Save our Southend SOS Statement

[overseas shrimper]

I'm sorry that is something SOS needs to reflect on if, as it seems, that is the case.

I'm not sure how they expect a demonstration to lead quickly to the things you suggest. It is a complete leap of faith, no evidence whatsoever in the last 20 years to suggest that Ron will respond favourably to that kind of approach. Quite the reverse.

I'm not sure where this 'quickly' thing has come from... and the definition of 'quickly' is somewhat subjective. I just think that the status quo is going to see the club lurch from one catastrophe to another in a race against time as to what comes first... new stadium or the end of this club.

Oh, and I doubt anyone thinks Ron is there thinking this protest thing is good. That's kind of the idea.

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

To those not interested I’ll ask one question

If back to back relegations out of the football league isn’t it. Then when is enough?

 

[Callum]

To those not interested I’ll ask one question

If back to back relegations out of the football league isn’t it. Then when is enough?

I agree you look at the managers he appointed that bloke is one big liar I watched that zoom call I’m going to back Mark Moseley then few days later sacked Phil Brown gets appointed now look at us back to back relegations he will never admit he needs help or sell the club. And then the crap statements

 

[Brett Angle]

I'm not sure where this 'quickly' thing has come from... and the definition of 'quickly' is somewhat subjective. I just think that the status quo is going to see the club lurch from one catastrophe to another in a race against time as to what comes first... new stadium or the end of this club.

Oh, and I doubt anyone thinks Ron is there thinking this protest thing is good. That's kind of the idea.

The status quo you talk about is the cycle we are in at the moment:

Ron is viewed as the main problem + the fans want change but don't seem to have the where with all to effect it + a small number of angry fans place banners on the gate and/or have a demonstration to vent their disquiet + the following morning nothing has changed save the antipathy between said fans (and by association the rest of the fanbase) and the club's main creditor has grown = the downward spiral continues. It's not as if we are the first ex EFL club this has happened to.

 

[tommy tucker]

me just be intressted as to the chat Ron and Stan will have .Will Ron sell that is a big fat NO .Will stan get him to see the error of his way of running a football club again its is big fat NO .So where does southend united go from hear sadly I dont this anyone will have the answers .

 

[TrueBlue]

I'm sorry that is something SOS needs to reflect on if, as it seems, that is the case.

I'm not sure how they expect a demonstration to lead quickly to the things you suggest. It is a complete leap of faith, no evidence whatsoever in the last 20 years to suggest that Ron will respond favourably to that kind of approach. Quite the reverse.

But you miss the point of protest, the point is exposure, we are not daft enough to think Ron will sit there and sell on the back of a few people outside. What it will do is gain media and national attention and that is the foundation to build from.

 

[Brett Angle]

We need to focus on what we can control not what we can't. I believe SoS can be a force of real good by galvanising the fanbase and providing solutions to known problems and ensuring the Manager (hopefully PB) has the best possible chance of success on the pitch next year. That is the way you get to have a bigger say in the way your club is run - improve your negotiating position.

Hopefully at some point, we can pick this up again and agree how we do that.

As that is now my 14th post on the subject apparently (Wise Head is counting and wouldn't dream of arguing with someone who calls himself that) I'll leave it there.

 

[overseas shrimper]

Do what Ron expects least rather than what he expects.

That's not an answer and you know it. What is it you would actually do that Ron expects the least?

 

[wiggy]

But you miss the point of protest, the point is exposure, we are not daft enough to think Ron will sit there and sell on the back of a few people outside. What it will do is gain media and national attention and that is the foundation to build from.

That Brett Angle is from the same stable as Rigsby, Ron can do no wrong.......relegation after relegation, let him get away with it he says.
Good on you all for giving the liar a bloody nose, he hates that. Cry’s his eyes out and starts swearing the little sh it....bring it on and get him some nice truthful exposure on tv and the press.....he don’t like it up him!

 

[Brett Angle]

That Brett Angle is from the same stable as Rigsby, Ron can do no wrong.......relegation after relegation, let him get away with it he says.
Good on you all for giving the liar a bloody nose, he hates that. Cry’s his eyes out and starts swearing the little sh it....bring it on and get him some nice truthful exposure on tv and the press.....he don’t like it up him!

Nice. And you all wonder why we are where we are.

