Is Martin *that*bad...

[Beefy]

Personally I'm less concerned with punishing Ron Martin for mistakes made in the past (especially ones which a lot of our fans were appealing for him to make) than I am with looking at how we're best served going forward. Somehow it looks like Ron has managed to keep juggling those financial hand grenades a little longer and if he can pull a 3m cash injection out of his hat somehow then fair play to him.

Having the Consortium around as a safety net in the event that everything goes wrong is a great relief, but I want to hear much more from them before I'm ready to commit to them as being saviours.

 

[palexander]

Personally I'm less concerned with punishing Ron Martin for mistakes made in the past (especially ones which a lot of our fans were appearling for him to make) than I am with looking at how we're best served going forward. Somehow it looks like Ron has managed to keep juggling those financial hand grenades a little longer and if he can pull a 3m cash injection out of his hat somehow then fair play to him.

Having the Consortium around as a safety net in the event that everything goes wrong is a great relief, but I want to hear much more from them before I'm ready to commit to them as being saviours.

Spot on, its EXACTLY how I feel now :)

 

[Thorpe Groyney]

Then perhaps you should have made the thread title a statement rather than a question which encourages a closed answer.

Anyway, Ron Martin summarises all that is wrong with football. Why has it got to the stage of 'if he vwins, we win'? It should NEVER get to that stage.

He has lied to supporters, he has treated the football management with contempt, and led the club right back into the financial mire it was in before he arrived.

For years supporters were constantly told that football is a business and has to be run like one. Primarily stated by business people trying to profit from the game. We now have the dreadful results of a club being treated as a business and therefore being subjected to economic downturns like any other.

Yes, he is that bad.

 

[Firestorm]

I would argue that this was solely Martin's fault in the first place, come on it doesn't take a genius to work out that with the massive £2m+ loss of income on relegation from the Championship we should have cut the wage bill somewhat. People talk about the Eastwood money and OK fine with that underpinning most of the shortfall for that first season back in League One then yes I guess you could afford to keep the same wage bill and have ONE shot at bouncing straight back up. We did that and just missed out, fair enough but it was essential we then slashed the wage bill for the following season. Martin didn't do that and gambled again.....and again last season.....THAT is why we are in this mess!!

I have no sympathy, it's his fault and he has no-one else to blame.

No offence BA but that is pure hindsight, how many of these "geniuses" you mention were on here criticising Ron at the time for not cutting costs after the playoff defeat, IIRC most were shouting for the Bailey money to be spent on strengthening the squad.
A typical phrase often used on here 3 seasons or so ago was "Player x should be signed at all costs". RM was being criticised for not spending during the exact period he is now being criticised for not cost cutting.

 

[palexander]

No offence BA but that is pure hindsight, how many of these "geniuses" you mention were on here criticising Ron at the time for not cutting costs after the playoff defeat, IIRC most were shouting for the Bailey money to be spent on strengthening the squad.
A typical phrase often used on here 3 seasons or so ago was "Player x should be signed at all costs". RM was being criticised for not spending during the exact period he is now being criticised for not cost cutting.

Ha! I've just posted something almost identical in the 'Who Cares' thread...

 

[shrimperton]

Lets face it SUFC needs Ron more than he needs SUFC to a certain extent, basically he own everything, sufc is no more than a name, without him we wouldnt exist and he would want a fortune to vacate....

He has the club by the short and curlys!!

 

[Badger74]

My answer to " is Ron that bad is" #################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################### enough said

 

[Angell Delight]

Totally agree - so ok, my original point then - Yes, Ron Martin has made a mistake. He paid massive wages beyond our means and THAT, coupled with the recession etc has meant we are drowning, gasping for air.

Since then, he has been trying to battle to keep us alive (yes, for his own end goal as much as ours), but what is the alternative?

We want the stadium, need the stadium and I suggest have paid an absolute fortune to get this far - if we drop it now, we'd be forever crippled with debt - is trying to keep going (and all the trappings that come with that, like not paying players, losing Tilson etc) worth it?

I could be the case we look back in 10 years time in the Championship, in the Ron Martin Megaplex Arena and think, "yes, it was worth it"... who knows.

All I'm saying is since the point when he paid too much in wages and is now trying to cling onto any hopes he has of the new stadium - is that purposely killing the club, or is that someone fighting for our (and yes, his) survival? And in the meantime, trying to run a football club and all that goes with it.

Yes I'm sure he is indeed trying to save the club, if it dies then it almost certainly ruins him financially. My only point was apportioning blame, I'm not suggesting Martin wants the club to fold.

