I hope he does well but still an odd appointment. Perhaps JJ has also been the financial genius behind successful start ups in recent years? Less time on the pitch, more time on the spreadsheets and building his post football skills?
I think we just need to take stock that there is no loyalty in Football anymore and there hasn't been for some time so why is everyone getting annoyed at this? Players don't have it and if they don't, what makes us think that Owners will as well? Everyone (except the few gems that have we saw growing up) is in it to make money, line their pockets to ensure they can live financially secure for the rest of their lives. If that means going to a local rival but the get an extra "x" about of pounds, so be it.
I have no issue on one level @Otter87 but it rankles somewhat when it’s your nearest neighbour and I don’t think such a move is deserving of any heroic welcome or fanfare.
If Rob had said that he’d taken Wycombe as far as he could and waved us goodbye I don’t think anyone would have been too bothered about him popping up somewhere else, but he didn’t.
He said the travelling was too much, he was getting too old, would always watch us on Wanderers TV etc, which was plainly a crock of sh&t.
And in hindsight, wrestling 15% of the club away in return for nothing and trying to anchor us with Bearwood to make his next move easier sits very badly with me.
I'm grateful with what Rob Couhig did do for us..... and I'm sure in time I will recognise his tenure as a great and prosperous time.
BUT.... he hasn't gone out in a blaze of glory and appreciation like he could have.
Instead he's played the lawyer card and been quite clever/ dickish with his wordings when leaving us....
Its actually a real shame because under his ownership we steadied the ship and made ourselves a league one top half plus club.... he even was at the helm behind the scenes for our 1st ever season in the championship.
And now this Reading business has .... a little bit at least?.... made him ruin all of that and look a little bit like a dick... IMHO
I never really took RC's more showy promises seriously - perhaps seeing a lot of bombastic types in the American corporate world made me take it all with a pinch of salt.
BUT - he was fantastic for the club, and what we needed at the time we needed it. We still have a hole in the roof and no access road, but leaving us as a 10th placed L1 club, though lower than where the Trust left us, is a great platform for our dear billionaire to build upon.
He said a lot of the right things but my reflections are that it was Ainsworth & the likes of Bayo who kept us on a steady footing more so than Rob & co.
Avuncular Rob with his pyrotechnics and his college jock nephew with a love of football, smokes and ale …. It was entertaining while it lasted but the legacy now falls flat.
He did well for Wycombe, and it would be a little harsh to dislike him for saying the same old flim-flam he did throughout his tenure. He was always a businessman first and a Wycombe fan second.
Having said that I do think he has a genuine affection for the club, just not in a way that prevents him from involvement in another club that could conceivably be (but aren’t really) local rivals.
I do agree with whoever said above he was looking to move on as soon as he couldn’t buy Adams Park (and I think he pretty much admitted this in interviews.)
I have no qualms with JJ getting the CEO job - though it feels quite "Football Manager". I do take issue with Couhig turning up at Reading to make his next buck after his reasoning for selling up. Certainly puts into question any of his claims to have "fallen in love" with the club. Couhig helped us when we needed him, and began to withdraw when it became clear he couldn't buy the stadium. Onwards and upwards.
The only owner I would ever trust when they "kissed the badge" or "fell in love with the club" is an owner who was already a lifelong supporter or if a club is fan-owned by it's supporters.
I definitely agree RC was lucky to take over with GA, Dobbo and Bayo at the helm, but we started the season with hardly any players owing to our financial constraints. RC's money was a part of that promotion season, and we can't airbrush that out of history. GA thanked the Couhigs on many an occasion, and that man is nothing if not sincere.
I would also thank the fans who continued to pay vastly increased season ticket prices and spare a moment for those who had to make tough decisions to stop coming regularly for that reason as well.
The Trust deserve credit for not giving his "I'm just putting it out there" overtures about owning AP a second thought.
AP being in the ownership of the supporters is all the more important if/when the club is at risk of folding due to not being able to meet the vastly increased cost bases introduced by the owners of the football club. With the ground we can at least start again if it all goes tits-up.
GA was a master at that wasn't he? The only time he appeared even slightly carried away was after that giddy evening we took Plymouch apart at their place.
Yep top class, very rarely blamed anyone else, even more rarely getting involved in argy Bargy. Probably just that once with that deplorable Adams bloke.
I see this said all the time and it’s very laudable but if WWFC went, how would the day to day operating costs of Adams Park be funded whilst a phoenix club rose there? Does Adams Park generate enough revenue from non football related events to keep the lights on or is the assumption that 4000 people would continue to come to see the phoenix club?
Can we please get clarity from the trust over what Rob Couhig is doing regarding the access road, the redevelopment of the home end and main stands and extension of the car park? These were specific clauses in the agreement to extend his share of the club from 75% to 90% last year. Is it still Couhig’s responsibility to do this or has this been passed on to Lomtadze? If the latter, is Lomtadze aware of these responsibilities?
Comments
He's just posted a pic from there on his social media
It seems it just needed you to make that post.
Now confirmed by James Ritchings.
That he’ll be CEO?
Yes, frustratingly ambiguous from @Malone.
I hope he does well but still an odd appointment. Perhaps JJ has also been the financial genius behind successful start ups in recent years? Less time on the pitch, more time on the spreadsheets and building his post football skills?
From what I heard he had been hanging around AP for the last year trying to ‘learn the ropes’ with a view to taking a post at wwfc.
I have no time for Couhig or JJ at Reading after all his ‘Up the Wyc’ bollocks. Will he be wearing a half and half scarf when we play them?
