Blessing in Disguise

[MmmMonsterMunch]

There's no money to buy anyone and no one will pay for the silly wages of your drenthes your guthries your Pogrebnyaks or your bridges.
We couldn't even pay sharp and Baird for three months
And they would have got us into the playoffs

TBH A fit Leigertwood might have been the difference.

[Schards#2]

Yeah, when you're £38m in debt, the last thing you need is a £50m windfall. Now stuck with Anton as no one sane will buy us. Not only is it not a blessing in disguise, it's an absolute catastrophe

[USA_Loyal_Royal]

There's no money to buy anyone and no one will pay for the silly wages of your drenthes your guthries your Pogrebnyaks or your bridges.
We couldn't even pay sharp and Baird for three months
And they would have got us into the playoffs

TBH A fit Leigertwood might have been the difference.

true, if he played like he did today all season. his quality in the midfield+guthrie+williams+a fit karacan could have made us challenge for auto, at the very least made the playoffs.

[Avon Royal]

Yeah, when you're £38m in debt, the last thing you need is a £50m windfall. Now stuck with Anton as no one sane will buy us. Not only is it not a blessing in disguise, it's an absolute catastrophe

Might as well wind up the club now then.

[6ft Kerplunk]

Yeah, when you're £38m in debt, the last thing you need is a £50m windfall

Name a single club who on receipt of their Premier League windfall has paid off their debts. We'd do the same as the last couple of promotions, pay out more in wages and transfer in the hope of getting more than one windfall with not too much attention paid to what happens when relegated. Football finances just don't make sense no matter how many clubs almost go under. Get rid of the 100% football creditors rule and thst might change.

[paddy20]

The devastating thing is, this team you grow to love is at the end of the road now. Big name departures and then still no budget to sign players I'm guessing. Lots of academy players coming through. Blackman, Ugwu and Samuel our recognised strikers next year? What I'm getting at, is this defeat just seems like a send off for the post coppell era. We're entering a new one now, and its going to be interesting but also sad to leave the old one behind.

Although the under 21's won the cup none of them are good enough for the championship yet I don't think. I can see Macarthy, Bridge,Le Fondre, Gunter. Obita, Macanuff,Williams,and Macleery going. With no money for new players, and still having to pay colossal wages to Pog and drenthe I can see this being our first team:

Federici, Cummings Pearce, Morrison Fosu ?

Drenthe Karacan, Taylor,Blackman

Pog Kanu

Relegation fight

[OldBiscuit]

Hardly a blessing is it. If we'd gone up we'd have got a season of big bucks plus our parachute money would have restarted the following season which would have lessened the mess behind the scenes.

Now we're in big doo-doo until JM manages to agree a deal with someone with at least some solid financial backing.

Expect a close season of no changes in the ownership mess and therefore players out of contract going as soon as they receive offers from other clubs.

Next season will be Academy starlets and, if we're lucky a few free transfer/out of contract cast offs from other teams making up the numbers.

Really? And what do you think they do with that megabucks money? Do they share it with the fans? No! Do they invest it in the club for better facilities? No! Do they use that money to make sure that we have a better youth development system? No! It just goes to line the pockets of 'Fatcat Agents and Players'. So when all is said and done, the Premier league just offers us the opportunity of a regular whipping with overpaid players who are only there on short contracts for the money with 'Relegation opt out clauses'. Give me Championship football until we are really ready for something else.

[Man Friday]

Hopefully now the Russian will sell up (i.e. feck off) now that the financial incentive has been removed.

[Man Friday]

Hardly a blessing is it. If we'd gone up we'd have got a season of big bucks plus our parachute money would have restarted the following season which would have lessened the mess behind the scenes.

Now we're in big doo-doo until JM manages to agree a deal with someone with at least some solid financial backing.

Expect a close season of no changes in the ownership mess and therefore players out of contract going as soon as they receive offers from other clubs.

Next season will be Academy starlets and, if we're lucky a few free transfer/out of contract cast offs from other teams making up the numbers.

Really? And what do you think they do with that megabucks money? Do they share it with the fans? No! Do they invest it in the club for better facilities? No! Do they use that money to make sure that we have a better youth development system? No! It just goes to line the pockets of 'Fatcat Agents and Players'. So when all is said and done, the Premier league just offers us the opportunity of a regular whipping with overpaid players who are only there on short contracts for the money with 'Relegation opt out clauses'. Give me Championship football until we are really ready for something else.

And to the owners.

[Man Friday]

Yeah, when you're £38m in debt, the last thing you need is a £50m windfall. Now stuck with Anton as no one sane will buy us. Not only is it not a blessing in disguise, it's an absolute catastrophe

Hopefully he'll now sell up. He was holding out for a higher price in the event that we got promoted. Now that hope has gone he'll just as likely clear off before the value reduces even further (i.e. before we get relegated).

[mambo3]

How the hell is it for the best? We'll lose the majority of our best players, most likely lose Category 1 Academy Status, and rely on free transfers and academy players who will have their confidence shot as we lose repeatedly next season

They can't do any worse then this Team has done in the last e Seasons

[RoyalBlue]

Gutted today, didn't think I would be but I think the last minute winner for Brighton was galling. Less said about the pitch invasion the better.

However I think staying down is the best thing for the club at this moment in time. If we had gone up perhaps Anton would've bought the club if we'd gone up and then we would've been stuck with a fickle owner who owned 100% which would have been a disaster, now we're staying down he can f!ck off.

Get shot of the high earners if possible and bring some of those youngsters through, and welcome some of the injured players back to fitness. I think it's a good opportunity to rebuild the squad.

I think it will be an interesting summer. While he could've done some things differently, I also think that Adkins has been short changed and 7th was probably the best he could've got out of that squad.

Roll on next season.

