Potential New Owners

[Sutekh]

There’s probably due diligence going on from potential investors. I know it might not help initially but I do wonder if Dai being cleared of any wrongdoing in China will help our situation.

If it then has to go the the FL for approval as well it will probably take months to be cleared.

[The Royal Forester]

There’s probably due diligence going on from potential investors. I know it might not help initially but I do wonder if Dai being cleared of any wrongdoing in China will help our situation.

If it then has to go the the FL for approval as well it will probably take months to be cleared.

What i would to know is, why does it take the EFL so long to approve our investors/new owners, when other clubs can have them cleared in a few days?

[Franchise FC]

There’s probably due diligence going on from potential investors. I know it might not help initially but I do wonder if Dai being cleared of any wrongdoing in China will help our situation.

If it then has to go the the FL for approval as well it will probably take months to be cleared.

What i would to know is, why does it take the EFL so long to approve our investors/new owners, when other clubs can have them cleared in a few days?

Mark Lawrenson is chair of the approval committee and he doesn’t give a shit (although he does receive one, allegedly)

[Stranded]

I will say this again as people seem to forget it.

The EFL changed the rules (agreed by the clubs, incl us) that it is now an offence to announce any takeover/investment until all stages have been completed i.e. documents signed and most importantly EFL approval has been given.

Therefore, no news is neither good news or bad news - it is just part of the process. The fact we are still signing players to multi-year deals suggests to be at least (poss. naively) that we are closer to investment than we are to administration but both paths are very possible outcomes unless Dai's situation improves, which the closure of the investigation in HK without any fault being found may be the first step of.

[Greatwesternline]

FT piece today about 777

Football clubs are entering a new era of “hyper commercialisation”, according to the co-founder of 777 Partners, the private Miami investment group that has emerged as one of the most acquisitive operators in the global game.

The firm, which was unknown in the sports world five years ago, has snapped up hundreds of millions of dollars worth of stakes in clubs stretching from Italy to Brazil and is now eyeing an investment in Everton, its first Premier League target, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Most of the clubs have been financial underperformers, raising questions about the returns on the firm’s investment, but Josh Wander, who set up 777 in 2015 with co-founder Steven Pasko, said in an interview that critics misunderstood the logic behind its bets.

“We have a strong view that there’s a new wave of commercialisation coming to football,” he said, adding that 777 had paid attractive prices to invest in clubs that had “done a horrible job of commercialising the product”.

Wander declined to comment on 777’s interest in Everton, but noted that the Premier League had done “a very good job relative to the other leagues of commercialising their product”.

He said 777’s goal was “to be profitable by next season” across its portfolio of clubs, which include Genoa in Italy, Vasco da Gama in Brazil, Hertha Berlin in Germany and Standard Liège in Belgium.

Everton, controlled by Anglo-Iranian businessman Farhad Moshiri through an Isle of Man entity, is another club in a weak financial position after several years of losses, a brush with relegation last season and the rising costs of a new stadium project. The indebted club recently ended months of exclusive negotiations with MSP Sports Capital, people familiar with the matter said.

Wander and 777 are part of a trend towards multi-club ownership that is reshaping football and raising concerns at Uefa, its European governing body. But they have been dogged by questions since taking their first 15 per cent stake in Sevilla in 2018.

“It’s so absurd to me that people say we’re not serious when we bought [stakes in] seven clubs in the last 18 months,” Wander said. “Is there anyone in the world that’s been more serious about buying football clubs in history than Josh Wander?”

777 had $9bn to $10bn of assets under management including a “close to $4bn insurance balance sheet”, he said. All of its funds had been generated by its own operations apart from $250mn it raised in preferred equity, he added.

It is now looking to raise “a few hundred million” of equity and debt for its football holding company, in a process led by Tifosy Capital. Wander said it had held discussions with Saudi Arabia’s $650bn Public Investment Fund, but “nothing came of it”.

Wander and Pasko built 777 from early investments in “esoteric” financial assets such as lottery winnings and structured settlements, in which defendants in lawsuits agree to pay damages over several years rather than as a lump sum.

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The firm’s holdings now span seven industries, including aviation, litigation finance and private credit, which Wander said shared a common theme of predictable long-term cash flows. In sports, he said, 777’s strategy includes moving players between its clubs, buying adjacent businesses such as ticketing and merchandise, and cross-selling products from its other companies.

