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Messages - Colin Fuller
1
« on: February 01, 2023, 04:39:07 PM »
I began my journalistic career on the Lynn News in the days when Doug Child was the Linnets reporter and Sports Editor. I would be interested to hear what forum members think of the Lynn News coverage of Lynn FC and also the YLP coverage.
The EDP appear to be a bit hit and miss at times - it seems to depend on whether Chris Lakey is on duty. Norwich City are obviously the football priority, although Lynn do get a few extra column inches when Mr Cleeve has his say.
2
« on: January 30, 2023, 12:50:45 PM »
Whoever is in charge of updating the club website must be on holiday. Lynn have another massive home match tomorrow night but the home page is still showing the postponed game against Telford.
I don’t like to be negative on the odd occasion I comment on the forum, but that is very poor. Thank goodness Tommy and his team are on the ball on the pitch.
3
« on: October 10, 2022, 05:42:27 PM »
Lynn’s deserved victory on Saturday was the first time I have seen them live since before COVID struck. I live in Leicestershire so in the past 12 years have watched them more away than at The Walks. They certainly try to play football in a constructive way, creating chances and providing good entertainment value.
They have a strong physical spine to the team - reliable goalkeeper, tough and uncompromising centre-backs and a big, strong striker - all essential elements at their level. There is also plenty of skill around them. They all seem prepared to battle for each other - a good indication of team spirit.
Fans want to see good football, total commitment and a winning team. All those are in place to my mind so you would expect attendances to rise. However, it must be remembered this follows a depressing relegation, some fans being opposed to the present control of the club, the cost of living crisis and of course the aftermath of the pandemic.
It would be helpful if the admission prices were lower. It will be interesting to see what response Saturday’s reduction receives.
One thing that was good to see last Saturday was the decent number of youngsters in attendance. Hopefully they will tell their friends and more will start supporting the Linnets - just as I did in the 1960s.
4
« on: September 18, 2022, 04:30:37 PM »
I am sure there are several reasons Lynn’s attendances are below expectations for a table-topping team. Most clubs on the back of a dismal relegation would face a drop in gate numbers. People want to see a successful team and building that confidence will take more than eight games. Cost of living fears also count as does the attractiveness of the opposition. No disrespect to Alfreton but they are not one of the league’s big draws.
For many people in my senior age group the fear of COVID is still relevant. Promotion of the home games, from general consensus, leaves a lot to be desired. The official website needs to be more on the ball with that in mind.
As some have already pointed out Mr Cleeve choses to operate as sole owner and therefore must have sanctioned a full-time team. For that to work a club must have a highly efficient commercial operation to supplement gate and match-day revenue. It doesn’t appear Lynn have that kind of operation in place.
Do we know if a new chief executive is lined up? Surely that is a must appointment if the club are to continue running full-time.
I have followed Lynn since 1961 and I really hope they bounce back with a promotion. But can they realistically look to maintain National League status without big improvements as things stand?
5
« on: July 11, 2022, 04:54:56 PM »
I live in Leicestershire and have been told by a supporter of Southern League Barwell that Lynn are being linked with their top scorer (and the League’s last season) Ben Stephens. He bagged 24 goals. Anyone else heard this?
6
« on: March 15, 2022, 12:30:34 PM »
It appeared from the moment Lynn gained promotion that the infrastructure at the club was never going to meet the demands of the NL. How can a club survive at that level without a commercial manager, for instance? The rush to turn full-time was folly. Another season, at least, as part-time would have made more sense and possibly increased the options on the quality of recruitment.
I believe Lynn has the potential to eventually achieve regular NL status and even higher. But not under the current model. Well run clubs like Sutton, Harrogate and Forest Green prove what is possibly.
7
« on: March 13, 2022, 11:33:50 AM »
Malcolm played with a fierce determination against the many rugged defenders of the day, and wasn’t afraid to mix it. A penalty-box predator who formed a prolific spearhead with Brian Jenkins in the days when the Southern League Prem Div was generally regarded as the unofficial fifth division of the Football League. I remember he left Lynn to join Cambridge United when they were first elected to the old Fourth Div.
8
« on: September 28, 2021, 02:04:03 PM »
Thanks KES for the information. I can find no mention of the appointment on the club website, in fact Mr Hearle is still listed in that role. Such an important position should warrant a news announcement. It is a repeating theme on this forum of how poor the club is at attracting sponsors, advertising etc.
Good luck to whoever now fills that role because it must be extremely difficult in the current economic market.
I know from my own experiences that local press are often loathed to ask the difficult questions of their main professional club for fear of upsetting a source of regular stories. But it is apparent from the below-par attendances and many negative comments on this forum that all is not right at The Walks. The local press should feel obliged to investigate and say why.
They even seem shy to ask basic questions like what is wrong with arguably Lynn’s most talented player, Cameron King. We are told he is injured but few facts are known.
The fans forum made be closed to the Press but why, what has the club got to hide? Any interested journalist should make sure he has a reliable source at that meeting ready to report back.
