Chigwellian wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2026 11:41 pm
McLeansvilleAppFan wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2026 11:09 pm
Chigwellian wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2026 5:49 pm
at last... that cancer has gone.
he has alienated so many people, it's untrue.
how one man can cause so much resentment to so many, is an achievement on its own
He has been around the club for 45 years. When did the relationship sour or has it always been a bad relationship back to 1981?
it started after Dave Andrews passed away.. and thommo has a free reign to do what he liked.
Dave managed to keep a tight hold of him, as he never liked him or trusted him.
i had a really long chat with him at the queen vic in theydon bois once. it even surprised me at things he said
Agree mostly about the timeline. It started as soon as Dave Andrews retired in November 2013.
At his retirement party for a while he was sitting on his own, and I went to talk to him. He looked so unhappy.
He told me at the time how worried he was about the club now someone could get their stinky paws on it and how good people like the Easts were being pushed out. He wasn’t wrong.
(This has come from my FB memories on his retirement, so is pretty accurate).
The East family had been with the Redbridge side of the club forever. Barry East (RIP) was President of Leytonstone FC and made President of D&R. His sons Brian (RIP) and John were members of Leytonstone FC from the minute they were born - John once showed me the telegram on the day of his birth.
The East family heavily invested in the club through loans, sponsorship etc. Over the years they helped keep the club afloat.
When the club was first put up for sale, they formed a consortium but the club was sold to Glyn Hopkin. Part of the reason the Easts consortium failed is because the first thing they would do would be to remove ST. ST was never going to vote for the owner who cost him his job…
The Easts stopped their involvement with the club. A huge loss imo. Along with the loss of Gerry Hanning, another board director who was pushed out.
The whole point about Dave Andrews is that he was a football man. He used to play for the club (Leytonstone FC). I doubt if some of our recent managerial appointments would have been made if he had been still around. He also would stop managers signing dud injured players.