Willie not just f**k off?

[Uros Predic]

Everyone's favourite football agent/former agent still acting vicariously as an agent through his son is back on the scene in Doncaster.

A Twitter account and YouTube account have been set up for a Doncaster City FC, with Terry Curran announcing himself on his social media as the club's new manager. The club looks likely to be joining the Sheffield County Senior League at its lowest rung... which is (by my maths) the 13th tier / Step 9. So far, so meh.

However, 'Doncaster City Football Club' have been registered with Companies House with Janis McKay – wife of Willie McKay – listed as its sole director. Willie is, I believe, still banned from being a manager or director of any company. Although Curran hasn't really followed the script in terms of playing down Willie's involvement. The Doncaster Free Press reporting 'While Willie McKay is not listed as a company director, Curran said he was behind the project and a 45-acre site owned by the McKay’s in Bawtry would be used to house Doncaster City from February 2023.'

Curran is also quoted in the Free Press piece as saying “These are going to have money behind them. They are going to have big sponsors. It will be going in the right direction".


The rhetoric being used is clearly being used to try and tempt/draw in a section of Rovers support who've been vocal about what they perceive as a lack of suitable investment into Doncaster Rovers by the current Rovers club board, and a perception that Rovers' relegation to the fourth tier means the club 'are just going backwards'.

In short, as with everything McKay touches, it's an ill thought out circus, and the sooner he f***s off back to Monaco the better.

[Fearful Symmetry]

Man starts football team on the back of discord with the local professional team, but said man is a bit of a 'character'? We've been here before.............

[Uros Predic]

Big top of the table clash in the 11th tier Central Midlands League today as Doncaster City hosted leaders Dearne & District... and so McKay does what any c**t worth his c**t would and signs three former international footballers – Ross McCormack, Charlie Mulgrew and Wes Hoolahan – in the week and throws them into the starting line-up. Pleasingly they were 1-0 down at half-time, sadly when the big names went off City rallied and won 3-1.

Whether the three players stick around for another game remains to be seen; if they're buying into the project they'll need to be patient as City can't go up; McKay reportedly forgot to submit an application to go up to the Northern Counties East League.

[Fearful Symmetry]

Ha ha ha, that's proper fucking tinpot.

[Janik]

Willie McKay blithely overlooking some essential preparatory documentation? How can anyone sit down, consider it and believe that could have happened?

[sits down and ponders]

Remarkably easily as it turns out.

[Satchmo Distel]

Is he making any money from it? Gate receipts, social club?

[longeared]

Whether the three players stick around for another game remains to be seen; if they're buying into the project they'll need to be patient as City can't go up; McKay reportedly forgot to submit an application to go up to the Northern Counties East League.

Yup, IIRC the only teams to apply for promotion from that division were Dearne & District and Dinnington Town.

I'm not really on point with what goes off there, but they're not at that ground in Bawtry referenced in the OP which was seemingly promised for February 2023. They're currently groundsharing at Armthorpe.

[Sean of the Shed]

Is he making any money from it? Gate receipts, social club?

Hard to see how he could, which has me pondering a money-laundering scheme.

[Uros Predic]

Is he making any money from it? Gate receipts, social club?

Any money they might have made from gate receipts will have disappeared into whatever they paid McCormack, Mulgrew and Hoolihan in 'appearance' fees. The only positive from McKay's vanity project is that they're groundshare at Armthorpe Welfare has probably kept Armthorpe afloat through rent and clubhouse takings.

[My Name Is Ian]

I read this morning that his fresh interest may have something to do with the proposed reopening of Doncaster City Airport; apparently the plan was some sort of training facility for professional clubs to use which ground to a halt when it closed in 2022. (I'm half thinking about covering it this week, after seeing this thread.)

[Cousin Boneless]

Do many people go and watch them?

[My Name Is Ian]

The league website reports the crowd for their match on Saturday as 923, but that was top against second, and with quite a bit of publicity and Rovers away at Grimsby.

https://fulltime.thefa.com/displayFi...ml?id=24735584

(Is it just me, or is it impossible to scroll down the FA Full-time website?)

[ursus arctos]

It doesn't like Brave.

Seems to work in Chrome.

[Capybara]

It doesn't like Brave.

Seems to work in Chrome.

