Stadium Update

[Crabby Shrimper]

Didnt the swansea council fund their ground

Plus they ground share with the Ospreys. Not sure Southend RFC are quite in the same financial category

 

[Shrimpin]

Although I speak in no official capacity, this man is one of the biggest snakes to slither this planet indeed the best bit or Ronald Martin was washed down the hospital sink when he was born

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

better than a poke in the bum with a sharp stick but I'm sure some would like to see him fail and the club cease to exist.

And there are some who would like to see new owners take over the club, along with the the current Chairman relinquishing control.If that needs a new AFC SUFC to be born, perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad thing.After all, it seems to have worked reasonably well for AFC Wimbledon

 

[h turner]

it seems to have worked reasonably well for AFC Wimbledon

bit of a long shot though seing as they dropped 9 divisions and then worked their way up and only aldershot from my memory did that aswell so unlikely to work for us.

 

[Billy Bests boot laces]

You cannot compare us to Brighton. They have wealthy backers who have put a lot of investment into the team even before their stadiums were built!

Ron should have done his homework, before quoting Brighton. Yes, they did have average crowds of 6-8,000 at the Withdean, because that was its capacity!. If he'd researched further back when they played at their old Goldstone ground, he would have found out that they played in front of 10,000-18,000 crowds on a regular basis, especially when they were doing well.
They have always commanded better support than us, a point proved when they won the play-off final against Bristol City in 2004. They took 33,000 to Cardiff ( i was there, long story...). We would'nt be able to muster that amount at Wembley, let alone Wales!.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

bit of a long shot though seing as they dropped 9 divisions and then worked their way up and only aldershot from my memory did that aswell so unlikely to work for us.

AFC Newport aren't too far away from League status these days either.Why couldn't it work for us? It's just a question of time,good management,a loyal fan base,Council support etc,etc.

 

[Crabby Shrimper]

with AFC Wimbledon it was pretty obvious to all that the original club had been taken away from the fans. This left them three choices a) support a distant team (MK Dons) b) follow a local team (previously a rival) or c) form a new club. Pretty clear that none of this was the fan's fault.

In our case, it'd work if the team folded through winding up etc, but if a consortium of fans forced that then there'd almost certainly be a backlash from other fans (let's be honest, we can't even decide whether Bart or Flavs, so we'll never decide on how best to take control of the club). This would, in my opinion, majorly divide our fanbase. The other option is to form AFC Southend now, but while the original club is still around support would be minimal.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

Thanks Ron, but you've told us nothing new.

 

[Mick]

Put aside the personal hatred and mistrust just for a second and be thankful we're not where we were 15 odd years ago.

15 years ago we were in a higher division than we are now.

 

[Pubey]

with AFC Wimbledon it was pretty obvious to all that the original club had been taken away from the fans. This left them three choices a) support a distant team (MK Dons) b) follow a local team (previously a rival) or c) form a new club. Pretty clear that none of this was the fan's fault.

In our case, it'd work if the team folded through winding up etc, but if a consortium of fans forced that then there'd almost certainly be a backlash from other fans (let's be honest, we can't even decide whether Bart or Flavs, so we'll never decide on how best to take control of the club). This would, in my opinion, majorly divide our fanbase. The other option is to form AFC Southend now, but while the original club is still around support would be minimal.

AFC Wimbledon didn't exactly start up their own club.

 

[Tommy2holes]

Now we have news that more or less 100% guarantees building work to start if they do pass the ammendments and still the worlds coming to and end some are still convinced it'll never happen anyway.

So its a 100% providing the council bend over backwards AGAIN. That really is almost 100% then isnt it.

The only reason ron has surfaced as he is trying to put pressure on the council to pass the changes , but in a very sly and snake like way. Really unlike all that has gone before.

Am i the only one that thinks the council wont pass the changes? Atleast that will give ron the chance to blame somebody else for the demise of ron world and sufc.

 

[Smiffy]

So its a 100% providing the council bend over backwards AGAIN. That really is almost 100% then isnt it.

The only reason ron has surfaced as he is trying to put pressure on the council to pass the changes , but in a very sly and snake like way. Really unlike all that has gone before.

Am i the only one that thinks the council wont pass the changes? Atleast that will give ron the chance to blame somebody else for the demise of ron world and sufc.

I would be shocked if the council did not eventually give the green light. At the end of the day a couple of million for the kitty is better than nothing. Even if it is way short of the original £6m agreed. It is clear though that the council are losing faith in Ronalds ability to deliver. Hence as you rightly mention, the public flexing of muscles from Ron.

Unless another party comes in with the finances required. Then I think the council have no option but to accept a poorer deal. Or face potential backlash from the supporters, who Ron will whip up into a frenzy again if required.

 

[united we stand]

I don't understand all of the moaning on here.

We have people moaning that we will 'never see a 4th side' , and we have the same people moaning that 'he is going back on his promises to the council '. Surely if we pay the council less then Ron has more money to spend on the 4th side ?

