F.C. United of Manchester
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| FC United of Manchester | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Football Club United of Manchester | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | FCUM, Red Rebels | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Gigg Lane Bury |
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| Capacity | 11,840 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman | none | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager |  Karl Marginson |
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| League | NW Counties Div 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-06 | NW Counties Div 2, 1st | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Football Club United of Manchester (FC United of Manchester, FC United or FCUM for short) is a semi-professional English football club based in nearby Bury. The club was formed in 2005 by Manchester United supporters, many of whom decided to withdraw their financial support for the club following Malcolm Glazer's takeover. FCUM currently enjoy a healthy rivalry with Salford City and Maine Road.
Although the majority of the club's support comes from Manchester and the surrounding area, its supporters club has branches in over ten countries including France, Poland, New Zealand and the United States of America. The local television station Channel M began a monthly series of programmes about the club, the first of which was in January 2006. Television crews from France and the Netherlands have been seen at the team's matches.
FC United's first season was successful. FC United entered at the tenth level of the English football league system (the second division of the North West Counties Football League) and they were confirmed as champions on 15 April 2006.
In the 2005-6 season, they had the second-highest average attendance anywhere in English non-League football, only bettered by Exeter City. The team is managed by the former Macclesfield Town player Karl Marginson and their record attendance is 6,023 for a match against Great Harwood Town on 22 April 2006.
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[edit] History
[edit] Formation
The club was founded in the summer of 2005 by disgruntled supporters of Manchester United. Although those supporters had various reasons for their dissatisfaction with the club,[1] the catalyst for FC United's formation was the hostile takeover of Manchester United by the United States businessman Malcolm Glazer. United supporters had previously considered forming a new club in response to a proposed takeover by Rupert Murdoch in 1998, but the takeover bid was unsuccessful so the idea was not implemented. When it was announced that Glazer was considering taking over the club, the idea was brought up again as a possible "last resort" and discussed in Manchester United fanzines including Red Issue.
The Glazer family obtained overall control of Manchester United on 12 May 2005, and supporters who had opposed the takeover organised a meeting at the Manchester Methodist Hall on 19 May. Although the focus of the meeting was on continuing to oppose Manchester United's new owners rather than forming a new club, the meeting's chairman, Andy Walsh, announced that the formation of a new club would be discussed at a second meeting on 30 May and that Kris Stewart, the chairman of AFC Wimbledon, had given advice on setting up the club.[2] It was decided that the club would be formed if 1,000 people pledged financial support by the end of July. This target was exceeded and the steering committee pushed ahead with plans for the club.
A nearby club, Leigh RMI, were in financial difficulties at the time and asked FC United to take them over, as the extra support from FC United would have ensured their club's survival. The founders of FC United refused this proposition because they were creating the club in response to an unpopular takeover and didn't feel that taking over another existing club was appropriate. The clubs remained on good terms, though, and FC United's first public match was a friendly against Leigh RMI. The club's founders originally chose the name FC United, but the Football Association rejected this as too generic. Those who had pledged money to the club were then asked to vote on a name from FC United of Manchester, FC Manchester Central, AFC Manchester 1878 and Newton Heath United FC.[3] On 14 June, 2005 it was announced that FC United of Manchester had been chosen with 44% of the vote. FC United continues to be used as an abbreviated form of the club's name.
Karl Marginson was appointed as manager on 22 June, and the club held trials for players on 26 June. 900 players applied to take part in the trials, of whom 200 were selected to do so and 17 were chosen to play for F.C. United, although most of those have since left the club. By 8 July 2005, over 4,000 people had pledged money to FC United and the club had over £100,000 in the bank.[4]
FC United were admitted to the second division of the North West Counties Football League, putting the club at level ten of the English football league system, nine levels below the FA Premier League. The league had four spare places at the time, so no other club was denied promotion as a result of FC United's admission. The club was formed after the deadline for entering the FA Vase had passed so they were not eligible to play in it in the 2005–06 season, although they were able to play in the North West Counties League Challenge Cup. They are eligible to enter the FA Vase in the 2006-2007 season and the FA Cup the year after. The club then arranged to play their 2005-06 home matches at Bury F.C.'s stadium, Gigg Lane where all home games (with the exception of one league fixture in February 2006 v Holker Old Boys which was played at Moss Lane, Altrincham), have been played since.
