Thames Sports Investment

[Terminal Boardom]

With my dreaming coat on, if only the team could be developed so that it plays a fast, exciting brand of football on the floor instead of what is regularly described as hoofball. Plus, piss off London Irish. Keep the turf sacred and only have football played on it. Invest in those high power lamps to encourage grass growth during the winter months. Give the concourses a lick of paint and spruce them up - better still, increase the size of the concourses and quality of food and drink. Improve spectator facilities in the concourses as well. And have hoops that go all the way around.

[Wimb]

I do find the mentality of many Reading fans, as personified by Tim Dellor yesterday, bemusing. They do not dare to dream, happy in the comfort zone of being an underdog with no expectation and taking any scrap of success as a bonus. As McDermott said yesterday, if you keep selling your best players every season, that's only going to end up one way.

If the new investment enables us to keep our better players (two years too late sadly) and even enhance the squad, that can only be a good thing. And if it goes wrong, what's the worst that can happen, a crisis, a points deduction, relegation, it's all part of the rich soap opera of following a football club.

Right now, it's dull, and would only have got duller on our current trajectory, so get your gaze off the floor and dare to dream.

The more I hear the more I agree with that analysis Schards.

Still a bit cautious but for the first time in a long time we can dream about building a great team rather then just hoping that we can unearth gems and develop players. I'd still like the Academy to be a focal point of the club but those products will only get better if they have better players around them.

[Hogmeister Royal]

I do find the mentality of many Reading fans, as personified by Tim Dellor yesterday, bemusing. They do not dare to dream, happy in the comfort zone of being an underdog with no expectation and taking any scrap of success as a bonus. As McDermott said yesterday, if you keep selling your best players every season, that's only going to end up one way.

If the new investment enables us to keep our better players (two years too late sadly) and even enhance the squad, that can only be a good thing. And if it goes wrong, what's the worst that can happen, a crisis, a points deduction, relegation, it's all part of the rich soap opera of following a football club.

Right now, it's dull, and would only have got duller on our current trajectory, so get your gaze off the floor and dare to dream.

Yep, what he said.

And personally I trust Madejski to have done a sensible deal with sensible investors in a sensible way. Whatever else you may think of him, he has a good business brain and does have the long-term interests of the club at heart. In many ways it's his legacy that he's leaving behind.

Who knows what the future holds, but it's an exciting time for the club. I'm buzzing

[Terminal Boardom]

I'm happy to say I was wrong in being so cautious, in 2 years' time. In the meantime, until the deal is signed - I'll be wary - yesterday's game couldn't have done much to persuade the new investors that they're doing the right thing and won't have to spend much money to get us into the PL!

However, I would ask that we try and get Doyle on loan (he's on the bench at Wolves so they might let him back!) - with a view to signing him at end of season if Wolves don't want him and also that we make approaches to Hoffenheim now to enquire as to whether we could get Siggy back. Plus try and get Bertrand and that would do me for now.

To be honest, why would Doyle or Siggy want to return to us, given where they are now?

[RoyalBlue]

I'm happy to say I was wrong in being so cautious, in 2 years' time. In the meantime, until the deal is signed - I'll be wary - yesterday's game couldn't have done much to persuade the new investors that they're doing the right thing and won't have to spend much money to get us into the PL!

However, I would ask that we try and get Doyle on loan (he's on the bench at Wolves so they might let him back!) - with a view to signing him at end of season if Wolves don't want him and also that we make approaches to Hoffenheim now to enquire as to whether we could get Siggy back. Plus try and get Bertrand and that would do me for now.

To be honest, why would Doyle or Siggy want to return to us, given where they are now?

Don't think there will be as much of that as the PL can offer.

[Harpers So Solid Crew]

I do find the mentality of many Reading fans, as personified by Tim Dellor yesterday, bemusing. They do not dare to dream, happy in the comfort zone of being an underdog with no expectation and taking any scrap of success as a bonus. As McDermott said yesterday, if you keep selling your best players every season, that's only going to end up one way.

If the new investment enables us to keep our better players (two years too late sadly) and even enhance the squad, that can only be a good thing. And if it goes wrong, what's the worst that can happen, a crisis, a points deduction, relegation, it's all part of the rich soap opera of following a football club.

Right now, it's dull, and would only have got duller on our current trajectory, so get your gaze off the floor and dare to dream.

So now we dare to dream, JM already did that, he looked at the Prem and put in planning for an extension, but which comes first the infrastructure or the team on the field?

[Ian Royal]

I'm happy to say I was wrong in being so cautious, in 2 years' time. In the meantime, until the deal is signed - I'll be wary - yesterday's game couldn't have done much to persuade the new investors that they're doing the right thing and won't have to spend much money to get us into the PL!

However, I would ask that we try and get Doyle on loan (he's on the bench at Wolves so they might let him back!) - with a view to signing him at end of season if Wolves don't want him and also that we make approaches to Hoffenheim now to enquire as to whether we could get Siggy back. Plus try and get Bertrand and that would do me for now.

