Chairman Opinion Poll

[Deathy]

Well maybe not so much a poll, as we're only a small voice, but I wonder what the general opinion is at present about our long standing chairman.

There's absolutely no doubting what he has done for us, where we would be without him etc, but a lot of what I hear at the moment and have heard in the last couple of seasons is a sense of frustration and 'we're now being held back'.

Are we? Is that fair? Do you feel John Madejski has taken this football club as far as he can?

[Ian Royal]

Bloody brilliant Chairman. Tory twat.

[Deathy]

You don't like his political allegiances?

JM for Prime Minister. Taxes raised, little spent on improving services, budgets slashed...

[Dirk Gently]

Brilliant businessman, objectionable man.

Some very strange ideas, and a dictionary that doesn't contain the word "compromise".

[oldebiscuit]

I could not think of a better Chairman for Reading Football Club. A Chairman that talks and listens to the fans, but most importantly, makes the club a reasonably successful one whilst keeping the club on a sensible financial footing. Sure, i would like to see some new signings, but its great to see the youngsters coming through the ranks, and some of them local boys too. Where would the fun be if a foreign consortium purchased the club, invested millions on so called top players that don't give a toss about the club, its fans, or indeed any one except themselves, and then treated us to football with no passion, with plenty of cheating, diving, playacting and so on, the sight of a 15 stone, 6'2" man being laid out by the gentlest of touches, and then leaving because another club has been taken over by a bigger consortium paying a £1,000 a week more than we are. oh! the thought just makes you want to throw up.

'As for being held back' or, 'we don't want to go up' What a load of bolocks! Long may Sir john reign!!!

[RoyalBlue]

You don't like his political allegiances?

JM for Prime Minister. Taxes raised, little spent on improving services, budgets slashed...

Now you mention it, he really has proved to be an ideal Tory but with some Mandelson style spin doctors thrown in for good style!

Just like politics, having seen just how bad the other lot can be, many say that they would rather have him!

No real political comment or bias intended - I despise the lot of them! £25 per day unreceipted expenses, just because they might have to have lunch in the extremely highly subsidised House of Commons facilities!

Brilliant businessman, objectionable man.

Some very strange ideas, and a dictionary that doesn't contain the word "compromise".

Substitute 'very successful' for 'brilliant' and I'd go along with that too.

[Dirk Gently]

You don't like his political allegiances?

JM for Prime Minister. Taxes raised, little spent on improving services, budgets slashed...

Now you mention it, he really has proved to be an ideal Tory but with some Mandelson style spin doctors thrown in for good style!

And always amusing seeing what a fuss he creates when he talks to the press without his advisors/spin doctors there to control him ....

[Thaumagurist*]

Rather him than Ken Bates or Peter Risdale.

[Baines]

Poll needed.

[Platypuss]

Rather him than Ken Bates or Peter Risdale.

Who is Peter Risdale?

[Thaumagurist*]

Rather him than Ken Bates or Peter Risdale.

Who is Peter Risdale?

Sorry, it appears that I've misspelled Peter's surname. It, of course, is Ridsdale.

[Royal Rob]

Until Reading were promoted to the Premiership John Madejski did a brilliant job. But now it is clear that investment is needed in the playing squad. Having recouped millions (Doyle £6.25m, Sonko £2.5m, Kitson £5m and Hunt £??m) in transfer fees we have seen just a fraction of this re-invested in the team. Indeed, when you add in the players we no longer have on the books (Little, Lita, Hahnemann, Murty, Duberry etc) it is fast clear that the squad is much leaner than this was. We've also swallowed millions in parachute payments yet this money has gone on just a handful of budget buys. It's not even as if we spent extravagant sums when we were in the top flight - we were making a hefty profit at the time.

There is clearly money in the pot - all this talk about the need to be frugal is overblown. Reading need a chairman that will release the purse strings.

So my opinion of the chairman = tosspot.

[Thaumagurist*]

It's a fact that we're spunking most of the transfer income on player's wages.

[Dirk Gently]

Until Reading were promoted to the Premiership John Madejski did a brilliant job. But now it is clear that investment is needed in the playing squad. Having recouped millions (Doyle £6.25m, Sonko £2.5m, Kitson £5m and Hunt £??m) in transfer fees we have seen just a fraction of this re-invested in the team. Indeed, when you add in the players we no longer have on the books (Little, Lita, Hahnemann, Murty, Duberry etc) it is fast clear that the squad is much leaner than this was. We've also swallowed millions in parachute payments yet this money has gone on just a handful of budget buys. It's not even as if we spent extravagant sums when we were in the top flight - we were making a hefty profit at the time.

There is clearly money in the pot - all this talk about the need to be frugal is overblown. Reading need a chairman that will release the purse strings.

So my opinion of the chairman = tosspot.

But at the end of the day, what's it got to do with you? It's entirely his money and down to him how he spends it. How would you feel if someone called you a tosspot because you didn't spend enough of your money on something they wanted you to spend it on?

[RoyalBlue]

Poll needed.

I'm not sure Graham would do any better than our current chairman.

