FAO all Ron Martin believers, apologists, apathists: why I shall be voting option 5..

[McNasty]

We can debate this time and time again but whatever we do, protest or not, sit on our hands or not, any action you like or not, our club is in the hands of one man and his partner Sainsburys. How we go from here only God knows.

 

[steveo]

We lose one of the best young managers in the country in a disgraceful manner.

Is Tilly really one of the best young mangers in the country? The successful years were largely due to Eastwood and to be fair Tilly threw him in, in desperation. Tilly has taken the Club down twice. Is that a recommendation for keeping his job? Also, people talk about the disgraceful way he left the Club. What happened that was so disgraceful? I understand he will be paid for the rest of his contract which gives him plenty of time to find another job.

Tilly did well for us, no doubt about it, but things change and you have to move on. Knowing Tilly was a fans favourite, it would have been easy for Ron to keep him, especially with all the other flack he is getting at the moment. Ron has made a decision he thinks will take the Club forward and he has had the bottle to do it knowing he will get slaughtered by the fans.
Im not a big ron fan but he is the man in charge. If we get promotion and work starts at FF, then the doom and gloom is lifted and everything changes again.

 

[Rob Noxious]

We can debate this time and time again but whatever we do, protest or not, sit on our hands or not, any action you like or not, our club is in the hands of one man and his partner Sainsburys. How we go from here only God knows.

Ken, I think you've inadvertently hit on the song that we need to sing to the team after our first game of the season. "God only knows what I'd be without you ..."

I have memories of Sunderland fans singing 'In My Life' after their last game at Roker - a hugely evocative moment. After all our fans have been through in 2010, a little bit of this Beach Boys love song would be a wonderful salute to ourselves and our club. Bring back proper terrace singing! :clap:

 

[WickfordShrimper]

If we start boycotting games sadly it WILL be good bye to Southend United FC...

Thats probably why I be on my own in the east yellows v stockport county

If we go bust I dont fancy to much watching the New Southend FC over at southchurch park so at least I can say to myself I supported my team to end and could not do know more....

To old to start supporting anyone else so I watch the odd game on TV

ONE TEAM IN ESSEX
SOUTHEND UNITED FC

 

[Firestorm]

Ultimately i have detested ron's presence from day 1,it was apparent that he had asset stripped the club & paid next to nothing acquire a controlling stake in the club that meant he held all the cards. With him being a property developer it was very quick to see that southend would not remain on the rich [/COLOR][/SIZE]residential Roots Hall site for long........and so in my mind Ron's priorities were set.

His behaviour was further questionable when it took a fans & echo campaign to get tilly installed and ron give up his fantasy over stan (chasing the limelight rather than the fans wishes). Around the same time was when

like most on this forum i would follow southend regardless,so would gladly see the club go into admin and play in the senior league if it meant that it was run in the interests of the fans and not one man's pocket.i have no desire for a new souless plastic shell of a new stadium,miles from town,no decent transport links,void of any real pubs or atmosphere and to saddle the club with masses of debt it cannot maintain.Some small improvements at the Hall would freshen the place up but the most pressing priority should be the return of the fans to their natural home-the North Bank.

To be honest I don't feel that, other than a lifelong SUFC fan with millions to spare, there is a great deal of alternative left to RM and that supporting the bloke , whatever I may actually feel about him is the best I can do.

However I do feel that there should be full discussion about the whole matter, and the problems with the dicussions and comments on here are they tend to be emotively based foull of rhetoric and lacking in evidential facts on which people can make their own minds up on.

Re the points quoted above
Ron acquired the assets for next to nothing..Highly emotive , may well be true, but How much was next to nothing ? How much were the assets worth and how much did RM pay for them ?

The Echo campaign was not to get Tilly installed, it was to make him permanent

How many on here would follow a Southend team in the senior league ? I have seen indications that dozens on here would but given that we lost an average of 1000 home fans when we dropped out of the championship, a further 500 once we missed out on the play offs and another 500 this year , season tickets sales are well down and that in the past we have had barely over a 1000 in RH for a league game I don't think that you will find that its Most, it may be quite a few.

FF is barely miles out of town, its in the boorough of Southendand its north East of the town. That geographically limits it to two miles........

