Lewes FC - going down?

[Lord Bracknell]

http://www.lewesfc.com/

Lewes FC Press Release

Steve King has been aware since August 2007 that the board had an ongoing interest in finding potential new investors to help manage the club going forward.

With this knowledge, he has made two approaches to the Board. The first of which was made in February 2008.

The Board can confirm that they are in receipt of a further draft business plan from the consortium. The proposal paper was presented to the Lewes FC head office on May 20th. No personal presentation was made.

The draft business plan has been reviewed. It is not deemed to be a robust plan. There is no evidence of specific plans on how the ‘proposed’ figures would be achieved. There has been no offer to purchase any shares in Lewes FC from the consortium (despite claims in the media that this would be made).

The Board have always shown interest in further investment that will secure the strength of Lewes FC beyond that of various individuals.

The Board would want to work with any future investors in order to build on the significant expertise that is already available within the team, and the strong foundations that have been laid down over the last 7 years. At no time has the club been up for sale. The emphasis of the Board has always been one of added support and involvement with others.

In the absence of any specific offer to purchase any shares in Lewes FC, the business plan is of no significant interest to the Board. The matter is now closed, and we look forward to working with our new manager and those individuals willing to back and be involved with Lewes FC as the club moves into a new season in Blue Square Premier.

Lewes FC, 23rd May 2008

 

[Mr Banana]

Don't really know much about the Lewes situation (I would guess from the tone of your post this is not perceived as good news), but the illiteracy of that press release is even worse than the standard currently on offer at the Albion and puts me in cheery mind of the Archerlotti outbursts. I particularly like the way they've signed the letter 'Lewes FC', which either suggests a childlike naivety (personalising an institution) or an unimaginative eschewment of individual accountability.

 

[looney]

Going down?


sadley I think they will but if its with a ground upgrade achieved then thats a plus...I think.

 

[steward 433]

Going down?


sadley I think they will but if its with a ground upgrade achieved then thats a plus...I think.

Only if the crowds keep going in number will they be financially viable.

Up to the players if they have the fight in them or not??

Hope they do stay up though

 

[looney]

Their going to need a miracle if they are going to rely on County players.

How much do you bet Keehan will be scrounging Albion Juniors to take on loan all Season?

 

[steward 433]

Their going to need a miracle if they are going to rely on County players.

How much do you bet Keehan will be scrounging Albion Juniors to take on loan all Season?

You can pretty much guarantee he will be on the scrounge but for the 4 scholars it might be better for them to get constant football close to us in case we do have to recall them, Keehan has certainly got his work cut out BUT he MUST instill the blitz mentality in his players from his first training session with them.

Not the size of the dog in the fight, It's the size of the fight in the dog!!!

 

[coventrygull]

One thing for sure Altrincham will not be going down again. 3 reprieves is that some kind of record

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Seems to me it's high time there was a Lewes Fans Forum. Cos the board's actions do not really appear to be in the interests of the club. Looks to be a horrible lack of ambition there, and probably a hidden agenda.

 

[The Large One]

Was talking to a friend who works with a Lewes fan.

This Lewes fan's take on all this stuff that has been going on - with a straight face - was that everything that is going on is being masterminded by Dick Knight, who is doing his best to undermine and de-stabilise the club by stealth because they are now a real and genuine threat to Brighton & Hove Albion. What will eventually happen is that Dick Knight will want to take over Lewes FC once David Gold has bought Brighton & Hove Albion.

With a straight face, mind.

 

[Trigger]

Keehan OUT!!!

 

[Seagulls over Lewes]

Sack the board Keehan and Elliot must go now

 

[Seagulls over Lewes]

Seems to me it's high time there was a Lewes Fans Forum. Cos the board's actions do not really appear to be in the interests of the club. Looks to be a horrible lack of ambition there, and probably a hidden agenda.

Discuss Lewes FC - Home

Read with horror.

 

[Seagulls over Lewes]

and probably a hidden agenda.

Yes selling the ground and building on it. Do alarm bells start ringing yet?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Yes selling the ground and building on it. Do alarm bells start ringing yet?

Cheers for the link mate. But sadly, didn't really need it. I posted on here somewhere, as soon as the manager got sacked and the players got sold that the plan was to move Lewes FC out and build rabbit hutches for Londoners. The new growth areas for developers are

a) livestock markets with 150 years worth of history (developers under the guise of residents claiming they want them shut down due to the noise levels - Darlo was in the news last week featuring that very same scam. Tho I think the Lewes cattle market got zapped by that one not so long ago)

b) non-league football grounds. Burgess Hill councillors tried the scam a few weeks back, using some flimsy ol' bollocks about unpaid rent and floodlight violations. In the end, they got cold feet due to the petitions, but sadly your council are made of sterner stuff. Took the Albion YEARS to see off the cuunts.

