Madejski Announcement

[Royal Rother]

But the raw salaries in y/e 0610 were £16m, not the £20m quoted. And would include all and sundry in every department - 400+ in PL days so there's a good chunk that would be non-footie related within that £16m.

[PEARCEY]

understand what he's saying and have never been anti Madejski as such. but how can nearly every other championship club afford to bring new players in and we cant. I dont want to be in financial sh1t like Pompey etc but what about the others?

from that article we dont sound very well run, we sound like we are struggling to keep afloat

I agree. No other Championship club has enjoyed the amount of money Reading have from in-coming transfers since we were relegated yet there's no money.
There is little ambition at the club these days.

[PEARCEY]

Wah wah wah. Tell us where the money is wah wah wah.

Explanation.

Wah wah wah, you're lying! Wah wah wah.

Don't oxf*rd ask, if you're not going to listen to the answer.

If Madejski says that we didn't get nearly as much as the £12m the media reports we did, who do you trust? The man who's run the club successfully for 20 years, who'll have a pretty good idea, or the media who we all know just makes stuff up and guesses?

And yet still people bang on about £10m black holes which they've invented themselves based on a previous statement about £3m - £4m black holes and some highly spurious transfer fee speculation.

Just oxf*rd off the lot of yas.

Well perhaps it would help us all understand the financial position a little better if transfer fees were transparent and not shrouded in the mysteries of being "undisclosed" as with Shane Long.

[mr_number]

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

Just to be clear: there are accounts for the hotel company, and for the football club, and then they are put together to make the holdings company accounts.
You can't just shuffle costs from one to another in the subsidiary accounts. I think the argument that you're making would be, in effect, that costs from the hotel negatively impact upon the holdings company, and thus 'the club'.
He couldn't, I don't think, just put £25mil, or whatever it is, of costs incurred to the hotel down in the football club accounts to make the former seem more profitable. Nor would there be any real benefit, assuming he's interested in his overall profitability.

[Ian Royal]

It would yes, but then agents would find it far harder to make their money, and how do you quickly and easily report a signing which involves a fee upfront, installments, additional payments made based on certain criteria being met like appearances, promotion or goals and sell on fees?

[Cypry]

But the raw salaries in y/e 0610 were £16m, not the £20m quoted. And would include all and sundry in every department - 400+ in PL days so there's a good chunk that would be non-footie related within that £16m.

Which is exactly my point - you have people making up figures, over-estimating the total wage bill, underestimating the number of staff on the payroll and then whining about average salaries being too high.....

[Royal Rother]

understand what he's saying and have never been anti Madejski as such. but how can nearly every other championship club afford to bring new players in and we cant. I dont want to be in financial sh1t like Pompey etc but what about the others?

from that article we dont sound very well run, we sound like we are struggling to keep afloat

I agree. No other Championship club has enjoyed the amount of money Reading have from in-coming transfers since we were relegated yet there's no money.
There is little ambition at the club these days.

I think the ambition is the same as it has always been - to become a self sufficient and financially stable club. One quick tilt at the PL with the requisite investment could, if unsuccessful, set that ambition back 5+ years.

If JM considered it HIS business then he might be tempted to take that punt - but he doesn't. He sees it as a legacy to the town, a community club as it were and irresponsible spending to gamble on achieving success is not conducive to that ethos. Careful spending and gradually building an academy that has become the envy of many clubs in much larger football definitely was. And financing the building of a brand new stadium for which he receives no rent, minimal if any interest on loans etc. most certainly was.

Etc. etc.

The league table of money spent on playing staff is a more reliable indicator of madness than ambition.

[Platypuss]

Secondly, SJM takes no salary, no dividends and no money out of the club other than interest on his loans of £20m. This is at a rate BELOW base rate, so is currently NIL. If anybody feels like abusing the man please ensure you would be prepared to work without any pay or reward whilst being abused in the same fashion.

I seem to recall that he owns Hogwood himself and the club pay rent - is this true?

