Madejski Out

[Denver Royal]

If sir John had just taken the risk and invested in our great 2006 side we could have been a Bournemouth or Brighton, instead he was scared of the huge costs of sustaining PL survival. I still don't believe all that TV money went out on wages, Bournemouth get crowds of 11.000 for Christ sake. it was a big chance missed and we went down in the 2nd season.
Of course nobody doubts the good he did for the club, but his choice of new owners was questionable to say the least.

Bournemouth is a terrible comparison. Their owner(s) are filthy rich, unlike JM, so they can afford to back their manager.

and theres still a 50:50 chance that they will go back down in a few seasons and be in a right mess

Do you actually not want us to get promotion?

The 'risks' of promotion are there for many teams. We aren't unique in that.

One thing that's become apparent in here in recent months is that even the fan base is all at sea. Some want promotion. Some want relegation. (And some actually want to stay down there a few years). I've not really explored relegation myself, but sounds like there is no confidence in us doing a Wigan/Blackburn/Rovrum.

[Green]

The fan base sound like f*cking idiots!

[Snowflake Royal]

Bournemouth is a terrible comparison. Their owner(s) are filthy rich, unlike JM, so they can afford to back their manager.

and theres still a 50:50 chance that they will go back down in a few seasons and be in a right mess

Do you actually not want us to get promotion?

The 'risks' of promotion are there for many teams. We aren't unique in that.

One thing that's become apparent in here in recent months is that even the fan base is all at sea. Some want promotion. Some want relegation. (And some actually want to stay down there a few years). I've not really explored relegation myself, but sounds like there is no confidence in us doing a Wigan/Blackburn/Rovrum.

Can you find any examples of people actually saying this please? Because I reckon you've just had a comprehension fail.

[Maneki Neko]

Bournemouth is a terrible comparison. Their owner(s) are filthy rich, unlike JM, so they can afford to back their manager.

and theres still a 50:50 chance that they will go back down in a few seasons and be in a right mess

Do you actually not want us to get promotion?

The 'risks' of promotion are there for many teams. We aren't unique in that.

One thing that's become apparent in here in recent months is that even the fan base is all at sea. Some want promotion. Some want relegation. (And some actually want to stay down there a few years). I've not really explored relegation myself, but sounds like there is no confidence in us doing a Wigan/Blackburn/Rovrum.

its very easy running the risks of that gamble when its not your money.
anyone who wants relegation is an idiot, it would probably leave us literally bankrupt.
promotion is great, but you still have to spend within your means, not overstretch in case you come down again,and use the proceeds to grow the club incrementally.

[Denver Royal]

and theres still a 50:50 chance that they will go back down in a few seasons and be in a right mess

1. Do you actually not want us to get promotion?
2. The 'risks' of promotion exist for many teams, and they try to navigate them. We aren't unique in that.

its very easy running the risks of that gamble when its not your money.
promotion is great, but you still have to spend within your means, not overstretch in case you come down again,and use the proceeds to grow the club incrementally.

Eh, yes, I know. I imagine most know that, and I never said otherwise. You are preaching common knowledge. If a fan wants promotion (as the club do?), they can still be aware of the risks, too.
Again, I asked a question, and made a point. Amidst your laughter, not sure you answered either?
(Warning, if you answer 'yes' to #1, you may be lumped in with those 'wanting to spend other people's money' )

[Maneki Neko]

ok.
id like to get promoted, but I don't want to spend too far beyond our means to do so.

[Nessa From Eldorado]

From the year we moved to the Madejski to the year he sold up, we had only one bottom half finish in 15 seasons. The year we finished 18th in the Prem on goal difference.

Just think though. What if he'd dug even deeper into his own pocket and invested more into the club. You know, ditched all his principals that made him, and Reading Football Club, such a success. We could have been a Wigan. Or a Bradford or Portsmouth maybe. Even a Charlton? Investing more than we could afford to just to hang on to the coat tails of the elite made no sense whatsoever. Better off continuing just to grow as a club, which we did.

In his 1st season as owner we had league gate of 1,900. In his last, we had 24,000.

I would say about 90% of the people who post on here are Reading fans because of John Madejski. Because he invested millions of his own hard earned money in his local football club with a very high probability of getting none of his money back. Despite freely admitting he didn't have a clue about football.

If anything , this current mess just shows what an amazing job he did in giving a club to be proud of to the people of Reading.

I still think he did the right thing selling to Anton, at that time. It was just a change in the Russian political landscape that scuppered it all. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

[BR0B0T]

The fan base sound like f*cking idiots!

,

[Zip]

SJM is clearly the greatest thing that has ever happened to the club and it has been on a downward spiral ever since he sold up. If there is once criticism you could make of him it was that, at the time, he kept stressing he would only sell to someone who understood and would continue with the Reading ethos yet, in reality, he sold to people who absolutely did not match this in, firstly, the Zingarovitches and, secondly, the Thais.

Even then, I can't begrudge him selling, we as fans have no right to demand that he devote huge portions of his time and money to the club when he wanted out and, sadly, it appears the buyers on each occasion were the only game in town.

Looking back, 'cutting our cloth' was frustrating but, in hindsight, you would far rather have that and a united club all signing from the same hymnsheet than today's collection of mercenaries and journeymen who show no affinity to the club. I guess you never know what you have until it's gone

Yep. I remember being critical in 2007 that we didn’t push on and invest. I still think that was a mistake but it’s down to Coppell and he has acknowledged that. In any case Madejski had a real feel for the club. He knew the strengths and limitations and wasn’t prepared to throw silly money at the club.

The cloth cutting was fairly modest really. We certainly didn’t do a Swansea and sell virtually every first teamer. We kept hold of the likes of Doyle, Long and S Hunt as well as those who wouldn’t bring in such big transfer monies like Murty, Ingimarsson, Convey and Harper after relegation. It was a sensible and realistic scaling back.

Sadly we are now a shell of the club from a dozen years ago.

[AthleticoSpizz]

WRTTOP/thread title, ‘Madejski Out’

Out from just what, exactly?

What is his influence/role these days?