CONFIMRED… ish

[From Despair To Where?]

Do it at the Purple Turtle, Rob and Dai have a ceremonial signing. Rob gets the beers in, Dai gets ushered out the back door, sack over his head to maintain his anonymity, only to be dumped in the canal, Rasputin style.

[genome]

Can we arrange an evening with Huang Kad at the Tilehurst Royal British Legion club?

Brogue sits on stage giving us the inside scoop of the DM's he received and the journalists he duped

Reading4Ever has asked to do an interview...

You should've revealed your identity in the interview with him

[Forbury Lion]

Todays Price of Football Podcast (recorded on Tuesday) says there is an EFL meeting today to ratify the transfer of ownership, So that may well be the final hurdle before an announcement of the deal being completed

[rabidbee]

The deadline was extended until today’s EFL board meeting. Presume that the EFL will put out a statement at the end of the day.

[Royalwaster]

The deadline was extended until today’s EFL board meeting. Presume that the EFL will put out a statement at the end of the day.

Any idea of the timing of that board meeting?

[Linden Jones' Tash]

The wording of the EFL statement 5 days ago is:

"As such, the EFL Board has agreed to extend the time allowed for Mr Dai Yongge to divest his interests until Thursday 8 May, subject to compliance with all other EFL regulations. "

So that implies by the end of today...

No mention of any Board meeting...

[rabidbee]

The wording of the EFL statement 5 days ago is:

"As such, the EFL Board has agreed to extend the time allowed for Mr Dai Yongge to divest his interests until Thursday 8 May, subject to compliance with all other EFL regulations. "

So that implies by the end of today...

No mention of any Board meeting...

From the club statement at the weekend:

Based on the agreement between the parties, the EFL has agreed to extend its deadline for the divestment of Mr Dai Yongge’s shareholding until its next Board Meeting on 8 May.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Can we arrange an evening with Huang Kad at the Tilehurst Royal British Legion club?

Brogue sits on stage giving us the inside scoop of the DM's he received and the journalists he duped

Reading4Ever has asked to do an interview...

[Linden Jones' Tash]

The wording of the EFL statement 5 days ago is:

"As such, the EFL Board has agreed to extend the time allowed for Mr Dai Yongge to divest his interests until Thursday 8 May, subject to compliance with all other EFL regulations. "

So that implies by the end of today...

No mention of any Board meeting...

From the club statement at the weekend:

Based on the agreement between the parties, the EFL has agreed to extend its deadline for the divestment of Mr Dai Yongge’s shareholding until its next Board Meeting on 8 May.

Yea, my phone's AI overview of a search for an EFL Board meeting today revealed nothing...

[windermereROYAL]

Google.

There is no information indicating an EFL Board meeting is scheduled for today, May 8, 2025. The EFL Board is responsible for governing the English Football League, and their meetings are typically held to discuss matters related to the league's operation and policies.

[rabidbee]

So there's no schedule of meetings published online? But I did find retrospective references in press releases to board meetings in February and March, suggesting that the meetings might be monthly.

On an unrelated note, the preferred candidate for the role of chair of the new independent football regulator was interviewed by the Committee for Culture, Media and Sport yesterday, and Reading came up in the questions. The full transcript of the session is here, but here is the part referring to Reading:

Q41 Dr Huq: A case study example is Reading. Damian Green, who used to be on this Committee, was a mad Reading fan and used to go on about it all the time. The ex-owners Dai Yongge and Dai Xiu Li took over when it was near the top of the Championship in 2017, but by 2021 Reading FC was spending over 200% of its annual revenue on player wages—the antithesis of sustainability. What role should this regulator have in ensuring spending? Would it be able to step in if an owner goes bad halfway through—if another Reading situation occurs?

David Kogan: As it happens, I have known Damian Green for over 50 years. One of the MPs currently involved in the whole Reading issue is somebody I have talked to frequently about what is going on at Reading. If the regulator had existed some years ago, before the Reading issue was coming up, as part of the direct consequence of the work that we are able to do in licensing, a lot of the issues that have come up with Reading about the ownership of the ground, the financing and the nature of the owner would have come up through the powers within the regulator.

