by culmstockgull » 03 Apr 2025, 09:18
There are many clubs in England who are in a similar position to us last season but if you rocked up and told them personally, produced hard evidence about what was going to happen to them they would still never believe you, we didn't believe it would happen to us at the speed and in the way it did, although some may claim divine knowledge of those unfolding events.
One club I have a fondness for is Reading, I lived there for a time, great stadium and passionate fans, a club where the ground, surrounding car parks and access roads are hidden in owerships unconnected with the club and I have watched their demise from the championship through numerous points deductions and it has taken the football league over four years to finally decide that their owner is not a fit and proper person, but here's the rub, if he does not sell by april 5th the league has threatened the club with expulsion from the league.
Owner does not lose, he never had the money in the first place just played the magic three card trick with money from other businesses he controlled in the far east, but the fans will suffer the consquences of events they have no control over, in the case of Reading they could also lose the ground.
The story of Torquay and Reading United is being played out with subtle differences in any number of locations, the system failures lie not with the supporters but with the football authorities who are quick to accept on first glance a new owner because they do not want clubs going out of business, thats bad for the image of football, but incredibly slow to rectify matters when it becomes obvious the owners were not what they said on the tin, that needs to change and quickly.
There are many clubs in England who are in a similar position to us last season but if you rocked up and told them personally, produced hard evidence about what was going to happen to them they would still never believe you, we didn't believe it would happen to us at the speed and in the way it did, although some may claim divine knowledge of those unfolding events.
One club I have a fondness for is Reading, I lived there for a time, great stadium and passionate fans, a club where the ground, surrounding car parks and access roads are hidden in owerships unconnected with the club and I have watched their demise from the championship through numerous points deductions and it has taken the football league over four years to finally decide that their owner is not a fit and proper person, but here's the rub, if he does not sell by april 5th the league has threatened the club with expulsion from the league.
Owner does not lose, he never had the money in the first place just played the magic three card trick with money from other businesses he controlled in the far east, but the fans will suffer the consquences of events they have no control over, in the case of Reading they could also lose the ground.
The story of Torquay and Reading United is being played out with subtle differences in any number of locations, the system failures lie not with the supporters but with the football authorities who are quick to accept on first glance a new owner because they do not want clubs going out of business, thats bad for the image of football, but incredibly slow to rectify matters when it becomes obvious the owners were not what they said on the tin, that needs to change and quickly.