[edit] 2005-06 season
- Main Article FC United of Manchester Season 2005-06
FC United's first public match was an away friendly fixture against Leigh RMI on 16 July 2005. The match ended 0–0.
FC United entered the North West Counties Division 2, and The League arranged for F.C. United's first league match to be away to the club with the biggest ground, Leek CSOB, in order to gauge whether it would be possible for other clubs to host F.C. United at their own grounds. It took place on Saturday 13 August 2005 and was the first all-ticket match in the history of the league. The attendance of 2,590 set a new record for the NWCFL, and was higher than Leek CSOB's combined attendances for the whole of the previous season. F.C. United won the game 5–2.
After a successful season the NWCFL Division Two trophy was awarded at the home game v Great Harwood Town FC on Saturday 22 April 2006, in front of a crowd of 6,023, a NWCFL record attendance.
[edit] 2006-07 season
FC United's first match in the North West Counties League Division One (Level 5 of the non-League Pyramid) was against St. Helens Town FC on Saturday 12 August 2006, FC United winning 2-0.
The season so far has been an impressive one for FC United, with a strengthening squad and good off-field support. They will hope for promotion from the division, but were eliminated from the FA Vase at the third round stage by Quorn.
[edit] Organisation
F.C. United is an industrial and provident society. Membership is obtained by donating one pound or more to the club, but each member receives only one share in the club and is entitled to a single vote at meetings, regardless of the amount donated.
The club has an elected board of twelve members, but has not yet chosen a chairman. Tony Pritchard is acting as chairman until a decision is made.
The club has two full-time employee positions: Andy Walsh as chief executive and Lindsey Robertson who has replaced Luc Zentar as club secretary. Both Andy Walsh and Luc Zentar were heavily involved in the club's formation.[5]
The club's manifesto includes the following core principles:[6]
- The Board will be democratically elected by its members.
- Decisions taken by the membership will be decided on a one member, one vote basis.
- The club will develop strong links with the local community and strive to be accessible to all, discriminating against none.
- The club will endeavour to make admission prices as affordable as possible, to as wide a constituency as possible.
- The club will encourage young, local participation - playing and supporting - whenever possible.
- The Board will strive wherever possible to avoid outright commercialism.
- The club will remain a non-profit organisation.
The club accepts sponsorship but does not allow sponsors' logos to be displayed on the team's shirts. The club's main sponsor in its inaugural 2005-6 season was the Bhopal Medical Appeal. Currently FC United's main sponsor is the Williams BMW Group.
[edit] Future Aspirations
In November 2006 at the club's Annual General Meeting, the club outlined bold aspirations for the forthcoming six years [7] including:
- winning promotion in three successive seasons to take them to Conference North by 2009.
- reaching an average of 5,000 supporters per home game by 2009.
- building their own 7,000 - 10,000 capacity stadium, as central to Greater Manchester as possible, by 2012.
- developing their own training facilities by 2009.
- starting a women's team for the 2007-08 season.
[edit] Current Squad
The club's squad includes the following players:[8][9]
As of 17 November 2006:
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[edit] Players on the coaching staff
- Phil Power
Born in Salford on 25 July 1966. A prolific striker whose previous clubs include Northwich Victoria, Crewe Alexandra, Macclesfield Town and Altrincham. FC United's assistant manager. Signed for FC United from Bacup Borough, having worked as a residential care worker for Salford Council for three years.[10]
- Darren Lyons
Born in Manchester on 9 November 1967. Player-coach, who sometimes plays as a right-winger for F.C. Has played for Bury, Macclesfield Town and Altrincham. Former player-manager of Salford City and East Manchester. Signed from Flixton.
- Tony Cullen
Born in Salford on 25 September 1973. A former young professional with Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa before dropping into non-League with Altrincham and Salford City amongst others. Plays in midfield or at right-back. Cullen has been appointed the new reserve team manager for FC United for season 2006-2007 and is currently taking his coaching badges, his assistant will be Lawrence Greenhalgh.
