Source: When Saturday Comes
4 May ~ FC United of Manchester travel to Bradford Park Avenue on Sunday for the Evo-Stik League Northern Premier play-off final. The build-up to the game has been marred by disagreements between the clubs, the local council, police and safety advisors over the kick-off time and ticket allocations. Originally scheduled for 3pm tomorrow, concerns were raised about previous fixtures between the sides, behaviour of supporters and the availability of police in the area. Initially, the club agreed reluctantly to a reduced capacity with no segregation or kick-off change. But, according a statement by the FC United board, the game was rescheduled by the authorities without any further consultation with the club.
Showing posts with label When Saturday Comes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label When Saturday Comes. Show all posts
Friday, May 04, 2012
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Glazed over
Source: WSC
Pete Green watches Manchester Disunuted, a film about Manchester's splinter club
When Malcolm Glazer seized Manchester United two years ago, the protests at Old Trafford elicited little sympathy from other fans. Maybe the claim that the club was suddenly “not for sale” grated a bit after United had done very well out of plc status since 1991. Maybe, when debt and changes of ownership are commonplace, outsiders saw the violent reaction to Glazer as arbitrary and disproportionate. And, let’s face it, it didn’t help that it was Manyoo. Whatever the reasons, if AFC Wimbledon became everyone’s second favourite club, then FC United of Manchester have not found goodwill so easy to come by.
It may be harder to deny FCUM a little warmth of feeling after watching Manchester Disunited, a film offering genuine insight into the predicament of fans who hate what their club has come to represent. In this regard it usefully rebuts the impression given by much of the coverage in 2005, that Glazer suddenly alienated fans who had otherwise been happy with life. The real story is that the takeover consolidated existing disenchantment at the corporate pillage of the game. Supporters who were already unhappy – with stratospheric prices, compulsory seating and the “daft o’clock kick-off”, as one fan in the film puts it – were given a tangible cause to rally round and, as the new club emerged, a chance to keep the faith while opting out of commercial depravity. If this is having their cake and eating it, let’s share the recipe.
Disunited is the work of amiable Brummie journalist Adrian Goldberg, who uses a series of droll stunts to illustrate his points. Glazer’s unpopularity is borne out in a bucket‑shaking exercise conducted in the Birmingham suburb of Bearwood (for no reason more apparent than it being the filmmaker’s old stomping ground), which asks passers-by to donate to either the Glazer or the Saddam Hussein “defence fund” – with hilariously pro-Iraqi results. “We’re not claiming that in any way it’s scientific!” grins Goldberg, who later offers tweezers to a bemused Chelsea drone in case £24 million bench fixture Shaun Wright-Phillips “has got any splinters in his bum”.
It might have been fascinating to examine the logistics of conjuring a club from thin air and indignation, but footage of a public anti-Glazer meeting cuts straight to FCUM’s first fixture at Leigh RMI. From here we receive a crash course in supporter ownership via Wimbledon, Barcelona and Brentford, a gobsmacked English visitor to the Camp Nou asking: “How can they have democracy, cheap costs, and fantastic football?” A well grounded sequence tracking the wider context of football finance fingers Sky and the Stock Exchange as the rich clubs sew up the competitions and Martin Edwards trousers a fortune. For this Goldberg wisely enlists David Conn, whose brilliant investigative work on boardroom carpetbagging has done much to enlighten those of us with attention spans on a par with Peter Ridsdale’s goldfish.
FCUM chief executive Andy Walsh comes across very well, but his assertion that “literally tens of thousands of football fans have been disenfranchised from the professional game” by greed and corruption is a modest one – the Premiership boasts literally millions of contented consumers – and must be set against the total failure of the anti-Glazer campaign, whose leaders were ultimately far wider of the mark than the American tourist in Stretford who doesn’t “really follow football” but tells Goldberg: “I don’t think they’re gonna have empty stadiums. I think they’ll get over it pretty soon.” The fact is that the refuseniks, though growing in number, are still a minority subculture. “If [the Glazers] supply the money and let Fergie buy who he wants,” shrugs one southern-accented Old Trafford loyalist, “then that’s it, innit?”
