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Ron Martin - A disgrace!

I think the big 'thingy' he bought from David Beckham (or his Football Academy anyway) was an indoor dome if I recall, so the team could train in all weathers, with the added incentive it could be rented out for other local teams to use. Last seen rusting away in the corner of the B&L car park. I did hear a rumour that we'd lost the instructions on how to put it together? Either way, a waste of money if not used, assuming we actually paid for it and it's not on the IOU list!
 
A quick lesson then - a company is obviously a separate entity to an individual for tax purposes. It has to have directors and shareholders. But if Ron is the majority shareholder in "his companies", then to all intents and purposes - especially if he owns the equity either individually or as a nominee - then actually it is his money.

One way of looking at it is to ask "If his companies were sold, who would get the sale proceeds?"

If that is Ron, then it is his money. Just because he hasn't taken it out and put it in his bank account before putting it into the club doesn't mean otherwise (and actually he may have even done some of that; I have no idea).

Either way, he is either using his hard earned cash or has mortgaged or offered as security his assets in order to finance our club. Most of us buy our tickets, programmes, shirts etc and that's the extent of our financial commitment. Not so with Ron. If the club folds, he probably goes with it, or a huge chunk of his empire does, anyway.

So actually, the spin that it ISN'T his own money, in some shape or form, is the fantasy.

One significant caveat! If the money used to run his businesses are actually debt, loans etc it was never his money in the first place.

Not arguing with any of your points about how entwined or his commitment to the club...it's actually a fine example of poor business in truth and poorly managing your own risk!

The man is woefully poor in business and taking us down with him.

In my opinion the only way he can save himself and the club is to accept a loss and sell part/all the club off including part of his project to another investor/investment but stay involved with the stadium complex but he will have to accept a loss.

Been saying it for about a decade now but the longer he runs things as they are the more chance there is that it will be unrecoverable and will go under.
 
One significant caveat! If the money used to run his businesses are actually debt, loans etc it was never his money in the first place.

Not arguing with any of your points about how entwined or his commitment to the club...it's actually a fine example of poor business in truth and poorly managing your own risk!

The man is woefully poor in business and taking us down with him.

In my opinion the only way he can save himself and the club is to accept a loss and sell part/all the club off including part of his project to another investor/investment but stay involved with the stadium complex but he will have to accept a loss.

Been saying it for about a decade now but the longer he runs things as they are the more chance there is that it will be unrecoverable and will go under.

But you can't get the loan without the security in the first place. Let's say you own your house. There's no mortgage. You start a business and take out a loan of £200k using your house as security.

Whose money is it?
 
But you can't get the loan without the security in the first place. Let's say you own your house. There's no mortgage. You start a business and take out a loan of £200k using your house as security.

Whose money is it?

Yeh I'll give you that one......his inheritance ;-)

The point is we are f*cked with Ron.
 
Odd that a man who - supposedly - puts his own money into the club on the regular, would need to do something so drastic though, no?
https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/lo...aged-his-mansion-to-bail-out-southend-united/
Further details on mortgage. And loans in general above

I am guessing (and it is guessing) that this was the quickest route to financing . Property prices have increased since 2010 so his companies may have either sold off investments or been able to increase borrowing on them.
 
One significant caveat! If the money used to run his businesses are actually debt, loans etc it was never his money in the first place.

Not arguing with any of your points about how entwined or his commitment to the club...it's actually a fine example of poor business in truth and poorly managing your own risk!

The man is woefully poor in business and taking us down with him.

In my opinion the only way he can save himself and the club is to accept a loss and sell part/all the club off including part of his project to another investor/investment but stay involved with the stadium complex but he will have to accept a loss.

Been saying it for about a decade now but the longer he runs things as they are the more chance there is that it will be unrecoverable and will go under.

Yes- but again not necessarily quite the case..
If the loans are secured against his assets (land, buildings etc.) then in fact the risk for those loans does ultimately fall to him. We may desperately want it to be that he is not risking his own money but that does not make it so. I for one can't be bothered to wade through the finances of each company in minutiae, but its enough for me to know that very significant sums of "his" money have been forthcoming (even if in hope for the reward to reflect the risk down the line).
 
Almost certainly Ron is borrowing against his assets, probably land that he owns. Land is going up in value every year, there are so many developers with plans to build but just leave the sites derelict as the land increases in value. Some then sell it off and take a profit. This is going on all over the country leaving in many cases eyesore in our towns.
 
Almost certainly Ron is borrowing against his assets, probably land that he owns. Land is going up in value every year, there are so many developers with plans to build but just leave the sites derelict as the land increases in value. Some then sell it off and take a profit. This is going on all over the country leaving in many cases eyesore in our towns.

There is a 7 acre site known as Roots Hall that fits that description.
 
One significant caveat! If the money used to run his businesses are actually debt, loans etc it was never his money in the first place.

