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Tribute to Brian Lomax (1947-2015) This Saturday

This Saturday we are asking FC United supporters to join in a minute’s applause at the start of our game against Gainsborough in memory of Brian Lomax who died on 2nd November and whose funeral is this coming Friday, 20th November.

Brian was not only one of the founders of Supporters Direct, he was the architect and inspiration of the supporters’ trust movement, without whom it is doubtful many supporter owned clubs, including FC United, would exist in the form that they do.

The word ‘inspiration’ is often used too lightly but that is not the case for Brian and it is fitting that FC United should pay its respects and give our thanks for the absolutely fundamental contribution he has made to us and to the football supporters’ movement more broadly.

Adam Brown recalls:

“It was in the days of the Government Football Task Force in the late 1990s when Brian made his initial mark on many of us. Many supporters groups at the time were casting around for ways in which they could have a greater say in the way that football is run – frustrated by the inadequacies of fans’ forums and nominated, tame supporters sat on boards.

As United fans fought the takeover of BskyB and as the Task Force looked for recommendations on how supporters could be involved in running clubs, Brian came forward with what became the model for supporter ownership in the UK. Following his experiences at Northampton Town, where he set up the first ever supporters trust, he set out, in his calm reasoned manner, the principles which should underpin supporter involvement in clubs.???

Those principles were:

i. That supporter involvement should be based on the ownership of shares by a democratic supporters’ organisation
ii. That the organisation should be one member one vote
iii. That the organisation should be affordable and open to join
iv. That the organisation should not be seeking to make a profit

These became the founding principles around which Supporters Direct was formed and on which supporters’ trusts and supporter owned clubs are based.

He led the formation of SD and became its managing director and then chair, overseeing a huge growth in supporters’ trusts and supporter owned clubs, including FC United who relied heavily on SD when we formed.

That Brian did all this in his kind, reasoned and friendly manner – always with time for a chat about the latest news and always with a passion for what football can do for people and its communities - is just further testimony to the man.

The thoughts of many of us at FC have been with his wife Catherine, daughter Emily and grandson Harvey over the past weeks as his illness grew more serious. The club will be represented at his funeral but Saturday is the opportunity for all FC United fans to say ‘thank you’ to a true legend of the supporters’ movement.


First Posted ~ 09:45 Fri 13 Nov 2015
News ID ~ 6507
Last Updated ~ 00:47 Tue 16 Feb 2021