Club statement or not?

[Bearded Shrimper]

Its

It’s the same old ‘careful what you wish for’ and ‘better the devil you know’ attitude.

Well if we’re playing safe with Ron then it’s backing an owner of us as a non-league football club.

‘It could be a lot worse’ some say, but the reality is that the way the club is being operated is taking us down (and out the league) in a spiral that doesn’t show any change of direction.

I worry that we’ll now go shiz or bust to go back up, but without changing the structure that has caused this free-fall I fear the latter is most likely even with safe pair of hands Ron owning us.

The real pain in the backside though for me is feeling absolutely stuck with him. Even if there was a queue of prospective buyers he isn’t selling.

I don't think it's the structure, I think it's a mindset - complacency. Appoint Bond, we're a big club, we can take whoever. Appoint a totally inexperienced Molesley with an embargo and massively financial problems. We're a big club, we'll be fine. Hopefully now the penny has dropped. And I don't see Phil Brown allowing any complacency, and that to me is the big difference.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

The whole club has been a shambles for the last 3 seasons and this is mainly because Ron has no other strategy than to make knee jerk decisions when we are in a crisis. Appointing PB is just the latest gamble in a succession of losing bets.

What Stan was suggesting was eminently sensible as a structure and could actually save us money in preventing some of the costly mistakes that have been made consistently by different managers over recent seasons. However there was no way Phil would accept any input from a strong independent DOF so not surprisingly Ron decided to stick with the person he knows rather than inject new football ideas into the club. Whatever you think of Stan he really took the time to consult and interact with fans and made us feel positive about the club. Unfortunately Ron and PB don’t have great listening skills and their interactions with fans feel more like party political broadcasts than 2 way conversations.

Maybe Ron’s latest roll of the dice with PB will work or maybe not. A CEO would certainly be a step forward but only if Ron gives him some power to run the club and not just relieve his administration burden. Personally I think Stan could have delivered a lot of value to the club but with the personalities involved you can see why this has not happened. I am not a Martin out person as I think Ron has good intentions for the club. However I would like to see some humility from him to admit that he has made some bad decisions in recent years and not just throw others under the bus. I don’t agree with the constant assertions from Rigsby that the fans are the cause of the club’s decline - indeed our fanbase has a lot of value to offer the club such as the activities of the Trust but it’s difficult for us all to maintain enthusiasm when results on the field are consistently dire.

Let’s hope for a good pre- season and some decent signings that can help save us from the ongoing misery of the last 3 years.

Thing is, does anyone on here know what a football club's CEO does? Maybe we do actually need a top end administrator to get our **** in order and take some of the burden off Ron.

 

[Bearded Shrimper]

So what now? I backed Stan from the beginning. Felt like he offered a lot. Most importantly he would have been our inside man. The guy on the inside of the club who we felt represented us supporters. But that seems to be dead now.

Do we go back and hide? Accept our club resides solely in the hands of Ron and say to ourselves “well, it can’t be as bad as last year can it?” and allow him to continue to run his empire like a megalomaniac with a puppet CEO and a high profile manager bringing in his old buddies.

Or do we fight for change? Do we pressure as much as we can to get the type of people we want to see in the club by whatever means at our disposal?

I’m just a lone voice but the supporters groups (SOS, Shrimpers Trust etc) have lines to the top and can put the pressure on and rally the supporters to back changes for the greater good. We really need to be one voice right now but it seems as though, with Stan out of the picture, we are now all shouting at the moon and ultimately we will be no better off than we are now, than we were 12 months ago.

I think that's unfair. You can't say the CEO is going to be a puppet. And we don't necessarily need them to have a public role, maybe the CEO is there to do the boring stuff behind the scenes that looks to angry fans like a puppet, but is actually doing vital work, just unseen. I think with Ron and Phil we need someone who doesn't have a massive ego and doesn't seek the limelight. We need a safe pair of hands that gets **** done behind the scenes. Phil Brown will take all the limelight, and tanning light, for himself.

 

[nick12]

Good job I wasn't holding my breath waiting for this statement ?

SUFC hierarchy does it again ? in the ? fed ?

 

[Derbyshire Blue]

I don't think it's the structure, I think it's a mindset - complacency. Appoint Bond, we're a big club, we can take whoever. Appoint a totally inexperienced Molesley with an embargo and massively financial problems. We're a big club, we'll be fine. Hopefully now the penny has dropped. And I don't see Phil Brown allowing any complacency, and that to me is the big difference.

It’s the structure or lack of/Ron that has made those recruitments and created the circumstances for the embargos.

I don’t like the hopefully part, I think a lot thought that last season and the penny would drop before we were relegated out the football league. I fear the complacency will loom large again as we’re ‘a big fish’ in this league.

 

[nick12]

It’s the structure or lack of/Ron that has made those recruitments and created the circumstances for the embargos.

