he got involved with our basket case of an organisation. This is all on Dai.

[Stranded]

Has anyone started to get to the point of not caring about any of this ****** stupid palava any more. What happens will happen and there’s sod all we can do about it. Looking forward to the FL finally throwing the book at the club tomorrow and then getting the standard cr@p from the club saying that that man still intends to sale.

Pretty much been there for a while.

Just want this all over and done with. Of course I want us to survive but at least us going bust ends this limbo.

If we get out of this then great I'll have a club to support, if we go bust, I imagine I'll be unlikely to watch an English football game again as I only really ever watch our games now.

[windermereROYAL]

Has anyone started to get to the point of not caring about any of this ****** stupid palava any more. What happens will happen and there’s sod all we can do about it. Looking forward to the FL finally throwing the book at the club tomorrow and then getting the standard cr@p from the club saying that that man still intends to sale.

Pretty much been there for a while.

Just want this all over and done with. Of course I want us to survive but at least us going bust ends this limbo.

If we get out of this then great I'll have a club to support, if we go bust, I imagine I'll be unlikely to watch an English football game again as I only really ever watch our games now.

This, even now I`m struggling to watch any football with too much interest, if we go I`m not sure if I could be assed anymore at all.

[Extended-Phenotype]

Rob Couhig. What a great guy. Wants nothing but the best for the club. I can see why so many of you support him no matter what he says or does. He's not a problem at the moment is he?

I want this resolved as much as anyone - but we can't expect a guy with no relation to the club before a year ago to accept the potential (likely) loss of millions just because he got involved with our basket case of an organisation. This is all on Dai.

Quite. It’s important to remember that Dia Yongge is untrustworthy. He has broken agreements in the past. It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that RC would reject anything that isn’t legally binding, while I’m flabbergasted that the club assumed he would.

It’s also important to remember, that IF there is no genuine buyer, or if Dai pulled out last minute once again, then without a legally binding agreement in place not only could RC lose his money, Dai would have full control to sell our assets for scrap.

I think its helpful to think of RC’s claim as basically a potential £12m share in our club. He’s not willing to give that up without assurances. I don’t believe he wants the club to disappear, and I think this is his way of preventing that. Not because I think he is doing it out of kindness; he wants to run a football club first and foremost, and Reading is a great opportunity for him. This is business hardball. Sell to me and forget the £12m. Or demonstrate legally that the £12m is secure. Else, I’m keeping the liens and if you try and fold the club I’ll block it.

That feels like Occam’s Razor, here. I think it would be a stretch to believe the alternative, that RC is going out of his way to present the two options, sell to him or the club ceases to exist. I’m pretty confident he knows that Dai couldn’t give two shits about Reading and the latter option doesn’t provide any incentive to take the former whatsoever.

[Hound]

Yeah my reading was not that Couhig was rejecting the principle of the offer, just that it had been done in a lame non legally binding way. And that I think is reasonable sadly

[MouldyRoyal]

Has anyone started to get to the point of not caring about any of this ****** stupid palava any more. What happens will happen and there’s sod all we can do about it. Looking forward to the FL finally throwing the book at the club tomorrow and then getting the standard cr@p from the club saying that that man still intends to sale.

Pretty much been there for a while.

Just want this all over and done with. Of course I want us to survive but at least us going bust ends this limbo.

If we get out of this then great I'll have a club to support, if we go bust, I imagine I'll be unlikely to watch an English football game again as I only really ever watch our games now.

This, even now I`m struggling to watch any football with too much interest, if we go I`m not sure if I could be assed anymore at all.

Yeah I m done with football if Reading go out of business tbh. The missus says I should support her team but...it doesn't really work like that for me.

[morganb]

How about:

"Rob C, Rob P, share nicely"

If both Robs want Reading couldn't they own half each? It gets the Club away from Dai

[Bristol Paul]

Yeah my reading was not that Couhig was rejecting the principle of the offer, just that it had been done in a lame non legally binding way. And that I think is reasonable sadly

This. No self respecting businessman would accept this without a cast iron, water tight legal agreement that mitigated the risk of Dai stitching him up. Not RC fault in the slightest, unless of course he’s playing a game of who blinks first where Dai starts to think that the only way forward is to now sell to RC.

[From Despair To Where?]

Has anyone started to get to the point of not caring about any of this ****** stupid palava any more. What happens will happen and there’s sod all we can do about it. Looking forward to the FL finally throwing the book at the club tomorrow and then getting the standard cr@p from the club saying that that man still intends to sell.

Yep, been there for about a year but was on a meandering journey there for over a decade.

[Armadillo Roadkill]

Rob Couhig. What a great guy. Wants nothing but the best for the club. I can see why so many of you support him no matter what he says or does. He's not a problem at the moment is he?

I want this resolved as much as anyone - but we can't expect a guy with no relation to the club before a year ago to accept the potential (likely) loss of millions just because he got involved with our basket case of an organisation. This is all on Dai.

If he had a genuine case I'd have some sympathy.

As it is, he's claiming he would have made £12 million out of the club if he'd been able to buy it. Whereas, of course, he would have lost money, month on month. That's what owning a football club generally involves. So he's not got a legitimate case.

So in pursuing his case he will force the club over the brink.

Historically, it has been Dai's utter incompetence and intransigence that has got us to where we are. What may finish us off is Couhig's spite.

[Forbury Lion]

How about:

"Rob C, Rob P, share nicely"

If both Robs want Reading couldn't they own half each? It gets the Club away from Dai

Their goals may not align, particularly if one of them doesn't want to share a football club or one of them wants to invest millions into a club and the other wants to asset strip it and sell it on.

I would hope Rob C and Rob P's people are in discussions about this. Maybe they agree an amount of £6m and Rob P says he'll take whatever the hit is on this but he's paying £8m less for the club.... DY's people see that as a win because the claim was £12m, Rob P is saving £2m and Rob C is making £6m, which may or may not have been what he was actually after and would have settled for in the first place (Maybe tweak those numbers based on what Rob C will settle for).