Never Say Dai: Reading FC’s Battle Against Time For Survival
Reading FC, a club with a proud history and passionate fanbase, could be thrown out of the English Football League if owner Dai Yongge does not sell the club in the coming days.
So how did Reading get to this situation? This article discusses the emotional toll and resilience of the Reading faithful during this tough time, whilst getting the views of journalist and Royals’ fan Tom Lunn on the situation.
Reading’s Endless Struggle
This story is yet another showing of how financial mismanagement has left a community of loyal people on the brink of losing their club. With unpaid wages, transfer embargoes, and multiple points deductions, supporters have been left frustrated and fearful for the club’s future.
For lifelong Reading supporter Tom Lunn, this seemingly endless process has made it increasingly difficult to keep up optimism and belief amongst the community. “It’s been rough. I’ve been speaking to friends and family about it with each new update and often we talk about how it’s difficult to even go to games with all of the uncertainty at the moment.”
Dai Yongge, a Chinese businessman and current owner of Reading Football Club, has been given a deadline of 4 April to sell the club after he was disqualified under the EFL’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test. This comes after months on end of hoping in the Royals’ camp that maybe someone will come in and save them from an owner who holds no desire to invest a penny into the business.
“The disqualification requires Mr Yongge to divest his interests in the club, and in the event that he fails to do so within the agreed timeframe, the League will consider all options available within its regulations to bring the matter to a conclusion.”
EFL statement – 21 March
“At the time Dai Yongge came in, we had just come out of what we thought was a flurry of takeovers and new owners,” Tom remembers. “For instance, with Anton Zingarevich, which turned sour quickly.”
When Anton Zingarevich arrived at Reading in 2012, it seemed a good fit. Here was a wealthy, ambitious businessman who was offering to take the club to the next level. The man, Sir John Madejski, needed to finance his big dreams for the Royals. Yet, Zingarevich struggled to cope with the financial needs of a Premier League outfit, coming under fire, even from his Reading players.
“We are all trying our best and you have to ask the owner if he wants to spend any money to make the team better; otherwise, there is nothing to expect.” – Former Reading star Jimmy Kebe on Zingarevich.
Zingarevich, who had arrived with such ambition and promise, simply vanished without a trace and left the people of Reading wondering what was next. “To see this takeover with Dai Yongge, seemingly rushed through, there was a fair bit of uncertainty. But as with all these things out of our control, we just hoped for the best,” Tom continued.
Fighting Back
As the threat of expulsion looms, the fans’ voices grow louder. Protests, banners, and chants calling for change have become common sights in Reading. Tom is someone who has attended such demonstrations “attended a few of the games where it was designated for protests against Dai Yongge, like the tennis balls and the red card protests.”
But behind the scenes, many supporters are left wondering — how did it come to this, and what hope remains for their beloved club?
The UK government’s proposed Football Governance Bill aims to establish an Independent Football Regulator to enforce sustainable financial practices, potentially addressing gaps in the current system. This could come in to place, with critics arguing that the EFL’s reactive approach may not sufficiently prevent financial mismanagement and that their financial oversight should become stricter, to better safeguard clubs from reaching crisis points.
Tom is one to agree. “From my own perspective, it doesn’t seem the EFL has done enough to protect Reading and other clubs. There seems to be a revolving door issue in the EFL setup that constantly sees other clubs go through ownership troubles. Ours at the moment seems never-ending. It’s been over five hundred days of thinking our club is weeks away from either being saved or folded. Which of course was a big issue with Dai, with two clubs dead behind him and the issues with him being able to take over a Premier League side. Major red flags.”
In summary, while the EFL has taken steps to address Reading FC’s financial problems, there are concerns that earlier intervention could have mitigated the club’s current predicament.
What Next for Reading?
This story should be front and center of any football-related publisher. Imagine the scenes if Manchester United were just a matter of days away from being thrown out of the Football League!? The truth is, this matter has become a common occurrence for clubs away from the spotlight of the Premier League. Reading, a club with such history and presence, cannot afford to become just another failed business model in the English game.
The Royals faithful will be hoping for a saviour to arrive soon, with American businessman Robert Platek in advanced negotiations to buy the club. “The best-case scenario for us now is that Dai goes instantly as Robert Platek takes over. Rob Couhig’s legal issues are then ideally sorted so he also leaves his association with Reading,” Tom believes.
“It’s been over a year since we really started the push for a takeover. But Dai’s reign has been much longer with deductions and constant issues,” he explains. “We’ve had prospective buyers linked with us, like a light at the end of the tunnel, but each time the light has been taken away.”
As for now, the club is and always will be united against one man – Dai Yongge.
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