Mfc

[SALFORD RED]

Remember those crazy chaps at myfootballclub.co.uk, who were going to band together for 35 quid each to buy an English football club? It looks like they’re about to pull it off, as they’re in due diligence for the purchase of an as yet unnamed club, as their site explains:

Over 53,000 signed up to phase one. A unique Trust with online voting has been registered with the FSA. The forum has amassed 80,000 posts. Over £700,000 has been collected from members in 70 countries. Nine football clubs have come forward, and we’ve sounded out several others.After many meetings and much travel, we have finally narrowed it down to one. We believe that this football club offers MyFootballClub members the best chance of success.

We’ve agreed terms in principle for the purchase of the football club, and the due diligence process has started. We are doing all we can to ensure an agreement is signed ahead of the January transfer window. And all the indications are that this process will move quickly.

.

[andycole9]

i might try that and buy myself a new gaff

[SALFORD RED]

i might try that and buy myself a new gaff

:eek: You want to live at Leedscum United ?? :eek:

Thats who i reckon it might be, been reading a few forums and the Myfootballclub pages and at the moment they are prime candidates.

On second thoughts, yeah lets all buy into this scheme...........Reds can get together, manage thier club and we can send them even further down. lol.

.

[Keano4taoiseach]

Better yet let's all get together and buy Liverpool F.C.

Step-

1. Terminate Gerards contract with immediate effect...
2. Ban the fans from watching matches at Anfield...
3. Get them relegated.....lol...

[SALFORD RED]

MyFC to become first club to be run by fans via the net
By Nick Harris
Published: 13 November 2007

A new age of football club ownership will dawn today with the announcement that MyFootballClub, a disparate internet-based collective of fans from more than 70 countries, has agreed in principle to buy a professional English club.

In a groundbreaking move that will redefine the parameters of supporter involvement, MyFC's members – few or none of whom have an existing affiliation to the club – will vote on every key decision in its day-to-day running , from picking the team to selecting transfer targets and sanctioning moves.

The name of the club will be confirmed at www.myfootballclub.co.uk at midday. The Independent can reveal it plays in the Blue Square Premier (the tier immediately below League Two) and has hopes of promotion to the Football League for the first time. The most contentious aspect of the takeover – due to be completed within weeks – is that MyFC members will pick the team.

But it is understood that the club's manager – who will officially become "head coach" to signify his changing role – is in favour of the buyout. He will advise MyFC members of his views but ultimately will be obliged to field whatever team the MyFC members select. No professional club in the world has ever been run on such a basis, and the project is sure to attract some criticism.

However, the club's existing Supporters' Trust, which was informed of the takeover on Sunday, is also in favour of the move, which will instantly enrich the club by hundreds of thousands of pounds and dramatically boost its fan base. MyFC, the brainchild of a former football journalist, Will Brooks, was launched in April. It already has around 20,000 members who have paid a £35 annual fee to join, giving it a kitty of more than £700,000 – and growing – to take a controlling stake in the club and invest heavily in players.

http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/news/article3155121.ece

[reddwarf]

It's Ebbsfleet United - currently 9th in the Blue Square Premier.

How do I know?

I'm one of the new owners :D

[carlyluvsunited]

It's Ebbsfleet United - currently 9th in the Blue Square Premier.

How do I know?

I'm one of the new owners :DNice.......

Now you can tell everyone you have same job as Abramobitch, lol.....

Ebbsfleet is probably more financially solid than Leeds too, lmao :D

[reddwarf]

Woking v Ebbsfleet United will be shown live on Setanta Sports on Thurs 29th November.

Can't wait to see the lads in action!

[rydersonthestorm]

I might sign up it sounds pretty cool

[carlyluvsunited]

Woking v Ebbsfleet United will be shown live on Setanta Sports on Thurs 29th November.

Can't wait to see the lads in action!What do you mean "the lads" ?

Surely you mean "MY lads", lol.....

You own them now Mr......

They are your bitches :p

[SALFORD RED]

The news isn't going down well on any football forum i've been on so far.
Even on the MyFC forum theres people saying things like " i want out", "I'm not paying into that ", I'm pulling out " etc.

