If a buyer isn’t going to happen, would you rather?

[Greatwesternline]

Every person who thinks "i can't wait for a new owner to come in and stabilise things"...

What they really means is: I can't wait for someone new to come in and to start taking heavy losses immediately with pretty much no prospect of ever making a return on that money, so that I can enjoy my day dreaming about RFC's future chances again.

I'm guilty of it to, but let's be honest with ourselves.

[Snowflake Royal]

Every person who thinks "i can't wait for a new owner to come in and stabilise things"...

What they really means is: I can't wait for someone new to come in and to start taking heavy losses immediately with pretty much no prospect of ever making a return on that money, so that I can enjoy my day dreaming about RFC's future chances again.

I'm guilty of it to, but let's be honest with ourselves.

No, that isn't the case.

With a good youth system and scouting, it's perfect feasible to run a club on modest means, making up shortfall on selling on players.

We've done it before, we can do it again.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Every person who thinks "i can't wait for a new owner to come in and stabilise things"...

What they really means is: I can't wait for someone new to come in and to start taking heavy losses immediately with pretty much no prospect of ever making a return on that money, so that I can enjoy my day dreaming about RFC's future chances again.

I'm guilty of it to, but let's be honest with ourselves.

No, that isn't the case.

With a good youth system and scouting, it's perfect feasible to run a club on modest means, making up shortfall on selling on players.

We've done it before, we can do it again.

This. Only caveat is football finances are even more nuts today than in out 00s heyday. SJM made investments he could afford on the likes of Murty, Butler, Convey, Harper, Sidwell, and Lita. How much would those sort of deals cost now? Their cost will have gone up a lot more than revenue in that time.

It is very hard to be successful and profitable, but not impossible.

[Snowflake Royal]

Every person who thinks "i can't wait for a new owner to come in and stabilise things"...

What they really means is: I can't wait for someone new to come in and to start taking heavy losses immediately with pretty much no prospect of ever making a return on that money, so that I can enjoy my day dreaming about RFC's future chances again.

I'm guilty of it to, but let's be honest with ourselves.

No, that isn't the case.

With a good youth system and scouting, it's perfect feasible to run a club on modest means, making up shortfall on selling on players.

We've done it before, we can do it again.

This. Only caveat is football finances are even more nuts today than in out 00s heyday. Very hard to be successful and profitable, but not impossible.

Forget profitable, just minimal losses is good for most club.

It should a club like us at least 50 years to create losses of about £150m. We've done it in about 10.

[Greatwesternline]

No, that isn't the case.

With a good youth system and scouting, it's perfect feasible to run a club on modest means, making up shortfall on selling on players.

We've done it before, we can do it again.

This. Only caveat is football finances are even more nuts today than in out 00s heyday. Very hard to be successful and profitable, but not impossible.

Forget profitable, just minimal losses is good for most club.

It should a club like us at least 50 years to create losses of about £150m. We've done it in about 10.

We made big losses the year we were promoted under Sir Steve.

Sir John "cut the cloth" Madejski whose era we all use as example of running the club properly was still an era of losses.

Which brings me back to what i said. Even with running the club properly, we're expecting a random person to come in and make losses with little hope of return.

[Stranded]

As are literally any club looking to be bought. It generally goes with the territory.

What would be perfect is getting a proper conveyor belt of talent coming out of the Academy, that can be sold to minimise or cover operational losses.

A smart owner can make that happen.

I'm long past caring what division we are in, just want our club to be there when I am an old man.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Maybe an asset stripped L2 club sold for £1 gets the right owner. Invest smartly and sell on for millions a couple of decades on, like SJM did. Compared with a club with massive overheads and operations you're pouring money into just to stand still. Selling Bearwood would mean we don't cover its operating costs which are too big for this level.

[windermereROYAL]

Torquay are the latest club to be saved following on from Scunthorpe, Rochdale and Southend, going back a bit Derby and Bolton and Wigan have new ownership and WBA more recently.
It would appear that it happens to other clubs, but not us.

[Snowflake Royal]

This. Only caveat is football finances are even more nuts today than in out 00s heyday. Very hard to be successful and profitable, but not impossible.

Forget profitable, just minimal losses is good for most club.

It should a club like us at least 50 years to create losses of about £150m. We've done it in about 10.

We made big losses the year we were promoted under Sir Steve.