 

[Cricko]

We need to focus on what we can control not what we can't. I believe SoS can be a force of real good by galvanising the fanbase and providing solutions to known problems and ensuring the Manager (hopefully PB) has the best possible chance of success on the pitch next year. That is the way you get to have a bigger say in the way your club is run - improve your negotiating position.

Hopefully at some point, we can pick this up again and agree how we do that.

As that is now my 14th post on the subject apparently (Wise Head is counting and wouldn't dream of arguing with someone who calls himself that) I'll leave it there.

We would of liked to have galvanised the team this year or the year before but RM tied the managers hands behind their backs with embargos etc etc...How on earth did they have any chance let alone his choices for that position being questionable in the first instance.

How do you think the fans can help when the man at the top is a one man band who runs a dictatorship. We as a fan base have just had enough. we have never had a say in how the club is run and it seems never will..

It is time to stand up and be counted and not let this horrendous slide continue on the back of RM's pipe dream with the club being the victim at every turn.

I can go back years when @Smiffy and myself used to meet RM to listen to the latest load of bull. The Trust were promised a seat on the board for helping RM out financially, he broke that promise, Tara when CEO tried every which way to have some influence over RM and his ways, that fell apart with RM owing him monies and TB shaking his head in disbelief. Nothing has changed since regarding RM's treatment of fans and the very people who want to help him..

At every corner there have been people that wanted to assist him but they were shunned and looked upon quite frankly as just dirt on Rm's shoes.

Staff left or were sacked, and to my knowledge are still owed monies.

The club is now at is lowest ebb and with due respect the best solution you advise is no solution.

The mind boggles. We as a fan base must do something, the protest is a great starting point.

 

[Lord Football]

(a) I have not. I acknowledged that but suggested that fresh faces might change the dynamic.

(b) I have read the minutes such as they were of some of the meetings. My general view/interpretation is that groups went in with a wide number of areas to cover and through valiantly trying to represent everyone ended up failing to hone in on a small number of critical, actionable paths. The first of these being proper governance around such meeting and a simple RAG system or suchlike to set milestones and track progress of issues raised. Transparency and accountability (for both sides) is vital if these are to be nothing more than talk shops.

(c) There are I believe some people allowing the disappointment we are all feeling to cloud their judgement. I include Ron himself with that poorly worded, clumsy statement he released last week and Stan and the rollercoaster he put everyone through last week. As for shouting and screaming we had it before the last home game and correct me if I'm wrong there is similar planned Saturday week. Thought this was what the thread was originally about. Nothing to be gained here - ask Newcastle fans.

I am not going to get into a tit for tat discussion with you, I don't have time.

a. I think you may be confusing us with another organisation Yeah, people know Scott and a few know me (but only because I've been around a long time). Most of the people involved haven't gone public. We tend to pull people in with certain areas of expertese. So I am interested in how you come to the conclusion we are the same old faces when you don't know who all but three of us are.

b. If you have read our minutes and interpreted as you claim to, you've done well. In total, across all our meetings they come to to no more than five pages. I write them. They're actually more records of decisions. They don't assign comments to people, they don't go into any detail and they don't list attendees. They only really serve to list actions and jog memories for when we meet next. They also clearly state what our aims are.

However, if you really have read them, you'll have noticed the bullet points that state our aims and refer to our manifesto.

I'm a fairly senior Civil Servant these days, having lived in the Brexit Planning world for the last 5 years. So I understand what RAG ratings, milestone plans etc are, and I also understand they're great for a project with a delivery deadline. Not so good for the flexible and volatile environment we are currently in. We have to be reactive to what goes on around us. So, do we have a Campaign Strategy beyond the end of the season? Not yet, but we will do.

c. There was a protest held on Saturday. It wasn't arranged by any grouping, it was done via Social Media. What we have planned, should significantly larger and more organised than that. As it happens, we haven't spoken to Newcastle fans. We have however spoken to our friends from Blackpool.

 

[Brett Angle]

We as a fan base must do something.


I'm sorry in that I wasn't party to any of the attached and therefore can't comment. However I can concur with your sentiment above. The only thing I guess we disagree on is what.

 

[RHB]

There's a line from Sean Connery in The Untouchables where he says to Elliott Ness - "and then what are you prepared to do?" when talking about bringing down Al Capone. The protest is a start and will set the scene for the next steps, Ron just will not change a thing unless the pressure is such that if he doesn't change then his financial situation will worsen. I'm pinning my hopes on the SOS committee having some pre-prepared plans for next steps if Ron's not interested in talking. If these plans have some bite, then changes could take place. If they are not there, then no amount of fans chanting and waving banners will change a thing. In fact it will probably worsen the situation without any progress.

