Batchelor said: “Football supporters in general have to understand that if they want professional football in their town, they have to accept it has to be done on a commercial basis.

“Harchester is more promotable than Mansfield. That’s not any form of insult to Mansfield at all because it’s a club with a long tradition but it’s just a fact of life. One club has been on the television for 10 years and the other one hasn’t.”

True blue football fans may find it hard to stomach Batchelor’s style of “commercial football.” As early as his motor-racing days, Batchelor has shown a penchant for controversy. We should not have illusions of ethics from him, after all he can sell out his own name.. twice via deed poll (John B&Q and John Top-Gear) for the sake of sponsors.

When it comes to his business endeavors, he did not waver from the “miraculous” effects of name changing too. York City was his first foray into football management and his ill-fated maneuvers included adding Soccer Club to its original name to attract American interest. Batchelor also altered the club’s logo to incorporate his racing brand, raising the ire of supporters.

The changes did little to revive York’s flagging finances but Batchelor was quick in liquidating their prime assets, ensuring a small fortune for himself before the club went into administration. His early promises meant little in the face of profits, if not for fans who cared deeply about York to stave off creditors and completed a takeover through a fund raising campaign, the club is history.

This time round, Batchelor who was initially part of a consortium before deciding to go it alone, has targeted Mansfield, currently second from bottom in the Football League. The club has undergone a name change before - from Mansfield Wesleyans to Mansfield Town in 1910. But to strip the club’s identity which has existed for close to a century by calling them Harchester United (no such city in Britain) is pushing the limits.

Bartchelor places little value on intangible assets like goodwill and emotional attachment. He is fine with being the most hated character in town but his philosophy may backfire as advertisers and investors think twice about placing their money in such an acrimonious setting. Batchelor is downright frank in his assessment of the situation, look at what says:

“Let’s be clear, I want a football club, preferably one in the league. The ONLY reason that I want it is to make money, the only reason that I want to do that is to look after my immediate family. I can only do that by making it work on the pitch and as a result making it work commercially.”

“This would be MY club, if you like what you see come and watch, if you don’t, then stay away. I am not even interested in discussing it with “fans”, however, I will talk to customers anytime. If Mansfield is going to host professional football, it has to accept that there need to be some HUGE changes at this club. If the fans don’t want to host it, all they need to do is not turn up. I have a plan, and I have a vision of what football needs to do, I am going to do my best to achieve it, I am not a multi-millionaire, just a guy who has some idea’s who is prepared to have a go and take a risk”

“I will budget for no fans turning up at the ground, which really every club should do. As you will have seen from my replies, I am not trying to attract negative thinkers, either get behind this, or watch football somewhere else. IF I am successful in achieving ownership, this will be MY club, MY business and up to me to provide entertainment, it is MY risk. I would have thought that it would be better to start off with honest responses. I am in this to make money.”

From a business point of view, fair enough, and if Batchelor possesses a Midas touch, at least we are safe in the knowledge that he understands what he is doing but his resume suggests otherwise. It is more likely he will drag Mansfield through the mire while implementing his vision.

The basis of Batchelor’s business scheme involves Harchester United being more marketable but is it valid? Certainly, novelty in a fictional club coming to real life will spark interest from all sectors, especially the press, and sales of T-shirts will boom initially, but it is not sustainable over the long run. Fans do not follow a team blindly just because it has the same name as the one on TV. They do so because they identify with the club, the city, or it is a championship team as people love winners.

It is hard to imagine Stags players retaining the dignity as their lives are being compared constantly to the farce known as Harchester. Will Batchelor now ask his first team players to change their names to resemble those in the TV series? And in Dream Team’s plot, they were promoted to the Premier League, so we can presume that can happen as well?

Many have complained before that the plight of small clubs are not given due attention by the authorities. With Batchelor’s track record, he should be kept a safe distance from any football club but the league is powerless. Under their fit and proper persons test, Batchelor will qualify since he has only put ONE club into administration and the rules require two insolvencies.

There are also precedences in madness, in recent times, Wimbeldon moved to Milton Keynes and they changed their name to MK Dons. So if Batchelor preserves, there is no stopping the birth of Harchester United.

I doubt if there is much juice left in Mansfield as the current owner, Haslam, has taken at least a million pounds out of the club so Batchelor may find himself holding on to an empty shell of a club. However, if the price for buying Mansfield Town is low enough, and the shirt-buying frenzy that accompanies the initial novelty turns in a neat profit, then Batchelor will have achieved his objective of “feeding his immediate family.”

Stags fans are horrified to see this takeover bid being panned out at this critical period. They will love to boycott but Mansfield need their support with key matches coming up and relegation a real threat within the next few weeks. Moving from a terrible owner to the next, I suggest Stags fans prepare for the worst, there is nothing to suggest a different fate from York City and it is up to them to eventually band together to save their beloved club.

Soccer Net Live