Squad for 2025-2026

[Linden Jones' Tash]

but we have a football club and that nearly didn't happen...

for all the big talk - RC was clear that we can only spend the money that we earn and the club is losing £10M a year

why is anyone surprised?

[Snowflake Royal]

but we have a football club and that nearly didn't happen...

for all the big talk - RC was clear that we can only spend the money that we earn and the club is losing £10M a year

why is anyone surprised?

Was losing £10m over a year ago.

Players like Kelv, Craig, Wareham aren't players you'd expect to be breaking the bank.

And we have just signed Cambridge's first team keeper to sit on our bench plus one of the stand out defenders in the league, so finances can't be that dire

[MouldyRoyal]

......................Pereira
Abrefa, O'Connor, Stickland, Garcia
......................Wing
.................Elliott, Savage
..Camara.........................Knibbs
.........................?

It's not looking fabulous

My guess is Ryan and Clarke >> Garcia and Stickland. Garcia further forward. Yiadom >> Abrefa

It’s getting there, will just take time

I know the club can have many irons in the fire at once, but I always find it unnerving when we make an uninspiring signing somewhere we ok, at the same time as having basically no strong options in multiple other positions at once.

Seeing Stevens sign behind Pereira when we don't really have a proven first team quality fullback for either flank (or has Yids signed... but then he’s rarely fit and on the wane), half of CB covered, the only reliable winger was playing CM and zero strikers.

I bloody loved Bindon, Mbengue and Craig, so finding out they're all going is a real low blow. We could be losing virtually all our best revent Academy graduates this summer too by the sounds

Do you think they are prioritising a second string keeper over proven forwards? Or does it seem more likely that, as you say, they have several irons in the fire and the back up keeper was easier to resolve than the attacking line up?

[Hound]

Can’t remember but did some of those going sign up in that little golden period when we signed Smith, Wing, Savage and Knibbs? Maybe they actually were being paid a decent wage which we can’t now match

[Snowflake Royal]

My guess is Ryan and Clarke >> Garcia and Stickland. Garcia further forward. Yiadom >> Abrefa

It’s getting there, will just take time

I know the club can have many irons in the fire at once, but I always find it unnerving when we make an uninspiring signing somewhere we ok, at the same time as having basically no strong options in multiple other positions at once.

Seeing Stevens sign behind Pereira when we don't really have a proven first team quality fullback for either flank (or has Yids signed... but then he’s rarely fit and on the wane), half of CB covered, the only reliable winger was playing CM and zero strikers.

I bloody loved Bindon, Mbengue and Craig, so finding out they're all going is a real low blow. We could be losing virtually all our best revent Academy graduates this summer too by the sounds

Do you think they are prioritising a second string keeper over proven forwards? Or does it seem more likely that, as you say, they have several irons in the fire and the back up keeper was easier to resolve than the attacking line up?

I would say it's pretty clear from my post I think there are irons in the fire.

Although it wouldn’t be the first time we stacked up players in one position leaving another almost completely uncovered.

Our record at signing keepers is pretty terrible in recent years. We have a habit of stacking up players who are, or appear to be, sub par.

I'd rather see Norcott or Rowley on the bench and in the cup than spend money on Stevens personally.

[Snowflake Royal]

Can’t remember but did some of those going sign up in that little golden period when we signed Smith, Wing, Savage and Knibbs? Maybe they actually were being paid a decent wage which we can’t now match

Mbengue likely.


Craig was season before those signings, might have been a new deal last season? Kelvin and Wareham might be on decent youth wedges, but shouldn't be first team level compared to Wing and co..

[rabidbee]

If you identify a need in a position, you sign a player when they’re available, doesn’t matter how negotiations for players in other positions are going. We don’t know the inside track. Maybe Steven’s was approached at the same time as other targets, but he was an easy signing - knows the area, maybe he knows people at the club - whereas other deals are taking longer to finalise.

[RG30]

Staggering if we have let Craig leave. Not only is he pretty good but has shown he is capable of covering multiple positions.

[Linden Jones' Tash]

but we have a football club and that nearly didn't happen...

for all the big talk - RC was clear that we can only spend the money that we earn and the club is losing £10M a year

why is anyone surprised?

Was losing £10m over a year ago.

Players like Kelv, Craig, Wareham aren't players you'd expect to be breaking the bank.

And we have just signed Cambridge's first team keeper to sit on our bench plus one of the stand out defenders in the league, so finances can't be that dire

No, we are losing £10M a year as stated recently by STAR in March 2025

statement from STAR:

"payroll and the related HMRC amount are the biggest operational costs - netting out on average* at around £1,000,000 a month - *NOTE: This number varies due to factors such as win bonuses, appearance fees etc…

On top of that, standing orders and direct debits total around £320,000 a month.

..utilities bills are eye-watering. For the stadium and Bearwood alone... they will total around £800k for the year.
Bearwood business rates are another huge cost to absorb - it costs us around £1,000,000 purely in these business rates, not to mention general operating costs (groundworks/catering/utilities) - making it one of the most expensive training grounds in the country

https://star-reading.org/wp-content/upl ... s_2223.pdf

[Snowflake Royal]

but we have a football club and that nearly didn't happen...

for all the big talk - RC was clear that we can only spend the money that we earn and the club is losing £10M a year

why is anyone surprised?

Was losing £10m over a year ago.

Players like Kelv, Craig, Wareham aren't players you'd expect to be breaking the bank.

