What can we really do?

[Jam_Man]

I used to speak to Simon Francis and he said the team were very happy that the supporters protested that time. This is from one of the players who stuck with us and carried on trying till it was out of control. If only that was a start to a bigger protest we could of possibly be in a different situation now.

Having protests will create a very negative atmosphere at the club.

Francis may have welcomed it, but then he wasnt getting paid.

Our players are not only getting paid they are getting more chances to play due to the smaller squad.

Blue knights as in consortium?? They had 150m???

Worth 150m, yet only willing to pay a quid.

I could pay a quid. Could probably afford to run the club as well as Ron as well.

 

[shrimperjon]

Stay away fans dont help though. I know its only a small factor in an very large equation, but year on year we are losing fans who rightly or wrongly decide to not turn up. Im not one of those, ive seen the days of League two crowds as low as 1500 and the championship days where we averaged 10,000. Im not being critical, its everyones right to go or not, but staying away doesnt help the team and certainly doesnt help financially. I agree the football isnt great at the moment, but weve seen far worse. I would urge those people who have stay away friends to try and encourage them back.

I know many will say its about RM and of course they are right, but its also about the team, our team, their survival. Many teams have been through crisis like this and many have come out better in the end, but a few havnt and we dont want to be on the havnt list. Well done Scott a well written peice so much more positive than your thrown out post.

 

[Jam_Man]

Stay away fans dont help though. I know its only a small factor in an very large equation, but year on year we are losing fans who rightly or wrongly decide to not turn up. Im not one of those, ive seen the days of League two crowds as low as 1500 and the championship days where we averaged 10,000. Im not being critical, its everyones right to go or not, but staying away doesnt help the team and certainly doesnt help financially. I agree the football isnt great at the moment, but weve seen far worse. I would urge those people who have stay away friends to try and encourage them back.

I know many will say its about RM and of course they are right, but its also about the team, our team, their survival. Many teams have been through crisis like this and many have come out better in the end, but a few havnt and we dont want to be on the havnt list. Well done Scott a well written peice so much more positive than your thrown out post.

We arent though.

We lost fans as we dropped divisions but our attendances havent really fallen since. This year is a little higher than last year at the moment.

The majority of people arent staying away because of Ron Martin they are staying away because we are in League Two, Ron is just a nice guilt free excuse for people who dont want to watch Burton. Even if we had no embargos or financial issues our attendances wouldnt improve (unless the absence of those issues resulted in better results which is the only thing that really affects attendances)

 

[fbm]

Blue knights as in consortium?? They had 150m???

What the offer to buy was I don't know but that is what I believe the level of funds reported they could have access to.

 

[shrimperjon]

We arent though.

We lost fans as we dropped divisions but our attendances havent really fallen since. This year is a little higher than last year at the moment.

The majority of people arent staying away because of Ron Martin they are staying away because we are in League Two, Ron is just a nice guilt free excuse for people who dont want to watch Burton. Even if we had no embargos or financial issues our attendances wouldnt improve (unless the absence of those issues resulted in better results which is the only thing that really affects attendances)

Yes sorry, you are right. I probably didnt word it quite right, and as i argue with other fans we actually have pretty good attendance figures for league two and out number many teams in league one. My comment was more on the back off comments often made on here by people who say i have mates that dont go anymore or cant be bothered anymore etc. I find it very hard at times to drag myself along, but i always do and my son and my Dad. Its our team through thick and thin. At the moment its very thin, but we still turn up. If a few more stay aways returned then it would help financially at least.

 

[BARNETBLUE]

The attendances have been better than I expected this season, 6000 for Morecambe and 5500 odd versus Bristol Rovers, and when we are one of the most expensive tickets in this division!

 

[Jam_Man]

Been over ticket prices a lot and ours is actually pretty competitive. The only thing that makes it looks like we are expensive is we dont have a cheap ticket as many in this league still have terraces etc. Thats a discussion for another thread though.

 

[RHB]

There have been 27 responses on this thread, some are repeat posts, and nothing written so far, including my offering, has offered anything tangible towards moving on. Unfortunately, we are where we are, and the only thing we can constructively do is to continue attending matches where we can afford it, buy club merchandise where we can afford it and keep hoping that help is round the corner. The realistic alternatives are virtually nil in my view, unless anyone on here knows a money pot well enough to persuade them to invest enough to make things considerably better than they are now. I know this sounds defeatist, and I thought twice before posting, but I don't think there are many other options.

 

[RHB]

Not exactly on message for this thread, but I found this article interesting when it comes to finding a new owner and the type of person we need! http://www.sport-magazine.co.uk/271/simon-jordan-how-run-football-club-2108

 

[callan]

We arent though.

We lost fans as we dropped divisions but our attendances havent really fallen since. This year is a little higher than last year at the moment.

