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Billed as Promised Land – an Evening with Local Author Anthony Clavane, Thursday night at Wivenhoe Town Football Club didn’t disappoint. This was very much an evening of two halves: celebrating the survival of the Dragons, and then a reading and Q & A with Anthony based around his current Leeds United based book.

The common theme here was that of community. The very survival of Wivenhoe Town was in some doubt two years ago. With financial woes now hopefully behind the club, the forward planning is taking place that allows the whole community to use the Broad Lane space. The parallel theme in Anthony’s book is the decline of community, and the decline of the Elland Road club.

A statement of declaration: I know very little of what has taken place over the previous two years at Wivenhoe Town FC. What I do know is that on the day of my 40th birthday, the very same day that @AnnaJCowen and I came Hoe house hunting, we stumbled upon a march of passionate fans, protesting from the Quay up to the Cross about the mismanagement of the site by the Wivenhoe Town Trust.

Splendid. I’ll ‘av a bit of that, I thought to myself.

And so not wanting to bang on about something I know little about, I was enthused on Thursday night to hear more about the future of Wivenhoe Town FC and Broad Lane. With representation from the entire first team, Wivenhoe Book Shop, Transition Town Wivenhoe, the Moving Image cinema and the Mayor of Wivenhoe, bringing on board the non-football element around these parts doesn’t seem to be a problem.

Speakers were invited to explore the idea of how the community can use the club. With a waiting list already in place for Wivenhoe allotments, Transition Town Wivenhoe is keen to let out short terms plots ahead of possible future building plans. The aim is for temporary giant grow bags that can be moved around the site, as and when the space becomes free.

A wonderful short film followed, documenting the decline and rise of the club over the past two years. For the Love of the Game [which really should go up on youtube...] articulates brilliantly how the club can only survive if it focuses on developing football talent right though form the junior ranks up to the first team. Paying ageing pro’s is of no benefit to anyone.

Kevin Hall, a local architect, then gave a great presentation about his Development Plan for the Broad Lane site. The current location of the clubhouse is seen as not being inclusive to all Broad Lane users. Kevin is keen to build a new Broad Lane facility that will be in a more central location on the opposite corner of the pitch. An investor is keen to splash out the cash, providing the whole community comes on board.

The Promised Land evening then came to a close with Anthony Clavane reading from his new book about the reinvention of Leeds United. Anthony explained how he now has more passion in watching the Wivenhoe junior teams compared to the Premier League big boys as part of his day job. There is little sense of community on the big stage, whereas back at Broad Lane, football remains fun.

Q & A’s followed, exploring the idea of big business and foreign investment in football. The consensus was that the connection between community and players in the Premier League was lost some twenty years ago with the arrival of the Premier League.

This discussion brought the evening full circle, and the conclusion that in order to survive and flourish, Wivenhoe Town can’t operate in isolation. The whole community needs to become a stakeholder, and the clubs needs to accommodate the different interests and needs.

It will be seventeen years since my last Wivenhoe Town home game when I return to Broad Lane in a couple of weeks. With such fond memories of three seasons watching the Dragons, I’m hoping that little has changed. I’m also hoping that everything has changed, and that the club has learnt from previous financial mistakes and can build a bright future at Broad Lane.

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