MADEJSKI STADIUM HOTEL LIMITED

[Royal Rother]

I can't really get my head around why the new Thai owners have bought the football club. As we're never going to make much money it's not a very wise business investment. The only reason I can think you'd buy a club like Reading is for a bit of fun and amusement, yet they're not even in the same country to enjoy the limelight from a few country bumpkins. I guess time will tell.

Very simple. They have their eyes on the land around the MadStad, with a view to building a large retail centre. The Football Club is merely an inconvenience and will be relocated, (and downsized to accord with our, by then, much reduced status in the Football League - or possibly non-league?), then sold off or donated to a fan-based consortium. This will allow them to make shed loads of money from their new proprty empire. Much along the Maidstone United and Dartford models, (although IIRC these were for resi rather than retail options).

Sound far fetched? Of course it does, however, it makes a lot more sense to me than them buying RFC for the good of the club, town or local area. They certainly didn't buy it to show off to their Thai mates buying other clubs in the FL, or to make money out of the football side of things.

Just my paranoid musings of course, with no basis in fact whatsoever.

I'd like to see Floyd's musings now.

[tmesis]

I can't really get my head around why the new Thai owners have bought the football club. As we're never going to make much money it's not a very wise business investment. The only reason I can think you'd buy a club like Reading is for a bit of fun and amusement, yet they're not even in the same country to enjoy the limelight from a few country bumpkins. I guess time will tell.

not a huge amount of info here, but still some...

Such a staggering amount could bring about massive improvement in terms of facilities if the money were instead to be spent in Thailand, which would no doubt help the already fast-growing domestic league expand at an even faster pace.

However, Police United boss Samrit sees it differently, saying that investment abroad is just another way to help develop Thai football.

"It was all about sporting reasons [when deciding to buy Reading]. We deemed it okay to do business if the chance [to buy a football club] came by, and if we could afford it. I saw it as the opportunity to learn football in a really professional way."

Samrit also believes it requires full-scale investment to help upgrade Thai football as a whole.

"To invest money in the domestic game, there is no guarantee of success. If we do decide to do so, we need to make investment across the system, not just in buying one or two teams. That would result in the overall improvement of Thai football," he said.

Surapol Utintu, executive director of Thai Beverage Marketing, sings a similar tune, arguing that it is a case of everything to gain from making investment in football overseas.

"By sponsoring or buying these teams, it helps create awareness of our country on the world map. In the past, not many had any idea about our country, but since we [Thai investors] have sponsored or bought Premier League teams, people recognise our country more everywhere I go.

"We learn from how they select junior players and learn their scouting system, the training system, nutrition and educational programme - and we [ThaiBev] can even send our juniors to train at Finch Farm [Everton's training ground]. We even set up a Chang Everton Junior programme and select talented young players to have training experience at Finch Farm."

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/806 ... paign=news

[Royal Rother]

Nice one.

Won't convince the cynics of course.