Bostik matchday: The Rights of Pan

By Ian Townsend

We watch Lewes FC take on Burgess Hill Town in pre-season, and focus on their community revolution

The Dripping Pan, home of Lewes FC since 1885, is regularly hailed in supporter surveys as one of the UK’s most picturesque football grounds, and you can see why as soon as you walk through the turnstiles. Look ahead and the enormous green bulk of the South Downs rises up behind the open terrace at the far end of the ground, the sky often dotted with the colourful canopies of a myriad of brave/foolhardy paragliders. Walk to your right and gaze on the ruins of Lewes Priory, built in the eleventh century and thriving until King Henry VIII decided to have it demolished, then look back over your shoulder and see the Mount, a man made hill perhaps constructed to give a wide ranging view over the basin of the river Ouse. Then, walk down the steps in front of you and fixate on the labels of as many different types of Harvey’s Ale as your heart could desire. Beauty and beer- what more could the discerning football fan ask for?

There is, however, far more to Lewes Community Football Club than views and alcohol, and the key to that is that word sandwiched between Lewes and Football. Being community owned is laudable in itself, but this club takes that ethos a number of steps further than most, as exemplified by the announcement last month of investment parity between their men’s and women’s teams. Tonight, as they lined up in their final pre-season friendly against Burgess Hill Town, this initiative was still the talk of the fanbase, but there wasn’t a great deal of surprise.

Rick, Mark and Tom, home fans who were relatively new to the club with only two seasons behind them, were about to take the jump into ownership for the first time. They were quite clear about why. “We don’t watch Lewes just for the football, we come for the experience. We like the way the club does business, we like what it stands for, and”- here they were quite insistent - “we like to be able to have a beer on the terraces.” The beer was obviously the least important part of the equation, but it was important. There was a social element to their visit, and it showed. But Tom, particularly, had scars from his professional football experiences; he was a Coventry City supporter. Whatever Lewes fans may have had to suffer on the field in recent years, Coventry City fans would sell their collection of Jimmy Hill branded memorabilia- and possibly their grandmothers- for that level of off-field security, so it wasn’t at all difficult to understand why he was finding comfort at the Pan. The trio weren’t quite so confident about on-field issues, though. “I think we’re a bit lightweight. We’ve got decent footballers but when the game gets physical we don’t cope all that well.” These were Mark’s words but his colleagues were obviously in agreement. “The least we have to expect this season is a promotion push, but we’re not entirely confident in the squad,” Rick added, with his colleagues nodding vehemently. They’re philosophers at the Pan rather than bright-eyed dreamers these days.

Gary the Lewes badge man

Gary the Lewes badge man

Commercial Manager Kevin Miller wasn’t about to argue. “With three teams promoted this season (two automatically, one through the playoffs) we couldn’t have a better chance of success. We need to make that count. Darren perhaps needs to add one or two to his squad, but we’re optimistic that we can challenge. Last season we started really badly and it cost us in the end; there were so many moments- against Carshalton Athletic, for example- where if we’d been able to hold on to a lead the outcome of the whole season might have been different. But we have to believe that we’re good enough.”

Continuing to focus on football matters, it was the Burgess Hill fans in attendance who were more confident as the season approached. Whether that confidence had been shaken somewhat by full time remains unknown, but as just before the interval dedicated Hillians Steve and Dan- “43 games a season men; we always manage to miss a handful”- were optimistic with what they’d seen over the summer. “We’ve kept the nucleus of the side that finished last season, we’ve added a few useful new recruits, and we’re starting the season with the strongest squad we’ve had since being promoted to this league. Mind you, it’ll be an unpredictable league this season, with only one club going down.”

At this point the away side were ahead, the deadlock broken by Hakeem Adelakun’s beautiful curling effort from the right hand side of the box in the eleventh minute. The Rooks, for a few minutes, looked like they may be overrun, but they soon began to get to grips with the match and with their higher level opponents. Steve and Dan had just finished speaking when they were level, almost on the stroke of half time, a similarly gorgeous effort from George Landais curling inside Max Hunter’s far post and beyond the keeper’s outstretched fingers.

