Greta Thunberg goes in goal
When she’s not campaigning against climate change, Greta Thunberg is busy saving spot- kicks – all thanks to a brilliant series of posters at Lewes FC, who’ve also taken inspiration from Subbuteo and... er, David Hasselhoff
Sometimes, it’s the little details that tell you a club is going about their business in the right way. Often, it’s quite hard to put your finger on it – a certain buzz around the ground, a witty comment from the guy on the turnstile, a fanzine that you actually read… or it could be their matchday posters.
You’d be hard pushed to find a club across the world that puts out ones as consistently good – week in, week out, home and away, men’s and women’s teams – as Lewes FC in East Sussex.
Always guaranteed to raise a smile, their witty, irreverent approach to matchday advertisements – usually based on questionable pop cultural references, or a pun on the opposing team’s name – are matched by the quality of their design. It’s clear that they’re the work of a professional graphic designer moonlighting for his home club… or so you’d think. As it turns out, that’s far from the truth.
“I did previously work in marketing,” admits Lewes’ mastermind, Charlie Dobres. “But not on the design side. I used to be a suit, but sometimes you dabble, don’t you?”
If only we could all dabble as well as Dobres. Artwork isn’t the only thing he’s modest about, either. Dobres is one of Lewes’ six founding directors, as a supporter- owned club who have committed to pay equality for both male and female teams. Their men play in the Isthmian Premier Division, while the women compete in the FA Women’s Championship.
Many of Dobres’ ideas directly reflect the club’s gender equality. “We often have inspirational women in a football setting – we did Greta Thunberg in goal, literally saving the world,” he says, recruiting the help of designer Dan Hardman for that particular poster celebrating the young activist.
Not all of the designs are worthy, politically- charged propaganda. Some of the best ( available to buy from their online shop, in response to demand from fans and admirers) have been nothing but cheap – or genius – puns.
“It’s mainly pastiching well- known designs,” says Dobres. “It almost has to be by definition, as I don’t have the capacity to do it from scratch!”
Cue a riff on the TV test card, a giant chip to signify Chipstead, Corinthian
Casuals depicted as a Subbuteo set, and a winter game mocked up as The Cold Day Whistle Test. “A few years ago we played a team called South Park,” says Dobres. “That was a gift!”
Things have taken off to such an extent that Dobres has now engaged an agency to help – but not merely in the pursuit of earning extra coin.
“We were doing 30 to 35 posters a year already, but now we’ve added women’s posters too,” he explains. “But it has to be done by people who understand the DNA of the football club. It’s not just about the profit margins – it underlines the idea of football at the heart of culture.”
Nothing says that quite like Greta Thunberg trying to be Gigi Buffon.