Football League World
·20 December 2024
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·20 December 2024
The two clubs' supporters are pining for new owners.
Cardiff City or Reading would be good clubs for prospective owners to look to invest in, according to Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman.
Football ownership in the UK has changed dramatically in recent years. The glamorous takeover of Wrexham by Hollywood actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds in 2021 made it fashionable to own a team that wasn't in the Premier League.
Between them taking over at the Racecourse and last Christmas, 14 EFL teams received some level of North American investment into their clubs, as per The Athletic, and there have been more since then, with Championship leaders Sheffield United set to be the next ones to officially have new owners from across the pond.
American money isn't going to stop flooding into the EFL for a long time. Wrexham hosted more celebrities in Billie Joe Armstrong and Channing Tatum last weekend for their draw against Cambridge United. X owner Elon Musk has also been linked with a takeover of Cheltenham Town.
Despite the fan fair around the likes of Wrexham, who have raced up the leagues thanks to their financial might, they haven't been lauded and praised by everyone in the same way that some have propped them up as some sort of fairytale story. That said, there are a lot of clubs who would kill to have owners like they have.
Goodman, a former EFL striker turned commentator and pundit, believes that the Bluebirds and the Royals should be looked at by anyone wanting to get involved in English football.
"For me, one club whose fans would welcome new owners and has bags of potential is Cardiff City," said Goodman to CoinPoker.
"It's a club that, not too long ago, was in the Premier League and, with Vincent Tan having been there for a long time, you wonder if he holds the same love and has the same ambition for the club that he once did. I'm not sure he's prepared to invest in the same way he previously did.
"Cardiff is the capital of Wales with a strong catchment area, a great academy and a good stadium, which are all factors that could appeal to high-profile owners.
"For the fans of Reading, I would love it if they could get rid of Dai Yongge. My heart goes out to them after the last couple of years. It's a good football club, which again, has a good stadium, great training ground and produces exciting players from their academy.
"It needs a rebuild and is a club that, with the right investment, has potential."
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