SUFC: The Future SUFC up for sale

[Harry Bullocks]

On my way back home from me hols in Kefalonia, clearly I’ve missed approx 200 pages of speculation and rumours
Just checking, forgive me if this has been asked and replied earlier,
In court today and verdict tomorrow or, all being conducted tomorrow

 

[Kenny]

Chill people……we are hanging on. Wednesday won’t be an issue (we are not getting wound and will not get kicked out the league - worst case I’m being told based on the situation is points deduction)

Champagne still on ice for West Stand Blue but it won’t be to long now

I was looking up previous NL point deductions. A few years ago, Gateshead were given -9 for "financal breaches". Dover got it worse with -12 for not fulfilling fixtures the previous season. So we'd need a top 10 finish worth of W/L record to be clear of relegation troubles.

Psychologically tougher when you're rooted to the bottom until you can get back in to positive points again.

 

[Petejames]

There is something we are all missing I think.

For anyone to buy the club, the club has to retain it's value. That's why the players have been paid (to stop them leaving) and the fine for pulling out the cup last season was paid (so we can compete in the cups this coming season)..

If Kimura agree a final deal today and lets say it's all signed up (like exchange of contracts on a house) then the legal commitment is there, no-one can pull out and I am sure that we will be adjourned again long enough to go through and HMRC et al to get their money.

The NL would also be mad to sanction us as that would effectively be them thinking they were more powerful than the Courts. So I'm confident we would get the adjournment and limp on for another 28 days and then the hearing is dismissed.

However, this is the bit I don't get - and I'm happy to be educated on here by anyone who knows - will we not have to stay under the embargo until the new date?

Whilst that leaves us in a dreadful position on the field as we will have to play the first month with a skeleton squad - not ideal but we would have the rest of the season to recover - but the value of the club would drop because players would leave/not join and I wouldn't imagine the buyer would be happy about that.

So the bit we are missing is that there must be something in place to ensure that, come tomorrow, we keep the players that want to sign.

Let's say that someone else can raise enough to buy the club on it's own at the moment. That takes FF out of the equation for the time being which makes the whole thing a lot simpler. £2m-ish will get us out of the immediate hole, Ron won't be involved and we will be run properly. TL is still there and has been silent so far... everyone important is still there despite not having been paid...

It doesn't have the feel of a club about to die to be honest. All the vital organs are in place, ready to come out of the induced coma.

I think there is a (lsd) long stop date 22nd July … so maybe we would get 10 days if anything

 

[elipton]

There is something we are all missing I think.

For anyone to buy the club, the club has to retain it's value. That's why the players have been paid (to stop them leaving) and the fine for pulling out the cup last season was paid (so we can compete in the cups this coming season)..

If Kimura agree a final deal today and lets say it's all signed up (like exchange of contracts on a house) then the legal commitment is there, no-one can pull out and I am sure that we will be adjourned again long enough to go through and HMRC et al to get their money.

The NL would also be mad to sanction us as that would effectively be them thinking they were more powerful than the Courts. So I'm confident we would get the adjournment and limp on for another 28 days and then the hearing is dismissed.

However, this is the bit I don't get - and I'm happy to be educated on here by anyone who knows - will we not have to stay under the embargo until the new date?

Whilst that leaves us in a dreadful position on the field as we will have to play the first month with a skeleton squad - not ideal but we would have the rest of the season to recover - but the value of the club would drop because players would leave/not join and I wouldn't imagine the buyer would be happy about that.

So the bit we are missing is that there must be something in place to ensure that, come tomorrow, we keep the players that want to sign.

Let's say that someone else can raise enough to buy the club on it's own at the moment. That takes FF out of the equation for the time being which makes the whole thing a lot simpler. £2m-ish will get us out of the immediate hole, Ron won't be involved and we will be run properly. TL is still there and has been silent so far... everyone important is still there despite not having been paid...

It doesn't have the feel of a club about to die to be honest. All the vital organs are in place, ready to come out of the induced coma.

Agree with much of this, but the value of the next season is being impacted every day we are under embargo, so could that be diminishing the value of the club the longer this stalemate goes on? It wouldn't be a factor in most sales were debts paid and and no embargos in place.

