Save our Southend SOS questions you may have

[Dubai]

Not a question to Ron, more of a statement really.

Stan is offering his help for free, as much time as the club wants him give.
I know that Stan has said he doesn't need the money, but I think the least Ron could do is throw
as many 'Golfing Days' free at Stan as he can legally muster (within the tax allowances of course)
by way of some sort of appreciation.

P.S. Stan might not play golf, but you get the drift.

Disagree.
If Stan wants to work for free, let him.

IF we hire a CEO, it means less playing budget (Think something along the lines of 200k year would be a low salary for a decent CEO these days?)

The average salary for a player in the national league is around 50k per year, so we start with 4 fewer players in our budget for next year for hiring a CEO.

Worth the trade-off?

Also, if Ron decides to hire a CEO I would like the role to be at least advertised and interview 4 or 5 of the very best candidates not just take the first one available coz Stan says they are good.

 

[TrueBlue]

1. Who are the individuals behind SOS?
2. How are SOS decisions taken and by whom?
3. Who are the decision makers answerable to?
4. What are SOS' aims/manifesto?
5. How can people help?

Ok so....
1. Around 15 different fans, including myself, kerry (lord football), Andy young, Lee Jarvis, Lee smith. Can get you a full list if you wish.

2. We have a committee meeting every Sunday evening at 6:30pm via zoom (due to pandemic) proper minutes are taken and an agenda is distributed before each meeting also all committee members are in a WhatsApp group that sees over a hundred messages traded back and forth on SOS matters

3. So we have our committee then we have an sos board above that consisting of the chairman , the vice chairman and secretary, this is only to deal with internal matters when they arise, all decisions are taken as a group.

4. It’s all over our social media outlets however I will send you a full breakdown. In simple terms it’s about accountability, sustainability and a better run club.

5. when I started this it was all about being a broad church for supporters of this club whether you are young or old, male or female none of that makes a difference if you have SUFC at heart that’s all that’s needed, as to how can you help? Well if you want an active role we can certainly speak about that but if not then just sharing our social media posts stuff like that to help spread the word. Also any ideas you have will always be welcome

In closing I just want to say this is a serious operation with proper structure including an agreed constitution, its come a long way in 2 months and the feedback and the support has been superb, as I have said from the start it’s about unity and for the protest we have united all groups including the Shrimpers trust.

 

[hlane17]

Disagree.
If Stan wants to work for free, let him.

IF we hire a CEO, it means less playing budget (Think something along the lines of 200k year would be a low salary for a decent CEO these days?)

The average salary for a player in the national league is around 50k per year, so we start with 4 fewer players in our budget for next year for hiring a CEO.

Worth the trade-off?

Also, if Ron decides to hire a CEO I would like the role to be at least advertised and interview 4 or 5 of the very best candidates not just take the first one available coz Stan says they are good.

I think if the CEO knows what they are doing and knows their players, we would be far better off with a smaller, finer-tuned squad of professionals rather than the erratic approach of years gone by recruiting anyone desperate enough to join.

I would have a smaller senior squad any day, supplemented with youth products who are progressing and learning their trade.

 

[TrueBlue]

Oh and I met a blues fan in Rayleigh yesterday as I was walking through the high street, said his name was @Paddington Blue, was a pleasure to say hello to you sir! And hope you can join us Saturday week at the protest

 

[Lincoln Shrimp]

I think if the CEO knows what they are doing and knows their players, we would be far better off with a smaller, finer-tuned squad of professionals rather than the erratic approach of years gone by recruiting anyone desperate enough to join.

I would have a smaller senior squad any day, supplemented with youth products who are progressing and learning their trade.

Another relevant point about the National League is that there are no transfer windows as such, so that lessens the need to have an overly large squad to cover injuries etc from the outset.

 

[overseas shrimper]

Disagree.
If Stan wants to work for free, let him.

