Latest news with #SellBeforeWeDai
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reading ownership nightmare finally over after Dai Yongge sells club to Rob Couhig
Reading's Select Car Leasing Stadium, formerly known as the Madejski Stadium, is included in the deal to buy the club. Reading's Select Car Leasing Stadium, formerly known as the Madejski Stadium, is included in the deal to buy the club. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA Dai Yongge has sold Reading to Rob Couhig, ending the Chinese businessman's turbulent reign. Couhig, the 76-year-old former Wycombe owner, has acquired the League One club, their stadium and training ground. The English Football League said it wished Reading and their supporters 'a successful future following a difficult period for all associated with the club'. A deal had been agreed for several weeks and has now been ratified by the EFL. Advertisement The US-based Couhig has been named chair and his business partner Todd Trosclair has also joined the board. Couhig tried to buy Reading last year but the deal collapsed in September 2024. Reading have been bought by Redwood Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of Dogwood Football LLC, which is owned by Couhig and Trosclair. 'Redwood is ambitious and dedicated towards the club returning to its rightful place within the English football pyramid, while adhering to clear principles of honesty, transparency and financial sustainability,' a club statement said. Reading have been docked 18 points across the past three seasons, a period in which the club have also been under a series of embargoes for defaulted payments. Dai cut funding for Reading Women, resulting in them withdrawing from the second tier last summer, and in March he was disqualified as an owner by the EFL and given a deadline to sell the club, owing to business activity in China. A statement from the supporters' campaign group Sell Before We Dai said: 'We are incredibly relieved and happy that Reading Football Club are finally under new ownership. It's a day which we thought, at times, may never happen.'
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reading owner calls for 'community effort' and addresses Bearwood protests
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 — 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."
BBC News
14-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Campaign group 'relieved and happy' after takeover
Reading fan campaign group Sell Before We Dai have said that "today is a day for celebration" after a takeover of the club was completed. On Wednesday, the Royals announced that a deal for American businessman and lawyer Rob Couhig to purchase the club was finally done. The deal brings the reign of controversial previous owner Dai Yongge to an end, and gives fans a fresh start after points deductions, transfer embargos and protests under his ownership."We are incredibly relieved and happy that Reading are finally under new ownership. It's a day which we thought at times may never happen," Sell Before We Dai said in a statement. The campaign group continued: "In the eight years of the Dai Yongge era, every single element of our club went backwards, today is a day for celebration and that starts by welcoming Rob Couhig. Thank you for not giving up on us, thank you for saving our 153-year-old club from oblivion."The takeover process has been tortuous and – at times – ill-tempered. We know several bidders came and went, but Couhig remained, and for that alone we are incredibly grateful. "He was determined, dogged and incredibly savvy. Having someone with those qualities in your club's corner can only be a good thing and it is also worth stating that Wycombe Wanderers fans say he left them in a better place."Sell Before We Dai organised a number of protests and petitions to try and raise awareness of their ownership situation. Some of their initiatives included billboard campaigns in a number of locations including the town centre and around Wembley Stadium. Reading fans made their voices heard on many occasions in the latter stages of Yongge's ownership. They threw tennis balls onto the pitch, went onto the field during a game and protested outside the stadium. "Reading fans are now excited to hear in an open forum from Couhig about his plans. Our gratitude is immeasurable but cannot be unconditional," Sell Before We Dai added. "We are under no illusions that steps will need to be taken to undo the damage Dai has done to this football club, but we hope Couhig runs Reading transparently, prudently, in collaboration with Reading fans and with regard for the club's identity."We've been sold before we Dai'd."
BBC News
06-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Reading fan 'can't stop smiling' after Rob Couhig deal struck
Reading fan 'can't stop smiling' after deal struck 8 minutes ago Share Save Share Save Caroline Parker Caroline Parker (left) is supportive of Rob Couhig's (right) takeover of Reading A campaigner and Reading fan who has worked for years to get the club sold by its owner said she "can't stop smiling" after a deal was struck. Caroline Parker, of the Sell Before We Dai fan group, said she was "absolutely delighted" by the prospect of the club being taken over by former Wycombe Wanderers owner Rob Couhig. The deal includes the shares owned by Dai Yongge, who has owned the club since 2017, its Bearwood training ground and the Select Car Leasing Stadium. The deal, announced on Saturday, is expected to be finalised at a meeting on Thursday. Reading were docked six points for financial issues in the 2023/24 season and finished 17th in League One. Those financial difficulties also saw the club's women's side - a Women's Super League outfit as recently as May 2023 - withdraw from the Championship in June, and they now compete in the fifth tier. Getty Images Former Reading boss Brian McDermott said Couhig has been "consistent and persistent" in his pursuit of Reading Ms Parker said: "I can't stop smiling. All I can think is it's finally over. "All of that campaigning, by so many people, it's hard to put in words just how much of a relief it is. I'm absolutely delighted." She described it as a "real team effort". "It wasn't just Sell Before We Dai or STAR [Supporters' Trust at Reading], all of the fans, there's a list of hundreds of people to thank," she said. She continued: "Unfortunately, we are not the only sad story. "There are other football clubs that are in trouble now. I think some of the members will absolutely do their bit to try to help other clubs." The Royals finished seventh in League One on Saturday, just missing the play-offs by three points. Former Reading manager Brian McDermott said Couhig had been "consistent and persistent" in his pursuit of the club. "It's great news for everyone," he told BBC Radio Berkshire. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, , or Instagram.
