We can only progress by returning home, insists Fisher chairman

Wednesday 05th May 2010

LOCAL MP Simon Hughes has told supporters that he vows to bring homeless football club Fisher back to it’s roots in Bermondsey, writes Stephen McCartney.

The Liberal Democrat took 50 minutes out of his busy schedule - on the eve of the General Election - to attend the Kent League club’s annual general meeting, which was held at Bacons College, Timber Pond Road, Rotherhithe - just 300 yards away from the club’s original home at Salters Road.

Mr Hughes, who was born in Cheshire before moving to Wales when he was eight and then to Hertfordshire when he was eighteen to study, moved to Southwark in 1978 and has lived there ever since.

He has the local area very close to his heart and he will do anything in his power to ensure that the club will return home - preferably at Salters Road.

The club were re-formed only 12 months ago after Fisher Athletic were wound up due to an unpaid tax bill after years living beyond their means.

Fisher swiftly arranged a groundshare deal with neighbouring Dulwich Hamlet RENT-FREE and were accepted into the Bulmers Cider Kent League and London Senior Cup.

Mr Hughes - the club’s patron and a Millwall supporter - silenced members when he walked through the door at the meeting, and insisted that he is backing the club’s bid.

He said: “I think you’ve got a place in the league and without that there is no club.

“Tomorrow the new Southwark council gets elected. There will be somebody in charge of sport, recreation and regeneration.

“I think you need something that sorts out the club. I don’t think the sums are so big that they are out of their league - they’re manageable - it’s not silly money.

“But I would be really keen, depending what happens tomorrow, to get locked into discussions in three years time and those discussions have to start soon.

“I don’t see why starting in June we can start conversations with people in the borough - you need guys there to talk to the people in Southwark.

“I’m here just to give support. I’m very happy in the weeks ahead to get the key people locked in the room with the options. They have to help. It’s the only borough club and they have a responsibility to help the club out.

“There will be a new person in charge in three weeks and we have to lock something in their diaries to go through the options.”

Club chairman, Martin Eede, revealed tonight that landlords Dulwich Hamlet have told Fisher that they must cough up £300 per game to play at Champion Hill Stadium next season.

Looking up and out of the window where you can still see their old stadium at Salters Road, Mr Eede told supporters, “We’re still not allowed into our ground, as you can see from here, it’s sad, and we still have to groundshare.

“Last year we groundshared at Dulwich Hamlet. It did look for a short while, not so long ago, the shutters were going to be put up and we weren’t going to be welcome.

“This is going to be controversial and I know people won’t agree with what we have to do. We have to come up with money to insure the club remain at Dulwich Hamlet.

“As you know, Mick McCormack is the designated owner and his report to me is we stayed there rent free last year and on a financial basis he can’t afford to do that anymore.

“He has to keep the club solvent. He can have as many pitch lets as he can get his hands on but we only have to look at the state of the pitch at the end of the season and everybody will know Nick, having taken advice from his groundsman and his first tam manager, it just cannot take as many games as it takes.

“Mick can’t continue to let Fisher to play there for nothing. He needs money. I’ve done the ad-hoc negotiations. Mick has put a figure of £300 per home game.”

The two clubs have until the Ryman League deadline of 31 May to confirm the deal and lodge the necessary paperwork.

If re-elected tomorrow, Mr Hughes will begin the battle to bring Fisher back home.

“Fisher is a further one-year deal with Dulwich - we don’t see that permanent,” added Mr Hughes.

“There will be no mega amounts of football dished out from Southwark. They want more kids playing (sport), it’s in everybody’s interests and we’ll try and get some deal before the end of the year so there’s no problem.

“I’m really keen. The point is about the supporters and a support base lies here. You have to work with the local schools and the support will grow. It has to be the North of the Borough club.

“I’m happy, if the good people of Southwark do their job tomorrow, assuming I’ve got a job tomorrow, I am very happy to spend time with you.

“In June I will set the ball rolling and set yourselves a six-month deadline. There should be something in place - in the north of the borough!”

Fisher will invite their youth sides to forge closer links with the first team, such as attending first team games and bringing their families and friends to games.

And the club will continue to forge links with local community groups. It cost them nothing to stage tonight's meeting.

Mr Ben Westmancott - the club’s head of finance - revealed that the club made an operating profit of around £3,300 in it’s first season - having generated £16,600 and splashed out £13,300 on expenses.

The club insisted that it did NOT pay their players at all last season.

Mr Westmancott added: “We started out with absolutely nothing and we managed to put in football all season and got through it. We’ve learnt some lessons. We had decent crowds.

“We need to get a main club sponsor. As we are a new club, no company wanted to take a gamble on us, so please can local businesses support us.

“The challenges for next year is we have to increase our memberships. We need to generate more money next season.

“Every single one of us have a job to bring more people. If we all do something this summer to get that money in to get sponsorships we can do it and just not stand still and move forward.

“We can’t sustain it unless everyone goes out and gets more funds.”

Club members also voted to form a Supporters Trust.

Club chairman Mr Eede can confirm that he has pulled off a lucrative pre-season friendly against local neighbours Millwall.

The prestigious match will take place at Dulwich Hamlet’s Champion Hill on Saturday 10th July.

Discussions are taking place with Dagenham & Redbridge and West Ham United about other friendlies to be played at Champion Hill.

The Daggers have former Fisher Athletic manager Wayne Burnett on their coaching staff - and Fisher use West Ham’s training facilities across the river in Beckton.

Fisher are also hoping to play two Ryman Premier League sides in Cray Wanderers and Croydon Athletic.

Mr Eede paid tribute to the Lions for their support.

“I’ve spoken to the chief executive at Millwall and he’s had discussions with (manager) Kenny Jackett, which has been superb and they’ve phoned me back today to agree a Millwall eleven to play us,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to Mick McCormack and he’s got no problem and the groundsman has said the pitch will be ready.

“If we get enough publicity you would hopefully get a massive crowd and enough to make a few quid that day.”

After the two-hour meeting, Mr Eede told www.kentishfootball.co.uk that he is extremely grateful for the support from the club’s local MP.

He said: “You were at the meeting and you saw that Simon Hughes paid us the honour of attending what in terms of what he’s about to approach over the next couple of days - is only a very small meeting - and he’s obviously fully behind us so that bodes well for the future.”

Returning home is a “priority”, according to the Fisher chairman.

“At the moment the club exists,” he said. “It’s strengthening but I think the only real progress that can be made is being back in this borough.

“In terms of certainly no judgement on politics, but in this local area, it would be ideal if he keeps his job.”

Fisher enquired about the floodlit 3G pitch at Bacons College where tonight’s meeting was held, but it was clear that the pitch dimensions don’t meet the necessary requirements.

But the club hope to play friendly matches at the venue in the summer.

“It’s just too small and you can see by looking at it there is no scope to extending it,” said a disappointed chairman.

“John Bathurst, who is in charge of grading for the Kent League, visited this facility and he was absolutely very impressed with it. It passed in every direction, apart for the size of the pitch. It’s about two meters in length short and about a metre in width.”

Mr Eade hasn’t ruled out a return to the club’s former home down the road.

When asked the costs involved, he replied, "If it ever happened, I don’t think it will be that hard. There’s plenty of grants available for things like that and there might be a lot of people interested if we get back into this area.

“I think there’s some sort of conferment on the ground. If the club is developed, which will probably happen eventually. It still has to be a football ground, it has to be part of the development.”

When asked who owns the venue, Mr Eede replied, “Good question! Well somebody knows. The people who own it know. It’s very difficult to find out.”

Visit Fisher’s website: www.fisherfc.co.uk