Why have the consortium not phoned Ron Martin?

[ElstreeBlue]

According to TrueBlue, after his summons today: "One thing to add he said if the consortium are serious why have they not phoned him".

Strictly speaking this is true by those exact words, but this is more spin.

I know quite a lot about what's been going on at our club. And it's not great. There's a lot I can't reveal.

But I have to correct this. Enough's enough.

Everyone knows about the consortium's public offer when the club was just days before an administration hearing back in October/November. The consortium wanted to stop the club going into administration and the harm it would do to the club's season.

At the time, the consortium said there were two options: either RM could stave off financial trouble. Or he could do a deal with the consortium. (£1 isn't as ridiculous as it may sound - it's often used to give legal agreements some enforceability.) RM didn't do a deal and he did save the club from having to go into administration. Unfortunately, he had to do a deal with Sainsbury's on terms that were more beneficial for Sainsbury's than if we didn't desperately need the money. Rather than staving off administration being the end of the club's financial troubles, things have hardly improved with what's happened since.

Anyway, the immediate hurdle was cleared in November.

The consortium then sought to conduct negotiations in private with Ron Martin. It didn't take a genius to know that things were still not rosy with everything going on with the team. They made a much improved, further offer to Ron Martin. The offer was not made on the phone. In that sense, the consortium have not picked up the phone to him!! So, yes, he's speaking the truth, but this is more spin.

The offer after administration had been avoided would have seen Ron Martin walk away with a good seven or eight figure sum. That's right. A good offer. He could have sold to the consortium so that the consortium could take the club forward at FF and allow Tilly and Brush (yes - remember him?) a decent fist at this season.

Ron Martin rejected the consortium's approach outright. He wouldn't negotiate. He obviously still thinks he can deliver alone.

Even last Wednesday, if it was not for Christine Derrett's sympathetic decision, the club came perilously close to folding. How much longer can this go on? How much longer can the club be strangled like this?

People rightly want to know who the consortium are. They took the decision not to make things public for fear of disturbing a possible deal. If they are seriously credible, of course they need to come public sooner or later.

Watch this space. The consortium will be revealing more soon - about who they are and their plans for the club. It's obvious the private route won't work any more.

Rather than criticise the consortium for not "picking up the phone" to TrueBlue, why has Ron Martin not picked up the phone to the consortium? Does he still think that hoping we can scrape by from one liquidation hearing to the next is going to deliver on his ambitious plans for FF?

So why doesn't Ron just talk to the consortium?

 

[chapperzUK]

The consortium only wanted to buy the club so they could pay the original sum of £2.1m that was outstanding.

 

[ElstreeBlue]

The consortium only wanted to buy the club so they could pay the original sum of £2.1m that was outstanding.

That's wrong.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Would any deal that involved taking the club away from RM involve him still committed to the FF project? i.e. Martin would still construct Fossett's Farm and then we'd lease it? If so, would the consortium have any future plans to purchase FF (the stadium, not the adjoining sectors) outright?

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

So basically if this is true then Ron Martin really has screwed the club over. Things could be so different at this point in time. Well lets be honest it couldnt be any worse.

If as you say the consortium do make the themselves public along with their intentions i feel that Ron Martin would have no choice but to sell up. The fans would have real reason to get behind them and pile on the pressure.

 

[Supershrimper]

That's wrong.

Care to elaborate.

If you had invested your own money into something and a group of people came up to you and said i'll give you a £1 for it, what would your reaction be?.

Stick with Ron, because its better the devil you know. Notts County had a lovely consortium that hid behind groups and offshore identities. Not saying Southends are like that, but i'd sooner know who the is running the club. Its one man, a consortium is made up of several, and if the going gets tough and one of them wants to walk away, that consortium have either got to buy him out, or find a buyer for his shares.

 

[Supershrimper]

So basically if this is true then Ron Martin really has screwed the club over. Things could be so different at this point in time. Well lets be honest it couldnt be any worse.

If as you say the consortium do make the themselves public along with their intentions i feel that Ron Martin would have no choice but to sell up. The fans would have real reason to get behind them and pile on the pressure.

