Shrimpers Trust News Supporters Group Zoom Meeting - 7th October 2021

[Whispering Bob]

Bob, I too think the man looks unwell.
His colouring is not good and I suspect he may well have some underlying health issues

I tend to agree with you Tinks (and you'd know).

 

[Supershrimper]

Just watched the entire call. I'm probably in the minority of 1 but i personally like the cut of Rons jib. He says it how it is, sometimes it gets him into trouble, and he did come out with the expletive about how much he loved the club, and rightly apologised to the gentleman afterwards.

When he bought us he probably wasn't a fan of Southend United. Not many people admit to that and they go for one of the "bigger" clubs like your West Hams, your Tottenhams, your Arsenals. The ones that are on Match of the Day etc. But after watching the club home and away your always going to have a bit of an affinity with the club, and you can hear it in his voice near the end that he really wants the club to succeed. Yes the clubs position is probably hurting him financially, but its also hurting him as a fan (like the rest of us as well)

From watching these videos Ron says it how it is. He is a very clever man and knows his numbers, knows his buisness and how it all works and runs.

I'd love to know if there are any other chairman that subject themselves to questioning so that the wider fan group can view the meeting. The only owner that I know of is Ryan Reynolds, but thats more about self promotion than anything.

I do think that once the planning application is all signed and work starts Ron has a plan for an out. Perhaps selling to an interested party (existing board member?) but it does seem that he has an out.

He could sell it to Mr Ashley now he has a bit of cash floating around in his back pocket. Out of the two of them I know which one i'd sooner have as owner, and its not the one with an interest in House of Fraser / Debenhams / Sports Direct

 

[Whispering Bob]

Am I not the only one that picked up on Ron 'not being here next year'. He is looking worse for wear. Is this all finally getting to him or is he genuinely ill and needs to get FF underway before he goes?????

No

 

[AndyT]

All in all, that was pretty good viewing.

Thought Ron handled the meeting well, in truth. I was interested in what he had to say and saw it for what it was.

There were some half decent questions, possibly not backed up overly well with evidence, but the message was there.

Felt sorry for the fella having to take part whilst sitting in the stands at Darlington! .. That's dedication for you!

Moving forwards, we know Ron wants and needs to see this through. He has invested money and I genuinely believe a lot of passion and emotion into all this and I think it's pretty fair he wants back what he has invested. Who wouldn't. I also genuinely believe his heart is in the club and has grown to mean a lot to him.

Maybe if dialogue was approached more measured and on that basis, then something can be resolved.

 

[AndyT]

Just watched the entire call. I'm probably in the minority of 1 but i personally like the cut of Rons jib. He says it how it is, sometimes it gets him into trouble, and he did come out with the expletive about how much he loved the club, and rightly apologised to the gentleman afterwards.

When he bought us he probably wasn't a fan of Southend United. Not many people admit to that and they go for one of the "bigger" clubs like your West Hams, your Tottenhams, your Arsenals. The ones that are on Match of the Day etc. But after watching the club home and away your always going to have a bit of an affinity with the club, and you can hear it in his voice near the end that he really wants the club to succeed. Yes the clubs position is probably hurting him financially, but its also hurting him as a fan (like the rest of us as well)

From watching these videos Ron says it how it is. He is a very clever man and knows his numbers, knows his buisness and how it all works and runs.

I'd love to know if there are any other chairman that subject themselves to questioning so that the wider fan group can view the meeting. The only owner that I know of is Ryan Reynolds, but thats more about self promotion than anything.

I do think that once the planning application is all signed and work starts Ron has a plan for an out. Perhaps selling to an interested party (existing board member?) but it does seem that he has an out.

He could sell it to Mr Ashley now he has a bit of cash floating around in his back pocket. Out of the two of them I know which one i'd sooner have as owner, and its not the one with an interest in House of Fraser / Debenhams / Sports Direct

Yep, couldn't have put it better myself. In fact, I just tried!

I'd probably add Andy Holt to the list of Chairmen happy to dialogue with the fans, too.

 

[getintoem]

Am I not the only one that picked up on Ron 'not being here next year'. He is looking worse for wear. Is this all finally getting to him or is he genuinely ill and needs to get FF underway before he goes?????

