“ Sell before we Dai “ supporters action group v2.0

[Royals and Racers]

Statement issued this morning - maybe someone can quote it in full.

[On Strings]

Sell Before We Dai: Reading FC fan groups call for change of ownership

WEDNESDAY, 21ST JUNE 2023

Reading Football Club fan groups have today united to launch "Sell Before We Dai" - a pressure group to demand a change of ownership at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

The move follows news that Reading FC have received another set of EFL charges, with owner Yongge Dai personally cited for breaching regulations relating to unpaid wages and wider club funding mismanagement. This is alongside a further listing on the EFL embargo reporting service for non-payment of loan wages.

It caps a desperate period for the recently relegated Royals, who are currently without a manager or enough senior players contracted to field a team next season. With pre-season due to start in a matter of weeks, the fan group collective is now calling for Yongge Dai to sell the club before any more damage can be done.

Spokesperson Nick Houlton said: "Despite his best intentions, Mr Dai's stewardship of Reading Football Club has been an unmitigated disaster. His reign has seen excruciating financial losses and a hat-trick of relegations as the academy and both men's and women's teams suffered relegation.

"In spite of this, Reading FC fans remained supportive of Mr Dai, with many seeing relegation as a chance to reset and follow in the footsteps of the likes of Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and Sheffield United in recent years, who all bounced back from third-tier football to enjoy Premier League success."

"However, the latest round of charges and the potential for points deductions for the third season in a row - coupled with the apparent collapse of the hugely popular move to appoint Chris Wilder - has destroyed what little faith remained in the Reading FC owner and CEO Dayong Pang."

"We are now calling for Mr Dai to sell the club at the earliest opportunity and give Reading FC the chance to follow in the footsteps of Forest, Leicester and Sheffield United - rather than KSV Roeselare and Beijing Renhe."
"We know this is an unsettling time for other staff that work at Reading FC, and we are fully with them. Our focus is on seeing Mr Dai and Dayong Pang move on from the club."

The groups will now be planning a series of protests to maintain pressure on the Reading FC ownership to sell up, ranging from seeking council support for the protection of the stadium's usage to more direct fan action, which aims to secure the club's long-term safety.
The groups will be hosting a Twitter space on Thursday, 22nd June at 7.30pm BST to engage with fans on "Sell Before We Dai" and to seek ideas and input on options to enhance the campaign.

The "Sell Before We Dai" movement is comprised of Supporters' Trust At Reading (STAR), Club 1871, Proud Royals, Elm Park Royals and The Tilehurst End, but aims to be fully inclusive of all supporters who feel the same way.

For all media enquiries contact Nick Houlton viamedia@sellbeforewedai.co.uk

[NathStPaul]

[Royal_jimmy]

Much needed! let's hope we can force a change in the club sooner rather than later

[Winston Biscuit]

Not keen on the name. Its like calling it Sell Before We Geoff. The owner could potentially think its a campaign to support him.

[Green]

Not keen on the name. Its like calling it Sell Before We Geoff. The owner could potentially think its a campaign to support him.

Came in to say the opposite, I like it. We must keep a sense of humour, and indeed humility.

Presumably little thought given to the acronym though "SBWD" Should've had it spell out STUFFED or SCREWED.

[Royal_jimmy]

Sell Before We Dai is a typical Social Media kind of name - they have their letter in Mandarin so Dai should understand it!

[WestYorksRoyal]

Will be interesting to see what they plan. If the home atmosphere becomes toxic it will impede the team, but I'm not sure how to tread that line.

[Anfield Royal]

If Dai sells, he almost certainly tasks Kia with finding a new buyer.

[NathStPaul]

Who is it this "coalition of the willing" are wanting to buy the club? Who are they expecting to have the will or the funds to buy us?

[Silver Fox]

Ooh a Twitter space!!!

[Clyde1998]

Who is it this "coalition of the willing" are wanting to buy the club? Who are they expecting to have the will or the funds to buy us?

Exactly. This feels like a case of be very careful what you wish for.

[Elm Park Kid]

I was told on here yesterday that making a pun using a Chinese name was 'casual racism' . . . . . .