I don’t like the hopefully part, I think a lot thought that last season and the penny would drop before we were relegated out the football league. I fear the complacency will loom large again as we’re ‘a big fish’ in this league.

I agree and already feel that the club and a lot of supporters are approaching this with "we have PB and we are SUFC so keel over and give us 3 points"

I think a lot of people are in for a huge shock when they see the level of football we will have to endure next season and no way is it a given that we will go straight back up.

 

[rigsby]

The whole club has been a shambles for the last 3 seasons and this is mainly because Ron has no other strategy than to make knee jerk decisions when we are in a crisis. Appointing PB is just the latest gamble in a succession of losing bets.

What Stan was suggesting was eminently sensible as a structure and could actually save us money in preventing some of the costly mistakes that have been made consistently by different managers over recent seasons. However there was no way Phil would accept any input from a strong independent DOF so not surprisingly Ron decided to stick with the person he knows rather than inject new football ideas into the club. Whatever you think of Stan he really took the time to consult and interact with fans and made us feel positive about the club. Unfortunately Ron and PB don’t have great listening skills and their interactions with fans feel more like party political broadcasts than 2 way conversations.

Maybe Ron’s latest roll of the dice with PB will work or maybe not. A CEO would certainly be a step forward but only if Ron gives him some power to run the club and not just relieve his administration burden. Personally I think Stan could have delivered a lot of value to the club but with the personalities involved you can see why this has not happened. I am not a Martin out person as I think Ron has good intentions for the club. However I would like to see some humility from him to admit that he has made some bad decisions in recent years and not just throw others under the bus. I don’t agree with the constant assertions from Rigsby that the fans are the cause of the club’s decline - indeed our fanbase has a lot of value to offer the club such as the activities of the Trust but it’s difficult for us all to maintain enthusiasm when results on the field are consistently dire.

Let’s hope for a good pre- season and some decent signings that can help save us from the ongoing misery of the last 3 years.

From your own assertion you have come up with Ron or Phil would not listen to anyone, purely to fit your own narrow view of things. As for new ideas, How did the 'project' go last season. I personally have never seen any team at any level pass their way out from the back to climb out of a relegation zone.

Stan certainly did not take time to consult any fans unless you were posting blue hearts. If he really cared about you he would have secured the job privately first. Rather than exploit our demise to whip up some angry fans.

Stan had trouble fitting in as a player during his career and has never worked in anything like what he was hinting at. We don't actually know what he was after or whether it was even remotely feasible because he wouldn't tell us. A significantly large and silenced group who are old enough to have been an adult when Stan played at RH more or less knew what was coming.

When we tried to engage we were sneered at by Stan.

As for your claim against me, I'm only passing on the message from former players, coaches and players families. Its always along the same lines of "I have met some of the best fans whilst at Southend but also some of the worst"

When a mangers or players family are siting in the main stand at Gillingham and they hear the locals spend the whole game targeting our staff. They ignore it and accept there are those sad idiots who need a confidence boost by shouting vile abuse from the safety of their seat, knowing there can be no reply

What upsets them is hearing the same abuse the following week to the same man but this time its at RH.....Both Coker and Timlin have ended up reacting and arguing with people in the East during a game.

If that offends the people who behave like that to our own team then someone has to tell them they are a complete c***. Its nothing I wouldn't say to there face and more of you should do it next season. We will all be better off for it.

 

[JB Shrimper]

It is strange when I say I can't stand Ron, I don't like PB (as a manager), most of the players are terrible and yet the club gets my full support seens purely because of the name these days. Lets hope for changes and for my opions of people to improve.

 

[Texas Eslan]

I think that's unfair. You can't say the CEO is going to be a puppet. And we don't necessarily need them to have a public role, maybe the CEO is there to do the boring stuff behind the scenes that looks to angry fans like a puppet, but is actually doing vital work, just unseen. I think with Ron and Phil we need someone who doesn't have a massive ego and doesn't seek the limelight. We need a safe pair of hands that gets **** done behind the scenes. Phil Brown will take all the limelight, and tanning light, for himself.

I stand to be corrected on the CEO but that was never really my main point. But I also don’t think we need a safe pair of hands. Right now we have dropped like a stone for years. We need progressive change which means someone who challenges the status quo and looks to be a different voice to Ron. As I said, happy to be proven wrong and the CEO isn’t a Ron puppet but we will see.

 

[meerkat54]

The thing is he really can do whatever he wants! Change our colours, emblem, nickname. He could even burn ? Roots Hall to the ground!

I genuinely feel that he loves Southend but he really doesn’t help himself especially when so many are willing to help

Ron`s anthem is Frank Sinatra`s song "I will do it my way"

 

[RHB]

I stand to be corrected on the CEO but that was never really my main point. But I also don’t think we need a safe pair of hands. Right now we have dropped like a stone for years. We need progressive change which means someone who challenges the status quo and looks to be a different voice to Ron. As I said, happy to be proven wrong and the CEO isn’t a Ron puppet but we will see.

