Blue Square Premier and beyond

Football finance weekly update

published : 2nd Oct by MyFC_Web_Team

Exclusive to MyFootballClub members, local and global news, from the Blue Square Premier to the A-League in Australia.

Mansfield to get more fan money
Blue Square Premier club Mansfield Town will receive extra money from fans. The Stags' Supporters' Association has agreed a partnership deal package of donations and sponsorship for this season with Mansfield Town worth over £7,500.  The fans' group has agreed to go 50/50 with the club to pay half of the £5,000 cost for team players to use the training facilities at the John Fretwell Centre Sporting Complex.  The Supporters Association has also this season gone 50/50 with the club on the overnight stay at Barrow and taken out various sponsorships at the club.

Dean Saunders is new Wrexham boss
Blue Square Conference club Wrexham have named ex-Liverpool and Wales star Dean Saunders as their new manager. Club owner Geoff Moss this morning confirmed the post had been filled following the departure of Brian Little after a poor start to the season. Fans have expressed their satisfaction with the replacement.

Wrexham owner cuts Supporters Trust
There is still no resolution of the dispute between Wrexham Geoff Moss, owner of Blue Square Conference club, Wrexham and the Wrexham Supporters Trust (WST).  Moss stopped the WST, which has more than 700 members, from contributing to the official match day programme and from selling merchandise in the new club store. He said: "We have put together a fundraising document and plan to make sure we maintain the centre of excellence. Wrexham Supporters Association gave £5,000 and Mold Reds and Buckley Reds also helped. Wrexham Supporters Trust said 'yes' they would be interested but they have subsequently said there will be no money. It is because they want equity purchase." In a statement the WST said .“ the Society will not be drawn into a tit for tat slanging match with Mr Moss and it is our intention to refrain from further public comment on these issues.


Credit crunch hits Spanish sponsors
Six teams in Spain have kicked off the Primera Division without a shirt sponsor due to the economic crisis. Sponsors are feeling the pressure of market conditions and the first cost being cut is advertising. Racing Santander, Almeria, Real Betis, Deportivo La Coruña, Malaga and Real Mallorca all find themselves in the difficult position of being without a sponsor. Valencia, meanwhile, have spoken out against their sponsor - the Valencia Experience - for failing to meet payments stipulated in the contract signed last May. The new sponsors, who won the contract from Toyota, are currently around six million euros in arrears.

Scotland ready to take EURO 2012 off Poland
Scotland could host Euro 2012 if the tournament is taken away from Poland and Ukraine. The Polish football federation has been suspended from UEFA for allegedly failing to address corruption, and the government has appointed an administrator to run the organisation. However, UEFA have warned the government the event could be moved if it continues to interfere with the country's football association. There are also concerns about safety and transport if the competition goes ahead as planned and both host countries have been told they must speed up their preparations. If the tournament is taken away from the countries, Scottish Football Association chief executive Gordon Smith is keen to bid for the competition.

UEFA Cup becomes Europa League
The UEFA Executive Committee has approved the change of name for the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League from 2009/10. According to uefa.com “The new name heralds major changes to the competition, which will have a new 48-team group stage with centralised marketing of broadcast rights, a presenting sponsor and an official matchball in addition to centralised sponsorship from the knockout stage and a new logo and visual identity.” It is hoped that the new format will “encourage teams from emerging countries or lesser-known sides to challenge the old order, and the new identity will seek to reflect that.”

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Away shirt launch

Fleet's white away shirt now available to purchase

published : 2nd Oct by Gadgetman

The 2008/09 Nike Fleet away shirt, as voted for by MyFootballClub members in February, is now on sale. This was the shirt chosen by 5,657 (44.7%) of the 12,650 members who voted on the away kit design.

From today, online buyers of either a home or away replica shirt will receive a free Fleet kit mug.  Free mugs will only be available while stocks last so don't delay making your order at the ONLINE SHOP.

Nike is confident that orders made this week will be delivered before 18th October.  This is the date of our match against Torquay United at Stonebridge Road where the new away shirt will also be available to purchase at ground's Club Shop.

