COSU Statement - Friday 7th June

[Hampshire Shrimp]

The sticker was just to try and justify the club paying for it !

How did he get away with it? What were the other Directors doing at the time?
No questions ever asked as to how much debt, robbing Peter to pay Paul, tangled web of so many companies.
This is why the fit and proper test for owning / running a football club should be an ongoing process, not just on initial purchase. It`s not just the , other clubs have had rogue owners and some have gone under. The process should be monitored as they go along, i.e accounts registered on time, and not be able to drag the club through the mud by your relentless chasing your gold pot. It should be a community asset, with custodians much like COSU will model themselves on. Hopefully, they get their opportunity and after x amount of years they may move on and hand over the club to new custodians in a much better position than it has been in the past.

 

[C'mon you Shrimpers]

When RM took over originally, was it seen as a good thing? The history of that is before my time.

Absolutely not. Resulted in the reformation of the Supporters Club now called the Shrimpers Trust.

 

[E for B and Billy Best]

When RM took over originally, was it seen as a good thing? The history of that is before my time.

In the piece in the Echo at the time, Vic Jobson said "Ron Martin would finish the job he had started". Not wrong there then. I was suspicious in 1998 and nothing changed even during the promotion seasons.

 

[bluesfansince1952]

When RM took over originally, was it seen as a good thing? The history of that is before my time.

Depends on who you asked. Some thought it was a very bad thing and could never end well.
But to be fair to RM I never thought either he or the club would still be around twenty years later.

 

[SUBBlue]

Depends on who you asked. Some thought it was a very bad thing and could never end well.
But to be fair to RM I never thought either he or the club would still be around twenty years later.

I remember the battle between him & John Main over who would be Chairman.

A lot of people were just glad to be shot of Vic Jobson at the time & welcomed the change in ownership.

Be careful what you wish for as they say as it has proved to be a case of out of the frying pan & into the fire. However I don’t recall too many other options being available to us at the time.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

John Main was spot on.

When RM took over originally, was it seen as a good thing? The history of that is before my time.

We weren't sure at the time. He sounded good, as he had all these plans, for a shiny new stadium, and for Southend to be run as a Championship club, even when we weren't in it. He was involved in a lot of companies, so we thought he had a lot of money behind him. But outgoing Chairman John Main warned there will be no new stadium at Fossetts. He also warned of the conflict of interests as RM was charging rent for Roots Hall, but paying it to one of his company's. He basically was warning that RM was not what he portrays. It turns out John Main was right about everything. Straight away there was arguments about the Fossetts land that Lansbury owned. RM was drawing up plans for land he didn't even own. Lansbury called him out publicly, saying he was misrepresenting facts and blaming Lansbury. Then KSS team of Architects were knocked, over the South East Essex College and the new stadium design by Ron's Martin Dawn plc. The college also said Martin Dawn owed them a considerable amount of money. RM faced a petition for bankruptcy from KSS Architects.
All that was a foretaste of the way Ron Martin operates. From there, a few of us spoke out and said we were in big trouble with this man at the helm. Cricko was also onto him straight away.

 

[Chrisb]

When RM took over originally, was it seen as a good thing? The history of that is before my time.

I always thought he looked like a dodgy chancer but, at the time, it seemed good that someone had bought our club even though I never wanted to leave Roots Hall..

 

[E for B and Billy Best]

John Main was spot on.

Then KSS team of Architects were knocked, over the South East Essex College and the new stadium design by Ron's Martin Dawn plc. The college also said Martin Dawn owed them a considerable amount of money. RM faced a petition for bankruptcy from KSS Architects.
All that was a foretaste of the way Ron Martin operates. From there, a few of us spoke out and said we were in big trouble with this man at the helm. Cricko was also onto him straight away.

I wish he had kept the piece in the Echo regarding the fall out between Essex University and Martin Dawn. It's a bit hazy now but I think Essex University ceased dealing with them and publicly said, they are reputable and do not conduct their business how Martin Dawn wanted to do things.

 

[Shrimper]

I wish he had kept the piece in the Echo regarding the fall out between Essex University and Martin Dawn. It's a bit hazy now but I think Essex University ceased dealing with them and publicly said, they are reputable and do not conduct their business how Martin Dawn wanted to do things.

