Nigel Adkins

[trueroyal1871]

I wouldn't be surprised if Nigel walked before the end of the season which would be a massive shame because I think he's definitely the man to take us forward, however I'm really starting to have doubts about TSI's actual wealth and whether they intend on investing in the squad as much as it needs to be. I know we've invested heavily in the infrastructure which is great and exactly what we should be doing but we can't under invest in the squad as a consequence of it.

If TSI think it will take two to three years to build the right squad due to financial constraints that's fine with me, but make sure the fans are told what the plan is so we can be realistic with our expectations.

[loyalroyal4life]

I wouldn't be surprised if Nigel walked before the end of the season which would be a massive shame because I think he's definitely the man to take us forward, however I'm really starting to have doubts about TSI's actual wealth and whether they intend on investing in the squad as much as it needs to be. I know we've invested heavily in the infrastructure which is great and exactly what we should be doing but we can't under invest in the squad as a consequence of it.

If TSI think it will take two to three years to build the right squad due to financial constraints that's fine with me, but make sure the fans are told what the plan is so we can be realistic with our expectations.

I think they will look to offload club in near future, can't see them in for the long haul

[melonhead]

[kwik-silva]

I wouldn't be surprised if Nigel walked before the end of the season which would be a massive shame because I think he's definitely the man to take us forward, however I'm really starting to have doubts about TSI's actual wealth and whether they intend on investing in the squad as much as it needs to be. I know we've invested heavily in the infrastructure which is great and exactly what we should be doing but we can't under invest in the squad as a consequence of it.

If TSI think it will take two to three years to build the right squad due to financial constraints that's fine with me, but make sure the fans are told what the plan is so we can be realistic with our expectations.

Do they have more money than you? Do they have more money than the other non-existant investors?

[melonhead]

thats the key here^

[trueroyal1871]

I wouldn't be surprised if Nigel walked before the end of the season which would be a massive shame because I think he's definitely the man to take us forward, however I'm really starting to have doubts about TSI's actual wealth and whether they intend on investing in the squad as much as it needs to be. I know we've invested heavily in the infrastructure which is great and exactly what we should be doing but we can't under invest in the squad as a consequence of it.

If TSI think it will take two to three years to build the right squad due to financial constraints that's fine with me, but make sure the fans are told what the plan is so we can be realistic with our expectations.

Do they have more money than you? Do they have more money than the other non-existant investors?

That question is completely irrelevant to my post, did you actually read it? What I'm saying is perhaps the investment should have been more balanced between infrastructure and playing staff and maybe it was, but it would have been much better for the club to be transparent about it so everyone knows where we stand financially and it would stop all the people bitching about it saying we should have spent X amount because they would know how we are operating financially.

We still don't really know that much about TSI from what we knew when the initial takeover took place and it just makes me feel uneasy not knowing everyone who is involved with the future running of our club. I suppose I'm slightly paranoid it will all go tits up and we'll end up in league two at some point in the not too distant future.

[melonhead]

im actually quite happy with a get up on the semi cheap, use prem and parachute money to pay for infrastructure improvements, use infrastructure improvements to fuel future pushes to the prem approach.

we wont go down with this side, and it only needs 1 or two key personell incoming, and some time to make the playoffs pretty realistic
imo


I also think that people are confusing trying to spend on the right targets but failing, and having no money at all, antons a fraud, sack the board, fold the club
but its HNA? and thats generally what happens

[kwik-silva]

I wouldn't be surprised if Nigel walked before the end of the season which would be a massive shame because I think he's definitely the man to take us forward, however I'm really starting to have doubts about TSI's actual wealth and whether they intend on investing in the squad as much as it needs to be. I know we've invested heavily in the infrastructure which is great and exactly what we should be doing but we can't under invest in the squad as a consequence of it.

If TSI think it will take two to three years to build the right squad due to financial constraints that's fine with me, but make sure the fans are told what the plan is so we can be realistic with our expectations.

Do they have more money than you? Do they have more money than the other non-existant investors?

That question is completely irrelevant to my post, did you actually read it? What I'm saying is perhaps the investment should have been more balanced between infrastructure and playing staff and maybe it was, but it would have been much better for the club to be transparent about it so everyone knows where we stand financially and it would stop all the people bitching about it saying we should have spent X amount because they would know how we are operating financially.

We still don't really know that much about TSI from what we knew when the initial takeover took place and it just makes me feel uneasy not knowing everyone who is involved with the future running of our club. I suppose I'm slightly paranoid it will all go tits up and we'll end up in league two at some point in the not too distant future.