This need not remain the case. While the iniquities of the Premiership and its parasites are now well documented, football journalism is ripe for a killer text that explicitly links the ruination of our game to the devastating logic of the global free market. Much of Manchester Disunited will already be familiar to well informed fans. But it is an accessible introduction to these issues for supporters who may not have given them much thought, and a satisfying recap for those who have.
From WSC 246 August 2007
Pete Green watches Manchester Disunuted, a film about Manchester's splinter club
When Malcolm Glazer seized Manchester United two years ago, the protests at Old Trafford elicited little sympathy from other fans. Maybe the claim that the club was suddenly “not for sale” grated a bit after United had done very well out of plc status since 1991. Maybe, when debt and changes of ownership are commonplace, outsiders saw the violent reaction to Glazer as arbitrary and disproportionate. And, let’s face it, it didn’t help that it was Manyoo. Whatever the reasons, if AFC Wimbledon became everyone’s second favourite club, then FC United of Manchester have not found goodwill so easy to come by.
It may be harder to deny FCUM a little warmth of feeling after watching Manchester Disunited, a film offering genuine insight into the predicament of fans who hate what their club has come to represent. In this regard it usefully rebuts the impression given by much of the coverage in 2005, that Glazer suddenly alienated fans who had otherwise been happy with life. The real story is that the takeover consolidated existing disenchantment at the corporate pillage of the game. Supporters who were already unhappy – with stratospheric prices, compulsory seating and the “daft o’clock kick-off”, as one fan in the film puts it – were given a tangible cause to rally round and, as the new club emerged, a chance to keep the faith while opting out of commercial depravity. If this is having their cake and eating it, let’s share the recipe.
Disunited is the work of amiable Brummie journalist Adrian Goldberg, who uses a series of droll stunts to illustrate his points. Glazer’s unpopularity is borne out in a bucket‑shaking exercise conducted in the Birmingham suburb of Bearwood (for no reason more apparent than it being the filmmaker’s old stomping ground), which asks passers-by to donate to either the Glazer or the Saddam Hussein “defence fund” – with hilariously pro-Iraqi results. “We’re not claiming that in any way it’s scientific!” grins Goldberg, who later offers tweezers to a bemused Chelsea drone in case £24 million bench fixture Shaun Wright-Phillips “has got any splinters in his bum”.
It might have been fascinating to examine the logistics of conjuring a club from thin air and indignation, but footage of a public anti-Glazer meeting cuts straight to FCUM’s first fixture at Leigh RMI. From here we receive a crash course in supporter ownership via Wimbledon, Barcelona and Brentford, a gobsmacked English visitor to the Camp Nou asking: “How can they have democracy, cheap costs, and fantastic football?” A well grounded sequence tracking the wider context of football finance fingers Sky and the Stock Exchange as the rich clubs sew up the competitions and Martin Edwards trousers a fortune. For this Goldberg wisely enlists David Conn, whose brilliant investigative work on boardroom carpetbagging has done much to enlighten those of us with attention spans on a par with Peter Ridsdale’s goldfish.
FCUM chief executive Andy Walsh comes across very well, but his assertion that “literally tens of thousands of football fans have been disenfranchised from the professional game” by greed and corruption is a modest one – the Premiership boasts literally millions of contented consumers – and must be set against the total failure of the anti-Glazer campaign, whose leaders were ultimately far wider of the mark than the American tourist in Stretford who doesn’t “really follow football” but tells Goldberg: “I don’t think they’re gonna have empty stadiums. I think they’ll get over it pretty soon.” The fact is that the refuseniks, though growing in number, are still a minority subculture. “If [the Glazers] supply the money and let Fergie buy who he wants,” shrugs one southern-accented Old Trafford loyalist, “then that’s it, innit?”
This need not remain the case. While the iniquities of the Premiership and its parasites are now well documented, football journalism is ripe for a killer text that explicitly links the ruination of our game to the devastating logic of the global free market. Much of Manchester Disunited will already be familiar to well informed fans. But it is an accessible introduction to these issues for supporters who may not have given them much thought, and a satisfying recap for those who have.