I couldn't make up my mind if he was alluding to an unspecified health issue, that may be giving him concern about his longevity, or whether the pressure all this is placing him under is encouraging him to sell up at the earliest opportunity once the FF project is under way. Although I do not believe he has necessarily steered the club well in recent times I would not wish him an early demise and I hope his health is OK.

 

[sufc4life21]

Ron doesn't handle pressure particularly well.... maybe its his passion for sufc coming through and he really is init for the right reason ?

 

[rigsby]

All in all, that was pretty good viewing.

Thought Ron handled the meeting well, in truth. I was interested in what he had to say and saw it for what it was.

There were some half decent questions, possibly not backed up overly well with evidence, but the message was there.

Felt sorry for the fella having to take part whilst sitting in the stands at Darlington! .. That's dedication for you!

Moving forwards, we know Ron wants and needs to see this through. He has invested money and I genuinely believe a lot of passion and emotion into all this and I think it's pretty fair he wants back what he has invested. Who wouldn't. I also genuinely believe his heart is in the club and has grown to mean a lot to him.

Maybe if dialogue was approached more measured and on that basis, then something can be resolved.

Surely that should read if truth be told.

 

[Fairport]

Like most I am not happy with Ron's running of our club. I don't dispute that he wants the club to succeed and yes, he has bankrolled the club for years. IMO the reason for our demise is that although Ron finds the money he seems to have major problems in getting access to it. He has major cash flow issues, lists of creditors owed money shows this. When he settles with the taxman and paying staff late it is invariably too late to avoid the repercussions, the worst being transfer embargoes that have caused many of our problems together with players underperforming due to late salary payments. He is possibly borrowing using some asset, maybe land, as collateral to get loans but it is not ready cash. A classic example of a business sailing to close to the wind.

 

[AndyT]

By the way, does anyone look well in a Zoom meeting!

 

[Wingnut]

I don’t think Ron was calling Shane an idiot in a way of thinking he is actually stupid I think it was more out of frustration of answer the same question numerous times. Any of us would get fed up if you were constantly being asked the same questions. He was also pretty sincere in his apology to Shane too.

You are right its the same questions over and over again ,the trust asking for things that are irrelevant time after time .these zoom meetings are just a waste of time ,he’s not going to sell so bloody get over it

 

[Holy Joe]

One point that also was skipped past, is it seems Ron and Brown agreed a signing yesterday. Ron and Tom were at the ground with Brown this morning and my understanding of what Ron said, is they have given Brown another signing (probably Holmes tbf) and said if and when he comes asking again after todays agreement, they'll provide the money again (actually thinking back, I'm sure Ron hinted at 'a couple of signings' but it was late).

Just checked official site - still no announcement, guessing not a done deal?

 

[LeedsSUFC]

Why did the whole meeting revolve around asking the same questions that were getting the same answers. It's obvious that unless we have fans who actually give figures on Ron's stadium / profit plans, Ron will always win that debate.

The questions that should have been asked are things like, 'If you do due diligence on the team, the players and the signings, why were we aiming for promotion with a CB - Midfield pairing of White, Coulson, Ogogo and Atkinson, the average age of 32.5. Even if we got promoted this season, those 4 would stand no chance in League 2 and it would have been a disaster yet again.

Fair enough to Ron for owning up to managerial mistakes, but nobody in the meeting cared to bring up Bond or Sol? He said MM was backed, but nobody bother to say 'What about the embargo?'

It seems everything anti-Ron has no plan behind it, and it seems Ron and Brown are clueless as well in terms of a longer term plan. Ron clearly has no public plan past FF. How comes nobody asked about why the wage bill is £1.4million? When every player on the pitch was re-signed in the summer by Brown, or a new signing. Ron claims he's putting £70k in this month to keep us alive, the average salary budget in this league is £700k (or maybe I misheard?). If either of them bothered to stick to that wage budget, Ron wouldn't even need to dig into his pocket and call himself a martyr.

 

[geoffmundo]

Just watched the entire call. I'm probably in the minority of 1 but i personally like the cut of Rons jib. He says it how it is, sometimes it gets him into trouble, and he did come out with the expletive about how much he loved the club, and rightly apologised to the gentleman afterwards.

