Tom Hopper sold

[Yorkshire Blue]

I'm told most of the players have a 25% relegation pay cut in their contracts. So when its comes to players leaving we haven't finished yet

Best save your anger for when it really gets bad.

Eh? Hopper is the only one of the senior players I’d be upset to lose.

I guess we do need the money and the season is dead anyway. The thing that bugs me is how Lincoln can afford to splash cash about when we are looking to get in money anywhere.

Are they that much more of a bigger club than us, are there crowds vastly superior to ours, are they still in the cups, is there wage structure so much better than ours? It does make you wonder.

Because 2016-2018 they were managed by Cowleys who signed young players with sell-on value like Toffolo and went on lucrative cup runs whilst we had Phil Brown who ignored the cup and signed players on their way down who it cost us to pay off.

Back when we had managers who signed players with resale value and embarked on Cup runs (eg Tilson, Sturrock) it set the ground for us to invest more in the playing staff a couple of years down the line. Hopefully the sale of Powell signings Hopper and Humphrys will enable Sol to make his first additions but it’s going to be bargain basement for now because we’re playing catch up after the short termism of 2013-2018.

That’s the *one* player we really need to hang onto. He will be prolific in league 2 and worth a whole lot more after a year in the first team.

My concern is that he’d be worth a lot more this summer if he played the rest of the season alongside Tom Hopper who set up his goal Saturday. Selling Hopper for £150,000 may reduce Kelman’s transfer fee by half a mil.

Hopper is our best player im gutted .How comes loads of the smaller teams have more money than us yes and I belive lincoln are smaller than us But probably run much better mind you most clubs are run better than us

See above.

 

[rigsby]

Just can’t help yourself can you Yorkshire. You need to see someone about your PB myopia, it seems to be getting worse.

Even after he has long gone we will get money for Dru because PB made him important at just 17....Pre season tour, the only academy player to play in the annual cricket match etc....Thats why he signed a 4 year deal....Where as other managers tell the likes of him or Hutch they are not part of their plans.

As for cup runs didn't you enjoy beating Millwall.....I bet you even managed a begrudging smile as JW lifted that trophy at Wembley.

As for financial management it turns out PB Got us promoted from L1 with a budget that was about 7th in the league 2 without spending any money (first time in our history). Then when you factor in the money coming in for the likes of Bentley, Lenny, Payne and Dru....That makes him the best in our 114 year history.

"Anybody but PB".....Best to keep quiet about that rather than remind people.

 

[rlb999]

My concern is that he’d be worth a lot more this summer if he played the rest of the season alongside Tom Hopper who set up his goal Saturday. Selling Hopper for £150,000 may reduce Kelman’s transfer fee by half a mil.

You're over thinking it! In an ideal world Hopper would be the one I'd like to keep but if he wants to go, he goes - and if it's £150k now or nil in the summer, it's £150k now. Also for Kelman to be worth anything like £0.5m would mean he needs to do 20 a season, probably for a couple of seasons, and be in a long contract. At this stage the lad has scored a couple of goals and doesn't have much else to his all round game. I'd wager that when he does leave - whether it's in 6 months or 6 years - it's on a free!

 

[Westcliff DGS]

Really feel sorry for Sol. Slowly starts turning a sinking ship, then his main crew members leave and he’s left abandoned in the ocean, and he’s expected to get on Captain Ron’s next expedition- destination National League.

Would wanna see SC as our manager for as long as possible, but if he walks, who’s to blame him?

I would guess he knew the situation before he came in and what clause in contracts were where, so in this situation he wouldn't be surprised.

 

[KiwiRob]

You're over thinking it! In an ideal world Hopper would be the one I'd like to keep but if he wants to go, he goes - and if it's £150k now or nil in the summer, it's £150k now. Also for Kelman to be worth anything like £0.5m would mean he needs to do 20 a season, probably for a couple of seasons, and be in a long contract. At this stage the lad has scored a couple of goals and doesn't have much else to his all round game. I'd wager that when he does leave - whether it's in 6 months or 6 years - it's on a free!

Charlie Kelman is an outstanding player and Southend will be lucky if he is still at the club in June. A very intelligent player, great awareness, hard-working, driving ambition to succeed, and is a confident and lethal finisher as he demonstrated at Accrington. And he is still extremely young.

 

[londonblue]

If we had kept hooper,
we go down and we loose him for zero ( assuming this is correct) and have no money for players.
Supporters then find out we could have sold him for XXX but didn’t- . Everyone would be calling Ron an idiot

Keep up, Hooper left years ago. He's currently playing in Australia.

 

[KiwiRob]

Keep up, Hooper left years ago. He's currently playing in Australia.

I think you mean Wellington Phoenix

 

[Shrimper44]

Really feel sorry for Sol. Slowly starts turning a sinking ship, then his main crew members leave and he’s left abandoned in the ocean, and he’s expected to get on Captain Ron’s next expedition- destination National League.

Would wanna see SC as our manager for as long as possible, but if he walks, who’s to blame him?

I feel more sorry for our longer suffering loyal fans

 

[OldBlueLady]

Thoroughly depressing reading.

Not overly disappointed at Hopper going, he'd not been half the player he was pre-injury last season, and I'd much prefer to cash in now than have him leave for nothing in the summer.