From WSC 246 August 2007
Monday, November 29, 2010
Droylsden ignored by local media despite Cup run
Source: When Saturday Comes
29 November ~ Supporters of Droylsden FC are nothing if not realistic. Standing geographically in the shadow of Manchester’s Premier League giants (almost literally since City’s move to Eastlands), those involved with the Blue Square North club understand that moments in the limelight may be fleeting and any recognition of achievement limited. However even with such reduced expectations fans still feel a little miffed by lack of reaction to tonight's FA Cup second round home tie with Leyton Orient. Despite this being the club’s second involvement at this stage in the last three years, it seems that local media now only have eyes for the new kids in town when it comes to non-League coverage.
Friday’s Manchester Evening News might serve as Exhibit A if Droylsden pursue an unfair treatment claim. The paper’s FA Cup weekend preview consisted of a double page spread featuring FC United of Manchester’s tie at Brighton, complete with large colour photograph of the team’s post-match celebrations after their previous round win. A single sentence footnote informed readers that Droylsden were also still involved in the competition. As cursory as that seemed it was still more than the Cup round-up on ITV’s Granada Reports provided later that evening, which consisted of a glowing five-minute piece on FCUM and no mention at all of the region’s other remaining representative.
Fortunately any website snippiness from some supporters (“apparently non-League football is only five years old”) has been more than offset by the fact that ESPN have chosen the Droylsden tie for second round live transmission. With BBC Radio 5 Live completing a multimedia experience, the match is due to generate over £100,000 when FA prize money and gate money are taken into account; for a club whose average gates remain obstinately below 400 not a penny of Droylsden’s share will go unappreciated. It will represent more than a full season of gate receipts.
The match also gives the club a chance to bring to a wider audience a team of whom the fans are justifiably proud. Owner/chairman/manager Dave Pace has – apart from challenging the myth about males and multitasking – spent well over a decade preaching the gospel of pass-and-move, which his sides have put it into practice. Their ascent up the non-League pyramid received a chastening blow when promotion to the National Conference in 2007 lasted just the single season during which they found themselves overpowered by full-time outfits but, undeterred, the Bloods continue to fly the flag for football’s purists.
If Droylsden give a good account of themselves tonight they believe they have an opportunity to dispel the notion that football at this level is more about physicality than technique, perhaps attract some new admirers through the turnstiles for forthcoming league fixtures, and maybe even snare a few extra column inches in the MEN. Modest ambitions, perhaps, but perfectly in keeping with this particularly grounded club. Tony Curran
29 November ~ Supporters of Droylsden FC are nothing if not realistic. Standing geographically in the shadow of Manchester’s Premier League giants (almost literally since City’s move to Eastlands), those involved with the Blue Square North club understand that moments in the limelight may be fleeting and any recognition of achievement limited. However even with such reduced expectations fans still feel a little miffed by lack of reaction to tonight's FA Cup second round home tie with Leyton Orient. Despite this being the club’s second involvement at this stage in the last three years, it seems that local media now only have eyes for the new kids in town when it comes to non-League coverage.
Friday’s Manchester Evening News might serve as Exhibit A if Droylsden pursue an unfair treatment claim. The paper’s FA Cup weekend preview consisted of a double page spread featuring FC United of Manchester’s tie at Brighton, complete with large colour photograph of the team’s post-match celebrations after their previous round win. A single sentence footnote informed readers that Droylsden were also still involved in the competition. As cursory as that seemed it was still more than the Cup round-up on ITV’s Granada Reports provided later that evening, which consisted of a glowing five-minute piece on FCUM and no mention at all of the region’s other remaining representative.
Fortunately any website snippiness from some supporters (“apparently non-League football is only five years old”) has been more than offset by the fact that ESPN have chosen the Droylsden tie for second round live transmission. With BBC Radio 5 Live completing a multimedia experience, the match is due to generate over £100,000 when FA prize money and gate money are taken into account; for a club whose average gates remain obstinately below 400 not a penny of Droylsden’s share will go unappreciated. It will represent more than a full season of gate receipts.
The match also gives the club a chance to bring to a wider audience a team of whom the fans are justifiably proud. Owner/chairman/manager Dave Pace has – apart from challenging the myth about males and multitasking – spent well over a decade preaching the gospel of pass-and-move, which his sides have put it into practice. Their ascent up the non-League pyramid received a chastening blow when promotion to the National Conference in 2007 lasted just the single season during which they found themselves overpowered by full-time outfits but, undeterred, the Bloods continue to fly the flag for football’s purists.
