by Wokingham via Waterloo »
25 Aug 2008 16:20
Hmm. I'm not well placed to judge issues on the pitch as I've only followed from afar since getting married and being a dad but I agree with the earlier posts concerned with the mixed messages off the pitch. I've been proud of the way the club has been run, even when we had a (slightly laughable) reputation in the third tier as a moneybags team. I wrote a letter to JM to say as much when I let my season ticket lapse. It's a large part of what made me glad to be a Royal, and much of what made success all the sweeter.
I know it's been done to death elsewhere, but having not mortgaged us to the hilt to get to the premiership or stay there, the current lack of on-pitch investment is difficult to fathom. I'd be happy if the club came out with a consistent, clear message about what the plan was, e.g. give youth its head, or "we're a selling club" etc, but the PR coming out of the club is muddled and depressing. I'd been looking forward to getting back to some proper football this year, but I don't see the point. It's one thing to spend money when you think you're playing your part in the evolution of a club and to an extent the town, but another when big sums have come in and disappeared and there's no consistency coming out of the chairman, chief exec and manager about what the plan now is. I think the transfer deadline might be a big turning point if they don't sort it out.