Morning Glory…what’s the story?
Andy Gowland. A Lewes FC board member recently resigned from the board. The story is that he was elected acknowledging that he had never even been to a Lewes game. He was the main board cheerleader for the failed Mercury 13 deal. The deal fell through, Andy Gowland resigned from the board afterwards and now is employed by them. Let me make it clear the fanzine is not accusing Andy of any wrongdoing whatsoever. The matter is being investigated by the board for a possible conflict of interest.
What sucks?
What sucks is how we have no strong fit and proper tests for Board members or code of conduct. The continual toxic view of Lewes FC is to not get involved in helping to run it as it has evolved from a community club into a failed free for all shitshow of smart arsery. At the fanzine we have repeatedly written about how the dire leadership of Lewes FC, for the past few years, have built an isolated and esoteric club. A club unattractive for normal members, Lewesians and fans to get involved with.
What is the board response?
In a rarely seen move by any board over the last 15 years and a really positive action, the board the same day, 2/4/2024 posted a statement. Under previous leaderships the stock response would have been some old clap trap, obfuscation and shite excuse.
‘We are aware of a potential conflict of interest regarding Mercury/13 during the now-ceased investment discussions that took place in 2023.
We have been seeking legal advice on the issue and will not make further statements at this time.
Lewes FC Board of Directors’
So what will happen?
In principle nothing. Andy Gowland as far as I am aware has not broken any rules of the constitution in resigning and taking the job. However, if the board have access to information that there has been an abuse of power maybe they can act. On the face of it though Andy has just grasped an opportunity to enhance his career, them’s the breaks.
What should the board do?
The board need to use this matter as a golden opportunity to stamp their authority on the club. In some areas this already looks like the best board we have had for a very long time. As we previously said in blogs last week, the club needs to detoxify the dreadful perception of potential people who may invest and help run the club that we are a one-dimensional pc/political gimmick motivated experiment.
The board can start by announcing a fit and proper test for board members.
How and why?
How…..This is easy. The board can draw up a new addition to our constitution. A fit and proper test. We can do this. We have changed our constitution before. If the board draw it up and recommend it, it will pass. The board just need to liaise with the FSA on the technicalities and not be put off by any FSA advise to the contrary. It our club and we have done it before.
Can we not all agree at least on these three quick easy ideas moving forward?
1)We only want people on the board who regularly attend games, even if it has been for just for one season.
2)They must be or have been locally based. If none of these they need to have shown real intent and already been a on the ground volunteer.
3) Board members are not allowed to be involved with or associated businesses or companies otherwise involved with Lewes FC during the three-year term of their membership.
There are lots of potential clauses, this is a quick blog but you get the gist? We want people running the club who care about the club and town, not mavericks adding to their cv’s, pursuing goals and aims alien to community ownership and prudent governance. We need to use our constitution to achieve this aim.
This could easily change before the next elections to stop a really unethical, malign and unhealthy trend.
Why…..There are many fantastic aspects to our constitution however there are also some absolute huge failings. Over the last few years the board has evolved into a group of people who are seemingly far more interested in promoting a unsustainable women’s team at the sacrifice of running our club properly and within sound financial parameters.
It has been a long process over the last five or six years but gradually physically we have lost lots of board members whose prime aim was to uphold our constitution and create a self sustained football club for Lewes. They have been replaced by a group of people whose prime aim is the promotion of the Lewes FC women and ignoring the values and the town we are supposed to represent. The rot set in.
As the board has become more and more isolated from the principles of fan ownership and indeed isolated by the local community and businesses so has the number of people decreased wanting us to be a fan owned club standing for the board.
The principle.
Boards at Community clubs are elected on tiny turnouts. With a wafer thin mandate the club should be strengthening democracy at our club in such a way the core values of fan ownership and democracy are protected. We have simply been ignoring proper fan representation and inclusivity. Saying it is a principle we want to adhere do and adhering to it are two things that simply do not align at Lewes FC.
Is this a problem throughout fan-owned clubs?
Yes it really is. The German Bundesliga is rife with successful fan-owned clubs with a strict governance model, yet in this country we cannot even clear the first hurdle of basics. The constitutions and rules for fan-owned governance in the UK is truly pathetic. Fan-ownership works when proper fans run clubs. There is simply no barrier to persons interested in running a club for a ‘hobby’, by getting elected to a board, whatever their agenda to do so, even if they have no previous interest in that club. How can they understand how a local club works to that town or city, what makes the fans and communities tick, the real long-term problems that need to be addressed and the local requirements if you do not know the club. Where is their passion and fire? Local businesses, volunteers and organisations that are crucial to successful governance simply do not want to get involved with local fan-owned clubs unless they are er….proper fan-owned community clubs, not a vehicle for amateur aspiring football club owners with no experience. Exactly as Lewes FC has become, a community football club eschewed by the local community.
In simple language. You, the reader, could be a director of a fan owned community club anywhere if you felt like playing football clubs for a laugh.
There simply needs to be a fit and proper test.
Conclusion.
Lewes FC needs to be attracting fresh blood. We have evolved into an awful free for all where the ambitions and interests of an out of touch board and leadership have overwhelmed what we all understood and were told was the point of fan ownership. It really is akin to the Orwellian disaster Animal Farm where a seemingly idealistic existence is ruined by maligned ambitions, self-interest and discarded principles. It never works. The board can make a start correcting the past by making sure only people wishing to run Lewes FC properly are eligible for the board.
The Rights of Fans. 