If Droylsden give a good account of themselves tonight they believe they have an opportunity to dispel the notion that football at this level is more about physicality than technique, perhaps attract some new admirers through the turnstiles for forthcoming league fixtures, and maybe even snare a few extra column inches in the MEN. Modest ambitions, perhaps, but perfectly in keeping with this particularly grounded club. Tony Curran
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Red Knights to the rescue?
Source: When Saturday Comes
2 March ~ It was reported this morning that a "group of high net worth individuals (known as the 'Red Knights')" are planning to put together a £1 billion bid for Manchester United. In the current issue of WSC, available now, Ashley Shaw looked at the fury caused by the Glazer family's attempt to load even more debt onto the club
There have been few more important documents in the history of Manchester United than the bond prospectus published last month. The admission that the Glazers have already taken out £22.9 million in loans and fees, and could suck a further £500m out of the club over the next seven years, means there can no longer be any pretence about the motivation for the 2005 takeover. The age of the football asset-stripper is at hand.
One chief side-effect has been to galvanise a dozing support, previously happy to accept the Americans at their word. There can be few sane supporters left who are now prepared to "wait and see". Nor can chief executive David Gill again claim that the switch from plc to private ownership has improved the club's chances in the transfer market when it took the sale of their most lucrative playing asset to keep the club's accounts in the black.
The astronomical levels of debt loaded on to the club are already having an impact on United's ability to attract and keep the best players. If it wasn't spelled out before, the events of January 2010 make it painfully obvious that Man Utd are officially skint, with every prospect of the crisis worsening. The publication of the prospectus could not have been better timed. As supporters looked back on a dominant past two decades, most now realise that they will struggle to match that success in the next ten years. The imminent retirement of a number of key personnel and an increased competitiveness at the top of the Premier League will surely lead to an extended period of "transition".
The Carling Cup semi-final against freshly minted rivals highlighted the lengths to which the nouveau riche in English football are catching up the Big Four. Despite United's victory, the gap between the teams has clearly narrowed to the extent that it is now City, rather than debt-laden, mismanaged Liverpool, who represent United's fiercest rivals. The intense atmosphere and festering subplots made for a soap opera cast of villains and heroes. This is clearly now the fiercest rivalry at the top of the English game.
Yet the crisis at the club remains misunderstood by many. The successful take-up of the £504m bond issue, sought to pay off senior (bank) debt, consigns United to a fate worse than administration in that it frees the club's owners from oversight, allowing them to suck yet more cash out. This isn't new money to improve the club but replacement debt for the original bank loan Malcolm Glazer took out to buy the club, attracting a higher interest rate but with fewer strings attached.
According to one expert, the covenants in the prospectus could allow the Glazers to take over £500m out of club coffers in the next seven years. This figure includes the £8m leaseback of Carrington, a total of £161m in dividends to the Glazers, an estimated £333m in interest payments and a potential £63m in management fees and "expenses" (from http://andersred.blogspot.com). All of which makes the £22.9m taken out in loans and fees since 2005 resemble the amuse-bouche ahead of a seven-course cash banquet.
When one considers the continuing plight of the Glazers' other businesses, principally First Allied Corporation, a holding company that, among other things, owns shopping malls in recession-hit small-town America, it seems likely that the family will seek to glean every cent available from United.
Falling ticket sales and tight player salaries have further hindered the Glazers' other sporting acquisition, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – a combination that led to them ending the season as the third-worst team in the entire league. Saved from relegation by the franchise system, the Buccs can look forward to a high draft pick and renewed hope for the season ahead.
The same could not be said should Alex Ferguson or his successor continue to be limited to low-rent signings in a market inflated by the arrival of mega-rich owners. Yet the money underpinning these plans is generated almost exclusively by United supporters, either via television rights, merchandising or ticket sales. An organised, meaningful protest would not be too late to disrupt an over-leveraged business that relies on on-field success to maintain it. On the contrary the Glazers appear more vulnerable now than they have been at any point during their reign.
