What’s in a name? Almost everything, according to the Whitehawk FC chairman John Summers, whose team play their football at The Enclosed Ground in a part of Brighton once cited by BBC’s Newsnight as one of the most deprived areas in Britain. Currently fourth in National League South, English football’s sixth tier, the Hawks entertain Lincoln City from the division above in the first round of the FA Cup on Sunday. Six years ago the club was a staple of the Sussex County League, playing in front of the proverbial four men and a dog.
Following investment by Summers and his business partner Peter McDonnell, they have since secured three promotions but attendances remain in the low hundreds. A devoted fan and local lad done good, Summers claims he sold his Bentley and two boats to fund his latest plaything’s ascent towards the Football League and now he is battling the Football Association to change Whitehawk’s name to something more representative of Brighton.
Having already tried and failed to have it renamed Brighton & Hove City following an objection by Championship high-flyers Brighton & Hove Albion, he feels the powers that be are conspiring against him. “We were contacted by a particular member of the FA,” he explains, declining to name the member in question. “When he heard of our plans to change our name, when we were promoted to the Conference, he gave us a right telling-off, shouting down the phone at us. Within a very short period of time, the FA changed the rules and this particular individual was prominent in changing them, to make our application impossible to approve. They unanimously objected.”
The FA for their part says they can understand the club’s frustration but there are structures in place for name changes and they would not alter those rules to spite anybody.
“We don’t understand why a football club can own the name of a city, which they’re claiming .” Brighton were unavailable for comment.
Whitehawk’s greatest claims to not so much fame as notoriety include last year’s conviction and imprisonment of Michael Boateng, one of their former players, for match-fixing along with their equally embarrassing role as the subject of the minor internet sensation The Wealdstone Raider’s “Got No Fans!” rant. For all that bad publicity, Rory Milton, one of Whitehawk’s self-styled sparkler and flag-waving “ultras” (a sobriquet coined with tongue very much in cheek) feels no name change is necessary.
“One of the Lincoln players was asked in an interview what he thought when he saw they’d been drawn against Whitehawk and he said: ‘Well, I had to go and Google it,’” he laughs. “But we’re almost at the point of national recognition, when we’re getting to the FA Cup first round and we’re getting talked about because we’re a Conference team. I think keeping the Whitehawk name is more important now. People think we sound like an 80s metal band. It’s a cool name. Let’s just let it grow naturally and see where it gets us.”
By way of rebuttal, Summers points out that the bewildered Lincoln City player is in the majority. “There’s people outside Brighton who don’t know what Whitehawk is or even where it is, while people in Brighton still see Whitehawk as a very deprived and dangerous estate,” he explains. “That stops people coming to see us.”
Summers also has to contend with accusations that he is little more than a sugar daddy, hell bent on turning Whitehawk into the Manchester City or Chelsea of non-league football. His team feature a number of former Football League players including Sergio Torres and Scott Neilson, once of Crawley Town; Sam Deering, who was bought from Cheltenham Town and Lee Hills, a one-time Crystal Palace defender.
Convincing footballers to play at a level almost certainly beneath their level of talent cannot be cheap. “Our budget is around middle of that league,” says Summers. “But, yeah, we’re paying some good money. I’m not going to give you the exact figures, but the sums we’re reported to be throwing around have been massively exaggerated.”
As far as Whitehawk’s maiden excursion into the FA Cup proper is concerned, both chairman and diehard fan are cautiously optimistic. “They’re beatable,” says the former. “They’re favourites, being towards the top of the next league but we’ll be looking to give them a game.”
Milton thinks Whitehawk’s chances of giving Lincoln a game could hinge on The Enclosed Ground’s sloping pitch. “It all depends on whether we’re playing downhill or uphill in the first half,” he says. “Downhill in the second is where we like to be. If we can play uphill in the first half, just keep it sensible, then in the second half they’ve got to run uphill when they want to attack, which will really tire them out.”
