Latest Rumours Spurs shop to open in town centre?

Sherif H said:

As for it not being a big deal, I'm afraid I see it differently as will many others - it is located bang in the middle of our town near the pub and railway station which will see most of the away fan footfall - it is embarrassing from our perspective. Makes us look like the poor relation in our own town - have some ****ing pride people. This is outright disrespect.

Click to expand...

There's a Sports Direct down the road that sells replica kits from Spurs and a host of other clubs. If somebody wants to purchase a Spurs kit for themselves or their kids, they would've just gone to Sports Direct anyway so I fail to see how this would have even the remotest of impacts on our football club. As far as I'm aware Spurs aren't leafleting the area with discounted tickets like West Ham have done in the past, something which is infinitely more disrespectful and where I'd draw the line.

Opening a shop that'll largely sell overpriced tat to people that are already Spurs fans? I'm struggling to give less of a toss if I'm being perfectly honest.

Sherif H said:

Planners still need to approve the ultimate use - they have the right to block anything which may, for instance, have a detrimental effect on the other High Street tenants.

As for it not being a big deal, I'm afraid I see it differently as will many others - it is located bang in the middle of our town near the pub and railway station which will see most of the away fan footfall - it is embarrassing from our perspective. Makes us look like the poor relation in our own town - have some ****ing pride people. This is outright disrespect.

Click to expand...

The ultimate use is as a retail outlet.

The Council are blameless on this, other than allowing the High Street to become so run down that the rent is so cheap Spuds want to come here.

Mick said:

Agreed.

Would there be the same righteous indignation if we opened a shop on Canvey or in Billericay ?

Click to expand...

Are Billericay and Canvey (or Concord) professional these days?

I think we should realise that we are, in footballing terms, minnows compared to the likes of Spurs. They have a global fan base on a much larger scale than we can only hope for ( and I know we have fans around the world) but the only people likely to use the shop are existing Spurs fans anyway. Whilst we might not like it in principle, we have to accept that Spurs are doing for purely financial reasons. I doubt it will affect us in any event because if you are a Southend fan you are hardly likely to change to Spurs just because they have opened a local store. My message is just ignore it and maybe it will close down shortly through lack of business, whilst we get on with the more important issue of getting right behind the Blues and cheering them onto promotion this coming season.

I don't the problem is to do with losing revenue ect it is just the fact that it is a bit insulting to our club that we're seen as a Premiership satellite town. I don't see it lasting long though. People who are Spurs fans will just go to Sports Direct to get their shirt cheaper.

And the fact the shop will get attacked often enough

I have a cunning plan that may indeed be a masterstroke. We select a random London based Premiership football club that has no rivalry with us, Spurs for instance, and set ourselves up in direct competition and insidiously erode their fan base. Now this is going to take a group effort so best foot forward lads.

First we set up a market stall in White Hart Lane and sell everything Southend related. This will include emergency packs of dried onions for the burgers that just do not deliver, our first team kit replicas with sticky-back plastic over the sponsors name (we need to maintain credibility) and a Rossi icecream machine with available flakes (Cadburys and not the cheapo ones).

Then the flyer campaign. Thousands upon thousands of leaflets dropped from a renovated British Air Ferries Carvair, leaving Tottenham knee deep in mind warping literature that will convince the unsuspecting Spurs fans to switch allegiance to us.

You may think this plan to be difficult, even perilous, but we must fight fire with fire. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. :punch:

Will it entice youngsters to support Spurs, or will it just appeal to the middle-aged Spurs fan who watches his team from the comfort of the sofa? I'm going for the latter.

Besides, I give it a year before it's shut due to vandalism and ****** sales.

Does it sell mugs?

To mugs.

Firstly, it's a shop in the town (a good thing)

Secondly, why don't Southend seize the opportunity and send Barney and Coulthirst down there for a photo handshakes and welcomes from Roots Hall to a club we've done alright out of over the years. We've embraced a club we have no real grudge with, we're in the paper, people will see it and think "oh yeah, there's a couple of Spurs lads at Southend, might be worth going to see them".

We're a league 2 team, this isn't like Spurs setting up shop opposite the Emirates.

It's good for the town. And done right, good for the club.

Uncle Leo said:

A good analogy. I don't like it, but such is life. Best answer Southend United can give is to produce a winning team and get promotion.

I did think about mentioning a new stadium too, but that's just silly talk.

Click to expand...