And .......


Statement from the Fleet Trust

The Fleet Trust wish to respond to the press reports this morning about
the imminent takeover of Ebbsfleet United Football Club by the
'myfootballclub.co.uk' consortium, to ensure there is no
misunderstanding as to the position of the Trust in respect of the deal.

We were informed of this deal less than 48 hours ago by the current
owners and have not yet met with any person representing
'myfootballclub.co.uk'.

We have not seen any business plan from my 'myfootballclub.co.uk'
outlining their plans for the club.

Until we have met as a board, we will not be issuing any further
comment.

[reddwarf]

Admittedly, there has been a mixed response Salford Red.

The forums I've been on have had some people excited by the news, interested in finding out more and discussing the positives and negatives of the potential takeover.

Other people have expressed their disappointment at the club chosen (the website initially wanted a club capable of reaching the Premier League but this was based on all 50000 people who registered interest paying £35 when in fact only 20000 have done so) and some have dismissed the idea as ludicrous.

[SALFORD RED]

Admittedly, there has been a mixed response Salford Red.

The forums I've been on have had some people excited by the news, interested in finding out more and discussing the positives and negatives of the potential takeover.

Other people have expressed their disappointment at the club chosen (the website initially wanted a club capable of reaching the Premier League but this was based on all 50000 people who registered interest paying £35 when in fact only 20000 have done so) and some have dismissed the idea as ludicrous.
Just cannot see it working mate. Good idea in theory but just not practical.



Sullivan of Birmigham City is talking sense for once.

Website agrees Ebbsfleet takeover

Birmingham co-owner David Sullivan has voiced reservations over the long-term viability of the MyFootballClub website's takeover of Ebbsfleet United.

Sullivan has had 14 years of boardroom experience in running Birmingham.

He told BBC Sport: "My heart says it's marvellous that fans can own a club and vote on any decision of consequence, but in reality it won't work.

"At a lower level it possibly might work but in the Premier League or the Football League it would struggle."

On Tuesday, MyFootballClub confirmed it had agreed a deal to take control of Blue Square Premier outfit Ebbsfleet.

The website will buy a 51% controlling stake and has the option to purchase the club outright in the future.

The website's members will have the right to vote on all major decisions affecting the club, including having a say on team selection.

"I look forward to the experiment but I think it will be an utter disaster, although I could be very wrong," said Sullivan, who spoke to BBC Sport before the takeover announcement was made.

Sullivan predicted the website could face insurmountable hurdles if fans were involved in player transfers.

"If a player is in demand you need an instant decision, you can't go on the internet for six or 12 hours and let people vote," added Sullivan.

"Virtually every transfer deal has to be done at tremendous speed because other clubs are going to be interested.

"We have jumped in at transfer deadlines, buying players that were going elsewhere. We have got hold of players that were en route to one club and brought them to Birmingham.

"Middlesbrough beat us to signing a player in Turkey this summer.

"A few years ago Craig Bellamy was coming to us and Celtic jumped in and got him and derailed the transfer."

MyFootballClub members will vote on team selection but Sullivan also questioned how the club's manager would react to the fans' input over who he could pick and play.

"A manager ceases to be a manager if he can't pick the team," said Sullivan.

"If the fans vote on who plays in each position the manager might as well just be the trainer. If you don't pick the players, you're not the manager.

"I think a manager would find it frustrating if the fans made a couple of changes and the team lost."
From his experience at Birmingham, Sullivan believes the majority of fans are intelligent but that they do not always understand the realities of running a football club.

"When you buy a player you consider the transfer fee, the agent's fee, and their wages," he continued.

"But those details are confidential and unless fans have that information you can't make a rational decision. There's an issue of transparency.

"We had a spell last season where the fans wanted to sack Steve Bruce and they put up suggestions of managers who I knew wouldn't come to us.

"The fans would change managers every three months. It would be like Spain, where they go through four a season."

Sullivan praised the website's promotion of democracy but had one final piece of advice for the club's new owners.

"I hope all the members come to the matches," he said. "It is a bit off if they join on the web and vote and don't come to the matches but are still picking the team.

