New Ground

[BrettieAngell]

Because the government might see it differently?
As it is a conservative council that passed the plans, I wouldn't put it past the current powerbrokers of the country to reject a high-profile planning case on those grounds! :p ;)

damn politics, I will go on a murderous rampage around the offices of power if we don't get approval! :hilarious:

 

[Jam_Man]

Because the government might see it differently?
As it is a conservative council that passed the plans, I wouldn't put it past the current powerbrokers of the country to reject a high-profile planning case on those grounds! :p ;)

The government have agreed numerous grounds recently and Id say the trend is in our favour.

At present I see only positives and whilst it can certainly be turned down whilst there are no facts or reasons to expect it will be Im hopeful.

Anyway, outside of Southend who really cares whether we get a new ground, the Liverpool stadium is high profile, ours is small fry!

 

[Shrimpador]

I dont want to sound all doom and gloom about this but, if the FF plans are turned down, we will most likely go into administration. Redeveloping RH is a non starter as there is no way of getting more revenue into the club from the site. the reason FF is feasible is that there are other commercial opportunites in and around the site (retail, hotel, residential etc). The club have borrowed heavily on the strength of the plans being approved and I cannot believe that we will be able to sustain ourselves without the new ground becoming a reality. We would probably become the next Luton. Lets not dwell on that for too long though eh? Because the stakes are so high, RM has been determined to get everyone behind him. Saying that the planning decision is the biggest result in the club's history is no understatement, if we lose, the club could very well be history!

We won’t go into administration immediately IF the share issue works.

IF it does (and it’s slightly concerning we haven’t had an update from the club given the deadline has passed) and the plans are turned down we would have to slash our wage bill pretty quickly. You could argue that given the uncertainty over the stadium, giving Adam Barrett a 4 year contract was not a particularly prudent decision.
We haven’t borrowed heavily to get where we are now (well, no more than 3-4 yrs ago) but without CCC revenues and with a CCC wage bill, we are set-up to need to borrow heavily in the short term. So if the share issue hasn’t got off the ground and planning permission is refused, we’d be pretty stuffed.

 

[shrimperian]

We won’t go into administration immediately IF the share issue works.

IF it does (and it’s slightly concerning we haven’t had an update from the club given the deadline has passed) and the plans are turned down we would have to slash our wage bill pretty quickly. You could argue that given the uncertainty over the stadium, giving Adam Barrett a 4 year contract was not a particularly prudent decision.
We haven’t borrowed heavily to get where we are now (well, no more than 3-4 yrs ago) but without CCC revenues and with a CCC wage bill, we are set-up to need to borrow heavily in the short term. So if the share issue hasn’t got off the ground and planning permission is refused, we’d be pretty stuffed.

I would imagine that RM has committed quite a bit on planning costs, draughtsmen, lawyers etc. and likely has not yet settled these debts. There is also the possibility that RM personally or MD have paid some of these costs on behalf of the club. If the consent was not forthcoming and there was no prosepct of appeal etc. I cannot see the current board being prepared to bank roll the club in the long term. If, and I accept it is a big if, the clubs liabilities outweigh the assets, or the ability to liquidate those assets quickly is not available, the club would be legally obliged to call in an Administrator. I think that would be the start of a very slippery slope indeed.

 

[SUFC Forever]

Jesus - this is a scary scenario. I really cannot understand how the government would want to kick this back but with these politicians you never know do you?

 

[Beefy]

I think we're screwed if the new ground doesn't get the green light. Staying at Roots Hall isn't really an option (we had the sell the ground to pay off debts, remember?) and I don't see an alternative site to Fossetts.

Lets cross that bridge when we come to it.

 

[Bielzibubz]

Concerning FF. Lets look at the larger picture here for a minute. I'm 95% certain the plans will be approved and for a number of reasons..

1. It fits in nicely with this governments overall plans for the development of the south east region as a whole. (The Thames Gateway Project)
2. It is an ideal stadium/hotel/conference centre to have on the doorstep of the 2012 Olympics.
3. It fills two criteria this government has openly supported and encouraged, those being the re-development of sites (RH) in the south east to include sustainable low cost housing and also the development of out of town retail outlets. Both RH and FF fill these roles.

Take a look at the long term plans made for this region of Essex. Airport expansion, the proposed second road bridge across the Thames at Rainham, the infrastructure legacy left over from the Olympics, the proposed new road stretching from Dover, through Kent and on up to Colchester.

As I said earlier, Fossetts Farm must be seen as part of a much larger development of the Southend area and the south east in general. Something that I'm sure has not escaped our chairman Ron Martin. He is a very astute business man and if there was such a high risk of a rejection as some would believe I doubt if he would have put in the kind of money that's already been sunk into this venture. Yes I know that property development has a certain amount of speculation and risk involved in it but you can bet your bottom dollar that Ron Martin and his company did their homework and knew the development plans for the south east long before we did in any great detail. Ron said right from the off that this was a plan for the next 20+ years of the club and you can't make statements like that without also looking at the long term plans for the regional area your plans are based in, especially plans of this size and with it's benefits of a large hotel, conference centre, housing, retail units etc.

