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Was Kevin Bond right?

I think the player wages issue has tarnished our reputation irreparably. I no longer understand the direction of the club and I'm convinced that despite all the bluster, Ron sees the club as nothing more than a passenger for his FF plans which will make his own business "empire" a lot of money. As stated, we have an awful reputation which means that we're always going to feed on scraps which have fallen from the table when it comes to players available. Additionally, we are not competitive with other clubs at the NL level who have wealthier chairmen and who are genuinely invested in the club for the footballing aspect, which means that once the parachute payments have finished in a year or two, we'll end up around Chelmsford City level. Dropping from League Two was the worst thing that ever happened to us and has condemned us to non league for a very very long time imo. At this point, it is my true fear that we are now at a point where the club has more chance of collapse than return to the EFL.

Yes, this is an incredibly dark and negative post, but I think the rot has set in so much, and we've been so badly impacted by the mismanagement of the club at the top, it is hard to see how we can come back from this in my lifetime (I'm 41). I will continue to support the club I love, but I look around at the clubs around me and see far better ownership and management infrastructure. While Ron is here it will be smoke and mirrors forevermore.
 
I would say Brown started the rot and it continued with Bond's signings.

Brown does not have a background at our current level and neither does the Club have the resources to take on the big spenders.

I would like to see an end to attempted quick fixes and even if takes 5 plus years in the wilderness, I want to see the Club build proper foundations.

Although it is early days but with the exception of Arnold and possibly Dalby, the recruitment this season looks off the mark. Brown preferring players he has had connections with in the past, just doesn't work.

Unfortunately, we are stuck with Brown for the foreseeable future.
exactly what ive been saying even before preseason, we need to build a strong solid foundation first, starting from the backroom right through to the players etc,get the club back on a strong footing and get our once good name back, so that we can be trusted by the agents and players out there. It will take 2 or 3 sesons in this league to do it ,there is no quick fix ,all what we are doing is costing the club money with these ageing players ,no sell on value .We dont need knee jerk actions from RM or the supporters, I can understand the horrible thought last season that we were heading toward non league, Lets get to start with a our scouting in good health ,our academy strong work from the ground up .and off course our financial situation healthy. Southend has the support to be able to do that, it takes time yes ,and we as supporters have to be patient and our time will come again.
 
I think the player wages issue has tarnished our reputation irreparably. I no longer understand the direction of the club and I'm convinced that despite all the bluster, Ron sees the club as nothing more than a passenger for his FF plans which will make his own business "empire" a lot of money. As stated, we have an awful reputation which means that we're always going to feed on scraps which have fallen from the table when it comes to players available. Additionally, we are not competitive with other clubs at the NL level who have wealthier chairmen and who are genuinely invested in the club for the footballing aspect, which means that once the parachute payments have finished in a year or two, we'll end up around Chelmsford City level. Dropping from League Two was the worst thing that ever happened to us and has condemned us to non league for a very very long time imo. At this point, it is my true fear that we are now at a point where the club has more chance of collapse than return to the EFL.

Yes, this is an incredibly dark and negative post, but I think the rot has set in so much, and we've been so badly impacted by the mismanagement of the club at the top, it is hard to see how we can come back from this in my lifetime (I'm 41). I will continue to support the club I love, but I look around at the clubs around me and see far better ownership and management infrastructure. While Ron is here it will be smoke and mirrors forevermore.
glad you said smoke and mirrors and not RAZORBLADES AND MIRRORS.
 
I think the player wages issue has tarnished our reputation irreparably. I no longer understand the direction of the club and I'm convinced that despite all the bluster, Ron sees the club as nothing more than a passenger for his FF plans which will make his own business "empire" a lot of money. As stated, we have an awful reputation which means that we're always going to feed on scraps which have fallen from the table when it comes to players available. Additionally, we are not competitive with other clubs at the NL level who have wealthier chairmen and who are genuinely invested in the club for the footballing aspect, which means that once the parachute payments have finished in a year or two, we'll end up around Chelmsford City level. Dropping from League Two was the worst thing that ever happened to us and has condemned us to non league for a very very long time imo. At this point, it is my true fear that we are now at a point where the club has more chance of collapse than return to the EFL.