Not arguing with any of your points about how entwined or his commitment to the club...it's actually a fine example of poor business in truth and poorly managing your own risk!

The man is woefully poor in business and taking us down with him.

In my opinion the only way he can save himself and the club is to accept a loss and sell part/all the club off including part of his project to another investor/investment but stay involved with the stadium complex but he will have to accept a loss.

Been saying it for about a decade now but the longer he runs things as they are the more chance there is that it will be unrecoverable and will go under.

With planning on RH and if he gets the green light for FF. Then he may well be considered the best ever businessman in the history of our town........How strange would that be?
 
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With planning on RH and if he gets the green light for FF. Then he may well be considered the best every businessman in the history of our town........How strange would that be?
That's the biggest IF in the world. Not like we've been waiting years and years. Yes there has been excuses, reasons bla bla but I'm sure in another 10 years when it still hasn't been delivered there will be more reasons, excuses.
 
Genuine questions, no baiting;

2 - Can you name me some things that Ron has done, which are good for this football club. Since he took control, we have amassed a £17m debt (on paper), and have lost our only two major assets; Roots Hall and Boots & Laces.

What good things, can we call upon to counteract those, please?

Kept us afloat for the last 22(?) years after inheriting a club millions in debt that was losing money hand over fist
Extended £17m of credit to us through his various companies (and I think written off more)
Oversaw one of the most successful periods in the club's history in the Tilly era and in total we've had three promotions, three cup finals and a win over Man U under his watch
Backed the youth academy that has produced players like Yearwood, Bwomono, Kelman


I know there's equally a load of negative things on the flip side of the coin (you asked for the positive rather than a balance assessment) but there's plenty of positive - not least that we still have a club.
 
I think we were about £3m in debt when Ron took over officially, some time in Summer 2000. But we had Roots Hall and B&L, some of the most valuable land around?

We are now what £17m+ in debt and own **** all. Heading back to league 2 and with a crumbling stadium and training facility to boot.

20 years later of chasing the "dream" and we are right back where we started and in a lot worse position, certainly financially and in terms of assets and our home. Yes we have had a couple of good years along the way. But wheres the progress, the new stadium, financial stability etc?

Yes he has somehow kept the plates spinning for this long (and to be fair should be acknowledged for) but for how much longer can this chasing of the "dream" continue, before ultimately everyone including our club, goes down in flames?...

If this was me in charge, I would fully expect the fans and shareholders to hold me to account to what has happened under my tenure. I certainly would not be blaming others, or painting myself as a saint or saviour either.
 
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I prefer Smiffy's take on things to Yorkshire Blue's. I think we were successful under Tilson, despite Ron, not because of Ron. Look how that period ended. Conmen are good at convincing you things are far better than they actually are.
 
I prefer Smiffy's take on things to Yorkshire Blue's. I think we were successful under Tilson, despite Ron, not because of Ron. Look how that period ended. Conmen are good at convincing you things are far better than they actually are.

Ron will be pleased. That means he can take no criticism for our current predicament.
 
I prefer Smiffy's take on things to Yorkshire Blue's. I think we were successful under Tilson, despite Ron, not because of Ron. Look how that period ended. Conmen are good at convincing you things are far better than they actually are.
To be fair to @Yorkshire Blue he was responding to questions thrown up by @GBJ. If you were to merge the two views together (Yorky's and Smithy's) that would probably be the most balanced view of Ron (or as good as you're going to get on ShrimperZone).
 
I think we were about £3m in debt when Ron took over officially, some time in Summer 2000. But we had Roots Hall and B&L, some of the most valuable land around?

We are now what £17m+ in debt and own **** all. Heading back to league 2 and with a crumbling stadium and training facility to boot.

20 years later of chasing the "dream" and we are right back where we started and in a lot worse position, certainly financially and in terms of assets and our home. Yes we have had a couple of good years along the way. But wheres the progress, the new stadium, financial stability etc?

Yes he has somehow kept the plates spinning for this long (and to be fair should be acknowledged for) but for how much longer can this chasing of the "dream" continue, before ultimately everyone including our club, goes down in flames?...
I think we all need to remember that it is not Ron's fault that the stadium hasn't yet been built. I'm sure, given the choice, he would have much preferred for it to have been done and dusted back in 2008 but the credit crunch financial crisis in 2007 scuppered that.

It's also not his fault we fell from the CCC to L2 in 3 seasons. He has backed every single manager and on paper has taken decisions that we probably all would have done regarding players.

Finally, the fact that we have somehow dodged the winding up orders and stayed out of administration is nothing short of a bloody miracle in my eyes. In business, difficult decisions have to sometimes be taken, staff and suppliers go unpaid or are paid late, people are made redundant... football clubs are no different.

If we get through in 1 piece to FF, then he will benefit massively and I personally won't begrudge him a penny.
 
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