November was the first mention of the consoritum, 5 months ago. If they was serious they would have come out and said in November we are such and such, we have this much cash, we want to buy / invest in Southend.

5 months have passed and we are still waiting. If a consortium comes in this season i'd be very surprised. It would have to be a very big offer considering the loans Rons parent company has made to Southend. He could see to the consortium for a £1 and then call in these loans. Plus its Rons holding company that has the plans for FF, not Southend.

 

[ElstreeBlue]

Care to elaborate.

If you had invested your own money into something and a group of people came up to you and said i'll give you a £1 for it, what would your reaction be?.

Stick with Ron, because its better the devil you know. Notts County had a lovely consortium that hid behind groups and offshore identities. Not saying Southends are like that, but i'd sooner know who the is running the club. Its one man, a consortium is made up of several, and if the going gets tough and one of them wants to walk away, that consortium have either got to buy him out, or find a buyer for his shares.

I'm not talking about the "£1" offer (which is not as simple as that anyway). I'm talking about a subsequent offer that would have given him a good seven or eight figure sum.

The consortium are local people not some unknown people from a far out land. One knows the club very well. They will reveal more soon. But it hadn't been the right time until now.

According to that logic, we might as well dismiss any potential saviour then.

Maybe you're happy with having further repeats of last Wednesday when the club was nearly wiped off the footballing map with Chester City, but I'm not.

 

[chadded]

The way I see it, the consortiums actions so far, have had a negative impact on whats been happening.

It's been mentioned on here that a number of the 'consortium' are businessmen who are not exactly friendly with Ron for other reasons, ie previous dealings etc. I'd like to know how true that is.

One of the pivotal facts in all this is that RM saved this club 10 years ago. He didn't have to, but he did. Regardless of how much money he has or has not injected into this club, he's put god know how much time and effort into running this club. And up until the recession, he seemed to be doing a pretty good job. Now I'm not saying blaming a recession is acceptable. In fact to do so would be a kop out, but if the consortium really was made up of genuine fans, then how come they have not tried to invest in the club before, either individually or together?

The initial offer was, to me, so unrealistic it was untrue. For everything RM has done for this club, they wanted to give him a pound, so that they take take all the work he has done, and then from that take the credit. An offer to work with RM would have been for more appropriate, acceptable, and sensible.

I'd be wary of a consortium anyway. If a consortium did take charge of the club, who would make the decisions. Even having joint ownership of a club is difficult- just look at Liverpool.

I won't listen to anything the 'Consortium' have to say until they identify themselves and everything that they want/ plan.

Even now, with the club having problems, where is the consortium of rich, passionate supporters offering to pay the players? I'm not being funny, but if the club was in this much trouble, and I was as rich as the consortium claims to be, then I would either offer to lend/donate the wages to the club, or even contact the players and lend them their wages until such time the club pays. To me, there seems more that they could do than just offering an amount anonomously through a solicitor when the club has this many problems.

 

[bazzashrimper]

EB - thanks for this, very informative. I do hope the consortium go public and push out some full detail about what has been going on. From what you have been saying there is clearly more Martin spin here, but why would he have not accepted a 7 or 8 digit offer? What was it for? The club? + Roots Hall? + Fossetts Farm? + the Planning Permission? Offer RM £10m plus give him market value on his assets and he no longer has to bother with FF and he'd at least talk to you

From supporters point of view however, its easier to see the grass as greener on the other side, it may well be - EB you clearly know some of the individuals so may feel comfortable with the group. But straight away the same questions applied to Ron would need to be answered. Also - they massively upped the bid post the £2.1m court appearance. Why did they not put in this big bid initially, if they really wanted to save the club from administration? If they want to build trust and genuine support from the supporter base then they need to go public.

 

[Angell Delight]

If they offered RM a seven or eight figure deal then they must have serious financial clout. Excellent info ElstreeBlue, so do you fully expect the consortium to go public soon then? Are they still serious about launching a takeover of the club? Because if they are and outline their plans the fans would surely get behind them and try to force Ron to sell - let's face it none of us want another situation like last Wednesday to happen again.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Whoever is in control of the club needs to push ahead with the FF redevelopment as it's blatantly obvious we cannot survive much longer at Roots Hall.

