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Do we just want to be put out of our misery?

Do we want out of this misery?


  • Total voters
    83

number11

"Good morning everybody........"
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
5,670
There are far smarter and better informed people than me on here, from whom I would welcome a contrary rationale……but I am starting to think the club going bust may be the best thing for us. Is that insane?

The club in its current form is essentially bankrupt. Huge debts, no assets (ground, players, league status). Let’s say Ron’s ‘dream’ comes to fruition - roots hall is demolished, a new (3-sided) ground is built. Ron makes his millions and Sufc get the privilege of paying him whatever rent plus whatever return of loans he decrees. Doesn’t seem a great future.

Or we carry on like we have for another ten years, roots hall getting more dilapidated, the clubs debt to Ron growing, likely we will stay in the lower realms of this division or the one below.

Ron is not going to ‘leave’ just because there is a protest. No one will buy Ron out to save us.

What about if we were put out of our misery and were dissolved, from such ashes a Phoenix club is started - free from debt and Ron’s ownership - presumably owned by the fans. Starting from scratch in or around the Essex Senior league sharing at a non-league ground ( Though Garons seems to be trying to turn itself into a sporting centre - or there might be some cheap land going at Fossetts Farm ?). Looking at some other clubs who went bust - Wimbledon took 14 years to get back into the league, Aldershot 15.

Are we any more likely to get back earlier than that as we are?

Fanciful, championship manager style daydream? over-reaction to a one nil away defeat? Or the only chance to ‘get our club back’?
 
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Wouldn't mind if Ron just came out and said what his true intentions where, I could respect that. It would let us move on and try and decide our future.
 
It only took three seasons for Chester to start again and get promoted through to the National League. It is highly unlikely we will be getting promoted back to EFL in three years, there is more possibility of us dropping into the National League South. I’d prefer come back into the National League in three years potentially with momentum and a fan owned club that floundering for another three years and beyond in this league or below with Ron.
 
I've said it before and I'll say it again.
The only way we are going to get this club back is to start from scratch, whether the current incarnation exists or otherwise.
The real question is how bad does it have to get before this option is taken seriously.
 
Ron will go in the next few year anyone rega of our division. I would much prefer our manager to do the honourable thing and resign stating it did not workout and to give someone else a chance before it’s too late
 
I’d like to know what has to happen for Ron to leave at the earliest possible opportunity. With him still here it’s a noose around our neck.

Will a green light for his Retirement housing project (with a stadium in the middle because he has to build one) mean he will finally listen to takeover offers?

Let’s hope Ron’s exit stage left is sooner rather than later. National South is calling on current trajectory.
 
For more context -given this seems a bloody hard league to get out of…. it took AFC Wimbledon 7 years to get back to the Conference, Aldershot 11 years, Halifax 5 years, Chester Fc 3 years to get the the div below where we are, Hereford 4 years….
 
I don’t care about Ron Martin FC anymore. I genuinely feel I’d prefer to support AFC Southend / FC United of Southend.

I wish I didn’t fund Ron Martin FC this season. I knew I wouldn’t be going as much as usual (every week) but still felt obliged to dig deep to help fund what I love. But **** me. Won’t be happening next season unless there are absolutely HUGE trees pulled up.

Martin out.
 
Probably, but i could never vote yes.

#bart

This. Long-term it would probably be best for our club and at least it would be our club. How many of us now still feel a connection to the club?

The question of a phoenix club has been hanging around since 2010 and I don't think will ever go away until Ron has left. Will that happen? I highly doubt it.
 
Sadly there's nothing that can be done to get rid of Martin
Well if there preferred route is the 3rd option outlined (phoenixing) then it would require a full on orchestrated boycott (fans, sponsors…) to completely starve the club and make it unviable and down the route of dissolution.

I’m not saying that’s the best route, but long term I’m starting to agree with Sheriff above and think it is only way we’d get the club back.
 
This. Long-term it would probably be best for our club and at least it would be our club. How many of us now still feel a connection to the club?

The question of a phoenix club has been hanging around since 2010 and I don't think will ever go away until Ron has left. Will that happen? I highly doubt it.
But if the consensus eventually fell upon a Phoenix club being the only optimistic option steps could be taken to force that?
 
No, no, no, no.

The current situation is utterly miserable but if we were to go bust, make no mistake we would never be a football league team again and we would probably never play at this level again.

The football world has changed. AFC Wimbledon notably went all the way back into the Football League but they are a massive outlier. In reality, our fanbase would probably split, we'd lose loads of fans forever, not to mention a generation of supporters - how many schoolkids would be interested in supporting an Essex Senior League site, probably even fewer than are interested in watching a National League side that loses every week. There are plenty of local non-league club who would enjoy taking many of our floating supporters off our hands, probably for good.

We'd lose our ground, and the borough of Southend is not blessed with a vast array of green spaces to build new ones. We'd end up groundsharing and may never play in the town again.

The first year or two might be fun, we'd likely get a promotion and enjoy some good times at first but we would never come back the same. Even Wimbledon, who were a regular in the top flight for years, are now a small club in the lower leagues who do well to survive at L1 level every year. I realise that sounds like utopia to us right now but we have so much more potential than that.