The second half remained finely balanced until the 70th minute, when the home side went ahead. Landais again did the damage, firing home from close by the penalty spot, and the Rooks increased their lead three minutes later when Ronnie Conlon was able to poke the ball home from close range. After that Lewes were never in danger, and held on comfortably for a win that should perhaps even have brought some optimism to our three fans from earlier. Manager Darren Freeman, speaking after the game, was certainly cheerful, but he wasn’t about to make any promises he may not be able to keep. “For me it’ll be a tough league this season. I’ve got a young side and I’m not going to put them under any pressure, we were a bit unlucky last season but we’ll surprise a few people this year. We’re in good shape, we’ll work hard, and we’ll see where that takes us.” But was his team building complete?

“We might need to add one or two to the squad, we’ve had quite a few injuries. But I’m happy. We’ve not managed to play our first choice back four so far, but the lads who’ve come in have taken their chances, and many of them are just sixteen or seventeen. We’ve faith in the youngsters and we’ll help them to do well; they all buy in to the ethos of what we want to do here.”

Not taking anything away from Darren, the USP of Lewes football club isn’t the football, it’s the character of the place. As Rick, Mark and Tom had pointed out earlier, people come to the Dripping Pan for the experience, and the experience is positive on a number of levels and has become even more so recently. Kevin was clear that the Equality Football decision was taken because it was the right thing to do, but he was also honest enough to admit that there was also a commercial element to the initiative. “Since the announcement we’ve increased our number of owners by a hundred. That takes us up to twelve hundred and fifty, and that generates more revenue, more advertising, which we can then invest back into the club. We’d like to see all of our teams succeed, and perhaps our women’s team can even push on to the FA Women’s Super League. Last season they brought home the first National trophy that the club has ever won, so that’s not beyond the realms of possibility. But in the main it’s another step towards the club achieving its community goals. We’ve twenty six teams, from under fives to veterans, girls and women’s sides, walking football, football for mental wellbeing- but we’re not yet where we want to be. We have to be right at the centre of our community, and although we’re moving in the right direction we’ve a long way to go.”

The character of a place doesn’t come from the buildings, the view or the beer. It doesn’t come from the initiatives- laudable as they are- and it doesn’t come from award winning posters, chuck wagons serving poutine or executive beach huts. It comes from the people who bring all of that together. At Lewes the people, in the main, know that they are creating a unique legacy for their community and work hard to maintain that, whether that is Darren managing the team, Barry working in the club shop- tonight assisted by Zac who had travelled all the way from Houston, Texas for a short internship at a club he and his father part own- or Gary selling his badges behind the turnstiles (by the way, they made the club £1300 over the last twelve months). The fact that visiting fans rave about the place isn’t just because of what they can see, it’s due to how the club makes them feel.

One of the most famous former residents of Lewes was the philosopher and political activist Thomas Paine. He’s been regularly featured on club merchandise and it’s quite clear that the Rooks claim him as one of their own (although sadly he was around more than a century before they were so never pulled on his boots). His work, ‘Common Sense’ has been described as the catalyst of the American revolution, so it seems rather fitting that the football club in his adopted home town seem bent on delivering a kind of revolution of their own. Perhaps, if we’re lucky, their ideas may be adopted far more widely across the football world, to the benefit of all who watch it, play it and love it.

Zac from Houston (left)- and Barry in the club shop

Zac from Houston (left)- and Barry in the club shop

Perhaps in pursuit of this Kevin should market a pamphlet which sets out the club’s ideas and ideals, and sell it to interested parties. If he does, there’s only one possible title.

Borrowing from Paine’s most celebrated work, it would have to be known as The Rights of Pan.

Where next?

Bostik Supporters Preview 17/18: Ware For this supporters preview we head to Ware, which, history fans, has a museum that includes the town's World War Two command bunker and a number of fine medieval buildings. Luca Winterton ignores all of that and focuses on the football.
Bostik Supporters Preview 17/18: Tooting & Mitcham Utd Just in case you haven't had enough Terrors today, here's Andy Harrup with the latest in our supporter previews.

The Pitching In Isthmian Football League newsletter

Keep up-to-date with our exclusive email newsletters.

Subscribe