“The vision for this football group is that one day we’re not selling hot dogs and beers to our customers; [it’s] that we’re selling insurance or financial services or whatever,” he said. The intensity of fans’ engagement with their clubs meant “they want to be monetised”, he added.

Wander said 777’s arrival on the high-profile stage of football dealmaking had brought with it “salacious” media coverage, including of a 2003 cocaine trafficking arrest that led to him being put on probation.

“It was a stupid college thing. So all of the success that I’ve had has been in spite of the fact that every time I’ve tried to do something, somebody brings that up and throws it in my face,” he said. “And when I got involved in investing in sports, it became a perfect opportunity for those people that are haters to try to destroy you with things that are somewhat meaningless.”

[Royalwaster]

The following article in the Guardian today is related to this:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -new-world

Chelsea are obviously on a different scale - but the argument is similar, i.e. the venture capitalists think that football clubs are currently undervalued and have not exhausted their commercial assets enough ... I can see that in the Premier League, not so much in League 1 ...

[Greatwesternline]

The following article in the Guardian today is related to this:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -new-world

Chelsea are obviously on a different scale - but the argument is similar, i.e. the venture capitalists think that football clubs are currently undervalued and have not exhausted their commercial assets enough ... I can see that in the Premier League, not so much in League 1 ...

Yep. In League 1 the amount of money you can make is basically how much money can you extract from about 15,000 who live in RG post codes and dont support a London team.

You might be able to get some capital appreciation by buying a L1 team and selling a PL team, but why choose Reading to do that. You could achieve it with more ease at other bigger clubs with bigger fanbases to monetise.

Despite Reading's favourable geographic location, its actually a hindrance. We're competing with every London team for fans. All of whom are bigger attractions. If i was a rich foreign investor looking for a Southern team I'd be looking much more favourably at Cardiff or Bristol City.

The only money you could make out of Reading is getting them to PL. And frankly there are 24 teams closer to the PL for the next 12 months at least who would be better bets.

[WestYorksRoyal]

The following article in the Guardian today is related to this:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -new-world

Chelsea are obviously on a different scale - but the argument is similar, i.e. the venture capitalists think that football clubs are currently undervalued and have not exhausted their commercial assets enough ... I can see that in the Premier League, not so much in League 1 ...

Yep. In League 1 the amount of money you can make is basically how much money can you extract from about 15,000 who live in RG post codes and dont support a London team.

You might be able to get some capital appreciation by buying a L1 team and selling a PL team, but why choose Reading to do that. You could achieve it with more ease at other bigger clubs with bigger fanbases to monetise.

Despite Reading's favourable geographic location, its actually a hindrance. We're competing with every London team for fans. All of whom are bigger attractions. If i was a rich foreign investor looking for a Southern team I'd be looking much more favourably at Cardiff or Bristol City.

The only money you could make out of Reading is getting them to PL. And frankly there are 24 teams closer to the PL for the next 12 months at least who would be better bets.

But a lot of the infrastructure is already at the club - the amount of investment required to get us up the leagues is not great when we have the SCL, Bearwood and a Category 1 academy. Not to mention good people at the Club - imagine what Bowen, Selles and Carey could achieve if they weren't held back by off field issues.

In terms of other options in L1 and L2, many recent PL clubs have similar geographical issues. Bolton, Blackpool and Wigan competing with bigger Lancashire clubs and in Wigan's case rugby. Charlton are another London club competing with bigger ones. Derby would be attractive but have new owners and would definitively not be for sale.

Pompey have a higher ceiling than us but are still playing at that shit hole Fratton Park, where they are never likely to realise their potential. Perhaps Cambridge has potential if you build it bottom up, but they are miles off and that would be a monster project. Ditto Oxford. In L2, you have Bradford who have punched below their weight.

And then L1 and L2 are largely comprised of small towns with populations too small to be higher end Championship sides.

So if you want an undervalued option with the potential to climb the leagues, nobody available comes close to us right now. Championship clubs are more expensive, whereas we should be in bargain territory.

And while we don't have a "hardcore" base, recent history shows you can sell out every week if the team is good.

[Linden Jones' Tash]

[/quote] Championship clubs are more expensive, whereas we should be in bargain territory.[/quote]

Why would we be a bargain?

[Royalwaster]

Championship clubs are more expensive, whereas we should be in bargain territory.[/quote]

Why would we be a bargain?[/quote]

Because a club in desperate need of financial support will be in a weaker position than a club that is financially stable.

[Greatwesternline]

Championship clubs are more expensive, whereas we should be in bargain territory.