I think we just need to take stock that there is no loyalty in Football anymore and there hasn't been for some time so why is everyone getting annoyed at this? Players don't have it and if they don't, what makes us think that Owners will as well? Everyone (except the few gems that have we saw growing up) is in it to make money, line their pockets to ensure they can live financially secure for the rest of their lives. If that means going to a local rival but the get an extra "x" about of pounds, so be it.
I have no issue on one level @Otter87 but it rankles somewhat when it’s your nearest neighbour and I don’t think such a move is deserving of any heroic welcome or fanfare.
If Rob had said that he’d taken Wycombe as far as he could and waved us goodbye I don’t think anyone would have been too bothered about him popping up somewhere else, but he didn’t.
He said the travelling was too much, he was getting too old, would always watch us on Wanderers TV etc, which was plainly a crock of sh&t.
And in hindsight, wrestling 15% of the club away in return for nothing and trying to anchor us with Bearwood to make his next move easier sits very badly with me.
Wot @Lloyd2084 said👍
Yes... I 100% agree with all of this.
I'm grateful with what Rob Couhig did do for us..... and I'm sure in time I will recognise his tenure as a great and prosperous time.
BUT.... he hasn't gone out in a blaze of glory and appreciation like he could have.
Instead he's played the lawyer card and been quite clever/ dickish with his wordings when leaving us....
Its actually a real shame because under his ownership we steadied the ship and made ourselves a league one top half plus club.... he even was at the helm behind the scenes for our 1st ever season in the championship.
And now this Reading business has .... a little bit at least?.... made him ruin all of that and look a little bit like a dick... IMHO
I never really took RC's more showy promises seriously - perhaps seeing a lot of bombastic types in the American corporate world made me take it all with a pinch of salt.
BUT - he was fantastic for the club, and what we needed at the time we needed it. We still have a hole in the roof and no access road, but leaving us as a 10th placed L1 club, though lower than where the Trust left us, is a great platform for our dear billionaire to build upon.
I guess you're right
He said a lot of the right things but my reflections are that it was Ainsworth & the likes of Bayo who kept us on a steady footing more so than Rob & co.
Avuncular Rob with his pyrotechnics and his college jock nephew with a love of football, smokes and ale …. It was entertaining while it lasted but the legacy now falls flat.
He certainly came in at the right time but he was outrageously lucky to find Ainsworth in situ, who performance the actual miracle.
The way his interest (and Petes) seemed to drop off a cliff once we refused to give him the ground was always what got me.
Imagine if we had done so. We could be in limbo anyway now we've been sold but without the ground we really would have been a sitting duck.
He did well for Wycombe, and it would be a little harsh to dislike him for saying the same old flim-flam he did throughout his tenure. He was always a businessman first and a Wycombe fan second.
Having said that I do think he has a genuine affection for the club, just not in a way that prevents him from involvement in another club that could conceivably be (but aren’t really) local rivals.
I do agree with whoever said above he was looking to move on as soon as he couldn’t buy Adams Park (and I think he pretty much admitted this in interviews.)
Beats me why anyone would wish Reading well
It's like when Bloomfield was Col U manager and some Wycombe fans didn't still want them to lose every week. I just found it weird
I have no qualms with JJ getting the CEO job - though it feels quite "Football Manager". I do take issue with Couhig turning up at Reading to make his next buck after his reasoning for selling up. Certainly puts into question any of his claims to have "fallen in love" with the club. Couhig helped us when we needed him, and began to withdraw when it became clear he couldn't buy the stadium. Onwards and upwards.
He is simply disingenuous.
The only owner I would ever trust when they "kissed the badge" or "fell in love with the club" is an owner who was already a lifelong supporter or if a club is fan-owned by it's supporters.
I definitely agree RC was lucky to take over with GA, Dobbo and Bayo at the helm, but we started the season with hardly any players owing to our financial constraints. RC's money was a part of that promotion season, and we can't airbrush that out of history. GA thanked the Couhigs on many an occasion, and that man is nothing if not sincere.
I would also thank the fans who continued to pay vastly increased season ticket prices and spare a moment for those who had to make tough decisions to stop coming regularly for that reason as well.
The Trust deserve credit for not giving his "I'm just putting it out there" overtures about owning AP a second thought.
AP being in the ownership of the supporters is all the more important if/when the club is at risk of folding due to not being able to meet the vastly increased cost bases introduced by the owners of the football club. With the ground we can at least start again if it all goes tits-up.
Although Gaz was an absolutely political masterpiece of a man.
How many goons like Barton, Steve Evans and others did he praise for doing a good job etc.
GA was a master at that wasn't he? The only time he appeared even slightly carried away was after that giddy evening we took Plymouch apart at their place.
I wonder what Pete thinks of it all. He seemed more of a genuine fan than his uncle.
Yep top class, very rarely blamed anyone else, even more rarely getting involved in argy Bargy. Probably just that once with that deplorable Adams bloke.
I see this said all the time and it’s very laudable but if WWFC went, how would the day to day operating costs of Adams Park be funded whilst a phoenix club rose there? Does Adams Park generate enough revenue from non football related events to keep the lights on or is the assumption that 4000 people would continue to come to see the phoenix club?
Can we please get clarity from the trust over what Rob Couhig is doing regarding the access road, the redevelopment of the home end and main stands and extension of the car park? These were specific clauses in the agreement to extend his share of the club from 75% to 90% last year. Is it still Couhig’s responsibility to do this or has this been passed on to Lomtadze? If the latter, is Lomtadze aware of these responsibilities?
https://wwst.org.uk/2023/04/supporters-trust-finalises-new-deal-to-secure-financial-future-for-chairboys
Some would, other people would chip in more, it wouldn't be easy but people would have a go. Hopefully someone else would take over
It's pretty clear, ML bought Feliciana