Gary Andrews

This week, the renewals are due for MyFootballClub.co.uk, the fan website that, last year, brought Conference club Ebbsfleet United. The numbers, so far, do not look good for the club.

Over at Soccerlens I crunch through the numbers and try my best to analyse why there’s been such a drop in membership (if my figures are correct, about 20 thousand won’t renew) and also what this means for the club.

It probably won’t be pretty.

When I first heard about MyFC, I was naturally cynical. I’ve spent enough time watching, reading and reporting on football and have seen enough ambitious and often hare-brained schemes collapse.

MyFC always seemed a bit different.

There was always a chance it would work, that the club would achieved success and, buoyed by that, it attracted legions of more fans and would be able to compete in the league.

There was also a (to me) higher chance that the voting elements, especially fans voting on picking the team, would cause more problems than it was worth. And the idea of a business model based on an unpredictable number of yearly subscribers looked shaky.

That said, even I’m surprised at how quickly things look like they’ve started to go wrong. I always maintained the idea would have short-term success but the acid test would come about two or three seasons down the line. Looks like my estimate was a little out.

Ebbsfleet were owned by fans but not owned by their fans. That, I think, was always going to be a key issue.

Anyway, that’s the article. Read. Comment. Bookmark. Pass it on. And if there’s anything you can add to it, please do.

written by Gary Andrews \\ tags: Ebbsfleet United, MyFc, MyFootballClub.co.uk, Soccerlens

He’ll also stop talking about himself in the third person now.

Over at Soccerlens I wax lyrical about the 10 greatest ever drawn FA Cup ties and the subsequent replays.

The words “You’re a bit of a sad geek, aren’t you” may be used in conjunction with this article. You’d probably be right.

I’ve also managed to irritate Manchester United fans. Makes a change from having Manchester City fans chasing after me with pitchforks. I’ve actually got nothing much against either club. They both do things well and not so well. And things are never dull with either of them…

I have got other stuff I’d like to write on here, but I’ve not had the time as I’m insanely busy. And I don’t commission myself to write a weekly piece. If I did, I’d have sacked myself by now.

written by Gary Andrews \\ tags: busy, FA Cup, Manchester United, Soccerlens

Over at Soccerlens, I lament the current state of football and try to give a few reasons why it’s gone a bit, well, wrong.

I’d also like to point out this was written before I went to Dagenham to watch Exeter play last night, which was one of those games that reminds you just why you love football.

Nonetheless, the sentiment of the article stands. I’m probably going to be chased from city to city with burning pitchforks, mind, as I’ve criticised most Premier League clubs. It’s not that I have anything against the clubs per se, it’s just part of a wider malaise.

written by Gary Andrews \\ tags: Kaka, money in football, Premier League, Soccerlens

At Soccerlens, Fredorrachi unravels the story of Masal Bugduv, a Moldovan teenage football sensation who was linked with a move to Arsenal and listed in The Times’ top 50 young footballers to watch. And who doesn’t actually exist.

Ok, so this one is quite amusing (and not on the same level as a lot of the poorly-written science stories). But it does show how good the net is at picking up and correcting these sort of things. And the importance of a good sub-editor. Although, in fairness, this was a pretty well put together hoax.

Mind you, football fans can be quite cruel. I can think of at least two occasions when Exeter City fans have started rumours about players that don’t exist on the unofficial message boards and the then manager(s) have been forced to deny in the local that they’re interested in signing said player.

It’s still nowhere near as funny as the time that Graeme Souness gave a debut to Ali “I’m George Weah’s cousin, honest” Dia at Southampton though.

written by Gary Andrews \\ tags: Ali Dia, football players that don't exist, Fredorrachi, hoaxes, Masal Bugduv, Soccerlens

Soccerlens: Droylsden v Chesterfield may well be the strangest cup tie of 2008.

(And, yes, I know there’s a spelling mistake in the first paragraph. I had a bout of insomnia on Sunday night and only got a few hours kip, so that was written, and then left for two hours before being proofed by a very very tired Gary. This is why subs are just as important on the web, people).

written by Gary Andrews \\ tags: Chesterfield, Dave Pace, Droylsden, FA Cup, Soccerlens, sub-editors

At Soccerlens: Should we regionalise lower-league football?

The short answer is no, not yet. But the long answer is also worth reading.

I’m in deepest, darkest Devon this week with limited net connectivity, so there may be no posts. Alternatively I may pass the time with long pieces on the future of media. It’s the uncertainly that keeps this place so exciting.

So, if it’s quiet on here until beyond Thursday, then Happy Christmas/Winterval/other to one and all.

written by Gary Andrews \\ tags: Christmas, regionalisation, Soccerlens, Woking

Last night non-league Blyth Spartans defeated Bournemouth 1-0 with an 89th minute winner from their 18-year-old substitute to set up a tie with Premier League side Blackburn Rovers.

It’s that kind of drama-you-couldn’t-make-up that makes me love the FA Cup (even if Exeter got knocked out to Curzon Ashton). It’s the chance for, cliched as it is, the postmen, the electricians, and the plumbers, the semi-professionals, to get their moment of glory.

And Blyth have pedigree, having reached the 5th round of the FA Cup back in 1978, and coming close to become the only non-league team to ever make it to the quarter-finals. You can read my Soccerlens piece on it here.

Also, Droyslden and Chesterfield are doing their best to revive the spirit of endless replays (them from the days before penalty shoot outs).

Having seen their original match abandoned due to fog, the teams then drew two-all in a bizarre game that saw Chesterfield allow their non-league opponents to equalise after Jack Lester scored a controversial goal. Then, last night, the floodlights failed at Droylsden [1] with the Spireites leading 2-0, so another replay is required.

Add Histon knocking out Leeds in the last round, and Barrow facing Middlesborough in the third round, and it’s clear just why the FA Cup is one of the greatest competitions in the world.

My favourite cup final is the 1990 three-all draw between Manchester United and Crystal Palace. Not because I have any great love for either of these teams, but because it was a pulsating affair that had you on the edge of your seats.

United went on to win the replay 1-0, with a rare goal from defender Lee Martin.

And no matter what people may have thought about last season’s cup final, it was great to see Portsmouth and Cardiff battle it out rather than any of the usual suspects. It’s why I can’t wait for January 3rd.

[1] There’s a lot of this kind of thing around at this time I year. I was at Dagenham on Saturday when the floodlights failed at half time. Frustrating, yes, as it was a good game of football. But given that Exeter were losing 1-0, it was absolutely freezing cold, there was driving rain, and the away end is uncovered, you’ll understand why I wasn’t horrendously upset to have to leave early.

written by Gary Andrews \\ tags: Blyth Spartans, Bournemouth, Chesterfield, Curzon Ashton, Dagenham, Droylsden, Exeter City, FA Cup, floodlight failure, Soccerlens