Why would we be a bargain?[/quote]

Because a club in desperate need of financial support will be in a weaker position than a club that is financially stable.[/quote]

Our price is what Dai wants to recoup. He's dropped £70m++ on us. For him, a low price like £5m is perhaps so irrelevent he'd rather liquidate the stadium, sell it to a rugby club and be done with it.

[Greatwesternline]

The following article in the Guardian today is related to this:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -new-world

Chelsea are obviously on a different scale - but the argument is similar, i.e. the venture capitalists think that football clubs are currently undervalued and have not exhausted their commercial assets enough ... I can see that in the Premier League, not so much in League 1 ...

Yep. In League 1 the amount of money you can make is basically how much money can you extract from about 15,000 who live in RG post codes and dont support a London team.

You might be able to get some capital appreciation by buying a L1 team and selling a PL team, but why choose Reading to do that. You could achieve it with more ease at other bigger clubs with bigger fanbases to monetise.

Despite Reading's favourable geographic location, its actually a hindrance. We're competing with every London team for fans. All of whom are bigger attractions. If i was a rich foreign investor looking for a Southern team I'd be looking much more favourably at Cardiff or Bristol City.

The only money you could make out of Reading is getting them to PL. And frankly there are 24 teams closer to the PL for the next 12 months at least who would be better bets.

But a lot of the infrastructure is already at the club - the amount of investment required to get us up the leagues is not great when we have the SCL, Bearwood and a Category 1 academy. Not to mention good people at the Club - imagine what Bowen, Selles and Carey could achieve if they weren't held back by off field issues.

In terms of other options in L1 and L2, many recent PL clubs have similar geographical issues. Bolton, Blackpool and Wigan competing with bigger Lancashire clubs and in Wigan's case rugby. Charlton are another London club competing with bigger ones. Derby would be attractive but have new owners and would definitively not be for sale.

Pompey have a higher ceiling than us but are still playing at that shit hole Fratton Park, where they are never likely to realise their potential. Perhaps Cambridge has potential if you build it bottom up, but they are miles off and that would be a monster project. Ditto Oxford. In L2, you have Bradford who have punched below their weight.

And then L1 and L2 are largely comprised of small towns with populations too small to be higher end Championship sides.

So if you want an undervalued option with the potential to climb the leagues, nobody available comes close to us right now. Championship clubs are more expensive, whereas we should be in bargain territory.

And while we don't have a "hardcore" base, recent history shows you can sell out every week if the team is good.

Stadium is below average in the Championship.

The Academy while impressive is a few buildings on some land. You could recreate in its entirety elsewhere within 18 months construction time. And if you really wanted to you could recruit the entire set up staff wise with improved pay offers.

So it'd make a lot more sense to buy any of the below, as you can achieve the same thing as you have at Reading but without the risk of being stuck in League 1.

Birmingham City
Bristol City
Cardiff City
Coventry City
Norwich City
Sheffield Wednesday
Sunderland
Watford

I dont think Bowen is an impressive DoF. He was Director of Football in charge when we signed the players that ruined us financially. He's much like any other. Selles is a manager who lost 12 / 14 when in charge of Southampton.

The only thing that makes Reading attractive is Cat 1 academy and its not that hard for a committed club to recreate it if they want to.

[Linden Jones' Tash]

Championship clubs are more expensive, whereas we should be in bargain territory.

Why would we be a bargain?

Because a club in desperate need of financial support will be in a weaker position than a club that is financially stable.[/quote]

Our price is what Dai wants to recoup. He's dropped £70m++ on us. For him, a low price like £5m is perhaps so irrelevent he'd rather liquidate the stadium, sell it to a rugby club and be done with it.[/quote]

As Dai's actual finances are very opaque ATM - it's not clear to me whether he can't or won't finance Reading FC in league 1 - his interest is still to keep the asset he has and get us promoted.

Unless he truly doesn't have the funds, rather than finding it tricky to bring them into the UK, I don't see why he wouldn't try and optimise the asset.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Yep. In League 1 the amount of money you can make is basically how much money can you extract from about 15,000 who live in RG post codes and dont support a London team.

You might be able to get some capital appreciation by buying a L1 team and selling a PL team, but why choose Reading to do that. You could achieve it with more ease at other bigger clubs with bigger fanbases to monetise.

Despite Reading's favourable geographic location, its actually a hindrance. We're competing with every London team for fans. All of whom are bigger attractions. If i was a rich foreign investor looking for a Southern team I'd be looking much more favourably at Cardiff or Bristol City.