And we have just signed Cambridge's first team keeper to sit on our bench plus one of the stand out defenders in the league, so finances can't be that dire

No, we are losing £10M a year as stated recently by STAR in March 2025

statement from STAR:

"payroll and the related HMRC amount are the biggest operational costs - netting out on average* at around £1,000,000 a month - *NOTE: This number varies due to factors such as win bonuses, appearance fees etc…

On top of that, standing orders and direct debits total around £320,000 a month.

..utilities bills are eye-watering. For the stadium and Bearwood alone... they will total around £800k for the year.
Bearwood business rates are another huge cost to absorb - it costs us around £1,000,000 purely in these business rates, not to mention general operating costs (groundworks/catering/utilities) - making it one of the most expensive training grounds in the country

https://star-reading.org/wp-content/upl ... s_2223.pdf

I don’t care what STAR say after some discussions with the club, the accounts aren't finished and published yet.

And none of that says we're losing £10m, it highlights the level of expenditure we had last season.

It certainly doesn't mean we'd lose £10m in a season that hasn't happened yet, under new ownership.

[Royalwaster]

Funny how some people are already asking for more money to be spent and have forgotten where that got us under the previous ownership. It's the typical attitude - I want everything but don't want to pay for it.

[Brogue]

Funny how some people are already asking for more money to be spent and have forgotten where that got us under the previous ownership. It's the typical attitude - I want everything but don't want to pay for it.

I don’t. But this is what I’m been saying RC is setting expectations saying things like we have a top 6 budget. And it’s going to be a spectacular transfer window. I hope we never pay a transfer fee in league one again. We have proven we can get players in like knibbs and smith and savage and Elliott on frees. I’m quite happy to stick within our means finish mid table and be financially stable, slowly building a squad capable of making a promotion challenge in a year or two. But RC isn’t coming out and saying that that’s the problem. I don’t know if it was on here or if I saw it on Twitter but someone said: better to under promise and over achieve than to over promise and underachieve. He needs to keep his big mouth shut and just let us go quietly about our business.

[Snowflake Royal]

Funny how some people are already asking for more money to be spent and have forgotten where that got us under the previous ownership. It's the typical attitude - I want everything but don't want to pay for it.

Other than Jimmy, who is asking for more money to be spent?

[Stranded]

Funny how some people are already asking for more money to be spent and have forgotten where that got us under the previous ownership. It's the typical attitude - I want everything but don't want to pay for it.

I don’t. But this is what I’m been saying RC is setting expectations saying things like we have a top 6 budget. And it’s going to be a spectacular transfer window. I hope we never pay a transfer fee in league one again. We have proven we can get players in like knibbs and smith and savage and Elliott on frees. I’m quite happy to stick within our means finish mid table and be financially stable, slowly building a squad capable of making a promotion challenge in a year or two. But RC isn’t coming out and saying that that’s the problem. I don’t know if it was on here or if I saw it on Twitter but someone said: better to under promise and over achieve than to over promise and underachieve. He needs to keep his big mouth shut and just let us go quietly about our business.

We can only judge how spectacular or otherwise this window is once it has closed not what things look like on 26th June.

I understand getting antsy that things aren't publically happening but of the 2 signings made, the O'Connor deal only really got any public traction on the day it was announced (i.e. was already done) and no-one had a sniff of Stevens at all.

So yeah, we may lose some players but we may already be well down the line in replacing them or improving upon them and we will know nothing about it until either the day it happens or once it's done.

His exact words on budget were:

""We will have as much money as all-but three or four in the league by following the rules. We’re doing everything we can to increase our revenue because the more we increase our revenue, the more we can spend on players. The more we spend on players, the better chance we have of success and our goal is to be successful."

So he says we will have as much money as all but 3 or 4 clubs not that that translates to a playing budget - that will be dependant on revenue generation.

[Crowbar6753]

......................Pereira
Abrefa, O'Connor, Stickland, Garcia
......................Wing
.................Elliott, Savage
..Camara.........................Knibbs
.........................?

It's not looking fabulous

As a starting 11 or 10 (No Striker ) that's not to bad! Pereira is clearly the best keeper in the league!! The defense isn't bad, clearly Bindon and Mbengue will be a miss however, O'Connor is a great signing and Abrefa, Stickland and Garcia all have a years experience under their belts and a full pre season so not all doom and gloom.
We probably have the best midfield three in the league which probably explains Craig's decision to move on!! In knibbs we have a star player who can score goals and we have done well to keep hold of him.
Know we get to in my opinion our two problem areas, no strikers lol, so we probably need three in unless one of our junior players can break through somehow but i think we may be a bit light in that department and finally to the most underwhelming player in the team Camara!! i was shocked to see him being offered a new contract.
We also have Ryan, Clarke and Yids in reserve and hope that both Ryan and Clarke can have breakout a season after their injuries.
Hypothetically if we can add a good first team striker and lets say replace Camara with Meite then that really isn't a bad first eleven!!

[tidus_mi2]

Mbengue confirmed for QPR then, should get compensation I believe since he's 23.

[morganb]

Mbengue has said his goodbyes

[blueroyals]

Wareham departure confirmed too https://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/2025/june/26/mbengue-wareham-depart/

[Pepe the Horseman]

Wareham also confirmed to be gone on the official site. No mention of Craig and Kelv, so still hope.

[Zammo]

they never would have left under Dai