RIP Chairman: Wick and Unicorn pay fulsome tributes after death of leader David

He was largely responsible for leading Wick – aka he Dragons – out of the doldrums. He first arrived at the club after agreeing a five-year deal for his Bognor-based Unicorn Saturday and Sunday teams to play at Crabtree Park after becoming tired of watching them on the sidelines at park pitches with no protection from the elements.

But Chairman – as most knew him – soon fell in love with life at the top of Coomes Way and decided to invest in Wick, who were then a mid-table outfit in Division One of the Southern Combination League.

He loyally stuck by manager Lee Baldwin and appointed Matt Lander to coordinate operations behind the scenes and the Dragons made rapid improvement, finishing fourth in Division One the following season and reaching the play-off final.

Once again Chairman stayed true to his beliefs that Wick were on the right track and made sure fresh faces were brought in to get them over the line. He was as proud as punch when his ‘fine fellows’ reached the play-off final for a second season, this time gaining promotion by winning a penalty shootout at Seaford.

Chairman was equally successful in helping improve facilities in the clubhouse and around the ground and was already anticipating promotion to the Isthmian League in the near future.

Uincorm players and officials are also mourning his death.

He joined the Bognor club run by Dave Slaughter from the pub of the same name and helped manager Dennis Barclay assemble teams which enjoyed considerable success in the Wessex League on Saturdays and Arun and Chichester District Leagues on Sundays.

The Uni achieved the rare distinction of winning a clean sweep of Sunday competitions, claiming the league, the league cup and Sussex Cup in their most successful season and long-term boss Barclay said: ‘We couldn’t have done it without Chairman.

‘He was a lovely chap, a real character, and was loved by the players and everyone connected with the club. He watched us come rain or shine and will forever live in our hearts and memories.’

Chairman, who transformed the Unicorn into a successful members club after becoming its owner, was a visionary and had the foresight to agree a five-year deal for his pub sides to play at Wick’s Crabtree Park. The belief was that the Saturday side would meet ground requirements if they were promoted to the Southern Combination League Division Two.

He was renowned for his tremendous hospitality to opposition players, managers and board members as well as fans and the match day officials, who he had an affinity with after qualifying as a fully fledged referee.

Meanwhile, Wick paid tribute to Chairman at Tuesday night’s 2-2 draw with AFC Vardndeanians.

Josh Irish whipped in a second-half equaliser as Wick battled back from a two-goal deficit to grab a share of the spoils on the night they paid an emotional farewell to David.

There was a minute’s applause at Crabtree Park before the Southern Combination Premier Division match with AFC Varndeanians for the man who regenerated the Dragons’ fortunes with his financial support, and his wife Angela was presented with flowers by captain Ryan Barratt before kick-off.

But Wick failed to turn their attentions to events on the pitch and fell behind in the first minute when visiting centre-half Oscar Pinnock trundled forward for a free-kick and was left unmarked to head past goalkeeper Keelan Belcher from 12 yards.

The tide seemed to be turning in the favour of Lee Baldwin’s side when Varndeanians were reduced to ten men as midfielder Shay Tobin was sent off for a foul on Dean Sherwood, but the Dragons found themselves in an even bigger hole when striker Tommy Boyle lashed the Brighton-based club into an even bigger lead.

Harry Williams headed in a Dave Crouch corner before the break and Irish whipped in the equaliser with ten minutes remaining, but Wick were unable to find the winner even though Sherwood, Crouch and Sam Conolly all went close.

‘It’s difficult playing against ten men when they defend as well as Varndeanians did and all credit to them for doing so,’ said Dragons manager Lee Baldwin. ‘It was a night when none of our players stood out but none of them played badly either.

‘It was disappointing that we didn’t send Chairman off in style with the victory we all wanted but he would have loved the way we kept plugging away and battled back from being 2-0 down to grab a draw and keep our momentum going with a point.’