Southend

[Kim Mitten]

Most interesting thing from last night was the half time chatter.
A number of people are expecting Ron Martin to step away from his role at the club next week, his son will replace him on the board.
New Chairman won't be named until after his court case, in which he is now expected to plead guilty and spend some time under her majesty's pleasure.

This is both good and bad news for me. Firstly if and when he is convicted the FA and National League will get involved and he'll be removed from owning the club, but I've no idea if he'll be willing to give up ownership. If he isn't this division will be running with 22 clubs. Also I don't know if he can just transfer ownership, to his son, or some kind of formal process has to be followed.

Then comes the son, the only thing I really know about him is he has no interest in the football club and is as heavily involved as Ron in the housing scheme, I don't think he'd have any qualms about folding the club and building houses on Roots Hall. If only we could trust the football authorities to help us out in any small way they can.

 

[Stoney Ground]

Most interesting thing from last night was the half time chatter.
A number of people are expecting Ron Martin to step away from his role at the club next week, his son will replace him on the board.
New Chairman won't be named until after his court case, in which he is now expected to plead guilty and spend some time under her majesty's pleasure.

This is both good and bad news for me. Firstly if and when he is convicted the FA and National League will get involved and he'll be removed from owning the club, but I've no idea if he'll be willing to give up ownership. If he isn't this division will be running with 22 clubs. Also I don't know if he can just transfer ownership, to his son, or some kind of formal process has to be followed.

Then comes the son, the only thing I really know about him is he has no interest in the football club and is as heavily involved as Ron in the housing scheme, I don't think he'd have any qualms about folding the club and building houses on Roots Hall. If only we could trust the football authorities to help us out in any small way they can.

Won’t it put in to question that the council is involved in a development that one of the other parties has been convicted of fraud, ir that happen.

 

[Kim Mitten]

Won’t it put in to question that the council is involved in a development that one of the other parties has been convicted of fraud, ir that happen.

I think I said something similar earlier in this thread. Also that the development has £30M central government funds as well, nobody is coming out of this looking good even if Ron is acquitted.

From what I've been told about the court case it's become a he said/he said battle between two old friends. Geoff King is the other person standing trial, the ex-Southend CEO. Ron says Geoff did the whole fraud without him knowing, Geoff says Ron must have known, he was in charge and signing off the deals.
Geoff King is apparently very ill, so ill, that it seems if he's willing to plead guilty and give more info on the whole fraud he won't face a custodial sentence as the CPS don't think he'd survive long in prison.

Whatever occurs it's a massive couple of weeks for the football club.

 

[WhoWasFone]

Most interesting thing from last night was the half time chatter.
A number of people are expecting Ron Martin to step away from his role at the club next week, his son will replace him on the board.
New Chairman won't be named until after his court case, in which he is now expected to plead guilty and spend some time under her majesty's pleasure.

This is both good and bad news for me. Firstly if and when he is convicted the FA and National League will get involved and he'll be removed from owning the club, but I've no idea if he'll be willing to give up ownership. If he isn't this division will be running with 22 clubs. Also I don't know if he can just transfer ownership, to his son, or some kind of formal process has to be followed.

Then comes the son, the only thing I really know about him is he has no interest in the football club and is as heavily involved as Ron in the housing scheme, I don't think he'd have any qualms about folding the club and building houses on Roots Hall. If only we could trust the football authorities to help us out in any small way they can.

This all sounds like a poor man's shit football version of Succession.

 

[Shrimpurh]

Confirmed by the club that rumours are untrue

 

[Kim Mitten]

Confirmed by the club that rumours are untrue

I'll be very interested to see what happens because the rumour has been started by someone at the club and not someone who wouldn't know the ins and outs of the boardroom.

 

[Shrimpurh]

I'll be very interested to see what happens because the rumour has been started by someone at the club and not someone who wouldn't know the ins and outs of the boardroom.

I think everyone involved with Southend are going to be more than interested in what’s going to happen with Ron’s court case and the knock on effects. The immovable mans grip on the club is likely to be loosened but by how much

 

[Colinmorriswalksonwater]

Tuesday will be a big day off on an the field for sure.

 

[Shrimpurh]

We've appointed John Still as our 'Head of Football'

looool
Our backroom team is bigger than yours.


And will bankrupt us when we have the sack them all.

 

[John Still]

Great appointment, reckon half of our decent players were via him. Loves a pound note does John. No announcement from us.

 

[Shrimpurh]

Great appointment, reckon half of our decent players were via him. Loves a pound note does John. No announcement from us.

I didn't realise he was working for you tbh, didn't see anything online - same role?

 

[Shrimper92]

Ron Martin case trial date set for January 2023

 

[John Still]

I didn't realise he was working for you tbh, didn't see anything online - same role?

We never announced it but he was head of recruitment/chief scout, some fans would have not been impressed with him returning so it was kept low key. The angst was due to him turning his back on the club in our hour of need in 2018. He’s now upped and left again, shame as this will completely tarnish all the good things he did with a large majority. You will get some decent signings now, his scouting network is above and beyond anything at this level.

