Comments by Charles Watts on Twitter

[bobby1413]

Last night a fan tweeted Charles Watts asking "Any legs in the new takeover rumour"?

He responded:



When asked further questions about it, he said:




The manner in which he has tweeted has seriously pished me off. I don't see it appropriate for him to start saying the owners of the club want out:

If it is true, then surely it's not his place (as an official Reading FC reporter for GetReading) to announce this type of news.

If it isn't true, then it's just inflammatory and potentially damaging.

[MoorgateRoyal]

In fairness, he did say it was all rumour and nothing was confirmed. His loyalties as a journo lie with the paper and trying to get the best stories for them, as much as it might annoy the club.

Although, of course, spreading rumours is never good and people will always look to jump on these to destabilise the club.

[bobby1413]

In fairness, he did say it was all rumour and nothing was confirmed. His loyalties as a journo lie with the paper and trying to get the best stories for them, as much as it might annoy the club.

Although, of course, spreading rumours is never good and people will always look to jump on these to destabilise the club.

I did hesitate when creating this thread as like you said, he did say it was rumour and he had heard it.

My main issue is with the nature of what he's alleging.

It's not like "I've heard rumbles of a new player coming"... or, "Stay tuned, I've heard that a new contract has been offered to..."

What he is saying is that the owners of the club want out, or to use his expression "they want rid".

[Gordons Cumming]

So it looks like John has misread a deal once again.

What looks like a "good fit" seems to be one size too big.............................again.

Financial, though, he won't suffer this time..................

[MoorgateRoyal]

Yeah, it's not great to hear rumours of that ilk, especially with the way he worded it, but of course he will just say that he's reporting a rumour as he heard it.

I'm sure the Thais' recent quietness has gone some way to these rumours being reported. I reckon quite a few people wonder exactly what's happening with them at the moment.

[Nameless]

Wasn't Brian speaking only very recently about meeting with one of the owners and discussing future plans with him ?

[bobby1413]

When I heard this last night It really worried me. Stability is what the club needs and the thought that the Thais want out fills me be with dread and worry about what the future holds.

Part of me thinks though that with REP, the song they made, the comments made in the past, they did seem genuinely passionate about the cause, and I find it hard to believe that within one season they want out already.

[Winston Smith]

If it isn't true, then it's just inflammatory and potentially damaging.

I get your point but it all depends how you take it really. If you consider that bloke to be somehow ITK, his word to carry some kind of kudos and influence etc then yes, if you consider it no more than 'some bloke on twitter said' then really it is nothing more than overhearing someone in a pub saying something.

[Maneki Neko]

If it is true, then surely it's not his place (as an official Reading FC reporter for GetReading) to announce this type of news.

Id say its exactly his place to report what he has, how he has.

If it isn't true, then it's just inflammatory and potentially damaging

.

true, but he has clearly caveated that its purely a rumour.

[bobby1413]

If it is true, then surely it's not his place (as an official Reading FC reporter for GetReading) to announce this type of news.

Id say its exactly his place to report what he has, how he has.

I would agree it is his place had it been official news that was being announced, e.g. "During recent press conference, thai confirmed they are looking to sell".

Not "apparently the thais want rid"

Don't worry about it, it seems I'm alone on this!

[MoorgateRoyal]

If it is true, then surely it's not his place (as an official Reading FC reporter for GetReading) to announce this type of news.

Id say its exactly his place to report what he has, how he has.

I would agree it is his place had it been official news that was being announced, e.g. "During recent press conference, thai confirmed they are looking to sell".

Not "apparently the thais want rid"

Don't worry about it, it seems I'm alone on this!

I think you might be, to be fair. He's just passing on stories as any journo would. He doesn't work for the club.

[royal_rumble]

If it is true, then surely it's not his place (as an official Reading FC reporter for GetReading) to announce this type of news.

Id say its exactly his place to report what he has, how he has.

I would agree it is his place had it been official news that was being announced, e.g. "During recent press conference, thai confirmed they are looking to sell".

Not "apparently the thais want rid"

Don't worry about it, it seems I'm alone on this!

Surely there wouldn't be any need for him as a journalist if he was just passing on Reading FC press announcements.

[Ian Royal]

If it isn't true, then it's just inflammatory and potentially damaging.

I get your point but it all depends how you take it really. If you consider that bloke to be somehow ITK, his word to carry some kind of kudos and influence etc then yes, if you consider it no more than 'some bloke on twitter said' then really it is nothing more than overhearing someone in a pub saying something.

This is true. Sadly a quite considerable number of our fans will believe that what 'some bloke on twitter said' is gospel. And that's when it's some no mark oik, not a local journalist who's job it is to report on things RFC related.

[Sutekh]

If it isn't true, then it's just inflammatory and potentially damaging.

I get your point but it all depends how you take it really. If you consider that bloke to be somehow ITK, his word to carry some kind of kudos and influence etc then yes, if you consider it no more than 'some bloke on twitter said' then really it is nothing more than overhearing someone in a pub saying something.

This is true. Sadly a quite considerable number of our fans will believe that what 'some bloke on twitter said' is gospel. And that's when it's some no mark oik, not a local journalist who's job it is to report on things RFC related.

