Henfield One
Well-known member
- Aug 5, 2003
- 464
In the dark days, the FA's David Davies was a real unsung Albion hero - this is taken from his recently published autobiography "FA Confidential" : Chapter 4 Pages 64-66.
On behalf of all Albion fans, Thank you David.
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Of all the fires I had to fight during that period, the most complicated was the long running saga of Brighton & Hove Albion. The intentions of businessman Bill Archer towards the club were unclear. Archer was in dispute with Dick Knight, someone who became a great mate of mine. Brighton’s plight filled me with despair. They moved out of the Goldstone Ground, and their very existence seemed threatened under Archer.
‘We have to get involved’, I told Nic Coward and Graham Kelly repeatedly. ‘For us to intervene would set a precedent’, replied Nic, ever the lawyer.
‘But we cannot afford not to move on this,’ I argued. We reached a compromise that the FA would not become involved directly but would encourage mediation and pay for it. On contacting the CBI, I talked to Bill Marsh, who operated their short-sharp shock mediation service. “Bill, we have this complicated situation at Brighton with Archer and Knight,’ I said. ‘I need you to broker a deal so Archer can leave and Knight can run the club.’ Marsh tried his best. The mediation became not so short, and not so sharp.
Dick invited me to one of the many public meetings in Brighton. ‘It’ll be quite rough, you know,’ Dick said on collecting me from Brighton Station. ‘The FA are not popular down here.’ When I entered the night-club, the setting for the meeting, I was welcomed by 1,000 Brighton fans chanting ‘The FA have done f*** all’. After waiting for the boos to die down, I took the microphone. I knew what I was about to say might antagonise Kelly and Coward, but I had to get involved.
‘I will fight for Brighton,’ I promised. ‘The FA move in mysterious ways, but I can assure you that I will move heaven and earth to make sure Brighton survive. To allow a club of Brighton’s stature to die would be a disgrace. I will fight for you all the way. One of my friends at school was a passionate Brighton fan. He lived and breathed the club. So I understand what Brighton means to you. I promise you this: you do have a friend at the FA.’
Silence ensued, ended by a standing ovation. Brighton fans knew that at least someone at Lancaster Gate was emotionally involved in their predicament. When I returned to HQ, word had got around about my speech. A certain frostiness was in the air. But sod it.
‘What is the FA for?’ I asked Kelly. ‘We should be involved in situations like this. We are the guardians of the game. The Goldstone Ground is history but the club needs support to survive. I know the FA are not a police force, and we can’t just go into a club simply because we don’t like the look of someone. But Brighton are a challenge we need to meet. I don’t know whether Bill Archer is good, bad or indifferent. I do know that Dick Knight has some finance, and could take over the club. Dick is a real supporters’ person, just the person you want running your club. I’m going to stick in there.’ I left Graham’s office, feeling very much on my own over Brighton. To this day, I’ve never understood why Graham, who cared about grass-roots football so much, always seemed loath to get involved in saving Brighton.
Of course, the FA couldn’t just rustle up a few tanks, roll down the A23, along the promenade and rebuild the Goldstone Ground. So it was left to me to coax and cajole all parties. Eventually we got a new Board together with independent directors, including Sir John Smith and Lord Richard Faulkner. I gave evidence for Brighton at the public inquiry for a new stadium at Falmer. I passionately believed in Brighton’s cause. In truth, I wish I’d found the time to champion more clubs whose futures were being threatened. But so much of my time was taken up with England.
On behalf of all Albion fans, Thank you David.
-------------------------------------------------
Of all the fires I had to fight during that period, the most complicated was the long running saga of Brighton & Hove Albion. The intentions of businessman Bill Archer towards the club were unclear. Archer was in dispute with Dick Knight, someone who became a great mate of mine. Brighton’s plight filled me with despair. They moved out of the Goldstone Ground, and their very existence seemed threatened under Archer.
‘We have to get involved’, I told Nic Coward and Graham Kelly repeatedly. ‘For us to intervene would set a precedent’, replied Nic, ever the lawyer.
‘But we cannot afford not to move on this,’ I argued. We reached a compromise that the FA would not become involved directly but would encourage mediation and pay for it. On contacting the CBI, I talked to Bill Marsh, who operated their short-sharp shock mediation service. “Bill, we have this complicated situation at Brighton with Archer and Knight,’ I said. ‘I need you to broker a deal so Archer can leave and Knight can run the club.’ Marsh tried his best. The mediation became not so short, and not so sharp.
Dick invited me to one of the many public meetings in Brighton. ‘It’ll be quite rough, you know,’ Dick said on collecting me from Brighton Station. ‘The FA are not popular down here.’ When I entered the night-club, the setting for the meeting, I was welcomed by 1,000 Brighton fans chanting ‘The FA have done f*** all’. After waiting for the boos to die down, I took the microphone. I knew what I was about to say might antagonise Kelly and Coward, but I had to get involved.
‘I will fight for Brighton,’ I promised. ‘The FA move in mysterious ways, but I can assure you that I will move heaven and earth to make sure Brighton survive. To allow a club of Brighton’s stature to die would be a disgrace. I will fight for you all the way. One of my friends at school was a passionate Brighton fan. He lived and breathed the club. So I understand what Brighton means to you. I promise you this: you do have a friend at the FA.’
Silence ensued, ended by a standing ovation. Brighton fans knew that at least someone at Lancaster Gate was emotionally involved in their predicament. When I returned to HQ, word had got around about my speech. A certain frostiness was in the air. But sod it.
‘What is the FA for?’ I asked Kelly. ‘We should be involved in situations like this. We are the guardians of the game. The Goldstone Ground is history but the club needs support to survive. I know the FA are not a police force, and we can’t just go into a club simply because we don’t like the look of someone. But Brighton are a challenge we need to meet. I don’t know whether Bill Archer is good, bad or indifferent. I do know that Dick Knight has some finance, and could take over the club. Dick is a real supporters’ person, just the person you want running your club. I’m going to stick in there.’ I left Graham’s office, feeling very much on my own over Brighton. To this day, I’ve never understood why Graham, who cared about grass-roots football so much, always seemed loath to get involved in saving Brighton.
Of course, the FA couldn’t just rustle up a few tanks, roll down the A23, along the promenade and rebuild the Goldstone Ground. So it was left to me to coax and cajole all parties. Eventually we got a new Board together with independent directors, including Sir John Smith and Lord Richard Faulkner. I gave evidence for Brighton at the public inquiry for a new stadium at Falmer. I passionately believed in Brighton’s cause. In truth, I wish I’d found the time to champion more clubs whose futures were being threatened. But so much of my time was taken up with England.