This shop opening will make your Dads mate Dave Collins a happy chappy . :winking:

It wont last and it will get attacked by mindless drunks southend and spammers on a saturday night. Once they have replaced the windows 20 times they will get the message. Didnt the same thing happen to the spammers shop?

The Spammers one was vandalised on several occasions IIRC.

Wont last long. Even if the SUFC fans don't get it the random Arsenal / Chelsea etc fans in the town will. It will be a magnet for every yob in town.

Jai said:

The Spammers one was vandalised on several occasions IIRC.

Click to expand...

Yes every time the locals made improvements those improvements got vandalised.

Crawliano said:

Firstly, it's a shop in the town (a good thing)

Secondly, why don't Southend seize the opportunity and send Barney and Coulthirst down there for a photo handshakes and welcomes from Roots Hall to a club we've done alright out of over the years. We've embraced a club we have no real grudge with, we're in the paper, people will see it and think "oh yeah, there's a couple of Spurs lads at Southend, might be worth going to see them".

We're a league 2 team, this isn't like Spurs setting up shop opposite the Emirates.

It's good for the town. And done right, good for the club.

Click to expand...

Good post.....also no reason why we can't do a kids for a quid promotion and have some people handing leaflets out right outside their shop to people who are coming and going, directly targeting football supporters, if Spurs are away who knows they might just bring their kids along ?

This is hardly going to convert people to Spurs fans, it's just a club recognising that there are Spurs fans in Southend and they want to flog some merchandise to them. How many people are going to think 'wow there's a Spurs shop nearby, guess I should support Spurs'?

Crawliano said:

Firstly, it's a shop in the town (a good thing)

Secondly, why don't Southend seize the opportunity and send Barney and Coulthirst down there for a photo handshakes and welcomes from Roots Hall to a club we've done alright out of over the years. We've embraced a club we have no real grudge with, we're in the paper, people will see it and think "oh yeah, there's a couple of Spurs lads at Southend, might be worth going to see them".

We're a league 2 team, this isn't like Spurs setting up shop opposite the Emirates.

It's good for the town. And done right, good for the club.

Click to expand...

ooh-andy-ansah said:

Good post.....also no reason why we can't do a kids for a quid promotion and have some people handing leaflets out right outside their shop to people who are coming and going, directly targeting football supporters, if Spurs are away who knows they might just bring their kids along ?

Click to expand...

Allelujah brothers!

This shop doesn't hurt Southend United one bit. It does however give us an opportunity to attract certain armchair Premiership football fans (and there's nothing wrong with them - they just don't have our wisdom and insight) to watch a bit of live local football.

This is an opportunity for Southend United, not a threat.

amsemp said:

It offends me that clubs like Spurs think they can just set up shop in Southend. I appreciate they are looking at things from a business point of view, but it shows a complete lack of respect for clubs like Southend. It's almost as bad as those fans that sit in Roots Hall wearing a West Ham cap. Just don't do it!

Click to expand...

When does respect come into it with regards to business.... Get real!

South Bank Hank said:

Allelujah brothers!

This shop doesn't hurt Southend United one bit. It does however give us an opportunity to attract certain armchair Premiership football fans (and there's nothing wrong with them - they just don't have our wisdom and insight) to watch a bit of live local football.

This is an opportunity for Southend United, not a threat.

Click to expand...

Absolutely!

South Bank Hank said:

Allelujah brothers!

This shop doesn't hurt Southend United one bit. It does however give us an opportunity to attract certain armchair Premiership football fans (and there's nothing wrong with them - they just don't have our wisdom and insight) to watch a bit of live local football.

This is an opportunity for Southend United, not a threat.

Click to expand...

Here's one...

Spurs season ticket holders can go in the shop and on a non Spurs day pick up a half price SUFC ticket. Bound to wind up the SUFC fans, but if it attracts someone who normally wouldn't go to a SUFC game we've got £10 more than we'd normally have from an empty seat!

It works for Burton with Derby, why can't we turn it into a strength? If we all of a sudden embraced it, there'd be calls for Spurs to send a decent XI down for pre season friendlies to appease the locals before they go off chasing dollar in the far east or America to get a bit of fitness, we get a packed Roots Hall and take £200,000 in the summer for a one off game.

As a club, we'd be mad not to be phoning Levy's cronies for a chat about how we can help promote their store to welcome them to the town.

If we were a Championship team playing at Fossett's Farm I'd be a little different in my line of thought, more of the "let them set up and shut soon after" but we don't have that luxury.