"The only people who should be able to pick the team are those that attend the matches."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/birmingham_city/7081468.stm

[andycole9]

any chance of a trial redwarf?

[SALFORD RED]

From the Ebbsfleet forum, honest..you could just not make it up !!.:eek:



Quote:
mesage to ebfleets fans - you are in gud hands!!

hello to you all from myfootballclub.

i am one of the new owners of ebsfleets fc and I ask you fans not to worry a bit about the clubs future. to back myself up, i have personly played championship manager 2003/04 for the last 4 years and i have taken barnet to the champioship by 2009/10 season, so i am experienced in what is required to ran a football club at this level.

i, myself have won manger of the year award at my local under 13 team last season.

i hope to personly enjoy a good tenure at this club and sign some beter players for you in order to gain league status by sometime in the next 6/7 years.

so the current players will be given time before we dable in the transfer markets and sign a new team in order to make it up the league and probably the premiership in the next 7/8 years.

with regard to signings, roberto carlos is out of out reach and not relistic so please do not suggets this. but I did sign tony yeboah in championship manager 2003/04 before firing my physio due to wages problems.

the team should get lot of new fans at your ground to join you the real fans, so this should pleese you. i carnt go to be there as i have to be at lerning placed and tits a longg ways to go frum on satdays.

liam daish will be given a chance to run the teem, but our desisins are final in runing the club.

all in all, i really do reassure you that everything will be ok, and i hope you trust in us to pull you out of this league and ibo the premiership by 2010 or maybe before this.

jarrad (new joint owner of ebsfleet 2007-)

[carlyluvsunited]

You are joking yes Sal, lol.......

This guy says 6/7 years to get to the League - then he says Prem League by 2010 ????

WTF >>> ???

I think this guy is taking bloody **** !!!

[SALFORD RED]

You are joking yes Sal, lol.......

This guy says 6/7 years to get to the League - then he says Prem League by 2010 ????

WTF >>> ???

I think this guy is taking bloody **** !!!

No, not joking. :eek: Only ones joking are the idiots that have bought into the stupid idea of MyFC.
That is real quote from the Ebbsfleet forum ( i'm crap at quoting/copy/paste stuff ).
Theres even more of the same sort of thing, but thought that summed up the sort of person who will be " running" Ebbsfleet FC.

.

[carlyluvsunited]

No, not joking. :eek: Only ones joking are the idiots that have bought into the stupid idea of MyFC.
That is real quote from the Ebbsfleet forum ( i'm crap at quoting/copy/paste stuff ).
Theres even more of the same sort of thing, but thought that summed up the sort of person who will be " running" Ebbsfleet FC.

.

That is so funny to see though, lol....

This man he only pays 35 pounds now he is saying all this crap, lmao......

Oh **** too funny :D

[reddwarf]

"At a lower level it possibly might work but in the Premier League or the Football League it would struggle."

Yep, speaks a lot of sense that guy ;)

From the Ebbsfleet forum, honest..you could just not make it up !!.:eek:



Quote:
mesage to ebfleets fans - you are in gud hands!!

hello to you all from myfootballclub.

i am one of the new owners of ebsfleets fc and I ask you fans not to worry a bit about the clubs future. to back myself up, i have personly played championship manager 2003/04 for the last 4 years and i have taken barnet to the champioship by 2009/10 season, so i am experienced in what is required to ran a football club at this level.

i, myself have won manger of the year award at my local under 13 team last season.

i hope to personly enjoy a good tenure at this club and sign some beter players for you in order to gain league status by sometime in the next 6/7 years.

so the current players will be given time before we dable in the transfer markets and sign a new team in order to make it up the league and probably the premiership in the next 7/8 years.

with regard to signings, roberto carlos is out of out reach and not relistic so please do not suggets this. but I did sign tony yeboah in championship manager 2003/04 before firing my physio due to wages problems.

the team should get lot of new fans at your ground to join you the real fans, so this should pleese you. i carnt go to be there as i have to be at lerning placed and tits a longg ways to go frum on satdays.

liam daish will be given a chance to run the teem, but our desisins are final in runing the club.

all in all, i really do reassure you that everything will be ok, and i hope you trust in us to pull you out of this league and ibo the premiership by 2010 or maybe before this.

jarrad (new joint owner of ebsfleet 2007-)


I've already seen that on the MyFC forum where someone copy and pasted that and then everyone started ripping into him for being an idiot.

