SUFC: The Future SUFC up for sale

[Medway Blue]

I think in a situation where someone has gone bust creditors very become anxious to get anything they can ... and the business owner is desperate to extract every last penny.

I doubt RM is really in a strong position too negotiate hard on price

.. I imagine he will be more intrested in how and when the money is going to arrive with him. He will have tax considerations and also he might want some routed offshore.

I guess he has been paying the players as they (their contracts) are assets (look how he lost Lopata) and any points deductions clearly affect the value of the football club business.

I suppose his major creditors are the morgage/finance comapnies he has borrowed from with land as secuirty ......

BTW - does anyone know what happened to the law frim suing him for 200K -

Is that still a live issue ... did it dissappear - or was that the straw that broke the camels back ?

I definitely hear he is desperate for money and so any up-front payment value will be important.

On the second point, no idea if or how that got resolved. I would imagine it will be another one of several legal issues that he has settled out of court as late as the day before a hearing.

He has quite the penchant for spunking club funds on legal bills for legal fights that everybody around him is telling him he can't win.

 

[Stan33]

Well, I guess it depends whether you're trying to get the most money or if you just want rid at any price.

We're the ones who are desperate for Ron to sell, so just want him gone, and quickly. He, however, will want the best price he can get. This means that the prospective buyer(s) must believe there is as much competition as possible so that they make sure they are not outbid (if they really want it).

So u lie ?

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

@Alexshrimper thank you for your response.

To make it clear I am very far from mitigating for Ron.

And I do wonder why you feel the need to detail Ron's obvious inadequacies and odious unpleasantness in a direct reply to my post?

I was among a few who did not condemn Kacper in his refusal to be bullied by Ron and calling him out on the wages/employment threats. That is a very simplistic precise but I think most will follow the thread of it. Imo KL walking brought home some truths straight to where Ron cares about most, - his wallet.

When Tom L, again, simplistic, asked that ST holders did not boycott the club I took heed as TL has always, when I have met, and listened or read him been a voice of reason and respect.

Opinions!

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

So u lie ?

We don’t know that Ron lied. What we do know is that he rushed out a brief statement talking up the interest. We don’t know that any of the stated details are factually incorrect. The few words in the statement do seem to have been carefully chosen and arranged though.

I doubt it will have a massive impact. Conversations are still ongoing and, with thanks to @Medway Blue if Jez Moxey and Tom have both been away that will definitely slow things down. Let’s hope they are both back this week.

 

[Rayleigh boy]

@Alexshrimper thank you for your response.

To make it clear I am very far from mitigating for Ron.

And I do wonder why you feel the need to detail Ron's obvious inadequacies and odious unpleasantness in a direct reply to my post?

I was among a few who did not condemn Kacper in his refusal to be bullied by Ron and calling him out on the wages/employment threats. That is a very simplistic precise but I think most will follow the thread of it. Imo KL walking brought home some truths straight to where Ron cares about most, - his wallet.

When Tom L, again, simplistic, asked that ST holders did not boycott the club I took heed as TL has always, when I have met, and listened or read him been a voice of reason and respect.

Opinions!

i never quite get why anyone thinks TL is anything but a RM mouthpiece ...

At the end of the day Ron pays him (or promises to pay him) so he might be smooth operator but he is also RMs poodle ...

He does not run a football club he runs a fire fighting operation trying to manage the creditors of a failing busness..

I am sure he is has a personable front but of course he was begging the supporters to pump money in to keep the sinking (sunk) ship afloat.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

i never quite get why anyone thinks TL is anything but a RM mouthpiece ...

At the end of the day Ron pays him (or promises to pay him) so he might be smooth operator but he is also RMs poodle ...

He does not run a football club he runs a fire fighting operation trying to manage the creditors of a failing busness..

I am sure he is has a personable front but of course he was begging the supporters to pump money in to keep the sinking (sunk) ship afloat.

Honestly, I think you’ve read this wrong mate about Tom. I really do. I reckon your perspective is reasonable, given everything, but we know almost nothing of what has been going on behind the scenes.

While Ron fiddled and Rome burned before Ron finally realised in March what should have been clear to him in September / October last year, namely that he’s run out of time, money and road and desperately needs to sell sharpish. It’s a fine line to tread, telling your boss that he’s finished, potless and headed for oblivion. Especially when your boss is as narcissistic as Ron gives the impression he is.

I’ve got some questions about how things have been handled this year - a few head scratchers to be honest. Some things are pretty clear though - Ron holds all the money and Tom (and others) has been hostage to Ron’s cash flow crisis and inability to confront that truth until the latest possible moment. Comms seemed needlessly absent at times too. That doesn’t make Tom Ron’s poodle or some kind of nefarious collaborator though.

I think we’ve been bloody lucky Tom’s been around this year to cling to all the bits of string holding things together.

