SPORTS MARCH INTO A NEW ERA

BOSS BEARD LEADS REVOLUTION

- Jon Couch

THINK Eastbourne and you picture the glorious British summer. Beach huts, deckchairs, eating fish ‘n’ chips amid gloomy skies on the promenade. The perfect family getaway.

A little under the mile from the seafront lies another little gem in this part of East Sussex. Tidy, well-kept, yet understated, Eastbourne Borough’s humble Priory Lane is your archetypal community safe haven on a Saturday afternoon and a favourite with groundhoppers everywhere.

But enter ambitious local entrepreneur, public speaker, author and life coach Simon Leslie and suddenly the makeup and dynamic of the National League South club has changed almost beyond recognition.

Acquiring the majority shareholding of the club, Leslie, on his website, says he is “on a mission to bring world-class football teams to Eastbourne” – and he is certainly starting to make his mark.

A new, exciting full-time model and “data-driven approach” was suddenly implemented, although to the detriment of successful manager Danny Bloor, who was let go after three-and-a-half years in charge of Sports.

In his place came Mark Beard, who had overseen similar evolution in seven years along the coast at Brighton & Hove Albion and was plying his trade in the National League as Marc White’s first team coach at Dorking Wanderers.

“It all happened very quickly, a bit of a whirlwind really” Beard told The NLP. “My brother phoned me to tell me about the vacancy so, after getting permission from Marc, I threw my name in.