Answers to questions just this minute received. I will add a report later as I'm off to RH for the game.
1. Why is the club official website not being used as it should be for info/news to fans? Why wasn't the fans told about the players released at the end of last season?
SK- There have been issues with the websites of all Clubs and the change over of the underlying platform. This is now being improved and hopefully will be operating fully in the next month or so. As regards content and stories we will endeavour to ensure there is a full coverage of all the Clubs activities such as players, community and commercial activities. As discussed I want some consolidated feed back on Blues Player with the aim of meeting FLi possible with supporter representation to discuss the issues and how they an be overcome. Player and the website is an increasingly important source of income for the Club and it is a vital communication tool for the fans, if we can work together and get a product the supporters want to use then that is good for everyone.
2. Why did they manage the Bilel and Hall transfers (or non transfers) so badly?
SK - I think the question is unfair. Dealing with players when offers are received especially from higher leagues is always difficult and a complex 3 way negotiation, and then there is at least one agent. Hall and Mohsni are both technically still Southend players and we are not going to get into a slanging match over the rights and wrongs of what has happened as there are all sorts of complications, so lets discuss again in January.
3. What went wrong with 2 of our major assets, both with a year left on their contracts, and how can they avoid that happening again? How about asking him if during this difficult time there is any way we as supporters of the club can work with him instead of against him to achieve a united Southend football club so we all can get back to supporting the club and achieve success on and off the field.
SK - As noted above these situations are always difficult and football history is littered with issues such as players forcing moves from a Club, Southend are no different. Nothing went wrong if you turn it around we helped create 2 exceptional players who attracted interest from other parties, but this is where it gets complicated because you no longer have complete control. We are looking to create a clear vision and direction for the Club and make it somewhere that players want to be with a positive vibe. But even then we have to accept players are ambitious, we want them to be, and that ambition will lead them to attract offers which are difficult to ignore, either for us or the player or both.
4. What is the current expected start date for the new Stadium? How expectant is he that this date, or close to it, will be achieved? Why have previous estimated starts been so ridiculously wide of the mark?
RM - I am only prepared to announce a date when the construction contract is signed. That tender process which was a joint procurement between Roots Hall Limited (RHL) and Sainsbury (SSL) has been completed but the contract will not be signed until all other conditions between SSL and RHL have been fulfilled. This includes current planning issues with the Borough Council. I can tell you that we are very advanced but supporters have been critical when we have previously advised of a “best estimate”. Those best estimate dates then get translated as being cast in stone….when they never were. It is for these reasons we are only prepared to comment when it is unconditional.
I am sorry not to be more definitive but as soon as a date has been fixed, by signing the Construction Contract, we will immediately let supporters know.
5. How confident are you that Southend United F.C will continue in it's current form?
RM and SK - Everyone is ambitious for this Club and is desperate for success both on and off the field. We have added to the squad, we have extended Assombalonga and we are working hard on targets for midfield and we are aiming for promotion and feel the team is capable of achieving that success. This year’s player’s wages are in fact higher than last year even though the squad size is less.
6. Ask him if why there's been such a delay since the last Shareholders AGM which was late on the previous year or if there is ever going to be another one.
RM - The Club Secretary Helen Norbury was given instructions, earlier this month, to arrange the AGM in November. This will be held in the Council Chamber as on previous occasions and the final date is subject to availability of all Directors, some of whom are abroad frequently, and the venue. Helen will confirm the arrangements shortly.
7. If the pipe dream of FF ever happens, how exactly will the football club benefit and be self sufficient?
SK – a new stadium delivers many benefits in terms of facilities, opportunities will exist for far greater match day revenues in an environment that is clean new and exciting, as noted elsewhere if you look to Brighton as an example the revenue increase from ticket sales alone was huge, and this would have happened even had they not been promoted. We also have far greater commercial opportunities etc
8. How exactly are we meeting our financial obligations as you’re skint looking at the state of your companies?
RM - Having invested several million pounds in support of the Clubs to counter losses over the past three years in what has been one of the severest economic down turns in living history it may be that your interpretation of the Parent Companys finances is not actually as you see it. If you were correct then what has been achieved would not have been possible.
9. How much longer must we be asked to "back the boys against Millwall" when we phone the ticket office
SK – I have now found this and it is locked down on an old telephone system that we cant replace at present. So I cannot fix it quickly but I will have a think about what we can do.
10. How many mobile phones does he have paid for by the club ?
SK – Ron has two mobile phones, although one remains in his car. Both are paid for by his property group.
