Ethan spent the next few days in the office at Butcher's Arms Stadium, and even stayed there at night because the house on Faulkner Street had been reclaimed.
"You are definitely the first club owner in football history to be homeless!" Walsh would joke with Ethan every time they met, then suggest he stay at his house for a few days and move out after renting a place.
Ethan refused every time because Walsh was already married and had a three-year-old child. The family of three was very warm, and he did not want to be a third wheel who disturbed their lives.
But living in the stadium office was not bad either. At least it made things more convenient.
There were so many things to handle at the newly formed club, and basically all of them had to be finalized by Ethan himself.
The warm-up matches had been finalized. The first was against Droylsden, scheduled for July 8. By then Droylsden would have been in training for two and a half weeks, so David Pace decided to accept New Manchester United's invitation after discussing it with his head coach on the phone.
The venue would be Butcher's Arms Stadium, and all ticket revenue would belong to Droylsden. New Manchester United would not take a penny.
This was the decision Ethan made to repay David Pace for his strong support of New Manchester United.
The second warm-up match was also in the Manchester area, and the opponent was Liv RMI. Since Droylsden would also have a warm-up match at that time, New Manchester United would travel to play away.
In addition, there were three other warm-up matches, and the opponents were basically lower-tier teams near Manchester. New Manchester United would play all of them away, and the home club would pay New Manchester United a share of the gate.
Do not think the ticket revenue of lower-tier teams is not high. In fact, for an amateur team, it is definitely generous.
Take Butcher's Arms Stadium as an example. It could accommodate up to 3,000 fans, but in reality the stadium could easily arrange 4,000 tickets, each priced at five pounds, which would be 20,000 pounds.
Of course, in the lower amateur leagues, no home ground ever sold out, whether it was a warm-up or a regular league match, even in the FA Cup when Premier League teams came. So Ethan and the others did not expect the first warm-up to sell out. They thought a gate of 10,000 pounds would be good.
But what was the reality?
On the second day after the club announced the fixture, more than 400 tickets for the first friendly were sold in a single day. Even David Pace found such sales incredible, because Butcher's Arms Stadium is in the suburbs and many fans who bought tickets live in the city. That meant at least 300 fans would have to drive out to show their support.
"Maybe this warm-up will be the first time in history that Butcher's Arms Stadium Stadium is full," David Pace said with emotion.
He is a die-hard Manchester United fan and the owner of Droylsden, so he felt both jealous and happy.
"This is just the beginning. It may not be like this all year," Ethan smiled modestly.
"How many season tickets have you sold?" David Pace asked with concern.
"More than 300, how about you?" Walsh answered casually.
Just then a phone call came in, so he walked over to answer it.
Pace shook his head sadly. The club he had run for so many years was not as good as a newly established club. This feeling of failure was really depressing.
"We have only sold fewer than fifty season tickets!" The Droylsden head coach finally answered with a wry smile.
"It is okay, it is okay, you have just started," Ethan said, a little embarrassed. He also decided privately that if the gate really turned out well, he would pay David Pace more for stadium maintenance.
After all, they were unwilling to charge rent, so maintenance costs were necessary.
"By the way, is this the design of our jersey for the new season?" Ethan pointed to several drawings brought by Pace and changed the subject.
"Ah, yes, this is the style I asked the company's designer to create specifically for you. Take a look," Pace opened the seal, took out a few design drawings, and spread them out.
The New Manchester United home kit upheld the spirit of the Red Devils and used bright red as the main color. In appearance, it was very similar to Manchester United's current home kit. The most conspicuous feature was the zip collar. On the left of the zip was the New Manchester United crest, and on the right was the logo of the shirt sponsor, David Pace Clothing Company. The chest area below the zip should have been the main sponsor, but since New Manchester United had not found one, that was no longer necessary.
They had already copied Manchester United, and now they wanted to copy their kit. It was really... unfair.
"David, I think the style and color should be changed. The main issue is that it is too similar to Manchester United's home kit." Ethan shook his head with a wry smile.
Pace nodded. "Well, tell me how you want to change it."
