Madejski's Wallet - Is It Our Business?

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

Only if the objective is to try and compete in the football rat-race.

How about if the objective is to maintain a football club appropriate to the size of the town and the size of it's support, and let it grow it gradually, watching the competition crash and burn, waiting for the financial readjustment to come (for instance proper financial governance rules that forbid debt) and knowing that every now and then that a Coppell and continuity will build a team that will have some success.

It's only the supporters - and mainly the younger ones (often brought up on Soccer AM and Championship Manager and instant gratification) - who demand success and demand it NOW!!!!!

But the whole point is that we are not competitive.

Who exactly are we supposed to be competitive with? There are clubs in this division who pull 5000-10000 more fans a game than us. Over a season that's a £5 million or so gap, and that's not counting any extra cash their chairman might be throwing at the club. People talk as if we have a playing budget on par with Scunthorpe.

For those of you who think Madejski should be subsidising the club, how much should he be putting in?

You said your aren't going to put your money in if he's not doing the same, so what sort of investment would it take to get you to buy a season ticket?

[rabidbee]

But the whole point is that we are not competitive.

Sorry, but what? Are you judging this season on four games? If you are, it's a bit of a rash judgement - especially as our mid-table position would imply that we are competative. We only missed out on the play-offs last season by 7 points, we finished in the play-offs the season before that, we haven't finished in the bottom half of this division since promotion in 2002... In what way are we uncompetative at this level?

As for people who suggest that Medejski should sell the club at a "more realistic" price, I feel the same way about the housing market. I very much want to buy my first property, but selfish people who are no longer interested in living in their current properties refuse to drop the price to something I can afford. £200K for a house is just absurd, I think £70K for a house is a much more realistic price. It's outrageous, I could do so much to improve one of these houses, if only their current owners weren't so short-sighted and self-centred.

[rabidbee]

I If you have money to burn, good on you, well done, but a lot of us haven't. And we'd like something in return for all the money we spend on that team. It's just not just our season tickets, it's food and drink, it's shirts, it's petrol, it's taking a day off work to go up to newcastle on a cold Wednesday morning in December. The fact that John can just sit back and watch our club slide down through the leagues, while we're working our arses off just to pay to go and watch the team, it makes me sick.

You chose to spend it and, as an adult, you can chose to spend less - don't buy shirts, don't buy over-priced food and drink on the concourse, travel to fewer away games.

When it comes to it, it's clear that the football-supporting public of Reading _aren't_ willing to part with loads of cash to watch 2nd-tier football. Christ - our tickets are only a tenner more than Conference football, despite the much higher standard. If you still can't get people through the doors, even after you've dropped the price, what can you do?

[brendywendy]

totally agree



and you can guarantee that withdrawing your support in protest is only going to make the situation worse

[Finch]

Please do the honourable thing and sell the club now to someone who wants to take the club forward. We do not want to stagnate any more.

No one wants RFC!!!!

You can't sell if no one wants to buy.

I've changed my mind.

All those rich arabs are lining up for R£eading FC now, to take the Royals where they belong in the top four.

Madejski out!

[Royal Rother]

Some great stuff on this thread!

[jazz]

Some great stuff on this thread!

Boy. Yes. Lots of short memories on here.

[SLAMMED]

DO YOU SEE?

No.

[SLAMMED]

Some great stuff on this thread!

Boy. Yes. Lots of short memories on here.

FON

[Barry the bird boggler]

Please do the honourable thing and sell the club now to someone who wants to take the club forward. We do not want to stagnate any more.

No one wants RFC!!!!

You can't sell if no one wants to buy.

I've changed my mind.

All those rich arabs are lining up for R£eading FC now, to take the Royals where they belong in the top four.

Madejski out!

I thought we'd been bought by the Middletons...

[Gordons Cumming]

I refuse to enter a post started by TV.

Do you see?

[Terminal Boardom]

So General Hindsight has still not lost a battle. I still stand by my opinion and more than happy to take any criticism that comes my way.

[Royal Rother]

You stand by this opinion?

There has always been a need for a wealthy benefactor to provide funds in order that clubs can compete. What the Chairman has done is to remove Reading FC's ability to be competitive. This course of action will only end one way and that will be with relegation from the Championship.

[Terminal Boardom]

You stand by this opinion?

There has always been a need for a wealthy benefactor to provide funds in order that clubs can compete. What the Chairman has done is to remove Reading FC's ability to be competitive. This course of action will only end one way and that will be with relegation from the Championship.

Come come. Slightly different playing fields wouldn't you agree?

[Ian Royal]

You stand by this opinion?

There has always been a need for a wealthy benefactor to provide funds in order that clubs can compete. What the Chairman has done is to remove Reading FC's ability to be competitive. This course of action will only end one way and that will be with relegation from the Championship.

hoist by his own petard.

[Arch]

You stand by this opinion?

There has always been a need for a wealthy benefactor to provide funds in order that clubs can compete. What the Chairman has done is to remove Reading FC's ability to be competitive. This course of action will only end one way and that will be with relegation from the Championship.

Come come. Slightly different playing fields wouldn't you agree?

I have literally no idea what you're talking about.