Caney’s Corner, Your Local Paper, Wednesday, April 9, 2025
It's been less than 18 months since I used this column to write an open letter to Stephen Cleeve, the owner of King's Lynn Town.
It was penned less as a member of the media who has been around the club for almost 15 years and more as an incredibly concerned supporter who has followed the Linnets for almost 30.
Cleeve had used his column in the Eastern Daily Press to declare that the club needed £300,000 investment to be able to see out the season.
There were genuine fears Lynn would fold a second time. But this is where you stepped in.
To the relief of so many, it was announced that Turn Sports Investments had pumped in an unknown injection of cash to save our beloved Linnets.
Despite the fanfare, the details of the partnership remained vague and have continued to do so.
Now that Stephen has used his programme notes to say another £50,000 is needed by the end of June, it's time to start providing some transparency.
Rumours have been circulating around the terraces and the town that there is a power struggle between yourself (Joseph Phua) and Stephen.
The widely teased, but never officially confirmed, arrival of Bal as commercial director seems to have coincided in some widely praised ticket-based entry incentives.
But to this day we can still only assume that Bal is indeed Bal Srai, a former head of revenue and operations at AFC Wimbledon.
While some people don't like to go shouting about their business, your silence is deafening, if not damaging.
Why haven't we heard more from you Jo? Why have the press not been invited to speak to Bal?
Is it because you don't want to talk or because Stephen is blocking you from doing so?
I'd ask him myself but he's long blocked myself and plenty of other fans on Twitter.
His achievements in taking us to the giddy heights of the National League have been celebrated but his inability to handle criticism or relinquish control is burning bridges in the local community and harming what appears to be your efforts to improve Lynn and eye future growth.
Never underestimate how wary us fans are about off-the-pitch matters at The Walks.
Don't forget, it was the silence of 2009 that left it too late to help turn around the issues that saw the club get wound up in the High Court.
If the club really needs £50,000 to see the season out, let's worry about the why later.
Just put your apparent issues to one side to ensure it's found.
And then please start focusing on sharing a vision so we can see a plan for the future that we can get behind.
The floor is yours Jo and Bal.
I'm happy to give you my column next week so you can talk directly to supporters via one of the most-read print publications in West Norfolk.
Email sport@yourlocalpaper .co.uk - perhaps you can start by answering the following questions.
l Did you invest more than the required £300,000 to help King's Lynn Town see out the 2023/24 season?
l If yes, how much have you put into the club and what percentage of shares/ownership has that given you?
l Has the relationship between you and Stephen really broken down?
l Is it true that you are running things at The Walks now as a result of your investment?
l Stephen says he's happy to give away his shares for free - do you want them and do you want full control?
l How, and why, is the club £50,000 short?
l Did you know that Stephen was going to be getting the begging bowl back out in his matchday programme notes?
l Does the club have any debt, be it HMRC-based payments or surrounding the Covid/Sport England loans?
l Is it true that you're keen to give the Blue & Gold Trust shares and involvement in the club if they provide financial investment?
l If the club doesn't get promoted this season, will you be backing the continuation of a full-time model?
