It has been generally a very positive couple of months for Lynn FC, with the takeover of the club now seemingly completed and the action on the pitch being mostly encouraging and bringing good news.
So the news that the football club had been charged by the Football Association (FA) on two counts of ‘failing to ensure that its spectators/supporters conduct themselves in an orderly fashion’ has left a sour taste in the mouth for many.
The charges relate to the fixture with Scarborough Athletic, played in December 2024, when it is alleged the incidents took place.
For their part, the club has been hit with a £3,000 fine and a partial ground closure for two games of the terraced North Stand for home supporters (the stand will be open for visiting supporters for both games).
Following the news, the club released a very full statement in which it condemned the actions of those responsible, as well as highlighting the amount of time and resources used in gathering evidence, as well as observations and the club’s defence on the matter.
Lynn Football Club has had these kinds of allegations thrown at it a few times over the years now and, from experience, I know that the amount of time it takes to process these incidents is horrendous.
That it continues to happen is a concern for the club itself and should be (if it isn’t) for those who attend games at the Docherty Walks Stadium.
I do have great sympathy with Turn Sports Investment (TSI) who, it appears, have had to deal with the matter and give more money to the FA over something that didn’t happen on their full controlling watch almost nine months ago.
In the statement released by TSI, it confirmed that any person identified in the future of committing these acts will be given a life ban from the ground and also reiterated the impacts these incidents have on the football club as a whole.
What needs to be said is that these situations are being caused by a tiny majority of people who appear to feel it is acceptable to behave in a way that 99% of fans know isn’t.
How those few feel it’s okay to hurl unwanted and unneeded abuse around inside a stadium has always been beyond me.
I’m no angel, far from it, but in my 40 + years of watching football, I’ve never once shouted anything that could be labelled threatening or abusive towards anyone in all of that time.
TSI have appealed to supporters to report these kinds of incidents to the club so that they can be dealt with, as well as identifying those responsible, which is going to be needed if the club is finally to get some sort of control on these matters.
The club is attempting to promote itself as a family and community club, so to be hit with this fine and punishment at this time is a real low blow.
Just for some balance, these kinds of incidents are not just restricted to the Walks, as I noticed at the weekend, Chester reported that a supporter had gained access to the tunnel area following their defeat at Worksop Town on Saturday.
The losers in this are the clubs themselves, who end up paying the fines and suffering from any crowd restrictions that could be put in place.
Maybe those fines imposed should be paid off by the culprits if they’re caught; it would certainly make them think, I’m sure.
It was third time lucky for the Linnets last Saturday when they secured their first home league win of the season with that comprehensive 4-0 demolition of Merthyr Town, who were well and truly put to the sword at the Docherty Walks Stadium.
The Welshmen probably knew it wasn’t going to be their day when the team coach broke down en route to Norfolk, meaning the game was 40 minutes late in starting.
That late start would have affected both teams in different ways.
The visitors, obviously stuck on a coach somewhere, would have helped their preparation one bit, but the home camp would have been equally disrupted as well.
Everything ahead of a game is planned and planned again, be it a pre-match meal, team talk and players’ individual routines are all geared for that golden hour 3pm start.
All of those pre-game problems didn’t bother Lynn one jot as they set about their opponents from the first whistle, scoring early goals which gave them a good overall control of the afternoon from there on in.
James Rowe will have been pleased with Michael Gyasi taking his goal tally to the season to seven already, but in truth, there were standout performances all over the pitch for his team, something else I’m sure will greatly please him.
I was pleased to see another good crowd of over 1,200 turning out and getting behind their team in the right way.
I’d had a suspicion that the gate may have been lower on the back of that 4-0 reverse at Chorley on Bank Holiday Monday and was happy to be proved wrong this time.
The Lynn supporters are buying into the manager’s style of football and have accepted there will be a few curves in the road at times this season.
As these musings were written ahead of last evening’s home encounter with Kidderminster last evening (Tuesday) there’s every chance another three points will be in the locker as you read these words.
The month of September can often be a feast or famine month for non-league teams as the level two teams become involved in the FA Cup for the first time this season.
The latter is certainly true for Lynn who, at the time of writing, are not due back in action on home soil until early October, following their pairing with National League South Chesham in Monday’s draw.
That tie is due to take place on September 13, sandwiched between visits to Alfreton Town this weekend (6) and Marine a week later.
Lynn will feel they could have had an easier draw at the second qualifying round stage of the cup and to an extent, they are right. However, with the expansive style of football James Rowe plays, they will be quietly confident of making progress through to the next round and closer to that all-important first round proper of the competition.
With a gap like that in gate income, I’m sure the prize money on offer, which even at this stage of the competition is half decent, will be gratefully received by the club’s top table.
The next ‘Hearle World’ will be on September 24.
