Sshh! It's how we operate.

[Cookie]

[Schards#2]

Furthermore, to suggest that he would risk the financial meltdown that awaits us when the parachute payments run out, in 12 months time, for one decent set of books, says everything about how little you know about the man.

There won't be a financial meltdown, as we are preparing for life at this level, same common sense, prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. We never prepared for Premier League football last time, but hoped it would occur, same as now.

With JM in charge we will not pay the fees or wages for name players, and the main reason is we cannot afford it.

We won't go bust this still amounts to meltdown when compared to the financial outlook 2 years ago, including the loss of at least 3 seasons of Premiership revenue.

We need £11m to balance the books because our loss of Premiership status has already cost us atleast £60m.......................only Coppell apologists like Ian Royal would attempt to float the notion this was all part of some cunning plan by the Chairman.

What about the expansion plans for the stadium?

Was that just a means to attract prospective buyers or, genuine plans for long term establishment in the top flight?

Either way, this doesn't fit with our disastrous decline being just what the Chairman would have ordered in an ideal world.

In fact, this fails to fit with the way this club has been run over the last 20 years but, funnily enough, it fits perfectly with the notion that Steve Coppell was blameless for the last 2 seasons because it was all the Chairman's fault......................................and we have no shortage of morons who believe this to be the case.

It's all been said before, best ever league position, 106 etc, but criticising Coppell for the amount of time Reading have spent in the premiership is a new LOLlable slant on it.

I wonder if there's a retard on a Notts Forest board somewhere bemoaning that it's all the fault of Clough that Forest aren't in the premiership, as he's the loser that got them relegated.

[Negative_Jeff]

Unusual territory for me but £60 million lost premier league revenue? Eighteen months ago the team were struggling but Coppell managed to convince everyone that we would achieve sufficient points to stay up.
Fulham on the other hand looked doomed, changed their manager to someone who demanded the team get the ball down and play, and invested in four or five players of a higher caibre in the transfer window. Result; played us off the park in a six pointer at the Mad Stad, relegation avoided on the last day and European football attained the following season.
Nobody at RFC at fault then, is it simply that Fayed had the bottle or is Hodgson a better manager?

[Dirk Gently]

Unusual territory for me but £60 million lost premier league revenue? Eighteen months ago the team were struggling but Coppell managed to convince everyone that we would achieve sufficient points to stay up.
Fulham on the other hand looked doomed, changed their manager to someone who demanded the team get the ball down and play, and invested in four or five players of a higher caibre in the transfer window. Result; played us off the park in a six pointer at the Mad Stad, relegation avoided on the last day and European football attained the following season.
Nobody at RFC at fault then, is it simply that Fayed had the bottle or is Hodgson a better manager?

Surely just as important a factor was that several key Fulham players returned from injury for the last couple of months of the season?

[papereyes]

is Hodgson a better manager?

Personally, I think this might have something to do with it.

His record is pretty solid over several countries.

He was lucky in that Bullard and McBride recovered from pretty serious injuries in time. Of course, had we a player of the quality of Bullard (which we didn't) or a striker of the sheer balls-out hardness of McBride (which we didn't), we may have finished happily midtable.

PS cost of those two players? £2.5 million and a free transfer. Even at £5 million last time round, Bullard would have been only on the edge of fees we were offering.

[Schards#2]

Unusual territory for me but £60 million lost premier league revenue? Eighteen months ago the team were struggling but Coppell managed to convince everyone that we would achieve sufficient points to stay up.
Fulham on the other hand looked doomed, changed their manager to someone who demanded the team get the ball down and play, and invested in four or five players of a higher caibre in the transfer window. Result; played us off the park in a six pointer at the Mad Stad, relegation avoided on the last day and European football attained the following season.
Nobody at RFC at fault then, is it simply that Fayed had the bottle or is Hodgson a better manager?

We lost out to a club that was prepared to invest in the team. Since then, we have continued to lose out to sides that are prepared to invest in the team.

We bucked the trend 05-07 but you can't continue to defy gravity. It is likely that the same will apply in future seasons

I wonder if those who accuse Coppell of having had millions at his disposal but refusing to spend it will acknowledge that they may have got it wrong once it's clear that Rodgers isn't spending anything either.

[Scarface]

Unusual territory for me but £60 million lost premier league revenue? Eighteen months ago the team were struggling but Coppell managed to convince everyone that we would achieve sufficient points to stay up.
Fulham on the other hand looked doomed, changed their manager to someone who demanded the team get the ball down and play, and invested in four or five players of a higher caibre in the transfer window. Result; played us off the park in a six pointer at the Mad Stad, relegation avoided on the last day and European football attained the following season.
Nobody at RFC at fault then, is it simply that Fayed had the bottle or is Hodgson a better manager?

We lost out to a club that was prepared to invest in the team. Since then, we have continued to lose out to sides that are prepared to invest in the team.

We bucked the trend 05-07 but you can't continue to defy gravity. It is likely that the same will apply in future seasons

I wonder if those who accuse Coppell of having had millions at his disposal but refusing to spend it will acknowledge that they may have got it wrong once it's clear that Rodgers isn't spending anything either.

We should of stayed up in 07 and last season we should of got promoted. I'm sorry but I firmly lay the blame at Coppell for some inept management decisions (or lack of) and Madejski for not sacking Coppell rather than lack of investment.

[IMAMATEOFJOVSKY]

Its a self-fulfilling prophecy for Egoman - he is indeed "cutting the coat according to the cloth " - and as he continues to make smaller and smaller coats - the value of his football empire, that he is so desperate to sell, shrinks and shrinks - Id be hugely concerned next season when no further parachute payments will be available and it will be bargain basement £200k deals we will be doing at best ....