The majority of people arent staying away because of Ron Martin they are staying away because we are in League Two, Ron is just a nice guilt free excuse for people who dont want to watch Burton. Even if we had no embargos or financial issues our attendances wouldnt improve (unless the absence of those issues resulted in better results which is the only thing that really affects attendances)

Really?....what makes you say this?

 

[onceknownasrab]

I am against protests. I can understand the frustration of many fans but cannot appreciate the 'benefits' of protesting. Its all about rhetoric really. The club is in a mess so lets wave placards and urge infantile members to hurl pathetic abuse or the club is in a mess and we can rally enough people to aid the club in a constructive way. A far better use of our time and energies.

Forgive me if I am wrong but I believe the majority of us, which includes RM, see things by and large the same way. Lets list it and see;
1) We want an assured future for our club.
2) We want to see a good standard of player and play from our team.
3) We want our club to be situated in the higher echelons of the football league.

How do we get this?
1) The club achieves a secure financial footing.
2) The fans proffer the best support they can.
3) The status/importance of the club is raised throughout the town .

What is the solution?
1) We build FF.

Whether it is RM or some other potential owner is of no consequence, FF is the only hope our club has of securing a better future. RM may be struggling to deliver but he is at least trying to bring about what we all want. So why not support him the best we can?

Chris Phillips may have had a falling out with the club and he may purport to print what the average fan is thinking and feeling but where are the solutions? If he and other fans know better then I will be happy to read two full pages of the Echo listing the names and assets of all those willing and able to take Blues on and do it better.

We are where we are and we have two choices, take it or leave it. So if anybody wants to come up with a plan of support for the club, that is a positive use of energies and has some possibility of succeeding then I will put my name at the top of the list of volunteers to see it through. But if you want to drag the club through the dirt even more through protests and name calling then I for one am not interested.

 

[A Century United]

Really?....what makes you say this?

Because the majority of Southend fans are casual supporters, who tend to turn up when the team is doing well and drift away after a few bad performances. This is the same for every club. The best predictor of future crowds is past results. If we went on a charge up the table with a series of impressive performances the crowds would grow again. The number of people who are staying away in a specific protest against Ron (and damaging the club they love in the process) is small in comparison.

 

[Fairport]

Rather than carry on with our historic debts it would have been far better if we had gone into administration at some time. Since 1984 there have been 46 league clubs who have gone into administration, only two have disappeared, Darlington and Boston. The vast majority are playing in a higher division than us including Rotherham, Bournemouth and Bradford City, all of whom have been in administration twice!!! Crystal Palace, Southampton and Hull are all clubs who have been in administration. To say that we are better off than these and other clubs is ludicrous!!

 

[fbm]

Rather than carry on with our historic debts it would have been far better if we had gone into administration at some time. Since 1984 there have been 46 league clubs who have gone into administration, only two have disappeared, Darlington and Boston. The vast majority are playing in a higher division than us including Rotherham, Bournemouth and Bradford City, all of whom have been in administration twice!!! Crystal Palace, Southampton and Hull are all clubs who have been in administration. To say that we are better off than these and other clubs is ludicrous!!

What about Maidstone? And yes, I do say that maybe we should have done.

But for whatever reason we didn't and we are where we are. That was my point. And when I say "better off", I mean more from a support-wise point of view in as much as we have never had to contend with those issues.

 

[LennySUFC]

It's not that i would want to protest for change as i don't see RM ever leaving his post before FF, but a protest for answers..

Why are we in this embargo? Why can't we pay it off? We want answers.. This is our club, and will long be our club after RM and he must realise this!

 

[ms brush]

Thinking about potential solutions here as requested - so will put my MBA hat on...

in order to come up with any real solutions, what we really need to do is understand the facts, the issues, ambiguities and complexities of the problem, right back to root causes and the current state of play - which as 'outsiders' may be a challenge in itself, as whilst we know a bit, we don't have access to hard facts, apart from a spun version and our assumptions, which may or may not be valid. Nonetheless, it isn't unusual to only have half the information available.

Basically, what we would need to do is unpick the whole sorry mess before we can do anything. The most sensible thing to do would be to convene a small group of people who have knowledge of the situation and then draw everything out step by step, recording them on a series of flpcharts or whiteboards - so that everyone can see them. This could take a while, and may need more than one go to do this. Only when some of the complexities have been unraveled the scale of the problem will start to emerge.

Once the problem has been defined properly, and costs associated with the problems are established (and they will have associated costs), then it would be possible to start thinking creatively about possible solutions, no matter how wild and impractical - at this stage, any suggestions count and cannot be disregarded. There are many tools and techniques out there to help, some of which sound a bit mad, but can unlock some great ideas. One is 'superheroes' - i.e. you pick a 'hero', stay in character, and offer solutions based on your character - so what would Superman, Danger Mouse or James Bond do to sort out the problems?