9
« on: September 28, 2021, 10:41:18 AM »
I follow the Linnets from afar these days, although I try to keep up-to-date with what is happening via the forum and the local press. There has been nothing to actually indicate what Mr Cleeve’s so-called big announcement is.
Please, can anyone enlighten me on the matter? The club appears to lag behind with keeping fans informed about many things. As a former journalist, I also think the local press should be more informative with what is going on behind the scenes at The Walks. It gives the impression that relationships between club and media is a bit too cosy.
10
« on: September 20, 2021, 01:47:22 PM »
Jimmy had brief spells in the Southern League with Chelmsford City and Barnet in the mid-Seventies. Can anyone remember whether he crossed paths with Lynn?
His old Spurs teammate Cliff Jones from the glory-glory days lined up for the Linnets when Reg Davies was in charge at The Walks.
I count myself lucky to have seen Jimmy live in the Sixties. He scored a magnificent goal against Man Utd in 1965 which for several years started the Match of the Day opening sequence. I was watching from the Park Lane end when he waltzed through the Utd defence. A true great.
11
« on: July 25, 2021, 04:48:35 PM »
I seem to remember the Welsh legend John Charles played and later managed Hereford in the mid-60s. I think he may have played in one of those matches. Can you imagine these days seeing Gareth Bale ending his career in the Southern League? Many experts regarded Charles, the Gentle Giant, as Britain’s greatest all-round footballer of any generation, equally at home at centre forward as at centre half.
John, I’m fairly certain I had at least one of those sixties programmes in my Lynn collection. I donated the collection to our Trust sometime ago and they raised some funds from the sale of the collection. I don’t know where they went but Mr Len Candlish of the Trust may be able to assist you. Good luck in your search.
12
« on: June 17, 2021, 05:07:41 PM »
I think it is correct that Lynn had club houses and helped players from further afield find full-time employment. I clearly remember Dave Brooks working for the parks department and Brian Jenkins, Malcolm Lindsey’s strike partner, ran a newsagents in Loke Road. I think Malcolm was a pub landlord at some stage.
Dave Clarke, who came from Nottingham, worked with my dad at Unicam.
I also remember Dave Partridge, mentioned in an earlier post. Like Clarke, he was a flying left winger in the Bob Edwards’ team managed by Len Richley.
Also in that team was a young centre-forward from the North-east called Norman Bleanch, who occasionally joined me and my brother for a kick-about on the Walks playing field. I remember him scoring a superb outside the box volley against Cambridge United. United must have been impressed - not long after that they signed him!
Bobby Laverick joined Lynn from Corby before the Reg Davies’ era, having previously been at Chelsea and Brighton. I think he was a typical inside-forward of that time, making goals and scoring a fair number too.
Happy days at The Walks, good entertainment, attacking football and plenty of goals. And they knew how to tackle!
13
« on: June 17, 2021, 02:10:47 PM »
I believe Lynn went full-time for one season in the early sixties but suspect it proved too expensive. The majority of non-league clubs would have been part-time but with much bigger budgets than Lynn. For instance, Chelmsford, who were a top club then, bought England under 23 player Bobby Mason for a reported £25,000, a massive fee then for a non-league club.
Lynn’s home crowds were usually around 1,500 but would top 2,000 for some games, eg against Cambridge United. Midweek matches in the Eastern Pro Floodlit League usually saw around 1,000. Lynn were an attacking team and goals at The Walks usually flowed. With a stronger defence, particularly for away matches, they may well have been Southern League champions decades before they finally achieved it under Keith Webb.
14
« on: June 17, 2021, 11:08:03 AM »
Comparing football from different eras is always difficult but to older fans often enjoyable. I think those of us who grew up watching Lynn in the 1960s could justifiably make a case for the then Southern League Premier Division being on a par with today’s National League as the so-called ‘fifth division’.
It was seen as the most likely supplier of new Football League clubs, although breaking into that virtually closed shop was extremely difficult.
A very good Oxford United side managed it after winning the Southern League and other clubs like Yeovil, Hereford, Cambridge United, Cheltenham, Wimbledon, Barnet, Burton and Crawley have followed over the years.
Lynn more than held their own against such clubs during the sixties and also against very good clubs like Chelmsford, Romford, Weymouth, Worcester and Wellington (now Telford).
Lynn also fielded some of the club’s best-ever players during that time - the likes of Mick Wright, Malcolm Lindsey, Reg Davies, Ronnie Bacon, Dave Brooks, Peter Tough, David Clarke.
Former big stars like Cliff Jones, John Charles, Ted Ditchburn and a host of ex-Football league regulars could be seen at The Walks.
15
« on: May 21, 2021, 12:27:29 PM »
It is long overdue for the club to honour, arguably, its greatest servant, Mick Wright. I believe it was to be considered at the time of Mick’s passing that a fitting tribute would be made. Naming the stand after him would be an excellent idea. Hopefully the club and the mystery sponsor can agree.
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