CONFRIMATION of the CONFIMRED

[WestYorksRoyal]

One of them literally just posted, without irony, that this will end with us forever languishing in the bottom 6 of the PL. Fcuk me, how will we cope?

I liked the bloke who claimed Newcastle had never been relegated before Ashley came along.

You know, I get why you may not like him and he is definitely a twat but he left the club pretty much exactly when he bought them (his last full season saw them 12th, the season before he bought them, they were 13th) and whilst there were 2 relegations, both were following by 2 immediate promotions, gaining 102 and 94 points respectively, a 5th place PL finish and a run to the QF of the Europa league - that's not too bad from a pre Saudi perspective - plus they were financially sound.

His management also helped attract the Saudis. No losses meant the full FFP budget to play around with. Basically set a platform for what they're doing now.

I would say I'd be happy with the same, but SJM set the platform for somebody else to elevate us to the next level and look what happened. I'm not sure I'll ever have ambitions beyond the Championship again.

[Elm Park Kid]

Anybody know how legitimate the "RFC News" Twitter handle is? They have said very little since the summer. But today:

- Club pushing for a quick sale. Ashley and a US consortium the key players. Storey and Red Bird not happening.

- Bowen and players think Selles should be sacked but there is no money to do it until ownership situation sorted.

Isn't that a GetReading account that stopped after they got rid of Jonathan Low? I can't see any new tweets there?

[RoyalBlue]

Anybody know how legitimate the "RFC News" Twitter handle is? They have said very little since the summer. But today:

- Club pushing for a quick sale. Ashley and a US consortium the key players. Storey and Red Bird not happening.

- Bowen and players think Selles should be sacked but there is no money to do it until ownership situation sorted.

They don't need (extra) money to sack him. His only recourse is to sue for breach of contract and he won't be able to demonstrate loss in that case provided (and I know that's a big proviso at present) they continue to pay him his monthly salary and other benefits until the end of his fixed term contract.

I suspect the real issue is that they don't have the funds to recruit a replacement for him, so the role would have to be performed by someone already on the club's payroll.

[Snowflake Royal]

Is Mike Ashley the best possible owner to return us back to the 'Reading way' and recreate the glory days? Probably not.

Is he a good option for now - definitely yes.

Maguire was on BBC Berkshire this morning saying that Ashley 'lacks ambition' - ie, he's not going to pour in vast amounts of his own money to catapult us up the leagues. Well . . . this might be controversial . . . but, good. Dai's problem was thinking he could buy success, regardless of how poorly the club was run, and then had a tantrum when it didn't work. If Ashley is thinking that with some careful management and spending he can get Reading back into the Championship on the cheap and then sell up for profit - fair enough.

I suppose it depends what he buys at in regards of making a profit. If he can run us sensibly and leave the footballing decisions to the football people at the club, and actually create a strategy at the club that is sensible, then I can certainly see things going well with him.

Running us well, it should be possible to get us knocking around the edge of the Championship play offs and maybe sneak a season or two in the PL.

That's still pretty solid success given our size and history. And probably about as fun as football realisticay gets for a club like us.

[Elm Park Kid]

Anybody know how legitimate the "RFC News" Twitter handle is? They have said very little since the summer. But today:

- Club pushing for a quick sale. Ashley and a US consortium the key players. Storey and Red Bird not happening.

- Bowen and players think Selles should be sacked but there is no money to do it until ownership situation sorted.

They don't need (extra) money to sack him. His only recourse is to sue for breach of contract and he won't be able to demonstrate loss in that case provided (and I know that's a big proviso at present) they continue to pay him his monthly salary and other benefits until the end of his fixed term contract.

I suspect the real issue is that they don't have the funds to recruit a replacement for him, so the role would have to be performed by someone already on the club's payroll.

Not being able to afford to replace him is practically the same thing as not being able to afford to sack him.

[leon]

Anybody know how legitimate the "RFC News" Twitter handle is? They have said very little since the summer. But today:

- Club pushing for a quick sale. Ashley and a US consortium the key players. Storey and Red Bird not happening.

- Bowen and players think Selles should be sacked but there is no money to do it until ownership situation sorted.

