RHB
Return to Modnomor Mountain⭐⭐🦐
I found this today on the FSA site. A cracking article, and definitely a case of 'Lest we Forget'. Well done @Liam AAS.
thefsa.org.uk
Across 2022 and 2023, Southend United faced oblivion but thanks to the tireless work of supporters, local MPs and businesses, the historic 118-year-old institution was saved.
Here co-editor of the Shrimpers’ All At Sea Fanzine, Liam Ager, tells us more about the saga and how they came out the other side as they look ahead to the future…
Two years ago I was in court wondering whether the judge was going to wind us up. It hadn’t happened on any of the previous 13 occasions so I was confident that we’d get away with it again.
HMRC (Away), easy.
Ron Martin, Southend United’s then owner, arrived in court flanked by the local MPs who had submitted written appeals to the Judge. Their appeals detailed how important the club was to the local community and that salvation was just around the corner in the form of a new stadium; the new stadium that Ron had failed to deliver since 1998.
Southend’s due tax bill was estimated at £1.4m.
The judge allowed Southend United a further 42 days to find the money and the case was adjourned. The next hearing was marked “FINAL”.
The next 42 days saw Shrimpers across the UK scrabbling around to find out what on earth was going on. In our hour of need, we turned to the FSA and our local MP.
We all know what happens when a club can’t pay its debts. Insolvency is a dispassionate process, the antithesis of supporting your team.
Protests against Southend United owner Ron Martin in September 2023 © Alamy
The FSA’s then Head of National Game, Andy Walsh, spoke to us about the options: Pay the bill, administration and a ten point deduction, or, worst of all, liquidation, receivership, death. Football is supposed to be fun.
We knew that this was a real possibility and so the Shrimpers Trust and the various supporters’ groups united to put as much pressure on Ron Martin as possible.
We worked at matches, in the national media and outside his house to highlight his dereliction of duty and the decline of our club. Conversations with the FSA became a weekly occurrence as the Trust looked to establish itself as a key and credible stakeholder in the event of insolvency proceedings.
Days turned into weeks and there was no firm signal from the club that any means of payment had been found. Then, on February 28th 2023, the club announced that the debt was paid and that HMRC’s petition was to be dismissed by the court. We rejoiced.
Less than three weeks later the club was put up for sale. We rejoiced again.
The process of selling the club lasted over 16 months and was punctuated with further winding-up petitions from HMRC and clashes with the National League (including a points deduction and, later, a £1m bond).
There were payments to prevent the club’s minibus from being repossessed, setting up of a shell company in case intellectual property needed to be purchased from the receiver, players tearing up their own contracts after not being paid, more protests at the owners house, hardship funds for unpaid club staff, housing deals between Ron Martin’s son and Southend City Council, and a 15 month transfer embargo.
At the end of the 2023-24 season Southend United finished six points off the National League playoffs in 9th place. No team had conceded fewer goals and, without a points deduction, the club that was regularly only able to name a single substitute would have finished 6th.
Martin’s brinkmanship during negotiations meant the tension was beyond anything I have ever known.
At the hardest moment, the FSA’s Andy Walsh told me that Southend United Football Club is not a limited company or a shirt colour, but a collection of memories and a belief that Southend-on-Sea should have a football club to represent the town.
I thought about that when I sent an email to the Essex FA regarding a phoenix club, just in case the club wouldn’t make it through its 17th winding up petition a fortnight later.
Two years ago I didn’t know if my club would survive the next six weeks. For now, we could just go to the game and support the club we love. Football would be fun again.
"Tomorrow is finally here" - Southend back from the brink and ready for new era - Football Supporters' Association
Across 2022 and 2023, Southend United faced oblivion but thanks to the tireless work of supporters, local MPs and businesses, the historic 118-year-old institution was saved.
Across 2022 and 2023, Southend United faced oblivion but thanks to the tireless work of supporters, local MPs and businesses, the historic 118-year-old institution was saved.
Here co-editor of the Shrimpers’ All At Sea Fanzine, Liam Ager, tells us more about the saga and how they came out the other side as they look ahead to the future…
Two years ago I was in court wondering whether the judge was going to wind us up. It hadn’t happened on any of the previous 13 occasions so I was confident that we’d get away with it again.
HMRC (Away), easy.
Ron Martin, Southend United’s then owner, arrived in court flanked by the local MPs who had submitted written appeals to the Judge. Their appeals detailed how important the club was to the local community and that salvation was just around the corner in the form of a new stadium; the new stadium that Ron had failed to deliver since 1998.
Southend’s due tax bill was estimated at £1.4m.
The judge allowed Southend United a further 42 days to find the money and the case was adjourned. The next hearing was marked “FINAL”.
The next 42 days saw Shrimpers across the UK scrabbling around to find out what on earth was going on. In our hour of need, we turned to the FSA and our local MP.
We all know what happens when a club can’t pay its debts. Insolvency is a dispassionate process, the antithesis of supporting your team.
Protests against Southend United owner Ron Martin in September 2023 © Alamy
The FSA’s then Head of National Game, Andy Walsh, spoke to us about the options: Pay the bill, administration and a ten point deduction, or, worst of all, liquidation, receivership, death. Football is supposed to be fun.
We knew that this was a real possibility and so the Shrimpers Trust and the various supporters’ groups united to put as much pressure on Ron Martin as possible.
We worked at matches, in the national media and outside his house to highlight his dereliction of duty and the decline of our club. Conversations with the FSA became a weekly occurrence as the Trust looked to establish itself as a key and credible stakeholder in the event of insolvency proceedings.
Days turned into weeks and there was no firm signal from the club that any means of payment had been found. Then, on February 28th 2023, the club announced that the debt was paid and that HMRC’s petition was to be dismissed by the court. We rejoiced.
Less than three weeks later the club was put up for sale. We rejoiced again.
The process of selling the club lasted over 16 months and was punctuated with further winding-up petitions from HMRC and clashes with the National League (including a points deduction and, later, a £1m bond).
There were payments to prevent the club’s minibus from being repossessed, setting up of a shell company in case intellectual property needed to be purchased from the receiver, players tearing up their own contracts after not being paid, more protests at the owners house, hardship funds for unpaid club staff, housing deals between Ron Martin’s son and Southend City Council, and a 15 month transfer embargo.
At the end of the 2023-24 season Southend United finished six points off the National League playoffs in 9th place. No team had conceded fewer goals and, without a points deduction, the club that was regularly only able to name a single substitute would have finished 6th.
The FSA continued to support our work and helped us build a battle plan for the worst case scenario, and we spoke to trusts at Wrexham, Scarborough Athletic and Scunthorpe United regarding their work on battling owners, asset ownership and phoenix clubs.
Martin’s brinkmanship during negotiations meant the tension was beyond anything I have ever known.
At the hardest moment, the FSA’s Andy Walsh told me that Southend United Football Club is not a limited company or a shirt colour, but a collection of memories and a belief that Southend-on-Sea should have a football club to represent the town.
I thought about that when I sent an email to the Essex FA regarding a phoenix club, just in case the club wouldn’t make it through its 17th winding up petition a fortnight later.
When Justin Rees’s consortium – the Custodians of Southend United (COSU) – took over the club in July 2024, tomorrow was finally here. We wouldn’t have to fight owners or disseminate technical information from local politicians at 10pm or speak to insolvency experts.
Two years ago I didn’t know if my club would survive the next six weeks. For now, we could just go to the game and support the club we love. Football would be fun again.