11. How do you put up with so much personal abuse especially that from people who do not even know you?
RM - My ambitions for Southend United are not diminished. People close to me, and that includes many supporters, know precisely the objectives and the passion I have for the Club. If the people who do not know me appreciated this then maybe they would be less abusive….personally I only act on information I know to be true, not hearsay. Maybe by a closer working relationship between the supporters and the Club, commencing with this initial forum, will hopefully improve the flow of information and in doing so assist.
12. Can we afford promotion or would the contractual increase in player's salaries cripple us .... Again!
SK- Promotion not only to League 1 but above has to be the vision for the Club as this drives not only central revenues but also ancillary revenues. Yes in negotiating contracts you have to be mindful that incentives for success are balanced but that is one of the jobs I am here to do.
13. How many staff will be needed at Fossetts Farm to run it?
SK – to answer this is not straight forward as you have to start to differentiate between matchday staff and non match, variable number dependant on size of crowd and hospitality sales. In the core staff I would envisage a growth in the commercial staff as we have a bigger modern facility and we need to ensure we are fully utilising and working then asset that has been built.
14. Why did he think Moshni was worth 400k and turn West Ham's bid down?
RM and SK - I don’t want to get into a slanging match with Mohsni and West Ham, the fee we wanted was well known and discussed before we agreed to let the player go firstly to train with West Ham and then on tour. We then received an offer well below the figures discussed. As you would with any negotiation we responded including the involvement of the Players agent but there was no further response from West Ham. We don’t know why and there can be many reasons, for example when a Club look to acquire a player, player wages is taken into consideration in looking at the total financial cost . We were told West Ham regarded Moshni as a “utility player” and presumably limited value to them. As noted above Mohsni is still our player and we have no intention of getting into a public discussion on this.
15. Away from the playing side, what is the clubs short and medium term plans? What steps are being taken to fulfil these plans?
SK as I have said I want to engage with the supporters and look to generate greater support at home game, engage with the community through our Trust and other initiatives to achieve this. A key part to this is success on the field in helping drive the feel good factor. But there are also other areas where we can tighten up and push the Club forward, the website is a key communication tool and we need to get supporters back onto this site, it helps drive revenues even if you are not on ‘Blues Player’, but also we need to look at player content and understand what makes this more attractive as it is a key commercial revenue. Our hospitality offering and executive boxes are great value but we need to drive the usage levels and we need to try to ensure supporters are drinking in the ground pre match we are the cheapest pint around so getting fans in having a good time and day out and driving revenues to our Club is important. The work of the Trust needs to be better understood by the fans and they should be rightly proud of what we achieve and look to support and enhance its reputation. I can go on but that is a flavour.
Medium term we want to see this Club playing in at least the Championship in front of near full houses every week in a new Stadium pushing for promotion to the Premier League, we have to have ambitious targets.
16. How RM intends to keep the club limping along until such a time that we can move into FF.
RM - See the response to 8 above. With respect I do not think the Club has been limping. Its on field successes were just short of promotion last year and I personally think we are better placed this year…..as advised in 5 above the investment in players has increased this season. It is correct that there has been significant investment in the Club to enable its survival over the past three – four years (and at times in previous years) and also true that the move to the new Stadium will improve the Clubs fortunes enormously. If this were not the case then I would not have embarked upon this major project in the first place. Moving to a new purpose built Stadium is the only way Southend will ever fulfil its potential and compete at a higher level. There are many cynics who love to knock and I suspect those same cynics were around in Brighton and Hove Albion’s dark days. Fortunately the Brighton Board remained focused and despite ground sharing (which has never been contemplated for SUFC) are now reaping rewards. I will create the infrastructure for the Club to grow but the supporters, who are the Club, have to support. Great opportunities are on the horizon and everyone should pull together.
17. Assuming, and here we require a great leap of faith, the Stadium gets build, how will the Football Club benefit financially from it ?
RM - I am disappointed you feel it needs a great leap of faith. Nevertheless lets assume you are wrong and the Stadium does get built. There will be a substantial amount of revenue streams in the new facility that do not and could not ever exist at Roots Hall from which the Club will benefit financially.
18. Is RM expecting us to be promoted this season, as in is his financial planning including higher revenue next season?
RM - Promotion is always the objective and I am never going to be satisfied with treading water whether it be League 2 or for that matter in a higher League. Football for me is about winning otherwise we might as well stay at Roots Hall and be content in League 2. Certainly the Club would increase revenues if we were promoted as all commercial areas benefit the higher the Club is in the football ladder. There remains a need to balance player wages but overall there is a financial improvement from promotion. These statistics have been borne out not only by Southend but many other Clubs also.
