Also worth remembering that Pete was the one running the football side at WWFC, and has a much deeper knowledge of the game then Rob. Jury is out on Rob's ability to work without Pete at Reading.
I agree. I cannot see Pete working at Reading . He lived in the Wycombe community and really understood what we are as a club. But again, money talks, so who knows.
Pete was emotionally invested in the club. Did the heavy finances as well as the fun football side. Understands football, ‘gets’ the social importance, loves the game. And was a great guy to hang out with. Saw us through a tough Covid time at great personal cost. The club owes him a debt of gratitude.
Robs’ actions and pronouncements however suggest a Republican dollar grabbing egomaniac- can’t think of whom else that brings to mind!
Nothing but love for JJ. Like all of us we heard him chat, maybe been lucky enough to meet him and know he’s smart and articulate. He’s recently done media work on 5Live too.
But having your first ‘proper’ job as CEO of a multimillion pound company haemorrhaging cash and in need of a Lazarus turn around does seem a strange appointment. I would have thought there were better suited candidates, who might not be as nice as Joe but might be more experienced.
I agree fully about the Pete comments a good guy who understands wycombe and football in general . As for his uncle I never had time for him promised the world and delivered very little . There was also the dutch consortium looking to buy us who had a similar plan to our current owner around academies maybe we made the wrong choice . I think the Reading purchase is a bit weird and with their demanding fans bound to go wrong . Anyway that’s my opinion i’m sure others will disagree.
Yep. It deserves a quick, this is weird, he sort of mislead us with his leaving comments, but quickly forget about him and concentrate on our own exciting future.
It’s all about the money. RC has seen that Reading FC provide him with a chance to make big bucks very quickly, much more than the £10M to £12M it is rumoured he got for Wycombe.
Stabilise the debt situation at Reading and they have the stadium, training ground, academy and catchment area (core support), to be a really successful club. If he does it right he could make many times the money he made from buying and selling WWFC.
He saw the opportunity and is taking it, it is that simple. He has little or no allegiance to Wycombe Wanderers and we have simply been a stepping stone: Hard business facts but that is what he is, a hard nosed businessman.
Rob will always get great credit for taking over in a time of need, seeing us through COVID, backing Gaz to get to the championship and ultimately selling to a billionaire. He didn't do that single handedly and while someone else could maybe have done the same Rob actually did whereas countless clubs have been taken over by wronguns who have failed, got bored or generally driven them into the ground.
Did he do all or half the things he hinted at? No. American style big thinking and dreaming isn't all bad but a lot of what he said was very obtuse, measured, constructed, or dare I say invented.
If us buying Bearwood was with a view to help him at Reading and it was actually going to be a burden to us then that is pretty unforgivable, and all the toot about flights and retirement if he knew all the time he was buying a team nearby in the same division lacks class and is not what is expected from badge kissing "fans" who relied on supporters and volunteers. He also permanently diluted the trusts ownership share for no reward based on false assertions. Was this just to increase his payout? Is he using money that should be within the club to buy the Ding?
Not sure we'll ever know beyond tiny hints from people who clearly know more and won't say.
Improving match day experience -possible, cutting ongoing losses -nope, infrastructure- nope, mostly decent on field performance. A mixed bag but we're still here and for now in a far better situation than they are. If HMRC and dubious investors come to their rescue and he gets a pension boost by driving some change for a few months they will do well. If he's bitten off more than he can chew and loses the family silver on an ego trip there will be little sympathy from Buckinghamshire.
I can never understand why any reasonably wealthy 75 year old wants to buy a new business in the hope of making even more money, particularly when that business is thousands of miles away in another country.
I am almost Rob's age, and although not wealthy, I have a reasonable standard of living and have no interest whatsoever at my stage of life of adding to my limited wealth. Perhaps I am in the minority.
Having zero inside knowledge I think the ‘dreams’ (AKA hard-nosed business plans) RC had for ‘us’ ended when he wasn’t able to get his hands on Adams Park.
