Well as was just suggested on the California Victory boards, that club may soon be available to buy as it appears that Deportivo Alaves has no interest in continuing to run that club.
I just came acrss this thread yesterday. It just so happens that I am working on a similar plan here in the Lehigh Valley area of Eastern PA. You can see all of what is our modest plan at: http://www.oldsoccerguys.com/stoners.htm I beleive the NPSL is a great plan, at least for starters, as it is reasonable in cost and offers a regional league with a national champion. To look at potential players, go to the front page at www.ironlakessportsclub.com Let me know what you think, good or ill... Thanks...
Thanks for the kind words. Good question, but no, it was originally supposed to be called the Keystones (PA is The Keystone State), but there was a team in some team tennis league called the Keystones and, as such, they couldn't use it. I'm sure that, given the era, more than one player may have lived up to it... It did raise an eyebrow, even then...
You could have said you named it after Frankie Hejduk (joke implied, nothing serious- no need to threaten a lawsuit) == Back in New Orleans we had a guy Stoner Tadlock... we started off calling him "Dooood", but that soon became "Santa" as he was giving presents to the other team.
To be fair, it COULD HAVE been named after any number of players who were in the side. Many of the folks who wore the ALPO (we were the first team in the USA to carry an ad on our jersey) are pretty high up in the game. Most of them didn't touch a thing, but... Here's a short history of the original Stoners, in context with local soccer lore: http://www.ironlakessportsclub.com/LV Soccer History.htm
hklusa i love the site and everything you guys are doing, you should start an official team thread in the USL forums, queen city fc did that even though they are in the npsl aswell (as mentioned on your site)
jiggerjake - Thanks so much for the kind words. We're a bit away from that now. First, we'll want to secure our franchise, sort out a stadium, sign a few players and pull in a sponsor or two. There's not much to write about, untill then. Afterwards, I hope to have something of real substance. As to what the blurbs contain, please note that nothing we are doing is original; we're not that smart. I'm just taking advantage of two things at this point: I am old and I played in the old days (Met Oval when it was dirt, Randall's Island when it existed for soccer, youth soccer before all the crap, Penn State when Walter Bahr was King and in the ASL with the old Stoners) and I have paid attention to soccer as a player, coach, parent and fan.
Looks like the guys at MyFootballClub have got enough people interested. They've had over 53,000 requests. If they collect the $70 from each member they're going to have close to $4 million to buy a team with. Not a bad chunk of change.
they should do it were you have to pay the £35 straight away, otherwise this can be an issue where only a few actually pay!!!!!!!
Even if some of the original registrants don't pay up, I think they will still get to at least 50,000 paid members with new people signing up -- may take several months though to reach that number.
I tried to pay a few days ago, but, apparently at this time they cannot accept international payments. Hope they get that straightened out soon.
Funny I managed to get my payment in just fine. And I'm definitely not in the UK. Unless California quietly left the US and no one told me.
You guys may find this interesting: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/08/08/get_your_hands_off_my_football.html The first few lines are below. I think someone echoed this sentiment earlier. Perhaps there is a reason that clubs are run (though not always for the best) by professional management. It would be great to let fans in on ownership, but to allow player and tactical selection may be a bit much. It's a great idea in theory, but the concept does have the inherent liability of letting fans make managment decisions. Heck, SPORTS WRITERS don't usually know that much about the sports they cover! Green Bay Packers run a great format, but it's based on local ownership that virtually guarantees home attendance and a steady fund raising opportunity for the club: http://www.newrules.org/resources/rootroots.html Here's how the Packers' thing works: http://ask.yahoo.com/20041214.html
I'm a paid member. I know I am probably helping some dude in the UK buy his vacation home but if this does result in getting a Championship team, it'll be worth it for the amusement.
Do any of you who have joined the myfootballclub scheme also support another club with any intensity? Do any of you belong to a Supporters Trust already or own shares in a club? I would be concerned about buying into a club I despise!