Year of the donation game

Football is changing.

Well, maybe not as much as some people would like. The game has stayed much the same over the last hundred years or so, and with FIFA’s continued opposition to video technology, then things look set to stay that way.

So, before I explain how football is changing (yes, it is changing), let me first just introduce you to this blog. I’m interested in loads of sports, but not just the big things. I’m usually hanging around the BBC Sport website, trying to find something which might capture my imagination. Recently I’ve been reading some of the blogs on the site. I like Ollie Williams’ one the most. While still able to talk directly to people who might be reading about a certain sport for the first time, he is still able to put forward the intricate details, which are exactly the kind of things which I find interesting. Hopefully my blog can complement Ollie’s work, as I’ll be aiming to share some of the little things in sport with you, which maybe aren’t so little. That said, I don’t know whether I will be actually blogging again.

Anyway, the change in football is coming in the way we watch it. Earlier this year, Manchester United’s 3–1 victory over Arsenal was the world’s first sports event to be broadcast live in 3D. As well as these technological advances, people are finding new ways to watch football further down the football pyramid.

If we look down to the Blue Square Premier, then we’ll see that Mansfield Town’s 2–0 home loss to Gateshead in February of this year was believed to be English football’s first donation game, or ‘pay what you want’, if you think that sounds better. The brainchild of Mansfield Town’s owners, its purpose is to get as many people into the ground as possible, which Mansfield achieved when they tested it out. Unfortunately for the club’s fans, the performance wasn’t as good as the turnout.

What about the future, though? Has the idea got any legs? Earlier this month, Whitby Town (we’re down to the UniBond League Premier Division, now) held their own donation game, and they saw a boosted crowd. It seems that the initiative is spreading across the country.

One day I’m browsing the Conference website, and I notice that Tamworth, of the Blue Square Premier, are the latest club to be planning a donation game. The official reasoning behind it is to compensate the club’s supporters who were displaced from their usual positions as a result of the fan allocation in their recent home match with Luton Town. I see that the donation game will be their last of the season, and it will be against Ebbsfleet United. Given that I used to own (and apparently manage) Ebbsfleet, I’m intrigued. I figure that Tamworth’s ground can’t be that hard to get to, as I recently saw it from a train window when travelling to an England match. I’ve still got that train ticket, as well. What’s more, Ebbsfleet are in an exciting relegation battle. Above all, though, this is the year of the donation game, and I’m going to one before the end of the season!

I catch my train, and chat to some Leicester Tigers fans I know. I wish them a nice time, as I continue on my journey to Tamworth. At this point, I realise that I don’t know a lot about Tamworth. I remember a BBC trailer for a show called ‘The Tamworth Two’ a few years ago, but I was not interested, as it seemed to be about pigs. Once I arrive, I head straight for the ground, but realise that I’m too early. I find the main entrance, but decide to kill some time by walking round to see if there is anywhere else to get in. The ground is in a very residential area, so you’re never quite sure if you’re peering round to see the way to the turnstiles, or the way to someone’s back garden. I find one small entrance, as well as a slope down to the main entrance. Deciding that I want to be different, I continue walking all the way round the ground again so that I can go in through the small entrance. However, once I get close I notice the ‘home supporters only’ sign, and so I roll my eyes and head for the slope. I end up walking nearly twice around the ground.

I had been before, a long time ago. My dad took me to see his team, Stafford Rangers, play there. All I remember from that match is that it was dire, and that my dad kept edging towards the way out as he anticipated the final whistle. From all the Stafford Rangers matches which he’s taken me to, and all the chanting that I’ve heard, I’d say that Tamworth are their biggest rivals, with Hednesford Town a close second.

Given the animosity for Tamworth that comes as a result of being the son of a Stafford Rangers supporter, as well as my association with Ebbsfleet United, I have no doubt that I want to be with the away fans.

When I finally get to the turnstiles, I am told to fill in a coupon with the amount that I’m donating and my signature. I’m not quite sure why the staff can’t count the money themselves, or why they want my signature. Maybe it’s to stop a party of five all getting in for a penny. I leave my donation, and I’m given a tear off ticket, which doubles as a £10 eye test voucher.

