Tiger speaks to fans

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genome
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Tiger speaks to fans

by genome » 07 Jul 2016 11:29

Good read this, somewhat encouraging.

http://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/201 ... -with-fans

TL,DR:

- Tiger seems to be the decision maker
- Target for next season is top half of table
- Academy players to be given a chance next season, working from a smaller squad
- Plenty of ins and outs over next few months. One or two loans at the most
- We are still financially hindered by Anton's reign, some players on big contracts
- Bearwood still on the table and needs to be completed in 3 years to retain Cat 1

It's been easy to feel disenchanted with Reading's owners over the past few years. From Anton's empty promises, to Sir John's empty wallet and until now what's often been an empty Directors box under the Thai consortium. Reading fans have understandably been concerned with the direction of a club that's been seemingly stuck in a spiral of decline for the past four seasons and this summer's sudden sacking of Brian McDermott did little to reduce that feeling of unease.

With that in mind, The Supporters' Trust At Reading (STAR) sent Reading's co-owners Narin Niruttinanon, Sumrith ‘Tiger' Thanakarnjanasuth & Sasima Srivikorn a letter, detailing their concerns and asking for more co-operation and communication from the owners heading into the new season. That helped lead to an informal meeting set up by Tiger at the Madejski Stadium where around 15 or so invited guests from STAR, The Tilehurst End and individual fans got the chance to meet the Reading Co-Owner, plus Chief Executive Nigel Howe and Customer Service Manager Jackie Evans to directly ask them questions about the club and the direction it's going in.

What followed was an open, honest and no-holds barred 90-minute discussion that in my personal view, went a long way towards re-assuring us that this ownership group both has the best interests of the club at heart and more importantly, has a plan to get it back on track.

The Ownership

The early minutes of the meeting focused on just who was in charge right now and who was making the bulk of the decisions in the three-pronged ownership group. Tiger explained that it had always been a group consultation process but that since April of this year, he'd taken a much more direct involvement in the decision making. Tiger went on to explain how he'd seen every match last season, even when it involved staying up till 2am local time for kick-off and how frustrated he was when the club got a bad result. What came across was that this is a man who knows his football and is getting to know more and more about Reading Football Club.

There was little talk of his fellow shareholders but Tiger did explain that Lady Sasima genuinely cared about the team and that while things like her song may not have been loved by every supporter, it was something she had done from her heart to try and give something to the fans.

When the question of whether the group was looking for outside investment was raised, Tiger explained that it was more a case of others contacting them to ask if there were opportunities to get involved. Right now, the Reading shareholder explained that they were only looking for people who wanted to be part of their vision and that they wouldn't be bringing people into the group unless those values matched up.

Finances

On the financial front and the well-publicised difficulties that Anton left the club in were expanded upon by Nigel and Tiger. While specifics weren't discussed, it was strongly hinted that the club can't afford to compete financially with the biggest teams in the division and that even now they're still handicapped by some of the contracts signed under the Zingarevich regime.

Royal Elm Park was discussed in this context and the message was clear that while the scheme would help the shareholders return some of their investment into the club, it was also a project that would have long-term financial and social benefits for the town and football club.

Similarly, the training ground project at Bearwood is still very much in their plans and work will have to be underway within three years if the club is to retain its Category One academy.

Jaap Stam & Brian McDermott

The decision to replace Brian McDermott with Jaap Stam was raised right at the beginning of the meeting and while the details behind Brian's exit were briefly discussed, it's not something that Tiger & Nigel felt comfortable discussing when Brian's side of the story isn't out there. What he did say was that the decision was a very hard one to make.

What was explained at length were the reasons why Stam had beaten at least nine other candidates from the UK and Europe to get the job. Tiger talked of the respect that Jaap commands on the training ground and how he's already been making a big difference working directly with players and helping them to improve their technique. They admitted that Stam's inexperience was initially a concern but they spoke of how his other strengths helped convince the board to give him a chance.

Naturally some fans wanted to know if Jaap would be given time if the team were struggling early on and while he said nobody could ever give guarantees, Tiger suggested that they were going to give the Dutchman every chance to succeed.

Players & Transfers

One of the most fascinating elements to the meeting was learning just how clued up Tiger was on the strengths and weaknesses of each player. It was obvious that his talk of 2am viewings was more than just sweet talk by how he discussed certain players in detail, including what he liked and didn't like about them. Several times he asked fans directly what they thought of a certain player and wasn't afraid to voice his own opinions in return.

The message on the transfer front was that the club are working very hard to get Jaap a fresh, hungry squad with which to target the top half of the table. Fans can expect a fair bit of movement both in and out of the club in the next few months but that it was very much a clean slate for everyone. On that note, the strength of the Academy was also brought up and supporters can expect to see a lot more opportunities given to the younger players over the coming season. Tiger explained how the board felt the squad was too big last season and that had led to certain players becoming disenchanted with the club, but now under Stam's leadership and in a smaller unit, each player felt they were in with a chance of breaking into the first XI.

The Reading Co-Owner also expressed his displeasure over the number of loans from last season and told the fans present that there would only be one or two loans at the very most going forward.

Overall Thoughts

The most pleasing aspect of this meeting was how open and honest those representing the club were with the fans. This wasn't a strict, rigid meeting that the club had set up to pay lip service and keep fans on side, instead it felt like a genuine attempt to work with supporters and find out how they're feeling right now. It was great to finally be able to get a glimpse into the mind of the man who's now running the club and while it's easy to talk a good game, they certainly didn't feel like empty words.

