SUFC: The Future SUFC up for sale

[danbowen]

Whoever the new owner is expect a more expensive experience at ff. they will want to replace the general southend fan with a younger, middle class more multicultural one...

Where did you pull that assumption from?

 

[RHB]

Whoever the new owner is expect a more expensive experience at ff. they will want to replace the general southend fan with a younger, middle class more multicultural one...

Very intriguing where you get this assumption from @Kat_r. I agree that it will probably cost more in a new stadium, but initially we will still be in the National League and there is a ceiling on what is financially acceptable. As for the younger, middle class more multicultural fan, there is no empirical evidence of that in the rest of the football world. Money talks far more than age.

 

[fbm]

Whoever the new owner is expect a more expensive experience at ff. they will want to replace the general southend fan with a younger, middle class more multicultural one...

I doubt they'd want to replace anyone!

They might want to add to the fanbase though.

 

[Shrimper]

Whoever the new owner is expect a more expensive experience at ff. they will want to replace the general southend fan with a younger, middle class more multicultural one...

I heard they can't even have a Christmas party any more. Have to call it a Holiday lunch. Smh

 

[SPALDINGBLUE]

A mindset of many younger fans. I’m nearly 50 years old, have a wife and 2 kids, so hardly fall into that category,

I’m sorry, that’s bollocks. We have almost 6,000 fans every other Saturday and sometimes upwards of a 1,000 fans travelling all over the country on the alternative Saturdays, so you’re telling me all them fans, apart from 100-200 can’t turn up an extra hour or stay an extra hour after the game to support a protest against the worst chairman in English football? Ok then.

Whichever way you look at it, Ron Martin has had the easiest of rides from our fan base. There’s not another club in this country that would have stood back and done nothing like the majority of our fans have when their club is falling apart in front of their eyes.

Those fans need to take some responsibility for the mess we’re in for letting that man get away with running the club into the ground for this amount of time, without doing anything about it.

totally agree , fair play to the guys organising the protest and the marches and turning up up at snake oil sellers house. But I have said for years our support is the most supine of all the league clubs(sorry not league) RM has had an easy ride, from the moment Shrimperstrust lent him the first 64,000 and only the last few years has the local media got interested in the decline of Southend Utd, for years they would keep quiet whilst Martin would announce in conjunction with the Echo special admission prices, All done to keep media on his side
even now the young guys that protest in the game with banners etc, you can feel the disapproval from people around them. Who cannot be bothered to protest

 

[Kat_r]

What a strange comment. We're not in a position to turn down any fans I would suspect, and I doubt anyone would be unwise enough to up ticket prices too much given the standard of football.

Well you can argue that but there’s been a push in recent years to alter the demographics of Southend
First the council paid a company to say it needs to become a more middle class destination.
City status
The consequences of a lot of Londoners moving in during covid, ironically raising house prices yet voting for more left wing parties
House prices in the areas surrounding Southend have sky rocketed.

Rm all used to demographics of south Essex on friday
Stan has in the past too
I.e. people moving with more money and growing immigrant community
Also look at census changes in the area even in the last 10 yrs

Plus the fact whoever runs the club will want to make a profit. And that will come from trying to extract as much as possible from those who attend matches.

Never underestimate how much the new money club are prepared to part with if they think they have done something ‘different’ i.e cosplayed as a working class football fan in their new city.

 

[Kat_r]

I doubt they'd want to replace anyone!

They might want to add to the fanbase though.

yes but as a business person you want to try and attract those with the most money to the club. So you try and market it as a premium experience. So they will want to attract a young crowd. And by young I mean middle aged
It’s only an idea and in reality I’m not sure it will work but let’s hope it doesn’t become a souless corporate experience pushing out the more traditional attendees.

Will be interesting to see how it all works out and how the ‘culture’ of the club and fan base changes or stays.

 

[Liam AAS]

Whoever the new owner is expect a more expensive experience at ff. they will want to replace the general southend fan with a younger, middle class more multicultural one...

Yes, young people (especially BAME people) are absolutely flush with cash so this is a very sensible business decision and a very likely outcome.

 

[Kat_r]

Very intriguing where you get this assumption from @Kat_r. I agree that it will probably cost more in a new stadium, but initially we will still be in the National League and there is a ceiling on what is financially acceptable. As for the younger, middle class more multicultural fan, there is no empirical evidence of that in the rest of the football world. Money talks far more than age.

Well yes for sure they will try to squeeze as much out of fans as they can get away with. Which is a shame as how many current fans may be priced out.
A rational business tra they would be to market it at more middle class middle aged people living in the area.

No offence to older fans but rm mentioned demographic potential of the catchment area on Friday. I don’t think he was talking about those over 70

 

[Kat_r]

Yes, young people (especially BAME people) are absolutely flush with cash so this is a very sensible business decision and a very likely outcome.

By young I mean middle aged really as I stated above. The new owner will want to maximise profit and hope to tap into this demographic more to raise revenues. ironically, actually, racial disparities in the eastern region of which Essex is part of show on average bame earn more than their white counterparts

So, again, as a business person you target the group with more money hoping you can get them to the stadium on a Saturday. Whether that will work or bit remains to be seen

 

[Napster]

By young I mean middle aged really as I stated above. The new owner will want to maximise profit and hope to tap into this demographic more to raise revenues. ironically, actually, racial disparities in the eastern region of which Essex is part of show on average bame earn more than their white counterparts

So, again, as a business person you target the group with more money hoping you can get them to the stadium on a Saturday. Whether that will work or bit remains to be seen

You talk a lot of crap

 

[hlane17]

Essex in general is far wealthier than other parts of the country. Even those in the lower income brackets do better financially than their counterparts elsewhere. A trip to the north of England will give anyone some perspective on this.

