FC Patrons

mickthered

Steve Evets

Salford born Steve Evets is an actor and musician who took the starring role as Eric Bishop in the 2009 Ken Loach film ‘Looking for Eric’. Since working closely with FC United supporters during filming, Steve has been a regular at games and fundraising events. ‘I am proud to be associated with FC United and their move to Newton Heath. Football has changed a lot and now too many United fans in Manchester and Salford will never go because it’s too expensive. They’re still United supporters, but they just don’t go because they can’t afford to. I’m happy to put my name to the Development Fund because it will do a lot of good for a forgotten area of Manchester and give people football they can afford.’

Dave Boyle

Dave Boyle is Chief Executive of Supporters Direct, where he has worked since its creation in 2000. He has written and lectured widely on issues relating to football’s governance and is a fellow of the RSA. He is former vice-chair of the Football Supporters Federation and supports AFC Wimbledon.
“There’s a movement across the country that wants to reunite clubs, their fans and their communities. The practical expression of what this vision looks like is through supporters’ ownership and influence in clubs, and FC United are at the forefront that. The club’s reputation across Europe is astonishing, and what has been achieved so far is well understood by people far beyond the narrow confines of the football world. They show what amazing things happen if you make listening to people the way you run the club, rather than an afterthought after all the decisions have been made as so often seems the case in football and in life. They are a wonderful flagship for supporters trusts and for the wider co-operative movement

“They can do so much more though, but to do that, they need help. They are at a crossroads and need a facility of their own, to both give the the sustainable financial base they need and to really take their innovative community work to a new level. Success for FC United will be success for us all.

“But ontop of that, everyone else has a more direct interest in this working. It’s fitting that a club with a revolutionary vision wants to use a new way of funding their development, and the community shares approach is very much in keeping with their ethos – funding from people who have an interest in their success getting a return for their faith, rather than people far removed from the life of the club with an interest only in making a return. If this method of funding works, it opens up a way of every football club being owned by its fans. We know the idea works in theory but until it works in practice, it won’t be used. This is the chance to show the world that fans can not only run clubs – we know that already – but that fans can fund clubs; we feel that already but now is the time to prove it.”


David Conn

David Conn is a journalist and author, whose investigative work into the running of football and football clubs has earned him considerable acclaim. His books – The Beautiful Game? Searching for the Soul of Football and The Football Business: Fair Game in the ’90s? – are two of the most comprehensive analyses of the running of our game and a must-read for any football supporter keen on understanding what really lies beneath the gloss of professional football. David is also a sports writer for The Guardian and champion of supporter interests and fan-ownership.

”FC United are an inspiration to those who believe football is a game which belongs to and should be accessible to everybody. The club is owned by its supporters, in the mutual, democratic way now widely felt to be the truest reflection of what a football club really is, including for Barcelona and those in the German Bundesliga. FC United have made huge strides since forming in 2005 and remain true to their principles, striving for success on the field while keeping prices affordable, involving their supporters and undertaking exemplary community work.”