CONFRIMATION of the CONFIMRED

[Brogue]

It’s dai’s sister, she’s not happy

Retired Huang too early. This would have spread like wildfire from that account.

I’m diversifying that account now by posting pictures of the new pope with a palpal’s penis in his mouth. Seeing if I can get a new wave of follower

[Snowflake Royal]

Didn’t take long for the ‘just need a club to support’ to turn into ‘we want promotion at any cost’

Er... ya wot?

[Crowbar6753]

It’s dai’s sister, she’s not happy

Retired Huang too early. This would have spread like wildfire from that account.

I’m diversifying that account now by posting pictures of the new pope with a palpal’s penis in his mouth. Seeing if I can get a new wave of follower

Oh my!!!!!

[Vision]

Am i being stupid but how can we be losing 1000-£1000 per month running a football club ?

STAR statement has some context

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

That covers the current situation also

O'Dell also needs to go. He is a Howe man. Clear the lot of them out Rob

Genuinely curious how anyone is Howe’s man. Howe’s only role since he came back the latest time (for the umpteenth time) was to source potential buyers.

Are you saying he’s had more involvement in the day to day finances and running of the club than we’ve been led to believe

[Linden Jones' Tash]

Didn’t take long for the ‘just need a club to support’ to turn into ‘we want promotion at any cost’

Maybe stabilising the situation and paying people on time would be a good start

And with only 5 or 6 players definitely confirmed, it will take a sizeable effort to replicate 2024/25

Fair point - I'll explain my position:

Since relegation I've been a 'just having a club at the end of this' will be a positive outcome....

However, if the saga ends with a putative owner whose stated intention is to sell the Club (assuming that means the whole package & not piecemeal) for a profit, (to me,) that has to mean being at least in the Championship...

Given what we know about funding a League 1 club of Reading's footprint....

Thus, if they are serious about their stated intention, it has to mean promotion immediately...

Otherwise it's just pumping millions in to tread water & keep the lights on...

It won't take long to rack up millions in debt again & become less and less attractive as an asset...

[WestYorksRoyal]

Didn’t take long for the ‘just need a club to support’ to turn into ‘we want promotion at any cost’

Maybe stabilising the situation and paying people on time would be a good start

And with only 5 or 6 players definitely confirmed, it will take a sizeable effort to replicate 2024/25

Fair point - I'll explain my position:

Since relegation I've been a 'just having a club at the end of this' will be a positive outcome....

However, if the saga ends with a putative owner whose stated intention is to sell the Club (assuming that means the whole package & not piecemeal) for a profit, (to me,) that has to mean being at least in the Championship...

Given what we know about funding a League 1 club of Reading's footprint....

Thus, if they are serious about their stated intention, it has to mean promotion immediately...

Otherwise it's just pumping millions in to tread water & keep the lights on...

It won't take long to rack up millions in debt again & become less and less attractive as an asset...

Yeh, this is fair. Couhig in on record saying he wants to make us a competitive Championship club again; listen to the BBCRB interview after the court case. Paying a large sum to acquire us makes zero business sense if the extent of his ambition is to scale us down to minimise losses in L1.

I'd happily take another enjoyable season like this one where we ultimately miss out but without the existentialism dread around. I suspect many fans will be in a similar space, and it'll be the owners who want it more as it's their investment on the line.

[Snowflake Royal]

You don't buy a club for £25m with a plan to sell for £50m - £60m on the basis of getting promoted in one, maybe two, seasons because your operating costs guarantee losing ~£10m a season, which eats up all your profit quickly.

You do it planning to get up and consolidate within 2-4 seasons, halving your operating loss to still give you a reasonable profit.

We have to remember that whilst the last two sets of accounts came out only recently, they're for two and three seasons ago, not now.

Since the last accounts Ejaria, A Carroll, Holmes, McIntyre, Azeez, Smith etc have all gone, who would be at the upper end of our salary range, for the inclusion of a handful of short term players and some pay rises.

And going into next season the remaining legacy earners like Yiadom, maybe Mbengue will only stay on new contracts. And there's also Button who will likely go.

I'm confident we can get significantly below £10m loss under someone with a clue. Especially with the odd player sale. Not break even or profit, but £5m - £6m. Which would give us 5 years to get promoted and still be looking at selling for a small profit, rather than two.

[Linden Jones' Tash]

You don't buy a club for £25m with a plan to sell for £50m - £60m on the basis of getting promoted in one, maybe two, seasons because your operating costs guarantee losing ~£10m a season, which eats up all your profit quickly.