The Guardian
06-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
‘We have our blinkers on': Reading push for playoffs amid bleak backdrop
Was Dai Yongge, Reading's disreputable owner, watching? Is he keeping abreast of his club's League One promotion challenge or does he choose to spend sunny spring afternoons in alternative pleasures? Rumour has it, the Chinese billionaire remains holed up somewhere in Britain, but no one really knows. That tends to be the way with this troubled club at the moment: unanswered questions, wary suspicions and the unsubstantiated hearsay of an existential crisis that heaps shame on English football. 'Don't worry about a thing,' sang Bob Marley at half-time of Saturday's unlikely 1-0 win over high-flying Wycombe as the Reading DJ tried to keep spirits up. Worryingly, no one has the slightest idea if any little thing is going to be all right. It is approaching two years since Dai was last spotted at the Select Car Leasing Stadium. The club has been available to buy for most of that time. Actually buying it is a different matter. Many have tried, some coming closer than others, but none have succeeded. So, after financial-related points deductions in three successive seasons, transfer embargos, threats of a winding-up order, numerous late payment of wages, the contemptuous defunding of the women's team – forcing them from the Championship to the part-time fifth tier – and attempts to flog the training ground to Wycombe, Reading remain in the unwanted hands of Dai. As burgers sizzled and pre-match pints were pulled, the desire of the season's largest attendance – 15,228 – was simply to forget for a few hours. Only a few days earlier, they did not know whether the match would go ahead. Belatedly disqualified by the English Football League after failing to pay debts in China – and thus unable to fulfil the much-maligned owners' and directors' test he somehow passed back in 2017 – Dai had been given a deadline of Friday night to sell the club, before a last-minute extension until 22 April. With the club on the market for more than 500 days, many fear the extra couple of weeks will provide little more than a prolonged stay of execution. It has, at the very least, guaranteed a few more games before the very real threat of suspension from the EFL; blissful moments of relief from the perpetual anxiety. 'Football is meant to be an escape, but at the moment it's the cause of our stress rather than our escape from it,' said Greg Double, part of the campaign group Sell Before We Dai, which has organised numerous protests in recent years. 'I have a strict rule where I don't talk about the ownership stuff on a Saturday because you have to preserve the 90 minutes where you just focus on the team. Just one normal day would be nice.' Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion It is wishful thinking so long as the club remains under the ownership of a shady figure who made his fortune navigating Chinese retail tax regulations by converting air raid shelters into underground shopping malls. Dai's clubs in China (Beijing Chengfeng) and Belgium (KSV Roeselare) fell into liquidation under his watch, before he broke all financial rules in trying to reach the Premier League, at one point spending 234% of the club's revenue on player wages. Then he lost interest. 'They say if you shoot for the moon, you end up at the stars,' said Double. 'Occasionally you end up at the bottom of the ocean as well. That's what's happened to us and it's a cautionary tale.' A potential deal with the American investor Robert Platek is complicated by the former Wycombe owner Rob Couhig retaining securities over the club's assets after coming close to buying Reading last year. Couhig is suing Dai over that failed purchase. All the while, despite the repeated off-loading of their best players, the club somehow occupy a playoff spot, ignoring off-field concerns and riding Wycombe's sustained pressure to triumph on Saturday thanks to a Harvey Knibbs penalty. 'We keep our focus on what we can control on the pitch,' said the manager, Noel Hunt. 'It's hard because the boys hear and read things. I just tell them to stay away from it. It can be off-putting, but we have our blinkers on.' Yet only five senior players are contracted beyond the end of the season and huge uncertainty remains. 'We're chasing the playoffs, but we might not even be allowed to take part in it,' said the third-generation Reading fan Ben Langham, who watched the game with his father and grandfather. 'We're all trying to stay positive but it's worrying.' Does Dai care? Is he even listening? Endless questions, but still no answers.