19. How long, based on our current projected cash flows can the club survive without receiving financial investment from an external source? And if no external source is available does RM have funds in any of his businesses to cover the projected deficit and for how long?
RM - The Clubs finances do require my support and that position has improved over the past three years but the Club will only be sustainable when the new Stadium is complete….remember it is being constructed in two phases due to the related enabling development. The world is a very changed place from 2007 and we have had to perform financial gymnastics to keep this project alive.
20. Exactly how much have Sainsbury bailed us out with to date?
How has this money been spent?
RM - Sainsbury are not a charity and only advanced money to the Parent Company who on lent to meet Southend United’s needs as a result of the Group providing unencumbered assets of greater value to secure a loan during the 2009/2010 period. That arrangement is no different to any banking transaction. The difference being “traditional” Banks “shut up shop in 2008”.
21. Please ask Ron what provision he has made for the future of the club in the event of his death/ill-health.
RM - Having given careful consideration to this question I shall leave it to the charity Shelter…. experts in housing the homeless!!
22. What is the contingency plan for the club IF Sainsbury move us out before (or even if) the Fossetts Farm Stadium is completed? Are the board looking at ground sharing options?
RM - The times that this issue has been raised has become incredibly tedious as it has been answered many, many times. Our arrangement with Sainsbury are inextricably linked with the Clubs move to Fossetts Farm. We have NOT sold Roots Hall unconditionally and that will only take place WHEN the Club moves to the new Stadium. Sainsbury are not able to build a store at Roots Hall UNTIL the first phase of the Stadium (14,000 seats) IS COMPLETE AND SUFC have moved….for the umpteenth time.
23. Can you ask how the tender process for the works on FF is going? When does he expect to be on site and when are the results of the "name the Stadium road competition" going to be announced?
RM - See 4 above there are no proposals for running a competition to name the Stadium………..and never have been. The Stadium naming rights will be commercially driven only. If you are referring to the Retail naming competition run at the time of the initial approval….this was announced in 2009, “The Promenade” won.
24. Because the picture with all the companies is so complex, and to reassure some people who want to know whether he ultimately puts money into the club (not other money such as from Sainsbury's) or receives money from the club, it would be good to know which of his various companies is profitable and what are its assets, and whether he is drawing an income or dividend from SUFC in order to live on?
RM - See 8, 16 and 19 above. Additionally the Group structure is not so complex that you are not able to see the investment in the Clubs accounts over a number of years both at the time of our 50/50 partnership with Delancey (up to 2006) and since.
25. How long are Sainsbury's willing to wait before they get disgruntled and potentially want their investment back or intervene themselves at a high level?
RM - Sainsbury are not passive in this transaction. We have been working together since we exchanged contracts in 2007 to deliver a new Stadium for Southend United and a new food store for Sainsbury. The transaction requires continual joint working to deliver both companies objectives and to that end there is communication between us probably every day of the week in one form or another. We have both had to be patient due to the complexity but with the cooperation of the other major stakeholder in this project, Southend Borough Council, substantial progress continues to be made. For reasons of confidentially we have no wish to discuss publically the detail and which I hope is understood by the majority of fans. The Clubs interest could be undermined if we did.
26. Can we borrow Aldershot and Witham's electrician to cut the pizza man off?
RM - Ha ha. On a serious note two further shops in the parade were completed last week – October 15th. Another, quiet, sign of progress
27. Is it true before you went on holiday recently you trousered -a shed load of consultancy expenses, even though we were under an embargo and unable to pay our bills.
RM - A clumsy question that does not merit a serious response and one I regard as slanderous. My investment in the Club (not out) is clear for everyone to see and has been undiminished for a long time. I know that there is a huge variation of understanding across the fan base but I only hope that better communication will now improve this. Finally it is not my wish to be uncommunicative but over the past two years due to my commitments to the new Stadium plans (Legal, Financial, Planning and Construction) I have had to leave many day to day operations to others. As a consequence I too can now be critical of the Clubs service to our supporters and why I believe the appointment of Steve Kavanagh (a like minded “can do” person) will remedy any criticism. It is our intention with the help of the Trust and Shrimper Zone to try and improve and hopefully avoid the need to ask inane questions such as this one.
28. When the announcement comes for the start on FF, will any new funds be made available to Southend United and will this facilitate an improvement with our present cash-flow problems?
Yes