It's not irrelevant - "I'm starting to have serious doubts about TSI's actual wealth" - well if they're the only option it doesn't matter, does it? What do you want them to come out and say? How much is in the bank? Almost everything that's posted about TSI is pure speculation.

Also why is everybody assuming you can just spend the parachute payments on transfers? We lose a huge amount of revenue by dropping down to the Championship and the parachute payments are meant to stop the club getting into financial trouble when they drop down the division over anything else.

[trueroyal1871]

im actually quite happy with a get up on the semi cheap, use prem and parachute money to pay for infrastructure improvements, use infrastructure improvements to fuel future pushes to the prem approach.

we wont go down with this side, and it only needs 1 or two key personell incoming, and some time to make the playoffs pretty realistic
imo

Yes we're most definitely capable of a top eight finish this season and should really finish somewhere in the top six.

I completely agree with your approach to running the club and think most fans would as well, it would just be nice for Anton, Chris Samuelson, or Andrew Oblensky who are all part of TSI to come forward and say this is the business model we are using to ensure the long term future of the club. I think a lot of fans just want reassurance that the club is in the right hands.

[melonhead]

can see where theyre coming from


i just think if you piece together ALL of the club communications since they came in, the info is pretty much all there.

adkins' 100 goals and antons 7 players rubbish havent really helped matters in the mean time though, ill grant you
but i think antons just been a bit naive and silly, rather than duplicitous

[trueroyal1871]

It's not irrelevant - "I'm starting to have serious doubts about TSI's actual wealth" - well if they're the only option it doesn't matter, does it? What do you want them to come out and say? How much is in the bank? Almost everything that's posted about TSI is pure speculation.

Also why is everybody assuming you can just spend the parachute payments on transfers? We lose a huge amount of revenue by dropping down to the Championship and the parachute payments are meant to stop the club getting into financial trouble when they drop down the division over anything else.

It's completely irrelevant, you're taking one small snippet of my post to make your point when if you actually read the whole thing I say that the club need to be more transparent about how the club is being run. Anton has said numerous times we should have spent more last season and Nigel coming out saying he wants/expects to sign 6 to 7 players this will clearly lead to fans believing that there is money to be spent on playing staff and is certainly enough to make me wonder whether there was any money in the first place.

It definitely matters if they're the only option and have no money because the very future of Reading FC could be at stake and I am not prepared to see the club that I love go down the pan. Like I said to Brendy/Melonhead all I think most fans want is honesty and a clear direction of how the club is being run and how we intend to go about business.

[trueroyal1871]

adkins' 100 goals and antons 7 players rubbish havent really helped matters in the mean time though, ill grant you
but i think antons just been a bit naive and silly, rather than duplicitous

This is where all the recently backlash from the fans has come from. Let's face it the club made an absolute shambles with their PR this summer which has caused them all sorts of grief which has led to normally very patient fans like myself to worry a bit about the club.

I think the club often forget the emotional attachment people have to the club so when they get something wrong these people react emotionally to it usually with negative emotions. It may well be a business to them but to me it's a massive part of mine and my families life and I worry about the club as though it was a member of the family.

[melonhead]

but in his defence i pretty sure anton was 100% convinced theyd be able to bring those players in, and Nigal was 100% convinced that if they did we'd be able to make an attempt on those sorts of numbers.


i have no problem with people looking at that and saying Booooooo, you idiots, just shut the fook up next time till the business is done. thats fair.
its people starting all this massively gay - its all been lies, there is no money, antons a fraud* bollox thats pisses me off







*unless some actual evidence comes to light, then im all for saying it

[kwik-silva]

It's not irrelevant - "I'm starting to have serious doubts about TSI's actual wealth" - well if they're the only option it doesn't matter, does it? What do you want them to come out and say? How much is in the bank? Almost everything that's posted about TSI is pure speculation.

Also why is everybody assuming you can just spend the parachute payments on transfers? We lose a huge amount of revenue by dropping down to the Championship and the parachute payments are meant to stop the club getting into financial trouble when they drop down the division over anything else.

It's completely irrelevant, you're taking one small snippet of my post to make your point when if you actually read the whole thing I say that the club need to be more transparent about how the club is being run. Anton has said numerous times we should have spent more last season and Nigel coming out saying he wants/expects to sign 6 to 7 players this will clearly lead to fans believing that there is money to be spent on playing staff and is certainly enough to make me wonder whether there was any money in the first place.

It definitely matters if they're the only option and have no money because the very future of Reading FC could be at stake and I am not prepared to see the club that I love go down the pan. Like I said to Brendy/Melonhead all I think most fans want is honesty and a clear direction of how the club is being run and how we intend to go about business.