When he bought us he probably wasn't a fan of Southend United. Not many people admit to that and they go for one of the "bigger" clubs like your West Hams, your Tottenhams, your Arsenals. The ones that are on Match of the Day etc. But after watching the club home and away your always going to have a bit of an affinity with the club, and you can hear it in his voice near the end that he really wants the club to succeed. Yes the clubs position is probably hurting him financially, but its also hurting him as a fan (like the rest of us as well)

From watching these videos Ron says it how it is. He is a very clever man and knows his numbers, knows his buisness and how it all works and runs.

I'd love to know if there are any other chairman that subject themselves to questioning so that the wider fan group can view the meeting. The only owner that I know of is Ryan Reynolds, but thats more about self promotion than anything.

I do think that once the planning application is all signed and work starts Ron has a plan for an out. Perhaps selling to an interested party (existing board member?) but it does seem that he has an out.

He could sell it to Mr Ashley now he has a bit of cash floating around in his back pocket. Out of the two of them I know which one i'd sooner have as owner, and its not the one with an interest in House of Fraser / Debenhams / Sports Direct

Maybe in a minority, but not of 1. Some of those on the zoom call (by the way I’m not sure of the selection process, but if there is one it’s clearly flawed!) are too emotionally stymied to be objective. Clearly presiding over the most disastrous period in the club’s history the Chairman would not ordinarily receive much by way of support, but in a minority of one (two if you count Tom Lawrence) I thought he handled himself quite well, passionate in his desire to see Southend succeed. Honest in his own failings, the situation could hardly dictate otherwise, what more can he do? Chat on Twitter today seems to think that he should walk away and w/o his losses? After all Twitter knows best!

 

[ColinMorrisWalksOnWater]

just watched it and a couple of points.

Firstly, I think these meetings should be minuted as in business, with names put against agreed action points and agreed timescales (mainly Ron's, but any other action by a board member required should also have their moniker against it. That way there would be more continuity to them and also for those who ask how can we as fans hold Ron to account? Well being how he has repeatedly said he thinks the meetings are a good thing to do and always engages with supporters when given the opportunity, that is one way to do it!

Secondly, as we all know Ron is a slippery as an eel, so don't ask him closed questions, but ask open questions beginning "why, how, what, who, when, if...?" that way he cannot cut you dead with a straight "Yes" or "no" answer. He did that several times as he was given that opportunity on a plate.

The last 10 minutes during which Scott asked Ron, so why are we where we are.....? He had to engage and he looked under pressure on a professional basis for almost the first time during the meeting.

That brings me onto his outburst, absolutely unforgiveable, unprofessional and stupid. More revealing about his character and thoughts than at any other point in the meeting!

If the boot had been on the other foot, do you think he would have been as forgiving? Absolutely not! I was in the West Stand bar at a meeting with Vic Jobson and the Planning Chair of the Council in the "Jobson out" campaign when Gary Levy retorted to the councillor, when the councillor could not answer a question, countering it would be for the leader of the council to answer, Gary said "that's why we need the organ grinder here and not the oily rag." He upped and left the meeting, being given the perfect get out. Ron would have done exactly the same, believe you me. So on that point although you could see the frustrations, well done everyone for holding it together at that point.

I would always keep these meetings going. Any opportunity to keep Ron on the spot, especially as he takes the credit for starting them up with the Trust, is good. Scott, hang in there mate, open questions are the way to go, keep him under pressure, it's better to be in the room than removing yourself from it.

Well done to all the participants, keep showing the united front, looks like if we get this revenue forecast on the new ground from Tom, we will have something to gauge the reality of Ron's dream.

Lastly as always, well chaired Kerry.

UTB

 

[tommy tucker]

Just watched the entire call. I'm probably in the minority of 1 but i personally like the cut of Rons jib. He says it how it is, sometimes it gets him into trouble, and he did come out with the expletive about how much he loved the club, and rightly apologised to the gentleman afterwards.

When he bought us he probably wasn't a fan of Southend United. Not many people admit to that and they go for one of the "bigger" clubs like your West Hams, your Tottenhams, your Arsenals. The ones that are on Match of the Day etc. But after watching the club home and away your always going to have a bit of an affinity with the club, and you can hear it in his voice near the end that he really wants the club to succeed. Yes the clubs position is probably hurting him financially, but its also hurting him as a fan (like the rest of us as well)

From watching these videos Ron says it how it is. He is a very clever man and knows his numbers, knows his buisness and how it all works and runs.

