{"product_id":"9781836801375","title":"This Thing of Ours : Twenty Years on, a Year in the Life of Fan-Owned FC United by Jonathan Allsopp","description":"Chronicles a momentous year in the life of England's largest wholly fan-owned football club, FC United, who were the only English side to win a European trophy in 2024.   In 2005, a group of Manchester United fans stood up and said no to the rampant commercialisation of football and set up their very own club. Some reckoned it would be `all over by Christmas', but two decades on FC United of Manchester provides a beacon for supporter ownership in a world that increasingly views football clubs as the property of the fabulously wealthy.   Read and you will discover:A unique perspective on life at England's largest wholly fan-owned football club as it approaches its 20th anniversaryHow a collectively owned and run club - which seeks to unite football, fans and community - copes with turbulent economic times without the backing of a wealthy owner while staying true to its core valuesThe inside track on FC United: in his role as volunteer board reporter, Jonathan Allsopp has reported on more than 80 FC United board meetings over the last eight years, writing nearly half a million words in the processHow a regular pre-match `club night in the afternoon' offers football fans something more than cheap lager, saturated fats, fixed-odds coupons and gawping at a big screenIn its founding manifesto, FC United set out to be `a good example of how a club can be run in the interests of its members and be of benefit to its local communities' - 20 years on, has it succeeded?\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307648299381,"sku":"9781836801375","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781836801375.jpg?v=1762804738","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/9781836801375","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}