I'm on Chrome and it doesn't work with me and never has. It's very frustrating.

[My Name Is Ian]

Tried it on Firefox and Chrome and it didn't work. I'll give it a go on Microsoft Edge this afternoon.

[Etienne]

Looks like they got 128 in their last home game in the league against Yorkshire Main.

That was on the 7th October, and they don't seem to have played a home league match between then and now (and only one in a cup) so maybe an issue with the ground, as they played 4 league away games in the period.

[Simon G]

I find it works on my work version of Chrome, but not my home version.

On my home version, it works on incognito mode.

EDIT: This is regarding the FA Full Time Website

[Uros Predic]

Looks like they got 128 in their last home game in the league against Yorkshire Main.

That was on the 7th October, and they don't seem to have played a home league match between then and now (and only one in a cup) so maybe an issue with the ground, as they played 4 league away games in the period.

As mentioned above, they are groundsharing at Armthorpe Welfare, so their home fixtures will be dependent on Welfare being away; also fixtures at the 11th tier do tend to be a bit sporadic anyway. Plus, the weather won't have helped.

Apparently there were 200+ there supporting Dearne & District on Saturday; add in Rovers being away, all the other sides in the borough at higher levels – Armthorpe, Rossington, Frickley – playing away too, plus Doncaster Knights rugby union club having no fixture and this was very much the only game in a very big town.

I read this morning that his fresh interest may have something to do with the proposed reopening of Doncaster City Airport; apparently the plan was some sort of training facility for professional clubs to use which ground to a halt when it closed in 2022. (I'm half thinking about covering it this week, after seeing this thread.)

I think the airport aspect is purely circumspect/coincidental to be honest – McKay was making big noise about his training complex 'definitely happening' back in September.

I reckon McKay's Doncaster City club aspect of the project gambled on more Doncaster Rovers being disillusioned with their team and jumping to City, and with Rovers now even lower than when City were founded he saw an opportunity to get some publicity/people through the gate for a top of the table game. What he hasn't factored is that most people embracing phoenix/alternative clubs do so from an ideological stand point. Being at the wrong end of the fourth tier is bad, but not so bad that the plaything of an out and out proven c*nt – and not just any c*nt, but the very c*nt who turned your first love into a circus a decade ago – offers a welcome alternative.

[My Name Is Ian]

Gotcha, ta. Is the ideological standpoint mutual ownership?

[Ray de Galles]

I really must object in the strongest possible terms to Uros Predic constantly referring to Mr McKay as a "c*nt".

Drop the asterisk and call him a cunt, mate. It's what he is, you can tell him fuck off in an uncensored manner too.

[Uros Predic]

Gotcha, ta. Is the ideological standpoint mutual ownership?

I meant generally, in that largely whenever fans have left their club for a replacement/alternative (outside of the original team going bust/folding), it's been for ideological reasons – AFC Wimbledon, FC United of Manchester, Bangor 1876, Clapton CFC.

Doncaster-wise, given the loudest dissent among Rovers fans in recent years has been due to a perceived lack of investment from a very pragmatic board who generally have the club's long term future in mind, I can't see any likelihood of those same fans defecting to a club in the 11t tier. Especially as hey think the fourth tier is beneath us.

[Fearful Symmetry]

It has massive Hull United vibes, for sure. Still, if you want something to look forward to, the perpetrator of that particular shitshow was recently sleeping in shop doorways having literally disowned and alienated everyone he associated with, so you never know.

[3 Colours Red]

If you want an ill-advised protest club - that was a protest club for all of five minutes until they accepted a donation from our Hollywood overlords - add FC United of Wrexham to your lists.

[Cousin Boneless]

...and Coventry United

[Ray de Galles]

A minor point of pedantry perhaps but I’m not sure the formation of AFC Wimbledon can primarily be ascribed to “ideological reasons”.

Indeed there is still a certain amount of friction at the club between those who do see what might be termed the ideology as paramount and those who believe it should be run and act just like most other league clubs.

Mention of other breakaway clubs made me think of AFC Liverpool and after my usual reflex response of bemoaning the fact that “AFC…” seems to have become a shorthand for such clubs I discovered that it apparently stands for Affordable Football Club (even more explicitly than it stands for A Fans Club at Wimbledon).