A coluna conversou com o brasileiro Guilherme Guimarães, que é um dos donos do Ebbsfleet e atualmente mora em Sheffield, onde cursa Gestão do Esporte e Entretenimento e desenvolve um trabalho de pesquisa sobre esse case de pioneirismo - no Brasil, na esteira do sucesso inglês, já existe também o Meu Time de Futebol, criado nos mesmos moldes.

Como é a participação dos acionistas?
Existem reuniões do board, eleito pelos membros, mas os encontros e discussões entre os acionistas são quase que exclusivamente virtuais. No site tem um fórum de discussões onde podemos postar opiniões e ter respostas, sugestões, críticas, etc. Cada um é livre para sugerir um assunto, mas existe um grupo voluntário que modera o debate.

Quais os pontos positivos e negativos até agora?
O projeto é, sem duvida, muito inovador. Considerando a realidade atual do futebol inglês, em que existe uma insatisfação por parte das pessoas com relação à extrema comercialização do campeonato e invasão de estrangeiros, essa democracia é algo muito interessante e retoma o sentimento de paixão pelos clubes. Mas existem problemas também. Muitos clamam pela mesma autonomia que tem em jogos de computadores como o FootballManager. Outro ponto que não está bem endereçado é a questão da estrutura. Parece-me que não estavam totalmente preparados para implementar o projeto.

Qual a repercussão na Europa?
Aqui tem havido cobertura desde os grandes veículos, como a BBC, até os menores. O fato de o time ter ganhado em Wembley o FA Trohpy (que é, talvez, a maior honraria para times "semi-profissionais" do Reino Unido) com certeza chamou ainda mais a atenção. Agora a Nike será a fornecedora de material esportivo do clube no próximo ano (não pagará por isso, mas não cobrará e existem clausulas de benefícios vinculados às vendas).

Regular readers (!) will probably know that I tend to err ever so slightly on the side of caution when attending football matches, so it should come as no surprise to hear that we set off for Wembley - approximately a one hour drive away - at 11am for the 2:30pm kick-off (much to the disgust of my friend and designated driver, James), arriving at the stadium shortly after 12.

For anyone who hasn't been to Wembley before and who like me, hasn't bothered looking into the parking arrangements before, when you're driving towards the stadium there are quite a few places advertising parking for £10. We laughed at those places, saying there was no way we were going to pay a tenner to leave James' pride and joy on some manky-looking industrial estate.

So how much did we have to pay at the official Wembley Stadium "green" car park? £25. Twenty five sodding quid. Next time it's the industrial estate all the way.

As we drove around the car park we comforted ourselves with the knowledge that we had almost certainly paid to park his Mini Cooper S in the coach park as there were no cars to be seen (a fantastic photo opportunity I'm sure you'd agree), but as we rounded the corner it turned out that no, we'd just paid £25 to park in a car park for a few hours.

Never mind. At least we were close.

My first impressions of the stadium itself were very, very good. I'd obviously driven pretty close to it over the last few years on countless visits to IKEA, but to see it up close for the first time was a pretty awesome sight.

Inside the ground hardly disappointed either. £8 for chicken and chips and a drink seemed a little on the steep side, but to be fair you actually got a fair amount of food and it was actually fit for human consumption so fair enough (still not up to the standard of Delia's pasties though).

We were sat in block 132 (bottom left corner as you watch on TV) so the seats were pretty good. As is always the case there were a few "characters" sat around us. The ones that stand out most of all was a guy with a beard from Nottingham behind who only seemed to be able to say the words "get into them", and another chap behind (again with a beard) who could only say "heeeeeyyyyyyy!" - Proof if it were needed that you can take a nerd to Wembley, but you can't make him sing.

It was a good game. The Fleet started slowly but came more into the game as first half went on and it was no real surprise when the goal went in - perfect timing considering the missed penalty moments before.

I saw quite a few obvious fellow "MyFC" members (including the "heeeeeyyyyyyy!" man), but I didn't really get much of an opportunity to chat. Everyone seemed friendly enough though.

Overall it was a pretty damn good day out. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was always the best stadium I had ever been to, but I think I have a new favourite. I just can't wait to go there watching the Canaries...

I'm sure by now everybody knows the idea behind MyFC so I won't waste any time going over it here (if you are not familiar with the MyFootballClub concept you can visit the website and find out more by clicking here).

Well anywho, I signed up last August and then pretty much waited to see what would happen.

When it was announced that "we" had agreed a deal in principle with Ebbsfleet United of the Blue Square Premier I was pretty pleased, and since then have kind of yo-yo'd between taking an active interest and not doing an awful lot.

