Russian Roulette

[Mick]

There's a lot of very valid reasons why we need to move. A new stadium with a bigger capacity can attract more fans. Other developments (shops, hotel, casino) can bring in more income (let's not open the can of worms about whether or not they would) which means more money to be spent on better player which gets us up the league and brings more fans in. .

Remind me again how the casino, shops and hotel (none of which will be owned by the football club) will generate money to be spent on better players.

 

[fbm]

I think the debts accumulated in the mid 90's were a used as a convenient excuse for Martin Dawn to get their hands on Roots Hall. The stadium was sold in March 1999 barely six months after Martin Dawn became the majority shareholders of Southend United. They bought the stadium for £4m, conveniently clearing debts which were roughly £3.8m and leaving the club with little in return. Furthermore, rent of £400k a year was to be charged for every year the club remained at Roots Hall, effectively crippling it and forcing it to leave. This was a terrible deal for the club, carried out deliberately by the new owners (Ron Martin, John Main & Co) in the property developer;s best interests and not the club's. Could they not have seeked administration, which in those days didn't warrant the points deduction it does now? Or sold the ground for a higher price which it was probably worth at the time? Decisions such as these would be taken in the club's best interests, however from day one it seemed obvious that our current owners wanted to develop on Roots Hall and make themselves a large profit, instead of acting in Southend United's best interests.

It puzzles me why there is so much antagonism towards the consortium yet under the current regime in the last 12 years we've lost our stadium, suffered numerous years of lies and cover ups, court cases, lost a great management team and treated players disgracefully.

I think that it's probably fair to say that RM knew he wouldn't get any rent out of the club and so the low buying price factored in that element.

When you have to sell from a point of weakness - which we did - it is always a buyers market.

 

[Hooly]

I think the debts accumulated in the mid 90's were a used as a convenient excuse for Martin Dawn to get their hands on Roots Hall.

He still is using it as an excuse even now. In an exchange with someone I know, just before he went away, he referred back to the previous regime & it's financial issues.

Reminded me of Labour still blaming Thatcher before the last election!

 

[Norfolkshrimp]

I think the debts accumulated in the mid 90's were a used as a convenient excuse for Martin Dawn to get their hands on Roots Hall. The stadium was sold in March 1999 barely six months after Martin Dawn became the majority shareholders of Southend United. They bought the stadium for £4m, conveniently clearing debts which were roughly £3.8m and leaving the club with little in return. Furthermore, rent of £400k a year was to be charged for every year the club remained at Roots Hall, effectively crippling it and forcing it to leave. This was a terrible deal for the club, carried out deliberately by the new owners (Ron Martin, John Main & Co) in the property developer;s best interests and not the club's. Could they not have seeked administration, which in those days didn't warrant the points deduction it does now? Or sold the ground for a higher price which it was probably worth at the time? Decisions such as these would be taken in the club's best interests, however from day one it seemed obvious that our current owners wanted to develop on Roots Hall and make themselves a large profit, instead of acting in Southend United's best interests.

It puzzles me why there is so much antagonism towards the consortium yet under the current regime in the last 12 years we've lost our stadium, suffered numerous years of lies and cover ups, court cases, lost a great management team and treated players disgracefully.

This post is spot on and cannot be refuted as the absolute truth. I remember at the time having grave concerns about the deal.

I also remember RM slating the Jobson regime for the high wages we paid when in the old 2nd Div and saying it would never happen again, well it did Ronald and this time you were responsible for doing exactly the same, average players, ridiculous contracts and wages.

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

Didn't know where to stick this........................don't think it really adds too much to our sum of knowlege.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/21/southend-united-sainsburys-roots-hall

 

[SARF]

Well at least it hasnt been boring..

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

Didn't know where to stick this........................don't think it really adds too much to our sum of knowlege.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/21/southend-united-sainsburys-roots-hall

Shame that photo shows an empty North Bank with just a couple of SlackJaw East Londoners in it, guaranteed the rest of the ground that evening would have been fairly full...

 

[BILLERICAY BLUE]

Not if it was managed properly

Deleted as others have already made the point.

 

[Tommy2holes]

Didn't know where to stick this........................don't think it really adds too much to our sum of knowlege.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/21/southend-united-sainsburys-roots-hall

I see the orient brought there usual away support!

 

[Beefy]

Remind me again how the casino, shops and hotel (none of which will be owned by the football club) will generate money to be spent on better players.

Other developments (shops, hotel, casino) can bring in more income (let's not open the can of worms about whether or not they would).

I specifically didn't say that they would.

 

[Beefy]

I think the debts accumulated in the mid 90's were a used as a convenient excuse for Martin Dawn to get their hands on Roots Hall. The stadium was sold in March 1999 barely six months after Martin Dawn became the majority shareholders of Southend United. They bought the stadium for £4m, conveniently clearing debts which were roughly £3.8m and leaving the club with little in return. Furthermore, rent of £400k a year was to be charged for every year the club remained at Roots Hall, effectively crippling it and forcing it to leave. This was a terrible deal for the club, carried out deliberately by the new owners (Ron Martin, John Main & Co) in the property developer;s best interests and not the club's. Could they not have seeked administration, which in those days didn't warrant the points deduction it does now? Or sold the ground for a higher price which it was probably worth at the time? Decisions such as these would be taken in the club's best interests, however from day one it seemed obvious that our current owners wanted to develop on Roots Hall and make themselves a large profit, instead of acting in Southend United's best interests.

Why did you think a property developer took over the Club? It was always the intention that they would want to move the Club on, bulldoze the stadium and build something on it and if it hadn't been Martin Dawn/Delancy then it would have been someone else. Had we not got into the financial mess in the first place, or had we taken administration in 97 then we wouldn't have been in this mess.

Why do you seem to expect that a Property Developer would buy a football club, bail it out and not have 'making a stack of money' be his primary motivation?

It puzzles me why there is so much antagonism towards the consortium yet under the current regime in the last 12 years we've lost our stadium, suffered numerous years of lies and cover ups, court cases, lost a great management team and treated players disgracefully.

Where has there been any antagonism towards the consortium?

 

[Boreham Shrimper]

Where has there been any antagonism towards the consortium?

I'm not sure antagonism is the right word. Suspicion, most definitely and rightly so, given the experiences we've had. I think there's a lot of fear that we would be out of the frying pan and into the fire, especially given the continued secrecy as to exactly what their proposals for the club are. They've said that they want to get the club onto an even footing and make it self-sufficient but have not explained what exactly they'd need to do in order to do so. TefRon holds all the cards in owning Roots Hall, meaning that presumably the consortium would have to do some kind of deal with him in order to move the club to Fossetts Farm. We don't know that though because they haven't said.

 

[Beefy]

I'm not sure antagonism is the right word. Suspicion, most definitely and rightly so, given the experiences we've had. I think there's a lot of fear that we would be out of the frying pan and into the fire, especially given the continued secrecy as to exactly what their proposals for the club are. They've said that they want to get the club onto an even footing and make it self-sufficient but have not explained what exactly they'd need to do in order to do so. TefRon holds all the cards in owning Roots Hall, meaning that presumably the consortium would have to do some kind of deal with him in order to move the club to Fossetts Farm. We don't know that though because they haven't said.

Exactly. I think people are viewing them with an open mind but part of that means requiring a certain amount of information in order to make a decision one way or another. We don't have that information.

 

[shrimperman]

Erm, please check your records - we have debated over payments a few times now.

Maybe, but as of yet, we have paid every penny asked of us, albeit very late. As far as I can see it, if we were to 'lose' a case then surely that would mean being litigated against and thus liquidated?