 

[kentblues]

Honestly, I think you’ve read this wrong mate about Tom. I really do. I reckon your perspective is reasonable, given everything, but we know almost nothing of what has been going on behind the scenes.

While Ron fiddled and Rome burned before Ron finally realised in March what should have been clear to him in September / October last year, namely that he’s run out of time, money and road and desperately needs to sell sharpish. It’s a fine line to tread, telling your boss that he’s finished, potless and headed for oblivion. Especially when your boss is as narcissistic as Ron gives the impression he is.

I’ve got some questions about how things have been handled this year - a few head scratchers to be honest. Some things are pretty clear though - Ron holds all the money and Tom (and others) has been hostage to Ron’s cash flow crisis and inability to confront that truth until the latest possible moment. Comms seemed needlessly absent at times too. That doesn’t make Tom Ron’s poodle or some kind of nefarious collaborator though.

I think we’ve been bloody lucky Tom’s been around this year to cling to all the bits of string holding things together.

Tom’s alternative was to walk and thank God he didn’t. He is an employee.
In the end he has no doubt been shafted by Ron repeatedly regarding promised funds, and then, relying on ST sales, got caught in the cross fire again. Tom’s role isn’t to find a way to make the club insolvent to force Ron out, it’s to try and pay the bills, stuck in the middle and starved of income all round.
Of course we live in a world where there must always be someone to blame- Tom is a long long way down the list.

 

[Blues ‘n’ twos]

I heard yesterday that despite the prospect of new ownership, the current management team was extremely concerned still about the timescale to get this over the line.
Players wages are due and Ron is not digging into his pockets again, the embargo is seriously hampering preparations for the season, players are getting “twitchy” and although there is optimism amongst the group, they want answers quickly.

 

[Holy Joe]

I heard yesterday that despite the prospect of new ownership, the current management team was extremely concerned still about the timescale to get this over the line.
Players wages are due and Ron is not digging into his pockets again, the embargo is seriously hampering preparations for the season, players are getting “twitchy” and although there is optimism amongst the group, they want answers quickly.

Very understandable, I hope Ron sees sense and funds the club until sale completes, or any buyer gets to the point where they are confident they will buy and find a way to get funds into the club before completion of purchase. The longer this pushes on, into July and beyond, the harder next season becomes

 

[meerkat54]

Think Ron selling the club going to take longer than we want.
If Ron has had an offer, he’s not the sort of bloke to snap it up early doors.
He will want to milk this deal for every penny he can get. I can’t see things being concluded before early July.
Of course many of the white board signings will have gone elsewhere. Think we will be shopping at Lidl and not Waitrose this coming season.

 

[kentblues]

Very understandable, I hope Ron sees sense and funds the club until sale completes, or any buyer gets to the point where they are confident they will buy and find a way to get funds into the club before completion of purchase. The longer this pushes on, into July and beyond, the harder next season becomes

Ron has no liquid funds (or assets he can immediately turn into funds) and the club is £200k light on where they budgeted to be, and there is no income in the the next couple of months or so. Can’t see anyone getting paid.
It’s squeaky bum time. If I was the buyer I would be setting a deadline- but would wait until the wages weren’t paid. I’d then say this is unsustainable. An alternative to walking is to reduce the bid by £2m after that deadline date on the basis that the value of the “opportunity” is being impaired.

PS it is more misinformation on SM that he said he had funds to pay off HMRC now at the hearing -he said he could raise the funds in the 56 days. He is potless.

 

[Massimo Giovanni]

A buyer MAY be concerned about current players, management and staff.
A buyer may have interest in the current football club.
And a buyer may think it, the footie side of buy, is secondary to property development.
As well as maybe wanting their own people to run the football and select players.

Any answers?

For me I want the current set up to have a chance without the hindrance of RM, Umbongo and failing structures of last few seasons.

And TL, SVC, JS, The 3 Amigos to have a decent shot.

 

[kentblues]

A buyer MAY be concerned about current players, management and staff.
A buyer may have interest in the current football club.
And a buyer may think it, the footie side of buy, is secondary to property development.
As well as maybe wanting their own people to run the football and select players.

Any answers?

For me I want the current set up to have a chance without the hindrance of RM, Umbongo and failing structures of last few seasons.

And TL, SVC, JS, The 3 Amigos to have a decent shot.

If it is the rumoured front runners, two local businessman (hopefully in tune with what’s going on and history), Spud as father-in-law and an advisor on the football side, then it would be astonishing if they started by getting rid of the football dept, Stan and Tom (knowing the support they have amongst the fans) and decided to start all over again. Not only bad football judgement but bad business as well.
I would imagine they will ensure the current team get adequately supported and funded, and then expect results.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

A buyer MAY be concerned about current players, management and staff.
A buyer may have interest in the current football club.
And a buyer may think it, the footie side of buy, is secondary to property development.
As well as maybe wanting their own people to run the football and select players.