They don't need (extra) money to sack him. His only recourse is to sue for breach of contract and he won't be able to demonstrate loss in that case provided (and I know that's a big proviso at present) they continue to pay him his monthly salary and other benefits until the end of his fixed term contract.

I suspect the real issue is that they don't have the funds to recruit a replacement for him, so the role would have to be performed by someone already on the club's payroll.

Not being able to afford to replace him is practically the same thing as not being able to afford to sack him.

As has been noted previously, if we have no in house replacement.

[Snowflake Royal]

Anybody know how legitimate the "RFC News" Twitter handle is? They have said very little since the summer. But today:

- Club pushing for a quick sale. Ashley and a US consortium the key players. Storey and Red Bird not happening.

- Bowen and players think Selles should be sacked but there is no money to do it until ownership situation sorted.

They don't need (extra) money to sack him. His only recourse is to sue for breach of contract and he won't be able to demonstrate loss in that case provided (and I know that's a big proviso at present) they continue to pay him his monthly salary and other benefits until the end of his fixed term contract.

I suspect the real issue is that they don't have the funds to recruit a replacement for him, so the role would have to be performed by someone already on the club's payroll.

And Bowen has been burned before, and Hunt would reasonably expect a pay rise to do it. Relatively minor barriers.

The only possible issue for not being able to afford to sack Selles is if his contract stipulates he's paid in full on dismissal. But just put him on gardening leave.

If we have someone who will make the decision, and Bowen is willing to take it on short term, there is nothing stopping us.

[under the tin]

Is Mike Ashley the best possible owner to return us back to the 'Reading way' and recreate the glory days? Probably not.

Is he a good option for now - definitely yes.

Maguire was on BBC Berkshire this morning saying that Ashley 'lacks ambition' - ie, he's not going to pour in vast amounts of his own money to catapult us up the leagues. Well . . . this might be controversial . . . but, good. Dai's problem was thinking he could buy success, regardless of how poorly the club was run, and then had a tantrum when it didn't work. If Ashley is thinking that with some careful management and spending he can get Reading back into the Championship on the cheap and then sell up for profit - fair enough.

I suppose it depends what he buys at in regards of making a profit. If he can run us sensibly and leave the footballing decisions to the football people at the club, and actually create a strategy at the club that is sensible, then I can certainly see things going well with him.

Running us well, it should be possible to get us knocking around the edge of the Championship play offs and maybe sneak a season or two in the PL.

That's still pretty solid success given our size and history. And probably about as fun as football realisticay gets for a club like us.

Agreed.
For me, I don't care if we never get into the PL ever again.
We reached the summit once, and all realised the view from the top was not what it was cracked up to be.
Player wages/contracts spiral, staff retention/recruitment difficult, kick off times moved to suit the big brands on the TV, not the fans.
It's a busted flush of a competition. They can shove it.
Championship is a better league

[Forbury Lion]

Anybody know how legitimate the "RFC News" Twitter handle is? They have said very little since the summer. But today:

- Club pushing for a quick sale. Ashley and a US consortium the key players. Storey and Red Bird not happening.

- Bowen and players think Selles should be sacked but there is no money to do it until ownership situation sorted.

They don't need (extra) money to sack him. His only recourse is to sue for breach of contract and he won't be able to demonstrate loss in that case provided (and I know that's a big proviso at present) they continue to pay him his monthly salary and other benefits until the end of his fixed term contract.

I suspect the real issue is that they don't have the funds to recruit a replacement for him, so the role would have to be performed by someone already on the club's payroll.

Unless his contract had a performance related clause, they can't sack him for failing to meet a perceived performance level, especially without having warned him about it.
They will have to pay his contract up.
Probably not done so because the new owners will want to appoint their own manager and backroom staff, so by sacking Selles they'd only have the options of Bowen or Hunt, plus it will need the CEO or Owner to sign off on it and they're probably not taking calls.

[WestYorksRoyal]

If a takeover is close, I guess it makes no sense to pull the trigger now whatever options we have. No doubt a new owner would have their own opinion and resources to look at more palatable options.

[Snowflake Royal]

I suppose it depends what he buys at in regards of making a profit. If he can run us sensibly and leave the footballing decisions to the football people at the club, and actually create a strategy at the club that is sensible, then I can certainly see things going well with him.