You do it planning to get up and consolidate within 2-4 seasons, halving your operating loss to still give you a reasonable profit.

We have to remember that whilst the last two sets of accounts came out only recently, they're for two and three seasons ago, not now.

Since the last accounts Ejaria, A Carroll, Holmes, McIntyre, Azeez, Smith etc have all gone, who would be at the upper end of our salary range, for the inclusion of a handful of short term players and some pay rises.

And going into next season the remaining legacy earners like Yiadom, maybe Mbengue will only stay on new contracts. And there's also Button who will likely go.

I'm confident we can get significantly below £10m loss under someone with a clue. Especially with the odd player sale. Not break even or profit, but £5m - £6m. Which would give us 5 years to get promoted and still be looking at selling for a small profit, rather than two.

The STAR statement refers to the financial challenges 'now', so it's not all ancient history..

However.

If you believe that it is possible to get the annual losses to say £5.5M a season and get promoted on that basis in say the 5th year, that still means that the investment would have been:

£25M (?) acquisition cost + £27.5M accumulated losses = £52.5M (assuming no other debts etc)

Seems quite a long term plan for such a return...

[Snowflake Royal]

You don't buy a club for £25m with a plan to sell for £50m - £60m on the basis of getting promoted in one, maybe two, seasons because your operating costs guarantee losing ~£10m a season, which eats up all your profit quickly.

You do it planning to get up and consolidate within 2-4 seasons, halving your operating loss to still give you a reasonable profit.

We have to remember that whilst the last two sets of accounts came out only recently, they're for two and three seasons ago, not now.

Since the last accounts Ejaria, A Carroll, Holmes, McIntyre, Azeez, Smith etc have all gone, who would be at the upper end of our salary range, for the inclusion of a handful of short term players and some pay rises.

And going into next season the remaining legacy earners like Yiadom, maybe Mbengue will only stay on new contracts. And there's also Button who will likely go.

I'm confident we can get significantly below £10m loss under someone with a clue. Especially with the odd player sale. Not break even or profit, but £5m - £6m. Which would give us 5 years to get promoted and still be looking at selling for a small profit, rather than two.

The STAR statement refers to the financial challenges 'now', so it's not all ancient history..

However.

If you believe that it is possible to get the annual losses to say £5.5M a season and get promoted on that basis in say the 5th year, that still means that the investment would have been:

£25M (?) acquisition cost + £27.5M accumulated losses = £52.5M (assuming no other debts etc)

Seems quite a long term plan for such a return...

And most of the accounts are the same. Business rates won't change. Utilities won't change. Academy costs won't change unless downgraded.

But first team wages certainly should be lower. Combine with an increase to attendance with more positivity and less boycotting.

If it takes 5 years to go up, then the plan is clearly close to a complete failure. And also clearly longer than I just said. But you're saying the only solution is immediate promotion, which is a massive exaggeration.

[rabidbee]

The only genuinely sustainable model is to get the running costs down to the extent that losses can be cancelled out through player sales each season. It' what we did under Madejski. That's why you can't just slash and burn the academy. But we also need to find a few more bargains we can sell on for big fees after a couple of seasons.

[Sutekh]

Nothing reported from the FL yet, did they have their board meeting yesterday after all?

[windermereROYAL]

Nothing reported from the FL yet, did they have their board meeting yesterday after all?

yes

[parky]

Nothing reported from the FL yet, did they have their board meeting yesterday after all?

They released a statement yesterday.

With the proposed sale progressing towards completion, the League has extended the time allowed for Mr Dai Yongge to divest his interests in Reading FC until 17:00 on Monday 12 May 2025.

As communicated earlier this week, a sale of the Club has been agreed in principle with Redwood Holdings Limited.

#EFL

[Brogue]

I anticipate the sharing of the training ground with someone. Wasn’t an American football team muted a while back?

Ticket price increase

increase in attendances

Still think the stadium is underutilised. Something could happen there I guess.

I read a few things about corporate boxes not being advertised or people enquiring about getting one and corespondents just falling into a black hole. Same with sponsorship around the ground, companies enquired and we never got back to them.

Merchandise - yanks love merchandise. I understand we lost loads in that department after outsourcing it to fan store or who ever it was. Might look to bring that back in house.

There are probably loads more revenue streams we could tap into I’m sure.

Our wage bill will be massively reduced this season too.

Plus with decent ownership we should be able to start making better decisions with contract renewals and stop losing players for free/under value. If we hadn’t let so many players go on free’s over the last few years, I’m sure we’d in a better finical position.