And if simply wearing a Fleet shirt & getting a free mug thrown in isn't enough of a reason, don't forget that if you buy a shirt you will also be supporting the Fleet’s youth and ladies teams. For every 250 shirts bought, Nike will kit out (16 shirts, shorts and socks) one of these teams for free!

The third (green) kit cannot be made available for purchase.

What’s your abiding memory of the day?
How relaxed I was. I think the gaffer dealt with the day perfectly. He wanted it to be a family occasion. Of course, he knew perfectly the importance of the players keeping their concentration, but the fact that the families came to the hotel in the morning, I think that helped to relax everyone. He just wanted everyone to enjoy the day out and it couldn’t have gone any better. Not only did we win but my family were there, my friends, two of my daughters were mascots, loads of people were over from Ireland and everybody had a good day.

Was the semi-final second leg at Aldershot the real nail-biting part then?
Well, we had every confidence in ourselves, even though they were the runaway leaders in the league. We still fancied ourselves over two legs to go and beat anyone.

What are your memories of playing Liverpool? Who were you marking?
They started with Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler up front…

No problem.
…yeah, and then Emile Heskey came on. We were doing all right and then they went 1-0 up in the 79th minute. And then Fowler scored after that. It was one of those games where if they’d scored early they’d have battered us, but the longer the game went on you could see that the nerves were starting to show on their side. But then Gerrard came off the bench after about an hour and he lifted the tempo of their game. They were a great side, I think they won three cups that year.

What is the X factor that these top-flight players have?
Obviously ability is one thing. Gerrard’s speed of movement and speed of thought was different to the other Liverpool players. He was that bit sharper, that bit more clinical. Everything he did was done quickly and with precision. But there are a lot of players in the top division that aren’t exceptional and I think there are players in the lower leagues who can go and play there.

What does it take to get an unexceptional player into the Premiership?
I think being an athlete is a big advantage: pace and power. You look at the amount of African players here, they’re so quick and so strong. Obviously they’ve got to be good players but being an athlete is important. Take big John [Akinde], who’s gone to Bristol now; I love John to bits but if you’re talking about movement and awareness of the game, I’d put Luke [Moore] ahead of him. But John’s big, strong, powerful and he’s got a level head. To play for the top four clubs, you’ve got to have all those assets. You look at Cristiano Ronaldo: players think they’re going to go out and kick him, but then they line up against him in the tunnel and realise he’s six foot two and built like a brick s***house.

Who were the senior players you looked up to when you were younger?
I was lucky, I started at Brighton and Alan Curbishley was there at the time. Then over the years we had Steve Foster, Steve Gatting. I’ve had managers like Liam Brady, Jimmy Case. Frank Stapleton came down for a while to play for us. There were a lot of experienced players. Jerry Armstrong.

So now you’re in their position, what do you look to pass on to the youngsters at Ebbsfleet?
I wish I had the head that I’ve got now fifteen years ago. I think hard work and honesty will get you a long way. What a manager sees in a player is their reaction to success or failure. We’re lucky, we’ve got young lads who don’t mind rolling their sleeves up. When things are going well they don’t get chirpy and above themselves, when things aren’t going so well, they get their heads down, take the bollockings and getting on with it. Which makes my job easier as an older player.

What made you take up coaching with the youth team?
It was something I was interested in and something I enjoy. Ian Docker is a good coach and I learn a lot from him. It’s special seeing the end product and playing with players who come though: John, Luke, Kwesi. Take the Woking game, when Kwesi came off the bench and scored with his first touch: it makes it all the more special because it’s one of our lads coming through and showing everybody what he can do.

Do you feel the presence of Premiership clubs snapping up talent in the area?
There are so many clubs in the area that the very best players will be taken, but there are others that don’t develop till later on and there are so many players at these academies that they can’t take everybody on. So we have trials and we invite people along who have been released and we give them the opportunity to come and train full-time. The first thing we look for is attitude. They need the hunger to succeed. You can have all the talent in the world but if you don’t want to do it you’ve got no chance.

Why don’t English players have the technical ability of the Continentals?
Maybe they get it knocked out of them. Maybe it’s competitive too early. I’m not involved with any of the under-10s, 9s etc, but I know with rugby, they don’t play full rugby straight away, they start with tag and every year there’s another stepping stone towards playing full contact. Maybe in football they need to make the kids’ leagues less competitive, because if you’ve got managers who just want to win the league and so pick their more physically developed players, someone who’s small and technically very good might not get a game.

Any promising players we can look forward to seeing come into the first team this season?
We’re quite confident that there’ll be a few coming in at the end of this season. Last year we didn’t have the best group of second years, so that encouraged us to bring a lot of the first year lads in. Now they’re another year older, our PASE side is made up mainly of second years, which hasn’t happened for a while. So we’ve got a strong squad and there are quite a few of them who have got a chance.

What’s the objective for the season?
Our main objective is to develop players for the first team. Results are important for players’ confidence but we don’t want to have games that we win 8-0, which happens quite a lot in our league. We want games where players are testing us, as a character and as a player.

John Akinde scored last night on his debut for Bristol City.
Yeah, brilliant.

Having been sold to Wycombe for £100,000, tell us what’s it like having a price tag on your head like he did?
A hundred grand back then was a lot of money and it was a lot for Wycombe to spend. And I was signed by a manager there, Alan Smith, who wasn’t popular at the club – though I liked him a lot. So I found it difficult. I was 24 and I was expected to play straight away, whereas John has gone to a club where the manager is exceptional with young players and is known as a great coach. He won’t throw a player in in his first week without giving him a chance to settle in. But I was so pleased for him last night. Especially cos they equalised later on, so the atmosphere in the changing room would have been more befitting a game where somebody’s made his debut and scored.

Sum up your feelings when you first heard about the MyFC takeover and how you feel about it now.
I was quite positive about it because I realised that the club couldn’t continue full-time. We’d been doing really well but the local support wasn’t really getting behind us. To be competitive in this league you need more people coming through the gate, you need more finance and more businesses involved, and we weren’t really getting that at the time. It was frustrating for us as players and I imagine it was worse for the people who were running the club and especially the gaffer. He was putting out a side that was punching well above its weight and people weren’t coming to see us. So my feeling was, as long as you’re playing well and working hard, you’ve got a chance of playing in the first team – just like a normal club really. I think it’s gone really well. I’ve noticed a difference, particularly away from home. At Barrow our support was ten times what I expected it to be in that part of the world. As a player that’s good to see.

What would you like to see members focus on?
I think they can make a difference in lots of ways. For the club to develop the support is the main thing for me: people coming to support and the general interest. It keeps the club’s name in the spotlight. The gates are up this year; we’re averaging about 500 more each game than last year, which is a terrific amount of people. From a player’s point of view, it just helps when they’re there supporting us.

What do you do outside football?
I’ve got four daughters, so after the training and the coaching, I get my taxi driver’s hat on in the evening and drop the kids here there and everywhere.

How old are they?
12, 10, 8 and 6.

That’s well planned.
Yeah, I thought I’d give her a year off…

Do they come and watch you?
Not really because they’ve all got their own activities. As people out there with kids will understand, as soon as they get to a certain age you’re life’s over, mate, because you’re dictated by them.

You’re 52 now, do you have ambitions to be a manager?
Ha ha! Yeah, 52 last week. I’m enjoying playing at the moment and coaching. There are times when you think it would be good to manage, but then there are times when you see the gaffer’s face every morning, miserable as sin, and you think Christ! It can’t be that much fun. To be fair to him he deals with it really well. He’s a good judge of character in that he doesn’t bring in people who would rock the boat. Personally, I’d like to stay involved in football at some level, it depends what turns up. But it’s not an easy game to stay in. We’ll just have to see.

Extra Time: not as good as HH but i tried

Extra Time: its over a win is a win is a win COYS! we move on!

90' (+2): 19 fouls for Wisla thats impressive

90' (+1): Throw-in: Chris Gunter takes it (Defending

90' (+1): please blow the whisle!

90': Marcelo Antonio Guedes Filho hits a good left footed shot, but it is off target. Outcome: over bar

87': Tottenham makes a sub: Michael Dawson enters for Aaron Lennon. Reason: Tactica

84': jeebus come spurs hold on!!!

84': 2nd Leg: 2 - 3 (Agg)

83': Goal!! Pawel Brozek hits a very good right footed shot low through the middle from the centre penalty area (aprox. 18 yards) and scores!! The game is now tied at 1

83': Gomes makes a very good save (Parry)

77': into the 77th minute, i can taste a victory, its  a wierd taste i havnt experianced in 8 months...

69': Darren Bent hits a good right footed shot, but it is off target. Outcome: miss left

69': Tottenham makes a sub: Jamie O'Hara enters for Fraizer Campbell. Reason: Tactical

66': Wisla Krakow makes a sub: Marek Zienczuk enters for Roberto Mauro Cantoro. Reason: Tactical

66': would it be a game without a wide right shot from zakora?

66': Didier Zokora hits a good left footed shot, but it is off target. Outcome: miss right

61': shots 7 aside

61':

spurs need what i call an insurance goal...one more and we got this in the bag. we still havnt scored today, but wisla has helped us out. at this point i'll goal no matter who scores it

Half Time: Oh no! That was a bit unlucky, Arkadiusz Glowacki has just scored on his own net! Wisla Krakow now trails 0 - 1

22': another junk corner from jenas....what a surprise

22': Jermaine Jenas takes the corner kick from the right byline with his right foot and hits an outswinger to the centre, resulting in: clearance

21': looks like spurs are in a shooting mood, thats nice...

21': Luka Modric hits a good right footed shot, but it is off target. Outcome: miss left

20': 20 minutes in still no score

20': Gomes makes a very good save (Catch)

19': Roberto Mauro Cantoro hits a good left footed shot. Outcome: save

18': Gomes takes an indirect freekick with his right foot from his own half. Outcome: open play

14': 2 shots so far by spurs, both on net. i think thats more then we had againast pompey

14': Junior Diaz commits a foul on Chris Gunter resulting on a free kick for Tottenham

13': Darren Bent hits a good header. Outcome: save

11': looks like spurs are playing a 4-4-2 and yet again a different squad

10': T Jirsak hits a good left footed shot, but it is off target. Outcome: over bar

9': Jermaine Jenas takes the corner kick from the right byline with his right foot and hits an outswinger to the centre, resulting in: open play

90' (+4): i like david james, he is good

87':

redcard

86': corluka with a foul...

84': at least the spurs fans are supporting the team, too bad the team couldnt support itself

Ebbsfleet United have received an offer from a League club to purchase striker John Akinde.

This request to buy John Akinde follows a number of offers, from several different clubs over the last few months. Thus far, none of the previous offers – in the view Liam Daish, the CEO and Chairman – were in the best interests of the football club.

The latest bid made on Wednesday 27 August is in excess of £140,000. Ebbsfleet United could also recieve further payments depending on performance plus a significant percentage of any sell-on should the player be transferred to another club.

Fuller details of the deal - and the reasons why Liam Daish, the CEO and the Chairman believe that this offer is in the best interests of the football club as well as the player - will be disclosed if the transfer proceeds. (This is to protect Ebbsfleet United’s future negotiating position should the deal falter.)

Over the next 48 hours, Liam Daish, the CEO and Chairman are seeking the opinion of the club’s owners

Here is also an article posted on bbc.com about this purposed deal

A football transfer is to be decided by an internet vote of thousands of supporters for the very first time.

Members of myfootballclub.co.uk (MFC), who own Ebbsfleet United, will decide if they should accept a £140,000 offer from an unnamed club for John Akinde.

"It's quite historic," MFC founder Will Brooks told BBC Sport.

"The summer has been full of talk about Gareth Barry and Cristiano Ronaldo, but this transfer allows fans to have a say in whether it is right for the club."

The 30,000 plus members have 48 hours to decide whether they should sell the highly rated 19-year-old striker, who has played fewer than 20 games for Ebbsfleet.

He has already been watched by Chelsea scouts and the club have turned down an offer for Akinde from League One side Peterborough.

Players who have recently turned professional like Akinde are unlikely to be earning more than £200 a week.

"The fans are legal owners of the club," added Brooks. "Whereas transfers at other clubs are decided by a few board members this decision will be taken by 30,000 board members."

Earlier this year over 20,000 MyFootballClub members, who had each paid £35 to provide a £700,000 takeover pot, took control of Ebbsfleet, to give each fan an equal share in the club.

Since then members have voted on a number of major decisions affecting the club, including the price of season-tickets to watch Ebbsfleet, but this is the first time a transfer will be decided by the team's fans.

MFC's membership now stands at over 30,000 people, with members living in 122 countries.

"It has become very apparent that members are taking the responsibility of ownership very seriously and considering decisions made so far."

08/09 away kit

Ebbsfleet United reveal design chosen by MyFC members

published : 10:37 by Gadgetman

Ebbsfleet United have unveiled their new away strip as chosen by the members of MyFootballClub.

This picture shows new signings Craig Stone and Ricky Shakes wearing the new Nike away kit, which was chosen via an online poll conducted on the MyFootballClub website.  The kit complements the Fleet's new red and white home kit which has been used in matches so far this season.

Fans participated in deciding what kits the team should wear this season for the first time. They seem to be delighted with the home kit and I am sure they will be equally pleased with the one they have selected for the away strip.

The white Nike kit was the favourite away design, chosen by 5,657 (44.7%) of the 12,650 members who voted.  It will be available for purchase shortly, from the club shop on match days and online at HERE.

Because some competing teams have home strips with shirts
containing both red and white, a third strip will be required. Three options will shortly be presented to MyFootballClub members for a vote.

HERE are some reaction from the members on the vote and annoucement of the new kit provided by NIKE.

Comments

About time too. Whatever commercial justification there was for delaying this announcement to the owners of the club wasn't really justified. And now there's going to be a third strip to choose from? I wonder how many people will wait for that to be announced before deciding to buy one... and then by the time it is announced and released we'll be half way through the season and people will choose to wait to see what happens next year. I'm afraid I think we've lost face, exposure and revenue from this dodgy delay.

Posted by rich moz @ Today 11:25

\i voted for the green and white away shirt it is distinctive the white shirt chosen while nice is too similar to a lot of other strips and is basically boring and safe. Lets have something different for the third strip!!!!!

Posted by mark rhodes @ Today 11:09

Would go for Yellow as 3rd Kit like the away Nike make a decent Kit they are 1 of the more respected Sport kit suppliers so lay off its too early to judge.

Posted by Fearnt @ Today 11:08

Gutted its not the green/white one, this one looks just like my england shirt. Might draw an Ebbsfleet logo on that one instead. We had a choice and we chose... dullness.

Posted by Nimrod @ Today 11:00

I like the new kit too, and agree that the third kit should be bright, bright yellow!

Posted by Friejose @ Today 10:56

Kit looks good unlike Dan Cooper, myfootballclub member who cheated on the Sun Dream Team by stealing my team - disgrace - I don't think ebsfleet should be associated with this moron - ban him for life

Posted by iclejames @ Today 10:55

So that's three new kits this year, after the three last year, including the Wembley one, then we'll probably finish with Nike as they have been poor, so that will be a new kit next year. Then the year after that we'll have a new kit as we'll probably finish with Eurostar. Oh well...

Posted by Harry J Allstars @ Today 10:54

A yellow third kit would be my choice

Posted by broncoh @ Today 10:51

yellow/black third kit would be an attractive option.

Posted by rsheard @ Today 10:46

Can't believe the boring option one. The green option was much more distinctive and would have negated the need for a 3rd strip. This one won't be on my shopping list....

Posted by wolfhound @ Today 10:46

There, that wasn't difficult was it?

Posted by Harry J Allstars @ Today 10:32

i like the new kit, there the same shorts we wore against Rushden during the week aren't they? 3rd kit has got to be yellow please!!

Posted by mikefleet @ Today 10:28

Gadgetman, thanks for the update, kit looks great. Forgive me if you're unable to answer this now, but will the 3rd kit be available for purchase when produced?

Posted by kevineufc @ Today 10:28

look good, can't remember what i voted for now, it was so long ago!!!! here a noval idea.... let NOT have a third kit.... we have a perfectly good home kit, which was used at rushden this week! why do we need to have three????? just trying to flog a few extras!!!!! tut tut!!!!

