[dim view]

philtooleycfss, on 12 October 2011 - 09:14 PM, said:

I heard tonight that Norton Lea had passed away yesterday. I'd not seen him for a long time but heard he'd been frail.

When we played Colchester the other week I was talking to Peter Heard, President of CUFC (ex Chairman) and a great help to us when the League threatened to expel us back in 2001. He was a friend of Norton's and I asked him if he'd been to see him ahead of the game and was told no; he'd contacted Norton to see if he could visit but was told that he couldn't, so I expect Norton died quite lonely - his lovely wife Barbara died a couple of years ago and they had no children. He'd been living at Belmont at Holymoorside since leaving Chander Hill.

Phil

yep, sad news Phil - and you are right about Barbara. RIP.
I think about him almost daily as I pass Lea International on me way to work, and I'm left with the charitable thought that we wouldn't be where we are now if it wasn't for him, albeit unintentionally.

[Siberian Spireite]

PR was never Norton's strong point in an era where media was burgeoning and people (fans especially) wanted to know what was going on at CFC, but the simple fact is that he kept us on an even keel and left us in a strong position. I'm sure he put his heart and soul into Town, so we owe him great thanks for that. A minute's silence is the least the club could do.

Rest in peace, JNL.

[Sheik Yerbooty]

RIP JNL

[Mr Brooks]

RIP Norton Lea.

[Blueprint]

Like others have said above he was an old fashioned chairman who ran a very very tight ship, remember hearing tales from people in the office about how he wouldn't spend money on things like paper clips. The Brown situation definitely meant that he left us with a scared reputation - it was hard to see understand how he couldn't see that DB couldn't rub two pennies together, but then DB talked the talk and led pretty much all of us up the garden path. Prior to that it was hard to fault his ownership, his PR skills left a lot to be desired but he was an approachable gentleman from what I recall. This meant we got free tickets at field mill once from him, although they were in the home end.

RIP Norton.

[Blueprint]

There's a piece on the DT website about him

http://www.derbyshir...ed_86_1_3864475

Published on Wednesday 12 October 2011 17:41

Former Chesterfield FC chairman Norton Lea has died aged 86.

Mr Lea joined the Spireites board in the mid 1980s and remained with the club until 2000 when the controversial Darren Brown took over.

Born at Church Gresley, in Derbyshire, Mr Lea lived at Holymoorside.

He had a wide variety of business interests, including a global exhibition display company.

He passed away on Wednesday after a battle against cancer.

Mike Watterson, another former chairman of the Blues, said he had kept in touch with Mr Lea.

He said: “Norton was a hard man but a fair man. He was a good businessman, I liked him.’’

A funeral service will be held on Monday, October 24, at Chesterfield Crematorium, at 12.30pm


Edit: I actually thought he was in his 90's now

This post has been edited by Blueprint: 13 October 2011 - 10:45 AM

[onlyonefinfolan]

Blueprint, on 13 October 2011 - 10:39 AM, said:

Like others have said above he was an old fashioned chairman who ran a very very tight ship, remember hearing tales from people in the office about how he wouldn't spend money on things like paper clips. The Brown situation definitely meant that he left us with a scared reputation - it was hard to see understand how he couldn't see that DB couldn't rub two pennies together, but then DB talked the talk and led pretty much all of us up the garden path. Prior to that it was hard to fault his ownership, his PR skills left a lot to be desired but he was an approachable gentleman from what I recall. This meant we got free tickets at field mill once from him, although they were in the home end.

RIP Norton.

He used to buy one bar of soap and cut it in half, 50% for the ladies and 50% for the gents!

This post has been edited by onlyonefinfolan: 13 October 2011 - 10:44 AM

[blue is the colour]

philtooleycfss, on 12 October 2011 - 09:14 PM, said:

I heard tonight that Norton Lea had passed away yesterday. I'd not seen him for a long time but heard he'd been frail.

When we played Colchester the other week I was talking to Peter Heard, President of CUFC (ex Chairman) and a great help to us when the League threatened to expel us back in 2001. He was a friend of Norton's and I asked him if he'd been to see him ahead of the game and was told no; he'd contacted Norton to see if he could visit but was told that he couldn't, so I expect Norton died quite lonely - his lovely wife Barbara died a couple of years ago and they had no children. He'd been living at Belmont at Holymoorside since leaving Chander Hill.

Phil

Sad news, I have spoken with Norton many times, being a Blues on the move agent I used to bump into him at Saltergate and he would always give you the time of day. A minutes silence on Saturday will be a fitting tribute . RIP JNL.

[The Earl of Chesterfield]

Funny how folk suddenly portray things differently when someone dies, isn't it.

I guess we should pay tribute to the fact Norton Lea's underwriting of our debts - i understand he never actually put his own money into CFC but instead guaranteed our overdraft - offered us a form of stability, whilst no one can deny the promotion, cup run, and respectable league standing we enjoyed during his tenure. However were they because of, or in spite of his parsimonious and autocratic approach? Certainly his intransigent, almost dismissive attitude towards those that disagreed with him cost the Club dearly in the longer term, something even he later admitted in a meeting with SIFA representatives.

