Embargos, HMRC Payment defaults, non payment of wages, the usual under Dai Wrongge

[Clyde1998]

In regards to the business plan, if he knew we'd never meet it, I wonder what the thinking was? Try and get the "best" squad possible in the Championship and hope we can survive knowing we would effectively be starting the season at -6 points. I do wonder when Ince actually found out, Bowen would have known for sure we weren't going to meet it by the end of the summer window, I wonder if he told Ince then "Paul, it's likely we will get the deduction applied this year, so we need to get 6 extra points from somewhere".

All signings were made to an agreed business plan, so they must have felt it was achieveable.

Wasn't there a belief certain players would be sold in the January window last year, and it was that not happening which caused the failure?

Anybody know how much we missed it by?

I'd like to know how much we missed by too.

I know one year (2022?) there was hope Pisa would get promoted, so they've have to pay us for Puscas (which would've given us £2.5m, plus him off our wage bill). They ended up losing in the play-off final.

The biggest thing I'm wondering is if the club's revenue was less than expected that season. Our attendances have dropped off a lot under Dai, we were averaging around 17k in the three years before Dai took over, whilst 14-15k was typical under Dai in the Championship.

Losing 2,000+ paying fans would make a big impact. For the 2018-19 season, the last full season before Covid, the club made £4.7m in matchday revenue, in 2021-22 that fell to £3.6m. If the club budgeted for 2018-19 levels of matchday income, that's a £1.1m shortfall in their budget.

[Snowflake Royal]

In regards to the business plan, if he knew we'd never meet it, I wonder what the thinking was? Try and get the "best" squad possible in the Championship and hope we can survive knowing we would effectively be starting the season at -6 points. I do wonder when Ince actually found out, Bowen would have known for sure we weren't going to meet it by the end of the summer window, I wonder if he told Ince then "Paul, it's likely we will get the deduction applied this year, so we need to get 6 extra points from somewhere".

All signings were made to an agreed business plan, so they must have felt it was achieveable.

Wasn't there a belief certain players would be sold in the January window last year, and it was that not happening which caused the failure?

Anybody know how much we missed it by?

Multiple millions.

I think when they couldn't shift Puscas it became clear it was not likely, so they didn't even try to manage it by selling Joao, Meite, Ejaria etc.

[Vision]

In regards to the business plan, if he knew we'd never meet it, I wonder what the thinking was? Try and get the "best" squad possible in the Championship and hope we can survive knowing we would effectively be starting the season at -6 points. I do wonder when Ince actually found out, Bowen would have known for sure we weren't going to meet it by the end of the summer window, I wonder if he told Ince then "Paul, it's likely we will get the deduction applied this year, so we need to get 6 extra points from somewhere".

All signings were made to an agreed business plan, so they must have felt it was achieveable.

Wasn't there a belief certain players would be sold in the January window last year, and it was that not happening which caused the failure?

Anybody know how much we missed it by?

Multiple millions.

I think when they couldn't shift Puscas it became clear it was not likely, so they didn't even try to manage it by selling Joao, Meite, Ejaria etc.

The argument put forward by both Ince and Bowen was there was no point in selling because they wouldn't be able to replace them. I'd assume because they were banking on the fact that keeping them would make up for any point deductions in terms of avoiding relegation.

[Snowflake Royal]

All signings were made to an agreed business plan, so they must have felt it was achieveable.

Wasn't there a belief certain players would be sold in the January window last year, and it was that not happening which caused the failure?

Anybody know how much we missed it by?

Multiple millions.

I think when they couldn't shift Puscas it became clear it was not likely, so they didn't even try to manage it by selling Joao, Meite, Ejaria etc.

The argument put forward by both Ince and Bowen was there was no point in selling because they wouldn't be able to replace them. I'd assume because they were banking on the fact that keeping them would make up for any point deductions in terms of avoiding relegation.

Which was odd seeing as Ince didn’t seem to rate Joao, or know how to use him. And neither of the other two contributed a lot either.

[WestYorksRoyal]

The Puscas clause didn't happen when they missed promotion, Moore got a massive injury. They were probably 2 outgoings they were hoping for, and then perhaps selling Joao and Meite could have got us to our target. But once Puscas and Moore were off, there was no chance. So why weaken the squad?

[Brogue]

some interesting details in this yahoo article

Reading’s dire finances have led staff to rejig training plans to avoid paying for undersoil heating, as the crisis club look to curb costs. The League One side, owned by the Chinese businessman Dai Yongge, have implemented a number of drastic cost-cutting measures, including 19 redundancies, and owe about £4m to suppliers.

Staff and former employees talk of “firefighting” on a daily basis as the club fights a series of off-field problems. The English Football League has called for Yongge to fund or sell the club after displaying a “clear disregard” for his duties.

Related: Reading owner Dai Yongge told by Football League: pay up or sell up

Reading trained on the one practice pitch with undersoil heating on Thursday and an under-21s match was played on the surface on Monday but first-team staff have been encouraged to minimise usage. There have been instances in recent weeks when the manager, Rubén Sellés, has been asked to adjust training schedules or use the gym to save on the cost of undersoil heating, which is turned on before sessions and switched off immediately after. The first team can train on other pitches but freezing temperatures of late have led them to train later, once those have thawed.

