“You know what you are, you franchise bastards.”

October 24, 2013 9:35 AM

When the announcement had been made that Wimbledon FC would be moved to Milton Keynes, to later be rebranded MK Dons, a meeting was called by Wimbledon fans. Toward the end of a charged meeting in the Wimbledon Community Centre, Kris Stewart, then chair of the Wimbledon Independent Supporters Club, realized that the fans had no chance of hanging on to their club and that no amount of protests would stop the franchise moving to Milton Keynes. In that moment Stewart made his walk through the crowd toward the microphone. “I’m tired of fighting,” he said before issuing a spontaneous rallying cry that has become legendary among fans of AFC Wimbledon. “I just want to watch football.” (SLTheMorningNews)
posted by Rustic Etruscan (9 comments total)

That was a great read, with a lot of decent insight you wouldn't necessarily expect from a non-UK writer (such as 50 miles being a long way) but I thought some of the details were a bit over the top - fan's group chair's parents' divorce, that a Norwegian man has a Norwegian accent in his second language and so on.
I think Karlsen is right about the Championship being the level you can expect to get to building on the model the article calls "organic"; that was certainly the experience of my own club, which while not fan-owned is run on a very tight budget and relies on developing its own talent rather than transferring in. Maybe that's not true for the historically bigger clubs with a better fan base that are below their "natural level", but as he says, they then have a similar problem if they do get to the Premiership with the gulf between the top few and the rest.
posted by Abiezer at 10:10 AM on October 24, 2013

Thankfully Franchise FC hasn't had any imitators, but the bigger problem is the increasing gulf between not just the Premier League and the rest, but between the top four/five clubs and the rest of the Premier League. Even the 2nd most successfull club in English football history, Liverpool, struggles to break into that exclusive club these days, let alone an up and coming, ambitious club like Southampton, who still drop points against midtable clubs as seen last weekend.

That sort of club has to get momentum, a lot of money and more luck to even get into the Europa League places, while only the truly giant clubs can really compete for the title.
posted by MartinWisse at 12:06 PM on October 24, 2013

Even the 2nd most successfull club in English football history, Liverpool, struggles to break into that exclusive club these days

This is what you get when you spend 35 million pounds on Andy Carroll.
posted by asterix at 1:43 PM on October 24, 2013 [2 favorites]

There's no I in Franchise.
posted by kersplunk at 2:56 PM on October 24, 2013

This is what you get when you spend 35 million pounds on Andy Carroll.

Cheap at the price! I mean, that's not even two Jordan Hendersons or Stewart Downings!
posted by garius at 3:50 PM on October 24, 2013

Carroll has gone to West Ham for a considerable loss.

LFC are currently 3rd, level on points with 2nd placed Chelsea. This is out best start to a season in years and we are playing the some of the best football I have seen LFC play in years too.
posted by marienbad at 5:30 PM on October 24, 2013

“To get into the top four now, top five, it will take you 15 years, if you have to build organically. You have to be an absolute genius.”

Agreed.
posted by Dr. Zira at 6:27 PM on October 24, 2013

Even the 2nd most successfull club in English football history, Liverpool, struggles to break into that exclusive club these days,

That would be more to do with how your club has been run recently though.
posted by MattWPBS at 3:57 AM on October 25, 2013

I'd like to see a football club moved to Maynard Keynes, because it would really piss off a lot of U.S. Republicans. Because if there's anything that would piss off the Tea Party more, it's the one-two combination of soccer and Keynesianism.
posted by jonp72 at 4:54 AM on October 25, 2013