Madejski comments on club ownership

[Uke]

I seldom post on here these days and, no doubt, will get shot down again.
Sir John,in the interview, did not look at all well and was very hesitant. Not the man I knew, and,indeed,talked me back into becoming a season ticket holder again,in the eighties.Should he, Heaven forfend, fall"off the perch" what disaster planning is in place?

That is a something we have talked about about recently. He's not a young man any more and anything can happen. When he goes his share is more than likely left with his daughter (or is it daughters?), very possibly overseen by long-time close friend and CEO of his other businesses, Nigel Howe. The shares would almost certainly be sold as soon as possible, and then we can fall into the hands of just about anyone. In the 20 odd years I have been a supporter of Reading Football Club, Sir John Madejski has always been there. It will be a very sad day when he leaves us, both as a chairman/owner and as a person.

I'm sure he has a will where his plans are laid out.

That or he leaves everything to STAR

[winchester_royal]

They're not going to downgrade the academy. They will sooner sell all the crown jewels. Like it or not we're going to become a club increasingly reliant on youth development over the next few years.

Is this necessarily a bad thing?

I think it's a fantastic thing, it's a considerably more sustainable long term plan that should be adopted by all clubs imo, but I know that there are plenty of fans out there who are more interested in seeing us spend lots of money on Deadline Day, regardless of which ageing journeyman we spend it on.

[Uke]

They're not going to downgrade the academy. They will sooner sell all the crown jewels. Like it or not we're going to become a club increasingly reliant on youth development over the next few years.

Is this necessarily a bad thing?

I think it's a fantastic thing, it's a considerably more sustainable long term plan that should be adopted by all clubs imo, but I know that there are plenty of fans out there who are more interested in seeing us spend lots of money on Deadline Day, regardless of which ageing journeyman we spend it on.

+1 here

More Neil Webbs is not a bad thing at all - it's good seeing new talent come through

Even if they do move on to "better things"

[Royal Rother]

I agree wholeheartedly. And of course you need a manager in place who is prepared to take a bit of a risk playing the youngsters, rather then demanding money to sign the journeymen referred to.

I think that manager should be more highly paid than one who is given a substantial budget to sign new players.

Employ someone who is motivated by the chance to build something significant with a long term vision that is sustainable and does not involved gambling with stupid money. And if you really believe in him pay him enough to keep the raiders at bay because, forget the players, that man will be the most important person at the club.

[From Despair To Where?]

I think Cat 1 is massively important. Whereas before hand it was always hearsay and word of mouth that we had a good academy set up, we now have a tangible status at the head of the pack and being one of the few non Premier League teams with Cat 1, ever more so we have the carrot of a genuine chance of getting first team football.

It's a long term strategy but, I think even, more sustainable and valuable to the club than having a reasonable transfer budget each year. £2.5m a year cost could be turned into an income stream through selling players or by saving on incoming transfer fees.

[under the tin]

I agree wholeheartedly. And of course you need a manager in place who is prepared to take a bit of a risk playing the youngsters, rather then demanding money to sign the journeymen referred to.

I think that manager should be more highly paid than one who is given a substantial budget to sign new players.

Employ someone who is motivated by the chance to build something significant with a long term vision that is sustainable and does not involved gambling with stupid money. And if you really believe in him pay him enough to keep the raiders at bay because, forget the players, that man will be the most important person at the club.

Hear hear
The manager is the most important signing any club makes.
It took Newcastle nearly going totally bust before they realised that fact.
They turned over successive expensive big name managers, who then proceeded to turn making marquee signings virtually into an artform.

[Uke]

Of the two "owners", I think we know which wanted "marquee" signings and which pushed for (and got) the investment in the academy, building on the foundations already there...

[Royal Lady]

I agree wholeheartedly. And of course you need a manager in place who is prepared to take a bit of a risk playing the youngsters, rather then demanding money to sign the journeymen referred to.

I think that manager should be more highly paid than one who is given a substantial budget to sign new players.

Employ someone who is motivated by the chance to build something significant with a long term vision that is sustainable and does not involved gambling with stupid money. And if you really believe in him pay him enough to keep the raiders at bay because, forget the players, that man will be the most important person at the club.

Bit like McDermott then.

[The Rouge]

I seldom post on here these days and, no doubt, will get shot down again.
Sir John,in the interview, did not look at all well and was very hesitant. Not the man I knew, and,indeed,talked me back into becoming a season ticket holder again,in the eighties.Should he, Heaven forfend, fall"off the perch" what disaster planning is in place?

That is a something we have talked about about recently. He's not a young man any more and anything can happen. When he goes his share is more than likely left with his daughter (or is it daughters?), very possibly overseen by long-time close friend and CEO of his other businesses, Nigel Howe. The shares would almost certainly be sold as soon as possible, and then we can fall into the hands of just about anyone. In the 20 odd years I have been a supporter of Reading Football Club, Sir John Madejski has always been there. It will be a very sad day when he leaves us, both as a chairman/owner and as a person.

I'm sure he has a will where his plans are laid out.