 

[Brett Angle]

I am not going to get into a tit for tat discussion with you, I don't have time.

a. I think you may be confusing us with another organisation Yeah, people know Scott and a few know me (but only because I've been around a long time). Most of the people involved haven't gone public. We tend to pull people in with certain areas of expertese. So I am interested in how you come to the conclusion we are the same old faces when you don't know who all but three of us are.

b. If you have read our minutes and interpreted as you claim to, you've done well. In total, across all our meetings they come to to no more than five pages. I write them. They're actually more records of decisions. They don't assign comments to people, they don't go into any detail and they don't list attendees. They only really serve to list actions and jog memories for when we meet next. They also clearly state what our aims are.

However, if you really have read them, you'll have noticed the bullet points that state our aims and refer to our manifesto.

I'm a fairly senior Civil Servant these days, having lived in the Brexit Planning world for the last 5 years. So I understand what RAG ratings, milestone plans etc are, and I also understand they're great for a project with a delivery deadline. Not so good for the flexible and volatile environment we are currently in. We have to be reactive to what goes on around us. So, do we have a Campaign Strategy beyond the end of the season? Not yet, but we will do.

c. There was a protest held on Saturday. It wasn't arranged by any grouping, it was done via Social Media. What we have planned, should significantly larger and more organised than that. As it happens, we haven't spoken to Newcastle fans. We have however spoken to our friends from Blackpool.

Me neither ..... however out of courtesy will respond to your points briefly:

(a) I said this wasn't personal.

(b) Reading what you have written I rest my case. Only 5 pages in all that time, records not decisions, comments not assigned, attendees not listed, only really serve "to jog memories." And you are proud of that? As I said it's no more than a talk shop. How can you possibly hold anybody to account based on that. As a "fairly senior Civil Servant" I would have thought you would have known that more than anybody.

I take your point about current environment ..... but when these meetings were taking place the club wasn't in the volatile position it now finds itself in - certainly on the verge of losing its EFL status. That reasoning does not compute.

(c) Have your demo and do exactly what Ron expects from you. The media will be interested for a day or two but will then move on and you will become tomorrow's chip paper. I've been asked what I mean when I say do what Ron least expects. Probably not the best idea to discuss on a public forum but if anybody running SOS is genuinely interested PM me.

I'm off to work.

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

If these plans have some bite, then changes could take place. If they are not there, then no amount of fans chanting and waving banners will change a thing. In fact it will probably worsen the situation without any progress.

How can the situation get an worse, though ? We are going into Non League, the club has very few assets left, it is millions in debt (and the debt increases year on year), the accounts are always produced late (so we never know the current financial situation), we have no planning permission for a new stadium, and even if we did, there is no guarantee of how this will benefit SUFC in the short or long term !

 

[TrueBlue]

We need to focus on what we can control not what we can't. I believe SoS can be a force of real good by galvanising the fanbase and providing solutions to known problems and ensuring the Manager (hopefully PB) has the best possible chance of success on the pitch next year. That is the way you get to have a bigger say in the way your club is run - improve your negotiating position.

Hopefully at some point, we can pick this up again and agree how we do that.

As that is now my 14th post on the subject apparently (Wise Head is counting and wouldn't dream of arguing with someone who calls himself that) I'll leave it there.

Listen I/we are ALWAYS up for a chat and advice, if you feel you can or want to contribute drop me a private message mate!

 

[Westcliff DGS]

How can the situation get an worse, though ? We are going into Non League, the club has very few assets left, it is millions in debt (and the debt increases year on year), the accounts are always produced late (so we never know the current financial situation), we have no planning permission for a new stadium, and even if we did, there is no guarantee of how this will benefit SUFC in the short or long term !

Worse than NL another relegation possibly, going out of existence possibly for me those options are worse

 

[Napster]

Listen I/we are ALWAYS up for a chat and advice, if you feel you can or want to contribute drop me a private message mate!

Your message box must be full lol

 

[Supa Shrimpa]

Worse than NL another relegation possibly, going out of existence possibly for me those options are worse

But the way it's being run, there's every possibility we'll be relegated again or go out if business, anyway. How many winding up orders will it take before HMRC finally pull the plug (and this time he'll have much lower gate receipts) ?