- Chris Simms
Signed for FC United from Maine Road in December 2005. He had played in over 500 matches for Maine Road, and was player-manager at the time of his transfer. Described by Karl Marginson as a "massive Manchester United fan...eager to be part of what we want to achieve here."[11]
[edit] Notable former players
[edit] Honours
- North West Counties Football League
- Division Two Champions 2005-06
- Supporters Direct Cup
- Winners 2006-07
- BBC North West Sports Awards
- Newcomer of the Year 2006
[edit] Records
- Record League Victory: 10-2 v Castleton Gabriels, 10 December 2005
- Record Win Margin:
- 8 v Castleton Gabriels, 10 December 2005
- 8 v Squires Gate, 14 October 2006
- 8 v Glossop North End, 28 October 2006
- Record League Defeat:
- 0-3 v Atherton Collieries, 29 November 2006
- Most Goals scored in a match by one player: 5 Simon Carden v Castleton Gabriels, 10 December 2005
- Record Attendance: Gigg Lane 6,023 v Great Harwood Town, 22 April 2006
- Worst Attendance: Interlink Express Stadium 1,028 v Great Harwood Town, 27 February 2006
- Longest unbeaten run : (League) 18, 5 October 2005 to - 27 February 2006
- Most league games won in a row : (League) 13, 29 April 2006 to 30 September 2006 (last game of 2005-2006 season and first 12 games of 2006-2007 season).
[edit] References
[edit] Printed
- Crick, Michael (2003). The Boss: The Many Sides of Alex Ferguson. Pocket Books. 0-7434-2991-5.
- FC United of Manchester Official Match Programme, volume 1, issues 1,7
- Under The Boardwalk (FC United fanzine), issue 3 (October 2005)
- FC United of Manchester Yearbook 2005-06
- Tony Howard. We all know that Torpey wears a thong. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on October 26, 2005.
- Tony Howard. Whether we're 'splitters' or 'scabs' we are all United. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on November 3, 2005.
- Dominic Fifield. Rebel FC. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on January 14, 2006.
[edit] Media
- Rory Patterson Scores From The Halfway Line[1]
[edit] Online
- FC United of Manchester Supporters Network. Retrieved on February 5, 2006.
- An Undividable Glow by Robert Brady. The story of FCUM's first season. [2]
- Their own TV show!! [3] with LIVE match radio commentary
[edit] Notes
- ^ United We Stand. Article on soccernet.com. Retrieved on July 12, 2005.
- ^ The meeting took place at the Apollo Theatre, Manchester. AFC Wimbledon is another supporter-owned club that was established three years earlier.
- ^ Manchester United was founded as Newton Heath in 1878 and the latter two names represented claims to this heritage (Manchester Central was one of the three choices in 1902 for the new name for Newton Heath, along with Manchester Celtic and Manchester United).
- ^ Article on Manchester Online. Retrieved on July 8, 2005.
- ^ The club prefer to use the term General Manager instead of Chief Executive, but the term Chief Executive has to be used for legal reasons. Chief Executive and Club Secretary Appointed. Retrieved on February 8, 2006.
- ^ The Manifesto: Who We Are and What We Mean. Retrieved on December 11, 2005.
- ^ FC United 'two steps from the League in three years'. Article on www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk. Retrieved on November 30, 2006.
- ^ Article on Manchester Online. Retrieved on July 8, 2005.
- ^ Article on Manchester Online. Retrieved on July 14, 2005.
- ^ Maximum Power. Under The Boardwalk issue 3 (October 2005), 8-9.
- ^ Shaw, Phil. "Solskjaer promises cult revival for Ferguson", The Independent, December 30, 2005, pp. 62.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Official photo gallery
- FCUM Fans Site
- Supporters Network Site
- FCUM.TV The official media partner of FC United.
- Sportingo Man Utd News Articles
- FC United of Manchester at the Football Club History Database
| North West Counties Football League Division One 2006/07 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Abbey Hey | Atherton Collieries | Atherton Laburnum Rovers | Bacup Borough | Colne | Congleton Town | Curzon Ashton | FC United of Manchester | Flixton | Formby | Glossop North End | Maine Road | Nantwich Town | Nelson | Newcastle Town | Ramsbottom United | Salford City | Silsden | Squires Gate | St Helens Town | Stone Dominoes | Trafford edit |
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