The club will not be saddled with masses of debt it connot maintain as it is not paying into the stadium , it may be left with some debt if the revenue from the ff development isn't used to clear debts but staying at RH will leave us with considerably more and the potential for greater rental payments too

As for withdrawing financial support, that will work, RM will have no funds coming in, Sainsbury's will probably pull the plug. SUFC will go into administration. RM group companies will then be unable to pay the loans back to Sainsbury because SUFC will not be able to meet their full liabilities and Rotts Hall will officially become the property of Sainsbury's.
You can now kiss goodbye to pro football in the borough unless there is someone willing to build the stadium and associated development without the money coming in from RH

Personally , I would like to stick to my idea of backing the club, which is putting in money where I can, in what may be a futile attempt, but its my attempt, to keep the cash flow high enough to see our way out the other side.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Is Tilly really one of the best young mangers in the country? The successful years were largely due to Eastwood and to be fair Tilly threw him in, in desperation. Tilly has taken the Club down twice. Is that a recommendation for keeping his job? Also, people talk about the disgraceful way he left the Club. What happened that was so disgraceful? I understand he will be paid for the rest of his contract which gives him plenty of time to find another job.

I have a big problem here with this, he's apparently owed a large 5 figure sum in unpaid wages and in my eyes, putting him on "gardening leave" is allowing him to look for work elsewhere, which, when found will undoubtedly allow the club to "release" him with the agreement that outstanding owed wages are wiped out - the "mutual consent" thing we hear about so often. This is only my opinion and based on what I've found to be the case with some of the players that left, but if it is true then that is what is disgraceful about the mishandling of his sacking.

 

[EastStandBlue]

I have a big problem here with this, he's apparently owed a large 5 figure sum in unpaid wages and in my eyes, putting him on "gardening leave" is allowing him to look for work elsewhere, which, when found will undoubtedly allow the club to "release" him with the agreement that outstanding owed wages are wiped out - the "mutual consent" thing we hear about so often. This is only my opinion and based on what I've found to be the case with some of the players that left, but if it is true then that is what is disgraceful about the mishandling of his sacking.

I think it has more to do with the fact that, with Tilson still under contract, we'd be due nominal compensation from any club interested in taking him on... Whether that will outweigh what Tilson is still owed remains to be seen.

 

[Perth Bambi]

I have a big problem here with this, he's apparently owed a large 5 figure sum in unpaid wages and in my eyes, putting him on "gardening leave" is allowing him to look for work elsewhere, which, when found will undoubtedly allow the club to "release" him with the agreement that outstanding owed wages are wiped out - the "mutual consent" thing we hear about so often. This is only my opinion and based on what I've found to be the case with some of the players that left, but if it is true then that is what is disgraceful about the mishandling of his sacking.

Surely the point of gardening leave means he is not allowed to work elsewhere without permission?

 

[Mick]

Tilly has taken the Club down twice. Is that a recommendation for keeping his job? Also, people talk about the disgraceful way he left the Club. What happened that was so disgraceful? I understand he will be paid for the rest of his contract which gives him plenty of time to find another job.

To be fair, he took the club down ONCE. Ron Martin took the club down a second time by not paying the players. I do not think for one minute that a fully paid up, motivated squad of players that we had, would have been relegated last season without the dead hand of Ron Martin at the helm.

 

[Firestorm]

I have a big problem here with this, he's apparently owed a large 5 figure sum in unpaid wages and in my eyes, putting him on "gardening leave" is allowing him to look for work elsewhere, which, when found will undoubtedly allow the club to "release" him with the agreement that outstanding owed wages are wiped out - the "mutual consent" thing we hear about so often. This is only my opinion and based on what I've found to be the case with some of the players that left, but if it is true then that is what is disgraceful about the mishandling of his sacking.

I think its more a case of future wages, Tilly will be intitled to be paid for the duration of his contract (another 3 years) which the club haven't got, So keep him on Gradening leave so he looks for another job, when he gets it we cancel his contract and off he goes.

