The Thank You Madejski thread

[From Despair To Where?]

Yes, he's wanted out since 2006 and maybe this has clouded his judgement somewhat but in his time in charge we have gone from lower league also rans in a ramshackle stadium with hopes of a few seasons in the second tier into second tier regulars with genuine aspirations of top flight football and an infrastructure to match.

I think on balance, he can be proud of hat he has achieved at the club and we have been very lucky to have him here.

[Reading4eva]

We have to be positive about the new owner, but thankful to the Mad Man

[Reading4eva]

Yes, he's wanted out since 2006 and maybe this has clouded his judgement somewhat but in his time in charge we have gone from lower league also rans in a ramshackle stadium with hopes of a few seasons in the second tier into second tier regulars with genuine aspirations of top flight football and an infrastructure to match.

I think on balance, he can be proud of hat he has achieved at the club and we have been very lucky to have him here.

Ditto, now imagine he wasn't and think of where every team with a similar ground to Elm Park is now

[floyd__streete]

We have to be positive about the new owner

Why do we?

If your mum comes home with a new boyfriend do you try and get to know me first

[Extended-Phenotype]

I think on balance, he can be proud of hat

He's not JSB.

[Green]

Yeh thanks John.

Like many politicians you probably stayed on a few years too long but whatevs, good luck to you and yours.

[SPARTA]

We have to be positive about the new owner

Why do we?

If your mum comes home with a new boyfriend do you try and get to know me first

No. I'd try to get to know the boyfriend first, you attention seeking whore!

[Green]

SPARTA is probably my favourite team board poster at the moment.

A man not afraid to say what he thinks, even if it means upsetting some of the old guard.

[CholseyRoyal]

Appreciate him for getting us as far as he did, but he reached his peak here in 2007 and he's been holding us back ever since. He'll always be fondly thought of, but he took an uncharacteristic gamble with the Zingarevich's largely due to his own financial problems, and we were very close to paying a very heavy price for that. If we have got lucky with this new owner, then it largely saves SJM's reputation, and he can leave (continue as president) with some integrity. We may well owe him a great deal of gratitude for keeping Samuelson away from this football club. His last actions as Chairman could well be his most important.

I still favour a statue of SJM together with Steve Coppell, as they were at Leicester; and I'm fully behind stadium rebranding, as that could bring in excess of £700k per season, and under FFP that will give us more scope to compete with the top Championship teams - and it's worth considerably more in the Premier League.

But he knew he couldn't fund us properly after 2007 and has looked for a new owner ever since. He wasn't holding us back deliberately he just could not afford to keep running us with the vast amount of money now needed to run a football club especially in the Prem. He has said so many times himself and that is why he was looking for a buyer with deep pockets. How many times has he said it needs a billionaire to run a club these days and how ridiculous is the amount of money thrown around by the Prem clubs.

Anton seemed an ideal candidate, had some money of his own, though not much, a very rich father who seemed at the time to be interested in backing his son, had strong connections with Reading and paid out for a few players and got us Cat one status for which we will benefit for years to come and promotion tho the Prem. Most here felt the same that Anton was our saviour although agreed some had some doubts but no one foresaw that Anton would not be funded. He was undone by his father who probably saw our demotion as a failure and backing us becoming a money pit. I understand he did keep the club afloat during last season though so credit to him for that.

Sir John seems to have overcome the power of Vibrac and Samuelson et al and made a deal, hopefully soon to be ratified by the FL with a rich consortium led by a keen footballing team owner. It looks as though we have an Anton mark 2 but with money. He sounds like a keen footballer going by that translation floating around and interesting Sir John negotiated alone face to face with this new guy after having seen him play an hours session of a five a side match in his suit. Sir John really does have the interests of RFC at heart and we all owe him so much. Just think what he has brought to this club. I first watched Reading as a kid in the late 1940s and for years followed them in the old 3rd Division South and even in Division 4 (League two for you youngsters). Now you are moaning when we don't make the play-offs in the second tier whilst watching the game in a comfortable all seater stadium paid for by Sir John.

Sir John is a massive hero for RFC and will surely go down in the club's history as a great benefactor probably equal or even greater than Roger Smee who saved us from the awful Robert Maxwell.

[seahawk10]

We have to be positive about the new owner

Why do we?

If your mum comes home with a new boyfriend do you try and get to know me first

You are dating my mum? Does Bilbo know?

[melonhead]

cheers john


done great things with this club. i wish him well

the end of the most succesful period in our long history

[multisync1830]

cheers john


done great things with this club. i wish him well

the end of the most succesful period in our long history

last time I was around there was a sense of "end of an era" hanging about. If he remains life prez then I wonder if he's negotiated keeping the apartment

[Oilroyal]

Still rings true today and well worth another read http://thetilehurstend.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/an-open-letter-to-sir-john-madejski/#more-1259

[loyalroyal4life]

we will either go the way of leicester or birmingham.....

[percy_freeman]

Thanks Mr Mad, hope to see you in the Purple Turtle when we get promotion.....

[Ascotexgunner]

Big up for SJM, hes done a superb job. The last couple of years have been ropey but he cant be blamed for a dodgy Russian pulling the wool over his eyes and shafting us all.

[nicktamarensis]

Those of us with longer memories tend to recall the bad old days of Frank Waller..........
By comparison the arrival of Mr Mad was for many of us like Moses fresh from godly communication at the summit of Mt Sinai.
In recent years some of his business judgements may have been faulty, but he never allowed the so-called 'cutting edge' and cynicism of modern business methods to smother one essential ingredient - a loyal heart for RFC.
And for that alone (quite apart from his once deep pockets that saw us plucked from Elm Park) he's got my 100% approval and thanks.
He'll never be forgotten.

[Angry Shed Sex]

Who?

[Royal Biscuitman]

Who?

Google

[Royalwaster]

Ta mr mad u are da business.