Nick Craig

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

@ReadingFC Joe Hendry for the 🍔 renewal please admin. #IBelieveInMbengue https://t.co/4p2dke5CCG

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Dispiriting events at Reading should concern everyone in English football. Fans are lied to, players and an impressive manager are let down, and so are staff. A thoughtless, heartless owner damages a historic club. It’s another warning to all in football. If we tolerate this, then your club could be next.

Fans at some other clubs fear similar pain or just feel relief to have escaped danger. Many will simply focus on their own form and fortunes. Football’s tribal. Most headlines revolve around the big names, the big games like Manchester City versus Arsenal. But Reading embody the pyramid, a local beacon and hub for nurturing talent. Neil Webb started there. The windfall from the Michael Olise deal helps sustain the club currently. Ted Drake learned his managerial trade at Reading before guiding Chelsea to their first title.

Football clubs are community assets and have to be protected from individuals like Dai Yongge wreaking such misery at Reading. He has his motives and his methods but none seem aligned to the club’s future wellbeing. He doesn’t communicate with fans. Reading FC Women withdrew from the Championship because of financial difficulties. Sustained mismanagement of the club has seen a failure to pay men’s players and HMRC lead to points deductions.

A proposed takeover by Rob Couhig, an American businessman welcomed by the fanbase, collapsed, leaving Yongge still in charge and supporters still in torment and again asking questions. Does Yongge really want to sell? If the club goes under is it then all about valuable real estate? Would administration and another points deduction actually be better than this shambles?

And so Reading fans rally again, fighting for their club’s life. But Yongge doesn’t listen. He doesn’t appear to care about the negativity his ownership brings to the door of the dressing-room. Ruben Selles and his whole-hearted squad give everything they can on the field, and sit a defiant 12th in League One, but they aren’t detached from the mess. It must be dismaying and distracting.

Losing Selles would be a disaster. He’s doing a good job in trying circumstances. If he left, Selles would be picked up swiftly by a better run club. Reading fans post messages of support to Selles and his squad. They will back them loudly at Bolton Wanderers today. It’s about finding the balance between demonstrating support for the team while demonstrating against the owner.

Much is right about Reading: committed fanbase, stadium, training ground, the attitude of manager, squad and club staff. It’s just the owner. It’s a nightmare that Reading are living through. And it’s a cautionary tale all football needs to heed. #ReadingFC #EFL

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

@WeAreFreeLions Ah that's annoying. Do you know of any recommended bars to watch England games in Essen/Gelsenkirchen?

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

@GoonerTwin Yeah 100%, will reserve judgement but it's a step in the right direction. Have seen first hand recently how precarious it is for EFL teams and wouldn't want anyone else to have to go through that!

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

@GoonerTwin Isn't the prems fault but a huge cause is the EFL being ineffective as an organisation due to lack of funding. Regulator should have been in place years ago. Whole system needs to be sustainable.

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

@GoonerTwin My point is what would be game changing for EFL teams is pennies for prem clubs. Part of the whole ecosystem that needs supporting. Atm too many clubs going close to extinction.

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

@GoonerTwin Spot on with it all being relative. 30 million pounds could buy you Reading FC or 1/3 of Antony.
Having a couple extra mil come down from the prem teams would have basically 0 impact on their revenue potential. Prem is in no danger of losing out compared to other European leagues

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

@GoonerTwin EFL props up the whole pyramid! Obvs the top 6 bring in the most revenue, but they have more than enough. Needs even spreading of cash to help smaller clubs at the mercy of dodgy owners.

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

Right sentiment, wrong spelling #readingfc

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

Bold move considering the 23kg weight limit on suitcases. I would love to be this ambitious.

[SPORTbible @sportbible]

A professional footballer and his girlfriend were arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris having been found with 100kg of cocaine in suitcases 😲

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

What a journey. Emi Martinez, King Shithouse, made in Reading.

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

'Railcard savings applied'

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

@PeterCrouchPod @petercrouch @BrewDog Why is there two @Chris_Stark's

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

Scammed out of £3k by VAR and Callum Wilson's clown feet

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

@GoonerTwin Haha mate i clocked that end of the 1st episode too, swear it sounds nothing like him from GoT!

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

@GoonerTwin Started watching this the other day! So we'll put together I really rate it.

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

@VibesPatron @LifeisGroovy_ Club needs folding mate. Lost Olise, Richards and Loader for 8 mil total. Genuinely worth 50+ collectively. Whoever sanctioned it all needs putting down

[Nick Craig @NickCraig93]

@VibesPatron The time difference bro!!! Take that out of the equation and Australia would be so so tempting.