If it's reported by a local media journalist then carries more weight than some bloke down thew pub or hiding on one of these boards

On top of the remarks CW made, the rumour has not been confirmed or denied by Brian McDermott, in fact I get the impression he was just avoiding the question at all costs so there maybe some truth in it and let's face it after the last 2/3 years it wouldn't come as a surprise.

http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/footb ... n-11282131

Logically, from my point of view, while I could see some of the club being sold I could not see a controlling being sold unless the REP scheme is rejected.

[Vision]

I get your point but it all depends how you take it really. If you consider that bloke to be somehow ITK, his word to carry some kind of kudos and influence etc then yes, if you consider it no more than 'some bloke on twitter said' then really it is nothing more than overhearing someone in a pub saying something.

This is true. Sadly a quite considerable number of our fans will believe that what 'some bloke on twitter said' is gospel. And that's when it's some no mark oik, not a local journalist who's job it is to report on things RFC related.

If it's reported by a local media journalist then carries more weight than some bloke down thew pub or hiding on one of these boards

On top of the remarks CW made, the rumour has not been confirmed or denied by Brian McDermott, in fact I get the impression he was just avoiding the question at all costs so there maybe some truth in it and let's face it after the last 2/3 years it wouldn't come as a surprise.

http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/footb ... n-11282131

Logically, from my point of view, while I could see some of the club being sold I could not see a controlling being sold unless the REP scheme is rejected.

One of them still owns 50% which wasn't the original plan so it's no surprise if he's trying to get someone to take on that 25% Samrit was supposed to have.

Of course that's a whole different thing from wanting to flog the whole thing (minus REP of course)

[Winston Smith]

I get your point but it all depends how you take it really. If you consider that bloke to be somehow ITK, his word to carry some kind of kudos and influence etc then yes, if you consider it no more than 'some bloke on twitter said' then really it is nothing more than overhearing someone in a pub saying something.

This is true. Sadly a quite considerable number of our fans will believe that what 'some bloke on twitter said' is gospel. And that's when it's some no mark oik, not a local journalist who's job it is to report on things RFC related.

If it's reported by a local media journalist then carries more weight than some bloke down thew pub

has it been reported by him, or was he just chatting to someone on twitter about it?

[Longhorn1970]

In fairness, he did say it was all rumour and nothing was confirmed. His loyalties as a journo lie with the paper and trying to get the best stories for them, as much as it might annoy the club.

Although, of course, spreading rumours is never good and people will always look to jump on these to destabilise the club.

I don't think it necessarily destabilises the club does it ? The Thais are business people first not football people, their interest was developing the area surrounding the ground for their own gain and keeping operating costs down. They probably also realise the scale of the task on the pitch and are not willing to invest £millions to move the club on. If their business plans have been scuppered then it would make sense to sell and look elsewhere if they can turn a small profit. Bring in someone who does want to invest in the club and show more ambition #good times ...

[MoorgateRoyal]

In fairness, he did say it was all rumour and nothing was confirmed. His loyalties as a journo lie with the paper and trying to get the best stories for them, as much as it might annoy the club.

Although, of course, spreading rumours is never good and people will always look to jump on these to destabilise the club.

I don't think it necessarily destabilises the club does it ? The Thais are business people first not football people, their interest was developing the area surrounding the ground for their own gain and keeping operating costs down. They probably also realise the scale of the task on the pitch and are not willing to invest £millions to move the club on. If their business plans have been scuppered then it would make sense to sell and look elsewhere if they can turn a small profit. Bring in someone who does want to invest in the club and show more ambition #good times ...

I probably should have said 'to try to destabilise the club'.

These kinds of rumours never really appear when a club's doing well, so I think people try to jump on any bad feelings and try to make the club look worse (externally, at least).

If you read the transcript from Charles Watts' interview with McDermott, Watts didn't even ask him about the game. He just goes on about the Thais until McDermott stops answering him. Having that in a press conference isn't great, especially with a local journo who should ordinarily have a good relationship with the manager, when there are national press there as well. It doesn't take long to go for the 'club in crisis' headline, as the journos are only there to write their stories and do their best for their papers/careers. The stories then get quoted and reported elsewhere and that's what people are talking about suddenly, regardless of how true it is.

But at the moment this is still only a rumour, and McDermott has said he spoke to one of the owners and is concentrating on football. That's as close as we've got to an official statement so far. The lack of visibility of the Thais, after their appearances at the start of the year, is a little odd, though, and gives rise to the rumours that they want out. They're by no means obliged to say anything, but until they do unfortunately people will make stories out of it.

The Thais are business people, no doubt about it, and I understand their position. However, owning a football club isn't exactly a proven way to make money, and there will always be much more external interest in the goings on at a football club than with a textiles company (for example). As much as they want to make money, they also need to be aware of the allegiances people have with football clubs and the expectations people have of owners. Whether or not that's right or wrong, it's a pretty big factor when buying a club, and not one many owners seem to legislate for.

[Vision]

They gifted us a song and we humiliated them by taking the piss.

No wonder they want out.

[maffff]

I liked it.