11:06am Friday 19th March 2010
ON August 5, it will be 86 years since Weymouth Foot-ball Club Limited was registered as a Limited Liability Company at the office of the Registrar of Companies in London.
What a matter of great pride that must have been in those long gone days of little money when entertainment, whether by way of sport or by visits to the live theatre or, perhaps, to far flung places such as London by steam train, meant so much to the inhabitants of Weymouth.
The matches could be attended on Saturdays and, perhaps, on early closing days if the citizen supporters could afford the shilling or two to watch the team of local players play their hearts out for no money in return.
It was not far to walk and cheers and/or boos could be heard in the town centre – unless, of course, the steam organ on the roundabouts on the sands was operating at full tilt!
As was to be expected that the names of the directors of the newly-formed company would be well known to the locals and the chairman who was appointed by them would be one of their number.
Over the following years this pattern of running things would continue in accordance with the accepted and unquestioned law of the land.
It was so when I joined the legal profession in 1946 and was still so when I left it in 1999, save that the players no longer played football for no money and had become not so much sportsmen as capital assets of the football clubs, including Weymouth.
There are many reasons for thinking – and hoping – that some moves are afoot (sorry about that!) to rectify some of the nonsenses and anomalies and to bring sanity back to the business.
Look no further than the saga of Portsmouth – a club whose situation Weymouth FC now mirror in a mini way – even to the extent of having had all the land surrounding their stadium taken away from their control.
As a shareholder I have received my 30 pages (60 both sides) of the notice of the Weymouth club members’ meeting to be held at Chingford on March 26 (considerate of them as it should enable those fit and active enough to walk the 140 miles or so in good time!) I am both sorry and pleased to read the information provided – sorry because it is sad to think that this local club, which has and does mean so much to many people is to have its fate settled so far away, but pleased to have at last received so much of the truth for which I have so often asked in letters to the Echo.
Not that it would be wise yet to comment fully on the very cleverly constructed story revealed, as there is so much to consider and much more to be asked. I will be preparing all the questions to which I think answers are needed before the Chingford meeting takes place. By then the legal conundrums raised in the Portsmouth case should have been resolved and that, I think, is a key consideration.
Whatever happens, I am sure that most of those concerned are truly hoping that football of whatever level will continue to be played at the Wessex and that the activities and facilities encouraging youth to be proud of their many Weymouth football teams will continue.
ROY CHILD, Heron Close, Preston
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