FC United

[culloty82]

Five years on, the club founded by breakaway Man United fans have just qualified for the FA Cup first round for the first time, and will play local club Rochdale. FCUM have also turned full circle with plans to build a new stadium in Newton Heath, and currently play in the Northern Premier League, three levels below League Two.

[holidaysong]

Also, AFC Wimbledon are top of the Conference at the moment and should hopefully be in the league next year. Good to see. Do you know how FCUM's attendances are doing these days? I think they were regularly getting 3,500 - 4,000 in the beginning.

[Lim till i die]

FCUM, moving a games kick off for television??

Already using their financial muscle to outbid all the clubs around them for players.

It's a real fairytale.

[Lim till i die]

And don't get me started on AFC Wimbledon!! :)

[culloty82]

Also, AFC Wimbledon are top of the Conference at the moment and should hopefully be in the league next year. Good to see. Do you know how FCUM's attendances are doing these days? I think they were regularly getting 3,500 - 4,000 in the beginning.

They've stabilised around 2,000 these days, but that's still roughly the same as their landlords Bury, so if eventually they climb the pyramid again, they could well draw the same interest they had in the beginning.

[Macy]

FCUM, moving a games kick off for television??
There was a big debate on entering the FA Cup in the first place because of that issue actually.Here's the explaination (http://www.fc-utd.co.uk/story.php?story_id=3185). There is a big drop in prices though for the game. Difference is, the AGM's on sunday - if the members don't like it they can vote down the board. ;)


Already using their financial muscle to outbid all the clubs around them for players.
Less of an issue now than it was at the start - hence they've stalled. Pretty much as AFC Wimbledon did. Obviously not helped by the costs involved in using Gigg Lane (and other grounds).

[Steve Bruce]

It is a myth that FCUM has a lot of money, they are struggling badly to raise £3.5m for their new stadium

[culloty82]

Unsurprisingly, FC instantly sold their 3,500 ticket allocation - the tie's supposed to earn them £67,000 through TV rights and prize money, so you'd probably be talking six figures if they'd got a home draw.

[Macy]

Unsurprisingly, FC instantly sold their 3,500 ticket allocation - the tie's supposed to earn them £67,000 through TV rights and prize money, so you'd probably be talking six figures if they'd got a home draw.
Split gates for the FA Cup, so they'll get more from this game.


It is a myth that FCUM has a lot of money, they are struggling badly to raise £3.5m for their new stadium
Struggling badly might be a bit extreme, but they are getting hammered for rent, which makes it harder for them to raise the money. They don't get the advantage/ benefit their gates might suggest.

[Acornvilla]

happy days for bury so :D

[Cabs88]

FCUM beat rochdale with a stoppage time winner!

[bennocelt]

was 11/1 with PP before kick off, must have been a nice price on betfair!

[holidaysong]

Think it was 17.5 on Betfair if I remember correctly. I was putting a bet on the Monaghan - Bray play-off and went for a long shot bet to accompany it. Obviously I went with St. Pauli in the Bundesliga instead of FCUM.

[culloty82]

Brighton will host FCUM after drawing 2-2 in their replay with Woking and winning on penalties. The hosts are top of League One, so while it is the worst draw possible for FC United, at least they'll be facing a real high-quality team.

[culloty82]

MUFC v FCUM?

The fairytale nearly continued for FC United today, leading Brighton until the equaliser in the 83rd minute, before clinging on by saving a penalty in the sixth minute of injury-time! Still, and most importantly, the non-leaguers are in tomorrow's third-round draw at 6pm, so a trip to Old Trafford could well be on the cards. No luck for Wimbledon, crashing 0-2 to Stevenage.

[culloty82]

Since exiting the FA Cup, FCUM have won virtually all their matches and are on the brink of promotion through the playoffs (http://evostikleague.pitchero.com/tables.php) to Conference North. Obviously, they're counting no chickens yet, but if they did go up, they could realistically aim for League 2 within five years. Wimbledon have been toppled (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%9311_Football_Conference) by moneybags Crawley, but should still win promotion to the Football League.

[culloty82]

Tonight FC United travel to meet their arch-rivals for promotion, Chester FC (basically a reformed Chester City), but the main talking point is likely to be the attendance - both sides have fanbase levels similar to League Two clubs, so a crowd of over 4,000 is likely to pack into Chester's stadium for the encounter.

[Plastic Paddy]

Chester beat FC United 2-1 in front of a slightly disappointing 3,219 at the Deva Stadium. That said, it was the ninth-highest non-league crowd of the season so far. Not bad for a Step 3 side, when you consider that the BSBP (Conference) is chock-full of ex-League teams like Luton, Grimsby, Mansfield, York and Cambridge United.

:ball: PP

[TiocfaidhArmani]

Already using their financial muscle to outbid all the clubs around them for players.

It's a real fairytale.

So if you sign good players that's a bad thing? Should they be crap then to make them more of a 'pure' football club?

[culloty82]

In any case, if they had been outbidding everyone, they wouldn't have been stuck at Level 7 for four years, will be needing another cup run, you suspect, to keep the show on the road.

[Macy]

For anyone who's interested, FC United announced at midnight they've reached the £1.6m needed through their community share scheme. This will enable them to get grant funding for the rest of the ground in Moston.
http://www.fc-utd.co.uk/story.php?story_id=4106

[culloty82]

With crowds of around 2,000, they've roughly the same fanbase as a Premier Division team here, of course it helps that they've significant support from the local co-op, but it goes to prove what Supporters' Trusts can achieve with a bit of mobilisation.

[culloty82]

This month's United We Stand has a piece describing Moston Cemetery as the final resting place of the Manchester Martyrs, so when the stadium is completed, FCUM could rightly claim to be a bunch of Fenians!

[nigel-harps1954]

From a recent game, had a look through their photo gallery. Notice the familiar looking LOI flag in the background.
http://www.fcumania.co.uk/1112/stocksbridgeparksteels/slides/OrchestraPics-44.jpg

[ArdeeBhoy]

This month's United We Stand has a piece describing Moston Cemetery as the final resting place of the Manchester Martyrs, so when the stadium is completed, FCUM could rightly claim to be a bunch of Fenians!

They could but won't. ManU 'Lite in all but name...
Thanks, but no thanks.

[culloty82]

The 7th tier of English football can be just as bizarre as the LoI - former Conference side, Northwich Victoria, finished second, but were expelled for problems relating to administration, so FC United, who had slumped to sixth, now find themselves in the play-off semis.

[Macy]

FC United won the play off semi final, so will play Bradford Park Avenue, in Bradford in the final. btw, there was no gloating over Vics troubles.

[culloty82]

The final round of FA Cup qualifiers has thrown up an intriguing tie, as former Football League members and Cup giantkillers, Hereford United make the trip to Gigg Lane. The Bulls will naturally start as warm favourites, but home advantage should prove some benefit to FCUM, as they bid to return to the first round proper.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Good luck Hereford!

[culloty82]

After a few near-misses, FCUM have finally been promoted to Conference North, two divisions from their ultimate goal of Football League status. With their new Broadhurst Park stadium now complete, and 4,000 members, they could well achieve their aim over the next five to ten seasons.