Ron Martin is not going to live forever. I don't think he's enjoyed the last few years very much either and surely, surely, he can't cling on forever.
 
No, no, no, no.

The current situation is utterly miserable but if we were to go bust, make no mistake we would never be a football league team again and we would probably never play at this level again.

The football world has changed. AFC Wimbledon notably went all the way back into the Football League but they are a massive outlier. In reality, our fanbase would probably split, we'd lose loads of fans forever, not to mention a generation of supporters - how many schoolkids would be interested in supporting an Essex Senior League site, probably even fewer than are interested in watching a National League side that loses every week. There are plenty of local non-league club who would enjoy taking many of our floating supporters off our hands, probably for good.

We'd lose our ground, and the borough of Southend is not blessed with a vast array of green spaces to build new ones. We'd end up groundsharing and may never play in the town again.

The first year or two might be fun, we'd likely get a promotion and enjoy some good times at first but we would never come back the same. Even Wimbledon, who were a regular in the top flight for years, are now a small club in the lower leagues who do well to survive at L1 level every year. I realise that sounds like utopia to us right now but we have so much more potential than that.

Ron Martin is not going to live forever. I don't think he's enjoyed the last few years very much either and surely, surely, he can't cling on forever.
All fair points. I just struggle to see how in the current circumstances we will be any better off. We are millions in debt and at best face renting a 3 sided ground at whatever level rent Ron ( or his Estate / beneficiaries) decree. So we would never generate significant income.

also, it is not just Wimbledon who have returned - most of the clubs I could think of have returned to a similar level to where we are now - it Will be interesting to see how incarnations of Bury and Macclesfield fair over the coming years.
 
Well if there preferred route is the 3rd option outlined (phoenixing) then it would require a full on orchestrated boycott (fans, sponsors…) to completely starve the club and make it unviable and down the route of dissolution.

I’m not saying that’s the best route, but long term I’m starting to agree with Sheriff above and think it is only way we’d get the club back.
Where will the Phoenix club play when formed? Which site in Southend will be used to build a new stadium if it reaches the same success levels of clubs like AFC Wimbledon?

If as expected, there is no serious suggestion to the second question. Do we want our club to forever be playing at Great Wakering/Dagenham/Canvey Island/Billericay?

A phoenix club seems like a nice idea, but I don’t think any real thought has been put into the logistics needed for it to be anywhere near as successful as people are imagining it could be.
 
All fair points. I just struggle to see how in the current circumstances we will be any better off. We are millions in debt and at best face renting a 3 sided ground at whatever level rent Ron ( or his Estate / beneficiaries) decree. So we would never generate significant income.

also, it is not just Wimbledon who have returned - most of the clubs I could think of have returned to a similar level to where we are now - it Will be interesting to see how incarnations of Bury and Macclesfield fair over the coming years.
Things have to come to a head soon. It's clear this stadium is a total fantasy. It will never be built.. Which will leave Ron penniless and the club in deep trouble unless someone steps in. I believe there are people out there who would be interested in taking it on, but it's not a certainty.
 
Things have to come to a head soon. It's clear this stadium is a total fantasy. It will never be built.. Which will leave Ron penniless and the club in deep trouble unless someone steps in. I believe there are people out there who would be interested in taking it on, but it's not a certainty.
The council need to decide definitevly. Yes or no, no more dilly dallying
 
I hate stuff that won’t change no matter what. Should not be allowed to squat on a cultural asset. **** Martin. Not interested in anything he’s got to say anymore. You’ve had your fun **** off.

I tell you what. I’ll start a ****ing club on Monday and aim to ground share with a local team next season. I’ll start a Sunday team and a Saturday team all part of the same set up. We will start a youth team and start small to ground some foundations.

I can probably even get someone to do nutrition and gym session routines.

Probably get a good discount for bulk sign ups at a local gym.

We can film every single game with my Veo camera. We can then live stream every game after we’ve built interest. I’ve got a manager ready and hungry players to start at a Saturday&Sunday level. As of next season.

I know a lot of local players and if you want we can get £30 a week for 11 players together as well as a Lucozade & Mars bar every week. To up the standard.

Who’s in?

What thought actually needs to be put in to it? You don’t need a 30 year plan to start a new football team. Shrimperzone FC had its own team for ages and it was full of people who put in a lot of effort into it.

I’ll personally sponsor the clubs shirt to pay for a home pitch on a Sunday.

I know a shirt supplier.

All these things are there.

Driving me mad
 
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Is it just me who tends to think that Ron's master plan from when we was pushing for championship football and beyond is now abit outdated and redundant.

The whole idea was for the club to be self sustainable in a shiny new stadium full of more fans, cheaper maintenance and running cost making more money.
That's a pipe dream now as at this level no matter how nice and shiny the stadium is the crowds wont increase anymore than they we are getting at the moment.
So first off Ron needs to build the stadium and training facilities, then once the club are moved he can build his housing and then MAYBE look to sell the club, that could be what anything from 5-10 years down the line...
Looking at the current decline of the club and the financial state we have been in for the last few seasons we are going to be very very lucky to have a club by the time that comes along.
 
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