New Reading owner Rob Couhig has vowed to rebuild the crisis-hit club with honesty, technology, and fiscal restraint after officially completing his takeover in May.
Couhig, who made his name as a successful trial lawyer and previously owned Wycombe Wanderers, takes control of a club still reeling from years of financial chaos under Dai Yongge. Reading entered the summer with just six first-team players under contract and widespread unrest in the stands.
Despite the messy backdrop, Couhig struck a defiant tone in an in-depth interview, promising to modernise the club from top to bottom—without making reckless gambles.
“We’re not going to bust the bank in an effort to go up,” Couhig said. “The reason investors are backing this is because of the way we do our business. We spend their money like our own.”
The American revealed he was juggling takeover negotiations while simultaneously handling a court case in Louisiana, waking up at 4am for club calls before heading into the courtroom. Now firmly back at the helm, he has set about confronting the club’s deep-rooted operational issues.
Upon arrival, his team found Reading still using manual invoicing systems, relying on physical servers instead of cloud infrastructure, and dealing with a demoralised workforce hesitant to act for fear of financial collapse.
“We found infrastructure problems and a huge morale issue,” Couhig explained. “They were afraid to do anything in case the money ran out. It was like a guy selling the furniture to pay the mortgage.”
To reverse this, Couhig has reintroduced two high-level accountants from his Wycombe days—one assessing every department’s viability, the other digitising the club’s operations. Soon, Reading’s senior team will be able to review club finances and performance via a mobile dashboard.
He also plans to harness artificial intelligence and data tools to drive both footballing and commercial progress, pointing to Reading’s proximity to the UK’s tech corridor as a key reason for investing.
“This is an opportunity to infuse high technology into the world’s greatest game,” he said. “Literally three miles from the stadium is where every major UK tech company has a base.”
While ambition for a return to the Premier League is there, Couhig is clear that sustainability comes first. The short-term aim is to stabilise and build belief, while using Royals TV and other channels to grow the club’s global presence.
Writer’s View
Rob Couhig brings a refreshing clarity to a club long clouded by dysfunction. Rather than throw money at the problem, his approach blends modern infrastructure, sound business principles, and long-term thinking. It’s not flashy, but it might just be exactly what Reading need. Crucially, he understands that you don’t buy success—you build it. And in a post-Dai era, that realism is exactly what supporters will welcome.
