Nezhen A minutes silence on Friday would be totally inapproriate in my view for someone who had such an important influence on the history of RFC. Instead, we should instigate a minutes applause to recognise and celebrate the achievements of this true Reading legend without whom we may not have a club today.
westendgirl
I suspect it will be his widow's decision as to how he is remembered.
starliaisonwestendgirl
I suspect it will be his widow's decision as to how he is remembered.
That is correct, Roy was a traditional man whose preference would be a minutes silence, and the club consulted his widow Joan to decide how to play it this evening.
Royal With Cheese A sad, sad day. RIP Roy. You saved the Royals and saw us in the top flight. Job done.
Tranter was the saviour of Reading FC
By Brian Roach
13/ 1/2009
Former Reading FC chairman Roger Smee has paid a glowing tribute to Roy Tranter for his role in saving Royals from the clutches of Robert Maxwell.
Tranter, the former Reading FC director who died earlier this month, played a leading role to foil disgraced media mogul Maxwell’s plans of merging Reading and Oxford United and forming Thames Valley Royals.
Wargrave-based Smee, the Reading chairman before Sir John Madejski, was hoping to fly back from business in the Middle East for Tranter’s funeral today.
He said: “I have committed myself to paper with a little bit about the history of Roy’s role in the Maxwell saga.
“This is in the hope I may be able to impress upon Reading supporters the absolutely fundamental role Roy played in saving Reading FC from extinction after the Frank Waller board of directors and Maxwell announced an agreed takeover, bringing about what they described as an ‘irrevocable end’ to Reading FC.”
Smee said: “In early 1983 Roy was a recent appointment to the Waller board.
“After the announcement that Reading and Oxford were merging he was quick to offer whatever help he could to my advisers and myself in order to prevent the takeover.
“There was uproar at the time from Royals fans and the townsfolk alike.
“They had seen their club ‘stolen’ by Maxwell and Waller.
“Together these men had decided to end RFC with no debate whatever – just a bland announcement that the club was at an end and had been sold to (possibly) become Thames Valley Royals.
“When I said publicly that I would fight the takeover, the then Mayor of Reading, politicians, police and media within the town were immediately in contact to ask if there was anything that could be done to prevent the demise of the club.
“I put a team of crack city advisers together to analyse the terms of the deal and to investigate how Maxwell and Waller could have got themselves into a position from which they, without reference, could destroy the town’s largest sporting asset – for profit.
“This is when Roy and I became welded at the hip.
“I needed him to be my route into the club’s workings. He needed me because through me he could do everything in his power to keep Reading FC alive.
“The key was that Roy was on the board of directors during the process of the winding down of the business.
“As a director, he was very valuable. He could demand information and records that I (or my advisers) had no chance of getting, but desperately needed.
“My clever city boys and I loaded Roy up and showed him where to fire the bullets.
“He did this with great accuracy and huge enthusiasm. He enjoyed it – he was good at it.
“He was sacked but we got him reinstated.
“He had nothing on his mind other than to do his level best to contribute all he could to keeping the club alive.
“Roy was never found wanting.
“The majority of the court papers had to be drafted in Roy’s name because we could only operate through his director status to infiltrate the closed-shop deal.
“Our advice was so smart and powerful that we began to find chinks of light in what had looked an impregnable hi-jack.
“We managed to have the court resolve that some of the RFC hijackers’ tactics were illegal – and slowly we retrieved the club from its extinct status.
“In July 83, there was a legendary extraordinary shareholders meeting in the Post House Hotel.
“This was crunch time. Maxwell (with his substantial legitimate shares) and I both had 15 minutes to address the shareholders. Roy was there, as he had been since the start, right by my side.
“At the moment of final reckoning, when the vote was taken, Roy and I won by a whisker – by less than 1,000 votes in a total of some 36,000.
“As a result of that evening Reading FC exists and the new board of directors was able to start discussions with Reading Borough Council about the move from Elm Park to a new stadium in the Smallmead area – and we all know where those discussions led.
“Roy was the star. Roy started the battle with me – he was right there at the end.
“He gave everything a man of Reading could for his town.