People also moan about 'he just wants his pot of gold ' - the retail park . Well under the amended planning he cant built the retail park before the 4th side is built so can we please put this one to bed !

To me this is excellent news, if taken at face value,and I appreciate that is diffciult as it is Ron, we are closer than we have ever been before. It also explains why the tender ahs not been signed, and it gives a clear indication of the timetable that the club is working towards

Yes he is putting pressure on the council , why is that a bad thing ? He is also saying that he is willing to compromise. To me if the stadium is delayed by a few months, but it saves Ron several million pounds then surely that has to be a good thing? It deosn't matter if you like Ron or not, anything that helps his foancial security has to be good news for SUFC.

ps- I can't believe that a statement that says we are closer than ever to our new stadium provokes a debate on supporting a new clubs and starting again. I am not pro Ron, but I am Pro SUFC ,and I see this as good news for SUFC , I don't understand why others do not

 

[Tommy2holes]

I would be shocked if the council did not eventually give the green light. At the end of the day a couple of million for the kitty is better than nothing. Even if it is way short of the original £6m agreed. It is clear though that the council are losing faith in Ronalds ability to deliver. Hence as you rightly mention, the public flexing of muscles from Ron.

Unless another party comes in with the finances required. Then I think the council have no option but to accept a poorer deal. Or face potential backlash from the supporters, who Ron will whip up into a frenzy again if required

I'm not so sure. We will have to wait and see. One thing for sure is that Ron can have no excuses if thé green light is given

 

[leeblue]

I don't understand all of the moaning on here.

We ahve people maoining that we will 'never see a 4th side' , and we have the same people moaning that 'he is going back on hgis promises to the council '. Surely if we pay the council less then Ron has more money to spend on the 4th side ?

People also moan about 'he just wants his pot of gold ' - the retail park . Well under the amended planning he cant built the retail park before the 4th side is built so can we please put this one to bed !

To me this is excellent news, if taken at face value,and I appreciate that is diffciult as it is Ron, we are closer than we have ever been before. It also explains why the tender ahs not been signed, and it gives a clear indication of the timetable that the club is working towards

Yes he is putting pressure on the council , why is that a bad thing ? He is also saying that he is willing to compromise. To me if the stadium is dealyed by a few months, but it saves Ron several million pounds then surely that has to be a good thing? It deosn't amtter if you like Ron or not, anything that helps his foancial security has to be good news for SUFC.

ps- I can't believe that a statement that says we are closer than ever to our new stadium provokes a debate on supporting a new clubs and starting again. I am not pro Ron, but I am Pro SUFC ,and I see this as good news for SUFC , I don't understand why others do not

I agree with most of what you say but many (me included) are a bit sceptical to say the least because we have been at the 'on site soon' stage for a very long time, when i see machinery and the likes actually doing things 'on site' I will jump up and down singing whoop de doo, until then its just more stuff coming out of rons gob

 

[Beefy]

The statement would be more credible if Ron even alluded to reason why the Council didn't rubber-stamp the extension to the planning permission (ie SUFC being unwilling.unable to live up to their agreed liabilities). It seems to me that this statement is about setting up the Council as the bad guy either to put pressure on them ahead of the February meeting or because he knows that the whole house of cards is about to collapse.

Just my opinion.

 

[united we stand]

The statement would be more credible if Ron even alluded to reason why the Council didn't rubber-stamp the extension to the planning permission (ie SUFC being unwilling.unable to live up to their agreed liabilities). It seems to me that this statement is about setting up the Council as the bad guy either to put pressure on them ahead of the February meeting or because he knows that the whole house of cards is about to collapse.

Just my opinion.

I don't think anyone disagrees with this , but I do not see it as a bad thing- I see it that he is being proactive

 

[McNasty]

Big double page spread in todays Echo plus comments by yours truly .

 

[londonblue]

You cannot compare us to Swansea & Brighton. They have wealthy backers who have put a lot of investment into the team even before their stadiums were built!

On our hand we have an owner who pulled the plug on team investments.

A friend of a friend is the Chairman of Brighton. Whilst I believe he is wealthy, I don't think he's so wealthy as to be able to fund a stadium and team...

 

[Brett Angle]

The statement would be more credible if Ron even alluded to reason why the Council didn't rubber-stamp the extension to the planning permission (ie SUFC being unwilling.unable to live up to their agreed liabilities). It seems to me that this statement is about setting up the Council as the bad guy either to put pressure on them ahead of the February meeting or because he knows that the whole house of cards is about to collapse.

Just my opinion.

Agreed - and for those supporters who continue to look at this through their rose-tinted glasses wake up and smell the coffee. For one thing I for one do not see how RM reneging on promises made to the Council (of a Borough we nearly all live in) can be viewed as 'a good thing' or 'proactive'. More importantly the Council agreed planning permission based on certain minimum criteria being met. It is RM who wants to change said criteria and because the Council aren't willing to cave in to his demands he is blaming them for his inability to deliver the project. Priceless.