Then there's the sale of CFC to Brown.

I'm convinced Lea knew exactly what he was doing when he accepted Brown's offer yet considered the deal a win-win for himself. If Brown did somehow manage to pay what he owed Lea - including the half a million the former Chairman loaned the new owner to buy CFC from him - then he'd made well in excess of three times what he'd actually paid for his shares. If not, then he'd return to rescue the situation as some sort of saviour whilst silencing all those that'd called for his exit. But what Lea hadn't bargained for was the sheer magnitude of Brown's criminal intent allied to just how loathed he was amongst many, perhaps most Town fans.

And let's not forget Lea's cynical attempts to undermine the CFSS's efforts to save our club, eventually leading to his spiteful purchase of the Steelers from under the nose of Cook when that individual handed CFC back to the fans.

The way i see it Lea took over a club playing fourth tier football, watched by two or three thousand fans, in an antique of a stadium. When he left it was plummeting back towards that level with embarrassing ease, with most of it's rapidly diminishing fanbase left alienated and angry, whilst playing in that same dilapidated ground. Sure the bank balance was in the black, but his choice of 'the right man to take Chesterfield forward' would soon sort that out. In my mind it could all have been so much different if Norton Lea had only listened to people from time to time.

But then he wasn't dubbed 'The Old Dictator' for nothing.

This post has been edited by MDCCCLXVI: 13 October 2011 - 01:17 PM

[Radders]

trickytrevsfanclub, on 12 October 2011 - 09:22 PM, said:

Sad news. He might not have been our favourite ex chairman but he did have his moments. RIP Norts.

From what I have just read I am in a minority of 1. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't wish death on anyone, but lets not forget this man actually sold the club to Darren Brown after saying he was only going to sell the club to someone who had the best interests of the club at heart. I'm sorry but I still believe he knew what he was doing. I could go on, but what's the point - he's met his maker.

[dim view]

MDCCCLXVI, on 13 October 2011 - 01:15 PM, said:

Funny how folk suddenly portray things differently when someone dies, isn't it.

I guess we should pay tribute to the fact Norton Lea's underwriting of our debts - i understand he never actually put his own money into CFC but instead guaranteed our overdraft

I think out of 29 posts, only Spinach Chin has 'portrayed things differently'. Nobody is trying to rewrite history. Are you suggesting condolences arn't appropriate?.

How come he and others received money from Brown if he didn't own shares, which he had presumably purchased previously?.

[Wooden Spoon]

MDCCCLXVI, on 13 October 2011 - 01:15 PM, said:

Funny how folk suddenly portray things differently when someone dies, isn't it.

I guess we should pay tribute to the fact Norton Lea's underwriting of our debts - i understand he never actually put his own money into CFC but instead guaranteed our overdraft - offered us a form of stability, whilst no one can deny the promotion, cup run, and respectable league standing we enjoyed during his tenure. However were they because of, or in spite of his parsimonious and autocratic approach? Certainly his intransigent, almost dismissive attitude towards those that disagreed with him cost the Club dearly in the longer term, something even he later admitted in a meeting with SIFA representatives.

Then there's the sale of CFC to Brown.

I'm convinced Lea knew exactly what he was doing when he accepted Brown's offer yet considered the deal a win-win for himself. If Brown did somehow manage to pay what he owed Lea - including the half a million the former Chairman loaned the new owner to buy CFC from him - then he'd made well in excess of three times what he'd actually paid for his shares. If not, then he'd return to rescue the situation as some sort of saviour whilst silencing all those that'd called for his exit. But what Lea hadn't bargained for was the sheer magnitude of Brown's criminal intent allied to just how loathed he was amongst many, perhaps most Town fans.

And let's not forget Lea's cynical attempts to undermine the CFSS's efforts to save our club, eventually leading to his spiteful purchase of the Steelers from under the nose of Cook when that individual handed CFC back to the fans.

The way i see it Lea took over a club playing fourth tier football, watched by two or three thousand fans, in an antique of a stadium. When he left it was plummeting back towards that level with embarrassing ease, with most of it's rapidly diminishing fanbase left alienated and angry, whilst playing in that same dilapidated ground. Sure the bank balance was in the black, but his choice of 'the right man to take Chesterfield forward' would soon sort that out. In my mind it could all have been so much different if Norton Lea had only listened to people from time to time.

But then he wasn't dubbed 'The Old Dictator' for nothing.

I have always said I didnt think he was bad, that SIFA should not have protested and he sold to brown so he could return as the saviour to shut SIFA up.

I also maintain that if the council had been as helpfun then as they were in our move to the B2net we would way ahead of where we are now. Why would JNL spend money on saltergate...there was nothing there worth developing and would have held the club back and been a waste of money.