Fear not my friends, good news is just around the corner.

 

[JD]

Come on people lets be positive!

This will happen - in 18-24 months we will all be sitting in a truly unique stadium playing against championship opposition,singing our hearts out for our boys in blue!

Come on Southend!!!!!

 

[KrustyTheKray]

what do people think teh chances of the goverment officials turning the fosests plans down?

I'd say quite high, and probably down to what's going on with Ron Martin.

 

[KrustyTheKray]

I would imagine that RM has committed quite a bit on planning costs, draughtsmen, lawyers etc. and likely has not yet settled these debts. There is also the possibility that RM personally or MD have paid some of these costs on behalf of the club. If the consent was not forthcoming and there was no prosepct of appeal etc. I cannot see the current board being prepared to bank roll the club in the long term. If, and I accept it is a big if, the clubs liabilities outweigh the assets, or the ability to liquidate those assets quickly is not available, the club would be legally obliged to call in an Administrator. I think that would be the start of a very slippery slope indeed.

Could that rumour on the other thread be true then?

Is this why RM has given fans the chance to put yet more money into the club with this share issue, a backup if it does indeed go tits up? (IMO a big con and you get absolutely nothing for your investment).

There may be trouble ahead.....

 

[KrustyTheKray]

The club have borrowed heavily on the strength of the plans being approved and I cannot believe that we will be able to sustain ourselves without the new ground becoming a reality.

Is this where all the Eastwood money went then before they had to start borrowing off the bank?

:confused:

 

[Jam_Man]

Could that rumour on the other thread be true then?

Is this why RM has given fans the chance to put yet more money into the club with this share issue, a backup if it does indeed go tits up? (IMO a big con and you get absolutely nothing for your investment).

There may be trouble ahead.....

This isnt the optimistic TTK we are all used to, whats happened!?

The investment isnt a big con, people who want to buy a part of their club can do so, theres no claims anywhere its a stron investment and anyone wanting to buy shares to make money would be foolish to invest in a football club...

If the club wants to raise funds and people want a slice of the club I dont see the problem.

I wont be buying any but not because its a con but because Ive got other things to spend money on...

 

[KrustyTheKray]

This isnt the optimistic TTK we are all used to, whats happened!?

The investment isnt a big con, people who want to buy a part of their club can do so, theres no claims anywhere its a stron investment and anyone wanting to buy shares to make money would be foolish to invest in a football club...

But you get didly squat for your money!

Whats the point in it??

Spending money on a season card is sufficient. Good luck to anyone that's bought these shares, but i like value for money and this share issue isn't!

 

[Jam_Man]

But you get didly squat for your money!

Whats the point in it??

Spending money on a season card is sufficient. Good luck to anyone that's bought these shares, but i like value for money and this share issue isn't!

Thats your choice (and also mine) but why criticise it when you arent forced to participate?

Why do people buy a brick at the stadium, or buy a piece of the pitch at one thats pulled down ?

Why do people spend £35 on a shirt or hundreds of pounds travelling the length of the county to watch 90 minutes of football ?

When has supporting a football club about getting value for money and if someone wants to own a piece of the club they love whats the problem ?

 

[KrustyTheKray]

Thats your choice (and also mine) but why criticise it when you arent forced to participate?

Why do people buy a brick at the stadium, or buy a piece of the pitch at one thats pulled down ?

Why do people spend £35 on a shirt or hundreds of pounds travelling the length of the county to watch 90 minutes of football ?

When has supporting a football club about getting value for money and if someone wants to own a piece of the club they love whats the problem ?

The way i see it, you pay enough every season on tickets, shirts, programmes, and travel etc. All for the love of your club.

Fine if people want to buy some shares, but their simply not for me.

 

[southend lad till i die]

They could build a massive east stand or a massive new 2 tear north stand. Dont think they could do anything with the other stands.

 

[A Century United]

I'd say quite high, and probably down to what's going on with Ron Martin.

The Planning Enquiry into FF is predicated entirely on the merits of the application, and not at all on the merit or otherwise of the person making that application.

And as to the shares, if I bought some, which I can't but would love to, I wouldn't expect to see a penny piece of my money again but I would to my dying day be immensly proud that I owned a part, albeit an infinitesimal part, of Southend United, and it would really be MY club. Just because you can't see the point of something does not mean that it is pointless.

 

[sufcintheprem]

Could that rumour on the other thread be true then?

Is this why RM has given fans the chance to put yet more money into the club with this share issue, a backup if it does indeed go tits up? (IMO a big con and you get absolutely nothing for your investment).

There may be trouble ahead.....

...but while there's moonlight and music and love and romance, let's face the music and dance.


Using my own words, I'll bet on anything and it teaches you to assess likely outcomes based on whatever information you have to hand. As my namesake Phil has explained expertly, every rational angle points to a positive outcome. The only barrier I can see would be a political one - why else would a government reject a proposal a local government has passed?