Ibbo urges fans to "paddle" in same direction for club
STEVE IBBITSON has called on Lewes FC fans to continue "paddling" in the same direction to help secure the future of the club.
Following last week's momentous news that the club had passed over from private to public ownership, the Rooks boss said that, while the move to make the Dripping Pan outfit a one member, one share, one vote democracy like AFC Wimbledon and Barcelona, supporters needed to realise that much was still needed to be done to push the club forward.
"Last week's news was great for the club," said Ibbo, "but people have to understand this isn't all over and that all our problems have come to an end.
"It doesn't mean that we can stop paddling and sail off into the sunset.
"People still need to keep paddling with us!"
Nevertheless, last week's "velvet revolution" that saw Martin Elliott hand control of the club over to a new group called Rooks125 was cautiously welcomed by most Lewes FC supporters – at least if the club's unofficial fans' forum is anything to go by.
And it means Rooks fans can look forward to the upcoming pre-season campaign with renewed confidence.
The season itself gets underway on August 14th, but the Rooks have lined up a number of friendly fixtures, starting this coming Saturday at Worthing.
Rooks boss Ibbo said, "It's no disrespect to Worthing but we're going to bring 22 players over on Saturday, including a number of youngsters. And we're going to give quite a number of people a game – probably for half a game each.
"It's not ideal preparation because we've got some players missing.
"Sonny Cobbs was taken into hospital in Brighton over the weekend with appendicitis."
Ibbo revealed that surgeons operated on Cobbs using keyhole surgery rather than the more invasive method of scalpel, meaning the Rooks' player's recovery should be considerably shorter.
"He'll be out for about a month, rather than around two months. It was as good as it could have been."
He revealed that David Wheeler would not feature during pre-season because he had taken up the offer of voluntary work during his gap year.
"David is between college and university," said Ibbo. "He's been given the opportunity to go out and do some voluntary work in Ghana.
"As much as I'd love to say no, you can't go, he'll never get the opportunity to do something like this again and it would have been very unfair to deny him the opportunity.
"He'll be back before the start of the season but will miss the pre-season friendlies so we're going to have to work on him when he gets back."
A third player, Lewis Ide, is also unavailable as he is stranded in Cuba – where he took a holiday – due to problems in catching a return flight.
But former Gillingham scholar 18-year-old foreard Tom Murphy should hopefully be making an appearance for the Rooks on Saturday.
Said Ibbo, "He looks very sharp and some pro clubs have been looking at him."
The full list of Lewes friendlies is: Sat July 17th - Worthing (A) 3pm; Mon July 26th - Crawley (H) 7.30pm; Sat July 31st - Hayes & Yeading (H) 3pm; Tues Aug 3rd - Eastbourne Boro (A) 7.30pm; Fri Aug 6th - Eastbourne Town (A) 7.30pm.
Meanwhile, there will be an informal open evening at the Dripping Pan next Wednesday.
This will be a chance to meet the team behind the community club initiative and put any questions that you might have to them over a pint of Harvey's in a relaxed atmosphere.
Season ticket application forms will also be available at the same time so if you can spare some time, pop down from 6pm and have a chat.
And Lewes FC are looking for volunteers aged 18 or over to become part-time stewards for the coming 2010/11 season.
Free training to NVQ Level 2 Spectator Safety will be provided for this vital job. Volunteers will be asked to work between 8-10 games during the season, in exchange for a season ticket and hospitality after matches.
For more information please call Lee Cobb on 07736 065668.
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Weather for Lewes
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 0 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
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Sunny spells
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