What I mean by that is I always take part in the votes and make sure I do my research so I'm going into them "blind", but I don't really hang around the forums too much other than just to get a general idea of what's going on (much as I do with the City message boards I guess).

Tomorrow is a massive day for the Fleet, as we're playing Torquay in the FA Trophy Final at Wembley, and I'll be there.

Truth be known I'm a little apprehensive. I'm obviously extremely excited at the prospect of making my first trip to "New" Wembley, but are there going to be hordes of angry Ebbsfleet fans waiting to attack me for not being a "proper" fan?

I hope not - I'll be wearing my "owner" polo shirt and everything. Come on the Fleet!

[WSJ]

One of the football clubs that is being purchased or is at the negotiating stage is Ebbsfleet United. Ebbsfleet United is being purchased by MyFootballClub which will give We The People a say in how our football team should be governed. We should unite in this historical project which has been proposed in different occasions with success.

Examples of such success has been Scarborough Athletic. Another example of those wanting to buy Football Clubs have been the Supporters of Manchester United called MUST [Manchester United Supporters Trust] and their Phoenix Fund. MUST with their Phoenix Fund has been deserving of my admiration for wanting to regain Manchester United from the Glazers. 

This is an invitation for those who have not done it yet. I invite those who love football to do themselves a favour during the 2007 Christmas Season and join MyFootballClub. I also invite those who are members of MyFootballClub to buy football clubs such as Ebbsfleet United in order to have clubs whose owners are the people who love the game. It is something that you will never regret. Without much, Happy Christmas and A Happy New Year.

Les 50.000 fans ont donné chacun 72$ US, ce qui fait un joli total de 3.600.000$ US, le prix de vente du club est évalué a 1.450.000$ US, le reste de l'argent servira pour les structures, les salaires et les achats de joueurs.

Au niveau des décisions, l'entraîneur reste en place, mais ce sont les fans qui choisissent quel joueur est à aligner ou non, les changements durant le jeu, les tactiques etc...

Tout cela parait incroyable, mais les structures vont être au niveau, un forum spécialement adapté va bientôt voir le jour, des systèmes de votes par internet/sms vont être mis en place, dans le stade le speaker annoncera les votes et les fans voteront par sms, ou directement sur le site, il y aura aussi une radio dédiée au club... c'est énorme !

Le club est actuellement 9éme de Conférence Sud, il a pour objectif le maintient, mais les fans veulent le faire monter en Conférence Nationale ! (4éme division)

Autre petite chose sympa, dans ce club évolue un français, sous le nom de Sacha Opinel, il est inconnu et c'est normal, il a été formé à l'AS Cannes, puis à joué comme 3éme remplaçant à Lille et est partit s'exiler en Ecosse, le voila maintenant à Ebbsfleet United avec 50.000 entraîneurs ! il va falloir convaincre ! :p J'essaierai d'avoir une interview de ce joueur, je vous promet rien, mais je vais tout faire pour !

Nous avons donc là, le premier club de football 2.0 ! :-)

But what's interesting is this isn't carbon copy of the Ebbsfleet owners' model. Indeed, the website makes a point of saying:

"Unlike similar ventures in football (My Football Club and The People’s Club), our intention is not to buy a rugby club, but by offering such significant investment, we will all be important stakeholders.

Given that we will not purchase a club outright, we will not have to incur significant legal costs, or be burdened by the practicalities of owning facilities and employing players - instead, all of our money can be put towards improving the existing setup. This should mean that our investment will yield results much more quickly."

There's also no direct mention of the controversial pick the team aspect, which is still causing much disquiet among both MyFC members and non-MyFC Ebbsfleet fans. There is a vague mention of having your say in selection matters and in the member's benefits page, this is expanded to:

• Opportunity to provide input as to how the money should be spent
• Access to coaching team for suggestions, ideas, moves, and general observations
• Access to online member forums to discuss the club, team and performance
• Rate players, provide match analysis and suggest new players
• Access to online highlights footage of matches
• Invitations to attend club social events with other members, fans and players
• Discounted match tickets
• Discounts on sponsor products
• Opportunities to buy International Tickets
• The chance to participate in a trial match at the start of each season
• Free Our Rugby Club T-shirt
• Free Our Rugby Club car sticker

All member benefits will be confirmed once the relationship with a club has been established.

It's interesting that the language is a lot more tempered and the members input into team selection has the above caveat with no explicit promises to this regard made. The investment rather than outright ownership is also another noteworthy point, as it gives them an escape plan if things go wrong.

