Southend supporters group speak as sponsors threaten legal action and issues remain at club

Southend United supporters group speak out as a number of sponsors threaten legal action and some big issues still remain at the club.

The Shrimpers have paid the £1.4m tax bill owed by HM Revenue & Customs on time, with it confirmed and Wednesday’s winding up petition case closed after just 20 seconds according to Echosport.

If the money had not been paid, the National League side could have been shut down, and while this news come as some relief, it’s far from rosey behind the scenes at the club with some many more issues to be dealt with.

Southend stated that funds as working capital had been also injected to help with chairman Ron Martin said to be was seeking bridging financing of approximately £5m to pay the club’s debt.

The club statement stated that “the club’s objective was to regain its future within the Football League at all costs.”

The chairman’s ambition is to develop Roots Hall, a project is said to bring in a multimillion-pound return, is central to Southend’s future.

Central to Southend’s future is the chairman’s long-standing ambition to develop Roots Hall, a project expected to yield a multimillion-pound return, with the stadium to be turned into 502 homes and the club would move to Fossetts Farm.

Since the 1st of February, several supporters’ groups have been “exploratory” in an effort to create a phoenix club due to the ongoing saga with Ron Martin amid concerns that Southend might go out of business.

Martin, the club owner, stated that he would not allow the club to be wound up in an email to BBC Essex.

While things don’t look great off pitch, on pitch the Shrimpers are in sixth place in the fifth tier English football, but still under a transfer embargo and hope that can be sorted so they can look to strengthen their playoff bid.

Southend shirt sponsors PG Site Services aren’t happy at ‘being kept in the dark’, having made a further £40,000 back to the club in November only to hear nothing from them.

They said in two tweets: “That’s great for the club it’s a shame the clubs sponsors are still in the dark 😞

“Your welcome to your thoughts we have supported him all the way and the club more than you can imagine on the bases that we would be fully aware of any developments we have donated money above and beyond our contractual obligations and to be left in the dark is not cricket.”

Your welcome to your thoughts we have supported him all the way and the club more than you can imagine on the bases that we would be fully aware of any developments we have donated money above and beyond our contractual obligations and to be left in the dark is not cricket

— PG Site Services (@pgsiteservices) February 28, 2023

Then in response to Echosport’s Chris Phillips who reported on the sponsors being kept in the dark, they wrote: “Nor paid and a lot more than you state this will now result in further legal action.”

BBC Essex sports editor Glenn Speller said on the situation

Considering Southend United’s recent close encounters with HMRC, the fact the outstanding monies have been paid at the eleventh hour should not come as much of a surprise, but it has not stopped the Shrimpers fans from sweating.

The chairman, Ron Martin, has been waiting on £5m bridging finance which, given the high interest rates would make more sense to take at the end of the month, but that has led to an immense amount of angst, anger and worry.

The players have now received their wages for January, with February’s due on Wednesday, but office staff are still working unpaid, with some having not received anything since November.

Fans were hoping a transfer embargo could also be lifted to enable manager Kevin Maher to strengthen his play-off chasing squad which has been hit by injuries in recent weeks, but that restriction remains in place and many supporters are still calling for owner Martin to sell the club.

This funding gives the club some breathing space but without swift progress being made on a move to a new stadium and a return to the EFL, it will surely only serve as a sticking plaster.

SOUTHEND SUPPORTERS’ GROUP STATEMENT

The combined supporters’ groups of Southend United welcome the statement issued by the football club confirming the finance, promised in October, has finally been secured some five months later, enabling the money owed to HMRC under the Winding-Up Petition to be paid.

However, we are concerned that the short statement does not address the issue of responsibility for the fundamental and ongoing problem facing the football club, which is the continual mismanagement of Southend United by its owner, Ron Martin.

The statement instead merely deals with the current crisis, and we request the club provides urgent clarification on whether the -working capital’ mentioned is sufficient to meet and maintain obligations to playing and coaching staff, Academy personnel, backroom staff, local suppliers and other creditors at least until the end of the current season, as well as carrying out urgent remedial work at Roots Hall to provide a basic level of comfort to spectators.

The supporters’ groups will endeavour to establish more detail on how the club intends to be funded in the short- and medium-term, and we reiterate our desire to meet with Mr Martin to raise important questions on behalf of our loyal fanbase, who continue to back the club in impressive numbers.

We would like to applaud those who have worked through this period and served Southend United with such distinction, whether that be the coaching staff and players, who have kept us in contention for a National League play-off place despite recent impediments, or those staff away from the pitch who have maintained a functioning club under the most trying of circumstances.

We would also like to thank those supporters who have assisted us over the past few months by offering their services in areas of their own personal expertise. We are grateful to you all, as well as those from other organisations, and particularly the Football Supporters’ Association, who have been generous with their time and knowledge.

Although the anticipated dismissal of this Winding-Up Petition draws to a close this particular saga, our experience over more than 20 years of Ron Martin’s tenure at the helm of the club suggests we should not be complacent, and the next crisis could be just around the corner.

We have been encouraged by our recent conversations with Anna Firth MP and, following the recent publication of the UK Government White Paper into football governance, hope the proposed reforms can be implemented swiftly to help ensure this situation does not blight our club again.

The experiences of everyone connected to Southend United Football Club over the past five months have brought the owner’s inadequacies into sharp focus, and we believe we will only be able to truly enjoy a new beginning when a new structure and ownership is in place at the club.

– STATEMENT ENDS –

This is what social media users said after the Southend supporters group speak out as sponsors threaten legal action and issues remain at the club…

@dontmswithme: Good luck to you all. As a Bury fan this sounds all too familiar. Keep up the pressure.

@RutlandShrimper: The need to continue to campaign is absolute RM must go albeit I suspect this will be some time in the future. But the general management at the club is very poor as evidenced by the brief statement. CEO and Board show poor leadership and lack of respect for all stakeholders

@JimboCambo: Martin Out

@SteveD_CCGames: Feels like putting a plaster over an amputation.

@sue_lat: Surely someone somewhere is in a position to look into the financial/managerial dealings of Ron Martin & do something about him. How do we get the ball rolling?

@IntercityFC: Some maths. £5m loan. £1.4m to HMRC. Pay outstanding wages & creditors, £2m used up. Club loosing £2m per year. By Feb 2024 £4m used up. Summer 2024 all capital exhausted. Unable to pay HMRC or staff.