Standard practice IIRC , if it can be got around constructive dismissal regulations. Plus what ESB said about future employers

 

[Perth Bambi]

I'm sorry but how can this bunch of mercenaries, who are all sturrocks ex players and want to play for HIM and not Southend, ever be compared or held above Barrett or McCormack?

But surely before McCormack signed he wasn't desperaet to play for Southend. He came to us on loan because he wanted first team football, I am sure if someone else higher up had offered him a chance he would have gone there and never played for us. It is just the type of player that (in general) he is, he wants to win anywhere and I am sure we will see him playing exactly the same for Charlton. I am sure there are 'winners' in Sturrocks lot that will battle and play in exactly the same for Southend as Macca did, so in my opinion yes they should be supported in exactly the same way.

 

[Perth Bambi]

Not sure, I think the only thing that would have kept us up realistically would have been Barnard staying, which I don't think he would have done even if he had been paid. If more money had been available for new players or better loan signings then possibly.

 

[WickfordShrimper]

Surely the point of gardening leave means he is not allowed to work elsewhere without permission?

As What I have heard its to stop Steve Tilson talking to the Echo and BBC Essex... also there are no footie Jobs about so expect to see Steve a Canvey..lol

 

[EastStandBlue]

As What I have heard its to stop Steve Tilson talking to the Echo and BBC Essex... also there are no footie Jobs about so expect to see Steve a Canvey..lol

Tilson's stock remains very high within the Football League... He won't be out of work for long at all...

 

[steveo]

I have a big problem here with this, he's apparently owed a large 5 figure sum in unpaid wages .

If thats the case then there is some disgrace, but "apparently" would mean you are not 100% sure that this is the case.

 

[Mick]

Surely the point of gardening leave means he is not allowed to work elsewhere without permission?

Indeed, that is normally the whole point. Again another unsavoury way to deal with an employee. Presumably an attempt to wriggle out of paying him some of what he's due.

Just pay him what he's owed and let him get on with finding another job; surely that's the least he deserves. (After all Ron, if he's that incompetent, surely you'd want him in charge of one of our competitors!)

 

[steveo]

To be fair, he took the club down ONCE. Ron Martin took the club down a second time by not paying the players..

Thats something we will never know for sure though Mick. At the end of 2009 we had won 8 and lost 11 and were decidedly mid table and not playing particularly well.

 

[steveo]

But surely before McCormack signed he wasn't desperaet to play for Southend. He came to us on loan because he wanted first team football, I am sure if someone else higher up had offered him a chance he would have gone there and never played for us.

Spot on Bambi. How many footballers really want to play for a particular Club? Does Joe Cole really want to pay for Liverpool or are they paying most money? Jack Willshere is apparently a big West Ham fan but will they take him to the top? Nope, so he plays for Arsenal. Cant blame any of them but surely even if you are playing for a club that arent paying your wages, you want to look half decent so you might get some interest from elsewhere.

 

[Jam_Man]

I have a big problem here with this, he's apparently owed a large 5 figure sum in unpaid wages and in my eyes, putting him on "gardening leave" is allowing him to look for work elsewhere, which, when found will undoubtedly allow the club to "release" him with the agreement that outstanding owed wages are wiped out - the "mutual consent" thing we hear about so often. This is only my opinion and based on what I've found to be the case with some of the players that left, but if it is true then that is what is disgraceful about the mishandling of his sacking.

Tilson is entitled to all wages up until the moment his contract is terminated, ie he finds another job.

I dont see that gardening leave has been used to get out of paying him what he is owed and Im sure they would have no leg to stand on legally if they tried that.

 

[Rayleigh boy]

RM will mess Tilson around over his wages for as long as possible - i.e. won't pay him - hoping Tilson gets another job and will accept a derisory offer in settlement - the chances of Tilson or his agent getting RM into court and getting RM to pay up every penny are just about non-existant -

anyone who thinks RM is as good as his word - well - theres one born evey moment -

I expect every player who has left - or who will leave - is owed thousands by RM -

the players from last season had a choice - stay and not get piad what you are owed - or leave and not get paid what you are owed -

"businessmen" like RM - particularly ones who operate in construction etc. know that it is very difficult and expensive and time consumong and difficult pursuing unpaid monies - RM has probably been "stiffing" people like this for all his working life ....