ARSENAL are set to become the latest club with a breakaway team as disgruntled fans plot a route to the top with Dial Square FC.
Named after the very first creation of Arsenal Football Club back in 1886, the aim is to breed a new version of the team free from the shackles and shortcomings of modern football.
The Gunners have been on a gradual decline for over a decade with many supporters complaining of losing their connection to the team.
Stan Kroenke’s ownership is yet to produce a Premier League title despite taking the team away from Highbury with the aim of progressing into a permanent member of European football’s elite.
But such dreams will be lightyears away from Dial Square’s start to life.
Owner Stuart Morgan has applied for Combined Counties Football League membership – English footbal’s ninth-tier.
In conversation with The Athletic, the Gunners fan and former Camberley Town director rates his chances of being accepted for next season as only “50/50” when they discover their fate on February 1.
Entry would set in motion an ambitious project to enter the Football League and reinstate the team to Arsenal’s original home in Woolwich, Kent.
He said:“Our aim is to get to play league football at our own purpose-built stadium in Woolwich within 15-20 years. We want to be as close to the old arms factory as possible.
“This has been done before. We can do it again.
“Were aiming for at least three promotions within the first five to seven years.
“If enough people jump on board, and Arsenal fans are interested, its very possible. I want to dedicate years and years of my life to this project. It means a lot to me.”
Playing in a kit based off the original Arsenal’s first-ever burgundy set, and akin to the Gunners’ special edition donned for their final season at Highbury, Dial Square will actually begin life in Surrey.
Morgan has agreed a deal with Surrey side Abbey Rangers to ground share at their Addlestone home for the 2020/21 season.
A full hour’s drive away from both Woolwich and Emirates Stadium, Dial Square will have to follow AFC Wimbledon‘s example and set up base away from their inherited home.
The League One side, formed in 2002 as a response to their original incarnation’s move to Milton Keynes, set the standard with a remarkable rise from the Combined Counties to the Football League with five promotions in eight years.
Having settled in Kingston, they are on the verge of hopping a few miles across West London to their hometown and a new stadium built on the site of old ground Plough Lane.
Meanwhile, angry Manchester United supporters set up FC United of Manchester in 2005 amid the Glazers’ takeover at Old Trafford.
Like Wimbledon, they are fully fan owned but reside in the Northern Premier League after relegation from the sixth-tier last season.
