In an exclusive interview with the Reading Chronicle, legendary former Reading owner and chairman Sir John Madejski expressed his opinion that Dai Yongge made a mistake by surrounding himself with ‘the wrong people’.
The 82-year-old founder of Auto Trader, a local hero and treasure in Berkshire, graciously welcomed The Reading Chronicle inside his opulent penthouse room with a view of his “church,” which he assisted in constructing back in 1998.
Nothing was off-limits when we spent over an hour with him, but naturally, we talked about one issue exclusively.Reading Soccer Club.
Regarding the Chinese tycoon in control since 2017, Sir John declared, “I have had absolutely nothing to do with him.” “Mr. Dai was located by the Thais, and I have only had a fleeting encounter with him. It is obvious that he has no interest in meeting me, but that is entirely his decision. It is unfortunate, really, since I know I could have been of great assistance to him and could have saved him hundreds of millions of dollars. I made a sincere sale of it. Naturally, I find it very upsetting to see where it is.”
‘Its current state’ unfortunately stands 44 positions lower in the league hierarchy than when Yongge initially encountered it. Enduring three consecutive seasons of point deductions, facing three years of transfer embargoes with an additional two on the horizon, the situation is dire.
Pushed to the brink, regular delays in bill payments and fan actions—both before, during, and after matches—have characterized the season. Expressing deep distress for the staff, the unfair treatment they endure in such trying circumstances is lamented. The unpredictability of timely payments creates an unsettling atmosphere, causing personnel to depart due to the untenable conditions. The heartfelt sympathy extends to them, recognizing the misery of their situation, especially when weighed against familial and financial commitments.
‘Where it is’ is now unfortunately 44 league places lower than Yongge found it, with three straight seasons of points deductions, three years of transfer embargoes and another two to come.
Pushed to the very edge, bills have been regularly paid late and supporters have taken action this season- before, during and after matches.
“I am deeply upset for the staff because it is unfair the torturous that they are being treated. It’s a horrible place to be in because they’ve all got families and mortgages. When you don’t know if you’re going to be paid, it’s not a very nice feeling. People are leaving because they can’t take it anymore. My heart goes out to them because it’s miserable.”
Twice breaking the club’s transfer record and spending upwards of £150m on owning the football club, nobody can suggest that the billionaire hasn’t put his money where his mouth is at times.
So, where did it all go so wrong?
“He went wrong because he surrounded himself with the wrong people. He seemed to think that these international agents were the bees-knees, but what do they know about Reading or League One? Absolute diddly-squat I should imagine. They were happy to take his money and ‘advise him’- well I don’t think the advice has been very good. I also think that Mr Dai is so thinly spread, because no doubt he has so many other things going on in his world, how much time does he put into Reading Football Club? Not much I would estimate. If you’re going to do it, do it properly. Don’t treat us like this, it isn’t fair.
“Mr Dai has invested heavily, mostly in the training ground. The training ground is Premiership suitable, too advanced for League One. I think he has this perception of how much it is worth, but the people trying to buy it will not have the same view. There are three elements: the football team, the stadium and the training ground. As I understand it, they’ve been put into different companies to get over the Football League regulations. He probably realises the value of them as a piece of land or development.”
“I am delighted to say that the fans have managed to persuade the powers at the council not to give permission for it to be turned into a housing or industrial site. That is damn good and I think the fans have done a marvellous job. It is going to be very difficult to get a change of usage for the football club, so that’s quite clever.
“This edict by the council helps enormously to make sure it can’t be stripped from the club, as such. In order to do that it would take an awfully long time and people just haven’t got the patience these days. It needs to go with the club.”
As we began to wrap up and attempt to lift the doom and gloom of Reading Football Club from the conversation, thoughts turned to the future.
Getting up to shake hands and leave, Madejski’s Christmas wish perfectly echoed the sentiment of thousands of supporters around the world.
“I with you all a fantastic Christmas. My wish for all of us is that we get a decent buyer early in the New Year and we can get back to enjoying our football on an upward trajectory.”
We’ll all drink to that, Sir John.
