More thoughts on MyFC

[GLA]

First off, apologies for the self-promotion (not something I'm proud of doing).

 

I've written about Ebbsfleet and MyFC in the past on my blog (links Ebbsfleet post 1 and Ebbsfleet post 2 ) and have finally sat down and done a very long follow-up piece - Soccerlens: Ebbsfleet United - where do they go from here? - on where MyFC appear to be heading. And, basically, I'd appreciate and thoughts, feedback, brickbats and bouquets you'd care to throw in my direction (and I'm fully prepared to be crucfied over this...) as, well, you guys are probably closer to the situation than some pseudo-Exeter-supporting-journalist like myself rambling on.

 

(And before anybody accuses me of being too biased, the week before - Soccerlens: Top 10 Conference players - I picked Stacy Long as the best player in the Conference this last season, and found it hard to leave out Sacha Opinel from the top ten - they've both been different class every time I've seen Fleet play.)

 

I also fully intend to make another visit to Northfleet this coming season - I've got a couple of friends and work colleagues who live in the area and occasionally go - and will probably do follow up pieces on Fleet from time to time as, despite being very sceptical that it will work long-term, I've always found G&N to be a decent club with a good set of supporters, and this season a very decent set of players.

 

Good luck for the coming year - if you could beat Torquay again, that would be nice.

[PatMan]

Well written piece. Very easy to see why it could be seen as 'MyFC' bashing, but overall it was very balanced.

 

Was a very good outsiders view IMO.

 

This line - "Fleet may be fan-owned but they are not owned by their fans" was a winner for me.

[chris blanc]

Psuedo Exeter supporter? God forbid lol

[Yorkfox]

Originally Posted By: PatMan

Well written piece. Very easy to see why it could be seen as 'MyFC' bashing, but overall it was very balanced.

Was a very good outsiders view IMO.

This line - "Fleet may be fan-owned but they are not owned by their fans" was a winner for me.

The article got a good reception on the other forum, a realsitic read I think .

[GLA]

I was expecting a fair few brickbats, so thanks, it's good to get the feedback. I'm really curious to see exactly where MyFC go from here.

 

Yorkfox, is that the MyFC forum?

[Yorkfox]

yes it was.

[KShep]

'If the club is going to move forward then it is these behind the scenes and off the field activities that will be key to any future Ebbsfleet success, and where the money and votes can make a real difference.'

 

That line summarises my views on the whole situation. A great article.

[Uncle Urchin]

Originally Posted By: GLA

I'd appreciate and thoughts, feedback, brickbats and bouquets you'd care to throw in my direction

well here's a few of mine that I posted on another forum on sunday...

okay here's a few thoughts for sunday debate regarding our bridge building classes....patman asked me yesterday on the shoutbox what I thought would ultimately happen with regard to MyFc and subsequently its ownership of EUFC...for obvious reasons I deferred a reply on there so here are MY personal views thus far....

the concept of MyFc is a good one in principle but this groundbreaker has been flawed from the outset for several reasons...

now without the usual wind up comments about get rich quick schemes and moonies etc I do actually belive that will brooks is proud of his idea and sees the whole thing as his baby...his lifes work...his legacy if you like and fair play to him....but therein lies the rub as will brooks forgot to think about the consequences of it all in the euphoric early days as he and his mates sat and sowed the seeds in that little flat in fulham...or perhaps they lacked the understanding of the NL football world and its tribalistic people and their mostly subjective views...a good example of that was the appearance of wanchai and several other offshore pretorians as mouthpieces for MyFc on the ebbs forum....it was quite obvious from day one that all this was doing was pi55 off the ebbs rank and file and bring derision from outsiders but they persisted to such and extent that wanchai unfortunately became a figure of ridicule...

I digress...what was actually needed was a small integrated PR board made up of MyFc people with NL experience and the less partisan supporters from ebbs...these people would collectively have understood the problems inherent with the takeover and could have dealt with the forum posts and uproars a lot more rationally than the few oversees lackies that tried it....

its about respect and earning it...not demanding it for 35 quid...!

so mistake number two really as the first mistake was buying a southern based club...I have no doubt at all that for this to work 100% successfully long term it had to be a midlands based club accessible to all and it is plainly and painfully apparent from the MyFc message boards (and the ebbs attendences) that many members also think that...80% of the members just simply cannot get to the games on anything like a regular basis and without a substantial increase in the support on the terraces the finances simply will not work...had the chosen club been midlands based I have no doubt at all that its average attendences would have more than doubled by now...

okay... I know that merchandise will be higher in the first 18 months but there are only so many shirts scarves and caps that fans can and will buy before it dries up....and yes the trophy win was a bonus financially but will that happen again next season?...hopefully...maybe... but likely not I'm afraid to say...

the whole thing always depended on that increased support or alternatively the only other hope was a continued rise in membership each year...that is also not going to happen...it will fall..(especially if PTT is dumped) not dramatically next february (fall over figure is 15k I believe) but certainly by a few thousand as the internet peeps who have no understanding of football as a sport and certainly NL football in general will spit their dummies out and move on to the next trendy 35 quid investment through their keyboard...'tis the way of these things in the gloomy world of IT trolls and junkies...