Was it in relation to this;

South Essex: Blow to £55m college plan

South East Essex College has been dealt a bitter blow with its £55 million town centre relocation plan bounced back for reconsideration.

www.gazette-news.co.uk

 

[Target man]

Well said Leeboy.

The Sun are gutter press who never investigate properly and just latch onto bad news stories to try and stir the proverbial.

Never liked the paper since the Hillsborough incident.

I wouldn't even use it in my cats litter box .....

 

[Ricey]

How many of us so called fans have rented a helicopter and stuck an SUFC sticker on it though?

I know the location of said sticker

 

[Dave Smiths Love Child]

I remember a lot of people boasting they had his number and he was a good guy.
Probably same people who rave about King Kevin nowadays and yet sat in Southend bank upper with Alvin Martin out and take Maher with you on a bed sheet.

 

[Crowstone Crevette]

I know the location of said sticker

You must have a massive fridge!

 

[E for B and Billy Best]

Was it in relation to this;

South Essex: Blow to £55m college plan

South East Essex College has been dealt a bitter blow with its £55 million town centre relocation plan bounced back for reconsideration.

www.gazette-news.co.uk

That was the project, but if I remember correctly the parting of ways, had something to do with college land behind the White Horse.

 

[Crowstone Crevette]

That was the project, but if I remember correctly the parting of ways, had something to do with college land behind the White Horse.

The College Sports Ground where I used to play football for Southend Collegians. It's now a housing estate!

 

[Stan33]

The College Sports Ground where I used to play football for Southend Collegians. It's now a housing estate!

I played for them ,when were u there ?

 

[Ricey]

You must have a massive fridge!

It’s on a locker, I have been offered it. Might take him up on the offer and put it in my outhouse. I’m waiting until the door smashes him on his way out before I do though.

 

[Crowstone Crevette]

I played for them ,when were u there ?

Mid to late 80's / early 90's around the same time as fbm.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

The Martins on the other hand will likely be very happy to see COSU walk away. They think they can then collect additional money from the homes to be built at Roots Hall. That is probably a mistake, I suspect the council would insist that the Hall remains as a stadium for the phoenix club, but then the Martins have made many mistakes before.

One thing this new Council could do, if they had a brain cell and an ounce of political balls between them, is make it absolutely clear how they would see the World in the event that the Martins drove the local football team off a cliff in their pursuit of personal riches.

For example, they could pass a resolution to compulsorily purchase Roots Hall in the event that SUFC were to be allowed by the Martins to die in its present form. I don’t know if that’s possible or would work (and you could argue they should do this anyway ahead of SUFC’s demise, but they clearly do NOT have the gonads for such a move)…

Either way, I’m sure a way / ways could be found to make it crystal clear to the Martins that their pot of gold would disappear like a mirage before their eyes in the event that they refuse to release SUFC from their grip and drive it to the wall when they didn’t need to.

My fear is that this is a game of chicken, with the Martins believing that COSU will relent on the £20M at the last moment, or part of it at least, in order to get the club signed over before it dies at the Martins’ hands. Sadly I believe that’s as half-baked as 25 years of Ron’s Fossetts ‘plans’…

 

[Holy Joe]

One thing this new Council could do, if they had a brain cell and an ounce of political balls between them, is make it absolutely clear how they would see the World in the event that the Martins drove the local football team off a cliff in their pursuit of personal riches.

For example, they could pass a resolution to compulsorily purchase Roots Hall in the event that SUFC were to be allowed by the Martins to die in its present form. I don’t know if that’s possible or would work (and you could argue they should do this anyway ahead of SUFC’s demise, but they clearly do NOT have the gonads for such a move)…

Either way, I’m sure a way / ways could be found to make it crystal clear to the Martins that their pot of gold would disappear like a mirage before their eyes in the event that they refuse to release SUFC from their grip and drive it to the wall when they didn’t need to.

My fear is that this is a game of chicken, with the Martins believing that COSU will relent on the £20M at the last moment, or part of it at least, in order to get the club signed over before it dies at the Martins’ hands. Sadly I believe that’s as half-baked as 25 years of Ron’s Fossetts ‘plans’…

I don't think they can just cpo things, so I suspect that's a non starter. But they could make RH a community asset, which gives it some, limited, protection. Even in the event POSU takes control of RH, I'd still like to see the council move to protect the place.