Seriously, if they're the only option then what are you going to do? And what do you want them to do to show you clarity?

[Cypry]

adkins' 100 goals and antons 7 players rubbish havent really helped matters in the mean time though, ill grant you
but i think antons just been a bit naive and silly, rather than duplicitous

This is where all the recently backlash from the fans has come from. Let's face it the club made an absolute shambles with their PR this summer which has caused them all sorts of grief which has led to normally very patient fans like myself to worry a bit about the club.

I think the club often forget the emotional attachment people have to the club so when they get something wrong these people react emotionally to it usually with negative emotions. It may well be a business to them but to me it's a massive part of mine and my families life and I worry about the club as though it was a member of the family.

The thing is, there are an awful lot of people out there who seem to only want to hear what they want to hear, and ignore anything else.

From the very first communication when the takeover became knowledge we've been told consistently that the club would continue to operate within it's own means as much as possible.

For whatever reason, there seem to be a significant proportion of people who either didn't hear this, or have ignored it.

"Anton, put your hand in your pocket!!!" - when has he ever said he'd be putting his hand in his pocket, yet people are lambasting him for supposedly lying.....

Anton, and Adkins to an extent don't seem to have realised what a bunch of mongs a significant proportion of our fanbase are - Anton, could have qualified his "7 signings" statement with one word "trying", or possibly even "hoping". Maybe he was overconfident, maybe he simply didn't realise that people would overanalyse every word he says and produce ridiculous conspiracy theories using it as evidence.

Adkins first mentioned the 100 goals at the fans forum - people are using it to ridicule him, but it's being taken completely out of context. He was talking at the time about his targets for the season, and said that if we could get 100 goals and 21 clean sheets, then statistics would show that we would win the league, and that was his target. He also spoke about looking at the current squad, and trying to work out where those 100 goals would come from, and added that at that time he couldn't immediately see all the goals in the squad. What's the point in having a target if you can easily achieve it? Anyone heard of stretch goals?

Adkins did sound a bit frustrated on BBCRB this morning, and I suspect he is disappointed that we didn't get our targets, but I think his quoted comment in response to the question about lack of depth in the squad was more from frustration at Dellor asking the question, than frustration at the board. Certainly that's the way I heard it...IMO I'd rather we signed nobody, than signed just anybody for the sake of appeasing the fans....that kind of approach almost never ends well....

I think a lot of people are getting swept up in the endless speculation on Twitter, and here, and the, quite frankly clueless, conspiracy theories which seem to be popping up all over the place.

The latest one about mortgaging the stadium? I guess it's possible we are looking at mortgaging the stadium....perhaps the club need to free some funds towards the purchase of Bearwood...?
"But I thought Anton would pay for that from his own pocket!!!" - what part of "club operating within it's own means" don't people understand. That would be a perfectly reasonable and businesslike approach to buying a significant lump of real estate (capital) for any business - let's face it, what's the point in having £xM of capital sat locked in to the stadium, when those funds could be freed for investing in much needed infrastructure.

Everything, at the moment, points to Anton having a long term strategy for the club and for that I support him. If and when something significant (backed by real evidence) happens to change my mind then I'll review this, and be as vocal as anyone else in slating TSI, but like Melonhead, I am just getting fed up to the back teeth with the "lies" and "no money" brigade - there's no EVIDENCE that either is true. In the meantime, I hope the doom-mongers can keep a lid on it for long enough to give Adkins a chance. I strongly suspect that the fans reaction to some of Brian's last games was a factor in his departure (I wonder how many of those now slating Anton for sacking McD booed at the end of the Villa game?), and I'd hate Adkins to be effectively hounded out on the back of baseless speculation and theories....

[trueroyal1871]

but in his defence i pretty sure anton was 100% convinced theyd be able to bring those players in, and Nigal was 100% convinced that if they did we'd be able to make an attempt on those sorts of numbers.


i have no problem with people looking at that and saying Booooooo, you idiots, just shut the fook up next time till the business is done. thats fair.
its people starting all this massively gay - its all been lies, there is no money, antons a fraud* bollox thats pisses me off







*unless some actual evidence comes to light, then im all for saying it

It's entirely possible that they were 100% convinced they could bring those players in and I believe had we made those signings we would have been really pushing for a top two finish. Hopefully we can bring a striker in on loan, stay in the race until January and bring a couple of players in, in January to have a strong finish and hopefully avoid the playoffs but this is a best case scenario and I think we might just fall short for automatic this year. Who knows maybe we'll win the playoffs for a change.

+1 There have been some massively threads just lately.