 

[Paulie Walnuts]

Does anyone know what time Ron is up before the beak again tomorrow please?.

 

[Boreham Shrimper]

Does anyone know what time Ron is up before the beak again tomorrow please?.

I believe hearings start around 1030. We should get details of the batting order later on today.

 

[yogi bear up the cagire]

This is Ron we are talking about- playing games would come very naturally- and if it winds up a couple of protesters as well as puts some increased pressure on Kimura he could be happier…. Regrettably….

One can imagine that he will be scrolling down these pages as SZ goes into melt down (again). Without compassion and with a degree of sadistic pleasure, revelling in the power he has over others. I've stopped putting the champagne in and out of the fridge. For me there are only two certainties 1). Kimura haven't announced they've pulled out of the deal. 2)The judge's word will be final. Little over 24 hours before the real truth is revealed.

 

[fbm]

Agree with much of this, but the value of the next season is being impacted every day we are under embargo, so could that be diminishing the value of the club the longer this stalemate goes on? It wouldn't be a factor in most sales were debts paid and and no embargos in place.

I don't think it is being affected... yet. No one has left (other than people who would be leaving anyway).
If however you get Bridge going and the management walking then that's a different issue.

 

[bazzashrimper]

There is something we are all missing I think.

For anyone to buy the club, the club has to retain it's value. That's why the players have been paid (to stop them leaving) and the fine for pulling out the cup last season was paid (so we can compete in the cups this coming season)..

If Kimura agree a final deal today and lets say it's all signed up (like exchange of contracts on a house) then the legal commitment is there, no-one can pull out and I am sure that we will be adjourned again long enough to go through and HMRC et al to get their money.

The NL would also be mad to sanction us as that would effectively be them thinking they were more powerful than the Courts. So I'm confident we would get the adjournment and limp on for another 28 days and then the hearing is dismissed.

However, this is the bit I don't get - and I'm happy to be educated on here by anyone who knows - will we not have to stay under the embargo until the new date?

Whilst that leaves us in a dreadful position on the field as we will have to play the first month with a skeleton squad - not ideal but we would have the rest of the season to recover - but the value of the club would drop because players would leave/not join and I wouldn't imagine the buyer would be happy about that.

So the bit we are missing is that there must be something in place to ensure that, come tomorrow, we keep the players that want to sign.

Let's say that someone else can raise enough to buy the club on it's own at the moment. That takes FF out of the equation for the time being which makes the whole thing a lot simpler. £2m-ish will get us out of the immediate hole, Ron won't be involved and we will be run properly. TL is still there and has been silent so far... everyone important is still there despite not having been paid...

It doesn't have the feel of a club about to die to be honest. All the vital organs are in place, ready to come out of the induced coma.

Good post. Not sure I agree that the league would be mad to sanction us though. The courts business is to do with paying off the debt and being a functional business. The league are concerned with the integrity of their competition. If we play a month with a skeleton squad - give Oldham and others 3 points, is that fair to the teams we don’t play? Let’s see - I hope you’re right and they agree that further turning a screw is futile

 

[Che's Left Foot]

I don't think it is being affected... yet. No one has left (other than people who would be leaving anyway).
If however you get Bridge going and the management walking then that's a different issue.

This is telling.

You'd think they would know, more than most - outside of any other NDA parties - what's going on. If things were that bleak they would walk.

And if the leech has serious intentions of clinging on, you'd also think they'd walk - and yet they haven't.

 

[fbm]

On my way back home from me hols in Kefalonia, clearly I’ve missed approx 200 pages of speculation and rumours
Just checking, forgive me if this has been asked and replied earlier,
In court today and verdict tomorrow or, all being conducted tomorrow

All tomorrow

 

[South Bucks Shrimper]

On a technicality the Club/Company cannot be sold while it is under a Winding Up Petition (WUP). The WUP cannot be removed until the court case on Wednesday morning. So the Club cannot be sold before Wednesday - but all the paperwork can be in place.

What Is A Winding Up Petition By HMRC or Other Creditor

A winding up petition is a legal notice put forward to the court by a creditor. The creditor petitions to the court if they are owed more than £750 and it has not been paid for more than 21 days. The application, in effect, asks the court to liquidate the company as they believe the company is...

www.companyrescue.co.uk

"Once your company receives a petition you have fewer options available;

It is almost impossible to put the company into creditors voluntary liquidation.

