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Ron in court.

If and only if Mr Martin is found guilty as charged and Hm Customs & Excise essay to extract over £5,000,000 from Mr Martins assets we would be well to heed the fact Roots Hall, the fixtures and fittings and Training ground are nothing to do with our Southend United but fully owned by Mr Martins companies.
An appeal will almost certainly follow any conviction, should it occur, and, such appeal might not be heard until well over a year (even two ?) after the date of the trial. All this is based on the assumption that the charges will be disputed.
It would be good to think that despite all of these clouds on the horizon we will still be going in four to five year's time.
There will be a cost to fighting these charges financial and otherwise. As to where all this will leave the club in the next two or three years your guess would be as good as mine.
I doubt if there are any serious potential buyers out there, but, if there are, now might be time to begin to think about setting things in motion.
The present situation is certainly different from the way things were a few months ago.
 
Football is a business (not quite) like any other.And if you regularly don't pay your VAT bill on time, it's hardly suprising that the tax man gets a bit peeved.

In answer to your second point, I imagine most of us are familiar with the principles of internet banking.I check my Spanish, French and UK accounts on a daily basis, (and I'm no accountant).
You might want to check your British sense of humour. Looks like yours has been hacked.
 
An appeal will almost certainly follow any conviction, should it occur, and, such appeal might not be heard until well over a year (even two ?) after the date of the trial. All this is based on the assumption that the charges will be disputed.
It would be good to think that despite all of these clouds on the horizon we will still be going in four to five year's time.
There will be a cost to fighting these charges financial and otherwise. As to where all this will leave the club in the next two or three years your guess would be as good as mine.
I doubt if there are any serious potential buyers out there, but, if there are, now might be time to begin to think about setting things in motion.
The present situation is certainly different from the way things were a few months ago.
There are no potential Southend United buyers out there because we have nothing to sell ,no ground, no training ground, the only assets we have are the players and who is going to buy them?
 
There are no potential Southend United buyers out there because we have nothing to sell ,no ground, no training ground, the only assets we have are the players and who is going to buy them?
We, or Ron if you prefer, have just been given the green light for a new stadium, training ground, domes, loads of car parking space etc.

If Ron sticks to his no debt promise then we are far more attractive to a wider audience than we ever were when Ron arrived in 1998.

We didn't own ground back then. A large debt had to be settled otherwise that was the end of football at the Hall and the new stadium relied fully on the commercial whim of Sainsbury's.

Now would be an ideal time for the latest international attention seeker to make an offer. They will have the option of putting their own 'stamp' on the new stadium. Who knows we might see Monster truck derby, a recreation of the battle for Stalingrad or even a half time public stoning.

Who really cares because is a known fact that anybody but Ron is the way forward.
 
Plea and preparation hearing at Southwark Crown Court tomorrow, Tuesday 23rd November. We should know a lot more after that.
 
If he's found guilty, then he will have to spend a short while in the main local prison, which will probably be Belmarsh if it's heard at Southwark. If it's at the High Court, it could well be Pentonville - might meet up with some of Nile's mates there!

Likely to only be a week or so but will still leave a lasting impression.
 
That's a long time!

Next date is in May which I presume will be for submissions of defence evidence to be later used?
 
<1 hr ago

Southend United chairman Ron Martin in court over unpaid tax claim​

11601116

By Sean Davies https://twitter.com/seandaviesnqeChief Reporter / News Editor
Blues chairman Ron Martin could stand trial over failure to pay £5million in tax

Blues chairman Ron Martin could stand trial over failure to pay £5million in tax


The chairman of Southend United may have to wait until 2023 to stand trial after being charged with failing to pay more than £5million in tax following two land deals, a court heard.
Ronald Martin, 68, and former chief executive Geoffrey King, 75, are accused of failing to pay £4,485,000 in Value Added Tax over the sale of land in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
The pair are also accused of failing to pay £921,260 of VAT in relation to the sale of land in Thundersley, Essex, to the same firm, Redrow Homes PLC.

Martin, chairman of Southend Utd since 2000, was dressed smartly in a navy blue suit with a patterned tie and King wore a beige jacket and held a walking stick.
Read more:
Both men sat in the public gallery rather than the dock during the plea and trial preparation hearing at Southwark Crown Court.
King, of Ponds Road, Chelmsford, Essex, and Martin, of Benfleet Road, Benfleet, Essex, are both charged with two counts of cheating the public revenue.
No pleas were taken today and they were released on unconditional bail ahead of a further hearing on May 30 next year.
However, their preliminary trial date was set for January 3, 2023 and is estimated to last between two and a half and four weeks.<

What a suprise!
 
<1 hr ago

Southend United chairman Ron Martin in court over unpaid tax claim​

11601116

By Sean Davies https://twitter.com/seandaviesnqeChief Reporter / News Editor
Blues chairman Ron Martin could stand trial over failure to pay £5million in tax

Blues chairman Ron Martin could stand trial over failure to pay £5million in tax


The chairman of Southend United may have to wait until 2023 to stand trial after being charged with failing to pay more than £5million in tax following two land deals, a court heard.
Ronald Martin, 68, and former chief executive Geoffrey King, 75, are accused of failing to pay £4,485,000 in Value Added Tax over the sale of land in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
The pair are also accused of failing to pay £921,260 of VAT in relation to the sale of land in Thundersley, Essex, to the same firm, Redrow Homes PLC.

Martin, chairman of Southend Utd since 2000, was dressed smartly in a navy blue suit with a patterned tie and King wore a beige jacket and held a walking stick.
Read more:
Both men sat in the public gallery rather than the dock during the plea and trial preparation hearing at Southwark Crown Court.
King, of Ponds Road, Chelmsford, Essex, and Martin, of Benfleet Road, Benfleet, Essex, are both charged with two counts of cheating the public revenue.
No pleas were taken today and they were released on unconditional bail ahead of a further hearing on May 30 next year.
However, their preliminary trial date was set for January 3, 2023 and is estimated to last between two and a half and four weeks.<

What a suprise!
Have I missed something? Is there anything new here?
 
It's not every day a football club chairman ends up in court for non-payment of millions of pounds in tax.
True enough, but the court appearance was the day after the council approved the FF / RH projects and it was all covered in as much detail back then. I was just wondering if there was anything new to this, but I don't think there is.
 
Due to staff shortages at the Evening Echo, the only person available to cover the court today was the fashion editor.

At some future date, they may be able to report that Mr.Martin, chairman of Southend Utd since 2000, was dressed in a bright orange jump suit.
 
Surely the Chairman's recent appearance in court and our spate of high profile, recent management signigs are not unrelated?

Clearly this is not a good news story-unlike the John Still one- (at least for the Chairman and GK) but it is important (IMO).
 
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