Everyone connected to Reading FC is going through a difficult time. The everyday employees are approaching the end of the month uncertain as to whether their paycheck will appear in their bank account or not, and that’s only if they haven’t been laid off. The supporters are frantic and afraid for the future of the team they have loved their entire lives.
That’s the worst thing about this whole issue, in my opinion. The disastrous ownership of Dai Yongge is having an impact on actual people. those who must feed their children, pay their bills, and keep their homes warm. The people who are afraid they won’t have a job next week are the ones with whom I have the most sympathy in this whole situation.
But I want to speak about the players and Ruben Selles. With everything going on, it’s simple to forget about them. In the worst-case scenario, should we fail, the manager and the players will likely find new clubs and continue to be paid salaries that most supporters and regular employees could only dream of. As a result, they may naturally find it more difficult to sympathise with them.
However, they will still be impacted by the terrible sandstorm Dai has created, and they are, in my opinion, handling this challenge with incredibly commendable fortitude. I’m proud of them for representing our football team. in especially Ruben Selles.
Selles has been handed the worst hand of any manager in this club’s history—it seems like we’ve said this about every manager since Jaap Stam. And it’s a long way off.
Off-field issues have reached an all-time low (or, I suppose, exacerbated) since he entered. Heavy transfer restrictions and embargoes, unrelenting mismanagement at the top, and unpaid HMRC invoices have all been experienced.
It’s simple to argue that Selles and the players still ought to have performed better on the pitch than they have thus far. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched some really scary performances this season. However, I believe that as a group of supporters, we can now comprehend the conditions that Selles, his team, and the players have been operating in.
You start to wonder why on earth Selles hasn’t walked yet when you consider the following: the CEO decided to sell two of Selles’ most important players without consulting him or Mark Bowen; players were forced to eat microwave meals; and there wasn’t even enough money to stay in hotels the night before away games or pay the catering company what they owed.
Just those three items are things I quickly thought of and made public. Just think of all the other things he has had to cope with. I have not even brought up the fact that two members of his own coaching staff, Eddie Niedzwiecki and Andrew Sparkes, were let go just a few weeks ago.
Remarkably, he hasn’t abandoned ship and declared that he can no longer do this role; instead, he has remained loyal to himself as a manager throughout it all. That is praiseworthy in and of itself. He also had a notable improvement in performance over the Christmas break and, most impressively, temporarily forewent his November salary in order to guarantee that other staff members received theirs first. Though it’s a predicament no one should ever find themselves in, only specific types of people engage in such behaviour.
As a manager or tactician, he might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but as a man and as a representative of Reading Football Club through its darkest hour, he deserves nothing but respect. Ruben Selles should always have a place at the SCL, if we make it through this chaos.
With the players, the tale is much the same. Of course, the team hasn’t played well overall, but let’s face it—most of the players on this club are young. Before this season, players with little to no first-team experience included Ben Elliott, Charlie Savage, Nelson Abbey, Caylan Vickers, Tyler Bindon, Michael Craig, Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, Matty Carson, and Dom Ballard. There have been fire baptisms and other hardships they have faced.
It’s surprising to me that their agents aren’t working nonstop to secure them other venues before the month is out, but once more, it’s admirable that they’re still putting on a show and facing the music every week the way they always have and always will.
Strangely, even though Dai Yongge has made it harder for me to feel emotionally connected to the team, my passion for this team and management has only gotten bigger. What on earth are all of the guys who signed in the summer thinking, really?
We would come in dead last if you were to rank all 92 professional clubs according to how appealing they are to players who are looking for clubs. It must have seemed to Mark Bowen that he was a holiday salesperson attempting to get multimillionaires to spend lengthy weekends at Butlins in the summer.
In addition, as previously indicated, players are now required to consume microwave meals and are not granted overnight stays before to away games. However, there are still players like Tom Holmes and Nelson Abbey who reportedly declined offers to move to Luton Town in favour of staying, a decision that they are now supposedly close to making. It’s both endearing and mind-blowing.
This team of players and their management deserve our unflinching and unceasing support, no matter what.
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