• You CANNOT sell the company or the assets, as this sale may be reversed by the Court
• You cannot issue a Notice of Intention (NOI) to appoint an administrator
• You cannot issue new securities or charges
• You cannot put the company into pre-pack administration"

 

[OldWilliam]

Hope this isn’t too self indulgent as figure there’s lots of people here going through the same right now, but this is my current mood as posted on my social media today.

“So, facing the very real possibility (maybe even probability) of the THING I love most in this world not existing in less than 48 hours. And yes, that thing is Southend United Football Club so for the non-football/sport minded folk among you I should add some perspective.

The fact it’s a football club isn’t important. For something of similar meaning to others it could be linked to any other sport or activity, that’s just the excuse – it’s what it means that’s more important.

One of my very earliest memories is going to a game at 7 taken by my Uncle and the smell of frying onions, roll up cigarettes and hearing grown ups swear for the first time (really properly swearing too) had me gripped and I was hooked. Family trips with Uncle, cousins, brother and occasionally my Dad (who isn’t a huge football fan but came anyway) followed before I graduated to being old enough to go on my own.

At that point it became about mates, lifelong friendships which survive over 30 years on. On a journey that has seen us navigate falling in and out of love, marriages, divorces, kids and sadly even a few deaths along the way. Travelling up and down the country and even into Europe with a group of people just to watch 22 men kick a ball around for 90 minutes because really the kicking the ball around bit wasn’t the point.

As for our ground (calling it a stadium is pushing it a bit) well it’s MY home as much as anywhere in the planet is. It’s old, decrepit, crumbling but I love it as much as anyone loves a grand cathedral and it is my place of worship. It was built by the fans originally in the 1950s (my bricklaying Grandad among them or so he claimed anyway) and I can honestly say the first place I go to and the last place I say goodbye to when I’m back for a visit.

It's a hub and community focal point for the most vulnerable in society. It is a warm meeting place for the elderly and offers support and inspiration for the young and disadvantaged. In a town that quite frankly has allowed to be run down and largely forgotten and neglected it offers something to cling to and be proud of.

Sadly there hasn’t been that much to cheer and be proud of for a good few years. Quite frankly the team (well the professional men anyway, the grassroots women’s team have had success lately) have been objectively terrible. But still people turn up in their thousands (some sad people even fly from the other side of the world to watch them when they can).

If we survive this and do have success on the pitch again in the future then we’ll line the streets and hail our heroes…but really we will be celebrating us. The fans who stuck by them, the community volunteers who do such great work in the clubs name, the town as a whole.

If it dies then a bit of me dies with it. It’s a huge part of my identity and I know that’s the same for many others. The badge says Southend United Football Club but really it’s my family and I can’t even begin to imagine it not being there.”

That is a stunningly beautiful post. You speak about you, your family and friends. But you also speak about me, my Dad, my friends past and present, familiar faces with unknown names. Some of which I have spent nearly 40 years nodding to and that’s it barring a hug in celebration at Layer Road, Gigg Lane, Stamford Bridge etc.
you have perfectly captured what this club means to me. Thank you.

 

[Hampshire Shrimp]

Chill people……we are hanging on. Wednesday won’t be an issue (we are not getting wound and will not get kicked out the league - worst case I’m being told based on the situation is points deduction)

Champagne still on ice for West Stand Blue but it won’t be to long now

We don`t know what the judge will rule on Wednesday? Only then will the National League react to the information. Please everyone stop tyring to predict the unpredictable, let it run it`s course, people are on edge and hanging on to any snippet of information. As a previous poster said, try and keep posts down to a minimum. Good luck.

 

[SeldomSeenShrimper]

Points deduction will most likely mean relegation.

We don't have the squad as it is and without a points deduction, we would be a mid table side at best.

...

Honestly, I'm checking out now ... It's actually beyond depressing now

 

[WestStandBlue]

We don`t know what the judge will rule on Wednesday? Only then will the National League react to the information. Please everyone stop tyring to predict the unpredictable, let it run it`s course, people are on edge and hanging on to any snippet of information. As a previous poster said, try and keep posts down to a minimum. Good luck.