Any answers?

For me I want the current set up to have a chance without the hindrance of RM, Umbongo and failing structures of last few seasons.

And TL, SVC, JS, The 3 Amigos to have a decent shot.

I believe Tom, Kev and the others are well thought of and should be staying if the sale goes through.

We’ll see how things develop, but I’m not personally worried about people leaving unless there is a footballing/personal reason (like Hobbo) or if they aren’t paid well into June. The pressing issue of wages being due this week may yet provide the momentum to complete the sale.

Or it might not, given Ron seemingly couldn’t care less if wages are late.

 

[Lincoln Shrimp]

I've received confirmation this morning (and the green light to post this on SZ) that Steve Nash and his consortium are now officially out of the race.

Despite verbally offering "a bumper deal", which in Nash's eyes was a genuine footballing project where he would have been the front man, Ron rejected the proposal. Crucially, it was Ron's refusal to include the sale of Roots Hall in any deal that led to Nash stepping away.

Nash's pitch included the promise of working closely with the local community, restoring the club's damaged reputation and the carrot of forming good ties with Spurs to ensure we had the benefit of securing talented loanees.

Ron doesn't want to sell Roots Hall, but just like back in December when Ron first made contact directly with Nash, every time they spoke the goal posts kept moving.

 

[Blue Yonder]

The value is going down with every pay day missed and every week of embargo. RM should get everything he can out of the deal but it’s a little concerning he appears to have his head in the sand about the strength of his hand and an apparent bitterness towards fans that he’s been under appreciated. If a documentary really was being made that offered to feature him extensively and sympathetically it might sugar coat the deal for him. How you sugar coat that he seems to antagonise everyone he comes in contact with will require some film making and editing skills.

 

[Stan33]

We don’t know that Ron lied. What we do know is that he rushed out a brief statement talking up the interest. We don’t know that any of the stated details are factually incorrect. The few words in the statement do seem to have been carefully chosen and arranged though.

I doubt it will have a massive impact. Conversations are still ongoing and, with thanks to @Medway Blue if Jez Moxey and Tom have both been away that will definitely slow things down. Let’s hope they are both back this week.

I didn’t write Ron was lying ,I expressed my displeasure that FBM should suggest that it was ok to add numbers to the interested parties to push a possible price hike

 

[Blues4LifeDan]

I've received confirmation this morning (and the green light to post this on SZ) that Steve Nash and his consortium are now officially out of the race.

Despite verbally offering "a bumper deal", which in Nash's eyes was a genuine footballing project where he would have been the front man, Ron rejected the proposal. Crucially, it was Ron's refusal to include the sale of Roots Hall in any deal that led to Nash stepping away.

Nash's pitch included the promise of working closely with the local community, restoring the club's damaged reputation and the carrot of forming good ties with Spurs to ensure we had the benefit of securing talented loanees.

Ron doesn't want to sell Roots Hall, but just like back in December when Ron first made contact directly with Nash, every time they spoke the goal posts kept moving.

So does that imply that the preferred bidders aren't going to buy Roots Hall? So we still won't get rid of Ron.

 

[Medway Blue]

I've received confirmation this morning (and the green light to post this on SZ) that Steve Nash and his consortium are now officially out of the race.

Despite verbally offering "a bumper deal", which in Nash's eyes was a genuine footballing project where he would have been the front man, Ron rejected the proposal. Crucially, it was Ron's refusal to include the sale of Roots Hall in any deal that led to Nash stepping away.

Nash's pitch included the promise of working closely with the local community, restoring the club's damaged reputation and the carrot of forming good ties with Spurs to ensure we had the benefit of securing talented loanees.

Ron doesn't want to sell Roots Hall, but just like back in December when Ron first made contact directly with Nash, every time they spoke the goal posts kept moving.

Not a shock at all.

The killer for that deal would likely have been Nash wanting Roots Hall.

 

[Blue Yonder]

I've received confirmation this morning (and the green light to post this on SZ) that Steve Nash and his consortium are now officially out of the race.

Despite verbally offering "a bumper deal", which in Nash's eyes was a genuine footballing project where he would have been the front man, Ron rejected the proposal. Crucially, it was Ron's refusal to include the sale of Roots Hall in any deal that led to Nash stepping away.

Nash's pitch included the promise of working closely with the local community, restoring the club's damaged reputation and the carrot of forming good ties with Spurs to ensure we had the benefit of securing talented loanees.

Ron doesn't want to sell Roots Hall, but just like back in December when Ron first made contact directly with Nash, every time they spoke the goal posts kept moving.

So did their pitch mean staying at Roots Hall ?