The only money you could make out of Reading is getting them to PL. And frankly there are 24 teams closer to the PL for the next 12 months at least who would be better bets.

But a lot of the infrastructure is already at the club - the amount of investment required to get us up the leagues is not great when we have the SCL, Bearwood and a Category 1 academy. Not to mention good people at the Club - imagine what Bowen, Selles and Carey could achieve if they weren't held back by off field issues.

In terms of other options in L1 and L2, many recent PL clubs have similar geographical issues. Bolton, Blackpool and Wigan competing with bigger Lancashire clubs and in Wigan's case rugby. Charlton are another London club competing with bigger ones. Derby would be attractive but have new owners and would definitively not be for sale.

Pompey have a higher ceiling than us but are still playing at that shit hole Fratton Park, where they are never likely to realise their potential. Perhaps Cambridge has potential if you build it bottom up, but they are miles off and that would be a monster project. Ditto Oxford. In L2, you have Bradford who have punched below their weight.

And then L1 and L2 are largely comprised of small towns with populations too small to be higher end Championship sides.

So if you want an undervalued option with the potential to climb the leagues, nobody available comes close to us right now. Championship clubs are more expensive, whereas we should be in bargain territory.

And while we don't have a "hardcore" base, recent history shows you can sell out every week if the team is good.

Stadium is below average in the Championship.

The Academy while impressive is a few buildings on some land. You could recreate in its entirety elsewhere within 18 months construction time. And if you really wanted to you could recruit the entire set up staff wise with improved pay offers.

So it'd make a lot more sense to buy any of the below, as you can achieve the same thing as you have at Reading but without the risk of being stuck in League 1.

Birmingham City
Bristol City
Cardiff City
Coventry City
Norwich City
Sheffield Wednesday
Sunderland
Watford

I dont think Bowen is an impressive DoF. He was Director of Football in charge when we signed the players that ruined us financially. He's much like any other. Selles is a manager who lost 12 / 14 when in charge of Southampton.

The only thing that makes Reading attractive is Cat 1 academy and its not that hard for a committed club to recreate it if they want to.

2 things.

Firstly, all those clubs would cost more than Reading given they're in the Championship. Obviously us being in L1 is a risk, but it's also an opportunity as it makes us cheaper. Of the ones listed, Norwich, Sunderland, Coventry and possibly Wednesday are bigger than us and could more easily sustain PL football, but the rest simply have a head start which is short term in nature.

I also think you're massively underselling how impressive our academy is. We have built a rich tradition going back to the Dolan era of producing talent for the Championship and occasionally PL. The shame is that we've lost our way in maximising their impact on the pitch and transfer revenue, but even allowing for this we avoided relegation under Dai for 5 years partially due to contributions from the likes of Rinomhota, Richards, Olise, McIntyre and Holmes. The idea you can just throw a bit of money at another club and replicate it is fanciful. You need to invest in the physical facilities, build the right recruitment and coaching teams and even then you're looking at least 5 years until it starts to bear fruit and produce players.

[Orion1871]

Yep. In League 1 the amount of money you can make is basically how much money can you extract from about 15,000 who live in RG post codes and dont support a London team.

You might be able to get some capital appreciation by buying a L1 team and selling a PL team, but why choose Reading to do that. You could achieve it with more ease at other bigger clubs with bigger fanbases to monetise.

Despite Reading's favourable geographic location, its actually a hindrance. We're competing with every London team for fans. All of whom are bigger attractions. If i was a rich foreign investor looking for a Southern team I'd be looking much more favourably at Cardiff or Bristol City.

The only money you could make out of Reading is getting them to PL. And frankly there are 24 teams closer to the PL for the next 12 months at least who would be better bets.

But a lot of the infrastructure is already at the club - the amount of investment required to get us up the leagues is not great when we have the SCL, Bearwood and a Category 1 academy. Not to mention good people at the Club - imagine what Bowen, Selles and Carey could achieve if they weren't held back by off field issues.

In terms of other options in L1 and L2, many recent PL clubs have similar geographical issues. Bolton, Blackpool and Wigan competing with bigger Lancashire clubs and in Wigan's case rugby. Charlton are another London club competing with bigger ones. Derby would be attractive but have new owners and would definitively not be for sale.

Pompey have a higher ceiling than us but are still playing at that shit hole Fratton Park, where they are never likely to realise their potential. Perhaps Cambridge has potential if you build it bottom up, but they are miles off and that would be a monster project. Ditto Oxford. In L2, you have Bradford who have punched below their weight.