Although I'm still sceptical if schemes like this can work, given their membership is largely made up of people with no initial loyalty to whichever club they buy into, Our Rugby Club is the most sensible one that's come along so far insofar as it appears to offer more flexibility and less potentially problematic promises - like voting on transfers, outright ownership, and pick the team - than MyFC.

That said, it still remains to be seen exactly how far a good coach would welcome the constant interfering and suggestions from members, even if the final decision appears to rest with the coach.

It's unclear whether they've been following the progress of MyFC and noted the problems or mistakes, or have simply decided their model is better, but there's some form of evolution of the internet fan-owned idea. It may be, and I don't really have a basis behind this assertion, that rugby fans and the sport in general would be a better fit into the ideals and framework, certainly at grassroots level. Time will tell.

It's also, indirectly, one of the reasons I can't see MyFC being sustainable in the long-term in its current guise. At some point, somebody will work out a better, more attractive, more successful way to do things. At that point, what's stopping a good chunk of MyFC members not renewing their membership and decamping elsewhere?

Yesterday's piece at Soccerlens on Ebbsfleet was one of those.

I'd put a fair bit of time, research, effort, and thought into discussing where the Kent club go as they prepare for their first full season under the ownership of MyFC, and wanted it to be seen beyond the regular readers, so I took the step of registering for the Ebbsfleet forums and posting a link to it.

So what, many of you will probably respond. You should have done that ages ago. Well, probably. But have you ever spent time on football forums. They can be a terrifying place if you're not prepared and newcomers flogging their wares tend to get a pretty short shrift. The last thing I wanted to do was to get my audience in a bad mood before they'd even had a chance to read my incoherent ramblings.

I wonder if debutant CiF posters get the same feeling of trepidation when they post their maiden thoughts online?

But I'm glad I did. I don't know the stats for the article, but it get a fair hearing on the forum and some interesting feedback and discussion surrounding it. There were points raised I'd not thought of and a couple of points that set me straight. In fact engaging in the forum discussion and comments after the article were one of the most rewarding things I've done in a long time (although that's probably an indication that I should get out more).

Now, had I got a less positive reception, would I have felt the same? I don't know. But I would have still engaged, regardless.

It's why I've always got respect for journalists, such as Roy Greenslade, who are prepared to get involved in the comments to their pieces. It enhances the conversation, and usually earns a respect from the commentators involved. It's one thing to let off steam behind the keyboard to an article you disagree with. It's another thing to then have to respond when the journalist takes on board your points and is willing to debate.

I honestly believe the majority of reporters need to be prepared to engage with bloggers and commentators who critique their work (without spending days Googling the internet for negative comments) and occasionally swallowing their pride when one of their pieces gets ripped apart. There'll be a lot more respect afterwards for joining in the conversation.

[1] It's worth pointing out I don't even do these every time. It largely depends on what I've written and where it is. I'm not fond of doing the online equivalent of leaping up and down and waiving my work around in the hope that somebody will pat me on my head and tell me how good I am. Partly because I'm never convinced what I do is actually ever, well, any good.

Go read.

UPDATE: It's been really interested reading feedback on the Fleet forums and the article itself (wish I could access the MyFC forums but I'm not parting with £35 just for that) and raises points I'd never have thought of. What's also interesting is the number of people who thinking dropping the Pick The Team element would be a good thing, although it's hard to tell how representative a sample all the respondents are.

Daish's email (assuming he wrote it) on one hand seems like a mixture of the optimistic, the cautious and the brave - there's not many managers who'd offer to enter into a regular two-way conversation with the fans, although given the nature of MyFC, he's got little choice. Even so, he offers more olive branches than you'd expect.

But, reading between the lines, the familiar problems and criticisms that have been levelled at the MyFC experiment. Won't chopping and changing affect the balance of the team? Why should a player put in his all if he knows his selection next week doesn't lie with the gaffer but 2,000-odd people on the terraces, some of whom may not rate him? What does the manager see in training that we don't on the pitch? What the hell will the average non-attending MyFC member know about the intricacies of Woking's tactics?

Now that Ebbsfleet have reached a Wembley final, there's also an interesting dilemma - do the MyFC owners stay true to their principles or do they defer to Diash at a crucial time. If they do the first, isn't that undermining the manager? If they do the latter, why the hell have their members paid £35?

And at the bottom of the email is a little poll:

The Web Team invites all members to take part in a poll regarding team selection. It will help the manager and members develop a team selection process that reflects the owners' wishes.

The poll, which you can take part in here, asks the following question:
Which statement best describes your view on "Pick the team"?

