FC United 'two steps from the League in three years'

Souce: M.E.N.

Stuart Brennan

REBEL club FC United have unveiled their bold vision of the future - in which they will be two steps from the Football League within three years, and in their own stadium in five.

The club formed by disaffected Manchester United fans just last year revealed their plans to the acclaim of members at their annual meeting this week.

The club warned it was very much adopting a tactic of "aim for the stars and you might just reach the moon."

But after winning the North West Counties League's second division in their inaugural season, and now sitting seven points clear at the top of the first division and attracting average gates of around 3,000, they want to:

WIN promotion in three successive seasons to take them to Conference North by 2009.

REACH an average of 5,000 supporters per home game by 2009.

BUILD their own 7-10,000 capacity stadium, as central to Greater Manchester as possible, by 2012.

DEVELOP their own training facilities by 2009.

START a women's team next season.

MAKE waves in the FA Cup and FA Trophy, starting next season.

Board member Adam Brown said that discussions have already begun with local authorities in Greater Manchester, with the FA and Football Trust, and other bodies with regard to finding a suitable site and funding for the stadium.

Plans

But he stressed that no site has yet been identified, and warned that it could take longer than the five years - citing Salford City Reds' current wrangle over their proposed new home at Barton as an example of how things can get tied up in red tape.

"There are no fixed plans for a stadium as yet," he said. "There are no deals that have been done that we are keeping quiet about, and no sites sorted out. All the speculation is wrong.

"But we can't realise the potential of this football club without our own ground.

"It's incredibly ambitious what we are trying to achieve at FC United, and we have to be patient and realistic about how things develop. If we get this right, it will help to change football by providing a good, visible example of how English football could be run."

Another board member, Vas Wackrill, said: "We want to be a beacon for the way a club should be run, with everybody having a say and having a vote."

The club revealed that, in its inaugural season, it made an overall £240,000 surplus, most of that from donations of £176,000 when the club was set up in the summer of 2005.

Pete Munday, the board member who looks after finance, said: "We have £280,000 in the bank, but a lot of that is money related to this year in terms of sponsorship income and season ticket sales, so it exaggerates our situation. But it is extremely healthy."

But the board warned that staying at Gigg Lane as tenants of Bury - which will continue for at least the next three seasons - is not sustainable, especially now that the club is expanding by employing six staff, setting up youth and women's teams and increasing its community work.

Principles

Another board member, Jules Spencer, warned that FC United will not be running willy-nilly into the future, loaded up with dreams and aspirations.

He said: "We will not be trying to reach the Conference North in three or four years if that means we betray the principles on which this club is founded."

General manager Andy Walsh, reflecting on the club's startling progress, said: "One thing we have rightly been accused of is being ambitious.

"The start of this club was the direct opposition to the takeover of Manchester United, but for many it was the culmination of the thieving from football by people who have come into the game for their personal profile or profit."

TOP scorer Stuart Rudd is out of action for "several weeks" after fracturing an eye socket in Saturday's 8-0 win over Glossop.

Midfielder Steve Smith has been allowed to leave and play for Leek in order to gain match fitness.