Season Ticket - Next Year?

[Behindu]

It's about this time that we see how much of the money JM has invested over the last 15 years is to be repaid....

My understanding is that most of what debt there may be has been converted to share capital so isn't repayable as such (I may not understand that fully !), but if it is still in the form of soft loans then now would be the time that Mr M could legitimately seek some of his cash back...

I'm sure there would be moans if he did, but he'd have the right...

If the loans are with institutions then I don't think they would be able to ask for lump sums back just becasue we had had a big rise in income.

[Dirk Gently]

All of the money is either in share capital or loan notes to JM himself.

I don't think there is any external debt via institutions, it's all with JM.

[Behindu]

I'd been under the impression that JM had underwritten quite a lot of the money (for the stadium rather than operating costs) but have no evidence to support that and would happily bow to your better knowledge DG...

[Royal With Cheese]

Why, when we're selling out the MadStad every week would JM put the prices down?

I can understand the likes of Bolton Blackburn and Wigan reducing prices as no one goes to their respective games.

[Behindu]

Simplistically he could do it as a massive PR exercise.

If revenue from all sources exceeds planned expenditure by a few million, even taking into account repayments etc then the club could chose to spend more (on players, on the ground, on other facilities) or bank it for a rainy day, or they could chose to give the fans a 'dividend' in the form of cheaper football.

It's quite possible, although I would suspect Mr M would believe that they have given us value for money of late and don't owe us anything.

[Woodcote Royal]

Simplistically he could do it as a massive PR exercise.

You and some members of STAR need a reality check if you really believe this will be the case.

Not putting up prices in a stadium that is sold out very week is a PR exercise.................reducing them would be pure fantasy.

I'm sure the clubs finances will enjoy a good boost in the next few seasons but the ground expansion, huge wage bill plus the debt owed to JM and bank will more than keep profits in check. I for one would be very pleased if next season's windfall could pay for the ground expansion and wipe clean the rest of our slate. This would represent real progress off the pitch.

I consider my seat in the upper West to be excellent value for money considering the progress and performances I've witnessed and would be delighted to get it for the same price next season.

[Behindu]

You and some members of STAR need a reality check if you really believe this will be the case.

Well seeing as I didn;t say it would be....

Only that it COULD be.

IF the huge increase in income means the finances would allow it the club COULD reduce prices.

Not putting up prices isn't a PR exercise, it is a neutral stance. There doesn't appear to be an reason that would justify a rise. There will be no chorus of acclaim if the prices stay where they are, given that they are already high (although IMHO reasonable value).

I think a balance needs to be maintained - yes use the windfall to further stabilise the club but don't forget the fans who also played a huge part in keeping the lcub alive in the dark years.

I don;t realistically see price reductions happening but if I were advising the board I would push strongly for the concession prices to be lowered and the adult prices frozen.

[working class hero]

Has the club made an operating profit over a season yet ?

Not in my memory, but that's never stopped WCH dreaming up new ways to send the club even further into the red.

Mmmm. Try actually looking at the RFC accounts and the story is rather different to that put forward by JM in the press. He has spent something in the region of £40 million.

However, most of it has been clawed back [and that is eminently reasonable]. Thus the £40 million figure is designed to make people think mr m is actually out of pocket to this extent.

Look at the directors of many associated companies e.g. catering and a certain Mr M appears on all. So in effect he uses his monopoly to line his pockets via other franchises. Again not a bad idea from a business view - but again it rather undermines his vision of himself as the ever more deeply indebted soul....

It also militates against the sort of competition which might mean lower prices for the fans....

Mr M is a businessman. I have every respect for him in his dealings - but I do not like his pretence to be a philanthropist.

He is reputedly incredibly mean at times. I have been told by the ground staff recently that the pitch is naff because they are not allowed to spend enough time on it [and not because of rugby]. Why is time restricted? Because the staff are spending 1 or 2 days per week doing his garden up.