* I want to pick the team but I don't want the manager to make any changes to the members' selection

* I want to pick the team and I'd like the manager to have some flexibility to make changes to the members' selection

* I want to pick the team and I'd like the manager to consider, but not necessarily follow, the members' selection

* I am not interested in picking the team

* I abstain

So, let me get this straight? You're asking people who paid to join the experiment to vote to continue one of the key attractions and principles behind signing up before you've even put it into practice? And if members vote for anything bar the first option, why on earth should anybody carry on paying their £35 if they've got no connection to the club? And where will that leave Ebbsfleet?

I'll still give it about three years, max.

Anybody want to guess what this week's Soccerlens piece will be on? 

UPDATE: I've just seen on Ebbsfleet forums that the poll isn't a binding vote. In which case, what's the point of it? And if the majority of members vote for Daish to continue picking the team, doesn't that leave the MyFC leadership in a pretty untenable position?

[1] WSC isn't the only place I've seen the email, it's been doing the rounds elsewhere.

Il Fleet rimane imbattuto nelle 3 partite giocate contro il Burton questa stagione dopo il pareggio senza reti dei quarti di finale dell'FA Trophy.
Ora bisognerà ribadire il record nella ripetizione della partita di martedì sera allo Stonebridge Road che potrebbe portare a una storica semifinale di coppa.
Il pareggio è stato ottenuto, davanti a 2.103 spettatori - di cui 230 del Fleet, grazie a una grande prova della difesa che ha rivisto in campo Peter Hawkins dopo l'infortunio che lo aveva colpito a Gennaio.
Per la BBC l'uomo partita è stato il nostro Sacha Opinel. Grande prova del portiere Cronin che sventa più di una minaccia del Burton, mentre in attacco hanno un po' deluso Akinde e Nade, autori di una gara sufficiente, ma poco precisi al tiro. Nemmeno gli inserimenti di Moore e Eribenne hanno permesso di sbloccare il risultato.

Team: Cronin, Hawkins, Opinel, Smith, McCarthy, Bostwick (Moore), Barrett, Long, McPhee, Nade (Eribenne), Akinde.

Domani, martedì 26 Gennaio, la partita decisiva in casa. In caso di pareggio si andrà ai suplementari e quindi ai rigori. Speriamo che lo stadio sia caldo!
Appuntamento alle 19.45 GMT, 20.45 CET.

Gli altri risultati di FA Trophy:

• Rushden & Diamonds 0 - 1 York City
• Tamworth 1 - 2 Aldershot Town
• Torquay United 4 - 1 Crawley Town

Il manager, che è anche giocatore, è Nigel Clough, ex di Nottingham Forest, Liverpool e Manchester City. Ha giocato anche in nazionale nei primi anni novanta.
I giocatori sono chiamati "Brewers" (birrai) per la forte vocazione birraia della città.
Il Burton ha militato in leghe minori fino alla promozione in Conference nel 2002.
Tra i vari risultati ottenuti (promozioni, finali di FA Trophy) ricordiamo il terzo turno di FA Cup del 2006 in cui riuscirono a pareggiare in casa 0-0 contro il Manchester United. Poterono così giocare all'Old Trafford con 11.500 fans al seguito. Per la cronaca il Manchester United vinse 5-0 (doppietta di Giuseppe Rossi).
In campionato al momento è quinto con 57 punti in 31 partite (16V 9N 6P). Nello scontro diretto del 26 Gennaio, valido per la Blue Square Premier, giocato allo Stonbridge, si impose il Fleet per 2-1.

Quando il Burton gioca in casa, i giocatori indossano maglia gialla con bordi neri e calzoncini neri.
Lo stadio è il Pirelli Stadium da 6.500 posti.

L'anno scorso il Burton si fermò al secondo round dell'FA Trophy, sconfitto dal Worcester City fuori casa (1-2).

E ora un po' di storia. Il primo villaggio è nato intorno al monastero di Saint Modwen (fondato nel 7° secolo d.C.) ed è cresciuto come polo commerciale e poi come città di birrifici.
Al momento ci sono 5 birrifici attivi:

Insieme ai birrifici c'è anche la fabbrica della Marmite (prodotto tipico inglese) che non è altro che estratto di lievito, lavorazione secondaria della birra.
I primi birrifici volevano copiare la tipica birra di Londra - Pale Ale - ma la qualità dell'acqua del fiume Trent ha fatto nascere la specialità Burton Indian Pale Ale, a lunga conservazione e quindi adatta ai lunghi viaggi fino in India.

Serve una vittoria per potersi avvicinare sempre più alla finalissima di Wembley!

Therefore, I needed a new English football team to follow, and I think I’ve found it in Ebbsfleet United.

