Reading FC Accounts 2019/20

[Cooperman]

Staggering numbers, eye watering.

Puts our position into perspective.

https://twitter.com/secondtierpod/status/1382264074361319425?s=21

 

[Dr. Winston]

Yep. Clubs in this division are teetering on the financial precipice. The only thing that makes sense for us is to try and be as self sustaining as possible.

 

[Cooperman]

Yep. Clubs in this division are teetering on the financial precipice. The only thing that makes sense for us is to try and be as self sustaining as possible.

I agree, and we’ve got a real issue on the horizon if we don’t get promoted as the parachute payments get cut to zero. Running a credible financial plan that doesn’t plough us into debt will mean the release of high earners and the sale of the next shining light(s). A pivotal few weeks to follow from here as another season in the Championship will inevitably mean a squad full of loans and free transfers.

 

[airedale]

As long as the football is entertaining who cares? We were spending the vast majority of our PL earnings on players and agents.

 

[Dr. Winston]

I agree, and we’ve got a real issue on the horizon if we don’t get promoted as the parachute payments get cut to zero. Running a credible financial plan that doesn’t plough us into debt will mean the release of high earners and the sale of the next shining light(s). A pivotal few weeks to follow from here as another season in the Championship will inevitably mean a squad full of loans and free transfers.

A lot of the hard work has already been done by the sounds of it. Ayew is the last contracted big earner we've got left and he'll be gone come the summer anyway.

Loans topped up with bargain buys worked for us before. It can do again.

 

[MrSwerve]

Isn't every division outside of the Premier League pretty much a frees & loans market anyway? Always has been? Except for the odd couple of bankrolled teams in the Championship and the odd relegated PL team, you rarely see big buys. I think we've been spoilt a bit by our time in the PL and need to be realistic. I looked at our transfers into the club before we got promoted to the PL...

09/10 - Dyer (£400k), Cotterill (£600k) - all others free (including Taylor and Dobbie)

08/09 - Serran (£80k) - all others free

07/08 - Duffy (£200k), Bodde (£85k), Williams (£400k) - all others free

06/07 - Craney (£150k), Abbott (£150k), Painter (£25k), Rangel (£90k), Scotland (£225k) - all others free (including De Vries)

05/06 - Tudur Jones (£5k), Knight (£125k), Fallon (£300k), Pratley (£100k) - all others free.

So we very rarely have spent more than £500-600k(ish) down the years, even on our journey up the leagues. Good management, a system and identity has got us where we are (or were), together with decent scouting. Money isn't everything.

 

[JackFish]

I agree, and we’ve got a real issue on the horizon if we don’t get promoted as the parachute payments get cut to zero. Running a credible financial plan that doesn’t plough us into debt will mean the release of high earners and the sale of the next shining light(s). A pivotal few weeks to follow from here as another season in the Championship will inevitably mean a squad full of loans and free transfers.

A lot of the hard work has already been done by the sounds of it. Ayew is the last contracted big earner we've got left and he'll be gone come the summer anyway.

Loans topped up with bargain buys worked for us before. It can do again.

Do we not include Kyle Naughton in that? I wouldn't be expecting him to be earning anything near what Ayew is, but he was still a PL player for 10 years or so.

 

[Dr. Winston]

Do we not include Kyle Naughton in that? I wouldn't be expecting him to be earning anything near what Ayew is, but he was still a PL player for 10 years or so.

From memory he signed a new deal after we got relegated. Be surprised if he hasn't taken a big cut in pay to do so.

 

[Skippyjack]

138 million and are barely touching the play offs, that Puscas cost them 8 million, Jesus.. it makes our signings look bargain purchases

 

[monmouth]

I thought Rangel was 20k and Scotland was 28k?

For promotion then we had Sinclair for 500k. Anyone else? I remember some truly awful loans that year. Nouble, McEachran, Priskin and that horrible little shit whose name I forget.

 

[MrSwerve]

I thought Rangel was 20k and Scotland was 28k?

For promotion then we had Sinclair for 500k. Anyone else? I remember some truly awful loans that year. Nouble, McEachran, Priskin and that horrible little s**t whose name I forget.

Have to admit I did raise an eyebrow at some of the figures, couldn’t be bothered cross-checking them. I did think that Rangel was cheaper than stated.

 

[Badlands]

Just think what state we’d have been in if our majority shareholders weren’t prudent

 

[Swansea93]

I thought Rangel was 20k and Scotland was 28k?

For promotion then we had Sinclair for 500k. Anyone else? I remember some truly awful loans that year. Nouble, McEachran, Priskin and that horrible little s**t whose name I forget.

Have to admit I did raise an eyebrow at some of the figures, couldn’t be bothered cross-checking them. I did think that Rangel was cheaper than stated.

Beattie as well 800K I think it was our record signing at the time.

 

[MrSwerve]

I guess the point still stands though - we never spent £3-4m a season on the way up the leagues. I suppose a realistic ballpark for us at the moment is £1m with good loans. The problem with loans of course is that they go back to their clubs, especially when loaning from the PL to the Championship. The kind of loans that we were getting in league 2 (Leon for example) were players that the PL club (West Ham in that case) were clearly not interested in.

Our strength was in our scouting, which had a clear remit to fit the system. Finding possibly 'lesser' players that we knew would slot in perfectly, rather than go for high-profile signings. If you look down the years, quite often it was expensive signings that would flop rather than the bargains.