The owners and directors test is far more extensive with regulatory powers than the one within the EFL. That is why the EFL has now dropped its owners and directors test and is going to take the regulator’s. We have access to much greater knowledge and a much greater ability to intervene. If you look at the issues of ownership of grounds—that is absolutely part of the heritage of clubs—and the way in which the regulator can judge the heritage of clubs, all of those are tripwires that would have come up in any discussion of Reading if we had existed six, seven or eight years ago, or whenever the first Reading issues came up. But it is no longer an issue for us—it is an issue for the EFL board. I understand that they are currently dealing with it. I do not have insight into that.

Q42 Dr Huq: Two months ago, the EFL said that Dai Yongge had failed its owners and directors test and threatened him with expulsion, but nothing has actually happened. I guess someone is waiting for a sale to take place. In the event that an owner fails the fit and proper test, are you confident that this regulator would have the power to force people to sell shares?

David Kogan: We do not necessarily have the power to get people to sell shares, but we do have the power to investigate and ask clubs and owners to both meet our owners and directors test and give us the details of what they are doing with the club, which will allow us to act. In the case of Reading, I do not know what discussions have taken place within the EFL board. There is all sorts of speculation, as far as I understand it, that the previous owner of Wycombe may be a potential buyer, but that is not an issue for me and not an issue on which I am particularly well informed.

The whole premise of the work that the regulator can do within this Bill is that you start off with a licensing regime, which gives you the basis of knowledge and risk assessment, which allows you to get involved in a whole series of issues to do with the way that the clubs are planning their future and, at the same time, to assess owners and directors in terms of all sorts of provisions, including knowledge that we can get from things like the National Crime Agency, their actions overseas, and all sorts of other stuff. We will have knowledge that I do not believe the football authorities have had access to and that allows you to take a judgment about what you can do. Ultimately, we have the power of intervention.

Q43 Dr Huq: Would that be taking over a club temporarily?

David Kogan: I cannot specify what an intervention might mean, because we have not set up the system yet.

Dr Huq: I think that these things should be addressed to stop people saying that it is toothless and pointless.

David Kogan: Since it does not exist yet, I can understand why people might believe it might be toothless and pointless.

[Royalwaster]

You missed a bit later on:

Dr Huq: Do you have any sources other than Damian Green to confirm what the current situation is at Reading?

David Kogan: As it happens, I have a reliable Twitter/X source known as Huang Kad who has informed me that the sale is imminent and there is nothing to worry about.

[MartinRdg]

You missed a bit later on:

Dr Huq: Do you have any sources other than Damian Green to confirm what the current situation is at Reading?

David Kogan: As it happens, I have a reliable Twitter/X source known as Huang Kad who has informed me that the sale is imminent and there is nothing to worry about.

[Mr Angry]

This isn't the right forum for this, but David Kogan - chosen by Lisa Nandy to be the Chair of the Regulator - is a major Labour Party donor and has giving donations to both Starmer and Lisa Nandy, and used to head up LabourList.

Whilst he maybe perfectly suited to the role, the fact that he has never been involved in Football before at any level, (although he did advise the Premier League and the EFL on television rights deals), seem to suggest that there is at least a whiff of cronyism in the placing of him in the position.......

[Sutekh]

This isn't the right forum for this, but David Kogan - chosen by Lisa Nandy to be the Chair of the Regulator - is a major Labour Party donor and has giving donations to both Starmer and Lisa Nandy, and used to head up LabourList.

Whilst he maybe perfectly suited to the role, the fact that he has never been involved in Football before at any level, (although he did advise the Premier League and the EFL on television rights deals), seem to suggest that there is at least a whiff of cronyism in the placing of him in the position.......

Really? Wasn’t expecting that at all

[Brogue]

Just been told the efl statement on the ownership completion will be announced very shortly.

[Hendo]

Cheers HK!

Would imagine it'll be 5pm then.

[morganb]

In Brogue we trust

[genome]

I'm huanging on his every word

[Brogue]

With the proposed sale progressing towards completion, the League has extended the time allowed for Mr Dai Yongge to divest his interests in Reading FC until 17:00 on Monday 12 May 2025.

As communicated earlier this week, a sale of the Club has been agreed in principle with Redwood Holdings Limited.