Gourlay

[Coppells Lost Coat]

Yes they were thinking about it, did not know how to contact the Chinese. I suggested they speak to sir john he would know

That's a fair summary.

Delboy is so far the only supporter to write to us in this vein. Understand where he's coming from. The road to where he wants to get is paved with obstacles some of which we've stumbled over several times before. As he says it's not a question of spend more money now, it's more complex.

So for the record if more supporters get in touch with concerns about Gourlay you will endorse/organise a supporters protest against him?

Think a protest will have to have a bit more concrete founding other than anecdotal evidence and Gourlay being a massive turd. He has instilled a disconnect with everyone. I dont like him, players dont seem to like him - no one likes him except fore who pays his wages.

[Hound]

I expect Sone Aluko loves him

[Ascotexgunner]

good news to come out of it, is it seems no one has a bad word to say about the owners themselves so far. Hopefully they'll be around a lot longer than Gourlay will be

I’d say “naive” isn’t a great glowing recommendation.

It is very easy to put your trust in the wrong person. You cannot argue with Gourlay's CV either, they had no reason to think he wouldn't do a good job.

Indeed, you are very correct, his CV is impeccable...but...the main difference is that Man United and Chelsea have money thrown at them in sponsorship deals, its "take your pick" there. With us we have to go out there and get people interested in this club to sponsor it, and in that department he fails utterly miserably. From what Ive seen on here staff moral is pretty poor apparently as well which is not good.
Empty boxes and lack of advertising and shirt sponsorship on the back all come down to him.
All I can say is that yep, he could probably do a good job at a big club, but we are far from that and when I think of all the global companies based around Reading, he should be banging on their door trying to offer them deals and opportunities and one of 13+ empty boxes now being seen empty.

[Vision]

I’d say “naive” isn’t a great glowing recommendation.

It is very easy to put your trust in the wrong person. You cannot argue with Gourlay's CV either, they had no reason to think he wouldn't do a good job.

Indeed, you are very correct, his CV is impeccable...but...the main difference is that Man United and Chelsea have money thrown at them in sponsorship deals, its "take your pick" there. With us we have to go out there and get people interested in this club to sponsor it, and in that department he fails utterly miserably. From what Ive seen on here staff moral is pretty poor apparently as well which is not good.
Empty boxes and lack of advertising and shirt sponsorship on the back all come down to him.
All I can say is that yep, he could probably do a good job at a big club, but we are far from that and when I think of all the global companies based around Reading, he should be banging on their door trying to offer them deals and opportunities and one of 13+ empty boxes now being seen empty.

It's a bit "chicken n egg" though as far as we all know.

Is the big shake up in the commercial dept (amongst others) the cause or the result of "empty boxes/lack of advertising/short sponsorship?

Aside from 2 or 3 head scratching contracts I'm not convinced that in terms of the playing side of things he's as much to blame as we think. Gourlay being the focus of supporters ire is letting the manager/coaching staff/players off the hook somewhat.

[Ascotexgunner]

It is very easy to put your trust in the wrong person. You cannot argue with Gourlay's CV either, they had no reason to think he wouldn't do a good job.

Indeed, you are very correct, his CV is impeccable...but...the main difference is that Man United and Chelsea have money thrown at them in sponsorship deals, its "take your pick" there. With us we have to go out there and get people interested in this club to sponsor it, and in that department he fails utterly miserably. From what Ive seen on here staff moral is pretty poor apparently as well which is not good.
Empty boxes and lack of advertising and shirt sponsorship on the back all come down to him.
All I can say is that yep, he could probably do a good job at a big club, but we are far from that and when I think of all the global companies based around Reading, he should be banging on their door trying to offer them deals and opportunities and one of 13+ empty boxes now being seen empty.

It's a bit "chicken n egg" though as far as we all know.

Is the big shake up in the commercial dept (amongst others) the cause or the result of "empty boxes/lack of advertising/short sponsorship?

Aside from 2 or 3 head scratching contracts I'm not convinced that in terms of the playing side of things he's as much to blame as we think. Gourlay being the focus of supporters ire is letting the manager/coaching staff/players off the hook somewhat.

I think theres a case to say that creating an atmosphere of low moral and instability probably filters to every corner of the club and when it comes down to it, it does filter from the top downwards. I feel the issues do start at his level....but only because we know so little about the owners. He is the one paid to be the voicepiece, to advise, and to carry out the orders though, so the fingers point.

