With less than five weeks until preseason begins, Southampton United is still in the dark about who owns them or whether they will even be around. There is a growing concern in the football community that the Shrimpers are treading too close to the edge of emotion, which could lead to the end of more than a century of history.
Football finance specialist Dr. Dan Plumley, Principal Lecturer in Sport Finance at Sheffield Hallam University, shared his thoughts on Southend United’s current situation exclusively with Jake Coburn of The Real EFL this week.
Contracts between current owner Ron Martin and the group headed by Justin Rees were exchanged back in December, but completion has not yet occurred, raising concerns among supporters about whether they would still have a team to cheer for come football season.
Like those supporters, Dr. Plumley has started to question if Martin and Southend City Council will allow due diligence on the Fossetts Farm plan before the Shrimpers run out of time and are free of the 70-year-old property developer.
“I believe there is always a chance, don’t you think? And Southend and other cases have demonstrated that. With any owner, it really does depend on a few factors, especially if the team is not self-sustaining, which Southend is obviously not at the moment. Then you start asking folks, “How much money do they have?”
The consortium’s arrival brought the team up to date and allowed manager Kevin Maher to bolster his roster. As a result, the Shrimpers barely missed out on the play-offs last season after suffering from a protracted transfer embargo and unpaid tax bills.
Rees and the other members have so far contributed more than £3.5 million to keep the Roots Hall company afloat, but it is now being questioned how long they will continue to support a business that they do not currently control.
“How much money are people ready to provide to a) maintain the club’s existence, as daily operations must still be carried out? and subsequently b) eventually turn it around. That’s not unique to Southend, though, because if you examine their circumstances—both past and present—from the perspective of the league, it’s clear that different revenue streams apply depending on the league you play in and how long you’ve been in it.
The National League has imposed a new transfer embargo due to non-payment of financial obligations, putting the club in jeopardy of missing summer goals. The Shrimpers are also scheduled to appear in court at the end of June; if Martin or the consortium settle in the interim, a winding up order requested by Stewarts Law over historical debts could force the club to go bankrupt.
The easiest way to look at it, in my opinion, is as risk factors increase, and those risk factors are amplified in the case of Southend. The most pressing concern is always what might happen—for example, if there is a shortage of funds or if someone is ill-prepared to contribute? Then, since there are still expenses to be paid, you could see someone assuming control.
Supporters will be crossing their fingers that the takeover will eventually occur before the season starts, as there is currently no sign of hope, or else the Shrimpers will have to start the new campaign playing catch up.
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