It was Jimmy Greaves who used to tell us over and over that football was a funny old game. I think in the years that have passed since his playing days, football has become a game that is no longer funny but is crackers. Players get ever greater wages and all the top clubs are owned by foreign billionaires looking for something to do with their vast wealth that might conceivably relieve the boredom of owning yachts, palaces and huge piles of money. But occasionally there are some bright spots. Blackpool are promoted to the Premier League at the end of a season when it was expected that they would struggle to stay were they were and avoid relegation. Clubs are resurrected from bankruptcy and allowed to live again. And sometimes there is a player that plays for the love of the game and not for the riches and the extra Ferrari. But one of the really bright spots has been the creation of FC United of Manchester, a club envisioned by a small group of "angry dreamers" in a haze of beer fumes and curry in a Manchester restaurant. In 2005, they sought to create a new team run by and for the fans in contrast to the Glazers' control of their old club of Manchester United which was now saddled with vast debts. The new club was set up with money donated by fans and well-wishers and is run as a fans co-operative. It has been playing non-league football ever since, getting better and better all the time and gathering a weekly crowd of 2,000+ supporters. As a result of their efforts they have qualified for Round One of the 2010 FA Cup. On Friday 5th November, as the fireworks went off around them, they played Rochdale Town in Rochdale and with a crowd of 7,000 they pulled off the surprise of the night by winning 3 - 2. There were shouts and cheers; much waving of green & gold scarves; inspired singing and a general enjoyment of football. By all accounts it was a great game and at the end 4,000 fans came to celebrate the unbelievable. FC United had beaten a team four divisions higher than them in the league and only two steps down from the Premier.
The team has become involved in many community projects and they have been much supported by Manchester City Council in their efforts. At present they play their home games at Bury's ground, Gigg Lane but they have applied for planning permission to build a new stadium in Thornton Heath, where Manchester United started life at the end of the 19th century. The club's involvement in Round One of the FA Cup was shown live on TV and will bring them in an extra £67,000, which will be put towards the stadium fund. Many of the club officials work for nothing and their star player gets paid £80 per week. Their accounts look better than many a Premier League side.
Brighton & Hove Albion - leaders of League One - played in the FA Cup First Round yesterday and were held to a draw at home to non-league Woking. Whoever wins the replay will have the pleasure of playing FC United at home. May FC United's cup run continue. They will get some more money from the Round 2 match which will further help the stadium project. This is all real Roy of the Rovers stuff. Good luck to them.
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