I’m not predicting, we are not folding Wednesday or getting kicked out the league.

 

[Avl1983]

Maybe whoever has been funding the club recently has decided to go all in, repay the debts and buy the club outright.

Someone's been funding the club?

 

[Holy Joe]

There is something we are all missing I think.

For anyone to buy the club, the club has to retain it's value. That's why the players have been paid (to stop them leaving) and the fine for pulling out the cup last season was paid (so we can compete in the cups this coming season)..

If Kimura agree a final deal today and lets say it's all signed up (like exchange of contracts on a house) then the legal commitment is there, no-one can pull out and I am sure that we will be adjourned again long enough to go through and HMRC et al to get their money.

The NL would also be mad to sanction us as that would effectively be them thinking they were more powerful than the Courts. So I'm confident we would get the adjournment and limp on for another 28 days and then the hearing is dismissed.

However, this is the bit I don't get - and I'm happy to be educated on here by anyone who knows - will we not have to stay under the embargo until the new date?

Whilst that leaves us in a dreadful position on the field as we will have to play the first month with a skeleton squad - not ideal but we would have the rest of the season to recover - but the value of the club would drop because players would leave/not join and I wouldn't imagine the buyer would be happy about that.

So the bit we are missing is that there must be something in place to ensure that, come tomorrow, we keep the players that want to sign.

Let's say that someone else can raise enough to buy the club on it's own at the moment. That takes FF out of the equation for the time being which makes the whole thing a lot simpler. £2m-ish will get us out of the immediate hole, Ron won't be involved and we will be run properly. TL is still there and has been silent so far... everyone important is still there despite not having been paid...

It doesn't have the feel of a club about to die to be honest. All the vital organs are in place, ready to come out of the induced coma.

If contracts get exchanged, but deal not yet complete, I'd guess the buyer could put a cash injection in to pay debts and remove embargo.

 

[Smiffy]

Is there a possibility that the NL could give us a week to get the deal tied up and if not we’re out of the league? Hopefully this is a possibility as this gives us more of a chance. But I don’t know how lenient they are

Yes. I think reluctantly they will give us a very short window to get things concluded. But I suspect this will really be the last time. They aren't going to let a club start the season with all this going on, as it makes a mockery of their competition. They will be getting pressure from clubs all over to throw the rule book at us. They will do it if it's not concluded very very soon.

Unfortunately, we have an owner who is more than happy to take that chance and thinks he can get them on a technicality. Claiming this is a new WUP, rather than an old one. One of the rules is you cannot start a new season under a WUP from the previous season.

 

[Shrimpergonzo]

On a technicality the Club/Company cannot be sold while it is under a Winding Up Petition (WUP). The WUP cannot be removed until the court case on Wednesday morning. So the Club cannot be sold before Wednesday - but all the paperwork can be in place.

What Is A Winding Up Petition By HMRC or Other Creditor

A winding up petition is a legal notice put forward to the court by a creditor. The creditor petitions to the court if they are owed more than £750 and it has not been paid for more than 21 days. The application, in effect, asks the court to liquidate the company as they believe the company is...

www.companyrescue.co.uk

"Once your company receives a petition you have fewer options available;

It is almost impossible to put the company into creditors voluntary liquidation.

• You CANNOT sell the company or the assets, as this sale may be reversed by the Court
• You cannot issue a Notice of Intention (NOI) to appoint an administrator
• You cannot issue new securities or charges
• You cannot put the company into pre-pack administration"

This is huge and potentially puts Ron's smirking statement to the protestors into perspective.

It won't be sold before Wednesday, because it CAN'T be sold before Wednesday.

"Let's see what the judge says" - when we present to him the papers that the sale is lined up and ready to go.

It does feel like we are in some kind of Catch 22 situation though - the WUP can't be dismissed until the debtors are paid, the debtors can't be paid until the club is sold, the club can't be sold until the WUP is dismissed.

Any ideas how we get out of the loop? Presumably the funds are shown to be held somewhere and ready to be paid once the WUP is dismissed which allows HMRC and others to withdraw the petition. Is that correct?