"Zip collars are indeed very popular, and Manchester United's kit is said to be selling very well right now. However, I do not think that type of collar is necessarily comfortable. I suggest using a round neck, perhaps in a different color, and adding two drawstrings on the sleeves that connect directly to the collar. I think one green and one gold would be best."
"Green and Gold Army?" Pace immediately understood what Ethan meant.
Green and gold are the jersey colors of Newton Heath, the predecessor of Manchester United, so many people also call Manchester United the Green and Gold Army. However, later on, Manchester United's kit design gradually abandoned these two traditional colors and changed to red.
"Yes. I think the material should be a bit retro. I hope that anyone who sees this kit will be reminded of our former Newton Heath."
As he spoke, Ethan sketched out the style he wanted in his mind, and finally came up with a neat idea.
"The shirt should be bright red, the shorts pure white, with green and gold stripes down the sides. The material should preferably be mesh, but if not, it is fine. Then put the New Manchester United crest on the left, and your company name in the main sponsor position."
"We?" David Pace was a little surprised.
"Yes, David, you have helped us a lot. You not only lent us the stadium, you also took care of our kits. You are our main sponsor. I think no matter how hard we try, we cannot find a better sponsor than you," Ethan said sincerely.
"But..." David Pace was a little flattered.
"No buts, David. If you do not accept, you do not have to make the kit anymore," Ethan said bluntly.
After hesitating for a moment, Pace shook his head helplessly and pointed at Ethan. He wanted to say some words of thanks, but felt that would be too polite. In the end, he just gave Ethan a look, and they understood each other.
"Okay, if there is nothing else, I will head back. I will have the designer modify it according to your requirements and bring it back for your approval. Then we will start production right away."
After saying that, David Pace left.
As soon as he left, Walsh came out with a frown.
"What is wrong, Andy?" Ethan looked at him and thought something big had happened.
Walsh sat down in front of Ethan and handed over a notice from the English Football Association. "The English Football Association has taken into account the special circumstances of the Northwest Division B League this year, so they have decided to adjust the opening game and we will play away against Leake CSOB."
"Why? Wasn't it arranged beforehand that we would play at home?" Ethan was a little surprised.
"That is true, but with our current season ticket sales, we should be able to sell around 800 tickets, you know? Even many third-tier professional clubs may not sell that many, so the FA has to consider whether our opponents' grounds can host games against us."
Ethan was a little troubled. He had never thought that in the amateur league, being too popular with fans would become a problem. This was really something he had never heard of.
"If that is the case, then you have to negotiate with the FA. Do not schedule our home match at the same time as Droylsden's home match. Otherwise, I really do not know how to deal with it." Ethan could only smile bitterly in the end.
Could he refuse the FA's arrangement?
However, sharing a stadium with another club is indeed a big hassle. Just look at AC Milan and Inter. Still, building a stadium of their own was not realistic.
At least for Ethan now, it was absolutely unrealistic because he did not have that much money.
"Yes, that is why I spent so much time negotiating with the FA just now, because I was afraid of this kind of conflict. But to be honest, Ethan, I really do not think renting Butcher's Arms Stadium long term is a solution."
"I know that, but for us, the only option for now is to rent. I think we should first see how it goes this year, then pay attention to whether there are any vacant grounds nearby. We should look for an opportunity to rent a stadium we can use exclusively, or one that does not conflict with our fixtures."
"Yeah," Walsh felt the same. It was too troublesome to share.
He took out the jersey designs that Pace had just brought and discussed them with Walsh. Walsh also agreed with Ethan's design and felt that adding green and gold, plus retro fabric, would easily resonate with fans.
The two then discussed the New Manchester United club crest.
This was designed by Walsh in a bar with the help of a group of Red Rebels. There is a shield in the middle, which symbolizes the Red Rebels' spirit of defending the soul. The surface of the shield is divided into two layers. The upper layer is a sailing ship like the Manchester United crest, representing the port trading city of Manchester. The lower layer is red and yellow stripes, the same as Manchester United's earliest crest, representing dignity.
Although this was adopted after brainstorming, Ethan still felt that the crest design was too simple. When he had the chance, he would definitely find someone else to redesign it. It would be best to retain Newton Heath's tradition while adding some modern touches.
After the crest was confirmed, it was already the time Ethan and Messi had agreed upon.
(To be continued.)
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