The Ebbsfleet website crashed yesterday due to the volume of traffic trying to get onto the website - you're bound to get a few idiots.

I would like to think that I am not an idiot :p and will take my role very seriously. I plan to watch all of the streams of the matches, training sessions and press conferences so that I can make informed decisions when I cast my vote.

I've been having a lot of debates with various people on various forums about this and I just want to clear up how the club will be run.

It isn't going to be a case of mob rule, there isn't going to be 20000 different opinions on how to run the club, we will not be making decisions during matches and there isn't going to be a change in the coaching team (even the board directors will be staying on).

The coaching staff and the board will be presenting options to us and we will vote.

For example:

1. We think we should sign Player A. He will cost £x and we think we should sign him because...

Should we sign him? Vote yes or no.

2. We think we should play 4-4-2 in the next game but the players would be happy to play 4-3-3.

Should we play 4-4-2 or 4-3-3? Vote now.

3. I recommend right-back A over right-back B for this game because...

Should we play A or B? Vote now.

Each vote will have a deadline so any people who do not vote miss their chance - we do not have to wait for all 20000 to cast their vote.

[SALFORD RED]

Does this actually come under the heading of 'fan owned' as none of them can seriously be considered fans when they put their cash in before knowing which club it was to be?

I can see this being total chaos....who shall I vote this week? he looks a nice boy... tick. Who shall we buy or sell next week ? You will have 20000 opinions & most of which will be ridiculous.

20,000 sat behind a keyboard voting on team selection, formation etc They're spread all over the UK and all over the world, 73 different countries, so the vast majority will never see them play either in the flesh, webcast or even on TV. So how can they be relied on to vote on something they'll know nothing about.

There's also a lot of questions being asked about finances as well at the moment.
For example ; - On the MyFC website it states " PURCHASE FUND:
£ 1,375,000 ", this was 3 months ago.
Yesterday i recieved an email asking if i wished to join and it states " PURCHASE FUND: £700,000". dated 13/11/2007.

People really do need to be looking into things a little more carefully .
.

[Keano4taoiseach]

Plebbsfleet United Football Club....who.....??????



You are joking yes Sal, lol.......

This guy says 6/7 years to get to the League - then he says Prem League by 2010 ????

WTF >>> ???

I think this guy is taking bloody **** !!!






too much 'Football Manager'...carly....lmao....

any chance of a trial redwarf?




lmao.....mate..seriously..I think you should aim a bit higher......:D

[reddwarf]

Does this actually come under the heading of 'fan owned' as none of them can seriously be considered fans when they put their cash in before knowing which club it was to be?

I can see this being total chaos....who shall I vote this week? he looks a nice boy... tick. Who shall we buy or sell next week ? You will have 20000 opinions & most of which will be ridiculous.

20,000 sat behind a keyboard voting on team selection, formation etc They're spread all over the UK and all over the world, 73 different countries, so the vast majority will never see them play either in the flesh, webcast or even on TV. So how can they be relied on to vote on something they'll know nothing about.

There's also a lot of questions being asked about finances as well at the moment.
For example ; - On the MyFC website it states " PURCHASE FUND:
£ 1,375,000 ", this was 3 months ago.
Yesterday i recieved an email asking if i wished to join and it states " PURCHASE FUND: £700,000". dated 13/11/2007.

People really do need to be looking into things a little more carefully .
.

There will not be 20000 different opinions because we will be limited by the options the head coach and the board give us.

We will receive match and player reports and recommendations from the head coach on who to pick. We will be given option A and B and have to vote between them.

If people have decided to pay £35 and then not bother to watch the web casts, read the match reports and get involved then more fool them - they have wasted their money and totally missed the point of the whole project.

