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'Make us a club again', plea football fans

Daisy Stephens
BBC News
Campaign Collective/Sell Before We Dai A crowd of people holding up a blue and white banner saying "we're tired of villains, clubs deserve heroes". A man standing behind the banner is also holding up a cardboard sign saying "Dai out", and a person dressed in a red and black Deadpool costume is posting in front of the bannerCampaign Collective/Sell Before We Dai
Fans staged a protest before the Reading v Wrexham game on Tuesday

Fans of a football club that has been for sale for more than 500 days have pleaded with a buyer to "make us a club again".

Reading FC fans protested against the club's owner Dai Yongge, after a period of financial mismanagement that has brought points deductions, transfer embargoes and winding-up petitions.

The protest took place before the team's game against Wrexham, which was part-bought by Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds in 2021.

Mo Brown, who was supported Reading since she was 10, said fans were "desperate to get this club sold and get back on the path of success again".

"It's been a long time, we've been through a lot of ups and downs," she said.

"We just don't know what to believe anymore, and if an owner is actually on the horizon or not... we just need Dai to sell the club and make us a club again."

A head and shoulders photo of a woman with short blonde hair, wearing a black coat. She's looking slightly past the camera. It's dark and there's a crowd of people behind her
Fan Mo Brown said supporters were "desperate" for the club to be sold

Sue Symes, who is part of the protest group Sell Before We Dai, said the timing of the protest was partly because of Wrexham's story.

"We really associate them with being a community club and I think what their owners have done with their club is absolutely amazing," she said.

"They've gone from almost on the brink of going out of business, and now they're riding the crest of this wonderful wave."

Some of the protesters were dressed up in Deadpool costumes, linking to Ryan Reynolds' famous role.

"Every club needs heroes not villains and we'd really like to get our hero," said Ms Symes.

A head and shoulders photo of a woman with shoulder-length black greying hair and black glasses, wearing a purple hoodie. She's looking slightly past the camera. It's dark and there's a crowd of people behind her
Sue Symes said Reading was a community club just like Wrexham

She said the feeling among the fans was "a real mixture of absolute fatigue and irritation" at how long the uncertainty has been going on for.

"So many fans have really suffered with poor mental health over this period, it's been soul-destroying really," she said.

"We may well be on the brink of a new chapter but really we need to remove those final barriers so that we can just get back to being a normal club and at the heart of our community in Reading... we want that feelgood feeling back because we've been missing it for quite some time."

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