I say the same now, which is why i said `i might be in a minority`

[Wooden Spoon]

dim view, on 13 October 2011 - 01:42 PM, said:

I think out of 29 posts, only Spinach Chin has 'portrayed things differently'. Nobody is trying to rewrite history. Are you suggesting condolences arn't appropriate?.

in what way?

[dim view]

Spinach chin, on 13 October 2011 - 02:12 PM, said:

in what way?

well, I think Chris is intimating that Norton shouldn't be portrayed as 'a good man running the club'.

[Wooden Spoon]

dim view, on 13 October 2011 - 02:26 PM, said:

well, I think Chris is intimating that Norton shouldn't be portrayed as 'a good man running the club'.

`I think out of 29 posts, only Spinach Chin has 'portrayed things differently'.??????????




At the time I wasnt grumpy about JNL, and thought the red card protest was a mistake. i didnt ever think he was a bad chairman, and I`m for any man who runs a football club in the black-certainly at a ground like saltergate with no other way to generate income.

Yes he had his character traits,and used to cut bars of soap in half, but that aside I think he was OK

[dim view]

Spinach chin, on 13 October 2011 - 03:29 PM, said:

and I`m for any man who runs a football club in the black-certainly at a ground like saltergate with no other way to generate income.

Yes he had his character traits,and used to cut bars of soap in half, but that aside I think he was OK[/color]

so do I, until the big mistake.
Will we ever discover whether he was truly appalled by the extent of Brown's deviousness?.

[lindave]

trickytrevsfanclub, on 12 October 2011 - 09:22 PM, said:

Sad news. He might not have been our favourite ex chairman but he did have his moments. RIP Norts.

RIP Norton,you kept this club alive and well respected for many years.

[Spire2001]

RIP Mr Norton Lea.
You will never be forgotten.

[Mr.Spireite]

MDCCCLXVI, on 13 October 2011 - 01:15 PM, said:

Funny how folk suddenly portray things differently when someone dies, isn't it.

I guess we should pay tribute to the fact Norton Lea's underwriting of our debts - i understand he never actually put his own money into CFC but instead guaranteed our overdraft - offered us a form of stability, whilst no one can deny the promotion, cup run, and respectable league standing we enjoyed during his tenure. However were they because of, or in spite of his parsimonious and autocratic approach? Certainly his intransigent, almost dismissive attitude towards those that disagreed with him cost the Club dearly in the longer term, something even he later admitted in a meeting with SIFA representatives.

Then there's the sale of CFC to Brown.

I'm convinced Lea knew exactly what he was doing when he accepted Brown's offer yet considered the deal a win-win for himself. If Brown did somehow manage to pay what he owed Lea - including the half a million the former Chairman loaned the new owner to buy CFC from him - then he'd made well in excess of three times what he'd actually paid for his shares. If not, then he'd return to rescue the situation as some sort of saviour whilst silencing all those that'd called for his exit. But what Lea hadn't bargained for was the sheer magnitude of Brown's criminal intent allied to just how loathed he was amongst many, perhaps most Town fans.

And let's not forget Lea's cynical attempts to undermine the CFSS's efforts to save our club, eventually leading to his spiteful purchase of the Steelers from under the nose of Cook when that individual handed CFC back to the fans.

The way i see it Lea took over a club playing fourth tier football, watched by two or three thousand fans, in an antique of a stadium. When he left it was plummeting back towards that level with embarrassing ease, with most of it's rapidly diminishing fanbase left alienated and angry, whilst playing in that same dilapidated ground. Sure the bank balance was in the black, but his choice of 'the right man to take Chesterfield forward' would soon sort that out. In my mind it could all have been so much different if Norton Lea had only listened to people from time to time.

But then he wasn't dubbed 'The Old Dictator' for nothing.

[Elmer Fudd's Thick Lip]

Spinach chin, on 13 October 2011 - 03:29 PM, said:

`I think out of 29 posts, only Spinach Chin has 'portrayed things differently'.??????????




At the time I wasnt grumpy about JNL, and thought the red card protest was a mistake. i didnt ever think he was a bad chairman, and I`m for any man who runs a football club in the black-certainly at a ground like saltergate with no other way to generate income.

Yes he had his character traits,and used to cut bars of soap in half, but that aside I think he was OK

I'm inclined to agree Popeye. He ran a tight ship, and may have been miserly. Even so he kept us afloat while other clubs (Aldershot) floundered.
I don't for one minute think that he intentionally put the future of the club at risk. He was hoodwinked by that Rotherham scumbag, as were a lot of people.
I always remember my dad saying to me whenever I got excited at the thought of promotion 'Reign it in lad, Chesterfield won't go up, cos those in charge of the club don't want them to go up'. This may have been true, but his memory should at least be aknowledged come Saturday afternoon.

This post has been edited by Dave Wallers 'tache: 13 October 2011 - 04:51 PM