 

[jacobncfc]

That’s a great appointment for Southend, will have them signing the right kind of players and they should have the pick of the non-league scene in London and Essex you would think.

 

[#Beebot]

We never announced it but he was head of recruitment/chief scout, some fans would have not been impressed with him returning so it was kept low key. The angst was due to him turning his back on the club in our hour of need in 2018. He’s now upped and left again, shame as this will completely tarnish all the good things he did with a large majority. You will get some decent signings now, his scouting network is above and beyond anything at this level.

He hardly "turned his back" on you when he moved all your overpaid squad players on multi year deals to Barnet for transfer fees.

Agree on his scouting network - sadly we only saw a couple of gems and too much of your dross.

 

[John Still]

He hardly "turned his back" on you when he moved all your overpaid squad players on multi year deals to Barnet for transfer fees.

Agree on his scouting network - sadly we only saw a couple of gems and too much of your dross.

He went to Barnet because we couldn’t pay him what what he wanted when he was asked to take a pay cut he jumped ship, couldn’t give two hoots what he done once he arrived besides we’re repaying the favour now with all your crap and injury prone players.

 

[GTFCfish]

We've appointed John Still as our 'Head of Football'

looool
Our backroom team is bigger than yours.


And will bankrupt us when we have the sack them all.

Congratulations John Still i didn’t even know you’d applied for it.

 

[rudebwoyben]

Busiest retirement ever!

 

[Shrimper92]

Dagenham fans on twitter triggered by that appointment, geez

 

[Colinmorriswalksonwater]

Pleased with that, good appointment and completes our backroom team. Just what we need to help us acclimatise you would think. Looking for a marked improvement in the new year, that's for sure.

 

[Kim Mitten]

Going proper non-league with Still! I don't know what to make of it tbh, where is funding coming for all these people, we don't seem to be able to pay any players a decent wage but we'll get in as many off the field people as we can, I've never known so many coaching staff at the club. And is Still's role so different from Collymore's?

As for Ron I don't know what he's up to in terms of day to day at the football club, shame today was only a hearing mention but I guess it means we can finish the season, as painful as that could be! Fingers crossed it doesn't even make it to January 2023 and he puts in a guilty plea at some point over the next year and sods off.

 

[Colinmorriswalksonwater]

As long as the management teams roles are clearly defined and as John Still says in his interview, he brings a team of scouts who have worked with him for years and will now work with him for Southend. He will be setting up a scouting network as part of his remit, to find players, put them forward to head Coach Kev, OR Kev will suggest a position he sees as we are lacking in the squad, John Still sets wheels in motion scouting for that position or type of player.

No crossovers or interference. And all the time the coaching team carry on coaching with the squad that is in place and start winning games.

Add to that Stan's role...So he has contact from club X, having opened and rebuilt our relationship with them and they offer a player to us on loan/permanent, he passes it to Kev who likes the look of him scouting team start looking at him, if he doesn't it goes no further. We want to loan a player out, Stan can again use his contacts to see if a suitable club would want him.

Plus Stan supporting commercial and media teams.

Again no crossovers, just an efficient functioning football club, which is what we all have been crying out for. This MUST be a step forward compared to the last 5 years of drifting from gamble and finger in the air appointments, with weak structures and without the personnel at the club to get it running and firefighting all the time.

JOHN STILL INTERVIEW

John Still revealed the chance to join Southend United was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.

www.southendunited.co.uk

 

[Colinmorriswalksonwater]

Now our 1st team back room is now complete as of today, this is our off the field club structure.

 

[Shrimpurh]

View attachment 15939
Now our 1st team back room is now complete as of today, this is our off the field club structure.

Surely Anton Robinson is finished now?

 

[Kim Mitten]

No crossovers or interference. And all the time the coaching team carry on coaching with the squad that is in place and start winning games.

There may not be interference but there is clear crossover. Both of their interviews talk about player recruitment and scouting networks. As long as they are both talking to each other about what is wanted in playing style and player type etc. then fine but if not it looks a bit like too many cooks.

I'm also a bit baffled by Still's comments about working for Maher and he has the final say. The set up the club have gone for is surely 3 coaches who coach they leave the recruitment to others. Collymore and Still should be finding players that fit the clubs new ethos and Maher and all the coaches should be on board with whatever new players turn up at training, confident that they fit the system that's going to be implemented.

We also still have the major elephant in the room that is Ron Martin, still head of the club, more than likely still sticking his nose into decisions which he knows nothing about.
Too much of this still reeks of 'this'll get the fans off my back for a while.' We all know that at some point in the future he'll stop paying people, HMRC first, then various employees at the club, it's what he does. Already this season players haven't received full wages on time.
Can't remember where the proverb is from but 'A fish rots from the head' remains as apt as ever for Southend United.

 

[Colinmorriswalksonwater]

I'm also a bit baffled by Still's comments about working for Maher and he has the final say.

