Ron Martin speaks to Chris Phillips

[Shrimper]

Another winding up order

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3501204

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Another winding up order

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3501204

This will be related to the bill for next week. It will be paid; this will be dismissed. Same old. It would be great if this didn’t happen again but don’t anyone hold your breath!

 

[blues exile]

Here we go again, a new winding up order just a day after yet another failed attempt at self justification by Martin, which blithely skated over thel black hole that appears to be the club's finances.. For all his efforts to shift the blame to past managers, players, the physio unit etc (and to actually single out a young loanee by name is beneath contempt) surely even the most gullible supporter can see that the end is clearly in sight and only one person is responsible, Martin himself. The mirage of FF, to put it kindly, has been used too many times to have any credibility left and is not going to happen. I fear the ninth tier as a phoenix club beckons.

 

[Barling Magna]

Who ?

Stones?

Kinks?

 

[LBBlue]

Income from the Audited Accounts and the total wage bill for the club including players, academy directors, and all admin ticket office etc .

The inter company "rent" charge is now £450k per annum, you've then got grounds costs hotels etc travel and all other non staff expenses and interest charges you can see why he runs out of money.

 

[blue pilot]

Ron has once again managed to convince enough people, that he is wearing a flesh coloured body-stocking, and that the emperor is not in fact, naked.

He’s very craftily taken aim at Brown, Powell, Bond, Harry Redknapp, some players, The Academy, Ben Clarkson, Sol & HMRC.

However, not a single one of those persons/entities sets or manages the budgets within this business. Ron does.

So don’t go worrying about those big, unpaid debts racking up against our club, just focus on blaming our problems on one of those things from the list above.

- £600k minimum payment required? Nevermind that, don’t you know that Chris Powell signed a big, bollockless Frenchman, which is the reason for our downfall.

- Unpaid wages? Yes, but let’s not forget that Phil Brown lost the dressing room a few years ago.

- The club is minus £200k every month on the balance sheets? Forget that, we should have never gotten rid of those unmanageable players.

And to top it off, this has been going on for the the better part of a decade. Same man, same problems. How? Just how is that possible?

How do you sit down in the summer to do your budget forecasts, and see that you’ve got X amount to spend, but actually ignore that figure & simply spend whatever you like. What a load of Bollocks.

Anyone here manage to overbudget themselves on a monthly basis? Every month? For 10 years?

—————————————————————

Now let’s get to the odds parts of that.

- Sol & Larsson were the top two candidates for the job. Lols. Why did Millwall block AB’s move then? If we were never interested in him & Tilly taking the reigns, Millwall wouldn’t have had to block it. Load of cobblers.

- Chris Powell only wanted players he could manage. Wait, that’s a bad thing? The fact that we’re currenty the laughing stock of English Football isn’t because of that man’s recruitment, it’s because we’ve been plagued by those **** unmanageable attitudes since the days of Phil Brown.

- Perhaps Bondy could have departed a game or two before he finally did? Sure, although that would have meant Ron cutting his month-long holiday short. Honestly, just think about that. Your business - as Ron likes to refer to it - is in clear and obvious decline, but you couldn’t possibly drag your pasty backside away from your deckchair long enough, to address the problem. Get ****ed.

- “We paid off HMRC in January, but they got us embargoed again”. Once again, it’s HMRC’s fault. How many times over the last decade is that now? Don’t get me wrong, I despise the taxman as much as the next person, but us being under an embargo has got **** all to do with them. They’re not biased. They’re not out to get us. We’re just ran terribly.

- Five weeks the Larsson saga dragged on. Five. Anyone still believe it all fell apart because of some coach not wanting the job? The sooner this stadium fiasco is sorted, the better. Only then will we see any kind of change at this club.

best post in this whole discussion, spot on.

 

[kentblues]

I don't think a single person has claimed that. The majority believe a new stadium is needed especially if you compare us to City or Chelsea.

The quickest way to get rid of Ron is for the council to say yes and Ron goes Dutch , Russian, Arabic or even Tamplin.

I know some of you hate and I mean absolutely hate the idea of Ron actually achieving his dream. That would mean a lot of people eating large slices of humble pie and nobody wants that.

The fact is whether you like it or not Ron is here until FF agreed in some form or another. No matter how many angry threads, posts or teddies chucked in the corner that wont change.

Does that mean I love Ron...Or maybe its because right now its the best option. If someone comes in and wants to take on FF once its passed, then great. If someone came in before then they would be looking at RH with 500 houses on. I would be very suspicious of anyone who bought without planning for a football stadium.

By the way your right, you can sell a house on busy road but if you have to clear £17m of debt first..... You might have trouble finding a buyer.

Rigsby this is spot on and is the real world as it is. We may fantasise as much as we wish for an alternative and that it was not so- but wishing it, posting about or whatever is unlikely to change it. Ron is going nowhere and we need him to succeed.

 

[Westcliff DGS]

This will be related to the bill for next week. It will be paid; this will be dismissed. Same old. It would be great if this didn’t happen again but don’t anyone hold your breath!

Yep agree, as much as it is annoying a lot of companies do this (not justifying it) as its a loophole in how and where you have to pay to seems. not sure if they add interest until after the hearing and thats hwy a lot of times it gets paid just before the hearing.
All very frustrating and annoying foe the fans

 

[kentblues]

I may be wrong but didn't the Blue Knights consortium not offer Ron £1 for the club which he obviously declined. He would only sell if the buyer cleared his debts plus a bit for luck and no one in their right mind is going to do that.

