This text was originally written for an article that was to appear in the Independent Newspaper. Small bits of it were used, but I am using it here as I feel it sums up how I feel in January 2008. Link To Article.
I joined MYFC just to see what it was about in the early days. Just one of many things that you register an interest then don’t do anything else with it after a day or so, but MYFC has been so very different. On August 1st, you had the chance to join and I did , paid my £35 and logged onto the forum. I have been there ever since, maybe 4 hours a night or more. I may sound like a computer geek, but I am not. I am challenged to wire a plug, but I share one thing with 25,000 people, and that is a love of football.
So far, it has been brilliant. The knowledge of people on the forum is very deep and somebody can always answer a question. There are some very kind people on there. I know that if a person is nice online, then they probably will be in the real world, and that has proved to be the case with the people that I have met. People trust each other, we are like a family, one guy who I didn’t know at all, hadn’t even talked to online sent me a programme from a game, and he just trusted that I would send him the money.
Ebbsfleet United, well what can I say. I had looked at many many clubs when we were looking for a club, Ebbsfleet included. When the deal became public, and we had no idea who it would be that day in November, infact I found out about it on teletext , I was very pleased it was them. As time has passed and we learn more about them and the people there, my excitement has just grown and grown. The whole area is a growing area, they have a proper ground, they may move to a new stadium, they believe in the youth and they are within distance of the football league. If we can help them make that final step into the big league, it will be a dream come true for so many people around the world.
My expectation for this season is to complete the deal, and help the club improve. The Club, not just the first team. I know the youth team will be of great interest to many members. We may be at the cutting edge of football ideas, maybe ahead of our time, but deep down, we are a very traditional lot and we know what we like. We like the Youth development, we like respect to officials, we like trying to get the kids back into the ground. We seem to be in a permanent 8th, 9th position, but we are not so far from the 5th place. If events are kind to us, we may just get that shot at the league this year. If not, we go for it next year. The FA Trophy would be a dream for us if we could get to Wembley. We are in the last 16, so just 2 wins off the semi final. Believe me, if we did get to Wembley, people would fly in from the 4 corners of the world to see The Fleet.
Next 3 years. Develop the club and ground and have a real go at getting into the league. If in 2011 we could be a nice 9th in League 2 with a chance of going up, we would have had a great ride. But becoming a league club would be a dream. We have been given the chance of a lifetime to have the honour of working with the good people of Ebbsfleet United. We will not let them down.
Voting on the team ?. At the moment I do not have the depth of knowledge to do this. I would hope a period of consolidation takes place for people to get to know the staff. We have a great man in Liam Daish and I for one trust his judgement. So if the members were voting this week, I would go with his choice. In the medium term, I would make my own selections but it is my belief that maybe 95% or more of Liams choices would be backed. It would take a big vote to go against his choices. I am more interested in making decisions about the club than the team.
I have been following all matches very closely since November when the news broke. Many games have been followed by Radio Kent commentary online and spending it with fellow fans on the forum as the game develops.
I have been to the away game at Stafford Rangers and the home game against Weymouth over the New Year period. It has been so much fun to follow a team at this level. You are much closer to them physically and mentally as they very quickly have become our team. The atmosphere has been good and to get a last minute winner at Stafford Rangers made me feel 19 again, as if we won the cup, the feeling could not have been any better.
The shirts for Africa campaign where members were asked to send old football shirts to a Charity in Northern Ireland for them to take to the people of Uganda has been rewarding. Shirts have come from many members including from Finland. The fact that members will post the shirts at their own cost shows that they do care about people who love the beautiful game. Another smaller project was when members collected to buy shirts for an under 8’s team in Salford Manchester. Some members have had sponsorship for sponsored runs, and at the moment a number of us are trying to loose weight or stop smoking to improve our health but also provide a few funds for a worthy cause. These show the depth of the MYFC community and the heart of it, the heart that beats is a kind and generous heart. Before Christmas it was decided that the team needed new training goals and balls. Within a matter of hours, the money was raised, infact many members were unhappy that they had not had the chance to contribute, as the total had been reached so fast.
I have set up a website at http://www.2iom.com to follow our journey towards our dream. We are not dreamers though, I think of us as practical dreamers. Yes we want to do well, but we are realistic and practical and appreciate the good things that we have. In that I would include manager Liam Daish and his staff and the good fans of Ebbsfleet United who have followed the club for years. Mr Daish has done a great job and the fans I met at Stafford Rangers were the best.
We are like a bottle of wine just waiting to explode as the cork is released when the deal is completed.