It's a fact that we're spunking most of the transfer income on player's wages.

I'm not sure that applies now, even if it ever did.

[Northern Git]

Until Reading were promoted to the Premiership John Madejski did a brilliant job. But now it is clear that investment is needed in the playing squad. Having recouped millions (Doyle £6.25m, Sonko £2.5m, Kitson £5m and Hunt £??m) in transfer fees we have seen just a fraction of this re-invested in the team. Indeed, when you add in the players we no longer have on the books (Little, Lita, Hahnemann, Murty, Duberry etc) it is fast clear that the squad is much leaner than this was. We've also swallowed millions in parachute payments yet this money has gone on just a handful of budget buys. It's not even as if we spent extravagant sums when we were in the top flight - we were making a hefty profit at the time.

There is clearly money in the pot - all this talk about the need to be frugal is overblown. Reading need a chairman that will release the purse strings.

So my opinion of the chairman = tosspot.

But at the end of the day, what's it got to do with you? It's entirely his money and down to him how he spends it. How would you feel if someone called you a tosspot because you didn't spend enough of your money on something they wanted you to spend it on?

Whilst I know what you mean Dirk I think you will find that as the club is a Limited Company and the holding company is a PLC the income, from any source, is not JMs. As the majority sharholder and chairman he can pretty much decide what is spent but the clubs money is not 'his'.

[oldebiscuit]

Until Reading were promoted to the Premiership John Madejski did a brilliant job. But now it is clear that investment is needed in the playing squad. Having recouped millions (Doyle £6.25m, Sonko £2.5m, Kitson £5m and Hunt £??m) in transfer fees we have seen just a fraction of this re-invested in the team. Indeed, when you add in the players we no longer have on the books (Little, Lita, Hahnemann, Murty, Duberry etc) it is fast clear that the squad is much leaner than this was. We've also swallowed millions in parachute payments yet this money has gone on just a handful of budget buys. It's not even as if we spent extravagant sums when we were in the top flight - we were making a hefty profit at the time.

There is clearly money in the pot - all this talk about the need to be frugal is overblown. Reading need a chairman that will release the purse strings.

So my opinion of the chairman = tosspot.

I think that you will find that the money from the transfers has gone into financing the club, as the gate receipts alone come no where near to covering the cost of the players extravagant wages, and the wages of the dozens of employees that run RFC.

[Dirk Gently]

Until Reading were promoted to the Premiership John Madejski did a brilliant job. But now it is clear that investment is needed in the playing squad. Having recouped millions (Doyle £6.25m, Sonko £2.5m, Kitson £5m and Hunt £??m) in transfer fees we have seen just a fraction of this re-invested in the team. Indeed, when you add in the players we no longer have on the books (Little, Lita, Hahnemann, Murty, Duberry etc) it is fast clear that the squad is much leaner than this was. We've also swallowed millions in parachute payments yet this money has gone on just a handful of budget buys. It's not even as if we spent extravagant sums when we were in the top flight - we were making a hefty profit at the time.

There is clearly money in the pot - all this talk about the need to be frugal is overblown. Reading need a chairman that will release the purse strings.

So my opinion of the chairman = tosspot.

But at the end of the day, what's it got to do with you? It's entirely his money and down to him how he spends it. How would you feel if someone called you a tosspot because you didn't spend enough of your money on something they wanted you to spend it on?

Whilst I know what you mean Dirk I think you will find that as the club is a Limited Company and the holding company is a PLC the income, from any source, is not JMs. As the majority sharholder and chairman he can pretty much decide what is spent but the clubs money is not 'his'.

On a legal point you're quite right of course - but as he owns virtually 100% of both commecial entities it's effectively teh same - and as people are looking for extra investment from outside the football club (Ltd company) then he or the company he owns would be the sources of that investment.

[(.)Boobies(.)]

Until Reading were promoted to the Premiership John Madejski did a brilliant job. But now it is clear that investment is needed in the playing squad. Having recouped millions (Doyle £6.25m, Sonko £2.5m, Kitson £5m and Hunt £??m) in transfer fees we have seen just a fraction of this re-invested in the team. Indeed, when you add in the players we no longer have on the books (Little, Lita, Hahnemann, Murty, Duberry etc) it is fast clear that the squad is much leaner than this was. We've also swallowed millions in parachute payments yet this money has gone on just a handful of budget buys. It's not even as if we spent extravagant sums when we were in the top flight - we were making a hefty profit at the time.

There is clearly money in the pot - all this talk about the need to be frugal is overblown. Reading need a chairman that will release the purse strings.

So my opinion of the chairman = tosspot.

I won't revert to name calling, but he certainly is holding this football club back now, yes!
Very frustrating when you think where we finished in the Premier League that first season.

[mad79]

We missed the chance of moving the club forward in a big way after the first year in the prem. Just missing out on europe and then not investing in good players that would come and help us. Yes we brought marek and cisse but we never replaced Sidwell and that was key as a gap in the middle of the field became more than we could deal with so we just stared to lump it. Sir John is a great chairman and has brought the club along way but then let us down at the moment of greatness