Unsurprisingly, for a game where you can get in for next to nothing, I’m confronted with people after more of my cash as soon as I make my entrance. First of all, there’s a more meaningful donation to a collection for Parkinson's disease which is taking place. Then I pay up for a programme, and after that I enter the 50/50 draw. The ticket seller tries to convince me to donate to the Parkinson's collection, which makes me feel uncomfortable when I tell him that I’ve already done so.

I see a few Ebbsfleet fans where I’ve entered, but it’s mostly Tamworth. I decide to walk round to the other end, and sure enough, it’s all Ebbsfleet fans there. I take my place behind the goal, and the Tamworth lads are doing their warm-up just in front of me. ‘Tammy’ the lamb tries to get involved in the exercises, as well as doing some dodgy pole dancing with one of the goalposts, which was something which I hadn’t seen before. The less said about that, the better.

'Tammy' the lamb works out

As kick-off approaches, the ground fills up. It seems to be pretty packed. There are a lot of away fans surrounding me, all of whom I imagine to be a bit anxious.

While Tamworth are safe, it’s an important day for Ebbsfleet. If they win, then they might be able to stay up, but they are relying on both Eastbourne Borough and Gateshead to drop points.

It’s a pity, because I’d quite like Gateshead to stay up, as well. They play at the Gateshead International Stadium, which is probably better known as an athletics venue. Indeed, the stadium will be hosting a meet on the exciting new IAAF Diamond League later this year. I had a good time when I saw this list for the first time:

• Doha


• Shanghai


• Oslo


• Rome


• New York


• Eugene


• Lausanne


• Gateshead


• Paris


• Monaco


• Stockholm


• London


• Zurich


• Brussels

They’re all the venues for the first Diamond League; thirteen world renowned locations and Gateshead (it’s fantastic, though, that England manages to get two meets). Seeing as the football club plays in a stadium, which truly is of international standard, then I’d kind of like it if that stadium was well-used, and not hidden away in the lower levels of the football pyramid.

With my bizarre reasons for favouring the two clubs established, then I’m already in for some disappointment. Gateshead and Ebbsfleet are in ‘neither can live while the other survives’ territory, as each of them needs the other one to fill a relegation place if they’re going to stand a chance of escaping.

With the stakes set, we’re ready for kick-off. Ebbsfleet begin well, as they need to, but all their balls into the danger area are too close to the goalkeeper, who handles them well enough.

It wasn’t long before the goals started, but I didn’t see the first one. It’s not that I wasn’t paying attention, but it was because I wasn’t in Gateshead. My dad phoned me to tell me that Gateshead had taken the lead. I had expected a few radios pressed to the ear, but I didn’t expect that I was to be the one feeling obliged to tell the man next to me the score. He wasn’t amused.

Shortly afterwards, I saw my first goal of the day. Some dodgy defending in Ebbsfleet’s back line saw Iyseden Christie in on goal, who didn’t make a mistake rounding the keeper to put the hosts into the lead.

The combination of the two scorelines meant that things weren’t looking good for Ebbsfleet, but they were able to respond in next to no time, with Magno Vieira getting on the end of a corner, and netting a beautiful header flicked in at the near post.

The game began to settle down after that, though both sides needed their goalkeepers to save a shot on target. Tamworth went on to have an effort cleared off the line, and the follow-up effort would have gone in if the goal was at the corner flag.

It looked as if it was going to be level at the break, which was not going to be good enough for Ebbsfleet, regardless of results elsewhere. However, with not much happening in the Tamworth defence, a pass is played short just in front of goal, and Ricky Shakes is able to get on the end of it, and put Ebbsfleet in the lead. It’s in incredible turnaround, and Ebbsfleet are doing what they need to do.

The buoyant fans around me have their spirits dampened just moments later, though, as Michael Wylde nods in a Tamworth corner to make sure that the scores are level at half time, after all.

Most of the Ebbsfleet fans make their way to watch from behind the other end for the second half, and I decide to join them. I’m right in the thick of it now, with fans singing and drumming all around me.

As the action starts again, I notice that I’m applauding less. As soon as Ebbsfleet get into the Tamworth half, they waste possession with a long ball forward to nobody.