Sir John "cut the cloth" Madejski whose era we all use as example of running the club properly was still an era of losses.

Which brings me back to what i said. Even with running the club properly, we're expecting a random person to come in and make losses with little hope of return.

Because all the players got big promotion bonuses.

Taking one year in isolation is meaningless.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Torquay are the latest club to be saved following on from Scunthorpe, Rochdale and Southend, going back a bit Derby and Bolton and Wigan have new ownership and WBA more recently.
It would appear that it happens to other clubs, but not us.

Some of them took ages to sell, we've been for sale since the autumn and probably only seriously since Howe got involved.

[Stranded]

Torquay are the latest club to be saved following on from Scunthorpe, Rochdale and Southend, going back a bit Derby and Bolton and Wigan have new ownership and WBA more recently.
It would appear that it happens to other clubs, but not us.

Some of them took ages to sell, we've been for sale since the autumn and probably only seriously since Howe got involved.

And pretty much all were owned were someone who once the money ran out were, whilst not happy to, but willing to sell. We currently seem to be owned by someone who would rather destroy the club rather than let someone else have it - one can only propose that the potential shame of someone making a success of things being an overriding reason. Twat.

[6ft Kerplunk]

Forget profitable, just minimal losses is good for most club.

It should a club like us at least 50 years to create losses of about £150m. We've done it in about 10.

We made big losses the year we were promoted under Sir Steve.

Sir John "cut the cloth" Madejski whose era we all use as example of running the club properly was still an era of losses.

Which brings me back to what i said. Even with running the club properly, we're expecting a random person to come in and make losses with little hope of return.

Because all the players got big promotion bonuses.

Taking one year in isolation is meaningless.

When was last time the club actually broke even or made a profit?

[WestYorksRoyal]

Torquay are the latest club to be saved following on from Scunthorpe, Rochdale and Southend, going back a bit Derby and Bolton and Wigan have new ownership and WBA more recently.
It would appear that it happens to other clubs, but not us.

Some of them took ages to sell, we've been for sale since the autumn and probably only seriously since Howe got involved.

And pretty much all were owned were someone who once the money ran out were, whilst not happy to, but willing to sell. We currently seem to be owned by someone who would rather destroy the club rather than let someone else have it - one can only propose that the potential shame of someone making a success of things being an overriding reason. Twat.

Yep. It was similar when Bury went under; their owner somehow thought he could get a better deal and was still rejecting reasonable offers at the 11th hour. You can't be rescued if the owner doesn't want to be rescued.

[WestYorksRoyal]

We made big losses the year we were promoted under Sir Steve.

Sir John "cut the cloth" Madejski whose era we all use as example of running the club properly was still an era of losses.

Which brings me back to what i said. Even with running the club properly, we're expecting a random person to come in and make losses with little hope of return.

Because all the players got big promotion bonuses.

Taking one year in isolation is meaningless.

When was last time the club actually broke even or made a profit?

2016/17. The year before Dai came. It involved parachute payments, some player sales like Norwood and Tshibola and also the play off final revenue.

We should have cut cloth that summer. We don't need to go over what happened next again.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

We made big losses the year we were promoted under Sir Steve.

Sir John "cut the cloth" Madejski whose era we all use as example of running the club properly was still an era of losses.

Which brings me back to what i said. Even with running the club properly, we're expecting a random person to come in and make losses with little hope of return.

Because all the players got big promotion bonuses.

Taking one year in isolation is meaningless.

When was last time the club actually broke even or made a profit?

I believe we did one year under the Thai's, may have been the play off season under Stam.

[Snowflake Royal]

We made big losses the year we were promoted under Sir Steve.

Sir John "cut the cloth" Madejski whose era we all use as example of running the club properly was still an era of losses.

Which brings me back to what i said. Even with running the club properly, we're expecting a random person to come in and make losses with little hope of return.

Because all the players got big promotion bonuses.

Taking one year in isolation is meaningless.

When was last time the club actually broke even or made a profit?

We made profit in both first two PL seasons. And we were roughly breaking even through player sales in the years between that and the next promotion.

Basically, we were doing through most of the 2003 to 2010 period up until Zimgarevich took over

[Greatwesternline]

Forget profitable, just minimal losses is good for most club.

It should a club like us at least 50 years to create losses of about £150m. We've done it in about 10.

