Anyone For Chinese?

[Ian Royal]

Are there any stats on how manager's do under new owners? My impression is they rarely last as the new peops want their own person in and aren't interested in giving much time to someone who wasn't their hire, especially if it isn't going swimmingly.

[seahawk10]

Also:

The daughter-in-law of Zeng Qinghong, (former vice-president of the Chinese regime), Jiang Mei, was reported by overseas Chinese media as working with Dai Yongge, to launder billions of yuan overseas for corrupt officials.

http://www.chinauncensored.com/index.ph ... s-billions

live fast

dai yongge

[Scutterbucketz]

If it turns out that Sassima didn't mean the words in that song then I'll never trust another Asian chairperson at the club again.

[Jagermesiter1871]

If the Thai's have extracted the assets then that must mean a potential,purchaser is buying us as a football club, not a non footballing investment opportunity.
If the Thai's are only selling a majority holding, not the whole club, they must see some value in remaining involved.
I'm sceptical about all club owners, but am interested in why people think several groups seem interested if as is being suggested the biggest asset is not actually owned by the club any more.

At the more cynical end, football is always good for money laundering.

Is it though? Surely way too high profile amongst many other things.

[oldebiscuit]

http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/reading-fc-takeover-dai-yongee-12222786

Takeover talks at an advanced stage.

Oh goody! Maybe another minutes silence when President Xi Jinping dies.

[BR0B0T]

http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/reading-fc-takeover-dai-yongee-12222786

Takeover talks at an advanced stage.

Oh goody! Maybe another minutes silence when President Xi Jinping dies.

Better than the 90 mins we usually get

AMIRITE Kesmond!!!!

[WAZZOCK]

You can forgive us for being apprehensive.

I suppose so yes, purely based on our experiences.

However, this mob are in a different stratosphere of wealth compared to our previous owners, so that is a big tick in the positives box for me. Reports are that finances within the club currently are in a very bad way, perhaps we've over stretched with some of the wages we have dished out?

For me: A stupidly rich benefactor + the Thai's + Nigel Howe + Brian Tevreden + Jaap Stam = a big win

Let's not forget we were DESPERATE for a striker of note to be signed in August, and we were all a bit fearful when it didn't materialise as a result of not being able to compete with the high prices in the market. Maybe, just maybe, with the Chinese we would have enough money to compete and get us over that line?

I get what you're saying and of course it's easy to get a bit giddy when you hear the word billionaire, but as you said, we've been stung before. Once bitten, twice shy and all that.

You are right though, the sums involved are on a different scale to what we are used to and yes, they could take us to that ever elusive "next level". However after seemingly putting to bed our behind the scenes problems and pushing in the right direction on and off the pitch one can justifiably worry (expected supporting reading ) how and when it's all going to go wrong. While relatively recent and early days you only have to look at clubs like Villa, Wolves and Fulham who have been taken over for mega bucks which hasn't translated into tangible on-field success.

My worry is that this potentially could have a negative impact on the team which have built up, backroom staff and playing staff, a seeming togetherness and surprising efficacy.

Of course it could go both ways, they Chinese could come in, fund a couple of important signings which aid in a promotion challenge a la Anton in 11/12. One way or another though I hope this gets resolved swiftly as prolonged uncertainty is only going to hamper our season.

I think that's a perfectly balanced and reasonable way to look at things. Truth is, time will tell how it goes, all we can do is hope for the best.

The one point I will query is in bold above. I think our exceptional form on the pitch it papering over the cracks of what is a perilously bad financial situation behind the scenes. Truth is, if the Thai's were in a sound position to be able to bankroll the club, there is no way they would sell the majority with the club currently third in the league - and with a Premier League windfall up for grabs in May.

[Y25Beryl]

Wouldn't mind seeing a picture of these 2. can't imagine what a Chinese brother looks like tbh

Smoking hot.

She used to be in a Chinese Version of "on the Buses"

[Nameless]

I suppose so yes, purely based on our experiences.

