Reading fc on alert as transfer target suffers admits ‘tears have been shed’ over current off-field crisis
nDave Kitso, a former striker for Reading, has said that he has shed tears throughout the club’s off-field problems as he has watched his team’s “legacy” be destroyed.
Almost fifteen years after leaving the Royals, Kitson—a monthly contributor for the Reading Chronicle—remains involved in the community, having founded The Dave Kitson Academy and serving as an assistant coach at Bluecoats School.
Under Dai Yongge’s ownership, the Royals have been in League One and have been bouncing from one financial issue to another since departing the Premier League with the team just out of it in 2008.
Having made it through the previous season despite being docked points for the third consecutive year, there appears to be hope as private talks with possible new owners continue.
During an interview with the acclaimed Price of Football podcast, Kitson was questioned regarding his thoughts on the team.
He said, “There have been some tears shed over it.” “If you have left something in a better state than when you discovered it, it is your legacy. Have you been kind and cheerful toward others? It doesn’t matter who you played for or against, or how many goals you scored. Did you discover something, make an effort to assist it, and leave it in a better state as your legacy?
“We had to witness someone come in and absolutely demolish this football club, which is why there have been tears shed over it. Even now, I still cry because it’s so sad.”
Owner Yongge has led Reading through a difficult journey since taking control in 2017.
The past four years have been nothing short of disastrous, plagued by ongoing financial difficulties, shattering the club’s transfer record on numerous occasions and, for a while, covering the cost of supporters’ travel to away matches.
Over the past 18 months, the club has seen its worst period of neglect in a generation, with frequent instances of unpaid invoices and missed paychecks.
“If you go back to a lot of the social media at the time and a lot of the columns written at the time about Reading, very few people were saying it was great or being really happy that we’d spent £8m on a striker,” Kitson said of the owners. “Almost everyone was really skeptical since that’s not what we do at Reading—we
“I have no idea what some of these owners are thinking. “Okay, when was this club last successful and how did it do it?” is what you could say if you purchase a football team. The two times Reading was promoted to the Premier League, they underpaid the young, eager players they brought in. It shattered the point record and had staff that knew where they were. The majority of the team the next time consisted of Academy alums who had been part of the squad throughout our tenure and had stepped up to assume the role. They were, once more, underpaid, hungry, and young.
Reading is accustomed to it, so when someone shows up and announces they’re going to purchase an £8 million striker and all the
No one thought it would work out, no one asked for it, and nobody wanted it. You don’t go to one agency when building squads because you wind up with a potpourri of players, including a 35-year-old right-back, an 18-year-old left-back, and an unproven midfielder. It has just become progressively worse.”