Comments on: MyFootballClub – and now the balloon finally pops

By: Arsenal Fan Share – Premier League’s version of MyFootballClub

Arsenal Fan Share – Premier League’s version of MyFootballClub — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:40:41 +0000

[...] The Arsenal Fan Share scheme is a nice PR move (notice how journalists were quick to call it ‘Barcelona’ style ownership structure without even knowing what Barcelona’s ownership structure looks like), and ultimately the implementation of a modified MyFootballClub scheme on a Premier League club. Remember MyFootballClub? [...]

By: alexgloc

alexgloc — Sun, 11 May 2008 03:44:34 +0000

…and some of us UnitedStatesians were happy to join MyFC anyway because we didn’t see any interest in the Supporters Direct-run clubs for foreign owners/members that would have to learn how to be proper supporters. Yes, Will Brooks and company have delivered less than I expected, but then I also fault my expectations – I’ve certainly gotten my US$70 worth.
The Stonebridge Road folks – for all the understandable upset/concern about internet yahoos like me – were genial hosts, and made sure I enjoyed my two matches there last month. And given what Daish has done on (what has been implied to be) his budget, I’m continuing to stress “own the club” over “pick the team” for as long as he stays.

By: Dave Twisleton-Ward

Dave Twisleton-Ward — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:06:47 +0000

I should add: Too many people expected an application combining Facebook and FM2009 to suddenly appear. To the tecnically minded, it was obvious that this process of developing the website would take a considerable amount of time, and would require more involvement from members, and more openness from the Operator about their development roadmap.

By: Dave Twisleton-Ward

Dave Twisleton-Ward — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 09:57:11 +0000

Bob is absolutely right. Once the concept of MyFC appeared to be acceptable by both fans and clubs, the biggest challenge was going to be organising and developing the website and team selector. Whilst Will Brooks has done fantastically in the legal and financial arrangements, he’s let the technical side of things slide, embarassing in an age when crowdsourcing, Web 2.0, collaborative projects, and leaderless organisations are well discussed.

Fortunately, members are starting to realise this and do things for themselves.

By: Bob The Builder

Bob The Builder — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:15:13 +0000

I’m one of the original members and I don’t live in the UK. I originally joined because it seemed a cool idea to be a part owner of a football club. Really I think it was as simple as that for many. In the beginning, I don’t think anyone had great expectations, but for £35 what the hell.

As things progressed at least some members, like myself, became genuinely interested in the football business. We mistakenly, and perhaps naively, thought we’d actually be involved in it.

Definitely, for some, the opportunity for self-promotion has been a big thing. This I think has been to the detriment of the venture though.

On a positive note, I actually believe the current situation could be turned around, but there needs to be some major changes.

There’s much more I could write and can do so if you’re interested. Let me know.

By: Pitch Invasion » Lead Story » MyFootballClub FC — Has the Bubble Burst?

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:07:27 +0000

[...] members considered a poll on whether to take over team selection from manager Liam Daish or not. At SoccerLens, Ahmed Bilal quoted extensively from the MyFC Web Team’s message to members about the [...]

By: Ahmed Bilal

Ahmed Bilal — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:41:26 +0000

Interesting thoughts, thank you for sharing.

I wonder what common ground you can find between the members. Is it a love for football? There are already other forums and social communities where people have their friends. Is it a love for networking and self-promotion? That aspect, like you said, has sadly been overlooked but then again if they focused on that not many people would join (how many of the members are genuinely interested in football business?).

Still, they have the audience so if they want to play the networking card and push that side of MyFC then I suppose they can do quite well.

By: BobTheBuilder

BobTheBuilder — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 04:39:56 +0000

I think MyFC’s been on a downhill slide for sometime now. You only have to look at the number of members that have voted on important issues recently. There has been a significant decline from two-thirds voting on the Ebbsfleet (in January) to about one fifth voting (in March) on the composition of the new board.

Is it any wonder only a small number are now trialling the team selection feature? You could argue that they’d already ‘lost’ a third of the membership before ever taking over Ebbsfleet.

That said, I think a great opportunity has been lost. I don’t think the main attraction to MyFC was the ability for members to pick the team. It was more to be a part of a (global) community, the social networking it promised, and the sense of both belonging to, and being able to influence the direction of a football club.

I think this is something that has been largely overlooked. Instead, there’s been a concerted push to finalise the team purchase, set up the new board, and get the team selection process in place, as quickly as possible.

While this has been going on, there was little formal communication, to the membership, on where things were headed. Consequently, I think many members either feel alienated or have simply lost interest.