However, this mob are in a different stratosphere of wealth compared to our previous owners, so that is a big tick in the positives box for me. Reports are that finances within the club currently are in a very bad way, perhaps we've over stretched with some of the wages we have dished out?

For me: A stupidly rich benefactor + the Thai's + Nigel Howe + Brian Tevreden + Jaap Stam = a big win

Let's not forget we were DESPERATE for a striker of note to be signed in August, and we were all a bit fearful when it didn't materialise as a result of not being able to compete with the high prices in the market. Maybe, just maybe, with the Chinese we would have enough money to compete and get us over that line?

I get what you're saying and of course it's easy to get a bit giddy when you hear the word billionaire, but as you said, we've been stung before. Once bitten, twice shy and all that.

You are right though, the sums involved are on a different scale to what we are used to and yes, they could take us to that ever elusive "next level". However after seemingly putting to bed our behind the scenes problems and pushing in the right direction on and off the pitch one can justifiably worry (expected supporting reading ) how and when it's all going to go wrong. While relatively recent and early days you only have to look at clubs like Villa, Wolves and Fulham who have been taken over for mega bucks which hasn't translated into tangible on-field success.

My worry is that this potentially could have a negative impact on the team which have built up, backroom staff and playing staff, a seeming togetherness and surprising efficacy.

Of course it could go both ways, they Chinese could come in, fund a couple of important signings which aid in a promotion challenge a la Anton in 11/12. One way or another though I hope this gets resolved swiftly as prolonged uncertainty is only going to hamper our season.

I think that's a perfectly balanced and reasonable way to look at things. Truth is, time will tell how it goes, all we can do is hope for the best.

The one point I will query is in bold above. I think our exceptional form on the pitch it papering over the cracks of what is a perilously bad financial situation behind the scenes. Truth is, if the Thai's were in a sound position to be able to bankroll the club, there is no way they would sell the majority with the club currently third in the league - and with a Premier League windfall up for grabs in May.

If they are canny business people they may see the opportunity to make a guaranteed profit now, spread the risk of future costs and still be in a position to share in any future windfall. We don't know what the majority shareholding would be, the Thai's might still retain 49% ...

[CountryRoyal]

I get what you're saying and of course it's easy to get a bit giddy when you hear the word billionaire, but as you said, we've been stung before. Once bitten, twice shy and all that.

You are right though, the sums involved are on a different scale to what we are used to and yes, they could take us to that ever elusive "next level". However after seemingly putting to bed our behind the scenes problems and pushing in the right direction on and off the pitch one can justifiably worry (expected supporting reading ) how and when it's all going to go wrong. While relatively recent and early days you only have to look at clubs like Villa, Wolves and Fulham who have been taken over for mega bucks which hasn't translated into tangible on-field success.

My worry is that this potentially could have a negative impact on the team which have built up, backroom staff and playing staff, a seeming togetherness and surprising efficacy.

Of course it could go both ways, they Chinese could come in, fund a couple of important signings which aid in a promotion challenge a la Anton in 11/12. One way or another though I hope this gets resolved swiftly as prolonged uncertainty is only going to hamper our season.

I think that's a perfectly balanced and reasonable way to look at things. Truth is, time will tell how it goes, all we can do is hope for the best.

The one point I will query is in bold above. I think our exceptional form on the pitch it papering over the cracks of what is a perilously bad financial situation behind the scenes. Truth is, if the Thai's were in a sound position to be able to bankroll the club, there is no way they would sell the majority with the club currently third in the league - and with a Premier League windfall up for grabs in May.

If they are canny business people they may see the opportunity to make a guaranteed profit now, spread the risk of future costs and still be in a position to share in any future windfall. We don't know what the majority shareholding would be, the Thai's might still retain 49% ...

Think CW said they were looking to offload 75%.

[muirinho]

I get what you're saying and of course it's easy to get a bit giddy when you hear the word billionaire, but as you said, we've been stung before. Once bitten, twice shy and all that.