I'd love to know if there are any other chairman that subject themselves to questioning so that the wider fan group can view the meeting. The only owner that I know of is Ryan Reynolds, but thats more about self promotion than anything.

I do think that once the planning application is all signed and work starts Ron has a plan for an out. Perhaps selling to an interested party (existing board member?) but it does seem that he has an out.

He could sell it to Mr Ashley now he has a bit of cash floating around in his back pocket. Out of the two of them I know which one i'd sooner have as owner, and its not the one with an interest in House of Fraser / Debenhams / Sports Direct

no thank you Mr Ashley balls up a much bigger club than Southend United for as many years as ron .Out of the frying pan into the fire .

 

[Jai]

What an embarrassing performance by the majority of the southend fansRon looked much better than the fans the whole way through actually came across empathetic most of it and I honestly believe he was honest and it is clear to see he cares about the club too.

These calls need a wider balance of diversity, age, jobs (to be able to ask proper questions about certain subjects etc) too. For example when someone challenges Ron on investment and doesn’t realise when this is over the budget additional investment is needed and provided. Yes Scott (think that’s his name) was one of the younger ones but lost his head rather than having a conversation even when Ron was giving answers. Because we didn’t have people on there who have a good understanding of business it allowed Ron to give a straight forward answer but not then challenge him further.

It's very easy to come out on top in an argument if you're the only person who holds the facts.

 

[Boreham Blue]

I think actually Ron deserves credit for doing these. It would be easy for a chairman to say I run the board but by all means meet with my CEO on other matters. Say what you like about Ron (and I think his going to angry fans during a game was massively misjudged) but he doesn’t hide away. I think we got a clearer steer on the planning timetable, we know he’s not going until the deal is done, got some details on budgets etc (and I suspect outted some PB b0ll0cks) and a sense of his commitment to the project (club/development). I’d be more interested in hearing more from Tom and would actually prefer the next one to just be with him. He has to be play second fiddle to Ron when there and we just get caught in cyclical discussion that isn’t going anywhere.

I’d also be inclined to give the attendees written questions in advance. Means we won’t have to do the clunky going around the screen and gives Tom or whoever chance to provide the facts in more depth.

 

[AustScullyPriorPowell]

I do not doubt that Ron would love the team to succeed in a new stadium. Ok, he doesn't have the club in his DNA like some of us but he wants the team to do well.

I see it another way compared to others where he previously put the football first which was maybe the root cause to these current problems.

I'm sure if we look back through the archives of shrimperzone, all of us said well done Ron for the Kightly, Cox, Ferdinand, Turner, Hendrie, Hopper, Humphries, Hunt, Wordsworth signings etc even Chris Powell as manager.

Some of the above names were MAJOR 'investments' at the time where he probably gambled to get us into the Championship on contracts that the club might struggle to afford with a failed attempt.

Then the snowball effect Brown losing the dressing > major injuries > poor manager and player incoming's > embargoes > missing out on transfer windows > relegations etc

I believe Ron has made some major mistakes in particular with manager appointments and embargoes but I don't think it's ever been about not caring and wanting the club to fold.

Another example, after MM was sacked, he could have easily of gone for the cheaper/fans fav option in Tilly I.e the guy who's been out of the game for year's but instead employed Phil as he thought he was the best option to get us promoted.

So massive and shambolic mistakes but investing heavily in the 'football' element was maybe the source of all this.

Seeing how he exploded on the zoom call was a sign of frustration on this matter as he does have good intentions, he's just messed up massively over recent times.

 

[JD]

Well that feels like another wasted opportunity.

Why oh why have we not got attendees that can ask proper questions about the finances of the club?
Why oh why have we not got someone that can ask proper questions about the Fossetts farm development and what Ron PLC stands to get out of it?
Why oh why have we not got someone that can ask proper questions with an understanding of the intrinsic link between the two?
Why oh why have we not got an attendee that can challenge and debate properly?

If I had a pound for every question that was asked, Ron gave an answer, and then the person that asked it had a blank look on their face not knowing how to challenge back with another question, then I’d be able to buy 5 burgers (with no onions) later today.

If we had the above we may stand a chance of actually getting some proper answers that, if provided in a “fools guide” format, could help the majority of our fan base come to terms with what’s going on and why.