Events at Lewes FC are unerringly beginning to reflect those in the Orwell Classic ‘Animal Farm’ as the original plan of a community club, read socialism in the book, has been usurped by a corrupted version facilitated by the so called ‘fan run and owned’ board. Where reality crashes with principle and either principle comes good or the powerful, in the case of Lewes FC the rich and in Animal Farm the pigs, end up calling the shots.
A few years ago I wrote something pretty similar to this article for the Lewes FC fanzine. It was based on a perceived shift of the values of our community club constitution, self sustainibility, accountability, democracy, transparency and prudent finances to a club model based on the wisdoms of Charlie Dobres and Eddie Ramsden, board members who hold sway on the club’s future entirely based on the fact that they make up the shortfall in the club finances. Contrary to the constitution and as time grinds on nothing to do with the competence of running a small football club.
As the community model has failed droves of supporters have left to be replaced by a new breed of compliant fans. Gone is the interest of supporters into how the club is run, customary in all football clubs, the new breed are just interested in the football. For the record nothing wrong with that, it is an entertainment. But the ire and anger we all saw at the club 10 years ago when the club’s losses morphed close to bankruptcy is no longer around as the new fan knows little of what we are supposed to achieve and what the current board promised our club would be. Sold down the river.
It makes it all the easier for the Board to use the title of community fan owned club merely as a branding tool rather than an instrument for real change in the running a football club for the masses.
Everyone went along with the struggles of the new community club for years as we all thought the end product of a community fan owned club was a great idea. But I could see and repeatedly put on record in the fanzine, the power of the Dobres and Ramsden and their money in the progress of the club and it was not healthy.
On the record I noted how they were using their influence to dictate the direction of the club through Charlie’s ‘big ideas’ and grand strategies which have all been relatively unsuccessful. A seemingly craven board followed like sheep, these two very smart men, highly successful in their careers but unsuccessful in running a fan owned football club. In fact a failure.
November 2019 about ten years into the project and Dobres and Ramsden stand at the Board elections. Firmly ensconced for 10 years in they are only allowed 3 more years in office under our constitution. But don’t worry help is at hand as one of their wifes is standing insuring we have a mediocre club for a whole generation. As long as the Dobres’ and Ramsden continue to hold the purse strings, contrary to our constitution, they are king.
But it is the democratic way we are told, the Board are elected.
Factcheck…the head of club development at the Supporters Trust, our ineffectual guiding hand, told me for club’s at our level elections do not work as participation is too low.
So money is king and elections irrelevant. The club grinds on now with nobody really questioning the status quo as nobody really cares. A complicit, undemocratically elected and out of touch Board stand by glibly clapping their hands in agreement at whatever diktat the money men propose.
It is because of that in their election addresses, the election was cancelled due to lack of interest, Charlie and Karen Dobres as well as Eddie Ramsden the unwarranted club benefactors get another 3 years to hold court and leave the neglected men’s teams management fighting for survival punching below their weight.
Where Animal Farm comes in is once upon a time it was customary in election addresses to the Board to write them based around the aims of the constitution. This year’s election where the three money ‘persons’ pitch for election, barely a whisper other than the pretentious almost grotesque ramblings of three people convinced of the their own path, ideas and self righteousness. Just as the other animals in the denouement of Animal Farm had become second class citizens staring in through the kitchen windows as the pigs toasted getting their own way having destroyed the project. We now all look on, told what to do, repeatedly slapped down by the Board henchman on the fan’s forum as the club’s core aims are just discarded by the benefactors.
So ‘we the people’ look on as Charlie, Eddie and Karen run the club how they want to with a Board seemingly unable to oppose the death of the principles of our community fan owned club, on the contrary totally support the sell out and destruction of it.
I must add this is not a criticism of the decision to heavily promote the wonderful women’s fist team achievements, if we were a privately owned club where finances were secondary it would be the right thing to do. is It is just in promoting the project it has meant trampling on the DNA of a fan owned community football club at the behest of the people with the money at the club and this is complete hypocrisy. I find this sad, vulgar and little to do with what Lewes FC should be about.
The Rights of Fans. 