You are right though, the sums involved are on a different scale to what we are used to and yes, they could take us to that ever elusive "next level". However after seemingly putting to bed our behind the scenes problems and pushing in the right direction on and off the pitch one can justifiably worry (expected supporting reading ) how and when it's all going to go wrong. While relatively recent and early days you only have to look at clubs like Villa, Wolves and Fulham who have been taken over for mega bucks which hasn't translated into tangible on-field success.

My worry is that this potentially could have a negative impact on the team which have built up, backroom staff and playing staff, a seeming togetherness and surprising efficacy.

Of course it could go both ways, they Chinese could come in, fund a couple of important signings which aid in a promotion challenge a la Anton in 11/12. One way or another though I hope this gets resolved swiftly as prolonged uncertainty is only going to hamper our season.

I think that's a perfectly balanced and reasonable way to look at things. Truth is, time will tell how it goes, all we can do is hope for the best.

The one point I will query is in bold above. I think our exceptional form on the pitch it papering over the cracks of what is a perilously bad financial situation behind the scenes. Truth is, if the Thai's were in a sound position to be able to bankroll the club, there is no way they would sell the majority with the club currently third in the league - and with a Premier League windfall up for grabs in May.

If they are canny business people they may see the opportunity to make a guaranteed profit now, spread the risk of future costs and still be in a position to share in any future windfall. We don't know what the majority shareholding would be, the Thai's might still retain 49% ...

Agree about the perilous financial situation. Suggest anybody who hasn't done so, takes a look at Dave Hunt's assessment of accounts for 2014/2015 on the Star website.

(Should be at the bottom of this page http://star-reading.org/index.php/news/ )

Looking at that, the only reason we made a small profit in 2014/2015 was because of a revaluation of the land around the stadium. Take that out of the equation and we made a loss of £12 million

For 2015/2016 the turnover was due to go down by £8 million, so based on that, and without the land revaluation, , that would mean a loss of maybe £20million plus, last season. And presumably a similarish amount, this season. Next season - no parachute payments at all. (Or maybe they disappeared this season, I can't keep track)

The club is hemorrhaging money. The total assets of the club at the end of 2015 were 50 million - including the land around the stadium. And debt of about 68 million. In the grand scheme of things, there aren't any assets to strip. The club is effectively bankrupt, and has been for a few years. It's being propped up by the Thais and presumably loans. So I would expect the overall debt to increase. Even if the Thais pay full value for the land, and some extra, out of sheer love, it will barely make a dent in the debt, and the yearly expenses are unsustainable against turnover anyway.

You can see why outside investment is needed. Even if 100% of profit from the REP development goes back into the club it's unlikely to be able to cover losses of £20million plus every year. And why on earth would they prop up the club, and pump all of their profits into the club, and get nothing for themselves?

I suspect that Tiger will want to keep a fair whack of his share, he is the most interested in the football side of things. We'll see.

[royalp-we]

We will see.


A terrible amount of sh*t to stir by GetReading if they aren't actually at an 'advanced stage' as they report. We need the whole club from top to ground thinking about 3pts on Saturday - I really do hope this is resolved quickly either way and not left to drag on.

[Mike Hunt]

We will see.


A terrible amount of sh*t to stir by GetReading if they aren't actually at an 'advanced stage' as they report. We need the whole club from top to ground thinking about 3pts on Saturday - I really do hope this is resolved quickly either way and not left to drag on.

+1

I cannot imagine GetReading would post this unless it was pretty concrete.... But hey - who knows until the club confirms it.

[Sutekh]

We will see.


A terrible amount of sh*t to stir by GetReading if they aren't actually at an 'advanced stage' as they report. We need the whole club from top to ground thinking about 3pts on Saturday - I really do hope this is resolved quickly either way and not left to drag on.

+1

I cannot imagine GetReading would post this unless it was pretty concrete.... But hey - who knows until the club confirms it.