Meanwhile Rodgers continues his magic lessons to see if he is able to pull of the expected miracles that he has been charged with by Egoman.....if he does we may even have to call him Jesus!

[AthleticoSpizz]

Its a self-fulfilling prophecy for Egoman - he is indeed "cutting the coat according to the cloth " - and as he continues to make smaller and smaller coats - the value of his football empire, that he is so desperate to sell, shrinks and shrinks - Id be hugely concerned next season when no further parachute payments will be available and it will be bargain basement £200k deals we will be doing at best ....

Meanwhile Rodgers continues his magic lessons to see if he is able to pull of the expected miracles that he has been charged with by Egoman.....if he does we may even have to call him Jesus!

Whether there is any creedence in it or not, I was chatting recently to someone working with the club. His take on it was, that a buyer had already been found, that the buyer would not meet Mr Mads asking price, so Mr Mad is taking back his investments bit by bit, until such time as the clubs actual valuation falls more in line with the offer on the table.

[IMAMATEOFJOVSKY]

Its a self-fulfilling prophecy for Egoman - he is indeed "cutting the coat according to the cloth " - and as he continues to make smaller and smaller coats - the value of his football empire, that he is so desperate to sell, shrinks and shrinks - Id be hugely concerned next season when no further parachute payments will be available and it will be bargain basement £200k deals we will be doing at best ....

Meanwhile Rodgers continues his magic lessons to see if he is able to pull of the expected miracles that he has been charged with by Egoman.....if he does we may even have to call him Jesus!

Whether there is any creedence in it or not, I was chatting recently to someone working with the club. His take on it was, that a buyer had already been found, that the buyer would not meet Mr Mads asking price, so Mr Mad is taking back his investments bit by bit, until such time as the clubs actual valuation falls more in line with the offer on the table.

Could that be the mystery £11m to "balance the books" then???

[Mad Dog's Ghost]

This sounds very feasible. And probably quite sensible for Madejski.

Sadly we could well drift off into obscurity .. unless the new manager is the miracle worker that everyone is hoping for.

[Tilehurst Mike]

This sounds very feasible. And probably quite sensible for Madejski.

Sadly we could well drift off into obscurity .. unless the new manager is the miracle worker that everyone is hoping for.

I agree it could all go horribly wrong, but also giving youth a chance with a blend of experience is a good recipe for success but not overnight. The reluctance of the club to spend when they were in the Premiership is still galling and the thought of entering the new season with one of Church or Long up front and a possible makeshift centre back pairing does not fill me with a lot of confidence. there again a couple of 19 year olds from Chelsea may be the answer--who knows?

[Hoop Blah]

This sounds very feasible. And probably quite sensible for Madejski.

Sadly we could well drift off into obscurity .. unless the new manager is the miracle worker that everyone is hoping for.

Surely the more he takes out of the club the less worth it is no? Our assets and projected income are less now than they were 6 or 12 months ago. Surely this prospective buyer would be adjusting his offer to reflect that.

If not I'd worry a little about his suitability to take over the running of the club from Madejski.

[RobRoyal]

His take on it was, that a buyer had already been found, that the buyer would not meet Mr Mads asking price, so Mr Mad is taking back his investments bit by bit, until such time as the clubs actual valuation falls more in line with the offer on the table.

Wow... wonder whether that offer will still be on the table when we sink to the 2nd tier...

I don't mean this. It's a joke.

[Thaumagurist*]

We're already in the 2nd tier.

[Vision]

This sounds very feasible. And probably quite sensible for Madejski.

Sadly we could well drift off into obscurity .. unless the new manager is the miracle worker that everyone is hoping for.

Surely the more he takes out of the club the less worth it is no? Our assets and projected income are less now than they were 6 or 12 months ago. Surely this prospective buyer would be adjusting his offer to reflect that.

If not I'd worry a little about his suitability to take over the running of the club from Madejski.

Shit. Does Mike Ashley have a twin?

[Ian Royal]

This sounds very feasible. And probably quite sensible for Madejski.

Sadly we could well drift off into obscurity .. unless the new manager is the miracle worker that everyone is hoping for.

Surely the more he takes out of the club the less worth it is no? Our assets and projected income are less now than they were 6 or 12 months ago. Surely this prospective buyer would be adjusting his offer to reflect that.

If not I'd worry a little about his suitability to take over the running of the club from Madejski.

The majority of the club debt is owed to Madejski though, so surely in theory at least, if SJM is taking money back, he's reducing the debt, which therefore RAISES the club's value to a buyer.

[Hoop Blah]

Depends how he's financing the repayments though doesn't it?

If it's by trimming down the assets and selling of the 'family silver' whilst at the same time the club becomes less attractive as it's longer since it was in the Premiership is the book value going down?

[IMAMATEOFJOVSKY]

I understand from reliable sources that the land that the Madejski Stadium was built on was provided by the local authority (additionally the proceeeds from the sale of Elm Park paid for part of the development) - if that is the case there is obvious a substantial value to that land, and it is not owned by Egoman - which makes me question exactly what is up for sale and whether it is a leasehold and not a freehold sale?



Does anyone know?

[Ian Royal]

Depends how he's financing the repayments though doesn't it?

If it's by trimming down the assets and selling of the 'family silver' whilst at the same time the club becomes less attractive as it's longer since it was in the Premiership is the book value going down?

Fair point. I guess (assuming it's happening) how we perform in the current and next season will be the proof of whether it has harmed or helped the value.