CONFIMRED - The final countdown

[Sutekh]

Reading are in advanced talks with a North American group to buy the club, Sky Sports News understands.

The prospective deal would see the club change hands and their ground – Select Car Leasing Stadium – would also be sold.

Just goes to show what an utter disgrace Dai is, if a deal to buy the club was indeed this close why sell the training ground to another club?

Umm, maybe the main buyers didn't WANT Bearwood?

Let's see, can we buy your club, but we don't want to buy where the club trains. Yes that works.

[under the tin]

Reading are in advanced talks with a North American group to buy the club, Sky Sports News understands.

The prospective deal would see the club change hands and their ground – Select Car Leasing Stadium – would also be sold.

Just goes to show what an utter disgrace Dai is, if a deal to buy the club was indeed this close why sell the training ground to another club?

Umm, maybe the main buyers didn't WANT Bearwood?

Any why should any buyer want, or need DeLuxe, International-standard training facilities for a club that's possibly going to be playing against Barrow or Fleetwood next season?

[Sutekh]

Just goes to show what an utter disgrace Dai is, if a deal to buy the club was indeed this close why sell the training ground to another club?

Umm, maybe the main buyers didn't WANT Bearwood?

Any why should any buyer want, or need DeLuxe, International-standard training facilities for a club that's possibly going to be playing against Barrow or Fleetwood next season?

Or QPR and Stoke in a couple of years?

[PieEater]

Reading are in advanced talks with a North American group to buy the club, Sky Sports News understands.

The prospective deal would see the club change hands and their ground – Select Car Leasing Stadium – would also be sold.

Just goes to show what an utter disgrace Dai is, if a deal to buy the club was indeed this close why sell the training ground to another club?

I would guess there were 2 possibilities. First they didn't want to pay the £20m for Bearwood and that was holding up the deal - Earnshaw indicated the costs were a problem for a few buyers. Or they were waiting for liquidation to get the stadium on the cheap, now the training ground is sold they know that isn't going to happen any time soon.

[Sutekh]

Reading are in advanced talks with a North American group to buy the club, Sky Sports News understands.

The prospective deal would see the club change hands and their ground – Select Car Leasing Stadium – would also be sold.

Just goes to show what an utter disgrace Dai is, if a deal to buy the club was indeed this close why sell the training ground to another club?

I would guess there were 2 possibilities. First they didn't want to pay the £20m for Bearwood and that was holding up the deal - Earnshaw indicated the costs were a problem for a few buyers. Or they were waiting for liquidation to get the stadium on the cheap, now the training ground is sold they know that isn't going to happen any time soon.

Which is obviously a reasonable possibility, yet SBWD are out there "sticking it" to Dai and Wycombe over the sale when, in essence, it's "presence" was otherwise scuppering the more important sale of club and ground and Dai selling it privately is doing everyone a favour.

The new owners will have the headache of finding somewhere to train, and defining what the youth policy will be (if any), but that's obviously much less important than having a club to have that headache over in the first place.

Hoping the better youth at the club (Tuma, Wareham etc.) remain as pros at the club for next season as it could be a very long time until the club are able to have youth teams again.

If only all the facts around it all could be out there and up front so everyone knows and could judge accordingly.

[WestYorksRoyal]

People have been crying out for us to be sustainable. Now a potential buyer is trying to buy us in a form with affordable costs, everyone is questioning it. If you buy Reading with Bearwood and everything, you need to stabilise as a Championship club quickly to make sense. Do we want owners who make that the cornerstone of their strategy, given a season can be ruin by injuries, referee performances and many other non controllables?

[Sutekh]

People have been crying out for us to be sustainable. Now a potential buyer is trying to buy us in a form with affordable costs, everyone is questioning it. If you buy Reading with Bearwood and everything, you need to stabilise as a Championship club quickly to make sense. Do we want owners who make that the cornerstone of their strategy, given a season can be ruin by injuries, referee performances and many other non controllables?

Such a shame Dai utterly ****** the club over with his crassly stupid spending on so many ill-fitting non-sellable players and completely **** managers. If only we could go back in time and give SJM a winning Euro Millions lottery ticket.

Looking forward the the American dream already (well for this weekend at least initially).

[PieEater]

People have been crying out for us to be sustainable. Now a potential buyer is trying to buy us in a form with affordable costs, everyone is questioning it. If you buy Reading with Bearwood and everything, you need to stabilise as a Championship club quickly to make sense. Do we want owners who make that the cornerstone of their strategy, given a season can be ruin by injuries, referee performances and many other non controllables?

My ideal option would be for the new owners to buy Bearwood too, and if the ongoing costs were too high to close the academy. We still need somewhere to train and now those facilities are built there's no extra running cost over going somewhere else. Dai has spent a lot more than £20m on that infrastructure.

[SouthDownsRoyal]

Umm, maybe the main buyers didn't WANT Bearwood?

Any why should any buyer want, or need DeLuxe, International-standard training facilities for a club that's possibly going to be playing against Barrow or Fleetwood next season?

Or QPR and Stoke in a couple of years?

Or Man City and Arsenal is three years time

[WestYorksRoyal]

I know I should be skeptical, but this does feel like the one. Not much room for Dai to move the goalposts as the stadium needs a club with it. It seems like Pang and Dai are involved given the training ground sale, plus I trust Earnshaw not to report it without covering off this point.

