Finances

[Hoop Blah]

Those 'main players' probably didn't want to extend their contracts during the last 6 months or so (they did actually get Long to sign a new one before Christmas remember) because they want to be able to have their futures in their own hands.

To get then to extend them we'd probably have to pay them more than we'd want to or give them an easy way out of their contract should a better offer present itself (ie reduce down the figure that would trigger their right to speak to other clubs).

[Ian Royal]

So why are some people bleating on about the fact that out of our share we have to pay oxf*rd expenses.

Are you being deliberately stupid?

You can't work out our share by calculating what was taken from tickets and then just dividing it by 50% because you are ignoring all the expenses of the match being hosted.
Stewarding, staffing, police costs, cost of hiring Wembley, entertainment.

Once that is deducted from the ticket revenue, and the FL's share is then deducted from that, you then get less significant, specifically club, costs to deduct from our share.
Wages bonuses, o/night costs, travel costs etc.


EDIT: the point I have made all along is that it is pointless trying to work out how much we've got, because no one knows how much stewarding costs, no one knows how much policing costs, no one knows how much the FA will take to cover the use of Wembley.

[Royal Lady]

And where the oxf*rd have I mentioned any figures? Everyone keeps on about the expenses, including yourself about using Wembley and is there a charge and I'm merely saying I would have thought that is taken into account with the money to the FL.

[Ian Royal]

And where the oxf*rd have I mentioned any figures? Everyone keeps on about the expenses, including yourself about using Wembley and is there a charge and I'm merely saying I would have thought that is taken into account with the money to the FL.

The FA own Wembley, not the FL. The FL get money after expenses from the match. What part of the "after expenses" is it you are having problems understanding?

[Wycombe Royal]

Like I said the £55 average per ticket was otimitic and I hav e seen nothing that suggests I am not right in holding that opinion.


but that 55 x 85000 is 4,675,000, almost 5 Million

and we are suggesting we ended up with maybe TWO million

Snowball I never queried the £2m you suggested. I queried the use of £55 per ticket that Schards used. Go back to the front page and look again.

[floyd__streete]

I have never been one to subscribe to the 'Madejski didn't want us to go up anyway' theory of 1995, but I wonder how heartbroken he is this time around?

He now gets to sell off assets like Long and Kebe in order to recoup some of the losses the club run at and their won't be an increase in wage bill in a desperate attempt to keep us in the Prem. It seems that 2006-08 was a financial holocaust for the club, with the never-ending defecit forever saddling us with having to sell-off the family silver time and again. Sir John must be rather pleased we stayed down!

[TFF]

That's mental, even by HNA? standards.

[westendgirl]

I have never been one to subscribe to the 'Madejski didn't want us to go up anyway' theory of 1995, but I wonder how heartbroken he is this time around?

He now gets to sell off assets like Long and Kebe in order to recoup some of the losses the club run at and their won't be an increase in wage bill in a desperate attempt to keep us in the Prem. It seems that 2006-08 was a financial holocaust for the club, with the never-ending defecit forever saddling us with having to sell-off the family silver time and again. Sir John must be rather pleased we stayed down!

I think he is more likely to remember that the club made £6million profit both years in the prem - the holocaust was on relegation not promotion.

[floyd__streete]

That's mental, even by HNA? standards.

Why? Sir John hates the big wages (I have to say I agree with him) and even spoke after the Swansea debacle about how "The Championship is more exciting than the Premier League anyway" - yeah, I love our games with Watford.

Was hardly the talk of a heartbroken man was it? He readily admits he is not in a position to invest in a Premier League club. So plugging some of the never-ending defecit at the end of a successful league season must be a real result for him.

[Hoop Blah]

I know plenty of Reading fans who felt the same way about not going up.

I like the Championship and dislike a lot about the Premier League so although I was gutted we wouldn't be testing ourselves against the best in the country I certainly wasn't heartbroken at staying in what is basically a good Championship league.

Until all the clubs in the competition aim to break even we're going to have some financial issues to contend with if we're trying to be competitive in this league. I don't really have a problem with that though, as long as we're trying to improve and give it our best shot every year and every game.

[Agent Balti]

For once, I agree with the rabid doom-monger that is Floyd. And whilst Westendgirl is also correct in that relegation was the 'holocaust', I don't see SJM as crying into his Chateauneuf de Pape that we didn't go up. At this level he's much more comfortable in controlling RFC...he often cited the Premiership as being far too much of a big boys playground - whether that be financially or politically.

As a businessman, he knows all about selling assets at their optimum worth. Understanding that after a play-off defeat any club is vulnerable to losing its best assets is just par for the course. Players will be disappointed, their agents will be drumming up interest, buying clubs will be sensing a deal could be done. Whether 'we' like it or not, the shop window has been bust open and we're ripe for the taking.

Of course, we don't HAVE to sell. That's what we're told anyway. I don't believe for a minute we won't.

[DOYLERSAROYALER]

For once, I agree with the rabid doom-monger that is Floyd. And whilst Westendgirl is also correct in that relegation was the 'holocaust', I don't see SJM as crying into his Chateauneuf de Pape that we didn't go up. At this level he's much more comfortable in controlling RFC...he often cited the Premiership as being far too much of a big boys playground - whether that be financially or politically.

As a businessman, he knows all about selling assets at their optimum worth. Understanding that after a play-off defeat any club is vulnerable to losing its best assets is just par for the course. Players will be disappointed, their agents will be drumming up interest, buying clubs will be sensing a deal could be done. Whether 'we' like it or not, the shop window has been bust open and we're ripe for the taking.