The original 2005 protests failed because the vast majority of match-going Reds were not prepared to change the habit of a lifetime. The formation of FC United created a split in the support that the Glazers, Sir Alex Ferguson and certain fan groups enthusiastically exploited. From 2006 onwards dissent toward the ruling family was muted and, aside from the publication of the club's annual accounts, there was very little for sceptical fans to get their teeth into. Of course the trophies also kept on coming.
Five years on and a successful mass boycott seems the only feasible way to de-rail the Glazers' plans. Initially this would impact on the club and lead the owners to suck more key assets out of the club, with the sale and leaseback of the stadium (valued at £235m) top of the agenda, along with the disposal of remaining playing assets. In the longer term, however, it would surely disrupt the owners' plans.
For proof check out page 17 of the Glazer prospectus where they freely admit "We depend on our matchday supporters", continuing: "A reduction in matchday attendance could have a materially adverse effect on our matchday revenues and our overall business." The ball, as it has been since 2005, remains in the supporters' court. Put simply, every ticket sold props up the Glazer regime.
As it is the 2010 version of this campaign is still in its infancy and from the off it already seems more visible and media-friendly. In place of the riots that scarred the last attempt, supporters have taken up the green and gold colours of predecessor club Newton Heath which has seen the issue raised to a profile not enjoyed since the original takeover. What happens when the story moves on is a different matter.
Not that removing the Glazers will be quick or easy. In a 1989 interview with the Milwaukee Sentinel Malcolm Glazer said of his business interests: "Everything we have, we keep for 100 years. I don't sell many things. When I buy them, I keep them." Mr Glazer may be many things but he cannot be accused of stupidity. With a cash cow like United at his disposal and his other business interests hit by the recession, why would he sell?
As it is, a couple of high-profile signings, via the fearsome-sounding £75m "revolving credit facility", could yet pull the wool over mainstream supporters' eyes and the protests could peter out just as they did back in 2005. Here's hoping that the lessons of that campaign have been learned before there is nothing left of a once proud football club.
2 March ~ It was reported this morning that a "group of high net worth individuals (known as the 'Red Knights')" are planning to put together a £1 billion bid for Manchester United. In the current issue of WSC, available now, Ashley Shaw looked at the fury caused by the Glazer family's attempt to load even more debt onto the club
There have been few more important documents in the history of Manchester United than the bond prospectus published last month. The admission that the Glazers have already taken out £22.9 million in loans and fees, and could suck a further £500m out of the club over the next seven years, means there can no longer be any pretence about the motivation for the 2005 takeover. The age of the football asset-stripper is at hand.
One chief side-effect has been to galvanise a dozing support, previously happy to accept the Americans at their word. There can be few sane supporters left who are now prepared to "wait and see". Nor can chief executive David Gill again claim that the switch from plc to private ownership has improved the club's chances in the transfer market when it took the sale of their most lucrative playing asset to keep the club's accounts in the black.
The astronomical levels of debt loaded on to the club are already having an impact on United's ability to attract and keep the best players. If it wasn't spelled out before, the events of January 2010 make it painfully obvious that Man Utd are officially skint, with every prospect of the crisis worsening. The publication of the prospectus could not have been better timed. As supporters looked back on a dominant past two decades, most now realise that they will struggle to match that success in the next ten years. The imminent retirement of a number of key personnel and an increased competitiveness at the top of the Premier League will surely lead to an extended period of "transition".
The Carling Cup semi-final against freshly minted rivals highlighted the lengths to which the nouveau riche in English football are catching up the Big Four. Despite United's victory, the gap between the teams has clearly narrowed to the extent that it is now City, rather than debt-laden, mismanaged Liverpool, who represent United's fiercest rivals. The intense atmosphere and festering subplots made for a soap opera cast of villains and heroes. This is clearly now the fiercest rivalry at the top of the English game.
Yet the crisis at the club remains misunderstood by many. The successful take-up of the £504m bond issue, sought to pay off senior (bank) debt, consigns United to a fate worse than administration in that it frees the club's owners from oversight, allowing them to suck yet more cash out. This isn't new money to improve the club but replacement debt for the original bank loan Malcolm Glazer took out to buy the club, attracting a higher interest rate but with fewer strings attached.
