Portsmouth’s financial problems are continuing, and this weekend they go to Reading, where the home crowd is organising a march against club owner Dai Yongge
Before this weekend’s League One match, Reading fans will demonstrate against owner Dai Yongge by walking in sympathy with former Portsmouth player Dave Kitson.
Pompey, who have had rather contrasting seasons thus far this season, will meet Reading, a team that was just relegated, on Saturday in Berkshire. Thanks to an undefeated season thus far, John Mousinho’s team is riding high atop League One, while Ruben Selles’ team is in the relegation zone after six losses.
Dramas off the pitch haven’t helped Reading’s performance, as the team is still in hot water. This season, the former Premier League team has already lost four points due to late player payments and noncompliance with an order to deposit money into an account.
This penalty follows the club’s relegation from the Championship last season due to a six-point deduction, and a transfer embargo is in effect as a result of the club’s failure to pay a tax payment to HMRC.
Tennis balls have been thrown into the pitch and black clothing has been worn by supporters to express their discontent. A well-known Fratton Park face will be supporting the cause this weekend as the Sell Before We Dai group plans a march in advance of the meeting with Portsmouth.
With just 12 goals in 72 games for Pompey between 2010 and 2012, 
Dave Kitson was never able to have a major influence on the south coast. His most noteworthy performance was perhaps the 90-minute equaliser against Doncaster Rovers in 2012. The striker, who made 159 appearances for the Royals and assisted them in winning promotion to the Premier League in 2006, is undoubtedly a Reading icon.
This Saturday, before kickoff at 3 p.m., there will be a march between the Select Car Leasing Stadium and Reading’s town centre. “Reading FC is in a critical situation: relegated to League One, facing charges from the EFL, and run by an owner who neither understands nor cares about our club,” the Sell Before We Dai group claimed. Dai Yongge has utterly failed us. All he has brought with him is failure, suffering, and humiliation. He has no regard for the staff, players, or supporters of Reading. He has violated our confidence and breached his word.
“Enough is enough. We’d like him gone. We wish to regain our club. We are urging all Reading supporters to participate in a large-scale protest because of this.
While acknowledging the anticipated demonstrations this weekend, Pompey manager Mousinho advised his team to remain focused on the game. “The hardest thing in football is to try to block out all the noise and sometimes you can look too much at external factors,” the manager said in an interview with The News. We are clueless about the conditions on Saturday, including whether or not tennis balls will be thrown onto the field and whether there will be any disturbances. We are unable to get ready for any of it.
“Go ahead and go; if these things go smoothly, there won’t be any issues. We continue if there is a 25-minute stoppage time due to an injury to the referee. It’s terrific if we have back-to-back away games, but we have to play through whatever ailments or injuries we may have. It’s simply another illustration of how a lot of different things happen in football that are out of your control. You have no idea what the Reading supporters will do in protest; we’ll take care of business as normal and try to be as prepared as we can.
“We are just worried about ourselves and the away fans. The Pompey unit gives us the impression that we are all going there and within it together when we go to Reading. I’m confident that we’ll draw a sizable following because we perform everywhere. All we need to concentrate on is making sure we get there and attempt to win the match.
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