Lee Merrifield: The National League South is not beyond Wimborne Town Football Club
After their first full season as owners, Lee Merrifield sits down to talk about life as a non-league owner as well as ambitions for Wimborne Town FC
For many people, working in football would be a dream - millions of children worldwide grow up dreaming about becoming a footballer, but if that fails to materialise surely working in football would be the next best thing? For Lee Merrifield that dream is a reality.
“I’ve always been a football fan” Lee beams as we sit in the lounge area of the MSP office building in Poole Quay, the spring afternoon sunshine lighting up the football memorabilia on the green painted walls behind us. “As a kid growing up, I loved football… but I quickly realised I wasn’t very good, so you either become an armchair fan or you look at ways of getting involved.”
‘Getting involved’ could be a volunteer on a matchday or perhaps a reporter, but purchasing a non-league football club is in another ballpark. With Wimborne however, Lee has done it all.
“I used to go to Queen Elizabeth school in Wimborne, which is up the road from the old ground, so a couple of friends and I when I was 17 or 18 used to go to the odd Wimborne home game.” He says.
Before he knew it, Lee was volunteering at Wimborne and neglecting his league club. A self-confessed lapsed Pompey fan, he admitted once you get involved with non-league it’s hard to keep your interest in your league club going, but he still reflects fondly on his time going to Portsmouth matches.
“A couple of my mates are Southampton season ticket holders, so I had the joy of going to a few Saints-Pompey games – but I had to be very well behaved or else I’d be torn limb from limb.” He laughed.
This is something that co-owner Martin Higgins, a Bournemouth fan who has a box at the Vitality Stadium, agrees with: “I’ve always been to all the Bournemouth games, but I haven’t been for 3 months.” Higgins said. “I absolutely love being involved at Wimborne, it’s just an amazing feeling.”
Wimborne co-owner, Lee Merrifield | Photo by Kyran Rickman
Wimborne co-owner, Lee Merrifield | Photo by Kyran Rickman
MSP Capital Building, where Wimborne's owners work | Photo by Kyran Rickman
MSP Capital Building, where Wimborne's owners work | Photo by Kyran Rickman
It's that amazing feeling that motivated the ownership group to purchase the club. Lee explained that he used to do a finance director-type role at Wimborne, but without sitting on the board. Knowing the Magpies needed investment, with the help of some colleagues from his day job as Associate Director of Credit at MSP Capital - a finance company who’s one of AFC Bournemouth’s sponsors but are separate to the deal that purchased Wimborne – Merrifield went about taking over the club.
“I had a chat with a couple of colleagues [Adam Tovey & Martin Higgins] who expressed an interest – we talked about the numbers involved and then went to the existing board to see if they were interested.” Merrifield continued: “They [Wimborne’s board] were happy to have that chat and a deal didn’t take long to get agreed.”
At the time of the takeover in December 2021 Wimborne had not long moved into their new ground, New Cuthbury, so gradual evolution is the plan rather than pulling up any trees. A new academy though is something of interest: “We’d love more academy and more development centre players. Next year there is an intake of 20 for the academy and the idea the year after would be another 20 so that we would have a ‘Year One’ and a ‘Year Two’ group.”
Investment has also been made in the pitch, clubhouse and matchday experience, something that is showing in the rocketing attendance figures from this season. The Magpies average attendance was 537, a figure that is 40% higher than the season before when the club were in the division above.
Wimborne’s match-reporter, Graham Dunn, noticed the changes the owners have made to New Cuthbury to take advantage of the larger crowds: “Three sides of the pitch are full of advertising boards. Secondly, we’re getting a lot more matchday sponsors and match-ball sponsors too.”
Reel on how Non-League Football Transfers work @KyransSports | Video by Kyran Rickman
Timeline of Wimborne’s new ownership.
December 2021 – Lee Merrifield, Martin Higgins & Adam Tovey purchase WTFC.
April 2022 – Wimborne are relegated from Southern League Premier South after 4 years.
October 2022 – With Wimborne 14th, James Stokoe is sacked and replaced by Tim Sills.
February 2023 – Club record 14-game unbeaten run comes to an end.
April 2023 – WTFC end the season 5th, losing to Sholing in the Playoffs.
Lee is keen to point out that the attendance figures are the highest in the area and even larger than Poole Towns’ who were chasing promotion from the division above. “The crowds this year have shown that there’s definite interest and appetite for Wimborne.” Merrifield stated whilst comparing themselves to other clubs such as Slimbridge who’s facilities are “little more than Wessex League” in comparison. “If I was running a club and no one was coming to watch then I would be asking myself why am I bothering? But with Wimborne the interest is there, and it is a growing place with potential for pushing the club on.”
It's that potential that heightens the owners’ lofty ambitions: “We want to get back up to where we were and stabilise, but with the right financial structure, National League South is not beyond us.”
The owners are aware that the task will be difficult, but they will not bank roll the club there in the same way Totton have done this season, something that is of frustration to Lee: “We tried to sign Josh Carmichael from Salisbury, he would have been our highest paid player, but we still got outbid by Totton. If Totton didn’t exist, then we wouldn’t have had to even bid that high to make him our highest paid player.” Lee notes that Wimborne are a “victim of their geography” with other clubs in the area are pushing wages and fees up.
After a good learning curve this season which saw James Stokoe sacked, Tim Sills hired, the club going on a record 14 game unbeaten streak before narrowly missing out to Sholing in the playoffs, promotion is very much on the agenda for next season.
One last question I put to Lee & Martin though was do they had any regrets? Martin has only one: “No regrets at all – I just wish I’d bought Wimborne sooner.”
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