Who?

The club isn’t part of the elite Premier League, in which Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea play. It’s also not part of the first-tier division, or the Football League Championship, which itself contains three divisions. Ebbsfleet United, in turns out, competes below those two divisions in what is called “non-League football” (if you’re just as confused as I am, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_football_league_system for a tutorial). In other words, they’re at the top of the bottom.

So why support Ebbsfleet United? Because I now co-own the team.

On Tuesday, a fan Web site called MyFootballClub completed what is believed to be the first online community takeover of a sports team or business when its members voted in favor of a 75 percent controlling stake of the club for £635,000 last month. That money was collated from membership fees, which continue to fund various expenses concerning the team and the Web site. Each member, including myself, shelled out a very reasonable fee of £35 – which amounts to about 70 U.S. pesos dollars – to own one share of Ebbsfleet United. In exchange, each member has a vote in decisions that the club needs to make, all in the absence of a manager’s voice. (Yes, Ebbsfleet has scrapped the managerial position in favor of the MyFootballClub community.)

Sure, there aren’t any profit-sharing benefits. But I’m now part of a voting community which, at last count, has about 29,000 members that can make some pretty weighty decisions for the team. I’ve already been asked to cast my ballot as to what I think the team’s formation on the pitch should be in future matches, and past votes have included determining board member rosters and what uniforms the teams should wear (the winning outfitter was Nike).

Ebbsfleet’s head coach, Liam Daish (previously the club’s manager), embraced the unique organizational structure last fall. “As the coach, I look forward to the challenge of working with thousands of members to produce a winning team,” he told the BBC.

Others, like Birmingham City co-owner David Sullivan, aren’t so sure. In an interview, also with the BBC, Sullivan said that, in regards to issues like player recruitment, "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."

Time will tell whether this is a viable situation or a cyber gimmick for Ebbsfleet United. For now, though, I have an excellent reason to use for my busy schedule: “Well, you know, I am quite tied up now that I own a soccer team in Kent, England.”

You could see the reason for his anguish. The South Eastern service from Charing Cross into Kent hardly passes through aesthetically pleasing parts of South East London but, in comparison to Northfleet, Lewisham is closer to the Lake District.

Northfleet is meant to be an up-and-coming area: desirable due to the newly opened Eurostar terminal nearby along with a massive regeneration scheme for the area. For the time being, the area currently opens new chapters on the words grim and depressing in the dictionary.

Northfleet is also home to curious football ownership experiment that is MyFootballClub.co.uk, the fansite that raised enough cash to buy Ebbsfleet United and now votes on most aspects of team business, including selecting the line-up. Quite what the Premiership and foreign fans who've invested their thirty-five quid in the club would make of the area when they step is the train is a moot point.

Any MyFC member who hails from South Wales will probably recognise the some design principles that lay behind such delights as Port Talbot and Milford Haven: industrial estates, sparsely used land around estuaries, and the occasional bleak house and pub. The shrimp seller en route to Stonebridge Road is one of the few bits of local colour. Even the brilliant sunshine couldn't do anything for the area. As Dr. Dave, a veteran of Northfleet away travel, commented, the concrete works look just the same in the sun as they do in the rain.

Thankfully house hunting in Northfleet wasn't the order of the day: even the grimmest parts of Britain can be lit up by the beautiful game, hence my presence on a sunny February day in Kent: Ebbsfleet United v Exeter City.

[Ebbsfleet is not the same as Northfleet, although the two are close. Ebbsfleet, until recently, didn't exist until the new Eurostar terminal opened. It's soon to be joined by an Angel of the South statue. A 30ft lump of concrete would accurately reflect the area. Ebbsfleet United were, until recently, Gravesend and Northfleet but the name was changed to, apparently, tap into the potential growth of the area. Judging by the crowds, they may have some time to go until that vision is realised.]

The game promised to be an intriguing one. Both terms were on a good run of league form with Ebbsfleet winning their last four and Exeter unbeaten in the same number and both had recently seen off teams with title aspirations (Nigel Clough's Burton Albion and Stevenage Borough respectively). The stage was set for a classic encounter. Shame neither side were keen on playing classic football or, for large chunks of the game, any kind of football at all.

This isn't to say either side were committed to breaking up the match with consistent fouling to disrupt the opposition's rhythm. More than the ball very rarely made contact with the foot in the first half, with head tennis the order of the day, and Ebbsfleet 40-love up on points, as the tactic was largely their own doing.

