Post by Arnold on Jul 13, 2006 16:02:51 GMT -1
From Sky Sports -
Reading chairman John Madejski has hit out The Premiership's money-mad chairmen and agents for spoiling the experience of top-flight football for the smaller clubs.
The Royals have reached The Premiership for the first time during Madejski's 16-year tenure at the club, but he may not be around too long to enjoy it.
Reading are currently in £10 million worth of debt and the club's supremo had been hoping a season in the top-flight would allow them to balance their books.
However, the high-spending culture currently in The Premiership is going to force Madejski out of the club, and he is searching for a buyer to allow a quick sale.
Reading have been unable to splash the cash ahead of their first Premiership campaign, Seol Ki-Hyeon and Sam Sodje the only targets they have been able to strike deals for.
Madejski is not putting the current problems down to the players, instead blaming money-grabbing agents and big-spending chairmen for issues tainting what is one of the best leagues in the world.
"After the ITV Digital debacle, when money that was going to be paid to the clubs suddenly wasn't forthcoming, wages started becoming more normal," Madejski said.
"But then enter the theatre Mr Abramovich and it all started going up again.
"Naively I thought that when we got to The Premiership we would be able to balance the books but it is becoming all too apparent to me how costly it will be.
"The whole thing is ratcheted up with agents and it is obscene that everything is so darned expensive.
"If we could just get back to playing old-fashioned football with people who want to play football and are not just interested in having a bigger car or a bigger house and more and more money.
"It is just horrible. Clubs outside the big six are hardly surviving. They are all running at a loss and it is all wrong.
"I would love to stay but I just don't think I can afford to.
"I actually don't blame the players but I do blame people who are in a position to stop this tendency to pay more and more and more, which makes it all so terribly unhappy.
"There are a lot of people in football who have no pecuniary interests in football but are quite prepared to spend other people's money."
Reading chairman John Madejski has hit out The Premiership's money-mad chairmen and agents for spoiling the experience of top-flight football for the smaller clubs.
The Royals have reached The Premiership for the first time during Madejski's 16-year tenure at the club, but he may not be around too long to enjoy it.
Reading are currently in £10 million worth of debt and the club's supremo had been hoping a season in the top-flight would allow them to balance their books.
However, the high-spending culture currently in The Premiership is going to force Madejski out of the club, and he is searching for a buyer to allow a quick sale.
Reading have been unable to splash the cash ahead of their first Premiership campaign, Seol Ki-Hyeon and Sam Sodje the only targets they have been able to strike deals for.
Madejski is not putting the current problems down to the players, instead blaming money-grabbing agents and big-spending chairmen for issues tainting what is one of the best leagues in the world.
"After the ITV Digital debacle, when money that was going to be paid to the clubs suddenly wasn't forthcoming, wages started becoming more normal," Madejski said.
"But then enter the theatre Mr Abramovich and it all started going up again.
"Naively I thought that when we got to The Premiership we would be able to balance the books but it is becoming all too apparent to me how costly it will be.
"The whole thing is ratcheted up with agents and it is obscene that everything is so darned expensive.
"If we could just get back to playing old-fashioned football with people who want to play football and are not just interested in having a bigger car or a bigger house and more and more money.
"It is just horrible. Clubs outside the big six are hardly surviving. They are all running at a loss and it is all wrong.
"I would love to stay but I just don't think I can afford to.
"I actually don't blame the players but I do blame people who are in a position to stop this tendency to pay more and more and more, which makes it all so terribly unhappy.
"There are a lot of people in football who have no pecuniary interests in football but are quite prepared to spend other people's money."