Sorry, mate, but looks distinctly like the deal's have already been done behind LDC masonic closed doors. The Albion being linked with this debacle, even if its only because its a relative of the chairman involved, sucks BIGTIME and certainly smells a bit funny. Like I posted without even having seen your Lewes FC forum, I reckon in five years time your team will be playing at Falmer when the Albion aren't, and the Dripping Pan will just another dreary dormitory for London workers.

May I recommend the fans organise and buy out the board? Else the club will be sold down the river. Fact.

 

[Seagulls over Lewes]

May I recommend the fans organise and buy out the board? Else the club will be sold down the river. Fact.

Tom go on the forum because only today a fans consortium was rejected who said they would have got the ground up to Grade A standard by March and got players in who would have given us a chance this coming season.

Elliott f*** Off Out Of Lewes FC Now

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Tom go on the forum because only today a fans consortium was rejected who said they would have got the ground up to Grade A standard by March and got players in who would have given us a chance this coming season.

Elliott f*** Off Out Of Lewes FC Now

Saw that on here earlier today mate. Tragic news, and just raised the suspicion levels beyond any reasonable doubt. Not that well up on these things, but surely there is the possibility of a HOSTILE takeover? Or maybe that's just for companies with shareholders, where the offer can be made over the heads of the board?

It's tragic, really is, and an utterly transparent game plan by the greedheads, but unless you can come up with a way of hounding (legally. obviously) these people out of your club, then they'll sell on to the property developers, make a quick buck and the Dripping Pan will be down the pan with no way back.

You need to dig deep, find out what deals have been done under the counter, see if your council has acted illegally in any way. See if any money has changed hands where it shouldn't have. Not an easy thing to prove either way. Get the Argus on the case. I wish you the very best of luck cos I've had some cracking days out at the Dripping Pan and I'd hate to see your fans shafted in the same way the Albion fans were shafted. Big cheers

 

[eastie]

Sack the board Keehan and Elliot must go now

Dont sack the board

 

[The Large One]

I'm confused here.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't Lewes District Council own the land that the Dripping Pan is on? So how can Martin Elliott be benefitting from a deal which some people have convinced themselves has gone through behind closed doors? If it's LDC's land to sell, whre does Martin Elliott benefit in all this?

Or are people winding themselves up, and looking for conspiracies? Granted the Kevin Keehan bit is plain bonkers and defies logic, but there's quite a difference between that saying that the Dripping Pan is being sold or Dick Knight is de-stabilising the club...?

 

[andybaha]

Is there a limit on the number of loan players a club can play. Could Lewes play virtually a whole team of Albion youngsters and players coming back from injury or simply out of favour. Keehan obviously has good connections at the Albion.

The conspiracy theory is an absolute load of bollocks. Lewes are at the peak of what they achieve and in all probability they will only ever spend one season in the Conference Premier. The Albion on the other hand once they get to Falmer have the potential to be a decent Championship side and even spend the odd season in the Premiership.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I'm confused here.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't Lewes District Council own the land that the Dripping Pan is on? So how can Martin Elliott be benefitting from a deal which some people have convinced themselves has gone through behind closed doors? If it's LDC's land to sell, where does Martin Elliott benefit in all this?

Or are people winding themselves up, and looking for conspiracies? Granted the Kevin Keehan bit is plain bonkers and defies logic, but there's quite a difference between that saying that the Dripping Pan is being sold or Dick Knight is de-stabilising the club...?

My understanding is that the Dripping Pan was given in trust by a previous owner to the people of Lewes. The Trust that "owns" the ground is effectively controlled by Lewes District Council. Martin Elliott has today announced that he is in negotiations with Lewes District Council about the possibility that control of the Trust be transferred from LDC to Lewes FC. No explanation has been given as to why these negotiations are happening.

Martin Elliott is not only Managing Director of Lewes FC. He is widely credited with stumping up the money that has allowed Lewes FC to progress to the heady heights of the Blue Square Premier. By profession, he is also a major property developer.

I personally don't believe that ANYONE will get away with a simple scheme to put housing (or any other development) on the Dripping Pan. The legendary anti-development "Friends of Lewes" have enough chums to see off any major proposal. But something seems to be going on that merits careful vigilance.

As TLO says, earlier in this thread. there is deep suspicion in some quarters in Lewes that the conspirators include not only Martin Elliott, but Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club.

I'm not at all comfortable with how things are moving.