The grass is patchy. The same staff member told me it is because Mr M rejected the request for grass seed as being too expensive. Instead he sourced seed from Oz which the staff are throwing on only to watch it fail to sprout. IT is very cheap but geminates best at temps over 25C....

He has apparently upset the golden gamble sellers by cutting back on free seats.

He rescinded the seats for old players for the Utd cup game as there was cash to be made.

I may never be rich with my attitude to money. But I know that when I die I will have done a great deal for a number of charities whilst never attaching my name to anything.

As for the ever present loss I suspect that astute accountancy can make this a paper loss even though the loss could be a result of paying huge sums back to Mr M.....

[Behindu]

[quote="working class hero]
Mmmm. Try actually looking at the RFC accounts and the story is rather different to that put forward by JM in the press. He has spent something in the region of £40 million.

However, most of it has been clawed back [and that is eminently reasonable]. Thus the £40 million figure is designed to make people think mr m is actually out of pocket to this extent.

[/quote]

Would be interesting if you could provide evidence to back that up.

I know a while back much of the loan was converetd to shares - which is a very different thing to taking cash out of the club....

Would also be interested in the evidence of JM's involvement in other companies. Am I right that Compass have the catering franchise ? I'm fairly sure JM is not a director of Compass...

[The 17 Bus]

this man seems the top man at compass..

[shadesrwrf]

this man seems the top man at compass..

Maguire's wearing contacts these days?

[Dirk Gently]

Simplistically he could do it as a massive PR exercise.

You and some members of STAR need a reality check if you really believe this will be the case.

Eh???? When did anyone in STAR call for a price reduction?

[Woodcote Royal]

Has the club made an operating profit over a season yet ?

Not in my memory, but that's never stopped WCH dreaming up new ways to send the club even further into the red.

Mmmm. Try actually looking at the RFC accounts and the story is rather different to that put forward by JM in the press. He has spent something in the region of £40 million.

However, most of it has been clawed back [and that is eminently reasonable]. Thus the £40 million figure is designed to make people think mr m is actually out of pocket to this extent.

Look at the directors of many associated companies e.g. catering and a certain Mr M appears on all. So in effect he uses his monopoly to line his pockets via other franchises. Again not a bad idea from a business view - but again it rather undermines his vision of himself as the ever more deeply indebted soul....

It also militates against the sort of competition which might mean lower prices for the fans....

Mr M is a businessman. I have every respect for him in his dealings - but I do not like his pretence to be a philanthropist.

He is reputedly incredibly mean at times. I have been told by the ground staff recently that the pitch is naff because they are not allowed to spend enough time on it [and not because of rugby]. Why is time restricted? Because the staff are spending 1 or 2 days per week doing his garden up.

The grass is patchy. The same staff member told me it is because Mr M rejected the request for grass seed as being too expensive. Instead he sourced seed from Oz which the staff are throwing on only to watch it fail to sprout. IT is very cheap but geminates best at temps over 25C....

He has apparently upset the golden gamble sellers by cutting back on free seats.

He rescinded the seats for old players for the Utd cup game as there was cash to be made.

I may never be rich with my attitude to money. But I know that when I die I will have done a great deal for a number of charities whilst never attaching my name to anything.

As for the ever present loss I suspect that astute accountancy can make this a paper loss even though the loss could be a result of paying huge sums back to Mr M.....

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm so, bar the last paragraph which I've highlighted, the rest of what was produced for the above by your long suffering keyboard has absolutely nothing to do with the FACT that no one seems to remember when this club last, if ever, made a profit (and this would appear to include our entire history up until the dreadful JM took charge ) whilst, in effect, said paragraph appears to agree, at least to some degree, with the assertion I made in the first place

Who knows, perhaps the Chairman gets 10p for every car that passes by on the A33 relief Rd, but what would this have to do with the clubs financial situation, and or profit at the end of the year

[Woodcote Royal]

Simplistically he could do it as a massive PR exercise.

You and some members of STAR need a reality check if you really believe this will be the case.

Eh???? When did anyone in STAR call for a price reduction?