In terms of the purchase fund the £1.375m was based on all of the people who had registered an interest (over 50000) paying their £35. Do the maths. Of the £35 paid, £27.50 goes into the purchase fund. 50000 x £27.50 = £1.375m. We don't have 50000 fully paid members - this has been widely publicised in the media.

Ebbsfleet United are currently 9th in the Blue Square Premier, 4 places from the playoffs and a potential place in the Football League. They have potential - I am excited about this venture and keen to get involved.

I understand that you clearly think this is a bad idea and perhaps it is but how do we know until we try?

[carlyluvsunited]

I think it's really good idea :)

In fact for £35 it's worth paying this just to see what happens.....

So I will.........

As for the way they say they will run it.....

Well who knows.........nobody ever tries this before so no one knows....

Well worth a £35 gamble I say :p

[SALFORD RED]

There will not be 20000 different opinions because we will be limited by the options the head coach and the board give us.

We will receive match and player reports and recommendations from the head coach on who to pick. We will be given option A and B and have to vote between them.

If people have decided to pay £35 and then not bother to watch the web casts, read the match reports and get involved then more fool them - they have wasted their money and totally missed the point of the whole project.

In terms of the purchase fund the £1.375m was based on all of the people who had registered an interest (over 50000) paying their £35. Do the maths. Of the £35 paid, £27.50 goes into the purchase fund. 50000 x £27.50 = £1.375m. We don't have 50000 fully paid members - this has been widely publicised in the media.

Ebbsfleet United are currently 9th in the Blue Square Premier, 4 places from the playoffs and a potential place in the Football League. They have potential - I am excited about this venture and keen to get involved.

I understand that you clearly think this is a bad idea and perhaps it is but how do we know until we try?

First of all ...There WILL be 20,000 people voting and each one will have an opinion = 20,000 opinions.

Regarding the Purchase Fund, £1.375m is the figure stated on the MyFC web pages ( and is still there right now ). NOT figures bandied around by the media.
It does NOT say " possible" Purchase Fund, it says quite clearly for all to read, Purchase Fund = £1.375m, when in fact the real Purchase Fund is £700,00, so that is in fact total rubbish and lying to anyone who visits the site.

And if anyone thinks that 20,000 people sitting behind keyboards deciding on important dealings of a football club is the way to run a football club all i can say is I feel sorry for the future of football.


Carly could i just ask...if this was Manchester United would you be happy that thousands of people would be deciding all the things regarding United, people who will never go to the match, people who have no clue about the history of the club, people who have never even heard of Manchester United untill today, people who still have no idea where Manchester is in the country, people who just want to play football manager with a real life club, would you still think it is a good idea ?
.

[reddwarf]

Look Salford Red, I wasn't defending MyFC - they have and still are making mistakes. There are people who have paid their £35 and seem to have no idea what rights that gives them or what they have bought into.

I am visiting the MyFC site daily so I know the wrong figure is still up there - as is the claim that they will be buying a League club. They haven't updated the website yet. I was just explaining why it's the wrong figure - and I meant the figure of 20000 paid members had been widely publicised in the media, nothing more.

We're not saying this is the way to run a football club - we are just a group of people who wanted to give it a try to see how it pans out. It could be a success, it could be a failure or it could be somewhere in between but we will not find out until we try.

In all honesty I would be horrified if this happened at United. I would be extremely sceptical, worried about the clubs future and would expect a fans revolt. I understand many of the Ebbsfleet fans concerns - but that is why I am taking my role in this very seriously and WILL watch the match streams, attend games when I can, read all the info the head coach and board give us etc so that I can make informed decisions when I vote.

You think it's a bad idea and I am not going to try and change your opinion, simply because I don't know that this is a good idea. But it'll be interesting finding out...

[carlyluvsunited]

Nobody knows if it is a good idea....

It's never been tried before so anyone who claims it's a bad idea is making it up !

I've paid my money anyway !

I read about Gravesend (as they used to be called).....

And to be honest they have had a very boring existence for 100 years and achieved nothing at all !!

So the help of a million pounds and probably more for a club at their level is going to make quite a big difference I would think.

Offer a million pounds to the teams above and below them right now and they would be quite happy I'm sure !!