Of course, we don't HAVE to sell. That's what we're told anyway. I don't believe for a minute we won't.

Agent agree ...but if this is how the chairman HONESTLY feels, then he should extend that honesty to the people who go and pay to watch their team and he owes them that...and not give them some hope and aspiration that he's fully behind the club getting into the "best football division in the world" when in reality he isnt....he obviously needs bums on seats so needs to keep fans onside, but he will lose the support of the fans if behind the PR machine window he is secretly rubbing his hands in glee at not gaining promotion......the only reason he would have wanted promotion, is not for the fans, not because he's ambitious for the club, but so that he could sell the club to the deep pocketed billionaire, and make a handsome profit for himself ....it suggests to me that he hasnt found that billionaire and probably because he has outrageously over-valued the club ......he also knows that selling the club, means his PR machine almost grinds to a halt.......wonder what his daughter will be like when she becomes Readings "Delia"....caammmm on where are ya ...letsss be avin ya !

[Svlad Cjelli]

I don't think we will sell.

But I also don't think we'll be able to stop some of the more experienced and more-in demand players from wanting to leave - and once they've decided that we'll be unable to stop them going.

But there's a difference between wanting to sell and not standing in the way of players who want to leave.

[TFF]

That's mental, even by HNA? standards.

Why? Sir John hates the big wages (I have to say I agree with him) and even spoke after the Swansea debacle about how "The Championship is more exciting than the Premier League anyway" - yeah, I love our games with Watford.

Was hardly the talk of a heartbroken man was it? He readily admits he is not in a position to invest in a Premier League club. So plugging some of the never-ending defecit at the end of a successful league season must be a real result for him.

I agree re the wages. It's crazy that not one club is making a profit after twenty years of Sky TV money being pumped into the Premier League.

But to suggest that SJM must be pleased we stayed down is lunacy. Our previous visit to the Prem saw huge investment in the stadium facilities and the training ground - we didn't spunk all the cash on billy big bollocks players and still turned a profit. This time there would have been much less required investment in infrastucture and two extra years of parachute cash. SJM could have had us in there for a season, with minimal spending - the Blackpool model if you like - and secured the financial position of the club for many years to come.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

Good to see some common sense TFF, the money from the Prem would have secured our club for a few seasons to come, it would enable us to pay higher wages than a club without the Premier money, not silly wages, but as good as any at this level and more than most.

Perhaps then we would not keep thinking WCAP for any player we looked at.

PS I have it on good authority that Kish would have been offered a deal, whereas now we lose him as we truely cannot afford his wages as a free agent.

[Wycombe Royal]

PS I have it on good authority that Kish would have been offered a deal, whereas now we lose him as we truely cannot afford his wages as a free agent.

Something good came from not being promoted then.

[Vision]

That's mental, even by HNA? standards.

Why? Sir John hates the big wages (I have to say I agree with him) and even spoke after the Swansea debacle about how "The Championship is more exciting than the Premier League anyway" - yeah, I love our games with Watford.

Was hardly the talk of a heartbroken man was it? He readily admits he is not in a position to invest in a Premier League club. So plugging some of the never-ending defecit at the end of a successful league season must be a real result for him.

I agree re the wages. It's crazy that not one club is making a profit after twenty years of Sky TV money being pumped into the Premier League.

But to suggest that SJM must be pleased we stayed down is lunacy. Our previous visit to the Prem saw huge investment in the stadium facilities and the training ground - we didn't spunk all the cash on billy big bollocks players and still turned a profit. This time there would have been much less required investment in infrastucture and two extra years of parachute cash. SJM could have had us in there for a season, with minimal spending - the Blackpool model if you like - and secured the financial position of the club for many years to come.

Yeah. Also saying he's happy staying down because he can cash in on saleable playing assets is ignoring the saleable asset he's most keen to sell which is the club itself. Its highly unlikely he's going to get the sort of price he wants in the Championship or the type of buyer that will have enough money to move the club forward in a way that would ease his conscience (IE not tarnish his legacy).

FWIW I always felt he had a buyer lined up in 08 and had we stayed up we would have been under a different chairman now.

[Ian Royal]

Funny, I'm sure I've seen stuff on the OS that indicated we'd offered Khiz a contract but he's likely to leave it in preference for something (presumably better payed) overseass.

[brendywendy]

I have never been one to subscribe to the 'Madejski didn't want us to go up anyway' theory of 1995, but I wonder how heartbroken he is this time around?

He now gets to sell off assets like Long and Kebe in order to recoup some of the losses the club run at and their won't be an increase in wage bill in a desperate attempt to keep us in the Prem. It seems that 2006-08 was a financial holocaust for the club, with the never-ending defecit forever saddling us with having to sell-off the family silver time and again. Sir John must be rather pleased we stayed down!

imo us going up and selling is JMs only chance of selling and ever recouping his money.and if wed gone up we'd be minted without selling our best players, so im not sure if thats true at all.
the 06-08 wages situation will not happen this time- he had his fingers burnt last time, and since then blackpool have gone on to show how it can be done regarding wages and contracts.

[Hoop Blah]

Blackpool proved what though? They got relegated.

Our problem with wages was that when we came down we let plenty of them stay on their wages to hang around under Coppell to try and go back up. It was reported at the time of relegation that there would be a 40% wage cut across the board so it wasn't the Premier League that did for us but the willingness to keep Coppell and his big earners (and not slashing their wages of course).