Thought I'd take some time to gather my thoughts on this but I'm struggling to do so!
Obviously, goes without saying, this is a HUGE step in the right direction and I'm feeling cautiously pleased. What he appears to be proposing - being open to the idea of selling the club separately from the stadium development for the time being with a future opportunity for the stadium to be bought too - is an exit route and is what I (and the supporters' groups) have been pushing for Christ knows how long now. Good to see it finally become a serious prospect. The involvement of such a reputable name in the sale exploration process shows that it's serious too.
A little harsh though I think to be jumping down the throat of anybody who isn't jumping for joy just yet. I think Southend fans could be forgiven for being suspicious. Ron Martin's conduct has caused that, so direct your incredulity there. Despite being cautiously pleased, I, like some, still have questions and observations.
- What does the Martin Dawn/SEL activity on Companies House this morning mean? Why wasn't this asked or mentioned?
- It looked to me and plenty of others like something has already been done, hence possibly the slightly deflated feeling for some - hopes were high that something a little more immediate was afoot. The CH activity could still mean that something has already been done.
- RM has been under pressure from all sides - Collymore, Tom L, FVW, Gary L…..even his wife - to sell or seek investment. Why suddenly now?
- I watched the recording keenly. The body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, demeanour - all smacked of somebody who has almost had a gun held to his head. Especially when he was reading a statement which definitely wasn’t his, and didn’t sound like it had even been altered by him like the club website statements often are after Tom’s first draft. He was trembling, stumbling over words. Not his usual confident, almost arrogant self at all.
- He seemed a bit more relaxed when he was answering questions in his own words but even then…..he was being very very careful about what he said.
- What was the "it's been an interesting day" comment at the start about? That was interesting.
- Without wanting to sound dramatic, has somebody stuck the knife in?
- How does he plan to fund the club if a sale doesn't happen before the Working capital from the bridging loan runs out? Notice he said that the stadium build will start "later this year". No commitment to June, or even to Q1 or Q2. No sale + no release of funds from the Fossetts project in June could still = us being back in the same position again soon.
So yeah, hugely interesting and a HUUUUGE step in the right direction. I don't believe he's just saying things to quell the unrest and it seems to me like, thank God, this will happen. I'm just not having a party until things become a bit clearer, and there are still plenty of questions that need answering. Hence the supporters' groups will continue to push for a meeting next week.