The problem I envisage having is that RM stands to make, over time, a substantial amount more than an eight figure sum. So, if RM believes we are approaching the final hurdle and he can fulfil this himself, then he's going to do so.

 

[ElstreeBlue]

The way I see it, the consortiums actions so far, have had a negative impact on whats been happening.

It's been mentioned on here that a number of the 'consortium' are businessmen who are not exactly friendly with Ron for other reasons, ie previous dealings etc. I'd like to know how true that is.

1 One of the pivotal facts in all this is that RM saved this club 10 years ago. He didn't have to, but he did. Regardless of how much money he has or has not injected into this club, 2 he's put god know how much time and effort into running this club. And up until the recession, he seemed to be doing a pretty good job. Now I'm not saying blaming a recession is acceptable. In fact to do so would be a kop out, but if the consortium really was made up of genuine fans, 3 then how come they have not tried to invest in the club before, either individually or together?

4 The initial offer was, to me, so unrealistic it was untrue. For everything RM has done for this club, they wanted to give him a pound, so that they take take all the work he has done, and then from that take the credit. An offer to work with RM would have been for more appropriate, acceptable, and sensible.

5 I'd be wary of a consortium anyway. If a consortium did take charge of the club, who would make the decisions. Even having joint ownership of a club is difficult- just look at Liverpool.

6 I won't listen to anything the 'Consortium' have to say until they identify themselves and everything that they want/ plan.

7 Even now, with the club having problems, where is the consortium of rich, passionate supporters offering to pay the players? I'm not being funny, but if the club was in this much trouble, and I was as rich as the consortium claims to be, then I would either offer to lend/donate the wages to the club, or even contact the players and lend them their wages until such time the club pays. To me, there seems more that they could do than just offering an amount anonomously through a solicitor when the club has this many problems.

Some good qustions. Will try to do them justice:

1 RM didn't save the club for us out of the goodness of his heart. If that was the case, why does he rather than the club now own all the land? He did it to make money for himself. Nothing wrong with that, as long as the club would benefit financially too. No evidence of a plan for that happening yet after all this time, either in the short-term or long-term.

2 So what? He wanted to make some money for himself. It's hardly going to plan. Look for an exit route and make some good money rather than the zillions you thought you were going to make.

3 How do you know what business has been discussed behind the scenes?

4 Any £1 offer is misunderstood. For example, that particular offer was just for the club to stop it from going into administration and losing 10 points. That's the club that was described as "plainly insolvent" in court on Wednesday. How much money do YOU think a plainly insolvent company is worth?

5 A consortium is just a term banded around in football circles. In any other company, they have "shareholders". It's the same thing. You have agreements between shareholders to decide on how things are run.

6 Fair enough - but just keep an open mind. People have been more than generous to Ron Martin. The consortium deserve at least the same level of opportunity to prove themselves.

7 Do you really think that's realistic? If Ron Martin wants to involve them and let them join the party, of course they'll pay the players. The question you need to be asking is why Ron Martin thinks he can still go it alone when the club's been having so many problems this year?

 

[ElstreeBlue]

Whoever is in control of the club needs to push ahead with the FF redevelopment as it's blatantly obvious we cannot survive much longer at Roots Hall.

The problem I envisage having is that RM stands to make, over time, a substantial amount more than an eight figure sum. So, if RM believes we are approaching the final hurdle and he can fulfil this himself, then he's going to do so.

A very nice one in the hand is worth much more in this situation than two in the bush. And how far away is that bush? And are you prepared to gamble with a club with over 100 years of heritage to make that sort of money for yourself?

How many more final hurdles are there? Will the club make it past the final hurdle? It nearly didn't last Wednesday. Will it make it past the next hearing?