Running us well, it should be possible to get us knocking around the edge of the Championship play offs and maybe sneak a season or two in the PL.

That's still pretty solid success given our size and history. And probably about as fun as football realisticay gets for a club like us.

Agreed.
For me, I don't care if we never get into the PL ever again.
We reached the summit once, and all realised the view from the top was not what it was cracked up to be.
Player wages/contracts spiral, staff retention/recruitment difficult, kick off times moved to suit the big brands on the TV, not the fans.
It's a busted flush of a competition. They can shove it.
Championship is a better league

Preach.

An FACup would be nice though.

[Horsham Royal]

I suppose it depends what he buys at in regards of making a profit. If he can run us sensibly and leave the footballing decisions to the football people at the club, and actually create a strategy at the club that is sensible, then I can certainly see things going well with him.

Running us well, it should be possible to get us knocking around the edge of the Championship play offs and maybe sneak a season or two in the PL.

That's still pretty solid success given our size and history. And probably about as fun as football realisticay gets for a club like us.

Agreed.
For me, I don't care if we never get into the PL ever again.
We reached the summit once, and all realised the view from the top was not what it was cracked up to be.
Player wages/contracts spiral, staff retention/recruitment difficult, kick off times moved to suit the big brands on the TV, not the fans.
It's a busted flush of a competition. They can shove it.
Championship is a better league

+ lots

[Elm Park Kid]

Anybody know how legitimate the "RFC News" Twitter handle is? They have said very little since the summer. But today:

- Club pushing for a quick sale. Ashley and a US consortium the key players. Storey and Red Bird not happening.

- Bowen and players think Selles should be sacked but there is no money to do it until ownership situation sorted.

They don't need (extra) money to sack him. His only recourse is to sue for breach of contract and he won't be able to demonstrate loss in that case provided (and I know that's a big proviso at present) they continue to pay him his monthly salary and other benefits until the end of his fixed term contract.

I suspect the real issue is that they don't have the funds to recruit a replacement for him, so the role would have to be performed by someone already on the club's payroll.

And Bowen has been burned before, and Hunt would reasonably expect a pay rise to do it. Relatively minor barriers.

The only possible issue for not being able to afford to sack Selles is if his contract stipulates he's paid in full on dismissal. But just put him on gardening leave.

If we have someone who will make the decision, and Bowen is willing to take it on short term, there is nothing stopping us.

Who then do the jobs that Hunt/Bowen currently do? If we say that they can be covered internally then why are we paying for Hunt and Bowen in the first place? Also, do we really want to accept 'second choices' for those positions right now - I would have thought that Bowen's job is more important than Selles to be frank.

[Snowflake Royal]

They don't need (extra) money to sack him. His only recourse is to sue for breach of contract and he won't be able to demonstrate loss in that case provided (and I know that's a big proviso at present) they continue to pay him his monthly salary and other benefits until the end of his fixed term contract.

I suspect the real issue is that they don't have the funds to recruit a replacement for him, so the role would have to be performed by someone already on the club's payroll.

And Bowen has been burned before, and Hunt would reasonably expect a pay rise to do it. Relatively minor barriers.

The only possible issue for not being able to afford to sack Selles is if his contract stipulates he's paid in full on dismissal. But just put him on gardening leave.

If we have someone who will make the decision, and Bowen is willing to take it on short term, there is nothing stopping us.

Who then do the jobs that Hunt/Bowen currently do? If we say that they can be covered internally then why are we paying for Hunt and Bowen in the first place? Also, do we really want to accept 'second choices' for those positions right now - I would have thought that Bowen's job is more important than Selles to be frank.

A couple of people step up a bit for a couple of months.

There's no one more important than Manager right now. All the sale stuff will be lawyers. Bowen can brief people, but that's delagateable or can be done at the same time.

It's two months before any transfers can happen and we have an embargo.

Anything Bowen is doing can wait.

We need points on the board.

[Stranded]

Kieran Maguire tweeting in response to comments that Ashley selling Missguided is a prelude to buying the club by saying, he doesn't think it is a sign and anyway MASH holdings currently have over 500m GBP sat in their bank account. In short, he could pay 50m for the club tomorrow and barely notice.