Fleet manager Liam Daish has a side that not play pretty football but, as Jade Goody or Jodie Marsh will tell you, lacking aesthetics is in no way a hindrance to success. Indeed, previous Conference champions have employed a very direct, physical approach, with a touch of skill. Playing like Brazil won't necessarily get you out of the league.

A shame, then, that Exeter play best as a neat passing side with ball to feet and got quickly sucked into an aerial battle that they had little chance of winning. Fleet are a tall, physical side and were winning much of the headers in the centre of the park, while Akinde was having plenty of success against Rob Edwards at left-back, often drawing the centre-back out of position as well and exposing holes in Exeter's rearguard.

After nearly twenty minutes of hoof and head (with a bit of running), and Exeter getting very little of the ball, Ebbsfleet's tactics paid off when Akinde lured City centre-half Danny Seaborne into making a lunge in the area. No mistake from McPhee and Fleet were one up from the spot.

But for Andy Marriott in the Exeter goal, Ebbsfleet could have been three-up by half time. And that's about the only other comment you could make of the first half: a dire spectacle but one with Ebbsfleet very much on top. Any MyFC fan wanting good football would have been disappointed, but impressed nonetheless at the efficiency of the home side.

Proceedings picked up in the second half when Exeter manager Paul Tisdale rang the changes, moving Edwards to a deep-sitting central midfielder, bringing on teenager George Friend at left-back and removing striker Steve Basham to go 4-1-4-1.

What seemed to many like a defensive switch had the opposite effect, with Edwards on hand to mop up the second ball, something Exeter were badly lacking in the first half. Suddenly the away side were on the ascendancy and were back on level terms after a sustained period of pressure saw Matt Gill strike a sweet low shot from outside the area into the bottom right-hand corner.

Soon after Ebbsfleet started to work out how best to cope with the new formation and the game slowed down again, albeit in a far more open fashion than the first half. Both sides had chances to win it with Akinde rounding the keeper before deciding to take an extra twenty touches and contrive to blast over from five yards, while at the other end Exeter's Wayne Carlisle was denied an almost certain goal by a superb last-ditch tackle from Fleet left-back, and purveyor of a dodgy mullet, Sacha Opinel to leave it honours even.

If the first half was to football what Northfleet is to architecture then the second half was akin to the Eurostar terminal: pretty but not a lot going on beneath the surface, although impressive in places.

Both sides look well primed to steal a play-off spot and with teams above them faltering this match could well be repeated as a play-off semi, or even final, in which case MyFC fans may fancy running a campaign to get Liam Daish installed as the 'Angel of the South'. Assuming he stays, that is, and doesn't resent having his team picked by people playing a glorified Championship Manager game.

Waiting for the train back to civilization, the Eurostar terminal was visible from the less glamorous surroundings. On one hand, it had done its best to blend into the surroundings with a large, empty car park. On the other, the sleek new building seemed somewhat incongruous with the sparse industrial estates.

And therein lies the same for Ebbsfleet United FC. The long ball football is as attractive as the area its played in, but its effectiveness is closer to a high-speed Eurostar train (albeit one that requires you to spend vast portions of the journey looking up into the sky). And just as Northfleet is looking to evolve as an area, so is the fan-owned club, although we won't know for some time if either can be called a success.

Now begins the interesting part in what could be a make-or-break 19 months for the Kent club. If, and it’s a big if, things go well Ebbsfleet could become more than just a curious footnote in football ownership. Daish strengthens his squad, Fleet make a charge towards the play-offs (they’re too far behind to take the Blue Square Premier title this season) and the momentum they build up this season, plus a rash of new members enamoured by the concept, but who were holding off to see what could be achieved sign up, and Ebbsfleet continue their push towards league football. That, at least, is the best case scenario.

But there are still a number of questions and issues that still need to be overcome if MyFc is to become a success. The concerns I had over the transfer dealings when the deal was first announced still stand, so I won’t revisit them, bar a few quick notes.

Firstly Liam Daish sounded a note of caution earlier this month when he said he was still unsure what his role would be. Reading between the lines, it seems like a polite if firm message to MyFC members not to do anything too daft too quickly and to clarify uncertainties. I’d imagine there’s also a note of frustration here about being hamstrung in the transfer market while the takeover was approved, although in that respect the situation is no different to any other manager at a club in the midst of a takeover. But it would have helped the club if MyFC had completed the process sooner.

Secondly, given the current climate and penchant for manager sacking, Daish has every right to be nervous over his position. What if Ebbsfleet go through a mini-slump, fall short of fan expectations or simply commit the crime of playing unattractive football?At what point through lean, or not so lean times, will the members lose patience?