 

[chadded]

3 How do you know what business has been discussed behind the scenes?

I don't. But I would have thought that it would have given the consortium/its members so much more immediate credibility if they had come out and said that they had tried to invest before to support the club, but their offers had been refused, if that was the case.

 

[palexander]

Thanks for sharing what you can Elstree.

I bet its amazing the amount most of us supporters 'dont know' ... would imagine its a pretty dire situation once you know more/all the facts.

Interesting developments ahead then one way or another.

 

[Angell Delight]

A very nice one in the hand is worth much more in this situation than two in the bush. And how far away is that bush? And are you prepared to gamble with a club with over 100 years of heritage to make that sort of money for yourself?

How many more final hurdles are there? Will the club make it past the final hurdle? It nearly didn't last Wednesday. Will it make it past the next hearing?

Well if it doesn't then there will be thousands of Blues fans after RM's blood, and rightly so. The one thing that must not be allowed to happen is the club folding and if it does then RM will deserve everything he gets from our devastated supporters - PARTICULARLY if he has already turned down a lucrative exit strategy (ie. the 7 or 8 figure consortium offer). He now HAS to sort this club's finances out or reconsider handing over to others who can!

 

[fbm]

Good post Elstree Blue.

This for me is the one thing that makes me feel that it will all be alright in the end.

No doubt EB will correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it, a group of 9 local businessmen, with no hidden agenda and who I believe (but may be wrong) are mainly from the jewish community (and they are EXCELLENT businessmen, let's be honest) tried to buy the club and had a cash stash of about £150m to invest into the club. I also understand 4 or 5 of the consortium are season ticket holders and that they all "only wanted the best for the club".

So what were the non season ticket holders in for then? Why would they care about the club?

My guess is that they were the ones with the real wealth, and there must be some pretty tasty profits to be made somewhere down the line.

That is why I feel there is a serious pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Ron is chasing it and will move heaven and earth to get it. Yes, he'll benefit but if he does, then so will we. Once he's got the club in decent shape, hell sell it - maybe to the consortium, who, if they really only have the clubs interests at heart, would still be willing buyers. But, I suspect that they then won't be interested, because the majority of the profits will have been already taken.

This isn't in any way trying to be critical of the consortium. But I don't believe people would put that amount of money in and expect no return, and I feel the consortium has too much business expertise and experience to simply throw away that sort of dosh.

There must be big profits to be made. Ron may not be able to pull the deal off, but it's nice to know the consortium is in the wings. Actually, I'm not that concerned who owns the club - it won't be me! I just want to see us have a few wins on the pitch.

 

[EastStandBlue]

A very nice one in the hand is worth much more in this situation than two in the bush. And how far away is that bush? And are you prepared to gamble with a club with over 100 years of heritage to make that sort of money for yourself?

How many more final hurdles are there? Will the club make it past the final hurdle? It nearly didn't last Wednesday. Will it make it past the next hearing?

I think, with the s106 being rubber stamped, it's quite clear we're approaching a start date for Fossett's.

I am concerned as to how/when RM plans to initiate the start at Fossett's, but I'm equally as concerned as to what the consortium have planned. Will FF be at all affected by this? It's clear as a business we need to be relocated or be bankrolled. This is essentially what's happened here, FF has been hit by a string of delays and RM has ran out of money to bankroll the club which has led us to be living on borrowed time, for want of a more apt expression.

If FF is at the forefront or a key part of the consortium's plan, which I believe it should be, how do they plan on helping the project along it's way? I'm guessing RM would have to be heavily involved in this or sign away the development to the consortium.

Previous news from the consortium end was they planned to make us financially self sufficient? How exactly is that going to be implemented, as we'd need different revenue streams in order to be self sufficient and maintain a wage structure that would enable us to compete at this level.

Please don't misconstrue these as an attack on the consortium, these are genuine questions that I feel need to be answered before the supporters contemplate throwing their weight behind such a group.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

One of the pivotal facts in all this is that RM saved this club 10 years ago. .

Really?
He bought SUFC's two major assets ie Roots Hall and Boots and Laces at a knock down price(far below their real book value).
In what sense did this constitute saving the club?