According to one expert, the covenants in the prospectus could allow the Glazers to take over £500m out of club coffers in the next seven years. This figure includes the £8m leaseback of Carrington, a total of £161m in dividends to the Glazers, an estimated £333m in interest payments and a potential £63m in management fees and "expenses" (from http://andersred.blogspot.com). All of which makes the £22.9m taken out in loans and fees since 2005 resemble the amuse-bouche ahead of a seven-course cash banquet.
When one considers the continuing plight of the Glazers' other businesses, principally First Allied Corporation, a holding company that, among other things, owns shopping malls in recession-hit small-town America, it seems likely that the family will seek to glean every cent available from United.
Falling ticket sales and tight player salaries have further hindered the Glazers' other sporting acquisition, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – a combination that led to them ending the season as the third-worst team in the entire league. Saved from relegation by the franchise system, the Buccs can look forward to a high draft pick and renewed hope for the season ahead.
The same could not be said should Alex Ferguson or his successor continue to be limited to low-rent signings in a market inflated by the arrival of mega-rich owners. Yet the money underpinning these plans is generated almost exclusively by United supporters, either via television rights, merchandising or ticket sales. An organised, meaningful protest would not be too late to disrupt an over-leveraged business that relies on on-field success to maintain it. On the contrary the Glazers appear more vulnerable now than they have been at any point during their reign.
The original 2005 protests failed because the vast majority of match-going Reds were not prepared to change the habit of a lifetime. The formation of FC United created a split in the support that the Glazers, Sir Alex Ferguson and certain fan groups enthusiastically exploited. From 2006 onwards dissent toward the ruling family was muted and, aside from the publication of the club's annual accounts, there was very little for sceptical fans to get their teeth into. Of course the trophies also kept on coming.
Five years on and a successful mass boycott seems the only feasible way to de-rail the Glazers' plans. Initially this would impact on the club and lead the owners to suck more key assets out of the club, with the sale and leaseback of the stadium (valued at £235m) top of the agenda, along with the disposal of remaining playing assets. In the longer term, however, it would surely disrupt the owners' plans.
For proof check out page 17 of the Glazer prospectus where they freely admit "We depend on our matchday supporters", continuing: "A reduction in matchday attendance could have a materially adverse effect on our matchday revenues and our overall business." The ball, as it has been since 2005, remains in the supporters' court. Put simply, every ticket sold props up the Glazer regime.
As it is the 2010 version of this campaign is still in its infancy and from the off it already seems more visible and media-friendly. In place of the riots that scarred the last attempt, supporters have taken up the green and gold colours of predecessor club Newton Heath which has seen the issue raised to a profile not enjoyed since the original takeover. What happens when the story moves on is a different matter.
Not that removing the Glazers will be quick or easy. In a 1989 interview with the Milwaukee Sentinel Malcolm Glazer said of his business interests: "Everything we have, we keep for 100 years. I don't sell many things. When I buy them, I keep them." Mr Glazer may be many things but he cannot be accused of stupidity. With a cash cow like United at his disposal and his other business interests hit by the recession, why would he sell?
As it is, a couple of high-profile signings, via the fearsome-sounding £75m "revolving credit facility", could yet pull the wool over mainstream supporters' eyes and the protests could peter out just as they did back in 2005. Here's hoping that the lessons of that campaign have been learned before there is nothing left of a once proud football club.
Friday, February 12, 2010
FC United's opportunity
Source: When Saturday Comes
12 February ~ FC United of Manchester's recent announcement that they have submitted proposals to the city council to build their own stadium could not have come at a more significant time, with the the "green and gold" uprising against the Glazer regime continuing to gather pace among Man Utd fans. Born in 2005 out of the original fan disillusionment that greeted the Glazer takeover, FC United have used Bury's Gigg Lane as their makeshift home ever since. After three consecutive promotions and one season of consolidation, the "Rebels" now find themselves in the Unibond Premier League. Owning their own ground is now seen as a necessity if they are to climb the final two rungs of the non-League ladder.
Hence the 4,000 capacity stadium they hope to begin building in the coming months. That it's to be located in Newton Heath only adds to the symbolic significance. This, of course, is the area where the club now known as Manchester United formed in 1878. This season's average home attendance of around 2,000 makes FC United one of the best-supported non-League clubs in the country. Away fixtures are often transformed into smaller, more intimate versions of home games as their support usually outnumbers their hosts. But it is their potential fanbase that makes them a Football League club in waiting.