Finally on this front, there was a rather unhappy letter in this month’s issue of When Saturday Comes (sorry, no link) from a MyFC member in response to their article on the (then) proposed takeover, which made the point that while you’ll get a few muppets supporting every club, the majority would be taking an active interest and balance out the more irrational decisions. Wisdom of the crowd, if you will.

But it’s worth repeating that not every fan (and this includes long-time Ebbsfleet fans) will have knowledge of the transfer market or the state of the team. If Liam Daish wants to sign a promising unknown, who’s to say the members won’t reject this in favour of an aging journeyman because said journeyman is more of a name with a proven track record? As for team picking, well, go back and read my original post on this. In football, given an experienced manager with a good track record or a huge collective of football fans with varying degrees of experience and opinions, I know which one I’d trust every time.

For me, there’s fresh questions over the long-term viability of the MyFC vision. In the short term, as excitement grows there’s bound to be an upsurge in membership (and that’s happened today), but the real question is how long the members are signing up for. If Ebbsfleet wants to be sure of a stable financial footing, they need to be tying existing members into two or three year subscriptions minimum and get them to extend those subscriptions at the earliest possible opportunity.

The danger, as I’ve stated before, with this type of model is members getting bored or going elsewhere. If you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Ebbsfleet supporter, then of course you’ll be there for the long haul, just as the majority of supporters’ trust members will carry on saying their subs no matter how lean the times are on the field. But take ‘casual’ fans, those viewing it as a novelty, an interesting experiment, or who just fancy having a second team. It’s a lot easier for them to walk away from this. Who’s to say that after a couple of years they’re not going to decide the £35 could be better spent elsewhere?

Or perhaps they get frustrated with how MyFC is run. Already we’ve now got thepeoplesclub.co.uk, which appears to be the Talksport to MyFC’s 6-0-6 and run by an even more demanding and hysterical bunch (and say what you like about MyFC, at least they’ve sounded reasonably balanced and grounded throughout, even if the ideas may not be). The People’s Club were turned down after they approached to buy Kidderminster Harriers, but suppose they pick a more attractive team than Ebbsfleet, or their team starts getting better results than Fleet. It’s not inconceivable the more fickle MyFCer will take their membership elsewhere. After all, both businesses are targeting similar types of fans.

What is concerning for MyFC, though, is the number of people who simply didn’t take part in today’s vote. This was the big, important vote that would determine the course of the organisation and out of 27,278 members, only 18,112 actually bothered to cast their vote. That’s just under a third of paid-up members. If they can’t be bothered to vote either yes or no to actually buying Ebbsfleet, are they really going to be on the terraces week-in week-out?

Indeed, you’d have thought that given all the hype and press coverage surrounding MyFC’s takeover, and you’ve got over 27 thousand members, that Fleet’s attendances would have swelled. In reality, they’ve remained firmly entrenched in the high 900s, which is about par for a club of their level. Again, this should set alarm bells ringing, and goes back to the point of picking the team. If just a small percentage are watching the game each week, how the hell can they make an informed opinion on the team. Ok, so MyFC will make prozone stats available for all members. That’s still a poor substitute for watching a game.

[And as an interesting aside, the statement on their website about the takeover is timed at 11.15am, when voting was meant to finish at midday. A small point, perhaps, but a curious one nonetheless].

Finally, onto the statement they released ahead of the vote, which is a curious mixture of legalese likely to go over the average fan’s head, promotional puff and the odd nugget that is useful for making an informed decision. Tom Dunmore at Pitch Invasion found it baffling and cast a ‘no’ vote on the basis of it, while 200 per cent had many concerns, which I share. Rather than repeat them here, go and read his whole post, although I’d like to emphasise the part where MyFC claim their new stadium could be built free of charge. I’d be really curious as to how exactly they aim to achieve that.

As with when MyFC first made their announcement, there’s as many questions as there are answers, and many of those answers spawn new questions. Maybe these concerns are being dealt with, but it’s difficult to tell.

As before, I maintain MyFC will probably be a success for MyFC in the short-term, and no doubt the site’s evangelists will take delight in pointing this out. But will it still be a success 36 months down the line? If MyFC do succeed, I’ll happily doff my hat to them and admit some of my concerns were ill-founded. But for the time being the nagging suspicion remains that this odd, if worthy, project won’t last the course and it’ll be the real long-term Ebbsfleet (sorry, Gravesend and Northfleet) supporters, who’ve followed the club through the best and worst of times, who will be the losers.

Members of MyFootballClub have today approved the takeover of Ebbsfleet United, with over 95.9% (17,368 of 18,112 participants) voting in favour of going ahead with the deal.

