Day Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 The Silkmen describe it as a ‘unique moment in English football’ because it is believed to be the first time a club has allowed a fan to play.It is the Roy of the Rovers dream of every fan but one football club is promising to make it come true by launching a unique pay-to-play scheme ... for £20,000!Hard-up Macclesfield Town is offering one lucky fan the chance to pull on its blue-and-white strip and play for 10 minutes in a professional game in front of a crowd of thousands.The club, nicknamed The Silkmen, describe it as a ‘unique moment in English football’ because it is believed to be the first time a club has allowed a fan to play.The only stipulation is the winner drawn from those willing to stump up the cash must be male, aged between 18-35 and physically fit.The Cheshire club is in a perilous financial position and needs £100,000 by the end of August to survive.Earlier this month, Cheshire East Council gave the club £285,000 for the freehold of their Moss Rose ground.Without those funds, associate director Andy Scott said Macclesfield would have been close to being handed a winding-up order, having ended last season £500,000 in debt.He added: “What we don’t want is for it to become farcical, but I don’t think it will hinder or restrict the team - far from it. We wouldn’t be doing it if there was any danger of that.“If we are 3-0 up with 10 minutes to go that would be a good opportunity for manager John Askey to utilise the situation.“There’s absolutely no way we would do it unless it was the right moment in the right game.”As part of the £20,000 package, the fan will be given a squad number as well as a set of home, away and training kit.He will then train with the first team, managed by Silkmen legends John Askey and Efe Sodje, for a whole week with access to all areas and enjoy the usual player privileges including a place in the official club photo.The winner is then promised an appearance in a Blue Square Bet Premier or cup game at some point during the season.Town were relegated from League Two in 2012, ending their 15-year stay in the Football League, and finished 11th in the Conference last season.The Football Conference said they had not received any official notification of Macclesfield’s plan.* In 2003, Doncaster owner John Ryan appeared as a substitute in the final minute of Rovers’ final league game of the Conference season at Hereford, and at the age of 52 years and 11 months became the oldest man to turn out for a professional club in England.http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/macclesfield-town-offer-fan-chance-2000665#ixzz2XM2MFlmP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cisse Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Shame that Boycie's lad went for Manure. I'm sure Boycie would have paid gladly for this chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyinLiverpool Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 20 grand for 10 minutes. Bloody hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuespachRam Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 20 grand for 10 minutes. Bloody hell. Thats less than most of them get paid.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hucknall Ram Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Offer been withdrawn Macclesfield Town have withdrawn their offer of a chance to play for the club in return for payment. A £20,000 donation could have led to a successful applicant making a 10-minute appearance in the league or cup. However the club ended the scheme and apologised for an "error of judgement". It added: "We now recognise that it creates a possibility of altering the outcome of a competitive fixture and clearly crosses an important line with respect to the integrity of the game." In a statement, the club continued: "We are therefore withdrawing the offer and would like to apologise unreservedly to the football authorities and to the Football Conference for our error of judgement in this matter." Macclesfield are in a perilous financial position and need £100,000 by the end of August to survive. "The 'pay to play' proposal was one of many innovative ideas that have been considered in the last few weeks to raise both funds and interest in the club. It was intended to be a light-hearted idea that would be of interest only to our local media," the club said. Earlier this month, Cheshire East Council gave the club £285,000 for the freehold of their Moss Rose ground. Without those funds, associate director Andy Scott said Macclesfield would have been close to being handed a winding-up order, having ended last season £500,000 in debt. They recently became a 'Community Interest Company' following a restructure of the club. Before halting the scheme, Macclesfield had stressed that the appearance would happen at a convenient time during a match and would not significantly affect the team. "We haven't got Manchester United's bank balance. We've got Macclesfield Town's bank balance, which is pretty desperate to say the least at the moment," Scott told BBC Radio Manchester. "If the club was in a strong financial position, perhaps we wouldn't even consider it." Town were relegated from League Two in 2012, ending their 15-year stay in the Football League, and finished 11th in the Conference last season, although they earned significant funds from a run to the fourth round of the FA Cup - their best-ever performance in the competition. Non-playing supporters featuring for their club is not a unique occurrence. In 2003, Doncaster owner John Ryan appeared as a substitute in the final minute of their last league game of the Conference season at Hereford, and at the age of 52 years and 11 months became the oldest man to turn out for a professional club in England. The Football Conference said they had not received any official notification of Macclesfield's plan and were unwilling to comment further. http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/23075023?SThisEM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notts_ram Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Was going to say, 20 grand for 10 minutes, their generosity knows no bounds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.