FC already attracts players that would otherwise play at a higher level. "This is a unique club and any player would want to play here," said ex-Doncaster midfielder Adriano Rigoglioso after signing for the club in December. "I could've gone elsewhere for more money, but opportunities like this don't come around very often."
As Man Utd fans run out of patience and, perhaps more pertinently, money, they could turn to a club that truly represents them. FC United have the fanbase of a League club, they have the name and now they may soon have the stadium too. Sam Williams
12 February ~ FC United of Manchester's recent announcement that they have submitted proposals to the city council to build their own stadium could not have come at a more significant time, with the the "green and gold" uprising against the Glazer regime continuing to gather pace among Man Utd fans. Born in 2005 out of the original fan disillusionment that greeted the Glazer takeover, FC United have used Bury's Gigg Lane as their makeshift home ever since. After three consecutive promotions and one season of consolidation, the "Rebels" now find themselves in the Unibond Premier League. Owning their own ground is now seen as a necessity if they are to climb the final two rungs of the non-League ladder.
Hence the 4,000 capacity stadium they hope to begin building in the coming months. That it's to be located in Newton Heath only adds to the symbolic significance. This, of course, is the area where the club now known as Manchester United formed in 1878. This season's average home attendance of around 2,000 makes FC United one of the best-supported non-League clubs in the country. Away fixtures are often transformed into smaller, more intimate versions of home games as their support usually outnumbers their hosts. But it is their potential fanbase that makes them a Football League club in waiting.
FC already attracts players that would otherwise play at a higher level. "This is a unique club and any player would want to play here," said ex-Doncaster midfielder Adriano Rigoglioso after signing for the club in December. "I could've gone elsewhere for more money, but opportunities like this don't come around very often."
As Man Utd fans run out of patience and, perhaps more pertinently, money, they could turn to a club that truly represents them. FC United have the fanbase of a League club, they have the name and now they may soon have the stadium too. Sam Williams
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Set your own price at FC United
Friday 24 July ~
Football clubs have tried all sorts of schemes to boost attendances so they might consider borrowing an idea from a certain Unibond League club. In a bid to reverse consecutive annual financial losses and to help out cash-strapped supporters, FC United, the fan owned club formed in 2005 by disaffected Manchester United followers, have introduced a “Pay what you can afford” season ticket policy for 2009-10.
This summer FC supporters were invited to choose their price in the hope of the club raising upwards of £125,000, a figure that would help cover their substantial operating costs, including the £80,000 annual rent of Bury’s Gigg Lane ground, and cut recent worrying deficits. As the club acknowledge, they could not “continue to incur [the] losses” they had suffered over the past two years, nor could they continue to rely on additional donations from generous fans on top of £10 memberships and season tickets. For this season’s scheme a minimum price of £90 was set - approval had to be sought from the club to pay any less - with the club recommending people pay £140, the cost last year.
Happily, then, as the new season approached the target was all but reached – £110,000 by the end of last month, likely surpassed soon after. “Amazing... we've broken the £100,000 pledge barrier” exclaimed one of the club‘s many Twitter updates in July. The offer has allowed FC to remain faithful to their philosophy of “providing affordable football”, while crucially now being able to operate on a sounder financial footing, particularly as plans for a new stadium nearer the centre of Manchester progress. Overall it highlights two satisfactions of the supporter-owned model that governs the club.
First, how an innovative approach to an often sensitive issue has been provided by an elected, and therefore fan representative, board – making the game more accessible to supporters in the process. Scarborough Athletic, the club formed by fans two years ago following the demise of Scarborough FC, also have the same policy for their season tickets this year. Not surprising, according to Kevin Rye of Supporters Direct: “It’s no coincidence that supporter-owned clubs like FC United and Scarborough are pioneering the really innovative ideas. From the start both have been at the forefront of making football affordable. This is an idea, during difficult financial times, that’s innovative, radical and right.” Sadly, no club in the Football League has followed suit, though 19 games at Blackburn Rovers will cost from only £199 this year for adults.