And then L1 and L2 are largely comprised of small towns with populations too small to be higher end Championship sides.

So if you want an undervalued option with the potential to climb the leagues, nobody available comes close to us right now. Championship clubs are more expensive, whereas we should be in bargain territory.

And while we don't have a "hardcore" base, recent history shows you can sell out every week if the team is good.

Stadium is below average in the Championship.

The Academy while impressive is a few buildings on some land. You could recreate in its entirety elsewhere within 18 months construction time. And if you really wanted to you could recruit the entire set up staff wise with improved pay offers.

So it'd make a lot more sense to buy any of the below, as you can achieve the same thing as you have at Reading but without the risk of being stuck in League 1.

Birmingham City
Bristol City
Cardiff City
Coventry City
Norwich City
Sheffield Wednesday
Sunderland
Watford

I dont think Bowen is an impressive DoF. He was Director of Football in charge when we signed the players that ruined us financially. He's much like any other. Selles is a manager who lost 12 / 14 when in charge of Southampton.

The only thing that makes Reading attractive is Cat 1 academy and its not that hard for a committed club to recreate it if they want to.

Might as well fold the club then, we're a load of shite not worth anyone bothering with according to you.

[Snowflake Royal]

EDIT: Think I got taken to an out of date post.

[Sutekh]

But a lot of the infrastructure is already at the club - the amount of investment required to get us up the leagues is not great when we have the SCL, Bearwood and a Category 1 academy. Not to mention good people at the Club - imagine what Bowen, Selles and Carey could achieve if they weren't held back by off field issues.

In terms of other options in L1 and L2, many recent PL clubs have similar geographical issues. Bolton, Blackpool and Wigan competing with bigger Lancashire clubs and in Wigan's case rugby. Charlton are another London club competing with bigger ones. Derby would be attractive but have new owners and would definitively not be for sale.

Pompey have a higher ceiling than us but are still playing at that shit hole Fratton Park, where they are never likely to realise their potential. Perhaps Cambridge has potential if you build it bottom up, but they are miles off and that would be a monster project. Ditto Oxford. In L2, you have Bradford who have punched below their weight.

And then L1 and L2 are largely comprised of small towns with populations too small to be higher end Championship sides.

So if you want an undervalued option with the potential to climb the leagues, nobody available comes close to us right now. Championship clubs are more expensive, whereas we should be in bargain territory.

And while we don't have a "hardcore" base, recent history shows you can sell out every week if the team is good.

Stadium is below average in the Championship.

The Academy while impressive is a few buildings on some land. You could recreate in its entirety elsewhere within 18 months construction time. And if you really wanted to you could recruit the entire set up staff wise with improved pay offers.

So it'd make a lot more sense to buy any of the below, as you can achieve the same thing as you have at Reading but without the risk of being stuck in League 1.

Birmingham City
Bristol City
Cardiff City
Coventry City
Norwich City
Sheffield Wednesday
Sunderland
Watford

I dont think Bowen is an impressive DoF. He was Director of Football in charge when we signed the players that ruined us financially. He's much like any other. Selles is a manager who lost 12 / 14 when in charge of Southampton.

The only thing that makes Reading attractive is Cat 1 academy and its not that hard for a committed club to recreate it if they want to.

Might as well fold the club then, we're a load of shite not worth anyone bothering with according to you.

1. If you don't have the Academy buildings and infrastructure you have to find the space somewhere in the club's reasonable vicinity to to put it together. It'd have to be a really big plot of land so as to have all the pitches and buildings together to you avoid a fleet of buses shuttling players and staff about.

2. You need planning permission to do 1. and a lot of councils are very anti anything football even in this day and age and that's before you even try to persuade the local NIMBY sets.

3. Once you've done 1 & 2, you have to find all the relevantly qualified staff and institute all the required procedures and processes in order to have a successful audit for cat 1 status and I believe the authorities aren't exactly crying out for more clubs to take up cat 1 status (after all you need a certain amount of clubs at the lower levels to be "robbed blind" by the bigger clubs when an opportunity arises).

Ergo Reading are much better placed as all that is already in place and up and running and does not require the immense amount of outlay to set up (just the immense amount of outlay to keep running).

[Greatwesternline]

But a lot of the infrastructure is already at the club - the amount of investment required to get us up the leagues is not great when we have the SCL, Bearwood and a Category 1 academy. Not to mention good people at the Club - imagine what Bowen, Selles and Carey could achieve if they weren't held back by off field issues.