some of the ebbs supporters who tend to be heard on both forums are hardly helping matters either....its okay screaming about MyFc and their secrecy and elitism with regard to finances and merchandise sales et al but the same practices are being perpertrated by some of the louder ebbs fans so the divide continues and gets ever bigger (see fleet shop thread)...

a new CEO is being sought and likely candidates are being interviewed....the successful person needs to have major NL experience at conference level to steady the ship and the mutineering sailors within it...only such a person will be able to command the respect of all parties in the interest of ebbs....(a bit of a show me your medals syndrome) it is vital that this happens and should it not and a MyFc or ebbs applicant be appointed I fear the worst and the divide will continue to grow...

it is obvious from the twitchy nature and self defensive attitude of brooks and his close associates on the forums that they are still attempting to cherish and molycuddle their little baby....they should keep off the forum debates and restrict their posts to those of an informative nature for the members and fleet fans and stand back with an objective purely commercial viewpoint....this is a business with a multi million pound turnover and they have no place interfering with it at the sharp end....too many forum disagreements between members of the WT and the members and fleet fans for it to be healthy...

as for finances...well there was never enough money raised to really do the job properly and of course they had a limited time scale left before they had to call it a day so ebbs was the chosen one at the last knockings so to speak....can't blame the old board who actually pulled a rabbit out of the hat to be honest as I doubt that ebbs would have lasted the season..(certainly not next) carrying losses of 30k a month...I also think that the 170k of DL's should not have been paid back first year and DD costs should have been spread over 2/3 years and that should have been a condition laid down to whoever carried out the DD although its likely that brooks got sucked into the pallsy wallsy world of DDL who were probably calling the shots and smelling a couple of hundred grand....the figures at ebbs are very similar to the figures at Hx when we were in the CS and I therefore know that the input from MyFc without a continued rise in memberships or substantial increase in bums on seats will inevitably lead to financial problems...

so many early mistakes and more as I type being compounded....I do not know what will happen to MyFc but I do think that whatever happens then ebbs will now be able to carry on as a result of the recent takeover and is better for MyFc involvement now and hopefully in the future....yeah there are a few short sighted buffoons around at MyFc but there are a few at ebbs as well and it would not be hard to curtail their activities publicly....in contrast there are many good decent hardworking people on both sides who are desperate for this to succeed (well it has to really doesn't it?)

what would I do....

immediately appoint a CEO from within NL with a playing and management background who has had no dealings with ebbs or MyFc... a strong motivated person who can understand how important it is for both parties to become one and who is bold enough and committed enough to make that happen quickly...a major energy kick is required also from that chosen person...remunerations should be secondary to getting the right person..

appoint an FD from outside of ebbs and MyFc with football club/league experience to remove the financial burdens from the new CEO..a partnership in effect...

immediately remove the major stumbling block of PTT and carry the consequences (if there were any which I doubt)

integrate the names of both parties into one....won't suggest how but it can be done...

integrate the names into a new badge for everyone.... keeping the tradional aspects of it but also carrying the MyFc concept logo...

merge the websites and the forums to one home page...ebbs can still have the old forum link on the home page alongside of the new ones and hopefully more MyFc members will use it...any sign of the current abuse or bullying on there (either site) then remove the posts immediately and if it doesn't stop remove the poster/s ...it is stopping MyFc members/ebbs fans from posting...

stop the nonsense with who can have what and who can buy what from where...even to the point of giving all current ebbs season ticket holders a one off free membership...they WILL renew in due course...all the monies from the FT go to club anyway so why create a problem over it which is what is happening...

rudderless ships hit rocks...!!

the whole concept has to be integrated and all become one for this to work...no ebbs... no MyFc ..just all one like minded people behind a football club...

I am glad I didn't apply for the job..

[ianinho]

Quote from your article "Northfleet is not hard to get to - a short journey out of Charing Cross or London Bridge - which could lead to the conclusion that while a good deal of members like the idea of owning a club or playing a real-life version of fantasy football, going to the game is a step too far. Indeed, why would you want to spend money on several trips to Kent when you could watch the whole season

[American FLEET FAN No1]

From a Kentish point of view, a great reason for low gates is, Northfleet is too close to London!

[GLA]

It's been really interesting reading the responses, both on the article and on here. In all seriousness, what kind of response do you think dropping PTT would make to both MyFC and non-MyFC members? Would it be better for MyFC to move towards a Trust model, because it wouldn't be a million miles away from that if the pick the team vote was removed.

 

I'd honestly not thought about geographical location, although that does make a lot of sense. Northfleet isn't the easiest place to get to if you're not in the South East, although I don't think its proximity to London is necessarily a bad thing, as a lot of London Premier League fans have second teams (Stevenage, Grays, Orient, Barnet). Would definitely be interesting to see what the average away attendance was.

[KShep]

GLA in past years there's been a correlation between our attendances, and whether Charlton & Gillingham play at home or away. We are trying to re-establish ourselves in an area where we face competition from the Big Four (yes, if you are ten years old in Gravesend it's mandatory to own a shirt of a Premier League winning side, no matter how far north they are), the London clubs, Charlton and Gillingham. Some do see the Fleet as a second team, but we face so much competition, especially when the aforementioned sides are offering cheap transport to London and ridiculously cheap tickets that they can afford to make a loss on. This is why I think the Ebbsfleet development is so significant- we have a chance to convert people living in the area with a shiny new stadium on their doorstep, the centre of a new community.