• Welcome to the ShrimperZone forums.
    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which only gives you limited access.

    Existing Users:.
    Please log-in using your existing username and password. If you have any problems, please see below.

    New Users:
    Join our free community now and gain access to post topics, communicate privately with other members, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and free. Click here to join.

    Fans from other clubs
    We welcome and appreciate supporters from other clubs who wish to engage in sensible discussion. Please feel free to join as above but understand that this is a moderated site and those who cannot play nicely will be quickly removed.

    Assistance Required
    For help with the registration process or accessing your account, please send a note using the Contact us link in the footer, please include your account name. We can then provide you with a new password and verification to get you on the site.

Maldon Blues

Yeeeeeeellows
Joined
Dec 11, 2005
Messages
1,797
Location
Maldon
A few people have doubted Ron Martin during his time at Roots Hall. Being from a Property Developing background maybe some concern was understandable.

However, I hope we all now realise he really is a good man who is great for Southend United.

Under John Main, we were goining nowhere but out of existance. He may have had the right front with the fans, but the Board thankfully recognised that he was simply taking the Club towards going bust with his rediculous expenditure (£100,000 a year plus for peter storrie as Chief Executive!!)

Ron made, in hindsight, a good appointment in David Webb to cut the wage bill. Alan Little wouldn't have got away with releasing the Club's better players for little or no money, but Webb, of course, could! I imiagine Webb had always intended to only stay around for a year or so, but we'll never know that for sure.

Maybe Ron made a few mistakes in managerial appointments, but in Steve Wignall in particular, he quickly realised the error and disposed of him.

I remember at an AGM just two years ago Ron said we will be a Championship Club again, and his comments were met with criticism with supporters believiong he was thinking out of our depth.

Well, in no-time at all, here we are, in the Championship!

Let's just hope we can move into a new stadium as soon as possible and continue to prosper.

Meanwhile, hats off, I say, to RM!
 
I agree......

though.... for whatever reason it still seems like Groundhog day when I hear the words, "the new stadium plans will be submitted in autumn "

....Just need Uncle Ron to be a bit more vocal in respect of fans. Karen Brady had a Q&A in the Brum website (?) . I know chairmen are busy and that but we plough a hell of a lot of our money into football and as shareholders, even indirectly, i'd like to see more bridge building and more liason.

I'm not knocking Martin per se here... just trying to move the goalposts for everyones benefit.

Oo.gif
 
Totally agree. I've always thought people a bit quick to be cynical towards teh chairman but RM, in my eyes has always tried to do the right thing whilst also trying to bring more efficiency to the club's off-the-pitch management.

People enjoy criticising, it seems, but the club look so much more professional now than, say, 2003, that we might even match our on the pitch achievements off the pitch as we enter the second tier of English football this time around....
 
Ron is one of the main reasons we are where we are. I remember him saying about us being back in the Championship a couple of years back, and I genuinely had a laugh. I'm not sure I ever thought we'd get back to where we have and it needed a leader like that with serious ambition to help us fulfill a dream that I for one did not really believe would happen.
I was cautious at first, and I am willing to say that I'm not sure he knew much about football at all when he first started, but he has learnt fast. And he has learnt, probably to his suprise just how much this all means to us, and I think he has been the perfect chairman over the last couple of years (even when he wasn't chairman it felt like he was).
Most importantly he has backed Tilly to the hilt on almost everything and that has been fundamental to the success we are enjoying now.
I need to buy that man a drink.
 
I would echo everything that has been said above, epsecially about laughing when he said we would be back in the Championship!

However, a part of me can't work out why he has done this? He wasn't a Southend fan before, so why work so hard? The only reason I can come up with is that he has invested a huge amount of time, effort and money in this and needs to see some sort of return.

To do this he needs the club to be successful on the pitch because that will ultimately lead to it being successful financially. If he then has the club in a financially stable position he may then be able to sell it for more than he has invested. If that is the case then good on him. His gain will have been our gain, and if he walks away with a little bit of cash in his back pocket I won't be complaining because he will have deserved it.

I guess it is also possible that he is doing this because he is enjoying it, and sees it almost as a hobby, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
 
Echo everything above. Would be really good if Ronnie could get on the pitch and say a few words before Brizzle City game so we could show our appreciation.
 
Top bloke and has been superb for the club.

I do tend to agree with 'The Artful Shrimper' tho. The same thought came to me when I was reading Monday's echo and it mentioned Stadium plans will be submitted in the Autumn. I just thought what again.

He got a great and fully deserved standing ovation by the SUFC fans at Swansea before the game Saturday.
 
I remeber that, back in November 2003, I was worrying about facing Canvey & Forest Green Rovers now we are looking forward to Birmingham & Wolves next season, like the good old day back in earlier 90's.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (SUFCEssex @ May 02 2006,07:55)]Top bloke and has been superb for the club.

I do tend to agree with 'The Artful Shrimper' tho.  The same thought came to me when I was reading Monday's echo and it mentioned Stadium plans will be submitted in the Autumn.  I just thought what again.

He got a great and fully deserved standing ovation by the SUFC fans at Swansea before the game Saturday.
Ron Martin deserves a rendition of "There's only one Ron Martin" on Saturday.

What's been achieved since he became Chairman is nothing short of stupendous, the start of last season we were BOTTOM of League 2 for goodness sake.

Vic Jobson stopped the club going out of existence 20 years ago & I'm grateful for that but he did antagonise a lot of people,not least Southend council.
Whereas Ron Martin seems to have the knack of dealing with people as appropriate. (eg- Dudfields transfer & the JCR resolution)

If anyone can get us to a new stadium it will be him, & if he makes a profit on the sale of the Roots Hall development site then good luck to him.
 
Can only echo these sentiments...

Mr Martin you are a true gent and a legend in many peoples eye's...

Now let's build the dream even further with a Swansea esque stadium please!..

Build it and they will come...

smile.gif
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Smiffy @ May 02 2006,09:30)]Now let's build the dream even further with a Swansea esque stadium please!..

Build it and they will come...

smile.gif
Will we have £25m+ to spend on a new ground though?

The cost of building a new ground seems to rise so quickly, even Doncaster's new 15,000 capacity ground is costing £30m.

I'm sure in a recent programme plans were being submitted 'at the end of the season' now it seems to be Autumn which probably means end of the year.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (londonblue @ May 02 2006,07:22)]However, a part of me can't work out why he has done this? He wasn't a Southend fan before, so why work so hard? The only reason I can come up with is that he has invested a huge amount of time, effort and money in this and needs to see some sort of return.
This is a very good point and one that I've pondered before. On the face of it, no-one would want to go in to a club like ours unless they were a big fan or there wasa financial interest.

The best that I can come up with is that initially there was the incentive of moving the club and developing the land at ROots Hall in to property for sale. With house prices in the area as they are and the prime location of the ground, this should have been a massive windfall. For whatever reasons, this hasn't transpired.

Now, there are two options you can believe. A) Ron has become a fan of the club whilst being involved, B) The only way he will get anything back is if we can get much more success on the pitch than our wage bill would suggest or a combination.

With football these days, success and profitability so often go hand in hand, particularly where clubs are run prudently as ours has been for some time now. As a result, it's difficult to say which is which but as long as there is some interest driving Ron at the club, I see little reason to question his incentives as a vested interest has already brought a large amount of professionalism, confidence and efficiency to the club.
 
Back
Top