In terms of other options in L1 and L2, many recent PL clubs have similar geographical issues. Bolton, Blackpool and Wigan competing with bigger Lancashire clubs and in Wigan's case rugby. Charlton are another London club competing with bigger ones. Derby would be attractive but have new owners and would definitively not be for sale.

Pompey have a higher ceiling than us but are still playing at that shit hole Fratton Park, where they are never likely to realise their potential. Perhaps Cambridge has potential if you build it bottom up, but they are miles off and that would be a monster project. Ditto Oxford. In L2, you have Bradford who have punched below their weight.

And then L1 and L2 are largely comprised of small towns with populations too small to be higher end Championship sides.

So if you want an undervalued option with the potential to climb the leagues, nobody available comes close to us right now. Championship clubs are more expensive, whereas we should be in bargain territory.

And while we don't have a "hardcore" base, recent history shows you can sell out every week if the team is good.

Stadium is below average in the Championship.

The Academy while impressive is a few buildings on some land. You could recreate in its entirety elsewhere within 18 months construction time. And if you really wanted to you could recruit the entire set up staff wise with improved pay offers.

So it'd make a lot more sense to buy any of the below, as you can achieve the same thing as you have at Reading but without the risk of being stuck in League 1.

Birmingham City
Bristol City
Cardiff City
Coventry City
Norwich City
Sheffield Wednesday
Sunderland
Watford

I dont think Bowen is an impressive DoF. He was Director of Football in charge when we signed the players that ruined us financially. He's much like any other. Selles is a manager who lost 12 / 14 when in charge of Southampton.

The only thing that makes Reading attractive is Cat 1 academy and its not that hard for a committed club to recreate it if they want to.

2 things.

Firstly, all those clubs would cost more than Reading given they're in the Championship. Obviously us being in L1 is a risk, but it's also an opportunity as it makes us cheaper. Of the ones listed, Norwich, Sunderland, Coventry and possibly Wednesday are bigger than us and could more easily sustain PL football, but the rest simply have a head start which is short term in nature.

I also think you're massively underselling how impressive our academy is. We have built a rich tradition going back to the Dolan era of producing talent for the Championship and occasionally PL. The shame is that we've lost our way in maximising their impact on the pitch and transfer revenue, but even allowing for this we avoided relegation under Dai for 5 years partially due to contributions from the likes of Rinomhota, Richards, Olise, McIntyre and Holmes. The idea you can just throw a bit of money at another club and replicate it is fanciful. You need to invest in the physical facilities, build the right recruitment and coaching teams and even then you're looking at least 5 years until it starts to bear fruit and produce players.

Foreign owners who want to make a lot of money aren't that bothered by an academy churning out League Championship players. They just buy a whole new team once promoted to the promised land. See Newcastle. See Forest. Our academy is a nice to have for a team that wants to be Championship and financially sustainable. Which is fine by me. But to the sort of owner people on here are hoping for, an academy is a bit of an irrelevance.

We had an owner who threw £60m at the club. And it didn't work. The academy was irrelevant then too.

I'm just a realist here. Think people should accept Dai may be the best we can hope for. If Dai does sell on the cheap, he's gifting us the £60m he's put in so far, which would make him a far bigger #legend than most people would be able to work out.

Question does he sell the club and the stadium and the training ground as well. Or does he keep those. Charging rent to try and get some his money back.

[Greatwesternline]

Might as well fold the club then, we're a load of shite not worth anyone bothering with according to you.

We're not worth bothering with for [insert random foreign investment collective] that much is true. Which is my point. Sad that some people think the club only has merit if it's attractive to big shiny investments who want to hyper commercialise under exploited football assets.

Reading FC is worth bothering for because it's the Professional Club for a large town with a supporter base.

But please people stop clamouring for another investment group is going.to magic our problems away.

We're a lot more like Portsmouth now, not Southampton and Leicester. Portsmouth have been down here years. They were fan owned and then sold out to another daft investor.

[Linden Jones' Tash]

"Our academy is a nice to have for a team that wants to be Championship and financially sustainable."

And herein is the issue IMHO.

The Championship is not a financially sustainable league - the figures have been posted on here innumerable times.

Clubs run at a loss in order to survive or compete..

The levels of player wages are incompatible with revenue streams generated by most clubs.

Until people recognise that you cannot run a football club in the championship without a backer/sugar daddy, these discussions will keep doing round in circles...