In July 2014, the wealthy Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti bought East London’s less-fashionable club, Leyton Orient, for £4 million. He was reported to be a billionaire, had previously shown interest in buying Reading and Birmingham City, and promised great things for the Os. He did spend money, a lot of it unwisely. Less than three years on, the club is on the verge of extinction. No one is suggesting that Michael Eisner is another Becchetti, but the important point is that once you lose control of your club you can’t influence its future in any meaningful way. The experience also shows that no matter how wealthy your owner is, there’s no guarantee that he will continue to spend his cash if he loses interest.
Dave Knight, from Leyton Orient Fans’ Trust (LOFT), takes up the sorry story.
Orient have been playing professional League football in Leyton for the last 80 years, having moved to the borough from Clapton in 1937. Now they are about to be relegated out of the English Football League and recently faced a winding-up petition as a result of the current owner not paying HMRC the PAYE tax that is due.
In those 80 years, Orient have established themselves as a family friendly football club. The O’s don’t win trophies and are not glamorous but they are loved by their supporters and they have become an asset of real community value. Shops, cafes and pubs along Leyton High Road all do a bit of extra trade as a result of the three or four thousand football fans who come to Leyton to watch their team every home game. It was Leyton Orient who originally established the Community Sports Programme, now an independent charity (Leyton Orient Trust) working out of the Score Centre. The Leyton Orient Trust has done sterling work on community sport, health and education issues for young people and vulnerable groups. The Trust receives money from the League as a result of its association with Leyton Orient FC, money that will be lost or reduced should the O’s drop out of the League as they are almost certain to do.
With the club facing potential extinction, the Leyton Orient Fans’ Trust, an independent group of supporters who believe football supporters should have a greater say in the management of football and football clubs, have been organising to prepare for any eventuality that results from the total mismanagement of the club by the owner, Mr Francesco Becchetti, the Chief Executive, Alessandro Angelieri and the Chief Operating Officer Vito Miceli. Between them they have brought the club to its knees. As well as failing to pay the tax they have also failed to pay staff and players, failed to pay their bills to the club photographer, the programme publishers and many other businesses that have dealings with the club.
The management of the club remain silent while the chaos at the club grows, and they have done no better on the football side of things taking us from third in League One to near certain relegation out of the League in three seasons, getting through 11 different managers in the process and reducing the playing squad to such an extent that our youth team players are having to play in the first team.
What has happened at Leyton Orient over the past three years is criminal – one man has been able to destroy a local community asset and the football authorities seem unwilling or powerless to do anything about it. But we are not the only football club suffering from mismanagement and it has been heartening to receive support from other clubs and supporters’ organisations. We would like to see changes to the national management of the game to protect football clubs from mercenary businessmen across the country.
Postscript – Leyton Orient employees issued this statement in mid-April:
“We have become hugely concerned by the lack of communication issued by owner Francesco Becchetti and directors. Having not received our wages for the month of March 2017, staff were told to expect payment on 6 April. However, on the eve of the date promised, staff were informed that they would have to wait a ‘few more days’. We appeal to the club’s directors to communicate the current situation and provide us with an update regarding our pay.”
On 22nd April, Leyton Orient were relegated from the Football League.
No To The Takeover 