Letter to Lewes FC Owners — July 1 2021
Dear Owners (all 1737 of us),
This club is special. It stands tall on issues while others deliberate, quiver or wait and see. It’s a place where if you don’t fancy being a “client” or a “customer” you can be on first-name terms with the players over a pie and pint instead. It doesn’t just open the door to the unwelcome, it literally goes out, grabs their hand and brings them in. In 2017, it told me that I was welcome and equally valued (and didn’t ask me to prove I knew the offside rule as a precondition)! It’s a small club with a big personality.
It’s so special that it’s with trepidation as well as excitement and dogged determination that I write, as CEO, to thank you for the opportunity to be part of the next chapter of the club’s history.
I’d love to share a bold, three point plan on what I want to help achieve at the club.
Unfortunately, I want too much to fit into three lines.
I want us to win. I want the fans to sing. I want a website that doesn’t send you down three rabbit holes to find the next fixture. I want better changing rooms. I want better toilets. I want owners to be proud. I want fans to want to buy the shirts. I want our players to choose us even if they have an offer from Brighton. I want fans to feel safe when they come back to the Pan. I want to create a gold standard football academy that Premier League clubs will copy one day (no really). One where young people fulfil their potential on and off the pitch, and even if they don’t make the first team, they leave better, more rounded, wise, human beings. I want to create strong, trusting relationships between fans, owners, volunteers, Directors and the community. I want concrete goals on and off the pitch. I want a high-performance gym that the players take selfies in. I want fans to pass on lunch to wait to have it at the Pan. I want the players to feel supported and protected when they speak out on topics close to their heart. I want owners to trust the Directors and staff that we’re all pulling in the same direction. I want to win Barbara’s raffle. I want staff to burn bright, not burn out. I want us to be good on marginal gains. I want to win by more than marginal gains. I want us to beat Crystal Palace and Worthing. I want happy players who fulfil their whole potential. I want to eat a carrot from Bradley’s community garden. I want cup runs. I want a carpet-like pitch. I want owners to know they are valued. I want to see Roger’s next on-pitch artistic creation. I want us to win our campaign for Equal FA Cup Prize Money. I want banners at matches. I want players and staff to be their whole selves whilst at work. I want the Pan to be a joyful place. I want 2000 more owners to sign up so we’re the most owned club in the country. I want the country to ban gambling ads in football. I want to win the Golden Goal (just once). I want us to push the FA to do better. I want one of our players to walk out at Wembley one day (I want a free ticket when they do). I want a club culture that players talk about to their friends in other teams. I want more from football.
We have all the right ingredients, but ultimately, I want us to be greater than the sum of our parts. We are in a unique position where both our men’s and women’s sides can genuinely benefit from and contribute to each other. Where the volume of an individual owner’s voice is turned up to change the world. Where a sponsor’s money or a volunteer’s time builds something incredible that they couldn’t do alone. Where a club proves that football can be beautiful and football can be good.
The club is special, and I am very aware that I will be a custodian for only a tiny portion of its history. The club is too important for me to fail in the role, so I ask that you help in any and all of the above goals — it’s a huge club effort!
There are 3 things you could do immediately to help. First is to buy a season ticket and help us fill out the Pan right from day one. Second is to buy an ownership for a friend, and encourage another to sign up for themselves. Third is to join the Supporters Club and lend a hand where you can.
Thank you for the opportunity to see the club through the next chapter. Come say hi on the terraces.
Maggie
