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Post by Barry Collins on Oct 19, 2023 8:17:35 GMT
An open letter from eight former directors of Lewes FC explaining why we think it's best that the club remains 100% fan-owned: lewes-open-letter.tiiny.site
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Post by therightsoffans on Oct 19, 2023 10:56:21 GMT
It is not unreasonable for members to vote along the lines recommended by the board. So it is good to let members know a large number of former directors, with a vast wealth of experience of running the club, feel we are going down the wrong path and oppose the board direction and M13 investment. This open letter is important and carries huge gravitas and authority.
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Post by everyotherweek on Oct 19, 2023 14:59:14 GMT
This is a most interesting letter. I, for what it's worth, agree with it.
A £600,000 donation from one director? This is extraordinary! Leaving aside any moral or ethical comment, I find it hard to believe that other clubs at our level, have anything like that level of donation, certainly on the men's side.
I think that we should endeavour to break even, be a community owned club and operate at whatever level we are able.
If that is not acceptable to the Women's side of the club, maybe we should be prepared to think the unthinkable; allow the investment for them, but separate the two teams. Let the women play at Lewes if they wish, paying a commercial rent, and cheer them on.
Let's not change the whole ethos in the hope of Lewes Women ever being able to compete with the big city, huge stadium, clubs.
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wm
Sussex County Division Two
Posts: 207
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Post by wm on Oct 19, 2023 15:33:11 GMT
My first comment on the breaking news of this "investment opportunity" was that the money left behind by the former directors must be all gone.
Nothing I've read since changes that opinion, but I am increasingly wondering whether a yes vote is the ONLY way that the club will survive.
I'll now be accused of scaremongering, but it'll be fascinating to see what's in the next set of accounts – after the vote, of course.
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Post by fairweatherrook on Oct 19, 2023 18:20:37 GMT
That is the key concern for me too - how else can the club survive? Pretty much every club at our level or below relies on benefactors of some kind, as we have for the last decade or so. With the fan-owned / community model we're reliant on some generous board members, but they've now left, so we need to find money from somewhere. Many on the No side have said relegation is fine, but how many would we need without investment and how much of the existing income would vanish with each level we go down?
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robm99
Isthmian South
Posts: 649
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Post by robm99 on Oct 19, 2023 18:56:03 GMT
That is the key concern for me too - how else can the club survive? Pretty much every club at our level or below relies on benefactors of some kind, as we have for the last decade or so. With the fan-owned / community model we're reliant on some generous board members, but they've now left, so we need to find money from somewhere. Many on the No side have said relegation is fine, but how many would we need without investment and how much of the existing income would vanish with each level we go down? My guess? Less sponsorship or even less sponsors, no TV money, smaller crowds and associated revenue (catering etc). I really wonder how clubs in our division survive on 250 crowds.
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dicksmith
Sussex County Division One
COYR
Posts: 298
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Post by dicksmith on Oct 19, 2023 20:30:48 GMT
Picture Lewes FC operating with less than 50% of the current incoming........
Yes, HALF as that is what will occur within a few years of the women dropping down a division or two.
Yes, you can be very proud of your 100% fan owned club, but what will be left won't amount to much compared to where it is now.
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Post by Barry Collins on Oct 19, 2023 20:44:25 GMT
Picture Lewes FC operating with less than 50% of the current incoming........ Yes, HALF as that is what will occur within a few years of the women dropping down a division or two. Yes, you can be very proud of your 100% fan owned club, but what will be left won't amount to much compared to where it is now. Income would certainly be reduced, but so would outgoings. The alternative is we massively hike running costs once more and hope that someone with even deeper pockets comes along in three years' time or whenever Mercury 13 decides it's had enough. It would be painful to take a drop now, no doubt. But it means not gambling with the future of the entire club.
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Post by fairweatherrook on Oct 19, 2023 20:51:40 GMT
But arguably by not taking investment you're also gambling with the future of the club as income decreases with relegation. I'm sure Lewes won't be getting crowds of 1,000 or significant sponsorship deals etc if both teams got relegated say two divisions.
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Post by Barry Collins on Oct 19, 2023 21:14:32 GMT
But arguably by not taking investment you're also gambling with the future of the club as income decreases with relegation. I'm sure Lewes won't be getting crowds of 1,000 or significant sponsorship deals etc if both teams got relegated say two divisions. The club has survived in and around those levels for getting on for 150 years. It's when clubs (including this one) try to live well beyond their means they run into big trouble.
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Jane R
Sussex County Division Two
Posts: 187
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Post by Jane R on Oct 19, 2023 21:17:02 GMT
Picture Lewes FC operating with less than 50% of the current incoming........ Yes, HALF as that is what will occur within a few years of the women dropping down a division or two. Yes, you can be very proud of your 100% fan owned club, but what will be left won't amount to much compared to where it is now. But the team is bottom of the Women's Championship and money doesn't guarantee success. It's difficult to get top players to come and commit to playing down this way. Brighton have struggled for years, top players want to stay in the big cities. Please don't tell me you'd think the current squad could cope in the WSL? I can't see one player in the current squad being good enough apart from perhaps Whitehouse.
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dicksmith
Sussex County Division One
COYR
Posts: 298
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Post by dicksmith on Oct 20, 2023 5:06:00 GMT
Income would certainly be reduced, but so would outgoings. The alternative is we massively hike running costs once more and hope that someone with even deeper pockets comes along in three years' time or whenever Mercury 13 decides it's had enough. It would be painful to take a drop now, no doubt. But it means not gambling with the future of the entire club. OK... right now our men's and women's playing budgets are 230,000 pounds per year..... Think what kind of team you will put on the pitch with budgets of 115,000 pounds per year. That's between 5 & 6,000 per player. OH... and you'd have to lef HALF of the staff go too.....
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Post by stuartnoel on Oct 20, 2023 6:30:24 GMT
My first comment on the breaking news of this "investment opportunity" was that the money left behind by the former directors must be all gone. Nothing I've read since changes that opinion, but I am increasingly wondering whether a yes vote is the ONLY way that the club will survive. I'll now be accused of scaremongering, but it'll be fascinating to see what's in the next set of accounts – after the vote, of course. Nope, it’s not all gone. Part of it is used as a drawn down revenue stream and has been for the past couple of seasons
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Post by Steve Watts on Oct 20, 2023 15:11:31 GMT
So Stuart can you tell us how much of it is left as of today ?
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Post by stuartnoel on Oct 20, 2023 15:23:39 GMT
So Stuart can you tell us how much of it is left as of today ? When the audited accounts are published next month you will be able to see what the balance was at the end of the last financial year.
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