Latest news with #StephenCleeve
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Linnets prepare for opening test of the summer
Step one of the James Rowe era goes public on Saturday afternoon with King's Lynn Town's first cobweb-brushing game of the summer. The Linnets make the short trip to Fakenham Town (3pm), with all eyes on how Rowe will line up his team and how different the dynamic will be from the side that ended last season with disappointment in the National League North play-offs. Advertisement That defeat at Chorley triggered a collapse of two regimes – manager Adam Lakeland's, after he laid bare some facts about budgetary cuts, and owner Stephen Cleeve's, as Turn Sports Investments (TSI) took charge. Rowe stepped into the head coach role and set about managing a budget and reinvigorating the squad, with the word 'community' echoing around The Walks. That's another new era, with Cleeve's one-man band now departed and the liaison with a supporters' trust front and centre of promoting brand King's Lynn Town. Around 400 season ticket sales, so far, is early proof of the fans' vote of confidence in the new-look club. But it is what happens on the pitch that will ultimately determine whether this summer of upheaval has worked. Advertisement Rowe has been around the game too long to get sucked into long-term predictions, but the turnover of players, in and out, has been sufficient to stir up plenty of optimism. Rowe has signed 12 players, including former Linnets Tai Fleming, Adam Marriott, Michael Gyasi and new skipper Michael Clunan. There are high hopes for Lynn boy Fletcher Toll, who will be looking to take a prolific scoring record to its highest level yet, as well as Sam Collins, Bailey Clements , Joe Nyahwema and Archie Crowther, while Rowe has done well to persuade Reece Hall-Johnson and Jack Lambert to move to The Walks. Goalkeeper Louis Chadwick will challenge Paul Jones for the shirt in another intriguing duel. They all join current players Jones, Ross Crane, Theo Williams, Tom Wilson, Matty Warburton, Kyle McFadden and Cameron Forde-Brown. Inevitably, some quality players have left - Dylan Crowe (FC Halifax), Jonny Margetts (Gainsborough), Josh McCammon (Spalding), Tommy Hughes, Greg Taylor (Bedford Town), Josh Coulson (Newmarket Town), Sam Walker (FC Halifax), Bailey Marsden (Marine), Finlay Barnes (Ebbsfleet United)), Kian Ronan (Chelmsford City), Freddie Sass (Accrington Stanley), Josh Hmami, Finley Whiteley (Newmarket Town), Paulius Falcao and keeper Patrick Boyes. Advertisement That churn is the consequence of upheaval, but the goalposts have been deliberately shifted with a noticeable swing to a younger squad average age. Getting the balance right is key. 'The remit's quite clear,' Rowe told official club channels. 'The directive from the ownership model in terms of what we want to do here and what sort of club we want to be. Dropping the age is no slight on what's happened before me. 'I'm one to look at the present and looking forward in terms of the remit, it's quite a clear directive in the direction we want to go - we want to be a club where we nurture young talent, whether that's coming from players that have done well at step three, step four and coming up, or whether that's players such as Sam Collins coming down who have not had the opportunities perhaps at a Cat 1 club, who are looking for that first step in professional football and that platform to play 46 games. 'Hopefully we can build on those signings this summer going forward into the season and into next and my time here and we can really have a solid base of talent coming through. Advertisement 'But alongside that it's important that if you chuck 11 youngsters together you tend to struggle so it's important that you have a good mix and with Paul Jones, Kyle McFadden, Mike Clunan, Adam Marriott etc we've got a spine there of experience, Matt Warburton as well, so in terms of that experience around the younger group on and off the field it's crucial. So always striking a balance is important with the squad.'
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'I'm proud of the badge': King's Lynn Town's new head coach
A football club has made two big announcements - the chairman has stepped down and it has appointed a new head owner Stephen Cleeve is leaving King's Lynn Town FC, who play in National League North, after nine Turn Sports Investments has taken over, and within hours had appointed James Rowe as head said: "I'm sure it's going to be in good hands. I'm sure the club will go forward and it will go on to even greater things." He said his time at the club felt like "being part of a family". Referring to Rowe's appointment, he said: "He's very knowledgeable, very intelligent and he's a winner and he wants to win football matches."I've sold him a couple of players in the past... I'm sure he will do a good job and he's also a local lad who lives in Suffolk." Rowe joins the Linnets after managing Gloucester City, Chesterfield and AFC Fylde. He said he was delighted to be joining the club and his aim was to make it "competitive". "I was proud to put the badge on yesterday... we hope we can inspire people from our performances from game one." He said he wanted to sign-up more local talent. "I'm an all encompassing manager. "I like to recruit the players," said Rowe. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'The club is in good hands going forward' - Stephen Cleeve on new owners
Stephen Cleeve penned an open letter to King's Lynn Town after it was announced his ownership of the club was coming to an end after nine years at the helm. Here's what he wrote: We have had a great journey since May 2016 when I arrived at the club bright eyed and bushy tailed: 2016/17 Norfolk Senior Cup winners 2017/18 Play-off finalists 2018/19 Champions and promoted to National League North 2019/20 Champions of National League North – promoted to National League 2020/21 Now full time and reached FA Cup second round v Portsmouth after beating Port Vale away 2021/22 Relegation and pain 2022/23 Reached FA second round v Stevenage after beating Doncaster away in a live TV fixture. Finished runners-up in the league averaging over two points a game 2023/24 A tough season where we avoided relegation and welcomed Turn Capital to the club, finishing 18th 2024/25 Finished sixth and lost in a tight play-off game 1-0 at Chorley In that time we have been instrumental in selling players, such as Frazer Blake-Tracy, Cameron Norman, Ethan Coleman, Kairo Mitchell, Jama Loza, Junior Morias, Pierce Bird, Sonny Carey, Adam Crowther, Ben Stephens, Bart Cybulski, Theo Widdrington, Josh Barrett. All moved on with our love and helped to finance the dream. Our academy was founded, Joe Taylor came through and the club benefited when he played league football and scored at Wembley in the Championship play-off final; a huge thanks to Alex, James and Matt and everyone who played and is playing a huge part in making it happen. It now thrives with hundreds of local children taking part in 50 weekly sessions and an education pathway with KES and the University of Loughborough. The media team have worked wonder, and the content has been engaging ever since they sank their teeth into the project, and I have worked with too many people to mention who have given their time for free. The stadium has improved with new catering options, a scoreboard (which will work next season), a broadcast quality TV gantry etc, a much longer lease negotiated with the council which protects the club going forward at a peppercorn rent. The club is in good hands going forward and I am looking forward to working with everyone on our creative commercial initiative. Thankyou to you the supporters, who followed us around the country and without whom the journey would have had no purpose. Forever in Blue and Gold
