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MyFootballClub.co.uk and Ebbsfleet United

Non League Ebbsfleet
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I remember thinking straight away when I heard about MyFootballClub - "£35 to help run a football club? - I'll have some of that!"

The very notion a bunch of fans could chip in an affordable amount of money and have an equal say in how that club is run is phenomenal.

news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foo...

It's exciting, it's innovative, and gives every fan a chance to reclaim a piece of our game from the money men.

Ebbsfleet fulfils my own expectations of the kind of club we would take over.

A club with a good fan base that has never experienced league football.

I've always held a notion of romanticism in this respect, to raise a club up to a level its fans have never before experienced.

While I wouldn't rule out a meteoric charge up the leagues to the Premier League, I believe MyFootballClub's success will hopefully be judged on whether we've improved the club for its supporters and its community.

If that means we only get them one division higher, or get them only a thousand more supporters a week, then to me that's a success.

More importantly the success we hopefully bring to the club will not be just about the fact that we have all contributed financially, but that collectively we will have had a direct impact on the pitch as we pick the team.

Collectively, we are greater than the sum of our parts - whereas two or three of us could make an absolute hash of picking the team, 50,000 of us stand a good chance of coming up with the best possible tactics and selections.

Would I vote against a coach's recommendations? If I honestly believed I knew better and I could back my view up with logic, then absolutely.

After all, part of this project is to give the fans the chance to show we know better - like we always claim to in the pub over a pint or two!

I've supported Stafford Rangers for the past 21 years since the age of 9, having been born here.

We're in the same league as Ebbsfleet, though perhaps not by the end of this season.

So how would I vote in such games? I'd still vote for the players and tactics that I believe would beat Stafford, but when they get to the pitch, I'd be screaming for Rangers to win.

However I'd make an exception if Ebbsfleet needed to win against us to get to the play-offs or win the league.

As for overcoming potential pitfalls, if there is sustained interest, a growing member and fan base, the sky really is the limit.

I would love to see as many current supporters of Ebbsfleet as possible signing up to MyFootballClub.

The chance to run a football club in itself is amazing, but the chance to run the club you support? Priceless.....

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comment by akaRomanAbramovich (U10365588)

posted Nov 15, 2007

Couple of things - Sky won't show Ebbsfleet games as Setanta have the Blue Sq rights. Conference has a wage cap based on turnover - how will 20,000 people get their heads round that? However I will be at Oxford on Saturday as my daughter has a season ticket there - the United fans should have a field day!

SKY/Setanta? Why is that important?

We'll have a website with live/almost live games plus an archive of previous games.

What is your point?

Wage cap on turnover? Erm...does that mean that we can't pay over a certain amount depending on our turnover? All we have to do is know how much both amount are and we're sorted.

Sorry Witneyhornet, have I missed something here?

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comment by The Y... (Spurs on the up) (U2994941)

posted Nov 15, 2007

ere ere akaRomanAbramovich

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comment by The President™² (Honorary President of 22,874 TBBCOE) (U1281518)

posted Nov 15, 2007

Club website now working ok

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comment by Ricwolf (U7020494)

posted Nov 16, 2007

I expressed an interest in this at the start, but then when I read the terms and conditions I decided not to join. I am not willing to pay £35 a year to make someone else rich and not get anything back for it. I would rather donate to some worthwhile charity where my money can be used for good causes, so I have given £35 to Children In Need.

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comment by BarnetSteve (U3931680)

posted Nov 16, 2007

I just tested the oxford fc website to see how many tickets are left, I might be wrong but my best guestimate is about 1,000. If its true then I think thats a league record. The Away end had about 300 left & the main home end about 120.
I wonder how all the original Gravesend & Northfleet fans are gonna react to their new found friends.

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comment by StaRangLers (U8862442)

posted Nov 17, 2007

We have WEBSFLEET away in their 1st home game since this happened, they had better make sure there are enough tickets for the loyal Rangers away fans!!!!!!!!

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comment by king_v_man (U10120061)

posted Nov 18, 2007

The bbc match report is its usual shocking poor standard. Is it any wonder why real football fans don’t take them seriously? I mean, implying that the gate has gone up by 1,500 because of the takeover is ridiculous. The last home game was round 1 of the fa cup – everybody’s home gate was down by at least 1,500! The away attendance was 196 fans; I suspect at least 190 of those where genuine Ebbsfleet supporters. Good luck to Ebbsfleet, sadly I think you may need it. I really hope this experiment does not cost you your future. BBC please do something about your reporting standards – don’t make up stories when they don’t exist – You have become a joke.

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comment by Come back when we've won 18? Well, here we are. (U1795301)

posted Nov 18, 2007

"A crowd of 4,655 people - a 1,500 increase on Oxford's last home game - turned up at the Kassam Stadium to see the dawn of a new era for Ebbsfleet."

The attendances for Oxford's last five home League games.

Woking - 4,713
Torquay United - 4,633
York City - 4,944
Salisbury City - 4,231
Aldershot Town - 5,811

So, where is the increase in attendance? Looks like normal to me. Where were the 20,000 new owners erm of Ebbsfleet?

Number of Ebbsfleet fans there yesterday was 196.
Last season they took 204.

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comment by hammotherec (U9648958)

posted Jan 16, 2008

If you had Aldershot every other week you could guarantee improved gates. Joking aside lets hope it pans out nicely for you, like any inititive if you don't test the water then you won't know the temperature. I can see apathy setting in though if results don't keep coming and your back to the hard core making decisions. Blaming the supporters and not the manager is certainly a new concept. He's got it easy if things don't work out.

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