I am disappointed at the capitulation though - I still can't get my head around allowing Theo to go if they knew Hopper and Cox and possibly Humphrys were off.

The Council needs to stop playing silly buggers and give Fossetts the green light which will allow Ron to start recouping some money on his investment, which will, in turn prove of benefit to the Club.

 

[Jay_SUFC]

Thoroughly depressing reading.

Not overly disappointed at Hopper going, he'd not been half the player he was pre-injury last season, and I'd much prefer to cash in now than have him leave for nothing in the summer.

I am disappointed at the capitulation though - I still can't get my head around allowing Theo to go if they knew Hopper and Cox and possibly Humphrys were off.

The Council needs to stop playing silly buggers and give Fossetts the green light which will allow Ron to start recouping some money on his investment, which will, in turn prove of benefit to the Club.

I suspect Theo didn't want to be here.

In terms of FF, I agree, I've said for years if this doesn't happen we'll be gone as a club and constant delays haven't helped!!

 

[Chairman Trigg]

Also why on earth did Ron pay out for Sol and a backroom team who clearly cost a lot of money and are what you'd expect for a championship outfit...then through the financial mismanagement virtually give them nothing to work with and dismantle the squad leaving them to deal with an utter mess and the club teetering on meltdown .
How can we afford their salaries in league 2 at the expense of the squad players?

 

[Sleaford Shrimper]

Living, as I do, 21 miles from Lincoln and surrounded by a great many born-again Lincoln supporters, perhaps I might update you on how, effectively, they have reached a superior position both financially and on the pitch compared with us. Leading up to their second relegation to the Conference (National League) their home attendances had dwindled to a couple of thousand per match and financially they were close to bust with rumours that they were still paying off the contracts of as many as 4 sacked managers. Having failed to bounce straight back into League 2, attendances remained low. Then, along came the Cowley brothers who had tremendous skills in signing, developing and giving confidence to players who had been released by other clubs, including us, on frees or for nominal fees, Woodyard being a prime example as a stand-out member of their team that got promotion to League One. For the Cowleys, every game mattered, a mentality that got them out of the Conference, got them to the FA Cup Quarter Finals, got them a further promotion to League One. The FA Cup run brought in hundreds of thousands of pounds in TV money, attracted back thousands of former supporters and thousands of new supporters to the point where I believe that they now have more season ticket holders than our total average home attendances this season. They have invested their cash wisely in developing training facilities and the club's infrastructure rather than splashing out big bucks on signings and inflated wages. Even though the Cowleys have now moved on, the club is still on a sound footing and pretty much assured of League One football again next season, which will keep the majority of the season ticket money and sponsorship rolling in. If I was Tom Hopper, I would certainly jump at the chance of joining Lincoln City at present.

I would add the comment that, even during the bad times at the occasional match I have attended at Lincoln for something to do on a Saturday afternoon, I very rarely, if ever, heard sustained verbal abuse of their own players from the Lincoln supporters.

If Tom Hopper does join Lincoln, he will join Messrs Coker, Bolger and Payne. Bring on a few more ex-Southend players and I just might go to watch Lincoln more often, if I can get a ticket, that is!

 

[southendkid]

Why are people saying we're a bigger club than Lincoln? Their average attendance this season has been 9,057 despite them being a mid-table side. Even when we're doing well we don't average that, the only time we approach anywhere near that sort of attendance is when we've got something to play for at the end of the season.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Lincoln are having their moment in the sun, as we did in the Tilly years. I work with someone from Lincoln, who has been to just one match his entire life, but the first thing he talks about is how they did at the weekend.

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

If Tom Hopper does join Lincoln, he will join Messrs Coker, Bolger and Payne. Bring on a few more ex-Southend players and I just might go to watch Lincoln more often, if I can get a ticket, that is!

Coker and Payne have been told they can go last week. But yes, what an amazing job the Cowley brothers did. It's put Lincoln on a whole new level.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Coker and Payne have been told they can go last week. But yes, what an amazing job the Cowley brothers did. It's put Lincoln on a whole new level.

Not so at Huddersfield though eh?

 

[Ricey]

Not so at Huddersfield though eh?

Really? They were dead bottom when they took over and now they’re out of the relegation zone and on a rebuild. I think they’ve done a great job.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Really? They were dead bottom when they took over and now they’re out of the relegation zone and on a rebuild. I think they’ve done a great job.

20th with a win percentage of 30%. Hardly setting the world alight.

 

[Rayleigh boy]

I would add the comment that, even during the bad times at the occasional match I have attended at Lincoln for something to do on a Saturday afternoon, I very rarely, if ever, heard sustained verbal abuse of their own players from the Lincoln supporters.

I go to Portsmouth with my Dad - and they never abuse their players either.

I reckon Theo won't play here because of the ignorance of the moaners and groaners .

I do think the toxic atmosphere is enjoyed by some supporters who think a football match is the perfect forum to express all their frustrations and anger

 

[THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK]

Not so at Huddersfield though eh?

Well, the subject was Lincoln, and I said they did an amazing job. Which they did. It's early days at Huddersfield, and they are now leaking money with the Chairman just putting in £15m. All their Premiership money and parachute payment has gone. The Cowley's will have to do another amazing job to get that club anywhere.