Meanwhile in Reading

JonnyBiscuits

With only 11 senior professionals on the books of the club and injuries hitting key players, such as star striker Sam Smith, Royals fans are dreading the visit of Peterborough United on Saturday.

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/sport/23688474.reading-fc-boss-warns-supporters-ahead-season-beginning/

brinyhoof

shame, innit https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/23787604.reading-deducted-three-points-league-one/

JonnyBiscuits

In their defence I wouldn't want to pay those players either.

TrevorAylottsHeadband

If the owners can't lodge the 125% of salary costs for ONE MONTH, it really does not bode well. On their last set of accounts, RFC had debts of nearly £100m. Most of this is owed to the parent company, but it's still debt which needs to be dealt with in some form and it seems that the owners have run out of funds and/or interest.

Also worth noting that two of the directors of RFC Prop Co, the company set up to hold the land at 'Royal Elm Park' which was syphoned from the football club, are Horst Geikie and Sumrith Thanakarnjanasuth…

JonnyBiscuits

TrevorAylottsHeadband If the owners can't lodge the 125% of salary costs for ONE MONTH, it really does not bode well

Not sure what their excuse is this time round but they keep citing the same issues Tiger cited when we were getting our winding up orders IE difficulty/delays moving money into the UK.

Not enormously convincing... I mean after a couple of incidents you'd factor in the delays to when you sent the money wouldnt you?

brinyhoof

ouch https://x.com/Dubstep1988/status/1701975112096821677?s=20

brinyhoof

ermmm https://www.fotmob.com/en-GB/match/4271368/matchfacts/exeter-city-vs-reading

TrevorAylottsHeadband

brinyhoof Looking at the squad numbers of the Exeter team, it looks as though they largely fielded their youth side.

brinyhoof

TrevorAylottsHeadband I hadn't looked in to it that deeply tbh. Can you still do that? Have the rules on which players you can field changed?

TrevorAylottsHeadband

brinyhoof I'm not sure how much they have changed for this year, but the rules are that the ten outfield players must include four 'qualifying players'. Those are defined as players who have:

started the previous match
subsequently start the next match
are in the list of top ten appearances for a club in the season
have started 40+ first-team games over their career
on loan from a club with a Category One academy

Looking at Exeter's team, they had Jules and Cox who started the previous game, and Taylor and Scott who both have over 40 career starts (I think!). All the rest and the subs were youth/reserve players.

JonnyBiscuits

Somebody forgot to send Reading the note that you're not supposed to try in the trophy.

Bspittles

JonnyBiscuits maybe they’re hoping to transfer the points across?

brinyhoof

Reading (A) ticket purchased. Looking forward to not being able to make the rearranged date.

JonnyBiscuits

I've checked and the only Tuesday nighter I couldn't do is 7 November, which is - mercifully - a pizza trophy night.

brinyhoof

Behind a paywall but you get the gist… https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/09/26/reading-transfer-embargo-hmrc-tax-efl-points-deduction/

TrevorAylottsHeadband

It's also being reported that Reading's first-team players and staff have been notified they are unlikely to receive full wages on time and Under-21s not receiving anything again unless extra funding is secured. Another points deduction incoming!

JonnyBiscuits

We're sort of at the situation now where it's only newsworthy if a month passes and Reading DO pay their players and DON'T get an EFL sanction.

TrevorAylottsHeadband

Reading are almost certainly the most baskety of all basketcase clubs in the EFL at the moment. Their most recent accounts (up to end June 2022) show them to be around £100m in debt, with very little in the way of tangible assets. There seems to be a real risk that they are going to go the same way as the two previous clubs Dai Yongge was involved with - Beijing Rehne and KSV Roeselare. Both got relegated after he became involved, both went bankrupt, and both were dissolved.

TrevorAylottsHeadband

So, apparently Reading have paid all their wages today and have avoided a further points deduction. On the debit side, Dai Yongge apparently wants £80m for the club and stadium. Only an utter charlatan would consider such a deal sensible. In unrelated news, William Storey has expressed an interest…

JonnyBiscuits

TrevorAylottsHeadband Do you know how they paid the bill? The Athletic article suggests Select Car Leasing have been lobbing cash in left right and centre.

JonnyBiscuits

There's big piece in the athletic today (which I only have a sub for because I got a discount on the NY Time puzzle app). Behind a paywall - I'll copy paste it if anyone is interested.

https://theathletic.com/4904783/2023/09/29/readings-desperate-plight-191m-losses-16-points-docked-and-a-silent-owner?source=user-shared-article