We made big losses the year we were promoted under Sir Steve.

Sir John "cut the cloth" Madejski whose era we all use as example of running the club properly was still an era of losses.

Which brings me back to what i said. Even with running the club properly, we're expecting a random person to come in and make losses with little hope of return.

Because all the players got big promotion bonuses.

Taking one year in isolation is meaningless.

I could pick any year and we'd make a loss, except one, which people have mentioned below. So its actually the other way round. When we had parachute payments, plus a play off final and player sales. We bought Lita For £1m the year we got promoted, we would have made a loss with or without the promotion bonusses. And if you can't make a profit when your team is filling the stadium each week, then you will not make a profit.

Reading used to be run as a "sensible club" which meant building slowly, and still making losses. That is the minimum we expect of the new owner which are:

1) Start picking up the tabs on the losses straight away this season
2) Get us a "competitive squad for next season" i.e, more losses than this season
3) Hopefully we get promoted. If not. Lots more losses.
4) If we do get promoted, "invest" to make the club competitive for the Championship. i.e. more losses.
5) Consolidate in championship for a few years. More losses
6) Then begin to assemble squad and manager for potential play off push. More losses.

[Greatwesternline]

Because all the players got big promotion bonuses.

Taking one year in isolation is meaningless.

When was last time the club actually broke even or made a profit?

We made profit in both first two PL seasons. And we were roughly breaking even through player sales in the years between that and the next promotion.

Basically, we were doing through most of the 2003 to 2010 period up until Zimgarevich took over

That's interesting on 2003 to 2010. All i remember is Madejski saying how screwed we were, every year.

[Snowflake Royal]

We made big losses the year we were promoted under Sir Steve.

Sir John "cut the cloth" Madejski whose era we all use as example of running the club properly was still an era of losses.

Which brings me back to what i said. Even with running the club properly, we're expecting a random person to come in and make losses with little hope of return.

Because all the players got big promotion bonuses.

Taking one year in isolation is meaningless.

I could pick any year and we'd make a loss, except one, which people have mentioned below. So its actually the other way round. When we had parachute payments, plus a play off final and player sales. We bought Lita For £1m the year we got promoted, we would have made a loss with or without the promotion bonusses. And if you can't make a profit when your team is filling the stadium each week, then you will not make a profit.

Reading used to be run as a "sensible club" which meant building slowly, and still making losses. That is the minimum we expect of the new owner which are:

1) Start picking up the tabs on the losses straight away this season
2) Get us a "competitive squad for next season" i.e, more losses than this season
3) Hopefully we get promoted. If not. Lots more losses.
4) If we do get promoted, "invest" to make the club competitive for the Championship. i.e. more losses.
5) Consolidate in championship for a few years. More losses
6) Then begin to assemble squad and manager for potential play off push. More losses.

Obviously you're struggling here, because that's three years that have been mentioned, with about another 3-5 as roughly break even. Which adds up to about a decade cost neutral.

[WestYorksRoyal]

We made big losses the year we were promoted under Sir Steve.

Sir John "cut the cloth" Madejski whose era we all use as example of running the club properly was still an era of losses.

Which brings me back to what i said. Even with running the club properly, we're expecting a random person to come in and make losses with little hope of return.

Because all the players got big promotion bonuses.

Taking one year in isolation is meaningless.

I could pick any year and we'd make a loss, except one, which people have mentioned below. So its actually the other way round. When we had parachute payments, plus a play off final and player sales. We bought Lita For £1m the year we got promoted, we would have made a loss with or without the promotion bonusses. And if you can't make a profit when your team is filling the stadium each week, then you will not make a profit.

Reading used to be run as a "sensible club" which meant building slowly, and still making losses. That is the minimum we expect of the new owner which are:

1) Start picking up the tabs on the losses straight away this season
2) Get us a "competitive squad for next season" i.e, more losses than this season
3) Hopefully we get promoted. If not. Lots more losses.
4) If we do get promoted, "invest" to make the club competitive for the Championship. i.e. more losses.
5) Consolidate in championship for a few years. More losses
6) Then begin to assemble squad and manager for potential play off push. More losses.

This is all true, sadly. And yet there are plenty of potential owners out there willing to do this. The market for English football clubs is strong, particularly in the US.

A good owner can be found. The problem is getting Dai to sell.