Being thwarted (thankfully) in his ownership ambitions with us I would speculate that is when he began to withdraw and either return to America or look elsewhere.
To his credit I do genuinely think he did want to leave us in a good place (and I wonder whether PCs much closer emotional attachment encouraged this) and, whatever happens next, I believe he thinks he has.
I hold no ill-will against him (after all we include within the club the odd person who has actually shafted us - albeit balanced by a fair few earlier positives) and I hope if he does return as Reading’s owner we take the piss out of him in a suitable, affable way.
Rob wasn't a Jack Walker or Matthew Harding but anyone prepared to give him abuse needs to give their a head a wobble. As others have already said, he left us in a better place than he found us. For that we should be grateful. But he's a business man not a football fan and he's seen a new opportunity. Given that new opportunity is with a direct rival to Wycombe I can't wish him great success, but I do hope he leaves Reading in a better place than he finds them.
Like Gareth Ainsworth, JJ owes WWFC absolutely nothing. He was an outstanding servant to this club and has earned the right to take on whatever new challenge he wants.
Is anything known about the other members of the consortium that Couhig is heading up? Although finally getting rid of Reading's current malignant owner is a massive benefit to all of football, the amount of funds needed to turn around such a heavily indebted business such as Reading FC are beyond what Couhig is known to possess.
Who these figures lurking in the shadows will be interesting, though the cost cutting already underway suggests that they're possibly using Couhig as the fall guy while they call the shots in the background. You get the feeling it will not take much for Reading's expectant fanbase to turn on the new consortium if results on the pitch lab behind expectations.
As for anyone from this side of the Chilterns looking on with amusement at how the self-proclaimed mighty have fallen, the cost base being established by our current owners could easily turn us into an even bigger basket case than Reading have been in recent times. Potentially exciting times lie ahead for us if Lomtadze's vision becomes a reality, but also the mother of all hangovers will await us at some point when the party ends.
Maybe Rob doesn't have as much personal wealth as we all assume. He's a successful lawyer from a large city but I never understood how that translated into tens of millions.
Re your second paragraph, it was surely self interest in maintaining the status/value of the club he was presumably planning to sell rather than an admirably enduring commitment. The cost of compensating and replacing Matt Bloomfield would also have been substantial.
I agree with those who suggest that, given the club has been left in a better state than when he brought it, we should be grateful for that and bury the hatchet about unfulfilled promises.
We will of course follow his latest venture with great interest.
100% depends on what that role is and the knowledge and experience he can bring to it.
In have no idea what the role he will have or the experience he has for that role so it’s impossible to judge. He could be great at it, an unmitigated disaster or most likely, somewhere in between.
Yeah, nothing against him for taking it if it actually happens, he owes us nothing and made no promises, agree he has a lot to contribute, wouldn't be my choice for CEO at a club in the position they are in without the personal links he will have built with staff here in the last decade, won't necessarily instill confidence in their fans either, do they not have any legends of their own with business acumen.
Comments
Also worth remembering that Pete was the one running the football side at WWFC, and has a much deeper knowledge of the game then Rob. Jury is out on Rob's ability to work without Pete at Reading.
….or Gareth Ainsworth.
I agree. I cannot see Pete working at Reading . He lived in the Wycombe community and really understood what we are as a club. But again, money talks, so who knows.
Pete was emotionally invested in the club. Did the heavy finances as well as the fun football side. Understands football, ‘gets’ the social importance, loves the game. And was a great guy to hang out with. Saw us through a tough Covid time at great personal cost. The club owes him a debt of gratitude.
Robs’ actions and pronouncements however suggest a Republican dollar grabbing egomaniac- can’t think of whom else that brings to mind!
How do we all feel about JJ’s alleged involvement in the new Reading set-up?
Personally I believe JJ is one of life’s ’good guys’ who gave his all for us while he was here and actually really hope he succeeds.