[WoodleyRoyal]

Pointless speculating about all things commercial, FACTS that we do know and from the horse's mouth - lots of sponsorship is lined up for 2019 we can't do anything at the moment as Carabao have restrictions on other things. Which include stadium naming rights, could well explain lack of sponsorship on the shorts too, we just don't know.

In regards to the empty boxes, most boxes are used by local companies to wine, dine and entertain new prospective clients. With the shower of shit on the pitch at the moment maybe companies don't feel this is good value for money, and certainly not entertainment. The fact the supporters have had enough, and crowds are at their lowest for 20 years, why would that be any different on the commercial side of things? Especially as the people who purchase the boxes probably aren't true Reading fans anyway so will be more fickle.

This current vitriol against Gourlay, is just plain weird. No-one knows what's going on. All we have had is soundbites by possible disgruntled ex-staff. It is not unreasonable to think that a new CEO would want his own staff, maybe the current/ex staff are still stuck in the small club mentality and Gaurlay wants this mindset to change.

[WoodleyRoyal]

oh and another thing to add, you don't get to the top being a nice guy, you have to be ruthless, non-sentimental and generally a massive pcunt, it goes with the territory....

[Forbury Lion]

The disgruntled ex-staff members could be the office equivalents of Joey Van Den Berg, they did a job but not the job we actually need and the new boss decides to move them on... or indeed, like Jaap Stam, unable to achieve the goals the club set despite having had their full backing, Of course, they both feel they should have been given more time/disagree with the decision made by the new manager etc etc.

Of course, this may not be the case - I've worked for a useless Finance Director who made me redundant (I'll let him off as he did give me a 60% pay rise during his time there), at the time I wasn't happy but appreciate these things happen. The atmosphere at the place of work did then become bleak - bonus payments were affected (well you can't justify letting people go to make budget savings and then payout big bonuses), Christmas party cancelled, people left having more work to do due to those who were let go etc etc. I hear the company bounced back though, pretty much as soon as that FD "left to pursue something or other"...... but. even I could see that the company had to make changes to meet budget otherwise it would have suffered alot more and the person forced to make them isn't going to win any friends, that's for sure.
We were not in a great position pre-Gourlay, we're not in a great position now (which maybe is something that he could be criticised for). We don't know the facts, but what we're hearing isn't great.

[Coppells Lost Coat]

Would we be having this debate IF we held on for the win at Brentford / didn't lose to QPR o/ got a result at WBA?
No, we are pointing the finger. Gourlay was not in the dressing room giving the HT team talks.

He is running the club differently to The Reading Way and probably got rid of people not towing the line. The Reading way is out dated in this league and to move forward it has to change.
Some people that have gone were assets which other staff most probably are adjusting too.
However he needs to get some sort of grip on the backroom situation, if it is as rancid as everyone is making out.

[RoyalBlue]

Pointless speculating about all things commercial, FACTS that we do know and from the horse's mouth - lots of sponsorship is lined up for 2019 we can't do anything at the moment as Carabao have restrictions on other things. Which include stadium naming rights, could well explain lack of sponsorship on the shorts too, we just don't know.

In regards to the empty boxes, most boxes are used by local companies to wine, dine and entertain new prospective clients. With the shower of shit on the pitch at the moment maybe companies don't feel this is good value for money, and certainly not entertainment. The fact the supporters have had enough, and crowds are at their lowest for 20 years, why would that be any different on the commercial side of things? Especially as the people who purchase the boxes probably aren't true Reading fans anyway so will be more fickle.

This current vitriol against Gourlay, is just plain weird. No-one knows what's going on. All we have had is soundbites by possible disgruntled ex-staff. It is not unreasonable to think that a new CEO would want his own staff, maybe the current/ex staff are still stuck in the small club mentality and Gaurlay wants this mindset to change.

I doubt Carabao restrictions prevent selling pitch perimeter advertising, ads in the gents toilets etc. in the short term. The ex-staff appeared to do a pretty good job of that, even during the darker moments of last season.

It will be interesting to see what does actually happen in 2019 and whether he delivers on the big talk.

