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How cool would this be? Its like a real-life fantasy team (if that makes sense)
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...-23215,00.html
Web fans snap up struggling team
By Katherine Haddon
November 14, 2007
THOUSANDS of fans have clubbed together to take control of a struggling English football club, gaining power over everything from team selection to transfers.
The fans each paid an $80 annual fee to sign up to www.myfootballclub.co.uk, which has spent months scouring the leagues to find a suitable club to buy for the unprecedented experiment.
Now the website has announced that it has agreed to snap up a controlling stake in Ebbsfleet United, lying ninth in the football conference - the fifth tier of English football, and a world away from the glitz of the top flight.
A spokesman said more than 20,000 people had signed up, raising over $1.6 million, which will now be ploughed into the side.
“Throughout the week, the coaching staff and the head coach will report to the members about the upcoming opposition, who's playing well in training and go into what happened in the last game,” he said.
“This information will then be posted on the website, where fans will be able to choose which players they want to see on the pitch,” he added.
They will also be able to suggest players for the club to buy and veto any which the head coach, former Ireland international Liam Daish, wants.
Brooks said that Daish and the team's players, who are fully professional, have welcomed the move because of the extra support and sponsorship which the club, based in Kent, southern England, would attract.
“It's got real benefits for the club,” he said.
“They're doing very well but to get to the next level, they need more investment and more fans.”
Daish insisted that his job “won't change that much”.
“Picking elevens and formations isn't a precise science and luck often plays its part,” he added. “As a club, we'll select an eleven and formation together.
“But just as before, what goes on at the training ground, in the dressing room on matchday is down to me.”
Brooks added that Daish would now be in “potentially the safest job in football”.
“If things are going wrong, he can turn around to members and say 'you're picking the wrong teams.' He's in quite a nice position,” he added.
The website is still signing up new members who, Brooks said, should have the option of buying 100 per cent of the club at a fixed price in future.
Agence France-Presse
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Originally Posted by Skiza
CHEERLEADERS ROCK!!! 