[PEARCEY]

I think the thing is though RR is that we were ambitious under Madejski and indeed heavy spenders in the lower divisions (particularly under Burns). I fully understand the Academy incurs significant costs and that players salaries are a massive hit for the club to bear but surely thats the same for other Championship clubs.
Six or seven years ago we were the up and coming kids on the block. Not any longer. The likes of Swansea, Soton and Brighton have overtaken us.

[Ian Royal]

I think the thing is though RR is that we were ambitious under Madejski and indeed heavy spenders in the lower divisions (particularly under Burns). I fully understand the Academy incurs significant costs and that players salaries are a massive hit for the club to bear but surely thats the same for other Championship clubs.
Six or seven years ago we were the up and coming kids on the block. Not any longer. The likes of Swansea, Soton and Brighton have overtaken us.

We had to get out of the third tier to have any chance of staying affloat with the new stadium, and to have a chance of making the Premier League. That's why we spent to get out. We couldn't afford to stay there with an average attendence of 8k-12k.

[Tails]

Reading = a poor man's Everton.

[Royal Rother]

I think the thing is though RR is that we were ambitious under Madejski and indeed heavy spenders in the lower divisions (particularly under Burns). I fully understand the Academy incurs significant costs and that players salaries are a massive hit for the club to bear but surely thats the same for other Championship clubs.
Six or seven years ago we were the up and coming kids on the block. Not any longer. The likes of Swansea, Soton and Brighton have overtaken us.

We had to get out of the third tier to have any chance of staying affloat with the new stadium, and to have a chance of making the Premier League. That's why we spent to get out. We couldn't afford to stay there with an average attendence of 8k-12k.

What I'd have said.

[PEARCEY]

I think the thing is though RR is that we were ambitious under Madejski and indeed heavy spenders in the lower divisions (particularly under Burns). I fully understand the Academy incurs significant costs and that players salaries are a massive hit for the club to bear but surely thats the same for other Championship clubs.
Six or seven years ago we were the up and coming kids on the block. Not any longer. The likes of Swansea, Soton and Brighton have overtaken us.

We had to get out of the third tier to have any chance of staying affloat with the new stadium, and to have a chance of making the Premier League. That's why we spent to get out. We couldn't afford to stay there with an average attendence of 8k-12k.

Valid point Ian although we also spent when we were promoted to the premiership,ie Leroy Lita without having to sell any players.

[Royal Rother]

In a year when SJM's paper fortune had probably risen by about £30m or so.... Bit different these days.

[strap]

Will you morons stop fecking complaining about SJM!
We'd have probably done an aldershot if he hadn't taken over when he did.
He's LENT millions of his own money on you ungrateful b@stards.
I'm a proper RFC fan, and love attending the mad stad, it's a great facility.
We're a well run club, and probably the envy of many a top flight club (?everton).
Our level is probably upper to mid championship, so be grateful we're at that.
Look at the sheffield clubs for crying out loud, it could be a lot worse.
Shut your cake holes and try and be supportive.

Corrected for you. You don't read the annual accounts clearly.

[Big McC]

Great day on HNA!

SJM's interview was worrying. Either he doesn't fully know what is going on or he was being deliberately obscure. Alternatively, maybe he is just poor at communicating. Much of this discussion would be avoided by real transparency. But then HNA wouldn't be such fun!

[Pete10]

Well 11 Mill we have got in . Time for him to be bloody honest ..Spend five of it . oh our wages are high .

[Pete10]

He owns the club .So why would he not put money in .When Mansells team 1970 failded in the promotion bid Waller and the gang of cheats ,Gave up just let the club nearly die. Not that Sir John would but he does not want it now.

[Pete10]

20% of the fees we have got in would buy some tidy players.Young and hungry .Our current manager will be gone by Christmas . Because of the penny pinching chairman . Coppell knew the story when we did not back up .That is why he went . As for Brendan he had no chance.
Will the chairman realise that people buy seasons tickets and for what just strip the club of its best players.We should rename it the Frank waller stadium.

[FiNeRaIn]

So, where's the money gone?