[NathStPaul]

I just feel at this stage it is a collection of shouty supporters who want instant gratification by forcing the owner out but have no real vision for what happens after.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I just feel at this stage it is a collection of shouty supporters who want instant gratification by forcing the owner out but have no real vision for what happens after.

I think the past couple of weeks have not so much taken away fear of the unknown, but created a mentality that the fear shouldn't stop us acting on a dire situation. Which I fully agree with.

We could have another sh*t owner, but we may get good ones. Some wealthy fans may exist (not clear who they are) to lead a fan consortium.

As I see it, stick with Dai and guarantee continued decline and disillusionment. Try to force him out and there are risks, but also the possibility of forcing positive change.

[Brogue]

I would like to think that with a thread-bare squad on low wages, and assuming the debt gets written off/restructured as part of the sale, a well-run league one club doesn't need the deep pockets you need to have in the champ or prem. We just need someone with medium wealth now, don't we? Which should open the door for a larger pool of interested buyers, maybe

[Royal_jimmy]

Who is it this "coalition of the willing" are wanting to buy the club? Who are they expecting to have the will or the funds to buy us?

Exactly. This feels like a case of be very careful what you wish for.

Don't think things could be much worse tbh

[YorkshireRoyal99]

I would like to think that with a thread-bare squad on low wages, and assuming the debt gets written off as part of the sale, a well-run league one club doesn't need the deep pockets you need to have in the champ or prem. We just need someone with medium wealth now, don't we? Which should open the door for a larger pool of interested buyers, maybe

At which stage it would take someone with deep pockets at this level to come in and write the debts off almost instantly alongside the sale. Not to say it would stop someone buying the club, with a large proportion of the debts remaining and then being paid off over time.

The biggest problem for me we are losing about £400k a week on operating costs, that's what needs to come down for the club to be run sustainably. Either that or we need to be selling players on for sizeable fees each season (possibly even each window) in order to cover those costs as well, let alone profit or have something that we can then actually spend.

[Brogue]

I would like to think that with a thread-bare squad on low wages, and assuming the debt gets written off as part of the sale, a well-run league one club doesn't need the deep pockets you need to have in the champ or prem. We just need someone with medium wealth now, don't we? Which should open the door for a larger pool of interested buyers, maybe

At which stage it would take someone with deep pockets at this level to come in and write the debts off almost instantly alongside the sale. Not to say it would stop someone buying the club, with a large proportion of the debts remaining and then being paid off over time.

The biggest problem for me we are losing about £400k a week on operating costs, that's what needs to come down for the club to be run sustainably. Either that or we need to be selling players on for sizeable fees each season (possibly even each window) in order to cover those costs as well, let alone profit or have something that we can then actually spend.

where has the 400k per week figure come from? that is £20 million over the year. The 21/22 accounts published we had pre tax loses of £17.3m Total outgoings were £42.2m of which £25.3m were wages and £16.9m other.

[WestYorksRoyal]

I would like to think that with a thread-bare squad on low wages, and assuming the debt gets written off as part of the sale, a well-run league one club doesn't need the deep pockets you need to have in the champ or prem. We just need someone with medium wealth now, don't we? Which should open the door for a larger pool of interested buyers, maybe

At which stage it would take someone with deep pockets at this level to come in and write the debts off almost instantly alongside the sale. Not to say it would stop someone buying the club, with a large proportion of the debts remaining and then being paid off over time.

The biggest problem for me we are losing about £400k a week on operating costs, that's what needs to come down for the club to be run sustainably. Either that or we need to be selling players on for sizeable fees each season (possibly even each window) in order to cover those costs as well, let alone profit or have something that we can then actually spend.

No new owner would have to write off the debt. The debt is to Dai and would be negotiated as part of the sale. He has invested poorly and will have to write off a significant amount. Even with our training facility, I'd be surprised if the club is worth as much as £50m (with the stadium thrown in).

So he can take that and cut his losses, go the liquidation route and get even less or try to turn things around after the situation has turned toxic.

I suspect it will almost certainly be the third. But there is no scenario where an owner buys the club for £1 and agrees to pay Dai his £100m odd debt, as the club simply isn't worth that.