It looked like a dream come true for Conference side Ebbsfleet United (formerly Gravesend and Northfleet) when the MyFootballClub scheme was set up. For a £35 fee, fans got a real fantasy football game with the opportunity to influence the selection of the team. But Ebbsfleet is now threatened with relegation from the Conference and only 9,169 of the online owners’ club, almost 20,000 down on last year, paid their renewal fee, leading to a £300,000 revenue shortfall.
It looked like a dream come true for Conference side Ebbsfleet United (formerly Gravesend and Northfleet) when the MyFootballClub scheme was set up. For a £35 fee, fans got a real fantasy football game with the opportunity to influence the selection of the team. But Ebbsfleet is now threatened with relegation from the Conference and only 9,169 of the online owners’ club, almost 20,000 down on last year, paid their renewal fee, leading to a £300,000 revenue shortfall. No doubt the novelty of the idea has worn off, the recession has certainly not helped with discretionary expenditure being cut back, and in practice the manager still had a lot of influence on the selection of the team and its tactics. Fleet have announced a raft of cost-cutting measures to avoid reducing their playing budget. The club has asked local fans for extra help, but some of them resented the re-naming of the club after the new Eurostar station. Substantial housing development is planned for the area which will have high speed rail links to London. 
Charlton Athletic play their reserve games there and there have been rumours that the South-East London club might be interested in relocating to a new stadium in the area.
Elsewhere in the non-league, it is feared that Ryman South club Ashford Town may not survive the summer. The Nuts and Bolts were forced to call in the administrators after discovering they may face a £100,000 tax bill. It appears that there have been tax and national insurance under payments for nearly three years amounting to some £50,000 which with penalties and interest could amount to £100,000. The situation is complicated by a boardroom split between the two main owners. Ashford is a prosperous area which will also benefit from new high speed rail links to London and it should be able to sustain a non-league club. However, undoubtedly many football fans in the area support London clubs.
Guildford City Shahid Azeem has denied rumours that he is to acquire relegation-threatened Conference side Woking. Long-time backer Chris Ingram intends to sell the Cards at the end of the season. He did admit that he has had a look around at Woking, but emphasised that it was a case of exploring his options and nothing more.