If we had an owner(s) who wanted to be at the club and who were prepared to invest properly then I might have agreed with you.

However, in the current ownership mess and with a wantaway Chairman who thinks he is in charge but in reality can't make any big decisions without the agreement of the majority shareholder (who I doubt he has the best relationship with) and who isn't prepared/able to invest himself, it is the worst possible thing that could have happened.

We now face the prospect of some, if not all, of our best players being sold and not adequately replaced as the owners try to limit their liabilities. What's more our manager is likely to receive plenty of approaches from other clubs who are prepared to give him proper financial backing and who could really blame him if he decides to walk away from the two owners who broke their own commitments to him.

What's more, with the owner(s) having decided to stop all contract talks/negotiations with our current players and allow contracts to run down, we are likely to lose some of our players for far less than they are worth.

So Anton & Madejski, thanks a bunch for the mess you have created this season which, in all probability, will only get worse next season.

Hopefully now the Russian will sell up (i.e. feck off) now that the financial incentive has been removed.

In order to sell, you have to have someone prepared to buy.

And for that to happen, the product and price has to be attractive and the new owner has to be allowed to change the personalised 'number plates'.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

Now that hope has gone he'll just as likely clear off before the value reduces even further (i.e. before we get relegated).

Very good point that. At least this may give some clarity now we know we're in the chump. The opportunity for Anton to bleed the Sky money out has now evapourated so hopefully he'll fcuk off now.

Surely there's a few local business men that could put a consortium together? Lets hope someone shows an interest soon.

[Man Friday]

h

[Extended-Phenotype]

1. While I think Guthrie, Pog and Drenthe etc have been reasonable players, I don't think they have been any better than what we have had in the past - players on peanuts or academy chaps. I don't think losing them and replacing them with cheaper alternatives will necessarily hurt Reading much, if we get it right.

2. I would hope those looking to buy Reading were holding off to see the outcome of the league - but this outcome isn't necessarily the worst one: one presumes our price tag would have increased as a prem club, perhaps we are more attractive now as a bargain buy in good condition that has the promise of making the big time with a little investment. Perhaps as promotion hopefuls, our asking price was too high.

So I'm not convinced our team is going to suffer or the ownership issue has hit any new rocks.


The biggest task will be cutting the expensive players loose, as they have hardly put themselves in the shop window. Maybe someone will take a punt.

[mambo3]

Who is daft enough to buy our players?

[Man Friday]

Gutted today, didn't think I would be but I think the last minute winner for Brighton was galling. Less said about the pitch invasion the better.

However I think staying down is the best thing for the club at this moment in time. If we had gone up perhaps Anton would've bought the club if we'd gone up and then we would've been stuck with a fickle owner who owned 100% which would have been a disaster, now we're staying down he can f!ck off.

Get shot of the high earners if possible and bring some of those youngsters through, and welcome some of the injured players back to fitness. I think it's a good opportunity to rebuild the squad.

I think it will be an interesting summer. While he could've done some things differently, I also think that Adkins has been short changed and 7th was probably the best he could've got out of that squad.

Roll on next season.

If we had an owner(s) who wanted to be at the club and who were prepared to invest properly then I might have agreed with you.

However, in the current ownership mess and with a wantaway Chairman who thinks he is in charge but in reality can't make any big decisions without the agreement of the majority shareholder (who I doubt he has the best relationship with) and who isn't prepared/able to invest himself, it is the worst possible thing that could have happened.

We now face the prospect of some, if not all, of our best players being sold and not adequately replaced as the owners try to limit their liabilities. What's more our manager is likely to receive plenty of approaches from other clubs who are prepared to give him proper financial backing and who could really blame him if he decides to walk away from the two owners who broke their own commitments to him.

What's more, with the owner(s) having decided to stop all contract talks/negotiations with our current players and allow contracts to run down, we are likely to lose some of our players for far less than they are worth.

So Anton & Madejski, thanks a bunch for the mess you have created this season which, in all probability, will only get worse next season.

Hopefully now the Russian will sell up (i.e. feck off) now that the financial incentive has been removed.

In order to sell, you have to have someone prepared to buy.

And for that to happen, the product and price has to be attractive and the new owner has to be allowed to change the personalised 'number plates'.

I know but I think the price will now be more realistic. It's not one-way traffic - I imagine he wants the money.

[MmmMonsterMunch]

The sad part is that people will want the players we want to keep i.e. Williams, Obita, McCleary, McCarthy. Gunter.

[Gunny Fishcake]

Time will prove it is a blessing.....the league table never lies and the fact we finished 7th is testimony to the woeful standard in the Championship. Once the club is sold and the crap on high is sorted out we can in the proverbial words move on and up. We've got a competitive league to look forward to next season and a competition we can compete in unlike the Premiershite which may as we'll be on Mars it's that far away from where we are .

[Royalwaster]

1. While I think Guthrie, Pog and Drenthe etc have been reasonable players, I don't think they have been any better than what we have had in the past - players on peanuts or academy chaps. I don't think losing them and replacing them with cheaper alternatives will necessarily hurt Reading much, if we get it right.

2. I would hope those looking to buy Reading were holding off to see the outcome of the league - but this outcome isn't necessarily the worst one: one presumes our price tag would have increased as a prem club, perhaps we are more attractive now as a bargain buy in good condition that has the promise of making the big time with a little investment. Perhaps as promotion hopefuls, our asking price was too high.

So I'm not convinced our team is going to suffer or the ownership issue has hit any new rocks.


The biggest task will be cutting the expensive players loose, as they have hardly put themselves in the shop window. Maybe someone will take a punt.

On the optimistic side this might force MrMad's and AZ's hand and force them to sell without ridiculous conditions such as naming rights of the stadium ... but that's just being optimistic.