Due to circumstances, not completely beyond my control, I won't be purchasing a season ticket next season.

Will Reading sell-out their allocation of tickets next year or will enthusiasm wane despite such a great first season in the top flight?

There is talk of reducing ticket prices for fans ( lead by Blackburn I think )
will this effect Reading due to our continued success?

Blackburn and Wigan have reduced prices for the rest of this season in response to inability to fill their grounds - even away areas for some "derby" matches.

"The Sun" has been recently running a campaign to get FAPL clubs to reduce ticket prices next season - but don't forget that "The Sun" doesn't necessarily have the fans' interests at heart. Firstly, this is a lovely bandwagon for them to try and claim for themselves, and also as part of the Murdoch empire they have an interest in making sure that grounds are filled, as they look better on Sky TV.

I'm a member of the FSF's pricing "taskforce" and we've been collecting stats on prices and attendances for a while, and analysing this for a few seasons. It's clear from these that price elasticity is reaching its limit, and many people's limit of what they will pay has been reached and exceeded - especially for TV games.

In the next few days the FSF will be launching what will be one of our biggest and loudest campaigns - as much as anything else, with the new TV deal next season there's no way that any more price rises can be possibly justified. The increase in TV revenue to clubs is equal to about 30 pounds for every ticket sold this season! So the FAPL clubs could let everyone in for free next season and still have the same amount of money to spend.

What we are asking for is three things from the FAPL and PL clubs :

1. A flat rate of 15 pounds for all away fans - to reflect that away fans are the lifeblood of the game, they keep atmosphere alive and also have the highest costs and time in order to attend away matches.

2. The "facility fee" for televised matches to be used to reduce ticket prices across the board for that match - to reflect the extra costs and grief that supporters have from changed kick-off times.

3. Price reductions at all matches compared to this season - but as a very minimum NO PRICE RISES COMPARED TO THIS SEASON - for the lifetime of this new TV deal. Whichever way you look at it, considering the increased TV money coming in there is no way that any club can realistically argue against these proposals - they will, of course, but that will further expose the sheer greed in the game.

When this campaign is launched in the next few days I'll publicise what people can do to support it.

If I'm missing something here, feel free to explain

[cheeryoleary]

"We have no intention of requesting a reduction of the ticketting prices at Reading FC"

[Stranded]

He has apparently upset the golden gamble sellers by cutting back on free seats.

Yes they've had their free seats taken away but they get in for £10 and get paid for selling the tickets - they also often jump the queue on away tickets. I know quite a few of them and not one has complained about it.

In fact they see it as a perk and quite happily take the piss that I pay full whack every game for an East Stand seat while they often pay £10 for an Upper West.

[warrpp]

can anyone remember roughly what time last year they announced the season ticket prices for this season (was it late april ?)

[Woodcote Royal]

He has apparently upset the golden gamble sellers by cutting back on free seats.

Yes they've had their free seats taken away but they get in for £10 and get paid for selling the tickets - they also often jump the queue on away tickets. I know quite a few of them and not one has complained about it.

In fact they see it as a perk and quite happily take the piss that I pay full whack every game for an East Stand seat while they often pay £10 for an Upper West.

That's exactly what I've heard, too.

A tenner for a seat in the Upper West and some queue jumping on a few away matches (I presume they don't get royalty points and wouldn't stand a chance otherwise )

Unless they're forced to stay until midnight throwing cheap grass seed on the pitch after every home game, I can't see a problem here

[TFF]

can anyone remember roughly what time last year they announced the season ticket prices for this season (was it late april ?)

They were going to publish in the Stoke program IIRC but it 'leaked' from 'a mate at the printers' onto HNA?

One of this board's greatest moments IMHO. Can't remember who the grass was but it forced the club into publishing on the OS.

http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/pa ... 80,00.html

11th April

[RoyalBlue]

WCH

You mention that Mr Mad is a a Director of the catering company.

That's very interesting news if true. However, I thought the catering operation was run by a subsidiary of Compass. If so, when did Mr Mad manage to get himself a directorship with them?