[Hound]

Kieran Maguire tweeting in response to comments that Ashley selling Missguided is a prelude to buying the club by saying, he doesn't think it is a sign and anyway MASH holdings currently have over 500m GBP sat in their bank account. In short, he could pay 50m for the club tomorrow and barely notice.

Yeah basically if he wants it, he’ll buy it. Though suspect it’ll be at rock bottom price only which Dai will struggle to accept

[Elm Park Kid]

And Bowen has been burned before, and Hunt would reasonably expect a pay rise to do it. Relatively minor barriers.

The only possible issue for not being able to afford to sack Selles is if his contract stipulates he's paid in full on dismissal. But just put him on gardening leave.

If we have someone who will make the decision, and Bowen is willing to take it on short term, there is nothing stopping us.

Who then do the jobs that Hunt/Bowen currently do? If we say that they can be covered internally then why are we paying for Hunt and Bowen in the first place? Also, do we really want to accept 'second choices' for those positions right now - I would have thought that Bowen's job is more important than Selles to be frank.

A couple of people step up a bit for a couple of months.

There's no one more important than Manager right now. All the sale stuff will be lawyers. Bowen can brief people, but that's delagateable or can be done at the same time.

It's two months before any transfers can happen and we have an embargo.

Anything Bowen is doing can wait.

We need points on the board.

I mean - it comes down to how much you really believe that our results are down to the specific weakness of Selles compared to all the other club-wide issues. If you honestly believe that Bowen would make a difference (there's almost no evidence to think that Hunt would), then maybe you go for it and try your best to cover up the gaps from him leaving his current post. But . . I really don't like that strategy - it feels like instead of paying half your mortgage you take the money and go and put it on Red at the casino.

[From Despair To Where?]

One of them literally just posted, without irony, that this will end with us forever languishing in the bottom 6 of the PL. Fcuk me, how will we cope?

I liked the bloke who claimed Newcastle had never been relegated before Ashley came along.

You know, I get why you may not like him and he is definitely a twat but he left the club pretty much exactly when he bought them (his last full season saw them 12th, the season before he bought them, they were 13th) and whilst there were 2 relegations, both were following by 2 immediate promotions, gaining 102 and 94 points respectively, a 5th place PL finish and a run to the QF of the Europa league - that's not too bad from a pre Saudi perspective - plus they were financially sound.

What I don't get is that this the set of supporters who also turned on John Hall. Their main gripe seems to be that he didn't bankroll a shot at the title. Their response is very much through a Magpie filter. Our expectations are on a different planet. Ours is for someone to pay the bills, manage the club sensibly and not murder dissenting journalists and Ashley does seem to fit the bill. He's head and shoulders above any other known interested parties.

[From Despair To Where?]

Who then do the jobs that Hunt/Bowen currently do? If we say that they can be covered internally then why are we paying for Hunt and Bowen in the first place? Also, do we really want to accept 'second choices' for those positions right now - I would have thought that Bowen's job is more important than Selles to be frank.

A couple of people step up a bit for a couple of months.

There's no one more important than Manager right now. All the sale stuff will be lawyers. Bowen can brief people, but that's delagateable or can be done at the same time.

It's two months before any transfers can happen and we have an embargo.

Anything Bowen is doing can wait.

We need points on the board.

I mean - it comes down to how much you really believe that our results are down to the specific weakness of Selles compared to all the other club-wide issues. If you honestly believe that Bowen would make a difference (there's almost no evidence to think that Hunt would), then maybe you go for it and try your best to cover up the gaps from him leaving his current post. But . . I really don't like that strategy - it feels like instead of paying half your mortgage you take the money and go and put it on Red at the casino.

I'd agree with this to an extent. I think the manager situation only really gets solved with a change of ownership.

[Elm Park Kid]

I personally think that people underestimate how much mentality and mood matters at a football club. You can put the same side out, with the same formation and tactics and win 3-0 or lose 3-0 just on player attitude. And sure, that's often a reason for changing manager as it can provide a quick 'reset' and improve thinking. But . . when you have so many fundamental issues at a club then a new manager might simply not be enough.