Protest sends clear message to Becchetti 11/21/2016Leyton Orient fans joined up with Blackpool's last Saturday to send a clear message to the two clubs' respective owners - We Want Our Clubs Back!
Photo courtesy of Len Weiss
Before Saturday's game, hundreds of Orient fans marched peacefully with Blackpool supporters to the ground in a show of unity. The march ran from the Birkbeck Tavern to the ground via Leyton High Road and Coronation Gardens, picking up fans on the way and bringing traffic to a stop.
Photo courtesy of Len Weiss
Prior to the game, volunteers handed out two thousand cards displaying LOFT's message of 'We Want Our Club Back' to be displayed in the 18th minute of the game. 'Stand Up For The Orient' rang around the ground at that time, as fans showed how much they care for the club and how concerned they are at the club's current situation.
At the same time, fans not at the ground tweeted our 3 key messages - over 55,000 Twitter accounts have seen tweets with #wewantourclubback in the past week, the vast majority of which have been about this protest.
Further images of the day are available on our Facebook page and on local media coverage of the protest, the protest was also widely covered on social media.
Francesco Becchetti cannot pretend that there isn't a depth of feeling against the way he is running this great football club, and we will continue to seek a commitment to change in the coming weeks:
Our manifesto for change is simple and easy:
- A CEO and senior management team who understand the workings of our football club and can do their jobs unhindered
- A manager put in place that understands the lower English Leagues, who is allowed to do his job unhindered
- A sensible and consistent transfer and wages policy with the manager having the last word on transfers
- A communications policy starting from the top as has been constantly promised, including a club AGM
If Mr Becchetti is not willing to speak directly on these matters, further protest at a later date is inevitable. Meanwhile we continue to work on contingency planning in case any one of a number of disaster scenarios occurs - we will report back to members on this as and when there is more to say.
Our thanks to all the stewards, volunteers and of course supporters who marched and/or 'Stood Up For The Orient' - together we have shown that this is a club whose future is worth fighting for.
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