Reading owner calls for 'community effort' and addresses Bearwood protests

Yahoo

18-05-2025

New Reading owner Rob Couhig is looking forward to meeting supporters of the club, wanting the rejuvenation of the club to be a 'community effort.'
The former Wycombe Wanderers chief officially took over the club on Wednesday, originally due to complete a deal in August 2024.
Enduring a rocky relationship with Royals fans in the past two years, Couhig came in for criticism due to his involvement in Wycombe's attempted purchase of Reading's Bearwood training ground.
Supporters protested outside Adams Park and the deal was quickly scuppered, but words were exchanged on social media and via podcasts.
Never giving up, never giving in 🔵⚪️#readingfc #SellBeforeWeDai pic.twitter.com/zXF7Nb9qHr
— Sell Before We Dai (@SellBeforeWeDai) March 15, 2024
"I didn't understand it, I really didn't," Couhig said of the Bearwood saga. "I thought anybody who thought it served a purpose doesn't understand business, but that's okay. They felt better and it went the way they wanted it to go. I don't know whether Mikhail [Lomtadze] would have bought it or not were it for that even, but it's in the past.
"What it does do is show that there's a strong commitment of people to the club and what I would hope is that in this newfound day of happiness, they would use that same level of intensity to try and help the club by selling tickets, selling sponsorships, helping us move forward and the like."
Happy to speak with supporters and take pictures upon his visits to Berkshire in the past year, fans were overjoyed to see Dai Yongge end his eight-year association with the club and usher in the Couhig Era.
This excitement is certainly a two-way street.
"I'm excited," Couhig said. "I've asked to see how we can, in effect, do a Zoom with whatever fans want to. My preference would be all the social lawyers who came out of the woodwork under anonymous names and to have them actually get online and ask me any question they want. Again, I'm not sure that I can satisfy all of them but what I know is that if they listen with an open mind, they'll understand what our goal is, how we expect to achieve it, and they'll be reasonably satisfied with the answer.
"There's going to be a portion of people, rightly so say, well, that's all great to say it, let me see how it actually works. What I would hope that those people wouldn't do is say, let's see how it works and I'm not going to the game until I see how it works.
"We need this to be a community effort. That last game was spectacular, the fans coming together and really having a sense of joy. My reason for being involved in sport, as an owner, we love the joy that comes from people."