Disillusioned Arsenal fans to start breakaway club Dial Square FC based in Surrey
Disillusioned Arsenal fans believe the club has "lost its identity" in recent years and are planning to launch a breakaway club from next season.
Dial Square FC are planning to compete in the Combined Counties League from the start of next season, and hope to match the success of AFC Wimbledon whose climb out of the same league has included six promotions in 17 seasons.
The name Dial Square is a nod to the clubs roots, harking back to 1886 when the team we now know as Arsenal was founded under its original name Dial Square.
The plan to launch Dial Square FC is led by lifelong Arsenal fan Stuart Morgan and comes just months after several supporters groups united behind a campaign titled 'We care, do you?', amid concerns over the running of the club by owner Stan Kroenke.
"The club has lost its identity in so many different ways," Morgan told The Athletic. "This Arsenal team, the club, the set-up, the stadium, is nothing like it was in its heyday.
"It’s so commercialised, I sit in club level. It’s soulless, it’s lifeless, it’s not Arsenal Football Club.
"The reason I wanted to do this project is to go back to beginning, to try and get back to that original Arsenal."
Dial Square FC have already struck a deal with Abbery Rangers to ground share from next season, basing themselves in Surrey on a temporary basis with a view to returning to Arsenal's original home of Woolwich.
“Our aim is to get to play league football at our own purpose-built stadium in Woolwich within 15-20 years," Morgan added.
"We want to be as close to the old arms factory as possible. This has been done before and we can do it again."
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