[Brogue]

Nothing reported from the FL yet, did they have their board meeting yesterday after all?

Just stick to the match day threads

[katweslowski]

sharing of the training ground with someone.
Ticket price increase
Still think the stadium is underutilised.
corporate boxes not being advertised
Merchandise - yanks love merchandise.
There are probably loads more revenue streams we could tap into I’m sure.

Really good points here - you sum it up at the end "more revnue streams". Reading is geographically in a fantastic place. We have a great ground (needing TLC but modern, big, lots of functionality). We're a good sized club at league one, with infrastructure, the reach, fanbase, local population all avialable. Training ground also good (Harlee Dean said in an interview 5 months ago it was the best he'd ever been at).

You look at clubs like Brighton, and their business model is great. It's almost like we have 50 possible options to generate money and we're just using it on Saturday's for a kick about. The rest of the time it sits rotting away - I know it probably doesn't, but you get my point.

I'd imagine credible busines speople like Rob and Todd, plus their team and advisers will have hundreds of business ideas and contacts to get money coming in.

MONEY MAKING IDEAS

1. Food and Drink
   More food/drink options on match days which the club benefit from
   
2. Matchday Experience
   Better matchday experience to bring people in to the ground for longer
   
3. Ticket Price Increases
   5% season ticket increase and 5% matchday ticket increase
   
4. Music Events
   Getting music acts into the ground like the Chilli Peppers from 2006, attracting 20,000 people to the event
   
5. Away Season Tickets
   Away season tickets
   
6. Women's Team Push
   Pushing other teams like the Women's side. I know it won't generate millions but it adds something and gives more depth to the club/brand
   
7. Training Ground Sponsorship
   Training ground sponsorship - "The Broadmoor Training Ground"
   
8. Event Use of Lounges and Boxes
   Use lounges and boxes for events, like Fifa tournaments, or local gaming events
   
9. Membership Schemes
   Membership schemes with different tiers/access levels
   
10. Fan Experiences
    Fan experiences - like train with the squad, exclusive inside access, meet the team events, matchday experience where you are pitchside
    
11. Pop-up Fan Zones
    Popup fan zones - like in town, big screen, beer gardens
    Events where you watch away games but on a big screen with other fans - all run by the club
    
12. Educational Partnerships
    Partnersihps with local colleges, universiites, schools, academies, etc. Rent out the pitch or training ground, some parts of the complex for set periods of time
    
13. Mobile App Revenue
    Mobile app which gives the option to buy extras, or has adverts, or has exclusive deals avialable, pushes match day offers to you as well
    
14. Kit Sponsorship Improvement
    Improve kit sponsorship ideas - this is a good one as with other parts of the club dying and being neglected, the existing sponsorship looks less attractive.
    
15. Summer Tournaments
    Summer tournaments - 3 months of nothing (I know they have to sometimes install a new pitch). But they could have American teams over and have a tournament over several days.
    
16. National and Youth Fixtures
    Years ago the MadStad/SCL was used for an England B game - why the feck are the club not aggressively pursuing this again? I know other stadiums are taking over. But they're doing so because Reading FC are just not noticable in that same way they were. Get these executives in the meetings, nag the people arranging these big fixtures. Even an under 18 game, a womens game, etc... It all brings money in, eyes on the club, it brings people back to the ground, it generates money
    
17. VIP Transport
    VIP shuttle services to the ground. Pre arranged taxi services, but club sponsored and arranged. Maybe with a discount voucher for beer, or access to a lounge, or a packet of nuts etc...
    
18. Non-Matchday Land Use
    Rent out car park and other parts of the land when not in use. Local markets, food events, beer festivals ffs (where is Reading beer festival these days???), antiques roadshow, bike events, etc...

CONCLUSION

All of these smaller ideas bring in revenu - but more than that, they bring life. They generate footfall, spark curiosity, and make the club feel like more than just a football team. Suddenly it's not just a club but it’s then a brand, a hub, an entertainment venue.

The stadium starts popping up on event listings. Locals hear about something happening there and think “actually, mayybe we should go to a game sometime". Businesses see the buzz and want a piece of it. You build momentum. And with that, those 12k crowds start creeping up. You get stability. You get interest. Matchdays feel like something again. And before you know it, we're nudging 15-16k.

Right now? The place feels desolate. Forgotten. Boring, and that's how we see it. Go there on a Thursday morning and it feels like a dumping ground. We need colour, energy, a bit of spark. Just something that makes it feel alive again.