IF we hire a CEO, it means less playing budget (Think something along the lines of 200k year would be a low salary for a decent CEO these days?)

The average salary for a player in the national league is around 50k per year, so we start with 4 fewer players in our budget for next year for hiring a CEO.

Worth the trade-off?

Also, if Ron decides to hire a CEO I would like the role to be at least advertised and interview 4 or 5 of the very best candidates not just take the first one available coz Stan says they are good.

According to www.payscale.com the average CEO salary in the UK is £80k per annum. I don't know how reliable the source is, but your assumption does seem to be rather high (which is why I checked).

Also, if we have the right man in the position, with better recruitment, better negotiation of deals, we should have a much better squad than in the past few seasons post Steve Kavanagh's departure. Even if it is 2 or 3 players lighter.

Oh, and again, the £50k salary for National League players seems a bit of an arbitrary figure. Is that an average according to you? From what i understand, wages vary greatly from around £20-£50k. I'm sure there are exceptions that earn more at clubs trying to spending their way into the league.

 

[Member]

According to www.payscale.com the average CEO salary in the UK is £80k per annum. I don't know how reliable the source is, but your assumption does seem to be rather high (which is why I checked).

Also, if we have the right man in the position, with better recruitment, better negotiation of deals, we should have a much better squad than in the past few seasons post Steve Kavanagh's departure. Even if it is 2 or 3 players lighter.

Oh, and again, the £50k salary for National League players seems a bit of an arbitrary figure. Is that an average according to you? From what i understand, wages vary greatly from around £20-£50k. I'm sure there are exceptions that earn more at clubs trying to spending their way into the league.

I'd guess that a football CEO salary is around £100-£140k. However, the cost to the club would be closer to £200k when you include pension contributions, employers NI, and other add-ons.

Don't forget though that a good CEO will (in theory) be able to earn their salary through improved managerial efficiencies, reduced costs, maximising the return on player sales, untapping new revenue streams etc. This wouldn't be £200k down the drain, and a CEO will need to persuade Ron and the board about how they will benefit the club. We've been pouring money down the drain with hiring/firing various management teams over the past 3 seasons, so a CEO will help bring a degree of foresight and planning that hopefully will see us avoid that type of wastage in the future.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

According to www.payscale.com the average CEO salary in the UK is £80k per annum. I don't know how reliable the source is, but your assumption does seem to be rather high (which is why I checked).

Also, if we have the right man in the position, with better recruitment, better negotiation of deals, we should have a much better squad than in the past few seasons post Steve Kavanagh's departure. Even if it is 2 or 3 players lighter.

Oh, and again, the £50k salary for National League players seems a bit of an arbitrary figure. Is that an average according to you? From what i understand, wages vary greatly from around £20-£50k. I'm sure there are exceptions that earn more at clubs trying to spending their way into the league.

or woman ! but can we afford a CEO ? Have we the budget to allow him (or her) to negotiate deals ? Good players cost £'s which I doubt we'll have.

 

[Rob1920]

I think the past 3 years have shown us a good CEO is an absolute must, even if it impacts the player budget.

I think for me the biggest questions are around budgets and contingencies for the next 3 seasons at least. Do we try and keep to a similar budget as we had in L2 for the first year (we will get the parachute payments) and have the best go possible at getting straight back up? If that’s fails what’s the budget plans for the next season and the one after when we’ll definitely have less income. Will RM continue to fund the academy? And so on..

 

[overseas shrimper]

or woman ! but can we afford a CEO ? Have we the budget to allow him (or her) to negotiate deals ? Good players cost £'s which I doubt we'll have.

On the flip side, can we afford NOT to have a (good) CEO in place? And yes, a man or woman.

 

[Smiffy]

 

[KrustyTheKray]

I thought 'SOS' were a lobbying group, not a protest group?

 

[rigsby]

Ok so....
1. Around 15 different fans, including myself, kerry (lord football), Andy young, Lee Jarvis, Lee smith. Can get you a full list if you wish.