[trueroyal1871]

adkins' 100 goals and antons 7 players rubbish havent really helped matters in the mean time though, ill grant you
but i think antons just been a bit naive and silly, rather than duplicitous

This is where all the recently backlash from the fans has come from. Let's face it the club made an absolute shambles with their PR this summer which has caused them all sorts of grief which has led to normally very patient fans like myself to worry a bit about the club.

I think the club often forget the emotional attachment people have to the club so when they get something wrong these people react emotionally to it usually with negative emotions. It may well be a business to them but to me it's a massive part of mine and my families life and I worry about the club as though it was a member of the family.

The thing is, there are an awful lot of people out there who seem to only want to hear what they want to hear, and ignore anything else.

From the very first communication when the takeover became knowledge we've been told consistently that the club would continue to operate within it's own means as much as possible.

For whatever reason, there seem to be a significant proportion of people who either didn't hear this, or have ignored it.

"Anton, put your hand in your pocket!!!" - when has he ever said he'd be putting his hand in his pocket, yet people are lambasting him for supposedly lying.....

Anton, and Adkins to an extent don't seem to have realised what a bunch of mongs a significant proportion of our fanbase are - Anton, could have qualified his "7 signings" statement with one word "trying", or possibly even "hoping". Maybe he was overconfident, maybe he simply didn't realise that people would overanalyse every word he says and produce ridiculous conspiracy theories using it as evidence.

Adkins first mentioned the 100 goals at the fans forum - people are using it to ridicule him, but it's being taken completely out of context. He was talking at the time about his targets for the season, and said that if we could get 100 goals and 21 clean sheets, then statistics would show that we would win the league, and that was his target. He also spoke about looking at the current squad, and trying to work out where those 100 goals would come from, and added that at that time he couldn't immediately see all the goals in the squad. What's the point in having a target if you can easily achieve it? Anyone heard of stretch goals?

Adkins did sound a bit frustrated on BBCRB this morning, and I suspect he is disappointed that we didn't get our targets, but I think his quoted comment in response to the question about lack of depth in the squad was more from frustration at Dellor asking the question, than frustration at the board. Certainly that's the way I heard it...IMO I'd rather we signed nobody, than signed just anybody for the sake of appeasing the fans....that kind of approach almost never ends well....

I think a lot of people are getting swept up in the endless speculation on Twitter, and here, and the, quite frankly clueless, conspiracy theories which seem to be popping up all over the place.

The latest one about mortgaging the stadium? I guess it's possible we are looking at mortgaging the stadium....perhaps the club need to free some funds towards the purchase of Bearwood...?
"But I thought Anton would pay for that from his own pocket!!!" - what part of "club operating within it's own means" don't people understand. That would be a perfectly reasonable and businesslike approach to buying a significant lump of real estate (capital) for any business - let's face it, what's the point in having £xM of capital sat locked in to the stadium, when those funds could be freed for investing in much needed infrastructure.

Everything, at the moment, points to Anton having a long term strategy for the club and for that I support him. If and when something significant (backed by real evidence) happens to change my mind then I'll review this, and be as vocal as anyone else in slating TSI, but like Melonhead, I am just getting fed up to the back teeth with the "lies" and "no money" brigade - there's no EVIDENCE that either is true. In the meantime, I hope the doom-mongers can keep a lid on it for long enough to give Adkins a chance. I strongly suspect that the fans reaction to some of Brian's last games was a factor in his departure (I wonder how many of those now slating Anton for sacking McD booed at the end of the Villa game?), and I'd hate Adkins to be effectively hounded out on the back of baseless speculation and theories....

Great post, totally agree with all of that.

[The Cap]

In his opening post to this thread MytchettSaint wrote:
I remember watching a game against Oldham at home in league one thinking 'christ what the foook is going on here'

Strange that, I was watching a game against Brighton at home in the Championship, on Sunday 15 September 2013, thinking 'christ what the foook......

[trueroyal1871]

Seriously, if they're the only option then what are you going to do? And what do you want them to do to show you clarity?

If and I mean if they had no money and had basically taken on a club they couldn't afford to run I would make enquiries to the FA and Football League as to why they were allowed to purchase the club in the first place and then probably protest every game and get as much media attention as possible to hopefully find someone that could buy them out which I know is unlikely but I couldn't stand there and do nothing about it.

They simply need to come out and give us an update on how the club is being run, such as the progress with the purchase of Bearwood, when will Madejski's 49% be purchased to complete the sale to TSI? What they could have done better and also what they have done which is good, all I'm saying is that if they were more open and told the fans exactly as it is there wouldn't be half as many people moaning and making ridiculous demands of Anton and the club.