Reading said payments for the undersoil heating were taken automatically upon use and that it had been general practice for a while to activate it only when essential. They acknowledged that the club’s financial troubles meant it was imperative they were savvy with how much they use it.

Despite the cold conditions, on occasions staff at the club’s impressive £50m Bearwood training base, opened by Yongge in 2019, have been wearing coats and jackets inside the main first-team building because the upstairs heating does not work. The club said a maintenance issue was unresolved but some staff believe the lack of heating is to keep costs down. The club has made 19 redundancies, including in the new year the assistant manager, Andrew Sparkes, and the head of player development, Eddie Niedzwiecki. Most roles have gone in the academy, which is at risk of losing its category one status, and more first-team staff jobs are understood to be in danger. The club insisted no further roles had been identified as at risk.

A number of suppliers have lost patience. The data company StatsPerform, which provides Opta data, has frozen its account with the club and another, the catering firm Levy, has pulled out of the training ground but remains at the stadium. As a result, medical staff are sourcing meals for players. Yongge acquired control of the club with his sister Dai Xiu Li in 2017, when they were a Championship playoff final victory from promotion to the Premier League, and is thought to have invested in excess of £250m in an attempt to reach the top flight. Now the club is taking desperate measures to “save pennies”, as one insider puts it.

Post-match food provided at Reading Women’s FA Cup tie at home to Wolves last Sunday, played at Aldershot, has led to illnesses among both sets of players and forced Wolves to postpone a game against West Brom because a high percentage of their squad were affected.

In November, the EFL pushed for Yongge to be disqualified as an owner after a financial breach but an independent panel felt such action would not solve Reading’s problems. The commission instead fined Yongge £20,000 for failing to adhere to meet the EFL’s financial demands of depositing 125% of the monthly wage bill into a holding account. A suspended £50,000 fine was activated last Friday after he again failed to meet those demands. Yongge is not thought to have paid either of the charges. Reading have been deducted 16 points since November 2021 for financial breaches, including the late payment of wages. The club has spent much of the past two years under transfer embargoes owing to their failure to pay HMRC on time.

The under-fire chief executive, Dayong Pang, has sanctioned the sales of the defenders Tom Holmes and Nelson Abbey, both to Luton, and other players, such as Tyler Bindon and Charlie Savage, could follow. Savage is stuck on 14 league starts because if he makes another start he will trigger a £2,000-a-month pay rise. Before Christmas the club terminated the contract of Ovie Ejaria, who signed a lucrative four-year contract after arriving from Liverpool in 2020, saving the club about £200,000.

There are understood to be three or four parties interested in purchasing Reading who have non-disclosure agreements but there are concerns within the club that prospective buyers could “run a mile” because of the bleak financial picture. Reading, who visit Wigan on Saturday, are 21st in League One and at risk of successive relegations. Overnight stays have largely been scrapped but Reading will have one on Friday. “We cannot move on as a club unless we get new owners,” one staff member said.

This weekend the Football Supporters’ Association is encouraging clubs to show solidarity with Reading supporters by having a minute’s applause in the 16th minute, the point at which Reading fans invaded the pitch against Port Vale last Saturday, prompting the game to be abandoned. Exeter City, direct rivals of Reading, are among those that have pledged to do so. Reading could face a suspended points deduction as a sanction for the invasion, as Blackpool did in 2015 in protest at their then owners.

The EFL, which has in effect conceded Yongge is unfit to run the club, are relatively powerless to overthrow him. On Wednesday the EFL board debated whether the league should have a golden share in all of its 72 clubs but its chairman, Rick Parry, acknowledged that would create “a right hornets’ nest”. “We can’t actually force the sale, we can’t seize the shares, [because] it is company law,” Parry said. “Short of seizing the club, the [EFL’s] powers, sadly, are limited.”

Reading released a statement on Wednesday saying “Mr Dai has agreed that he will sell the club at the earliest opportunity”. The club’s former chief executive Nigel Howe is leading the process and said Yongge had enlisted the help of “lawyers to assist in the disposal” of the club.

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/readin ... 13044.html

[rabidbee]

some interesting details in this yahoo article

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/readin ... 13044.html

Point of order, your honour, but it’s actually from the Guardian.

[Royals and Racers]

£4 million owed to suppliers as stated in the article- that is one substantial amount !!!

[Clyde1998]

£4 million owed to suppliers as stated in the article- that is one substantial amount !!!

I wonder how long that's been building up, as £4m seems far too large for it to be a sudden thing.

[Armadillo Roadkill]

I just read the Guardian article. Made my blood run cold.

If Dai had sold a few months ago, the squad, the academy and the strong possibility of League 1 survival would have made it a club with a future.

Now they'd be buying a League 2 club, a depleted academy stripped of Cat 1, all or most of it's best players gone, and debts spriralling out of control.

It's a further example of the grotesque incompetence that has been the hallmark of his tenure at the club. He can't even fück off properly.

[RG30]

Have also heard Thames Valley Police are also owed sums of money from the club for policing bills.