Also, the part-time sidekick consultant that some have reported as being brought in a while back lists one of his areas of expertise as 'improving the fan experience'

[WoodleyRoyal]

Pointless speculating about all things commercial, FACTS that we do know and from the horse's mouth - lots of sponsorship is lined up for 2019 we can't do anything at the moment as Carabao have restrictions on other things. Which include stadium naming rights, could well explain lack of sponsorship on the shorts too, we just don't know.

In regards to the empty boxes, most boxes are used by local companies to wine, dine and entertain new prospective clients. With the shower of shit on the pitch at the moment maybe companies don't feel this is good value for money, and certainly not entertainment. The fact the supporters have had enough, and crowds are at their lowest for 20 years, why would that be any different on the commercial side of things? Especially as the people who purchase the boxes probably aren't true Reading fans anyway so will be more fickle.

This current vitriol against Gourlay, is just plain weird. No-one knows what's going on. All we have had is soundbites by possible disgruntled ex-staff. It is not unreasonable to think that a new CEO would want his own staff, maybe the current/ex staff are still stuck in the small club mentality and Gaurlay wants this mindset to change.

I doubt Carabao restrictions prevent selling pitch perimeter advertising, ads in the gents toilets etc. in the short term. The ex-staff appeared to do a pretty good job of that, even during the darker moments of last season.

It will be interesting to see what does actually happen in 2019 and whether he delivers on the big talk.

Also, the part-time sidekick consultant that some have reported as being brought in a while back lists one of his areas of expertise as 'improving the fan experience'

Our Commercial Director Adam Benson left the club on the 11th June, and according to others on here, the rest have all left/been pushed now too. This is probably the reason for the lack of advertising around the ground. How much do we realistically make from 'Reading Bedding' taking an advertising hoarding anyway? I very much doubt its top of Gourlay's to do list to make sure the toilets are fully stocked of posters advertising Tenna Man, or flaccid willy pills.

[Vision]

Indeed, you are very correct, his CV is impeccable...but...the main difference is that Man United and Chelsea have money thrown at them in sponsorship deals, its "take your pick" there. With us we have to go out there and get people interested in this club to sponsor it, and in that department he fails utterly miserably. From what Ive seen on here staff moral is pretty poor apparently as well which is not good.
Empty boxes and lack of advertising and shirt sponsorship on the back all come down to him.
All I can say is that yep, he could probably do a good job at a big club, but we are far from that and when I think of all the global companies based around Reading, he should be banging on their door trying to offer them deals and opportunities and one of 13+ empty boxes now being seen empty.

It's a bit "chicken n egg" though as far as we all know.

Is the big shake up in the commercial dept (amongst others) the cause or the result of "empty boxes/lack of advertising/short sponsorship?

Aside from 2 or 3 head scratching contracts I'm not convinced that in terms of the playing side of things he's as much to blame as we think. Gourlay being the focus of supporters ire is letting the manager/coaching staff/players off the hook somewhat.

I think theres a case to say that creating an atmosphere of low moral and instability probably filters to every corner of the club and when it comes down to it, it does filter from the top downwards. I feel the issues do start at his level....but only because we know so little about the owners. He is the one paid to be the voicepiece, to advise, and to carry out the orders though, so the fingers point.

Does the boardroom really have that much of an effect on the players?

4 of the last 5 seasons have pretty much been a bust so why are we pointing all of the blame at a bloke who only arrived last July?

[Forbury Lion]

I'd be surprised if the Carabao restrictions surrounded anything more than advertising their rivals, They wouldn't for example be too happy if we were playing in the Red Bull stadium with every seat decked out like a can of Red Bull, plus potentially anything that could bring their brand into disrepute via association e.g. something like a payday loans company (however, that would potentially have the same effect on the club so you'd think we'd avoid those deals) or anything to do with kids since kids and energy drinks don't go well together (which is why kids replica shirts are better, with no caraboa sponsorship logo on the front)

The best way to control the sponsorship space is to buy it all and then sell some of it on, I believe BMW did this when they provided engines to the Williams F1 team. That way they ensured the sponsors were of a suitable image and fitted in with the colour scheme.... If some genius got Caraboa to buy all the advertising space then who cares if it's empty or not? (I doubt such a genius exists at the club)

[WoodleyRoyal]

I'd be surprised if the Carabao restrictions surrounded anything more than advertising their rivals, They wouldn't for example be too happy if we were playing in the Red Bull stadium with every seat decked out like a can of Red Bull, plus potentially anything that could bring their brand into disrepute via association e.g. something like a payday loans company (however, that would potentially have the same effect on the club so you'd think we'd avoid those deals) or anything to do with kids since kids and energy drinks don't go well together (which is why kids replica shirts are better, with no caraboa sponsorship logo on the front)

The best way to control the sponsorship space is to buy it all and then sell some of it on, I believe BMW did this when they provided engines to the Williams F1 team. That way they ensured the sponsors were of a suitable image and fitted in with the colour scheme.... If some genius got Caraboa to buy all the advertising space then who cares if it's empty or not? (I doubt such a genius exists at the club)

Again speculating, NOBODY KNOWS!!!

