Southend fans protested before Saturday’s home game against AFC Fylde. Hundreds of activists marched noisily from the city centre to Roots Hall, chanting their hatred of Ron Martin, the Southend chairman.
There was cartoonish symbolism. The protesters followed a
car that had a model of Martin attached, with the man in power depicted as a
clown.
There were even flashes of insurrection. Once the agitators
made it to Roots Hall a handful breached the directors’ entrance, as if they
were going to depose Martin there and then. “Shut the gate,” a steward cried
desperately.
Those who got through the entrance soon retreated
autonomously and it must be emphasised that this uprising was benevolent,
peaceful and had minimal police interference. Considering the fans’ heartache,
their conduct was impeccable.
Yet the measured behaviour should not mask the desperation
for Martin to sell Southend. His 25-year ownership has been defined by unsuccessful
attempts to move from Roots Hall to a new stadium at Fossetts Farm, as well as
financial turmoil.
Back in court
Southend are due back at the High Court on October 4 to
address the club’s 18th winding-up petition since 2009. This latest petition
includes, but is not limited to, an unpaid tax debt of £275,000.
Southend were most recently at the High Court on August 23,
when they received a 42-day adjournment, a ten-point deduction and the sternest
of warnings. “If this was not a football club with the attachment of its fans,
I would be winding you up today. You will be wound up on the next date if it’s
not sorted,” Judge Sebastian Prentis said.
Fans are yearning for Martin, who put the club up for sale
last March, to find a buyer. A consortium fronted by Justin Rees offers hope
but he announced last week that two takeover bids had been rejected and a deal
before October 4 was unlikely. Supporters blame one person.
Australian businessman Rees has said that taking ownership
of Roots Hall and the training ground is key to a deal. It is believed this would enable Martin to
develop Fossetts Farm without a stadium requirement
and it is hoped that he would as a result contribute to the redevelopment of
Roots Hall.
“Every corridor we go down has a locked door with Ron Martin
on the other side,” Liam Ager, a board member of the Shrimpers Trust fan group,
said. “Ron does what he wants. He is not accountable to anybody except himself
and the people he has borrowed money from, and he is not interested in the town
or the club.”
Martin does accept some responsibility but insists
Southend’s consecutive relegations — from League One in 2020 and League Two in
2021 — were awfully timed.
“It must be true the buck stops with me, but the main reason
for the club’s current financial issues is double relegation on the back of
Covid,” he said. “I suspect we would have been relegated irrespective of the
[2019-20] season being curtailed, nevertheless it certainly didn’t help as we
came down with a PAYE debt from League One wages.’
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