Not too hard this one, having listened to all the zoom meetings including the Q+A with Stan. The scouting team find a prospective player, run it past Kev and he has final say as you whether to pursue or not. The players that fill the first team squad are down to the Head Coach. In the same way he points out a weak position in the squad, the scouting team go out and scout for that position, say they come back with 4 examples Kev tells them who to target and in what order, recruitment team and Tom Lawrence get to work and attempt to sign number one target, if they fail move onto the next on the list and so on. John Stills knowledge of L1,L2 and NL is probably second to none. Where Stan comes in is contacts and knowledge of Championship and Premier league teams, as per his list of who he has already had contact and discussions with last week. he will recommend to Kev likes the sound of Stands info, scouting team then get to work again Kev makes final decision and obviously will be taking views of DC and MB, as he did with DC's recommendation on the two lads from Sheffield United.

That's why JS said he works for Kev.
On the football squad front Kev calls the shots to tactics, and make up of the squad, all the other functions are subsidiaries to the first team squad on the football side.

Tom Lawrence is overseeing all the budgetary functions of the football side of the club.

Ron Martin has other things to worry about and quite rightly so. I think and this is purely conjecture and no inside knowledge, the odds of him going down seem quite likely at the moment, so he will be getting the businesses in his "empire" where they need to be from his perspective should the worst happen.

His payday is the ground development of the houses and apartments. Just work out an average price of £150,000k on all the properties at 1FF and Roots Hall (and that is being conservative) less £60m for the stadium and £250m for development costs of the total project, and you will see his son step forward and be more influential should he be found guilty. This is also in stages not released at one go, but you can see why he will be setting all his ducks in a row atm to cover all eventualities.

His son is already a director of all the businesses I believe, so he would be the figurehead for the development scheme.

Tom Lawrence is a member of the bar, which is a very good thing for any football club to have in a CEO if they have one, especially us. If things start to go pear shaped, the warning sign will be him resigning. If he stays in situ then from a legal perspective all is solid.

All the above is very simplistic, but it's the principles that are the key to the RM side of things and why he is now taking a backseat and able to back roll the club, also why the planning permission was key on 25th October.

 

[Kim Mitten]

Not too hard this one, having listened to all the zoom meetings including the Q+A with Stan. The scouting team find a prospective player, run it past Kev and he has final say as you whether to pursue or not. The players that fill the first team squad are down to the Head Coach. In the same way he points out a weak position in the squad, the scouting team go out and scout for that position, say they come back with 4 examples Kev tells them who to target and in what order, recruitment team and Tom Lawrence get to work and attempt to sign number one target, if they fail move onto the next on the list and so on. John Stills knowledge of L1,L2 and NL is probably second to none. Where Stan comes in is contacts and knowledge of Championship and Premier league teams, as per his list of who he has already had contact and discussions with last week. he will recommend to Kev likes the sound of Stands info, scouting team then get to work again Kev makes final decision and obviously will be taking views of DC and MB, as he did with DC's recommendation on the two lads from Sheffield United.



His payday is the ground development of the houses and apartments. Just work out an average price of £150,000k on all the properties at 1FF and Roots Hall (and that is being conservative) less £60m for the stadium and £250m for development costs of the total project, and you will see his son step forward and be more influential should he be found guilty. This is also in stages not released at one go, but you can see why he will be setting all his ducks in a row atm to cover all eventualities.

I'm still confused by the set up then. What you've outlined is Kevin Maher as the manager of the football club, not the head coach. If that is how it's being worked we've literally no need for the numerous people we have on board and we may as well just be calling John Still head of scouting.
I'm glad we've got Still on board but my major concern remains the financing of all this.

As for Ron, if he does get convicted there is a huge possibility none of Fossetts Farm/Roots Hall development goes ahead. Isn't there already talk of one of the property companies pulling out if he gets convicted?

 

[Colinmorriswalksonwater]

I'm still confused by the set up then. What you've outlined is Kevin Maher as the manager of the football club, not the head coach. If that is how it's being worked we've literally no need for the numerous people we have on board and we may as well just be calling John Still head of scouting.
I'm glad we've got Still on board but my major concern remains the financing of all this.

As for Ron, if he does get convicted there is a huge possibility none of Fossetts Farm/Roots Hall development goes ahead. Isn't there already talk of one of the property companies pulling out if he gets convicted?

The subtle difference between the set up we have now and what we had and many other clubs have with a manager, is Kev doesn't get involved in the scouting. He delegates what he needs to the scouting teams and wheels are set in motion. Kev is 100% concentrated on tactics, training and well-being of the club. If you go back to Phil Brown and the times it was reported he was in other areas of the country watching games and finding such talent as James Dunne and John Coulson (rolls eyes), this won't be happening with this set up. That's the difference.

There are many twists and turns to come on the ground, but anything at the moment is exactly what you have heard, talk and rumour and we have had to much of that in the last forty years for me to take any notice. Once the spades go into the ground I will believe it and that's without the court case. Martin though is, if nothing else, intelligent and wheels will be turning to see this through, because without it, he goes under.

 

[Stoney Ground]

Would it not be better to offload all your playing staff and just field a team of management and scouts. Probably got a better squad than Chesterfield in the backroom.

 

[Colinmorriswalksonwater]

Good Shout! lol.