In the second vote, over 95.86% (17,152 of 17,891 participants) voted in favour of allowing Liam Daish to continue with any plans he has for the January transfer window.

As a result of the positive vote by members, the 27,278-strong community will soon have the opportunity to decide whether the club should employ a new kit manufacturer. If so, members will then be able to select home and away shirt designs.

Members will also be invited to put themselves forward for the Trust Board. An article will be posted explaining the election process, and scoping out the role.

The team selector at the website will also be going live, so that people can start to familiarise themselves with it. As previously announced, members will start to control team selection in March 2008.

MyFC have posted statistics to show that around 1,700 members have already committed to membership beyond year one, which is extremely promising. For any current fans who are MyFC members and wish to do the same, you can extend your membership, by clicking here.

All monies for subsequent years have been ring-fenced unless members vote to do otherwise.

I will of course be getting myself an Ebbsfleet shirt to wear with pride along with my Blue and White Quartered one. I doubt I'll be heading to Stonebridge Road any time soon (160 odd miles is a bit far to travel for a Blue Square Premier match unfortunately) but there's a game against Forest Green Rovers in April which is a possible trip and there could be 2 Wembley finals later in the year.

Oooh Shiny
So with the new year comes the sales and I decided I'd to treat myself a little, even if what I bought wasn't exactly reduced. I bought myself a 16GB iPod Touch, a Panasonic DMC-TZ3 Digital Camera, a Rovers home and away shirt and a Wembley panoramic. Awesome stuff :)

Best of 2007
I was going to make an entire post for this, but can't be arsed to be honest. So here's my choices for the best Music and Games in 2007.
Best Album
3. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
2. Editors - An End Has A Start
1. Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City

Best Xbox 360 Game
Halo 3 - Despite the single player campaign being a big disappointment, the multiplayer is absolutely incredible.

Best Wii Game
Super Mario Galaxy - An enjoyable return to form for Nintendo's Italian plumber, if a little too easy.

Best PC Game
Call of Duty 4 - The best, well told story in a video game for a long time in my opinion. 6 hours of sheer intensity and multiplayer is great too! Game of the Year!

¿Qué aficionado al fútbol no ha soñado alguna vez con dirigir a su equipo? Más allá de los Abramovichs, Glazers o Pitermans, con capacidad para elegir el club que quieren comprar y arrasar, el resto de mortales nos hemos tenido que conformar con comprarnos un juego para el ordenador y ejercer de manager. ¿O no? Y como es obvio, no es lo mismo.

Pero en Inglaterra se ha creado un modelo de club de fútbol totalmente contrapuesto a los totalitarismos de los multimillonarios, tan extendidos en la Premier en los últimos tiempos, y que se acerca bastante a un modelo democrático aplicado al fútbol. Más allá de la posibilidad de elegir el presidente de turno que siempre terminará corrompido por el poder de su cargo, el Ebbsfleet United inglés ofrece la posibilidad de ser el entrenador del equipo. Pero no una sola persona, sino a todas aquellas que lo deseen.

Lejos de magnates rusos y oligarcas estadounidenses, y por un asequible precio de 50 euros, este club de categoría regional de la rivera del Támesis tendrá nada menos que 20.000 entrenadores de todo el mundo. Internautas que atraídos por el atractivo de la propuesta, mandarán cada semana sus alineaciones y votarán el once que debe disputar el partido. Hay un entrenador, se llama Liam Daish, pero sólo se encargará de elaborar informes de jugadores y proponer alineaciones. Los que mandarán serán 10.000 ingleses, 1.400 americanos, 500 australianos, 600 escandinavos... Lo que se llama la globalización del fútbol en estado puro.

Más allá de los problemas que pueda plantear la destitución del ténico en momentos de crisis (¿20.000 destituciones?), la verdad es que originalidad no le falta y seguro que habrá significado para el club un salto de calidad (al menos económico). Porqué a veces no está todo inventado, y en el fútbol menos. Basta ya de dictaduras de multimillonarios. La democracia es el camino.

According to Forbes Manchester United is the most valuable football club in the world with 50 million fans
world wide. Man U had $310m (£155m) income in 2006. This equates to just $6.2/fan/annum (£3.1/fan/annum)... So on this metric participatory-democracy seems to be worth 10x passive-consumerism. Sounds about right to me.

To put this into perspective: If Ebbsfleet United can get one million fans to contribute £35 (-7.50 admin charge) they could just about afford to buy a player like Rio Ferdinand (who Man U bought from Leeds for £29m in 2002).

At last, a participatory budgeting project that feels like a grass-roots initiative!

They seem to have generated a LOT of interest: