Ebbsfleet United bought by fan website, MyFootballClub
Imagine being the manager of an English football club and having your shareholder VOTE on your starting lineup? Liam Daish, manager of Ebbsfleet United may soon have that exact experience. MyFootballClub has completed the purchase of Ebbsfleet United, a team in the Football Conference, the fifth tier of English Football (or Soccer, as we North Americans insist on). MyFootballClub is a fan site that charges member an annual fee and was just launched this year. With members in over seventy countries, Ebbsfleet probably has the widest fan base of any Conference League team.
The plan is to have the fans vote on many of Ebbsfleet United’s daily operations, such as transfers and squad assignments. The current manager, Daish, has had his role changed to Head Coach to reflect the new operational model, where the fans are the managers. This will be a very interesting situation, as we will see a democratic approach to running a sports team.
Will this work? The popularity of fantasy sports has exploded over the last few years, fueled by the internet. This is a whole new level – fantasy sports without the fantasy. Although you don’t get sole control (I get sole control when I smack my fish around) I’m guessing enough revenue will be generated by the interest in Ebbsfleet United that they will be able to easily buy themselves the players they need to comfortable get a promotion. Probably up two tiers, if the business staff do their jobs. Until they hit a level that matches their spending capacity, its all roses. Then we’ll have a real test of football management by democracy.
I wonder how the fans will vote if someone pulls a Jiri Tlusty?