[East Grinstead Royal]

Excellent post, katweslowski.

[Sutekh]

sharing of the training ground with someone.
Ticket price increase
Still think the stadium is underutilised.
corporate boxes not being advertised
Merchandise - yanks love merchandise.
There are probably loads more revenue streams we could tap into I’m sure.

Really good points here - you sum it up at the end "more revnue streams". Reading is geographically in a fantastic place. We have a great ground (needing TLC but modern, big, lots of functionality). We're a good sized club at league one, with infrastructure, the reach, fanbase, local population all avialable. Training ground also good (Harlee Dean said in an interview 5 months ago it was the best he'd ever been at).

You look at clubs like Brighton, and their business model is great. It's almost like we have 50 possible options to generate money and we're just using it on Saturday's for a kick about. The rest of the time it sits rotting away - I know it probably doesn't, but you get my point.

I'd imagine credible busines speople like Rob and Todd, plus their team and advisers will have hundreds of business ideas and contacts to get money coming in.

MONEY MAKING IDEAS

1. Food and Drink
   More food/drink options on match days which the club benefit from
   
2. Matchday Experience
   Better matchday experience to bring people in to the ground for longer
   
3. Ticket Price Increases
   5% season ticket increase and 5% matchday ticket increase
   
4. Music Events
   Getting music acts into the ground like the Chilli Peppers from 2006, attracting 20,000 people to the event
   
5. Away Season Tickets
   Away season tickets
   
6. Women's Team Push
   Pushing other teams like the Women's side. I know it won't generate millions but it adds something and gives more depth to the club/brand
   
7. Training Ground Sponsorship
   Training ground sponsorship - "The Broadmoor Training Ground"
   
8. Event Use of Lounges and Boxes
   Use lounges and boxes for events, like Fifa tournaments, or local gaming events
   
9. Membership Schemes
   Membership schemes with different tiers/access levels
   
10. Fan Experiences
    Fan experiences - like train with the squad, exclusive inside access, meet the team events, matchday experience where you are pitchside
    
11. Pop-up Fan Zones
    Popup fan zones - like in town, big screen, beer gardens
    Events where you watch away games but on a big screen with other fans - all run by the club
    
12. Educational Partnerships
    Partnersihps with local colleges, universiites, schools, academies, etc. Rent out the pitch or training ground, some parts of the complex for set periods of time
    
13. Mobile App Revenue
    Mobile app which gives the option to buy extras, or has adverts, or has exclusive deals avialable, pushes match day offers to you as well
    
14. Kit Sponsorship Improvement
    Improve kit sponsorship ideas - this is a good one as with other parts of the club dying and being neglected, the existing sponsorship looks less attractive.
    
15. Summer Tournaments
    Summer tournaments - 3 months of nothing (I know they have to sometimes install a new pitch). But they could have American teams over and have a tournament over several days.
    
16. National and Youth Fixtures
    Years ago the MadStad/SCL was used for an England B game - why the feck are the club not aggressively pursuing this again? I know other stadiums are taking over. But they're doing so because Reading FC are just not noticable in that same way they were. Get these executives in the meetings, nag the people arranging these big fixtures. Even an under 18 game, a womens game, etc... It all brings money in, eyes on the club, it brings people back to the ground, it generates money
    
17. VIP Transport
    VIP shuttle services to the ground. Pre arranged taxi services, but club sponsored and arranged. Maybe with a discount voucher for beer, or access to a lounge, or a packet of nuts etc...
    
18. Non-Matchday Land Use
    Rent out car park and other parts of the land when not in use. Local markets, food events, beer festivals ffs (where is Reading beer festival these days???), antiques roadshow, bike events, etc...

CONCLUSION

All of these smaller ideas bring in revenu - but more than that, they bring life. They generate footfall, spark curiosity, and make the club feel like more than just a football team. Suddenly it's not just a club but it’s then a brand, a hub, an entertainment venue.

The stadium starts popping up on event listings. Locals hear about something happening there and think “actually, mayybe we should go to a game sometime". Businesses see the buzz and want a piece of it. You build momentum. And with that, those 12k crowds start creeping up. You get stability. You get interest. Matchdays feel like something again. And before you know it, we're nudging 15-16k.

Right now? The place feels desolate. Forgotten. Boring, and that's how we see it. Go there on a Thursday morning and it feels like a dumping ground. We need colour, energy, a bit of spark. Just something that makes it feel alive again.

Superb but don’t tell us, tell Rob.

[East Grinstead Royal]

Hopefully, Rob don’t need telling!