“We’re tied in on the confidentiality side on this, we are tied into some commercial deals,” said Gourlay,
“We don’t have the ability to unlock these at the present time, but you will see changes from the start of next season.”

It is thought selling the Madejski Stadium naming rights – a proposal mooted for several years – will be included in any new sponsorship arrangement.

[leon]

It's a bit "chicken n egg" though as far as we all know.

Is the big shake up in the commercial dept (amongst others) the cause or the result of "empty boxes/lack of advertising/short sponsorship?

Aside from 2 or 3 head scratching contracts I'm not convinced that in terms of the playing side of things he's as much to blame as we think. Gourlay being the focus of supporters ire is letting the manager/coaching staff/players off the hook somewhat.

I think theres a case to say that creating an atmosphere of low moral and instability probably filters to every corner of the club and when it comes down to it, it does filter from the top downwards. I feel the issues do start at his level....but only because we know so little about the owners. He is the one paid to be the voicepiece, to advise, and to carry out the orders though, so the fingers point.

Does the boardroom really have that much of an effect on the players?

4 of the last 5 seasons have pretty much been a bust so why are we pointing all of the blame at a bloke who only arrived last July?

Because we can? No, I'm not convinced either.

The only thing we really know is that the club has been struggling on the pitch with poor selection/tactics and even poorer individual performances. I would suggest we start there.

[Tilehurstsouthbank]

I’d say “naive” isn’t a great glowing recommendation.

It is very easy to put your trust in the wrong person. You cannot argue with Gourlay's CV either, they had no reason to think he wouldn't do a good job.

Indeed, you are very correct, his CV is impeccable...but...the main difference is that Man United and Chelsea have money thrown at them in sponsorship deals, its "take your pick" there. With us we have to go out there and get people interested in this club to sponsor it, and in that department he fails utterly miserably. From what Ive seen on here staff moral is pretty poor apparently as well which is not good.
Empty boxes and lack of advertising and shirt sponsorship on the back all come down to him.
All I can say is that yep, he could probably do a good job at a big club, but we are far from that and when I think of all the global companies based around Reading, he should be banging on their door trying to offer them deals and opportunities and one of 13+ empty boxes now being seen empty.

First time I've ever seen the Clip frames in the Bogs empty too.

[Snowflake Royal]

Things look like they are moving behind the scenes - you'll notice on the appointment of the new DOF, Meite contract etc he wasn't present in the photos where previously he would have been. Owners must be wising up to it all.

Hang on a sec. Meite getting a 4 year contract can't be evidence of Gourlay being shit as well Gourlay not being in the photos evidence that the owners are easing him out.

Gourlay was in the photos with Meite.

Ok, so the post was just wrong rather than nonsensical. Or did I misread / misunderstand it in the first place?

[Old Man Andrews]

Hang on a sec. Meite getting a 4 year contract can't be evidence of Gourlay being shit as well Gourlay not being in the photos evidence that the owners are easing him out.

Gourlay was in the photos with Meite.

Ok, so the post was just wrong rather than nonsensical. Or did I misread / misunderstand it in the first place?

The initial post was retarded mate.

[Forbury Lion]

“We’re tied in on the confidentiality side on this, we are tied into some commercial deals,” said Gourlay,
“We don’t have the ability to unlock these at the present time, but you will see changes from the start of next season.”

Based on the way the team are playing, I would expect most of the advertisers would jump at the chance to tear up their contracts and go sponsor something else if the club gave them the opportunity - so this being tied into a deal thing works both ways.

[maffff]

Empty boxes and lack of advertising and shirt sponsorship on the back all come down to him.

Shirt sponsorship is down to carabao having a veto on other visible sponsors due to the contract as primary partners. Looks like the Thai's stiffed us on that one.