I say we Buy bullard

May 3 - 2007

The two best ideas I’ve heard this week, in reverse order:

1. “We should start drinking mint juleps at 9 am on Saturday and play the entire Churchill Downs card via simulcast.”  -Lukey the Czech
2. “You should be able to pay a nominal fee to become part owner in an English club, then vote on player acquisitions, manager hirings, and team selection.”     -MyFootballClub.com 

The former idea is a no brainer, happens every year, and will (once again) result in heavy losses and epic drunkenness.  The latter (brought to my attention by 101GreatGoals) deserves a bit of explanation.

For some time now, supporters of certain clubs have been able to acquire “ownership” through the purchase of publicly offered shares.  For all but the wealthiest of individuals, this process resulted in little more than a framed certificate and false sense of entitlement.  In other words, Joe Manchester won’t be having his say on the selection of  Chris Eagles any time soon.

MyFootball.com is aiming to change that with a relatively simple but ingenious plan:

50,000 MyFootballClub members are about to bid for an English football club. They will make history together, voting on team selection and on which players to buy and sell.
Members will attempt to guide the club up the leagues, sharing equal ownership and control. Just like a football management game – but for real.

70 bucks a pop gives supporters around $3.5 million to spend, so don’t expect to be part owner in Leeds anytime soon.  Non-league clubs are more realistic targets, leaving open the enticing opportunity to ply our trade in the Unibond Premier League.

As for how successful a club like this could be, there is much to be said for the “wisdom of the crowd” (Francis Galton coined the term after a crowd survey yielded a remarkably accurate guess of “a slaughtered and dressed ox’s weight”).  Sure, the average supporter/shareholder might not know a 3rd man run from a 3rd leg, but put the first team to a vote and you’ll probably get the best 11.  Or at least a better 11 than David O’Leary could come up with.

The idea has real potential, but a $700 per person investment is probably more like it.  I’d do it in a second.  Then again, I consider a wager on a 1.5 ton animal ridden by an underfed Peruvian “an investment.”  Still, can you imagine showing up at a ground to cheer on the side you helped acquire and select?