Tiger seems to be a man who's very passionate about the football club and is doing what he feels will help bring the fun back into supporting Reading. He even talked about joining fans up in Y25 for a game next season, and I wouldn't be shocked to see him up there in the next few months. He explained how he hoped fans would once again enjoy coming to watch the team, rather than just turning up out of loyalty alone.

Clearly there's still work to be done but much like the new manager and new squad, this felt like a new beginning in relations between fans and owners. It may have been a small step but every journey has to start somewhere.

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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Steve_Upper_West » 07 Jul 2016 11:46

I guess any news is good news...

But I am a little confused, which contracts signed under the Zingarevich regime are still handicapping us?

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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Pepe the Horseman » 07 Jul 2016 11:47

Danny Williams is the only one left isn't he? Maybe we're still paying off Royston.

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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by genome » 07 Jul 2016 11:54

Pepe the Horseman Danny Williams is the only one left isn't he? Maybe we're still paying off Royston.


Gunter, McCleary, probably on a decent wedge

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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Pepe the Horseman » 07 Jul 2016 11:56

Haven't they both signed new contracts since then though? Gunter was making a big thing about signing even though he was taking a pay cut.


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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Nameless » 07 Jul 2016 11:57

Are there not other players who Anton didn't sign but would have been offered improved deals under him. If incoming players were getting excessive terms then you can bet players seeking new deals would have been after the same.
HRK might be a prime example, althoiugh obviously now not a problem unless he'd been given a big end of contract 'loyalty' bonus....

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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Forbury Lion » 07 Jul 2016 11:58

Steve_Upper_West But I am a little confused, which contracts signed under the Zingarevich regime are still handicapping us?
My guess:
1. One or two players still on high salaries, perhaps even including players we've sold on who may still be getting a top up from us.
2. Any "mortgage" whereby Anton/the club got cash up front in return for paying over future revenue e.g. parachute payments and/or future ticket sales. There was definitely talk of something involving loans taken out against future parachute payments.
3. Any contract with a Russian related company and/or consultancy service.

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genome
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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by genome » 07 Jul 2016 11:59

Pepe the Horseman Haven't they both signed new contracts since then though? Gunter was making a big thing about signing even though he was taking a pay cut.


Can't have been that big a cut though. I highly doubt he loves the club that much.

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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Dick Habbin's hairdo » 07 Jul 2016 11:59

I'll take this very much as a positive, even for an old cynic like me.

- realistic target of top half
- smaller, hungrier squad
- giving youff a chance
- putting fun back in to supporting
- seems to genuinely have more than 'interest' in the club/team....

If we can finish top half, give a load of youngsters a real chance of progression, and it's fun again, I'll settle for that.


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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Forbury Lion » 07 Jul 2016 12:00

genome
Pepe the Horseman Haven't they both signed new contracts since then though? Gunter was making a big thing about signing even though he was taking a pay cut.


Can't have been that big a cut though. I highly doubt he loves the club that much.
I suspect we were still offering him more than anyone else was offering even though it was less than we were paying previously.... which goes to show we were overpaying him due to poor decision making on the part of the person offering the contract.

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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Forbury Lion » 07 Jul 2016 12:03

Back to the meeting / Tiger, I feel reasonably well assured that we have someone who shows an interest and knows about football making the decisions. I also agree re: Lady Sasima's heart being in the right place, Plus her song isn't all that bad & we'll get over the embarrassment.

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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by paultheroyal » 07 Jul 2016 12:10

Excellent post and a promising and more reassured future.

Thank you for sharing.

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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Starry Blue Hooped Wonder » 07 Jul 2016 12:17

paultheroyal Excellent post and a promising and more reassured future.

Thank you for sharing.


+1 - A reassuring read!


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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Maguire » 07 Jul 2016 12:20

lol, we're so getting relegated

Lacoste

Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Lacoste » 07 Jul 2016 12:34

genome
Pepe the Horseman Haven't they both signed new contracts since then though? Gunter was making a big thing about signing even though he was taking a pay cut.


Can't have been that big a cut though. I highly doubt he loves the club that much.


:roll: I also highly doubt we would have given him a deal we can't afford only to moan about it 4 months later.

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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Maneki Neko » 07 Jul 2016 13:47

genome
Pepe the Horseman Haven't they both signed new contracts since then though? Gunter was making a big thing about signing even though he was taking a pay cut.


Can't have been that big a cut though. I highly doubt he loves the club that much.


think the cut was offset by a lowering of the get out clause ammount

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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Sutekh » 07 Jul 2016 13:51

genome Good read this, somewhat encouraging.

.........
- Bearwood still on the table and work needs to be completed in 3 years to retain Cat 1

Meeting Notes ......

Similarly, the training ground project at Bearwood is still very much in their plans and work will have to be underway within three years if the club is to retain its Category One academy.
......


So actually looks like we could get away with doing naff all at Bearwood for nearly 3 years and still retain Cat 1 status.

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genome
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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by genome » 07 Jul 2016 14:28

I'll complete you in a minute

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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Dixeyroyal » 07 Jul 2016 14:49

He even talked about joining fans up in Y25 for a game next season

Why does the whole club revolve around anyone who sits in Y25, there are other parts of the stadium that are full of equally passionate and loyal supporters?

I believe that the forum held with the Stadium Manager last season was "representatives of Y25" and I wouldnt mind guessing that those invited to this particular meeting were also from the hallowed Y25.

Maybe season tickets in every other parts of the ground should be reduced as you are clearly not a real fan unless you sit in Y25 :evil: :evil: :evil:

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Re: Tiger speaks to fans

by Pepe the Horseman » 07 Jul 2016 15:21

Y23 is the place to be.

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