The Disinterested Owner

We've all seen it in football. The millionaire owner gets bored, loses interest, and drifts away leaving the club in the mire.

AFC Telford United have a new take on the situation, with the 'millionaire' being the wealth of their combined Trust membership, and the drift away being the level of membership.

Just 123 people chose to have a say in last night's vote - a tenth of their average attendance this season. Membership to have a vote was just £5, so there was little reason for people to stop having a say.

They simply lost interest.

It's the same at a lot of clubs. Time breeds discontent within a handful of supporters. That discontent is run through the megaphone of the message boards and it suddenly seems like the world is against the club even though it is only a handful of people.

The people that do the work at the club walk away, replaced inevitably over time by less able people.

Then the project fails.

A string of good people were turned away from their voluntary work at Telford due to criticism from people on message boards that wouldn't lift a finger themselves to help. They struggled for replacements and took what came forward. Those that were prepared to put themselves into an increasingly bitter firing line simply to put bodies in places they were needed.

This wasn't a failure over the past year. This was a failure from several years of worthy people being denigrated to the point that they simply walked away, their character tarnished by a set of faceless keyboard tappers that would often barely make a game let alone be the dedicated supporters they claimed to be.

Telford's last home opponents, FC United of Manchester, have a similar problem. Wholesale changes on their Board over the summer left them barely able to function through pre-season. Speaking to a few of the now former Board members this summer, who had visited Edgar Street last summer, it was clear that they had been worn down by the relentless criticism and abuse.

To run a business there needs to be a plan. If your plan is to get rid of this person or that person, with no thought as to what or who comes next, maybe you shouldn't be a business owner.