Second, it represents a refreshing level of transparency in FC’s operations. In contrast to other clubs who reveal their season-ticket prices without any consultation with supporters, FC featured a season-ticket revenue barometer on their website providing interested parties with a frequently updated running total – the virtual equivalent to a rain-sodden wooden gauge hammered unevenly into a hospital lawn. Doubtless for some it added exciting drama to the close season.
There is a precedent for this approach. In 2007-08 Bradford City experimented with reduced season ticket prices, subscribing to the notion that cheaper seats - £138 per adult - would lead to increased sales and a fuller stadium. It worked: 8,694 average attendance in 2006-07 before the reduction, 13,735 after, even in a lower division. And last year Huddersfield Town sold adult tickets for as low as £100 as part of their centenary celebrations. Though some of course continue to increase their prices: Manchester United, for instance, will cost around £20 more in 2009-10. But nothing has been as bold as FC and AFC Scarborough’s offer.
Despite the ill feeling sometimes directed towards FC United – recently from Richard Scudamore, chairman of the Premier League who wrongly suggested that they were more expensive to watch than Bolton Wanderers – the club continue to demonstrate their value to the modern game in this country. Tom Whitworth
Football clubs have tried all sorts of schemes to boost attendances so they might consider borrowing an idea from a certain Unibond League club. In a bid to reverse consecutive annual financial losses and to help out cash-strapped supporters, FC United, the fan owned club formed in 2005 by disaffected Manchester United followers, have introduced a “Pay what you can afford” season ticket policy for 2009-10.
This summer FC supporters were invited to choose their price in the hope of the club raising upwards of £125,000, a figure that would help cover their substantial operating costs, including the £80,000 annual rent of Bury’s Gigg Lane ground, and cut recent worrying deficits. As the club acknowledge, they could not “continue to incur [the] losses” they had suffered over the past two years, nor could they continue to rely on additional donations from generous fans on top of £10 memberships and season tickets. For this season’s scheme a minimum price of £90 was set - approval had to be sought from the club to pay any less - with the club recommending people pay £140, the cost last year.
Happily, then, as the new season approached the target was all but reached – £110,000 by the end of last month, likely surpassed soon after. “Amazing... we've broken the £100,000 pledge barrier” exclaimed one of the club‘s many Twitter updates in July. The offer has allowed FC to remain faithful to their philosophy of “providing affordable football”, while crucially now being able to operate on a sounder financial footing, particularly as plans for a new stadium nearer the centre of Manchester progress. Overall it highlights two satisfactions of the supporter-owned model that governs the club.
First, how an innovative approach to an often sensitive issue has been provided by an elected, and therefore fan representative, board – making the game more accessible to supporters in the process. Scarborough Athletic, the club formed by fans two years ago following the demise of Scarborough FC, also have the same policy for their season tickets this year. Not surprising, according to Kevin Rye of Supporters Direct: “It’s no coincidence that supporter-owned clubs like FC United and Scarborough are pioneering the really innovative ideas. From the start both have been at the forefront of making football affordable. This is an idea, during difficult financial times, that’s innovative, radical and right.” Sadly, no club in the Football League has followed suit, though 19 games at Blackburn Rovers will cost from only £199 this year for adults.
Second, it represents a refreshing level of transparency in FC’s operations. In contrast to other clubs who reveal their season-ticket prices without any consultation with supporters, FC featured a season-ticket revenue barometer on their website providing interested parties with a frequently updated running total – the virtual equivalent to a rain-sodden wooden gauge hammered unevenly into a hospital lawn. Doubtless for some it added exciting drama to the close season.
There is a precedent for this approach. In 2007-08 Bradford City experimented with reduced season ticket prices, subscribing to the notion that cheaper seats - £138 per adult - would lead to increased sales and a fuller stadium. It worked: 8,694 average attendance in 2006-07 before the reduction, 13,735 after, even in a lower division. And last year Huddersfield Town sold adult tickets for as low as £100 as part of their centenary celebrations. Though some of course continue to increase their prices: Manchester United, for instance, will cost around £20 more in 2009-10. But nothing has been as bold as FC and AFC Scarborough’s offer.
Despite the ill feeling sometimes directed towards FC United – recently from Richard Scudamore, chairman of the Premier League who wrongly suggested that they were more expensive to watch than Bolton Wanderers – the club continue to demonstrate their value to the modern game in this country. Tom Whitworth
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