Comments on: Ebbsfleet United and MyFC: Where do they go from here?

By: Albert Ross

Albert Ross — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:02:41 +0000

The fact is that without MyFC, EUFC would have been in the hands of the receivers by now. The future would have been grim for this tiny club located in a depressed area.

PTT in some form will become a reality but it probably won’t be as Brookes envisaged originally.

The big question at the moment is how many will renew their memberships. The number will dependend on the way in which things are handled over the next few months and to a certain extent how the UK economy is going come the new year.

By: Gary

Gary — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:47:02 +0000

John: In a lot of ways it does sound like MyFC is experiencing similar issues to the Trust did at Exeter a few seasons back (and York as well, although I’m not so familiar with the situation there). After the initial purpose is fulfilled, be that buying a club or fire-fighting, I think any fan-owned club has to re-evaluate what their purpose is – and there’s certainly no shame in radically revising the original mission.

But, yes, any financial questions need clearing up asap. Fudging picking the team is one thing (and understandable) but with this kind of project there’s got to be a lot of transparency on key issues (within reason – I wouldn’t expect to be told how much was spent on stationery).

Carl: Yes, the long-term plans are what have always worried me about MyFC – once the reality of another season in the Conference kicked in, any many would want to renew? I’d be fascinated to see their business model.

For what its worth I don’t think Fleet are in danger of going belly-up in the immediate future, but a lot depends on how the club is run over the coming season. It’s just hard to see beyond that.

George: Yes, I completely agree with that view. The sooner Pick The Team is dropped, the quicker Fleet can move forward, I think. It’s the difference between MyFC being seen as a novelty operation and a serious and difference force in football.

By: Joe

Joe — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:22:24 +0000

Gary, I thought this was a very insightful and interesting analysis of the situation. Great article.

By: Carl Barnes

Carl Barnes — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:34:44 +0000

im not a member of MyFootballClub.com but i am an ebbsfleet fan.
I do like the idea of paying into a football club in order to bring the club back to the fans but i do have my concerns as to where it will leave the club in a couple of years when the ‘novelty’has worn off.
I know that people have payed money to join so i would like to know where that leaves the club by way of money for players staff etc. and if the club gets the prize money from the trophy final.
i konw that i proberly wont get the answers to my questions cos as i said i am not a member so it has nothing to do with me but as i said iam a fan and im woried for the long term future of my club especially the way things in football are today when you see the likes of boston, halifax, gretna, leeds etc. having so much money problems i would hate for something like this to happen to an up and comming club like the fleet because at the moment the only way is up, come on the fleet!!

Thank you for any response if any that i get i know it takes time.

By: John

John — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:16:26 +0000

Gary Andrews wrote:
“So for that purpose do you guys think it could be a good idea to join this thing?”

I’m a member of MyFC and I can tell you for free that half the promises made on their FAQ have been broken. Even following appointment of a board and then changing it’s role to make decisions on behalf of the members, you are still given the impression that you’ll be helping to run the club.
So far, we’ve had no say on how the team is run, what playing or non-playing staff are employed, just a few meaningless votes and a couple of important ones cleverly worded to hide it’s real impact (changing the role of the board), very partial financial disclosure has only just arrived and it asks more questions than it answers… it’s still unclear how much money the club have and how much is being taken by the ‘operator’ who runs the MyFC website.

I’m not saying it’ll always be this way but the original ethos isn’t currently being followed, whether this continues and many choose not to renew their subscriptions remains to be seen.

By: George Oduro

George Oduro — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:07:58 +0000

I’m a member of MyFC. Paid up my Â£35 even before they decided on the club. I believe that as much as it sounds like fun, there is absolutely no way decisions on the team and transfers can involve an internet collective. It’s just impossible, and to force the club into a different structure to accommodate this would not only be suicide, but a massive two fingers to lifelong fans just because some people on the internet have plopped down Â£35.

Don’t get me wrong. I paid because I loved the idea in the same way Ryan explained above. Essentially paying Â£35/year for an online, interactive, Ebbsfleet-TV-style subscription. I think the owners of the site need to risk losing subscribers and be honest by making it clear that the most important decisions we will get it deciding each season’s kit. If they did so, I would happily renew right now for next season with a clear idea of what to expect.

By: Gary Andrews

Gary Andrews — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:51:22 +0000

Would it be a good idea? Not sure. It would be an interesting idea and if you’re not too fussed about the idea of picking the team, then quite possibly. I think there could be a lot of power for good at Ebbsfleet if that area was scrapped. It is already, and has the potential to be more so, a lot more open with the fans than most clubs are. Whether it’s a good thing to leave your players’ Prozone stats available online to any member of a rival club who signed up is another thing entirely. So I wouldn’t discourage you to join up, just to be aware of the potential problems that MyFC needs to sort out.

Ebbsfleet play a very direct style. Sometimes this is hoofball, sometimes it’s a bit more attractive. They’ve got a decent set of players though.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:40:56 +0000

MyFC has just started to arouse my interest in it and I’ve been thinking of signing up for a while now. I’m not interested in it because of getting “control” over the clubs decisions and wouldn’t even mind if they scrapped the voting thing. I’m interested in it because it sounds like being a part of this could give one a very decent idea of what a manager goes through in picking teams and training players. The idea of getting a video from the manager directly sounds pretty interesting to me and also (if it’s true) the fact that you get to view the ProZone stats of all the players and stuff like that. So it just seems like it could give you a good insight into how a club is run. So for that purpose do you guys think it could be a good idea to join this thing? Oh and does anyone know what type of football Ebbsfleet Utd play. I mean is it just the kind of hoofball you’d expect or is there something more to it?