With that tactic not paying off, Tamworth are able to get good possession at the other end of the field, and Bradley Pritchard puts them back in front with a great strike from the edge of the penalty area into the top left corner.

The pressure’s on Ebbsfleet, and they can’t fashion any good chances. The crowd around me is getting agitated, and they’re being wound up by the Tamworth fans.

Eventually Ebbsfleet create a decent chance, but the shot’s going wide. Fortunately for the desperate Ebbsfleet fans, Scott Ginty is there to divert it into the net, and the season is still alive.

The Ebbsfleet players show great fighting spirit, and a few minutes later Ginty is chipping the keeper. Is it going in? It’s dipping! It’s there! Ginty’s scored again, and I manage to take his photo as he runs off to celebrate.

Scott Ginty celebrates scoring the winner

There’s not long to go, and I receive another call from my dad. He tells me that Eastbourne Borough are winning, which is bad news for me, as that would probably be enough to relegate both Ebbsfleet and Gateshead. I can hardly hear the rest of what my dad says (I think that he is trying to explain how the current results would affect the table), as the crowd becomes more tense.

There are three minutes to add on at the end of the game. Ebbsfleet United are being relegated. My mind turns to MyFootballClub, and whether the project will survive with a club in the Blue Square South. They were already struggling to get the membership that they needed when the club was in the Blue Square Premier. I worry about what the impact of being a division lower will have on the numbers.

I think that the idea behind MyFootballClub was that a pub full of fans would be able to do as good a job as any manager. Unfortunately, the team selection aspect never took off. I think that the idea of fans picking the team would work in the Premier League or Championship, as so many people know the players, and have existing opinions. For many, though, the Blue Square Premier is the world of the unknown, and an internet society won’t be as effective as the manager when it comes to picking the team.

Time is running out for Ebbsfleet. They’re still battling out there, but it’s too late; they’re already winning.

The whistle sounds, and disconsolate players sink to the floor. The manager soon gathers them in a huddle to debrief the season in a few words, before an emotional set of players make their way towards their fans to give them the applause that they deserve. The Ebbsfleet fans were magnificent; they truly love their club. While they share the moment, the PA announcer reads out the results that confirm what we already knew.

Ebbsfleet United applaud their fans, while relegation is confirmed

If you’re also intrigued by the concept of the donation game, then I should imagine that there shall be one coming to a football ground near you. Tamworth have just seen one of their biggest attendances of the season, so there’s no question that it pulls in the fans. That said, it’s unlikely for a big crowd to make up the money lost from allowing people in for whatever they like. Yes, there will be some people looking to get in for some coins they’ve found down the back of their sofa, but that’s not a bad thing. They wouldn’t be at the game otherwise, and it’s important to expose sport to as many people as possible. At the other end of the spectrum will be the loyal fans who will see this as an opportunity to give particularly large sums of money to the club that they love. The most common donation, I reckon, would probably be the normal price of entry, or a bit lower. Also, the club may try and ‘beef up’ donations by having ‘loose change donations’ buckets on the way out, as Tamworth did.

However, I don’t think that the analysis of the revenue should be what dictates whether a donation game should be counted as a success. It’s nice, once in a while, to fill up the ground with as much support as possible. Maybe some new fans will be interested in paying full price for future matches. This could be exactly the kind of treatment that clubs with consistently low turnouts are looking into. Darlington, for example, who will play in the Blue Square Premier next season, play every home game in a near empty stadium (though it is a fantastic stadium). Maybe, if they started their season with a donation game, then they could fill it up a bit.

Perhaps ‘annual bank holiday donation game’ could be a very common phrase in the not too distant future.

Overall, I had a good time at the donation game. It was a shame that Ebbsfleet were relegated, but there was good news for Gateshead fans, as their team avoided the drop after Forest Green Rovers took their place, having somehow managed to lose to the league’s bottom club. Tamworth and Ebbsfleet provided a thrilling game, with some awkward moments (namely a Tamworth player falling over the advertising hoarding, and an Ebbsfleet player colliding with a ball kid both happening within moments of each other), and it was definitely worth my 99p.