Blue & Gold Trust
Official Websitewww.thelinnets.co.uk
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Season 1946-47 Season 1947-48 Season 1948-49 |
The summer of 1946 had seen the appointment of Lawrence Armeson as player coach. The 28 year old had spent ten years at Coventry and the previous season had been with Scarborough. Lynn competed in the United Counties League with the Reserve team in the Peterborough & District League and a third team in the West Norfolk League.
A petition signed by season ticket holders was submitted to the Committee at the Abbey United game in August asking that the rules governing King's Lynn Football Club be changed "empowering the committee to employ paid players".
There were 115 season ticket holders and it required just 25 of these to call a special meeting of the club. This was called and an extra-ordinary meeting of the Club took place on 25th September 1947 where it was passed by 75 votes to 56 that the Lynn FC Committee would have the power to pay players. During the discussion it was revealed that the club cost £25 a week to run.
The Football Club committee felt that the calling of the special meeting was at the instigation of the Supporters' Club and this resulted in a split in the relationship between the Football Club committee and the Supporters' Club. A meeting of the Football Club committee resolved that
“The Supporters' Club be informed that from now on they will not be granted any privileges whatever, such as they have enjoyed in the past by the courtesy of the Football Club committee, and that in future the Football Club do not recognise them or their activities, and disassociate themselves entirely from the Supporters' Club, which has in the opinion of the Football Club utterly failed in carrying out what their title suggests – the KLFC Supporters' Club”
Although the committee had the power to employ players it did not mean that professionalism had arrived and it appeared that there were some members of the Committee who were against the idea.
Club secretary Len Rush was told to advertise for first class amateurs.
For the third successive season Lynn met Cambridge Town in the FA Cup - and lost. Their league form was not much better, a victory over Boston Reserves on 31st January gave Lynn their first league win since 15th November
The debate over professionalism was never far away. A ballot of supporters held at the Norfolk Senior Cup match against Norwich CEYMS in February 1948 with 746 voting for it and 117 against.
The Lynn Football Club Committee advertised for local employers willing to take on professional footballers but there was no response. The Supporters Club opted for a more direct approach and canvassed local employers and provided the club with a list of twenty firms that were willing to employ players assuming they had the correct skills.
On 23rd March 1947 the decision to register the club as professional was made. Lynn were third from bottom in the league, Wisbech using professionals were top.
Lawrence Armeson and the club parted company. Armeson complaining that there was too much interference with team selection and that he was not given enough authority. He became player-coach at Parson Drove.
Five victories from the last nine matches saw Lynn rise to 12th position out of eighteen clubs. League champions were Wisbech Town with Spalding, another club paying players, in third spot.
The total attendance from 17 home league matches was 27,732 an average of 1,631
The 1947-48 season in the United Counties League saw our biggest win as 5-0 at home to Bourne and the worst defeat a 6-0 thrashing against Leicester City 'A'. Lawrence Armeson was the top scorer with nineteen goals.
There was little to cheer as Lynn went out of the East Anglian Cup to Newmarket, the Amateur Cup to Thetford (where three penalty decisions awarded to Lynn by a linesman were ignored by the referee), they went out of the Norfolk Senior Cup to North Walsham and failed to retain the Miller Shield – losing to Gorleston. The last match of the season did see a victory in the Culey Cup – defeating Enfield 2-1.
With the Eastern Counties League expanding and offering the attraction of the A teams of Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham and Chelsea as opposition it was decided that Lynn should apply for ECL membership.
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