Gary Andrews

Over at Soccerlens I’ve done quite a lengthy piece about where Ebbsfleet United go now as they begin their first close season under the ownership of MyFootballClub.co.uk. Needless to say, I’m still sceptical, but the rough conclusion is if they drop the pick the team option they might be stronger for it.

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.

written by Gary Andrews \\ tags: Ebbsfleet, Ebbsfleet United, FA Trophy, my football club, MyFc, Soccerlens

Members of MyFC, the supporters’ website that now owns Ebbsfleet United, have been receiving an email from the club’s manager Liam Daish [1]. The email comes in advance of the not-too-distant time in the future when MyFC members will pick the team.

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.

written by Gary Andrews \\ tags: Ebbsfleet, Ebbsfleet United, fan ownership, Liam Daish, MyFc, When Saturday Comes

Just an update to the Ebbsfleet post from a couple of days ago…. there’s a load I’d like to say on this but haven’t quite had time. Thankfully 200 per cent has had more time on his hands than me and has read through the relevant documents for MyFc. This was his conclusion:

“what I might have described as my “mild concerns” over the long term well-being of this club have now escalated to what I can only describe as “alarm”.”

I’ve also asked a couple of questions on fans boards to what I assume has been one of the MyFC hierarchy, who also posted a comment on 200 per cent’s original post. The responses, which I’ll try and go into in the next couple days, raise as many questions as answers.

Chris Dillow and Tim Worstall have also given their opinions, which I hoped they would. Chris gives an excellent, reasoned argument as to why he’s skeptical, while Tim also makes a very good point:

“This is one of the joys of liberal capitalism. That people can go off and make these experiments and then report back on whether they do work or not.”

I hope, for Ebbsfleet’s sake that it does work. I still suspect that, in the long-term, it won’t.

written by Gary Andrews \\ tags: Ebbsfleet, football takeovers, MyFc, myfootballclub