17 Composition in Mustard and Black (‘Better Class’)

One of Fleydon’s smaller works ‘Better Class’, nevertheless manages the difficult task of combining dynamism with precision and then rounding it all off with a dash of savoir faire. In his own eyes it is one of the most perfectly executed of all his works.

“Yes, I would say that ‘Better Class’ comes closest in its execution to the creative inner vision. It was conceived as a synthesis of two elements within the club – the executive and the legislative, or if you prefer the players and the management. You can’t have one without the other and this was a truism that was rammed home to me during times of crisis at the club, which to be honest, seem to come round on a regular basis. Some of our elected representatives have backgrounds in the city, hence the unusual garb, but all share an interest in the wondrous orb of passion that is a football, hence the ball (note the ball was later to appear in several other flags including ‘The Devil is a Don’ and is now a regular feature and recognised 'signature' in Fleydon's work).

There was speculation that the briefcase was symbolic of the case bought by the club to the FA with regard to the 13 point deduction and that the umbrella was intended to depict a symbolic poking of the Ryman League. Fleydon refuses to confirm or deny such speculation but does impishly point out that '..the tip of the umbrella is more pointed than strictly necessary.'

The logo has also been subject to some scrutiny. "I know that the word ‘class’ is an emotive one for my dear British friends, even though to those of us of Icelandic descent, it has little import and merely allows us to laugh at your pretensions. ‘Classy act’, ‘classy winger’, ‘classy performance’ all of these are evoked the word along with those terms of more negative connotation such as ‘class-warfare’, ‘class conflict’, and the temptation to pronounce it to sound like ‘arse’.

You will also note that ‘class’ is painted in red. Revolution? Danger? Very hot? Something marked as wrong by a teacher? Blood? All these are the shades of nuance to be found in the colour red and it is not my place to lead the observer, merely to make them aware of the choices…

Is there anything that I’m not happy with? Well as it happens there is something about the picture that annoys me whenever I see it. The fact is that the individual who modelled for the flag wore a pair of brown brogues when he should be in black patent leather. I've nothing against brogues, they certainly have their place in a gentleman's wardrobe,but that place is down at the hunting lodge of a weekend, not in the office where they just embarrass us all and show him up as some sort of jumped up grammar school parvenu. Otherwise I'm very happy with the result and look very fondly on this work!”

Composition in Mustard and Black (‘Better Class’) This work was purchased by AFC Wimbledon and hangs in the boardroom as 'a unique reminder of the unique nature of our unique club'.