Posted by MadHatter @ Today 10:27

Looks okay, given the new need for a third kit this is something i dont suppose was considered at the time. I liked the green personally.

Posted by Bluechip @ Today 10:22

PLEASE LET THE 3rd KIT BE YELLOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KEEP THE FLEET YELLOW IN A KIT SOMEWHERE

Posted by HailCaeser @ Today 10:17

cool, does look good. Hope the third kit does go on sale, may not sell many but i for one will get one!!

Posted by garwood8 @ Today 10:07

I will probably wait until the third strip to decide which one to buy. This away strip doesn't really grab me. But it isn't bad.

Posted by Dan Adams @ Today 10:02

Liam Daish interview

A preview of the Rushden & Diamonds clash

published : 11th Aug by MyFC_Web_Team

How were the players after the draw against Mansfield?
LD: There was disappointment, of course there was. I expect that. But there were many positives and the players can take the credit for that. They played especially well first half and it was a good game all round.

Is it a team that’s gaining in confidence?
LD: Yes. And that’s carried on from last year where we were confident of beating any side, whoever we played. And the first game of this season against Mansfield, it was the same - but we probably didn’t get the result we deserved. We’ve now got to keep that belief going into tomorrow’s match.

Towards the end of last season, it was three games a week. Is now a better time to be playing midweek?
LD: We’ve had a lot of days on the training ground so it will be good to get straight into the next fixture. And considering the fixture pile-up towards the end of last season, I think it’s a good idea to get games in, especially when the pitches are in good condition and, touch wood, we didn’t suffer any injuries on Saturday. So, going to Rushden tomorrow, it’s a good place to play and try and get a result.

So everyone is fighting fit?
LD: Yes, as far as I know at the moment.

What sort of team is Rushden?
LD: They’ve spent a bit of money in the summer. They’ve got experience through out and a lot of players who have played at a higher level. But it’s very early days at the moment, and there are strange results and performances with teams bedding down. So sometimes you can have teams watched but it still doesn’t really prepare you because you just don’t know what kind of performance and side you could be up against.

Rushden try to play football. They have players like Burgess, Osana, the right back, Phillips, and Clare, who is injured at the moment, all who are comfortable on the ball. So they’re footballers and it will test us.

In terms of the centre midfield, how do Barrett and Stone set up?
LD: Well, we try to play always one a little more forward. Depends on where the ball is, but we don’t like to be too flat. And that happens all over the pitch. You want to get the shape of your side so that one ball doesn’t beat both players, whether they’re both too deep or both too advanced.

The members picked Akinde instead of Moore on Saturday – what does Moore offer?
LD: He brings movement. He brings anticipation. And I think we saw that Saturday. He was very alive following the ball in for the goal. And although it was put down for Gashy, Luke swears blind he had the final touch. So he gives that little bit of difference.

It’s not like picking names out of a newspaper where you are choosing individuals. It’s about putting 11 names down, the ones that will give the right blend throughout the team.

If you played Gash and Akinde up front, would it mean you need flexible players in midfield to link up?
LD: Well again, you can’t beat teams with 11 big lads. In an ideal world, you’d probably play Moore, Shakes and Long in the midfield four, but defensively against strong sides you can’t do that. So you’ve to set out to win the game, and you need defensive options as well as attacking ones.

Dean Pooley and Kezie Ibe have come through pre season trials to secure one year deals with Ebbsfleet United.  Liam Daish has signed both players to complete his squad for the start of the new season.

Twenty two year old Pooley, born in Sidcup, began his career with Millwall before spending a period this year in the League of Ireland with Bohemians. Essentially a defender, 6' 1" Pooley scored two goals during the Fleet's West Country tour in matches against Torpoint Athletic and Bodmin Town.

Ibe recently appeared as substitute during Ebbsfleet's 4-0 victory over
Cray Wanderers in the Kent Senior Cup Final at Bromley. The 25 year old
forward was part of Chelmsford's Ryman Premier League winning side last season and has also played for Yeovil, Exeter, Staines and Aylesbury.