That or he leaves everything to STAR

[Terminal Boardom]

Isn't that exactly the opportunity that Brendan Rodgers had? There are way too many managers out there who think the only way to success is through a cheque book. The same applies to the vast majority of supporters. Because so many other clubs do it, it must be right. What's needed is a consistent philosophy throughout the club from top to bottom. The preferred style of football played needs to be the same from the youngest age group through to the first team. The only things in the way are time and the supporters. I really can't see the supporters being prepared to see much other than an immediate upturn in fortunes. Look at the grumblings this season. Reading won't get relegated but the way so many bang on you would think we are destined for the Ryman Premier or something similar.

[Cypry]

I agree wholeheartedly. And of course you need a manager in place who is prepared to take a bit of a risk playing the youngsters, rather then demanding money to sign the journeymen referred to.

I think that manager should be more highly paid than one who is given a substantial budget to sign new players.

Employ someone who is motivated by the chance to build something significant with a long term vision that is sustainable and does not involved gambling with stupid money. And if you really believe in him pay him enough to keep the raiders at bay because, forget the players, that man will be the most important person at the club.

Bit like McDermott then.

Adkins could equaly fit that description - how many times did Obita feature under Brian? What about Jake Taylor? And Hector?
We finished the game against Bolton with 5 academy produced players on the pitch, and, like him or loathe him, given all that's been going on at the club, Adkins still seems bought into the long term vision from the way he speaks...

[Royal Biscuitman]

The Academy team needs to train players to play the same way as the first team... or rather, the way the first team should be playing.

[floyd__streete]

A club entirely dependent on Academy products, what a lovely idea. Perhaps the club could then look to substantially reduce ticket prices accordingly as the wage bill dips and we make a profit on outgoing transfers. Maybe a relegation to League One could help in making this utopian ideal a reality.

[Ian Royal]

I agree wholeheartedly. And of course you need a manager in place who is prepared to take a bit of a risk playing the youngsters, rather then demanding money to sign the journeymen referred to.

I think that manager should be more highly paid than one who is given a substantial budget to sign new players.

Employ someone who is motivated by the chance to build something significant with a long term vision that is sustainable and does not involved gambling with stupid money. And if you really believe in him pay him enough to keep the raiders at bay because, forget the players, that man will be the most important person at the club.

Bit like McDermott then.

Adkins could equaly fit that description - how many times did Obita feature under Brian? What about Jake Taylor? And Hector?
We finished the game against Bolton with 5 academy produced players on the pitch, and, like him or loathe him, given all that's been going on at the club, Adkins still seems bought into the long term vision from the way he speaks...

Indeed. This is the same McDermott who dropped Pearce at virtually every opportunity and did similar with McCarthy. I don't think you could say he had a particularly impressive record at bringing through young players early proactively.

Certainly not compared to Adkins picking Obita over club captain Mr Steady-Eddy McAnuff. I certainly don't see anything to suggest Brian'd have put Obita at left back and I doubt Taylor would have got as much bench or pitch time.

[sandman]

Worked out that he could build the team around Gylfi which is more than the supposed "tactical genius" Brendan Rodgers did.

McCarthy wasn't ready to start regularly and his poor distribution would have been a big factor. He had some good performances that had promise but he also conceded quite a few goals against the likes of Forest, Palace, Middlesborough and a Sheffield United side that were relegated the following week, he also made a mistake in that game which allowed them to score . Talking of which, didn't he do well setting up Afobe on Saturday? Wonder if he'll get an assist.

Brought Morrison into the team last season.

Pearce won player of the season under him and a hearty LOL at anyone who still thinks it was his choice to take Pearce out of the team.

He gave Obita chances in pre-season. The amount of subs you could use was stupidly reduced by the football league which hampered Brian's plan to put him on the bench regularly, he actually said in one of the FF's how disappointed he was at that.

Gave Dom Samuel a chance last season and let him travel with the match day squad on a regular basis.

I think a few forget that Brian guided a lot of the younger players to winning the PL reserve league. That might not sound like a major achievement but Karacan recently gave an interview where he said that was a crucial part of his development.

[Ian Royal]

Pearce won player of the season under him and a hearty LOL at anyone who still thinks it was his choice to take Pearce out of the team.

Morrison wasn't an academy product.

That PotS was won between two other seasons of being dropped regularly in favour of less good, less experienced or journeymen options. If the manager isn't picking the side then he shouldn't be the manager anymore.

Pre-season is irrelevant.

Bench and matchday squad is nice enough, but it's not pitch time, which is rather the point that is being made.

Winning the Reserve League has nothing to do with bringing a player into the first team.

[Royal Lady]

Employ someone who is motivated by the chance to build something significant with a long term vision that is sustainable and does not involved gambling with stupid money.

That's like McDermott though, right?

[winchester_royal]

Employ someone who is motivated by the chance to build something significant with a long term vision that is sustainable and does not involved gambling with stupid money.

That's like McDermott though, right?

Yeah, what's your point though?

[Royal Lady]

RR was detailing the type of manager RFC should have - and I was just saying that we had that in McDermott - he knew the academy set up inside out for a start and I believe he had a long-term strategy for the club, plus he didn't spend millions of pounds. And we got shot, probably on AZ's say so - yet AZ didn't even hang around long enough to see what happened this season, for whatever reason. Had we still got McD, we could quite feasibly be in an even better position now.

[Extended-Phenotype]

McDermott manages Leeds, though.

HTH.