'It's like Fawlty Towers' - Maldon & Tiptree buyers set out plans

Maldon & Tiptree reached the FA Vase semi-finals in the 2002-03 season

The prospective new owners of Maldon & Tiptree FC plan to push the club up "through the leagues" after their multi-million pound takeover deal is completed.

The Drewitt-Barlow Organisation hope to buy the club, who play in the Isthmian League North division, the eighth tier of English football, and the 20-acre stadium site from the Cowling family.

"Right now, it's like Fawlty Towers with one man running around doing almost everything," Barrie Drewitt-Barlow told BBC Essex Sport.

"It needs to have the right people in place to make it work and bring the supporters back in.

"One of the biggest things in football, especially at this kind of level, you have to rely on the supporters putting bums on seats, spending at the bar, having a good time and wanting to come back, to actually make them work.

"Otherwise, you are going to be seeing clubs like this close down."

There is also the possibility of the club being featured in a Wrexham-style TV documentary, though talks about that are at an early stage.

"I can't confirm or deny (anything) at this time. We have spoken in depth to a satellite company. Maybe, we'll see," Drewitt-Barlow said.

Richard Cowling is the current owner of the Jammers, with the ground belonging to brother Robbie's media group - the latter is also owner of League Two Colchester United.

Both will be brought together under the DBO banner and a major upgrade of the facilities at the site undertaken.

Barrie's partner, Scott Drewitt-Barlow, said owning a club had been a "life dream" for him, but part of the motivation for the takeover was to prevent the ground at Park Drive being sold off to property developers.

"My plan is to rebuild the stadium and the clubhouse, bring the community together, make a decent football team and progress well up the leagues," he said.

DBO have consulted Spencer Gore, who bought a 60% majority stake in nearby Chelmsford City over the summer, before pressing on with negotiations.

"You've got to respect people like Robbie and like Spencer who have invested not just money but their time in promoting local football. I hope our relationships continue to grow," said Barrie Drewitt-Barlow.

Mitchell Cowling, the son of Robbie, is to stay on as sporting director with overall responsibility for recruiting new players for the team.

The club's links with Colchester have seen some of the U's younger players joining Maldon & Tiptree, who beat Ipswich Wanderers 1-0 on Saturday, in a pathway Barrie Drewitt-Barlow wants to continue.

"Robbie is a businessman and he wants to see his team doing well. For Colchester, it's great exposure for those young lads who need to be playing against some men," he said.

"It's a great seeding area, this kind of league, for those players to then go on and have that stepping stone into professional football.

"But not just with Colchester United, we want to make contact with some of the other bigger clubs (in the area) as well."

The takeover has been welcomed by Maldon & Tiptree fans.

"It's brilliant and nice to have some hope and positivity around the place," said supporter Lee Witney.

"The club has got so much potential that hasn't yet been realised.

"During the Covid season [2019-20] playing Newport [in the FA Cup] in front of the BBC cameras gave a glimpse of what could be achieved with the right kind of ideas, structure and money in place."