[tmesis]

I just read the Guardian article. Made my blood run cold.

If Dai had sold a few months ago, the squad, the academy and the strong possibility of League 1 survival would have made it a club with a future.

Now they'd be buying a League 2 club, a depleted academy stripped of Cat 1, all or most of it's best players gone, and debts spriralling out of control.

It's a further example of the grotesque incompetence that has been the hallmark of his tenure at the club. He can't even fück off properly.

It's still staggering that after years of embargoes and 'financial plans' we still seem to be hopelessly far away from being sustainable, even with a weak squad and good crowds.

It would be nice to know where exactly the money is going for the finances to still be so bad. Still paying for Bearwood maybe? If there's some kind of major overhead that make us a money-pit, it will put off all but the most generous of potential buyers.

[Clyde1998]

I just read the Guardian article. Made my blood run cold.

If Dai had sold a few months ago, the squad, the academy and the strong possibility of League 1 survival would have made it a club with a future.

Now they'd be buying a League 2 club, a depleted academy stripped of Cat 1, all or most of it's best players gone, and debts spriralling out of control.

It's a further example of the grotesque incompetence that has been the hallmark of his tenure at the club. He can't even fück off properly.

It's still staggering that after years of embargoes and 'financial plans' we still seem to be hopelessly far away from being sustainable, even with a weak squad and good crowds.

It would be nice to know where exactly the money is going for the finances to still be so bad. Still paying for Bearwood maybe? If there's some kind of major overhead that make us a money-pit, it will put off all but the most generous of potential buyers.

The most recent accounts (2021-22) showed we owed the following by category:

Other borrowings - £83,773,605 (basically all money owned to Dai)
Accurals and deferred income - £8,914,896
Trade creditors - £2,512,394
Other creditors - £2,270,330
Taxation and social security - £978,483
Player registration fees - £500,000
Obligations under finance leases - £34,247
Total - £98,983,955

It could be that companies/people we owed money to have started to call in debts.

[Stranded]

I just read the Guardian article. Made my blood run cold.

If Dai had sold a few months ago, the squad, the academy and the strong possibility of League 1 survival would have made it a club with a future.

Now they'd be buying a League 2 club, a depleted academy stripped of Cat 1, all or most of it's best players gone, and debts spriralling out of control.

It's a further example of the grotesque incompetence that has been the hallmark of his tenure at the club. He can't even fück off properly.

It's still staggering that after years of embargoes and 'financial plans' we still seem to be hopelessly far away from being sustainable, even with a weak squad and good crowds.

It would be nice to know where exactly the money is going for the finances to still be so bad. Still paying for Bearwood maybe? If there's some kind of major overhead that make us a money-pit, it will put off all but the most generous of potential buyers.

A club like us will only ever be sustainable by developing and selling players. Under Dai, he has steadfastly refused to sell talent at its peak value. We don't need to list the millions of pounds of talent that walked out the door for free but selling just a couple would have seen a very different football club.

[Stranded]

Also, we appear to have now arrived at the, people will run for the hills due to the debt portion of the protracted takeover process.

Probably a good sign overall.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I'll take some parts of the Guardian article with a pinch of salt. Everybody knows the club is hemorrhaging money and loaded with debt; all possible buyers would have entered into negotiations knowing this. If they're going to run away then good - weeds out those looking for quick success over a long term turnaround project.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Have also heard Thames Valley Police are also owed sums of money from the club for policing bills.

Surely they have a public responsibility to keep up a minimum level of service? What would their nuclear option be? Refuse to police games so we can't fulfill fixtures?

[WestYorksRoyal]

I just read the Guardian article. Made my blood run cold.

If Dai had sold a few months ago, the squad, the academy and the strong possibility of League 1 survival would have made it a club with a future.

Now they'd be buying a League 2 club, a depleted academy stripped of Cat 1, all or most of it's best players gone, and debts spriralling out of control.

It's a further example of the grotesque incompetence that has been the hallmark of his tenure at the club. He can't even fück off properly.

It's sad, but Luton and Coventry have shown you're never too low to rebuild. The most important thing is finding a good buyer and there were definitely reservations about Genevra.

Dai didn't sink that deal out of the goodness of his heart, but if we end up with someone better at the end of this then that's a twist of fate I'll take.

[Snowflake Royal]

Have also heard Thames Valley Police are also owed sums of money from the club for policing bills.

Surely they have a public responsibility to keep up a minimum level of service? What would their nuclear option be? Refuse to police games so we can't fulfill fixtures?

Yes.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

The Puscas clause didn't happen when they missed promotion, Moore got a massive injury. They were probably 2 outgoings they were hoping for, and then perhaps selling Joao and Meite could have got us to our target. But once Puscas and Moore were off, there was no chance. So why weaken the squad?

Yeah that's my thoughts, once it became clear we were never going to reach the business plan, we may as well have kept the best possible squad together to give us the best fighting chance.

Ian does have a point though, it's not as if any of Joao, Meite or Ejaria (exclude Moore as he was injured for most of it) had much impact that season. I suppose it's always easier to say in hindsight though.