OOO OOO OOO!!!!!

Bertrand and Siggy would be amazing buys! Plus a top CB and striker and we'd be quality nice. (in the summer if we get promoted that is). Not so sure I'd be as enthusiastic about the return of Doyle.

Of course, the downside to this is that it might be bad news for McCarthy with no need to sell Federici.

[Royal Lady]

I'm happy to say I was wrong in being so cautious, in 2 years' time. In the meantime, until the deal is signed - I'll be wary - yesterday's game couldn't have done much to persuade the new investors that they're doing the right thing and won't have to spend much money to get us into the PL!

However, I would ask that we try and get Doyle on loan (he's on the bench at Wolves so they might let him back!) - with a view to signing him at end of season if Wolves don't want him and also that we make approaches to Hoffenheim now to enquire as to whether we could get Siggy back. Plus try and get Bertrand and that would do me for now.

To be honest, why would Doyle or Siggy want to return to us, given where they are now?

Because one is on loan to a Prem club and one is on the bench of a Prem club - who is to say we won't be a Prem club this time next year? And if not next year, if they can see that the ambition is to get there asap - and they know the set up at the club, and they're still loved by everyone at the club, and we can afford to pay them good money - why WOULDN'T they want to come?

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

Invest in those high power lamps to encourage grass growth during the winter months.

We have those already, I believe.

The pitch look absolutely fine this year.

[tomrfcurz]

I don't think i can get too excited about new deals until we sign our first new player since the new owners. Then we can see exactly what 'limited funds' are down as.

[dogzbollox]

We are basically going to become an Arsenal!!

LOL

[Millsy]

Much as I have knocked Madejski and have long said he does not have what it takes to get us further, one thing is for sure...

...when it comes to personnel this man is a genius. And when that personnel is who takes over the club (or who invests in it) this has got to be AMAZING news because if they're good enough for John, they're good enough for me!

JM's only 'crime' as far as I've been concerned has been his inability to take things further, but again I've always said this is reasonable if you're a businessman with other priorities. What he seems to have done here is increased the options and I for one am delighted he's still around to oversee the next decade or more of a shift in power. Sadly, the guy will not live forever

[Uke]

LOL @ everyone putting forward their shopping lists!

We will get who we get, whether this is good or bad long term who knows? Not many foreign bought clubs have successfully established themselves in the Prem following promotion!

Ithe only thing we can say for sure is it is the beginning of an end of an era.

We are spectators of an unfolding saga and I choose to watch this rather than other sagas, that is how I support the club but now more than ever I feel that I would have to qualify that phrase by adding 'for now'

I do feel that JM may have had to sell now rather than later as his business and developments come under increasing pressures all the time

[dogzbollox]

Why didn't Kenwright sell to him? Do we know?

Here is some background

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Kenwr ... ports_Fund

That is quite weird that he played Shylock..........

[LoyalRoyal22]

Sir John is a legend. So happy about all of this, mayaswell get carried away. Can people stop saying stupid names like michael owen though, our transfer policy will stay the same, like Sir John said, be prudent, e.g up and coming players like Nicky Maynard etc. We dont want to become a soap opera.

[Uke]

Sir John is a legend. So happy about all of this, mayaswell get carried away. Can people stop saying stupid names like michael owen though, our transfer policy will stay the same, like Sir John said, be prudent, e.g up and coming players like Nicky Maynard etc. We dont want to become a soap opera.

I was going to use the analogy of "doing a Brookside" in my previous post

[cmonurz]

It's been posted already, but to echo the thoughts of others, this is just utterly surreal. A mega-gajillionaire taking over Reading FC? Really?

I'm cautiously positive about this, at the very least it seems from the words of Madejski and McDermott it seems like that there will be sustained investment in the playing squad to the extent that we might/should be be serious contenders for promotion if not this season then next. I hope that doesn't come at the expense of the Academy, but I would guess that is a faint hope.

And if we go up, the funds might be in place to buy players of the kind we have never seen at this club.

Utterly bizarre, can't quite get my head around it, this is little old Reading of Elm Park.

Watch this space, I guess.

[loyalroyal4life]

Great news, JM seems pleased so I think we should be too, don't think anyone can argue that we do not deserve to see the benefits from this change in circumstance. Nice to know that there are exciting times ahead which will at least pick up crowd numbers and hopefully atmosphere as well.

Player side of thing, bertrand and rhodes would be a great coup for this window.

[Friday's Legacy]

Invest in those high power lamps to encourage grass growth during the winter months.

we use these already. ssn ran a story on it last week with the groundsman and how he copes with balancing football and rugby on the same surface so successfully.

[FiNeRaIn]

OOO OOO OOO!!!!!

Bertrand and Siggy would be amazing buys! Plus a top CB and striker and we'd be quality nice. (in the summer if we get promoted that is). Not so sure I'd be as enthusiastic about the return of Doyle.

Of course, the downside to this is that it might be bad news for McCarthy with no need to sell Federici.

great save from mccarthy yesterday about 5 yards outside of his box