From the no holds barred ideas stage, you can then start to look at what is practical, and possible, given the things you cannot influence or change. This would give you a sense of what is do-able, which when mapped back to some of the problems, it could be that a few small things would make a big difference.

I would be happy to facilitate a small group if it is a genuine attempt to understand the problems and find a way forward for the club.

 

[RHB]

Thinking about potential solutions here as requested - so will put my MBA hat on...

in order to come up with any real solutions, what we really need to do is understand the facts, the issues, ambiguities and complexities of the problem, right back to root causes and the current state of play - which as 'outsiders' may be a challenge in itself, as whilst we know a bit, we don't have access to hard facts, apart from a spun version and our assumptions, which may or may not be valid. Nonetheless, it isn't unusual to only have half the information available.

Basically, what we would need to do is unpick the whole sorry mess before we can do anything. The most sensible thing to do would be to convene a small group of people who have knowledge of the situation and then draw everything out step by step, recording them on a series of flpcharts or whiteboards - so that everyone can see them. This could take a while, and may need more than one go to do this. Only when some of the complexities have been unraveled the scale of the problem will start to emerge.

Once the problem has been defined properly, and costs associated with the problems are established (and they will have associated costs), then it would be possible to start thinking creatively about possible solutions, no matter how wild and impractical - at this stage, any suggestions count and cannot be disregarded. There are many tools and techniques out there to help, some of which sound a bit mad, but can unlock some great ideas. One is 'superheroes' - i.e. you pick a 'hero', stay in character, and offer solutions based on your character - so what would Superman, Danger Mouse or James Bond do to sort out the problems?

From the no holds barred ideas stage, you can then start to look at what is practical, and possible, given the things you cannot influence or change. This would give you a sense of what is do-able, which when mapped back to some of the problems, it could be that a few small things would make a big difference.

I would be happy to facilitate a small group if it is a genuine attempt to understand the problems and find a way forward for the club.

One of the beauties of retirement is I don't have to do this stuff any more. Thanks, but I will pass.

 

[fbm]

Thinking about potential solutions here as requested - so will put my MBA hat on...

in order to come up with any real solutions, what we really need to do is understand the facts, the issues, ambiguities and complexities of the problem, right back to root causes and the current state of play - which as 'outsiders' may be a challenge in itself, as whilst we know a bit, we don't have access to hard facts, apart from a spun version and our assumptions, which may or may not be valid. Nonetheless, it isn't unusual to only have half the information available.

Basically, what we would need to do is unpick the whole sorry mess before we can do anything. The most sensible thing to do would be to convene a small group of people who have knowledge of the situation and then draw everything out step by step, recording them on a series of flpcharts or whiteboards - so that everyone can see them. This could take a while, and may need more than one go to do this. Only when some of the complexities have been unraveled the scale of the problem will start to emerge.

Once the problem has been defined properly, and costs associated with the problems are established (and they will have associated costs), then it would be possible to start thinking creatively about possible solutions, no matter how wild and impractical - at this stage, any suggestions count and cannot be disregarded. There are many tools and techniques out there to help, some of which sound a bit mad, but can unlock some great ideas. One is 'superheroes' - i.e. you pick a 'hero', stay in character, and offer solutions based on your character - so what would Superman, Danger Mouse or James Bond do to sort out the problems?

From the no holds barred ideas stage, you can then start to look at what is practical, and possible, given the things you cannot influence or change. This would give you a sense of what is do-able, which when mapped back to some of the problems, it could be that a few small things would make a big difference.

I would be happy to facilitate a small group if it is a genuine attempt to understand the problems and find a way forward for the club.

We don't really know anything do we though? And the version of events we are told is only perceived as spin because it doesn't sit with what we want to hear.

Your post is a good attempt to sort out a problem where a problem exists that needs sorting out. The problems that people perceive that need sorting are however not our problem; consequently, we have no idea what the ambiguities even are; we can only make educated guesses and assumptions, which will almost certainly lead us up a blind alley.

The problem that needs addressing is how to wrest control of the club and all it's subsidiaries from someone who doesn't want to sell.

Once that (in my opinion insurmountable) problem is overcome, then the fuller picture regarding all of the other complexities can be established.

 

[geoffmundo]

I always find it quite astonishing to look at the non league and see just how many former league teams can be found. The answer is quite a few probably 20+. We could certainly be in a worse position (Stockport county are one example, just look where they are now!)

 

[NZamba Legend]

I have to say that I think it's a myth that protests and demonstrations create a bad feeling around the club. The protests that were held in the 1990s over Jobson and the proposed move to Basildon brought fans and team together. Didn't the players have their own sit-down protest ? I certainly remember seeing an article in Match magazine, of all places, about this.