The Vinnie Brain Pound-A-Goal Fundraising Scheme

An explanation and brief history of the most complicated (and longest titled) scheme to help Runcorn Linnets return to Runcorn (by Michael Scowcroft).

Back in Summer 2008, during pre-season friendly games, it all looked so simple. Games were played in good weather, Steve Wilkes was going to be starting his first full season in charge, and everything was go for promotion. The only thing that the fans wanted to complete the jigsaw was a return to playing in Runcorn as soon as possible.

Personally, I blame Mark Buckley. Steve Wilkes had signed Vinnie Braine as a striker, and he had showed a natural flair for sniffing out goals. They may not have always been the most impressive or classiest goals socred, but they all count. He’d suggested that we should get a group of fans together to all pledge to put £1 into the ground fund every time that Vinnie scored this season, and he’d started to get a few people to sign up to this pledge.

Of course, when Vinnie Braine moved to New Mills, this idea fell apart. There was talk of still paying £1 every time he scored for New Mills, but that didn’t appeal to me (as I’m not a New Mills fan), so I came up with a different idea. I would pay £1 for every time a player called Michael scored for Runcorn. With Mozza and Youngy regularly hitting the net, it seemed like a good alternative. I convinced my brother, Robert to agree to pay £1 for goals scored by players called Robert (Rob Whyte, Robbie Moore or Robbie Holcroft all counting), but Mark was stuck here, as there hasn’t been a player called Mark play for us this season. He thought about it for a bit, and then chose Dave Thompson as his player, as he was regularly scoring for the Linnets at the time.

The post went up on the forum late on the 9th September, and within an hour, Ste Blease pledged to pay for any Stes that score for the Linnets. Also the next day, David Dutton joined Bucko in backing Thommo at £1 a goal. Unexpectedly, the post also sparked a debate about how much the club should rely on the fans to provide money in this way. Personally, I think as a fans owned club, we’re going to have to rely on fans to help out wherever possible, but I won’t go over the arguments again.

Mark Buckley then got a reputation as being a curse, as Dave Thompson left for Warrington Town, so instead of picking a player, he pledged to pay £1 for every headed goal this season, and Dave Dutton transferred his pledge to Michael Morrison. Other pledges came in quickly after this. Alan Spendlove pledged £5 for Allan Glover goals, and Simon Charlesworth pledged £1 for each clean sheet we kept during the season. This proved a popular pledge, as Mike Goodier, and then Ste Blease also said they’d throw in a quid for clean sheets.

Hedley Edwards then upped the ante, by offering £5 for clean sheets, as well as £5 for penalties scored or saved by the Linnets. At this point, I threw out my scribbled notes, and decided I need a spreadsheet on the computer to monitor the totals. Another pledge came in from Ste Bignall based on how well the supporters team perform, and Spenny added another pledge based on home attendances in the league, since Allan still hasn’t got onto the scoresheet yet (it’s only a matter of time, I’m sure). Other pledges came in from Dave Brown, Stuart White, John Greenhalgh, Jon Urquhart, and Daz Law and suddenly goals from Damien Morrison, Ged Courtney, Steve Cunningham and Paul Crewe all added to the total. Finally, Steve Cunningham pledged to pay for any goals scored by himself, and his Dad matched him.

In short, the Vinnie Braine fund total now (as at 19th January) stands at £194, and I’ve given over £142 of this to the ground fund already. I’m still owed some money, and I am holding some in my special Vinnie Braine padded envelope ready to put into the ground fund account. If you would like to join in this scheme, please have a look at the thread on the fans forum at www.runcornlinnetsfc.co.uk or see me at a match. Currently, players like Nehru McKenzie, Barry Massay, Danny Stubberfield, and Tom Baker do not have anyone pledging a pound for their goals yet. Ask around, and someone will tell you who I am if you don’t already know me.