So, and assuming his involvement does materialise, I would actually be happy for Reading to be successful on and off the field.
Nothing but love for JJ. Like all of us we heard him chat, maybe been lucky enough to meet him and know he’s smart and articulate. He’s recently done media work on 5Live too.
But having your first ‘proper’ job as CEO of a multimillion pound company haemorrhaging cash and in need of a Lazarus turn around does seem a strange appointment. I would have thought there were better suited candidates, who might not be as nice as Joe but might be more experienced.
I agree fully about the Pete comments a good guy who understands wycombe and football in general . As for his uncle I never had time for him promised the world and delivered very little . There was also the dutch consortium looking to buy us who had a similar plan to our current owner around academies maybe we made the wrong choice . I think the Reading purchase is a bit weird and with their demanding fans bound to go wrong . Anyway that’s my opinion i’m sure others will disagree.
Get therapy man. Trying to justify giving a 75 year old man 'dogs abuse' over this is mental.
It was a marriage of convenience nothing more, Rob pretended to be a fan and we pretended to believe him .
It worked out well enough, not only are we still in existence but we have a better future to look forward to.
Now he’s gone to Reading, where he’ll discover that the norm for football supporters isn’t what he had here,
So will I give him dogs abuse, no I’ll leave that to the ding fans who will be giving him plenty within, let’s be generous a couple of seasons.
Yep. It deserves a quick, this is weird, he sort of mislead us with his leaving comments, but quickly forget about him and concentrate on our own exciting future.
It’s all about the money. RC has seen that Reading FC provide him with a chance to make big bucks very quickly, much more than the £10M to £12M it is rumoured he got for Wycombe.
Stabilise the debt situation at Reading and they have the stadium, training ground, academy and catchment area (core support), to be a really successful club. If he does it right he could make many times the money he made from buying and selling WWFC.
He saw the opportunity and is taking it, it is that simple. He has little or no allegiance to Wycombe Wanderers and we have simply been a stepping stone: Hard business facts but that is what he is, a hard nosed businessman.
BTW and before anyone jumps on it, I did say rumoured re; the £10M to £12M he got for Wycombe.
Rob will always get great credit for taking over in a time of need, seeing us through COVID, backing Gaz to get to the championship and ultimately selling to a billionaire. He didn't do that single handedly and while someone else could maybe have done the same Rob actually did whereas countless clubs have been taken over by wronguns who have failed, got bored or generally driven them into the ground.
Did he do all or half the things he hinted at? No. American style big thinking and dreaming isn't all bad but a lot of what he said was very obtuse, measured, constructed, or dare I say invented.
If us buying Bearwood was with a view to help him at Reading and it was actually going to be a burden to us then that is pretty unforgivable, and all the toot about flights and retirement if he knew all the time he was buying a team nearby in the same division lacks class and is not what is expected from badge kissing "fans" who relied on supporters and volunteers. He also permanently diluted the trusts ownership share for no reward based on false assertions. Was this just to increase his payout? Is he using money that should be within the club to buy the Ding?
Not sure we'll ever know beyond tiny hints from people who clearly know more and won't say.
Improving match day experience -possible, cutting ongoing losses -nope, infrastructure- nope, mostly decent on field performance. A mixed bag but we're still here and for now in a far better situation than they are. If HMRC and dubious investors come to their rescue and he gets a pension boost by driving some change for a few months they will do well. If he's bitten off more than he can chew and loses the family silver on an ego trip there will be little sympathy from Buckinghamshire.
Couhig left the club in much better condition than when he joined it. That is all you can really ask from an owner. I wish him well.
We now embark on the next leg of our historical journey. Time will tell with Lomtadze achieves the same feat.
I can never understand why any reasonably wealthy 75 year old wants to buy a new business in the hope of making even more money, particularly when that business is thousands of miles away in another country.
I am almost Rob's age, and although not wealthy, I have a reasonable standard of living and have no interest whatsoever at my stage of life of adding to my limited wealth. Perhaps I am in the minority.