Haven't run into any mention of it on BBC Berks yet on their sports desks. Don't know if that means anything or not but usually if there's something concrete in these things they'll be reporting it. So presumably this is all just early stage chat that could easily go either way and the EP are really just looking to pick up site hits.

[George_]

We will see.


A terrible amount of sh*t to stir by GetReading if they aren't actually at an 'advanced stage' as they report. We need the whole club from top to ground thinking about 3pts on Saturday - I really do hope this is resolved quickly either way and not left to drag on.

+1

I cannot imagine GetReading would post this unless it was pretty concrete.... But hey - who knows until the club confirms it.

Charles Watts claiming he's known about it for weeks so you would assume he was waiting for the perfect time just before it was nearly all complete to report it.

[One8Seven1*]

It still just comes down to accounting though. If the land had remained with the club then the Thais could have still just removed whatever income it generated and put it into other businesses - there's no guarantee why it would be used for the benefit of the team. Similarly, it perfectly possible that any income generate by separate company could have been passed back to the club.

When a football club is privately owned then it's own assets/debts are largely irrelevant - the same way that the fact Starbucks doesn't technically make any profit in the UK is irrelevant because the money is transferred to a lower tax area. The only thing that matters is the amount of money spent on the club, and that is 100% at the discretion of the owners.

You're right to say that of course, at the end of the day anyone thinking the money from the property sales would be going into buying us a new striker were living in a different world, but the fact the land has been shifted out of the club makes it even more clear that the land will be of no benefit to the club and that was the point I was trying to make.

And although the amount of money to spend is at the discretion of the owners, ultimately if the owners decide to jump ship the asset base of the football club will have an impact on our sustainability going forwards and the attractiveness of the club to investors. £15m is a material amount and I'm not sure it's correct to say that it's disappearance from the club accounts makes no difference at all.

At the end of the day if these Chinese investors come in with their millions and give us the £10m investment we need to get promotion, then it will all look pretty irrelevant, but for now I'm quite concerned.

This is what I've been saying was always the plan but many wouldn't have it. The came in to stabilise the club with their eyes on making money off the land around the ground. That was how SJM attracted them here. When the land is developed and their money is made, or in this case the land is theirs and now seperate from the club, the club is no longer of any use to them. Charles Watts stated months back they didn't have money to invest in the club; hence the delay with the training ground, and playing budget in place at the moment. They cannot bankroll the club and have been looking for that new investor to come on board ever since they arrived. They've done well by us, we really can't complain, but at a cost as stated above.

[One8Seven1*]

Latest is that Sasima is selling her 25%, Narin and Tiger are selling some of their shares to give the Chinese their majority share.

[Forbury Lion]

We will see.


A terrible amount of sh*t to stir by GetReading if they aren't actually at an 'advanced stage' as they report. We need the whole club from top to ground thinking about 3pts on Saturday - I really do hope this is resolved quickly either way and not left to drag on.

+1

I cannot imagine GetReading would post this unless it was pretty concrete.... But hey - who knows until the club confirms it.

What was their form like with the Thai owners and the Russian? - IIRC they were posting all sorts of rumours about an American who ironically they claimed was only interested in the land.

[One8Seven1*]

Pairoj now a Director.

[muirinho]

We will see.


A terrible amount of sh*t to stir by GetReading if they aren't actually at an 'advanced stage' as they report. We need the whole club from top to ground thinking about 3pts on Saturday - I really do hope this is resolved quickly either way and not left to drag on.

+1

I cannot imagine GetReading would post this unless it was pretty concrete.... But hey - who knows until the club confirms it.

What was their form like with the Thai owners and the Russian? - IIRC they were posting all sorts of rumours about an American who ironically they claimed was only interested in the land.

Might not have been rumours though. As in - it may have been true that the "American" was interested. the question really is - how close should a potential buyer be to actually buying before they can report it?

I do know of another definite interested buyer, from a few months ago, that was not reported. Obviously I don't know if GetReading knew, but they may well have, but decided it wasn't close enough to a deal, to report.

Just because something fails to happen doesn't mean that saying it might happen isn't true.