[andrew1957]

adkins' 100 goals and antons 7 players rubbish havent really helped matters in the mean time though, ill grant you
but i think antons just been a bit naive and silly, rather than duplicitous

This is where all the recently backlash from the fans has come from. Let's face it the club made an absolute shambles with their PR this summer which has caused them all sorts of grief which has led to normally very patient fans like myself to worry a bit about the club.

I think the club often forget the emotional attachment people have to the club so when they get something wrong these people react emotionally to it usually with negative emotions. It may well be a business to them but to me it's a massive part of mine and my families life and I worry about the club as though it was a member of the family.

The thing is, there are an awful lot of people out there who seem to only want to hear what they want to hear, and ignore anything else.

From the very first communication when the takeover became knowledge we've been told consistently that the club would continue to operate within it's own means as much as possible.

For whatever reason, there seem to be a significant proportion of people who either didn't hear this, or have ignored it.

"Anton, put your hand in your pocket!!!" - when has he ever said he'd be putting his hand in his pocket, yet people are lambasting him for supposedly lying.....

Anton, and Adkins to an extent don't seem to have realised what a bunch of mongs a significant proportion of our fanbase are - Anton, could have qualified his "7 signings" statement with one word "trying", or possibly even "hoping". Maybe he was overconfident, maybe he simply didn't realise that people would overanalyse every word he says and produce ridiculous conspiracy theories using it as evidence.

Adkins first mentioned the 100 goals at the fans forum - people are using it to ridicule him, but it's being taken completely out of context. He was talking at the time about his targets for the season, and said that if we could get 100 goals and 21 clean sheets, then statistics would show that we would win the league, and that was his target. He also spoke about looking at the current squad, and trying to work out where those 100 goals would come from, and added that at that time he couldn't immediately see all the goals in the squad. What's the point in having a target if you can easily achieve it? Anyone heard of stretch goals?

Adkins did sound a bit frustrated on BBCRB this morning, and I suspect he is disappointed that we didn't get our targets, but I think his quoted comment in response to the question about lack of depth in the squad was more from frustration at Dellor asking the question, than frustration at the board. Certainly that's the way I heard it...IMO I'd rather we signed nobody, than signed just anybody for the sake of appeasing the fans....that kind of approach almost never ends well....

I think a lot of people are getting swept up in the endless speculation on Twitter, and here, and the, quite frankly clueless, conspiracy theories which seem to be popping up all over the place.

The latest one about mortgaging the stadium? I guess it's possible we are looking at mortgaging the stadium....perhaps the club need to free some funds towards the purchase of Bearwood...?
"But I thought Anton would pay for that from his own pocket!!!" - what part of "club operating within it's own means" don't people understand. That would be a perfectly reasonable and businesslike approach to buying a significant lump of real estate (capital) for any business - let's face it, what's the point in having £xM of capital sat locked in to the stadium, when those funds could be freed for investing in much needed infrastructure.

Everything, at the moment, points to Anton having a long term strategy for the club and for that I support him. If and when something significant (backed by real evidence) happens to change my mind then I'll review this, and be as vocal as anyone else in slating TSI, but like Melonhead, I am just getting fed up to the back teeth with the "lies" and "no money" brigade - there's no EVIDENCE that either is true. In the meantime, I hope the doom-mongers can keep a lid on it for long enough to give Adkins a chance. I strongly suspect that the fans reaction to some of Brian's last games was a factor in his departure (I wonder how many of those now slating Anton for sacking McD booed at the end of the Villa game?), and I'd hate Adkins to be effectively hounded out on the back of baseless speculation and theories....

You might be surprised to know that I agree with 90% of that BUT I do think that there was a case for taking a small gamble this season. History shows that if you don't go straight back up at the first attempt it can take a few seasons to do so. And unfortunately there is a strong likelihood that failure this season will mean that several of our good young players will want to move up to the PL at the end of the season if there are offers (and I don't blame them at all for that) and so failure will most likely mean a huge rebuilding job at the end of the season. I would expect McCarthy to want to go for sure and the likes of Federici, Pearce, McCleary, ALF, Guthrie, Karacan and Gunter will all have just one year left on their contracts and could well push for a move. Plus all the following will be out of contract at the end of the season and might not be offered new ones - Leigertwood, Gorkks, Roberts, S.Taylor and perhaps even McAnuff won't be offered an extension. That is a lot of players to replace out of a 23 man squad. On the bright side we should be able to retain Pog and Blackman though!

So I think we should have reinvested the proceeds of the sales of Kebe and Mariappa - because if we fail this season a lot of money will come in from transfers next summer but the danger is that the the balance sheet will look very good, but we will have very few experienced players left.