Having zero inside knowledge I think the ‘dreams’ (AKA hard-nosed business plans) RC had for ‘us’ ended when he wasn’t able to get his hands on Adams Park.
Being thwarted (thankfully) in his ownership ambitions with us I would speculate that is when he began to withdraw and either return to America or look elsewhere.
To his credit I do genuinely think he did want to leave us in a good place (and I wonder whether PCs much closer emotional attachment encouraged this) and, whatever happens next, I believe he thinks he has.
I hold no ill-will against him (after all we include within the club the odd person who has actually shafted us - albeit balanced by a fair few earlier positives) and I hope if he does return as Reading’s owner we take the piss out of him in a suitable, affable way.
Rob wasn't a Jack Walker or Matthew Harding but anyone prepared to give him abuse needs to give their a head a wobble. As others have already said, he left us in a better place than he found us. For that we should be grateful. But he's a business man not a football fan and he's seen a new opportunity. Given that new opportunity is with a direct rival to Wycombe I can't wish him great success, but I do hope he leaves Reading in a better place than he finds them.
I was going to say similar.
At 75 and presumably already a multimillionaire, why would you really put yourself out to earn more millions?
How many more Ivory backscratchers does he need?
Like Gareth Ainsworth, JJ owes WWFC absolutely nothing. He was an outstanding servant to this club and has earned the right to take on whatever new challenge he wants.
You are not in the minority at all. I was thinking exactly the same.
Is anything known about the other members of the consortium that Couhig is heading up? Although finally getting rid of Reading's current malignant owner is a massive benefit to all of football, the amount of funds needed to turn around such a heavily indebted business such as Reading FC are beyond what Couhig is known to possess.
Who these figures lurking in the shadows will be interesting, though the cost cutting already underway suggests that they're possibly using Couhig as the fall guy while they call the shots in the background. You get the feeling it will not take much for Reading's expectant fanbase to turn on the new consortium if results on the pitch lab behind expectations.
As for anyone from this side of the Chilterns looking on with amusement at how the self-proclaimed mighty have fallen, the cost base being established by our current owners could easily turn us into an even bigger basket case than Reading have been in recent times. Potentially exciting times lie ahead for us if Lomtadze's vision becomes a reality, but also the mother of all hangovers will await us at some point when the party ends.
Think the same every time I see Beckham pop up in yet another crap TV ad. Air Fryers now? Really.
Unlike Reading, at least our owner doesn't own the stadium!
How to become a millionaire football club owner?
That’s correct……
Buy one as a billionaire!
Maybe Rob doesn't have as much personal wealth as we all assume. He's a successful lawyer from a large city but I never understood how that translated into tens of millions.
Re your second paragraph, it was surely self interest in maintaining the status/value of the club he was presumably planning to sell rather than an admirably enduring commitment. The cost of compensating and replacing Matt Bloomfield would also have been substantial.
I agree with those who suggest that, given the club has been left in a better state than when he brought it, we should be grateful for that and bury the hatchet about unfulfilled promises.
We will of course follow his latest venture with great interest.
100% depends on what that role is and the knowledge and experience he can bring to it.
In have no idea what the role he will have or the experience he has for that role so it’s impossible to judge. He could be great at it, an unmitigated disaster or most likely, somewhere in between.
Yeah, nothing against him for taking it if it actually happens, he owes us nothing and made no promises, agree he has a lot to contribute, wouldn't be my choice for CEO at a club in the position they are in without the personal links he will have built with staff here in the last decade, won't necessarily instill confidence in their fans either, do they not have any legends of their own with business acumen.
Rob seems far too sensible a businessman to appoint someone with no relevant experience as CEO. No idea where this rumour has come from.
i think I made my point very clumsily.
What I meant to say is that I wish JJ every success in whatever venture he goes forward in, even if it is Reading.*
*I reserve the right to change my opinion if he goes to Oxford…