2. We have a committee meeting every Sunday evening at 6:30pm via zoom (due to pandemic) proper minutes are taken and an agenda is distributed before each meeting also all committee members are in a WhatsApp group that sees over a hundred messages traded back and forth on SOS matters

3. So we have our committee then we have an sos board above that consisting of the chairman , the vice chairman and secretary, this is only to deal with internal matters when they arise, all decisions are taken as a group.

4. It’s all over our social media outlets however I will send you a full breakdown. In simple terms it’s about accountability, sustainability and a better run club.

5. when I started this it was all about being a broad church for supporters of this club whether you are young or old, male or female none of that makes a difference if you have SUFC at heart that’s all that’s needed, as to how can you help? Well if you want an active role we can certainly speak about that but if not then just sharing our social media posts stuff like that to help spread the word. Also any ideas you have will always be welcome

In closing I just want to say this is a serious operation with proper structure including an agreed constitution, its come a long way in 2 months and the feedback and the support has been superb, as I have said from the start it’s about unity and for the protest we have united all groups including the Shrimpers trust.

SOS seems well organised to me. From an outsider looking in and I don't want to tell anyone what to do......But have you considered appointing a CEO?

 

[Supershrimper]

View attachment 15460

You should all get some banners made up similar to the miners "op north" and walk through Southend Highstreet proudly displaying the movement your aligned to

 

[Ozzer]

Scott, I could well be wrong but did Ron and Patrick say that the Club accounts were up to date in the Zoom meeting? Only, someone has reported that they are formally late for submission.

 

[Clarky176]

The accounts issue needs pressing I think, just for us to get a perspective of what Chris Powell's era was like financially. Yes, its that long ago that the accounts have not been published.

Patrick mentioned how we were allowed an extension because of COVID, but we're talking about accounts from July 2018 to July 2019. 9 Month period for filing is end of April 2020, one month into the pandemic.

How much disruption did one month cause, and how have we not managed to sort the issue a full year afterwards?

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

The accounts issue needs pressing I think, just for us to get a perspective of what Chris Powell's era was like financially. Yes, its that long ago that the accounts have not been published.

Patrick mentioned how we were allowed an extension because of COVID, but we're talking about accounts from July 2018 to July 2019. 9 Month period for filing is end of April 2020, one month into the pandemic.

How much disruption did one month cause, and how have we not managed to sort the issue a full year afterwards?

He would probably have management accounts aswell, so he could easily release some figures if he wanted to. I think it's just delaying tactics, as he doesn't want people knowing how poor the finances are.

 

[Member]

What is the trigger or plan from moving from protest to direct action/boycott? What is the roadmap that we need to see Ron Martin moving forward with? So far it's positive, but we don't have much time before our NL campaign starts again in August.

It'd be helpful to get weekly updates from Ron (or Stan) about progress that is being made with the following items/issues:

- CEO appointment
- Management/technical team plans for 21/22
- Contract negotiations with the squad
- FF plans
- Commercial and financial planning for reduced NL income/revenue streams
- Assuring the future of our academy status and pipeline of young players (this is probably the main thing that differentiates us from most other NL clubs, as well as potentially the size of our fanbase).

All of these are time critical and I think now Ron recognises: 1. the urgency, and 2. that he can't do this all single-handedly. So I'd argue that protests, while cathartic, aren't essential so much now, and instead we need to hold Ron's feel to the fire by being ready to boycott matches/ST purchases/shirt purchases if he doesn't show real progress with these things.

Just bumping these. No worries if you don't have answers just yet but I do think they're important questions/points.

 

[Whispering Bob]

You may wish to suggest, if they can do it (?)........

"Chelsea are to introduce a supporter presence in the form of three "supporter advisors" at club board meetings from 1 July.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

Did we ever get an answer to the questions that were put to Ron ?