I think this was what RM was getting at, trying to sell the amount of potential revenue there is to be made in the future from a big fanbase. There's a fair bit of money in our local area and any well-run football club will draw in a nice slice of that.

 

[kentblues]

Acquired a business or two over the years but been thinking if I were to be looking to buy the club what would I want (PS I'm not!)

The first thing is I would be moving very quickly. Why? Well in my mind the stadium is a major factor in what I am buying and impacts many things going forward. And it is yet to be built. So not to have influence over what is built, seems to me, to be madness. And if I had deep pockets I would almost certainly be interested in the original plans incorporating the hotel. I would be thinking longer term not just around short term challenges. And the permission is already there.

Then because the stadium not built how is the sale structured. There are many ways of doing this in degrees of complexity. Most things can be structured contractually.

I think I would want a way of buying the club and the land for the stadium with planning. Then I would own the build. I would expect to be playing rent free at RH until the new stadium is ready.

If you had the money (and enough of it) what would your approach be ?

 

[Kat_r]

You talk a lot of crap

Cheers. Stan must too as I distinctly remember him saying he wanted to attract younger fans and those from the immigrant community on one of his video calls with fans and discussing the population increase in south Essex.

Again, when Ron referred to the demographic potential of the area for new owners on friday, who do you think he was refering to?
Pensioners?

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Well you can argue that but there’s been a push in recent years to alter the demographics of Southend
First the council paid a company to say it needs to become a more middle class destination.
City status
The consequences of a lot of Londoners moving in during covid, ironically raising house prices yet voting for more left wing parties
House prices in the areas surrounding Southend have sky rocketed.

Rm all used to demographics of south Essex on friday
Stan has in the past too
I.e. people moving with more money and growing immigrant community
Also look at census changes in the area even in the last 10 yrs

Plus the fact whoever runs the club will want to make a profit. And that will come from trying to extract as much as possible from those who attend matches.

Never underestimate how much the new money club are prepared to part with if they think they have done something ‘different’ i.e cosplayed as a working class football fan in their new city.

Seem to remember meeting a good mate of mine at the Traders some years ago (he lives in a rather posh part of Chalkwell) who introduced me to a neighbour of his.My mate told him that I'd been born in the town but moved abroad some years ago.((Think this was back in the 90's, IIRC) .Anyway this neighbour asked me what I thought had changed most in the town.When I said I had no idea he instantly replied that he thought it was the increasing immigrant community.Racists have always been with us unfortunately.

 

[Napster]

Cheers. Stan must too as I distinctly remember him saying he wanted to attract younger fans and those from the immigrant community on one of his video calls with fans

But not at the expense of the core fanbase.

 

[Tommy2holes]

Any idea from those in the know if things are happening in the background. Not asking for specifics etc as I know it's very confidential. Just wondered if something was at play prior or post "I'm selling the club" statement.

Stan is also in New York so I'm guessing it's to meet up with certain people rather than just a general leisure trip.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

Acquired a business or two over the years but been thinking if I were to be looking to buy the club what would I want (PS I'm not!)

The first thing is I would be moving very quickly. Why? Well in my mind the stadium is a major factor in what I am buying and impacts many things going forward. And it is yet to be built. So not to have influence over what is built, seems to me, to be madness. And if I had deep pockets I would almost certainly be interested in the original plans incorporating the hotel. I would be thinking longer term not just around short term challenges. And the permission is already there.

Then because the stadium not built how is the sale structured. There are many ways of doing this in degrees of complexity. Most things can be structured contractually.

I think I would want a way of buying the club and the land for the stadium with planning. Then I would own the build. I would expect to be playing rent free at RH until the new stadium is ready.

If you had the money (and enough of it) what would your approach be ?

Firstly i'd want to see the 2020, 2021, 2022 annual accounts, plus up to date management accounts, before I even made a bid. How can you bid or carry out DD if you have no idea how the club has been operating financially. Also i'd want to see a full breakdown of the debtors and creditors. Which co.s does the club still owe money to and when is it due etc....

 

[danbowen]

Any idea from those in the know if things are happening in the background. Not asking for specifics etc as I know it's very confidential. Just wondered if something was at play prior or post "I'm selling the club" statement.

Stan is also in New York so I'm guessing it's to meet up with certain people rather than just a general leisure trip.

I think with this whole sale thing we are gonna struggle have any ITKs know what is happening purely because the sale will be getting discussed at the ownership level (whoever may own us) and not within the club level.

 

[Kat_r]

Firstly i'd want to see the 2020, 2021, 2022 annual accounts, plus up to date management accounts, before I even made a bid. How can you bid or carry out DD if you have no idea how the club has been operating financially. Also i'd want to see a full breakdown of the debtors and creditors. Which co.s does the club still owe money to and when is it due etc....

reckon it will be marketed as I’m writing off the debt and the stadium will generate enough revenue to turn a profit. but yes, think we all would like to see the accounts!!!
Most likely a revenue plan for stadium will have been put together. Would also like to see that.