SR is basically composed of very few good players, like Mashok and Daveio and Tush. The rest are simmers, barely active players, and noobs. So, some of the players left due to the alliance being a horrible one, and not being able to achieve anything. Not to mention the lack of leadership the leader/founder had. He essentially had no plan whatsoever, nor did ever participate in the day-to-day activities in the alliance.
What was his statement when we left?
"Hey, can I join you guys?"...
Yes, natural born leader right there ^
So, that's the story behind SR, a crappy rim alliance, that was only in the top 12 because no one was around to smack them in the head. Nothing more, nothing less.
However, the other player you mentioned, have quit before SR fell out the ranks. In fact, he left since 3-4 weeks. But in reality, SR sucked so bad, that they couldn't even do an internal quickly...