Reading fans set to protest at Wycombe after talks to buy training ground
Reading supporters are set to protest outside Wycombe Wanderers' stadium after their neighbours entered talks to purchase the club's Bearwood Park training ground from Dai Yongge.
The Royals' beleaguered Chinese owner has been the subject of fan protests in recent months after running the League One outfit into the ground. Reading have been deducted 18 points during Yongge's tenure and are currently fighting to avoid consecutive relegations.
Financial issues have left the club in a perilous position and Yongge outlined in a statement at the start of the week that he was open to selling the club's impressive training facility in a bid to ease cash concerns.
The Athletic have since revealed that Reading have provisionally agreed to sell their state-of-the-art training complex to their neighbours, Wycombe. The League One outfit are based in nearby Buckinghamshire and had been mulling over the possibility of building a new training facility near their current base in Marlow.
Bearwood Park opened less than five years ago at a cost of around £50million. It's understood that Reading will recoup less than half of that as per the terms of their agreement with Wycombe. The loss of such a significant asset is unlikely to entice any potential suitors, either. Mirror Football revealed earlier this week that there are fears a financial shortfall in March could lead to successive relegations; a chain of events which would leave the Royals in League Two.
Ince slams Erik ten Hag’s 'disrespectful' Man Utd staff for post-match antics
Chief Executive Dayong Pang confirmed talks with Wycombe on Thursday afternoon while outlining a deal had not yet been finalised. A statement read: “Whilst an agreement is not yet finalised, both parties will move forward with the process exclusively. The proposed transaction will directly support the short-term funding of the club until a full sale can be concluded. Further updates, including possible options for an alternative training facility, will be communicated when appropriate.”
Fan group Sell Before We Dai responded with a statement of their own which read: “The statements from both Reading FC and Wycombe Wanderers FC this lunchtime about the proposed sale of Bearwood training ground confirm what we feared – that owner Dai Yongge, his sister and fellow owner Dai Xiu Li, and CEO Dayong Pang, are interested in only one thing – killing Reading FC.
Reading owner Dai Yongge looks set to sell the club's £50m training facility for a knockdown price (JASONPIX)“The irony that Yongge, Xiu Li and Pang have supposedly been able to agree a deal in just a few days, when there has been no progress on the sale of the club for months – despite potential new owners being interested – is not lost on us.
“It clearly shows that Yongge, Xiu Li and Pang have no interest in securing Reading’s future, only in taking any value they can from the club’s assets. We know there are interested buyers, but it’s clear we don’t have serious sellers.
“We doubt any claim that the funds released from the sale of the training ground will be used to cover the £1 million shortfall that the club needs to pay its bills by the end of the month, as well as securing the funding needed ahead of a full sale. Without evidence of these, we suspect the club will see none of the proceeds.
“To Rick Parry and the EFL we say again, but louder: now is the time for action, not more words – to prevent another club dying on your watch.
Wycombe do not own their current training facilities (Catherine Ivill)“To Reading fans, we must continue to fight. The deal is not signed and we must explore any means to stop it. We will start tomorrow night (Friday) at 6pm outside Adams Park for a peaceful protest.
“To Wycome Wanderers fans, we hold no malice towards you, but we are watching our club being ripped apart by your owner, Rob Couhig, who we hold in contempt. We’d invite all Wycombe fans to stand with us as fellow football fans at this time – because football’s ownership problem has today reached a new low.”
and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