The main blockers I see are Wokingham council rejecting the change in planning permission as we all wanted them to yesterday, and on the pitch performances threatening relegation.

Win today and get the deal done to stave off additional points deductions and you'd say relegation risk is 5% max.

[Sutekh]

I know I should be skeptical, but this does feel like the one. Not much room for Dai to move the goalposts as the stadium needs a club with it. It seems like Pang and Dai are involved given the training ground sale, plus I trust Earnshaw not to report it without covering off this point.

The main blockers I see are Wokingham council rejecting the change in planning permission as we all wanted them to yesterday, and on the pitch performances threatening relegation.

Win today and get the deal done to stave off additional points deductions and you'd say relegation risk is 5% max.

Apparently the separate Bearwood sale came out of nowhere and caught NH on the hop as much as everyone else. Really can't wait to get these two serial communication failures finally out of the club.

[PieEater]

I know I should be skeptical, but this does feel like the one. Not much room for Dai to move the goalposts as the stadium needs a club with it. It seems like Pang and Dai are involved given the training ground sale, plus I trust Earnshaw not to report it without covering off this point.

The main blockers I see are Wokingham council rejecting the change in planning permission as we all wanted them to yesterday, and on the pitch performances threatening relegation.

Win today and get the deal done to stave off additional points deductions and you'd say relegation risk is 5% max.

Apparently the separate Bearwood sale came out of nowhere and caught NH on the hop as much as everyone else. Really can't wait to get these two serial communication failures finally out of the club.

It seems pretty clear to me that the leak about the sale/exclusivity next week on Friday was specifically done to avert fan protests at the game today.

I guess they are hoping fans wouldn't be stupid enough to do another pitch invasion and jeopardise the sale. I expect another call for patience from the club shortly.

[Snowflake Royal]

People have been crying out for us to be sustainable. Now a potential buyer is trying to buy us in a form with affordable costs, everyone is questioning it. If you buy Reading with Bearwood and everything, you need to stabilise as a Championship club quickly to make sense. Do we want owners who make that the cornerstone of their strategy, given a season can be ruin by injuries, referee performances and many other non controllables?

There's generally been a trend of unremittingly bad news.

Selling off and replacing Bearwood, which is ultimately unaffordable for us at this level isn't inherently bad.

What is bad is that we all know Dai is thoroughly untrustworthy. It's come out the blue, and there appears to be no plan for first team training, or what to do with the Academy. Again, the Academy is unaffordable at this level in its current form, and can't operate without Bearwood at the level it is. But Bearwood and the Academy are the two main assets with value we had. The Academy has produced a near endless supply of professional talent over the last 15 years. We've got thousands of first team appearances out of it, and tens of millions in fees. And that's having squandered a considerable number of players from it.

So this all could be positive news, if we had an owner we could trust and evidence there's some sort of longer term strategy. But we don't. So it's worrying and we assume the worst, because the worst has consistently been surpassed year on year.

[rabidbee]

No plan has been communicated to us, who are not actually party to the deal. It may be that the final deal includes provisions for us to continue training there until we find a new training ground.

[Snowflake Royal]

No plan has been communicated to us, who are not actually party to the deal. It may be that the final deal includes provisions for us to continue training there until we find a new training ground.

The statements and previous experience don't particularly lend themselves to that view.

[andrew1957]

Some are talking about Bearwood and the Academy being too expensive in L1 but I disagree. Surely the Academy can be a very profitable entity if you have owners with money. The likes of Nelson Abbey could have been sold in a couple of years for millions if he kept progressing as he was let alone Vickers and Harris. We let them all go for pence because the owner had no money. I honestly believe that we would get back to Championship status far quicker with the Academy continuing than by just buying or loaning other clubs cast offs. A well run Academy can be a great financial success.

Reading FC without a Cat 1 Academy just becomes another small struggling club whereas with a strong Academy and patient owners you can see us getting back to the PL eventually.

Where it all went wrong for Dai was not spending money on Bearwood and the Academy (which were investments) but spanking millions on Aluko, Jaoa, Pusca and a huge contract for Moore + others in a desperate gamble to get to the PL in a couple of seasons. If instead Dai had sold the likes of Moore when he had the chance and built the team with Academy youngsters and free transfers we would likely still be in the Championship and not in this awful mess.

[Loafer]

i have heard on the grapevine that a takeover is imminent from somebody who goes to the same hairdresser as ruben selles

[traff]

i have heard on the grapevine that a takeover is imminent from somebody who goes to the same hairdresser as ruben selles

Is it Finn Hair in Woodley? as I heard they both enjoy the occasional Saveloy and a spam fritter from the chippy next door.

[windermereROYAL]

i have heard on the grapevine that a takeover is imminent from somebody who goes to the same hairdresser as ruben selles

Must be true then if you posted it, break out the champers.

[Loafer]

i have heard on the grapevine that a takeover is imminent from somebody who goes to the same hairdresser as ruben selles

Must be true then if you posted it, break out the champers.

Wait and see

Unlike Brogue I am actually reputable and have knowledge of these things

I said years ago we would get relegated and everybody laughed at me and called me out... alas, whose laughing now?!