[WestYorksRoyal]

sharing of the training ground with someone.
Ticket price increase
Still think the stadium is underutilised.
corporate boxes not being advertised
Merchandise - yanks love merchandise.
There are probably loads more revenue streams we could tap into I’m sure.

Really good points here - you sum it up at the end "more revnue streams". Reading is geographically in a fantastic place. We have a great ground (needing TLC but modern, big, lots of functionality). We're a good sized club at league one, with infrastructure, the reach, fanbase, local population all avialable. Training ground also good (Harlee Dean said in an interview 5 months ago it was the best he'd ever been at).

You look at clubs like Brighton, and their business model is great. It's almost like we have 50 possible options to generate money and we're just using it on Saturday's for a kick about. The rest of the time it sits rotting away - I know it probably doesn't, but you get my point.

I'd imagine credible busines speople like Rob and Todd, plus their team and advisers will have hundreds of business ideas and contacts to get money coming in.

MONEY MAKING IDEAS

1. Food and Drink
   More food/drink options on match days which the club benefit from
   
2. Matchday Experience
   Better matchday experience to bring people in to the ground for longer
   
3. Ticket Price Increases
   5% season ticket increase and 5% matchday ticket increase
   
4. Music Events
   Getting music acts into the ground like the Chilli Peppers from 2006, attracting 20,000 people to the event
   
5. Away Season Tickets
   Away season tickets
   
6. Women's Team Push
   Pushing other teams like the Women's side. I know it won't generate millions but it adds something and gives more depth to the club/brand
   
7. Training Ground Sponsorship
   Training ground sponsorship - "The Broadmoor Training Ground"
   
8. Event Use of Lounges and Boxes
   Use lounges and boxes for events, like Fifa tournaments, or local gaming events
   
9. Membership Schemes
   Membership schemes with different tiers/access levels
   
10. Fan Experiences
    Fan experiences - like train with the squad, exclusive inside access, meet the team events, matchday experience where you are pitchside
    
11. Pop-up Fan Zones
    Popup fan zones - like in town, big screen, beer gardens
    Events where you watch away games but on a big screen with other fans - all run by the club
    
12. Educational Partnerships
    Partnersihps with local colleges, universiites, schools, academies, etc. Rent out the pitch or training ground, some parts of the complex for set periods of time
    
13. Mobile App Revenue
    Mobile app which gives the option to buy extras, or has adverts, or has exclusive deals avialable, pushes match day offers to you as well
    
14. Kit Sponsorship Improvement
    Improve kit sponsorship ideas - this is a good one as with other parts of the club dying and being neglected, the existing sponsorship looks less attractive.
    
15. Summer Tournaments
    Summer tournaments - 3 months of nothing (I know they have to sometimes install a new pitch). But they could have American teams over and have a tournament over several days.
    
16. National and Youth Fixtures
    Years ago the MadStad/SCL was used for an England B game - why the feck are the club not aggressively pursuing this again? I know other stadiums are taking over. But they're doing so because Reading FC are just not noticable in that same way they were. Get these executives in the meetings, nag the people arranging these big fixtures. Even an under 18 game, a womens game, etc... It all brings money in, eyes on the club, it brings people back to the ground, it generates money
    
17. VIP Transport
    VIP shuttle services to the ground. Pre arranged taxi services, but club sponsored and arranged. Maybe with a discount voucher for beer, or access to a lounge, or a packet of nuts etc...
    
18. Non-Matchday Land Use
    Rent out car park and other parts of the land when not in use. Local markets, food events, beer festivals ffs (where is Reading beer festival these days???), antiques roadshow, bike events, etc...

CONCLUSION

All of these smaller ideas bring in revenu - but more than that, they bring life. They generate footfall, spark curiosity, and make the club feel like more than just a football team. Suddenly it's not just a club but it’s then a brand, a hub, an entertainment venue.

The stadium starts popping up on event listings. Locals hear about something happening there and think “actually, mayybe we should go to a game sometime". Businesses see the buzz and want a piece of it. You build momentum. And with that, those 12k crowds start creeping up. You get stability. You get interest. Matchdays feel like something again. And before you know it, we're nudging 15-16k.

Right now? The place feels desolate. Forgotten. Boring, and that's how we see it. Go there on a Thursday morning and it feels like a dumping ground. We need colour, energy, a bit of spark. Just something that makes it feel alive again.

Superb but don’t tell us, tell Rob.

Good summary. Makes me think of the outdated sign by the ground which is a perfect metaphor for our club.

https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/20 ... -fc-royals