Yes, this is an incredibly dark and negative post, but I think the rot has set in so much, and we've been so badly impacted by the mismanagement of the club at the top, it is hard to see how we can come back from this in my lifetime (I'm 41). I will continue to support the club I love, but I look around at the clubs around me and see far better ownership and management infrastructure. While Ron is here it will be smoke and mirrors forevermore.

Good point well made. Ron has always had good intentions. I believe that, but he has run out of ideas, enthusiasm and more importantly money.

He absolutely will not sell this club or bring in a partner.

The only way he goes is if :

The club dies
He dies
Or we get fossetts, he makes his money and then is happy to sell

I'd say all 3 are likely with the first and last more so.
 
The only way he goes is if :

The club dies
He dies
Or we get fossetts, he makes his money and then is happy to sell

I'd say all 3 are likely with the first and last more so.

I can say that whilst the first and last may be likely it is actually certain that Ron will die. As will we all. Pax vobiscum.
 
I wonder where Bond got his six transfer windows from? Why not four or seven?

So, he decided the best way to change things was to get:
Brandon Goodship
Mark Millgan
Richard Taylor
Nathan Ralph
Joe Shaughnessy
Liam Ridgewell
Andre Blackman

...and on loan:
Layton Ndukwu
Ethan Hamilton

I'll be honest and say I had no idea how Badship would turn out, and at the time, I wasn't sure about Ralph either. After all, he had just been relegated twice in successive seasons.
But the others?
There will be an archive somewhere in which I reckoned the rest would all turn out to be duds.
I know Bond from his 'Arry support role, and he was no manager, and never will be.
Ron has a lot to answer for by appointing him full time.


 
I think we have brought in too many bang average players on far inflated wages than deserved over the last 4 or 5 years. Questions need to be asked of the scouts and those in charge of signing these deals off also. I make Bond right, this is no quick fix. The club need to sort themselves out massively in this area. Look at the likes of Dagenham. Small fry compared to us, but have recruited extremely well on peanuts and look a real force this season. It can be done if you have a good network and strategy in place. In my opinion we don’t have that and it has showed for years and years.

Trust me, Daggers are not paying peanuts…
 
Harrogate makes their programme free to read online and they interviewed Mark Oxley last week. In the interview he mentions us and says that during Covid the players were just left to deal with it and he ended up ringing the PFA frequently about wages and they were told they'd get the money if "certain things happened". He also says it was common on a Saturday for players to be discussing whether they'd be getting paid on the bus to the match. If a player is thinking about coming here and hears stuff like that from ex-players why would they think it's a good idea?
A couple of points there that surely need addressing on the next Zoom call with the powers that be.
 
No,
KB was just copying what the Cowley brothers told him, abouth their opinions on the number of transfer windows required
 
Trust me, Daggers are not paying peanuts…
What I meant was they aren't bringing in a lot of income from ticket sales, compared to us. So relative peanuts income wise. But are still managing to bring in decent players. Obviously backed well by their American owners, unlike us.
 
I wonder where Bond got his six transfer windows from? Why not four or seven?

So, he decided the best way to change things was to get:
Brandon Goodship
Mark Millgan
Richard Taylor
Nathan Ralph
Joe Shaughnessy
Liam Ridgewell
Andre Blackman

...and on loan:
Layton Ndukwu
Ethan Hamilton

I'll be honest and say I had no idea how Badship would turn out, and at the time, I wasn't sure about Ralph either. After all, he had just been relegated twice in successive seasons.
But the others?
There will be an archive somewhere in which I reckoned the rest would all turn out to be duds.
I know Bond from his 'Arry support role, and he was no manager, and never will be.
Ron has a lot to answer for by appointing him full time.


With Bond he knew he was badly out of his depth. No he wasn’t wrong in that changes were needed and it’d take several transfer windows. That was bloomin’ obvious wasn’t it though? It was a convenient way for him to explain away the 6 successive defeats!

Bond was totally the wrong appointment at the time, I’m pretty sure Ron has held his hands up to that one. Ridgewell, that signing alone was a massive red flag and you can’t pin that exclusively on KB. My anger at the time was what persuaded me to join the Zone!
 
Most of the clubs in this league will be better run than ours, but more importantly they are not clubs who have been dragged through the courts on a regular basis and regularly pay their players on time.

As i've said so many times, our clubs name is mud within the echelons of the game. Even if we did somehow muster up the funds to sign a few decent players they are never going to want to leave wherever they are currently plying their trade to join us.

