It’s likely that members wanted to join MyFootballClub for a variety of reasons, including:

• being part of a world-first project

• transparency and decision-making at a football club

• having a say in team selection

• wanting to help a struggling lower league club

• having an involvement in English football from overseas

• shaping the development of the club-operating platform

This wide appeal certainly helped to attract members. It also meant that every aspect of the project had to deliver for each interest group to keep everyone engaged. The following aspects of MyFootballClub journey made this challenging.

Playing catch up

From the moment a hand-raising website was launched, Will Brooks and a hastily assembled team were playing catch up. In less than 7 months they:

• wrote the rules and got approval for a revolutionary ‘online Trust’ from the FSA (now FCA)

• had protracted discussions with PayPal to convince them of its not-for-profit nature

• managed worldwide press enquiries, attracted 53,000 registrations, and raised over £1000,000

• built a club-operating website

• negotiated with at least 6 football clubs

• agreed a takeover deal for Ebbsfleet United with its Supporters’ Trust and owners

It was bigger task than had been anticipated, and the team was always on the back foot. Better early planning and having more manpower would have make pre-takeover easier and post-takeover smoother.

“Ebbsfleet United?”

There was press speculation that MyFootballClub might buy Leeds United or Nottingham Forest. This was, in part, fuelled by a league table on the website with a wish list of clubs voted for by the members. However, with a projected takeover fund of around £1.375m from 50,000 members - it was always likely that a target club would come from the lower leagues.

Perhaps, from the outset, this should have been made clearer. The announcement of a fifth tier football club may have disappointed some, and around 5,000 who paid their membership fee did not visit the site again.

‘MYFC v locals’

MyFootballClub would only proceed with the takeover on the basis that the leading supporters group at Ebbsfleet United (the Fleet Trust) approved the deal - which they did. Several hundred from the Ebbsfleet area then joined MyFootballClub as soon as the proposed takeover was announced. The relationship between MyFootballClub and existing fans - whether on the forums or terraces - was on the whole friendly.

However, the relationship deteriorated as investment into the club dried up, which was compounded by losing members year on year. Perhaps MyFootballClub should have relinquished control sooner when it became apparent it would struggle to fund the club? However, it’s also true that no prospective buyers - willing to cover ongoing losses - came forward.

Pick the team

MyFootballClub’s tagline was ‘Own the club, pick the team’. The idea of the coach following the members’ team selection and formation proved to be divisive. There were members who joined because of ‘pick the team’. Members who joined despite it. While overall, existing supporters didn’t like the idea. A compromise was made that members would decide before each match whether they, or the manager, would pick the team. As it turned out, members always voted for the manager’s choice.

This compromised solution angered advocates of ‘pick the team’, as the precise way it would work hadn’t set out on the original MyFootballClub website. ‘Pick the team’ was also delayed until the start of the first full season in charge, due to the perceived disruption of implementing it mid-season. Again, setting out the precise plan and timings before the club takeover would have made the process easier.

Technical challenge

When MyFootballClub launched, social media was in its infancy and the iPhone was yet to be released. Interviews with the manager and players had to be filmed, edited and then uploaded to a player. And although there were regular articles, videos, blogs and a podcast, there was an over reliance on message boards, which became hard to navigate and were at times abusive.

Without the technology of today, the challenge of bringing the football club to the members was underestimated.

Not for profit ownership

MyFootballClub bought Ebbsfleet United through a not-for-profit Trust, in which each member had a share that they had to renew annually. Although it was made clear from the outset that the club would be owned on a not-for-profit basis, some members disappointed they couldn’t sell their share. Would a different form of ownership model have improved retention?

Financially stretched

The vast majority of members’ funds went on buying the club and then covering ongoing monthly losses. This meant there was little to invest in players or club infrastructure - which also impacted the member experience. It was anticipated that a high percentage of the 32,000 members would renew in year two, however membership fell to around 9,000 - of which some had already paid for two and three year memberships.

MyFootballClub required annual renewals of around 20,000 to make the ownership model sustainable. But with the benefit of hindsight - knowing membership levels fell year on year - Ebbsfleet United’s ongoing losses were too large for MyFootballClub to sustain.