A CEO of any company, let alone a football club, has a job to do, but is always answerable to the Chairman. Yes, they can advocate change, and if the Chairman and the Board say 'Yep, good ideas' then change stuff happens. In our case the Board appear to have very little influence and convincing Ronald that change will benefit him needs to be done with a huge amount of subtlety or with a spin that appeals to Ron's financial genes. Neither of those two routes will be easy. So although a CEO may not be a puppet, Ronald definitely pulls the strings.

 

[Texas Eslan]

A CEO of any company, let alone a football club, has a job to do, but is always answerable to the Chairman. Yes, they can advocate change, and if the Chairman and the Board say 'Yep, good ideas' then change stuff happens. In our case the Board appear to have very little influence and convincing Ronald that change will benefit him needs to be done with a huge amount of subtlety or with a spin that appeals to Ron's financial genes. Neither of those two routes will be easy. So although a CEO may not be a puppet, Ronald definitely pulls the strings.

Absolutely agree. Which is why having someone to challenge and not accept the status quo is needed. Some changes may just get through. But as I also said, the CEO was only a small part of my original point. We need to force change from the outside as well with the supporters groups.

 

[RHB]

Absolutely agree. Which is why having someone to challenge and not accept the status quo is needed. Some changes may just get through. But as I also said, the CEO was only a small part of my original point. We need to force change from the outside as well with the supporters groups.

I'm with you all the way on supporter pressure. My problem is that I can't see what that pressure should be at the moment. If you try to intimidate Ron and put him under pressure, he has already shown that he will pay lip service only, and then do whatever he wants to do. So demonstrations have their place, but they alone will never enable change. Loss of revenue is another option, but getting enough supporters to walk away would be difficult if not impossible. So I'm hoping that The Trust and SOS are polishing up strategies to make change attractive to Ron. and for that matter, to the thousands of Southend supporters that want the club to survive and then thrive but are not prepared to be anything other than be on-lookers. Easy peasy eh? The one certainty in this is Fossetts Farm and the riches it will bestow on Ron. If the Council were to now renege on their earlier nod of approval then that is a route to look at, supporter pressure on the Councillors perhaps?

 

[Supershrimper]

We've just been relegated. I'd love a CEO to be put in place. Possible good use of budget. Don't get why we would want a Director of Football etc etc whilst we are trying to get as much out of our budget as possible to get back into the league.

I'd sooner the cash went on a player or two rather than middle management in the current situation.

Would be good to have when / if we climb back into the league and secure ourselves as league 2 / league 1 club. This would be the next step to push us up into upper league 1 club / championship club.

 

[Shrimperjohn]

So players can’t even get paid on time this season and the all the talk is about employing CEO’s/ Director of Football Operations and the like. We are a joke of a club in terms of mis management. Get the financial budget for the coming season fixed first then we can understand what if anything we can afford to pay and to whom...

 

[Tommy2holes]

So players can’t even get paid on time this season and the all the talk is about employing CEO’s/ Director of Football Operations and the like. We are a joke of a club in terms of mis management. Get the financial budget for the coming season fixed first then we can understand what if anything we can afford to pay and to whom...

Have you considered that having a ceo may actually improve the situation and provide some stability to cash flow and business modelling.

 

[in the know]

A decent CEO will have planned spending and income budgets. Will know how much is to be spent on everything from basics like loo rolls (and yes.... onions!) to grass seed and ground maintenance and what income and fund raising needs to take place using the players. Something that has dried up due to how things are run. He will know the ins and outs of the clubs finances in depth. People will get paid on time and gradually the club will recover some reputation in the local business community.
It will improve things no end and save money haemoraging frivoulously. Its a huge asset for us compared to how things have been. RM knows this. Im hoping therel be news soon.

 

[Tampa Blue]

Ron's view of the fans from the Director's Box

 

[Shrimping Around]

A decent CEO will have planned spending and income budgets. Will know how much is to be spent on everything from basics like loo rolls (and yes.... onions!) to grass seed and ground maintenance and what income and fund raising needs to take place using the players. Something that has dried up due to how things are run. He will know the ins and outs of the clubs finances in depth. People will get paid on time and gradually the club will recover some reputation in the local business community.
It will improve things no end and save money haemoraging frivoulously. Its a huge asset for us compared to how things have been. RM knows this. Im hoping therel be news soon.

All our problems come back to Ron - is he willing or even capable of releasing some control or sticking to his word? The best CEO in the world could come in set a budget, plan the cashflow, aim to make sure wages, taxes and suppliers are paid on time. But then Ron could blow all those plans out of the water if he allows the manager to award unaffordable contracts to players. My worry is any good CEO would walk after getting fed up with being undermined by Ron.

 

[Whispering Bob]

View attachment 15695

Ron's view of the fans from the Director's Box

So that's what asbestos looks like !!