Until there is change at the very top and we regain some semblance of credibility, then our hopes of doing anything will always rely on a group of journeymen pro's and youngsters hoping to catch the eye of other clubs on the way up.

This is not the way to gain promotion from this tough league, and it's so ****ing obvious it hurts.
It is so this, and also the Mark Oxley claims (@southendkid). Unfortunately we support a club where the owner believes it is acceptable to pay his employees when he sees fit. He pays local suppliers and tradesmen if it takes his fancy. He pays the government at the last possible moment - even if it adversely impacts his business. And he treats his paying customers with disdain - see various debacles over season tickets, state of ground, programmes, and so on and so on. No wonder everyone surrounding the club is fed up and sick to their back teeth with his stewardship and toxic culture, and no wonder the inevitable result is us sitting mid table in the NFL.
 
Good point well made. Ron has always had good intentions. I believe that, but he has run out of ideas, enthusiasm and more importantly money.

He absolutely will not sell this club or bring in a partner.

The only way he goes is if :

The club dies
He dies
Or we get fossetts, he makes his money and then is happy to sell

I'd say all 3 are likely with the first and last more so.
I would have thought the middle ones a pretty factual definite too to be honest
 
Problem is most players agents recommend avoid joining our club. We are left with ones others don't want unless we pay inflated wages.
This is absolutely bang on. I know an agent who says exactly the same. Ron is tarnished and he says the same about Brown. He also said that of the players we brought in this summer not to expect much. Thought he might be wrong early doors but sadly results seem to suggest not.
 
Our squad is much improved from last season. But there's still lots of work to do. Bond was right, with that comment at least.

We're five games in as an ex-league club in a tough new division. We have basically started exactly how I expected us to, and to be honest we will probably finish around where we are now, 14th-17th was always my prediction.

It's not going to be much fun but we are where we are and the most important thing is to stop the freefall.
 
It is so this, and also the Mark Oxley claims (@southendkid). Unfortunately we support a club where the owner believes it is acceptable to pay his employees when he sees fit. He pays local suppliers and tradesmen if it takes his fancy. He pays the government at the last possible moment - even if it adversely impacts his business. And he treats his paying customers with disdain - see various debacles over season tickets, state of ground, programmes, and so on and so on. No wonder everyone surrounding the club is fed up and sick to their back teeth with his stewardship and toxic culture, and no wonder the inevitable result is us sitting mid table in the NFL.

Whilst not wanting to go off topic here, and this is a debate perhaps for another day, just wanted to point out that the late payment of wages (Players were always paid in full, just not always on time. Obviously this still isn’t acceptable) wasn’t a case of the owner choosing, or not choosing to pay them on time.

RM didn’t sit on a big pile of cash and decide to pay player X his wages on time because he has played well or would kick up a fuss, and not player Y because he’d been awful, or thinking he would kick up less of a fuss. It was simply a case of a lack of funds at the time.
 
Whilst not wanting to go off topic here, and this is a debate perhaps for another day, just wanted to point out that the late payment of wages (Players were always paid in full, just not always on time. Obviously this still isn’t acceptable) wasn’t a case of the owner choosing, or not choosing to pay them on time.

RM didn’t sit on a big pile of cash and decide to pay player X his wages on time because he has played well or would kick up a fuss, and not player Y because he’d been awful, or thinking he would kick up less of a fuss. It was simply a case of a lack of funds at the time.

Irrespective of that, the first rule of any business is to pay your staff. It's not like it was a "one off" either. A well run business with a sustainable model would not have got to the point where wages went unpaid like that. Failure to pay wages on time carries a serious reputation hit which leads to unhappy players and a toxic atmosphere. This would account for their lack of fight.

The buck stops with Ron, not the manager.
 
Whilst not wanting to go off topic here, and this is a debate perhaps for another day, just wanted to point out that the late payment of wages (Players were always paid in full, just not always on time. Obviously this still isn’t acceptable) wasn’t a case of the owner choosing, or not choosing to pay them on time.

RM didn’t sit on a big pile of cash and decide to pay player X his wages on time because he has played well or would kick up a fuss, and not player Y because he’d been awful, or thinking he would kick up less of a fuss. It was simply a case of a lack of funds at the time.
I don't believe that's entirely true - I understand he intentially withheld some wages for some specific players because they weren't part of his future on occasions. It was perceived as a "tactic" to help expedite them leaving.
 
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