WELL done to Whitehawk ultras who peacefully protested against the name change to Brighton City FC.

The use of the online petition and making their voices heard, not only at games but on social media, has shown that supporters still have a say in how the club is run and have the ability to fight decisions they don’t agree with.

I found it interesting that vice-chair Nigel Thornton said John Summers’s decision to talk to fans at a game was “brave.” I am sure he wasn’t implying that the Whitehawk supporters were violent or that Summers, who is the chairman of the club, would be in any danger by standing with supporters on the terraces but it was an odd choice of words.

It shows us a slight glimpse of how some owners view fans. That their place is on the terraces, leave the “important decisions” to those in the boardroom.

Summers did the right thing by leaving the office to engage with fans and listen to what they had to say. By doing that, and then dropping the ridiculous idea, it highlighted what is amazing about football at that level. Local fans have a voice and feel connected to the club.

More club owners should take note when deciding how to take the club forward. They may have put millions into the club and their name is on the letterhead but supporters put in just as much, if not more.

Take Hull owner Assam Allam and the way he attempted to rebrand Hull City as Hull Tigers.

Though his plan was foiled by the Football Association, at no point did he listen to the fans who fought hard to block the name change.

It got to the point where Allam threw his toys out of the pram and threatened to sell the club if he didn’t get his way.

The countless protests and petitions started by Hull fans were dismissed, as Allam felt he had the team’s best interest at heart.

Not to mention he believed he had put enough money into the club that he shouldn’t have had to listen to what the fans wanted.

This was, and is, his club and no common fan in the crowd was going to stop him from getting his way.

It is a similar situation to what happened at Cardiff with Vincent Tan. From the colour change of blue to red, Tan used the club to do what he wanted.

Fans eventually got their wish and the team reverted to their original colour but it should never have been changed.

This is where the FA needs to come in. They need to stop letting owners buy clubs and do what they want with them.

From moving teams to different cities to changing the name of the club.

Owners seem to forget that the teams they buy have history. They have played in the same colours for decades and under the same name since they were created.

Yes, Manchester United used to be called Newton Heath and had their name changed. But that was during the early years of the club.

These owners that attempt to change a club’s past to sell a few more shirts overseas should not be allowed to set foot in the boardroom.

If you don’t like the name, don’t buy the club. Summers and the rest of the Whitehawk board may believe that a change in name will bring in more supporters and increase the profile of the club but at what expense?

What good are 100 new fans if you lose 50? It’s a great story that Summers eventually changed his mind but it should never have dragged on. And the issue isn’t going away.

“They have made it very clear to us that if we are changing our name they prefer other options such as ‘Brighton Whitehawk’ or ‘Brighton East End’ so we will all have a beer together and work to build the club.” That’s what Summers said in his statement over the weekend.

Maybe Hawks fans would be happier with Brighton Whitehawk but I bet they would much prefer no change at all. They fell in love with the club the way it is now and though they want their side to progress, it doesn’t have to be on such drastic terms.

What happened in Brighton over the weekend is in stark contrast to what is going on at Charlton.

The fans are not happy at the way the club is being run and yet their continued protests outside The Valley are being ignored.

There is no plan to change the club’s name or strip. However, the running of the club by owner Roland Duchatelet has forced the supporters to demand that he step down immediately.

Addicks fans want their club back but not surprisingly, Duchatelet refuses to go. He sees the club as a way to make money and is totally oblivious to the fact that he is ruining the team.

The fact that chief executive Katrien Meire called fans “customers” shows their true intentions. The FA needs to get involved before Charlton find themselves in the non-league because Duchatelet was allowed to treat them as a toy.

He has constantly used Charlton as a place to dump awful players from his large network of clubs across Europe, Standard Liege and Sint-Truiden from Belgium, Hungarian first division side Ujpest, Spanish second division team Alcorcon and Carl Zeiss Jena of Germany’s fourth tier.

It is a popular move by owners with multiple clubs and you only have to look at the model the Pozzo family have employed at Watford and Udinese to see how it should work.

However, it is failing miserably at Charlton and fans have had enough. They want their club back.

They are going about it the right way, let’s just hope they get the same outcome as the Whitehawk fans got.

That their voices are heard.