You can give Ron his £17m loans back, pay the tax man, have no assets as the club does not own RH, pay 500k a year rent, and put in £2m a year to keep the club going.. No, no please...form an orderly queue..

 

[kentblues]

Yep agree, as much as it is annoying a lot of companies do this (not justifying it) as its a loophole in how and where you have to pay to seems. not sure if they add interest until after the hearing and thats hwy a lot of times it gets paid just before the hearing.
All very frustrating and annoying foe the fans

I think this overlooks that with normal debts/bills you get the invoice, you can't pay on time, you get a reminder, then a phone call, then you agree when you can pay. Everyday reality in a lot of businesses. HMRC expect to be paid exactly on time. No second invoice, no discussion, the day after its due they go running off to their free collection agency i.e. the courts which they are able to abuse in a way that is not open to any business. So the first reminder is the winding up order, the chasing phone call is the impending hearing, and then you pay. And it is dismissed. Tiresome but that is what it is and if you physically don't have enough cash on the day its due it a game you have no option but to play.

 

[kentblues]

Its been mentioned that RM had a pop at Sol, Ben Clarkson and the Academy- I have looked again- I dont think he does. Indeed tries hard not to. He does at certain managers, players etc. but in doing so it seems to me is agreeing with what the majority post on here regularly about exactly the same people- perhaps we are annoyed he is agreeing with us, or perhaps feel we can openly criticise these people but he can't (after all what right has he got- we pay for our right £250 a year!!!? What does he do. Not sure it's entirely fare- he has done a wide ranging interview, many wanted that, it was never going to please everyone..it would have pleased people even less if he could give his opinion on what got here because he is not allowed to criticise anyone..

 

[rigsby]

I don't deny that the only way forwards with Ron or without Ron is FF. Staying at Roots Hall isn't an option. I don't class success as just continuing for 20 plus years whilst trying to catch up with every club in that time that has built new stadia? Without looking I would guess 30 clubs.

However we are no closer now than when he took over two decades ago, what's to say someone comes in and gets it done finally?

If I read one more time, "who is going to come in and takeover, there is nobody" I will scream

Question for you Somerset...At what stage would you have binned Sainsbury's?

 

[GBJ]

Rigsby this is spot on and is the real world as it is. We may fantasise as much as we wish for an alternative and that it was not so- but wishing it, posting about or whatever is unlikely to change it. Ron is going nowhere and we need him to succeed.

I answered your question mate, and I’m still waiting for an answer to mine.

Maybe you missed it; what do you think of Ron? Doing a good job? Happy with him in control?

 

[HypoTypo]

You could say he is more entitled to be ****ed off. They both couldn’t be arsed and slagged the club off and he paid their wages.

So you are the owner of another club, Ron phones you to ask for a loan player and you have seen this comment. Your still happy to go ahead. !!

Look, of course he is entitled to be ****ed off, but there is a way of managing that and airing his thoughts in public is not one of them.

 

[HypoTypo]

25% of the clubs in it manage to get out each year.

Yes I am sure Walsall, Scunthorpe and Bradford would currently agree with you

 

[HypoTypo]

Eh? League Two has 4 promotion spots.

I don't get your point ? Are you saying it's easier to get out of L2 than I reckon it is ?

 

[Barry.C]

Hands up. I'm one of the 50% you're talking about. Billionaire's, Arabs, Russians will buy teams like Man City and Chelsea as a play thing, but not little Southend in League one, and definitely not in League two. They are only going to buy Premier League clubs or Championship at worst.
Also comparing it to buying your house doesn't work either. Whoever buys your house no matter what road it's on, isn't going to lose over a Million pounds each year.

I don't love or hate Ron Martin. I praise him if I think it's merited, and I also slag him off. I see good and bad. But yes, for his own means, he has kept the club going, sometimes by the skin of his teeth, like this season.

I appreciate your point and maybe not quite in the same league but SALFORD ffs are steaming up the leagues and now also in a cup, thanks to those very poor 4 lads from Man Utd and one David Beckham joining in, so maybe the odd Billion to play with ?

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

I don't get your point ? Are you saying it's easier to get out of L2 than I reckon it is ?

He likes a wind up does YB, though he's right that this season only two clubs will be promoted from L2.

 

[ColinMorrisWalksOnWater]

Great so Harry Redknapp couldn't cover the last six games of last season, but could become HR Director and recommend a person for the job with limited management experience And Ron went with it! Got it! Now I know why we are where we are. Ron didn't have a clue who he wanted so I'll ask a friend. SUPERB!!

Due diligence My Arse!!

 

[kentblues]

I answered your question mate, and I’m still waiting for an answer to mine.

Maybe you missed it; what do you think of Ron? Doing a good job? Happy with him in control?

Doing a good job? I think his intentions are good but he has made some bad decisions. I wouldn't say he is doing a good job on the other hand there are many many worse chairmen.
Happy with him in control? I will tell you that based on what happens with RH and FF and what happens on the pitch. The answer could be a resounding yes or a resounding no- however, my point is more that its a pointless discussion as he is going nowhere, and on that basis I just hope for the best and hope he succeeds as the club's success and his are inseparable.