Madejski Announcement

[Ian Royal]

If only Ian Royal would take his own advice sometimes.

It's a discussion board - if people want to question things, that is their prerogative. For my own part, I'm rather miffed that I've been slagged off for daring to the mention the hotel and yet someone who has, apparently, looked at the accounts, confirms the hotel is lumped in with the football club under RFC Holdings Limited. Well I never.

Discuss from a position that isn't utter ignorance for a change then RL.

[brendywendy]

fanks alot

[Ian Royal]

The accounts are just numbers on a page (Even RR has indicated that they are of little value without further context). It's what goes on behind the numbers that many are interested in.

I know, I know - I'll piss off and support another club.........

I didn't tell you to piss off and support another club, I merely suggested that if you thought that only winning titles constitute a good season you'd be best off supporting Utd, because the vast majority see bugger all of them and will only have mediocre seasons by your standards.

I actually said that being promoted was a good season, and winning the title was a very good season.

Ya got me. I conceed defeat.

[Terminal Boardom]

Thing is, you all have a choice. Either swallow the propoganda being spewed forth from SJM's mouth and join the happy clappers or vote with your feet or wallets. In reality, no-one on this board will have the funds to buy SJM out so either put up or shut up. Making a fuss on an interweb forum will not make the slightest bit of difference.

[Royal Rother]

“Mr Angry”, (sigh)

“So someone disagrees with your point of view and you become abusive.”

No, yet another fartsack pukes out a set of bollocks from their ivory towers with a self-satisfied twist to their lips, and I become annoyed at dodging gonad rain. Feel free to catch them on your tongue if you like, “Mr Angry” – I’m just rather tired of hearing this piss-poor argument. “Money doesn’t buy you success! Look at this one example I’ve managed to find in two decades of football!” You know what? You are right! Quick, don’t use money ever again! Let’s MAKE players out of old bits of Christmas card, and leftovers from the fridge! Because there are only two ways to manage a club; (1) Hurl loads of money randomly at idiots without thought or research or (2) spend oxf*rd all but do your homework, make considered and researched decisions! It’s one or the other! Compromise is MADNESS!

“Tell you what son, put your money where your mouth is”

I do, meatwipe. Every fvcking weekend. Unfortunately though I seem to have paid a sum which should assure me of watching professional footballers, I seem to be agog at a back four who play like they have won the opportunity on Jim’ll Fixit.

Obviously educated - but ridiculously angry, pretty unpleasant and completely barking.

[Z175]

To be honest I am disappointed by Madejski's remarks. I think its worrying he seems to not be aware of our current financial performance, beyond the basic assessment the he needs to cut cloth.

While I recognise we are in no position to splurge and have nothing to gain from it, a marquee signing can be worth their weight in gold if they bring a lift to the home fans, the dressing room and the manager.

I think SJM is taking a back seat whilst his other ventures are in need of him. Key day to day decisions are coming from Nigel Howe, who is a yes man just obeying the basic order to cut cloth, while McDermott, Dolan and Hammond get on with it.

There will be no "gambling on the future" / "long term investment" until our Chairman is back at the helm, with his finger on the tiller, and potentially on his chequebook.

[Bandini]

Now that we've squared the rubican, can we also add that one puts one's hand on the tiller (a finger, presumably from the other hand, may however be on the pulse).


(PS great post Z175 re the accounts)

[Ian Royal]

(PS great post Z175 re the accounts)

For all the good it will do, it'll either not be read by people who think we're badly run / or the money is being siphoned off somewhere, or just dismissed as "buying into propaganda".

[Northern Git]

^ Those figures above are for RFC Holdings right? What constitutes RFC Holdings please? Does it not encompass the hotel?

The hotel is a subsidiary Co. of The Reading Football Club Ltd, and the numbers above are the trading figures for same.

Not in the last set of accounts I took a nose at, the hotel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reading Football club PLC - who also own Reading Football Club limited.

Not seen any figures recently though, be interesting to see how much we pay the owner(s) of the training ground

[brendywendy]

why would JM want to lose money on the training ground he has obtained for us?

[Royal Lady]

^ Those figures above are for RFC Holdings right? What constitutes RFC Holdings please? Does it not encompass the hotel?

The hotel is a subsidiary Co. of The Reading Football Club Ltd, and the numbers above are the trading figures for same.

Not in the last set of accounts I took a nose at, the hotel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reading Football club PLC - who also own Reading Football Club limited.

Not seen any figures recently though, be interesting to see how much we pay the owner(s) of the training ground

Thank you Mr Git - I KNEW someone would back up my previous recollections.

[Royal Rother]

That's what PMs are for eh?

[Royal Lady]

Pardon?

[Ian Royal]

why would JM want to lose money on the training ground he has obtained for us?

did you see sky sports madejski has said no more money to spend on player

Erm, how did we make a signing then?

[Cypry]

does it make no sense cos your making stuff up, guessing , taking tabloid figures, grossly underestimating our squad size, and forgetting that you also like to be able to attract the best players and keep them, which wouldnt happen if we payed them all 2k a week?

I didn't say we'd be paying them 2k a week, its probably quadruple that. Tell me how many of that team you think will be above 15k-ish a week. I'd love to know. Kebe and mcanuff and thats at a PUSH. As for squad size, you are aware of how many are youth products that would be on youth wages or wages to reflect their unknown status in the game? We are absolutely 100% not paying HRK, Pearce, Karacan, Mcarthy, obita, church,etc anything CLOSE to 15k per week. I don't know what to tell you if you think otherwise. We NEED to see who is getting paid what to actually understand our wage structure and I have a strong suspicion a big portion of those wages are not going on the playing personnel.

So HRK runs his Range Rover Sport with nice personal plates on thin air then? Neat trick that....

As I said the other week, this year we have 28 players with squad numbers - if they average £7.5k a week, that's an £11M wage bill, push it to an average of £10K and you're around £15M. That doesn't include any of the development squad (even if there are only 20 of them on £500 a week you're still looking at half a million a year) McD and Hammond (bet they're on the same wages as a good Championship player) the physios, coaches, kit men, fitness coaches, stadium staff, stewards, hospitality team, shop staff, back-office staff, ticket agents (need I go on?)....

It's really not that hard to see where a total wage bill of £18-20M would come from.....

[Ian Royal]

Cypry, you factoring in employer contributions like NI to those calculations or just the wages?

[Royal Rother]

Small, but perhaps helpful observation - Payroll costs in the y/e June 2010 were £18.1m, but that will include Employers NIC which means actual gross wages paid to employees would be circa £16.3m.

[mr_number]

RL - hands up, I misinterpreted the accounts I glanced at this morning. The arrangement between Millennium & Copthorne & SJM may be worth investigating - the hotel is promoted under their brand, and so the deal there would be interesting to understand. However, that branding may be misleading, since the hotel brings in 4.5 mil each year, which seems a ballpark figure for what a hotel's sales might be.
The hotel itself has lost relatively small amounts of money for the last two years of accounts (up to June 2010) so I guess you can argue that it is taking away from the football club's profit, but I don't think the sums are of the order that you can really say the club is subsidising the hotel. In any case, you could argue the opposite for the four years leading up to 2007, when the hotel made a profit but the club made a hefty loss.

[Royal Lady]

But is my assertion that as all the figures are lumped together - hotel costs can be moved around within the accounts wrong?

[Cypry]

Cypry, you factoring in employer contributions like NI to those calculations or just the wages?

Just raw salaries......