 

[Angell Delight]

No offence BA but that is pure hindsight, how many of these "geniuses" you mention were on here criticising Ron at the time for not cutting costs after the playoff defeat, IIRC most were shouting for the Bailey money to be spent on strengthening the squad.
A typical phrase often used on here 3 seasons or so ago was "Player x should be signed at all costs". RM was being criticised for not spending during the exact period he is now being criticised for not cost cutting.

Who's BA??? To be fair mate you're always going to get a certain amount of people who have tunnel vision and can only see the short-term and those were the ones calling for money to be invested in the team and not the future. I have never been - and will never be - one of those people. I distinctly remember questioning a few people on here around a year or two ago who wanted RM to splash all the money we had on the squad and shelve the plans for Fossetts Farm. To me this idea is absolutely ridiculous and we would have been sacrificing long-term stability and financial gain for the possibility of another couple of years of success followed by financial meltdown. At the time I thought RM was singing from the same hymn sheet as myself but I realised over the coming months that this wasn't the case and Ron was trying to have the best of both worlds. I stand by the comment that it "doesn't take a genius" to realise exactly where we were headed if we didn't cut our cloth accordingly after relegation from the Championship and that's exactly what has happened. Yeah sure some people won't be able to see it but this doesn't disguise the fact that this has been on the cards for a long time now and some of us have had major concerns about financial mis-management at this club ever since we were relegated back to League One.

 

[Firestorm]

Who's BA???

Ooops Confused Brettie Angell with Angell Delight...

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

6) Geoff King

Edited for accuracy. ;)

 

[palexander]

Ooo... looks like I timed this well :)

Is that a light I can at the end of the Southend tunnel?

Come back from lunch to a wealth of (if not) good (then better) news!

Actually feeling happy about Southend for the first time in a long while right now. I know there is a long way to go and many bridges to be rebuilt, but what has happened in the last hour is exactly what I wanted to put last night. We dont know what is going on really - its easy to be emotional and rant and rave, but sometimes waiting for the action rather than acting on the words makes more sense...

 

[Jam_Man]

Ive aways believed, and still do, that Ron Martin wanted the best for this club and genuinely was/is trying to move us forward.

I knew that we would end up financially strained by the stadium, it was inevitable, however I never thought it would get this bad.

Ron Martin isnt in my opinion a 'crook', he has struggled to deliver what he wanted to and has made mistakes.

If in 5 years we are stable and in the new stadium then he will have proven himself, only time will tell.

 

[A Century United]

My answer to " is Ron that bad is" #################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################################### enough said

Another 'zoner who can't cope without a lot of hash... ;)

 

[Bob Cratchitt]

If we win and become a sustainable club in a new stadium and all the trappings that brings and he makes millions on the side from the development, where is the problem?

A quick question, and one I have yet to see the proof. How do we become a sustainable club when we are only the tenants of the stadium, which as far we know may only be for match days.

To enable football clubs to progress and not just barely survive they need the ancillary income such developments bring, so far Ron as been very quiet on this part. i want want to see a legal document between Ron and whichever of his companies that will benefit from this development and the Football club in name to ensure that SUFC will get a cut of money to be made to ensure it's longevity and progress. This can be a % of the rent from the overall development, or sole rights to the stadium and all money earnt from it's use 24/7. I do not care what as long as the club does earn something out of this after all without the club would the planning permission been granted, as the Government had already earmarked this land for a stadium development.

 

[palexander]

Tis a fair point. I dont know if any documents or information has been released, but wasnt it implied the income from the retail park would go to the club?

 

[Beefy]

It was stated that monies would filter down to the Club from the Management Company who would run the whole site. No specifics were mentioned.

 

[Dick Bate's Protege]

For me, he is that bad. After two days of reflection, the cynic in me thinks that Martin has sacked Tilson now as opposed to the end of last season so as to not affect season ticket sales. To me it doesn't make sense to sack him two months after the season has finished.

 

[Csboy]

Ron martin is the anti-Christ as far as I am concerned. I thought Jobson was bad but Martin is 10 times worse. All the problems we have had in the last few years are down to him no one else. His treatment of Tilson is the most disgraceful moment in the clubs history and I don't believe for one moment we will have a squad capable of staying up this season.

 

[Firestorm]

His treatment of Tilson is the most disgraceful moment in the clubs history and I don't believe for one moment we will have a squad capable of staying up this season.

Personally I feel the treatment of Dave Smith and Ron Pountney were marginally worse