“The fans of Reading Football Club have a great deal to thank Roy for – they have their club!
“I like to think of him in that way – when the time came for Roy Tranter to be counted, he proved himself to be a dedicated and worthy Man of Reading.”
readingbedding There's an Interview about this with Roy within Reading FC's website.
(Subscription required).
Thaumagurist* Amazing, I didn't really know the full story. This is from GetBracknell:Tranter was the saviour of Reading FC
By Brian Roach
13/ 1/2009
Former Reading FC chairman Roger Smee has paid a glowing tribute to Roy Tranter for his role in saving Royals from the clutches of Robert Maxwell.
Tranter, the former Reading FC director who died earlier this month, played a leading role to foil disgraced media mogul Maxwell’s plans of merging Reading and Oxford United and forming Thames Valley Royals.
Wargrave-based Smee, the Reading chairman before Sir John Madejski, was hoping to fly back from business in the Middle East for Tranter’s funeral today.
He said: “I have committed myself to paper with a little bit about the history of Roy’s role in the Maxwell saga.
“This is in the hope I may be able to impress upon Reading supporters the absolutely fundamental role Roy played in saving Reading FC from extinction after the Frank Waller board of directors and Maxwell announced an agreed takeover, bringing about what they described as an ‘irrevocable end’ to Reading FC.”
Smee said: “In early 1983 Roy was a recent appointment to the Waller board.
“After the announcement that Reading and Oxford were merging he was quick to offer whatever help he could to my advisers and myself in order to prevent the takeover.
“There was uproar at the time from Royals fans and the townsfolk alike.
“They had seen their club ‘stolen’ by Maxwell and Waller.
“Together these men had decided to end RFC with no debate whatever – just a bland announcement that the club was at an end and had been sold to (possibly) become Thames Valley Royals.
“When I said publicly that I would fight the takeover, the then Mayor of Reading, politicians, police and media within the town were immediately in contact to ask if there was anything that could be done to prevent the demise of the club.
“I put a team of crack city advisers together to analyse the terms of the deal and to investigate how Maxwell and Waller could have got themselves into a position from which they, without reference, could destroy the town’s largest sporting asset – for profit.
“This is when Roy and I became welded at the hip.
“I needed him to be my route into the club’s workings. He needed me because through me he could do everything in his power to keep Reading FC alive.
“The key was that Roy was on the board of directors during the process of the winding down of the business.
“As a director, he was very valuable. He could demand information and records that I (or my advisers) had no chance of getting, but desperately needed.
“My clever city boys and I loaded Roy up and showed him where to fire the bullets.
“He did this with great accuracy and huge enthusiasm. He enjoyed it – he was good at it.
“He was sacked but we got him reinstated.
“He had nothing on his mind other than to do his level best to contribute all he could to keeping the club alive.
“Roy was never found wanting.
“The majority of the court papers had to be drafted in Roy’s name because we could only operate through his director status to infiltrate the closed-shop deal.
“Our advice was so smart and powerful that we began to find chinks of light in what had looked an impregnable hi-jack.
“We managed to have the court resolve that some of the RFC hijackers’ tactics were illegal – and slowly we retrieved the club from its extinct status.
“In July 83, there was a legendary extraordinary shareholders meeting in the Post House Hotel.
“This was crunch time. Maxwell (with his substantial legitimate shares) and I both had 15 minutes to address the shareholders. Roy was there, as he had been since the start, right by my side.
“At the moment of final reckoning, when the vote was taken, Roy and I won by a whisker – by less than 1,000 votes in a total of some 36,000.
“As a result of that evening Reading FC exists and the new board of directors was able to start discussions with Reading Borough Council about the move from Elm Park to a new stadium in the Smallmead area – and we all know where those discussions led.
“Roy was the star. Roy started the battle with me – he was right there at the end.
“He gave everything a man of Reading could for his town.
“The fans of Reading Football Club have a great deal to thank Roy for – they have their club!
“I like to think of him in that way – when the time came for Roy Tranter to be counted, he proved himself to be a dedicated and worthy Man of Reading.”
