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« on: May 13, 2008, 11:20:41 AM »
FROM THE LEWES WEBSITE ...
And so we have had our meeting with Kevin Keehan. (new manager)
He seems a genuine bloke. He wouldn't light up a party, but he'd buy you a drink and ask how your kids were. He understands something of our anguish, but clearly feels that we have to adapt to a new way of thinking. He‘s living his dream of managing a football team, although he concedes that neither he, nor his number 2 Terry Graves, has any experience close to this level.
We listened in hope, but ended, if I gauge it correctly, with a pervading sense of gloom. Much of what he said we’ve already read in the papers recently, and there was no fresh news to lift the spirits.
The main facts that emerged:
1 Amazingly, KK hasn't come as part of an overall package with backers in place. There is no consortium. He's an employee, and his job is partly to manage the team he signs and partly to raise cash from sponsors, some of whom he is already talking to. But there is as yet no pot of cash at all, and nobody signed up -- whether sponsors or players. Gareth Barry has declared an interest in helping, but that at the moment is as far as it goes. The future begins here, folks.
2 Upgrading the ground is a priority, but he can't give assurances that this will be done by the deadline of next March. He spoke of raising cash through events, and then persuading individuals to donate sums which would eventually add up to the amount needed. These would be people who believed in the ideals of the new Lewes, based on the promotion of local talent.
3 Most of the present squad has gone or will be going. Paul Booth is on his way to Havant & Waterlooville: he's studying for a university degree and doesn't want to commit himself at Conference level. KK has spoken to some of the players, but not all. Some haven't returned his calls. He would like to sign Simon Wormull, and could pay him the same as before: he has flexibility in his budget to pay a few players well, but he's hoping to bring on new talent because he believes he has a way of improving them by encouragement. (When he first saw Lewes playing in Conference South he thought that none of our many non-Sussex players was fit to lace the boots of Terry Parris – a bit of a backhanded compliment, but tact isn't his strongest point, however hard he tries.) He hasn't yet spoken to Steve Williams, but couldn't afford to pay him last year's salary anyway. The club has received fees for Booth and for Holloway, who didn't want to play for Lewes any more, probably out of loyalty to Steve King – the elephant in the room.
4 KK will be talking to Brighton players about to leave the Albion, but isn't hopeful of attracting them, as most will want league action.
5 Steve Burtenshaw will help with scouting, and Peter Allen (another former pro) will come to the occasional training session. They like the idea of the new local Lewes apparently.
6 KK would like to field a reserve team in the Pontin's League.
So let's look at the reasons for pessimism and optimism.
Pessimism. This is a guy completely out of his league who hopes to field a team of low-paid Sussex youngsters in the Conference National and get away with a fifth-bottom place and thereafter build for the future. But if backers see us consistently losing during the opening games of the season, none are likely to fork out cash for an improved ground, and we'll go down whatever the on-field performances, and as our fan-base slips away back to 400 and below so our income will slide, our performances will dip and we'll be back in Ryman before we know it. This is the most likely outcome, barring a miracle, with Lewes as the laughing stock of local football.
Optimism. Cash comes in, and quickly, both to pay for the ground improvements and to finance a properly-paid squad which can hold its own in the Conference. This requires backers with determination and confidence, who can see that you don't have to lose money in Conference if you handle your marketing well – see what's happened to Histon and Salisbury. Whether this is with or without KK's involvement at some level, it would have to be with a manager of proven quality at the helm.
This scenario would require an act of supreme boldness on the part of Martin Elliott, who has done so much for Lewes in the past. Let's all say our prayers . . .
