Frank Lampard, look away now: we are moving closer to a world where England fans really do pick the team. There may soon be an answer to the eternal question of whether manager or supporters know best because plans are afoot to purchase an English club and hand control to fans on the internet. They will select the side and make in-game tactical decisions. And if it works, managers could become an endangered species.

All those hours playing computer simulations were not wasted: they were training for the time when you will use your screen to take charge of the real thing. Coaches and players blaming the fans for defeats? Unreliable broadband connections coming in for as much stick as referees? Good-bye, dugout dictators; hello, footballing democracy.

It has already arrived in Israel. Only about a hundred people turned up last week to watch Hapoel Kiryat Shalom’s opening game of the season. In fact, the attendance was 10,000. And most of them were managing the team.

“The idea started in the last World Cup,” Moshe Hogeg, chief executive of Web2Sport.com, an Israeli social networking site, said. “Argentina fans wanted Lionel Messi to play against Germany and the coach thought otherwise. We got angry and decided to do something about it.”

About 8,000 people have registered for free with the site and so are eligible to make real decisions. Kiryat have an assistant coach who takes charge of training and prepares the sessions according to the wishes of the fans, who pick the team and formation based on statistics on the site. They use their mouse to drag numbered shirts on to a pitch diagram. “It’s like the computer game Football Manager, you have 20 different parameters to assess players,” Hogeg, 26, said.

On match day, fans log in and watch the game live via a video feed. There will be audio for away fixtures. As the action unfolds they can use a chat facility to comment on the game and suggest tactical alterations, which are then voted on. Sitting in the dugout, with a laptop computer and wireless internet access, the coach enacts the changes. “This is the wisdom of the crowd, not one man. It’s democracy,” Hogeg said. “This idea has no limits.”

Even though the players are amateurs in Israel’s sixth division, it still cost about £250,000 to set up the plan but merchandise sales are soaring.

Last week, in front of 10,000 virtual spectators, Kiryat lost 3-2, with the winner coming in injury time. They lined up 4-4-2. “Most players are happy about it because of the media attention,” Hogeg said. “One player who is 40 has been at the club a long time and normally would be in the starting XI but he has been voted out. He isn’t very happy.”

With the idea clearly catching on in Israel, the creators are seeking a larger market. “Our investors are going to do the same thing in England next year,” Hogeg said. “We are looking for a team, we hope in a higher league than the sixth division.”

They will face competition in the form of myfootballclub.co.uk, another internet-based community scheme. More than 53,000 people have registered their interest with myfootballclub, which aims to convince 50,000 punters each to part with £35. The money will be invested in purchasing and running a club, giving everyone an equal say. Troubled clubs such as Halifax Town have been in touch with the organisers.

Hogeg hopes that by the 2014 World Cup finals, national teams will be run in the same way as Kiryat: as a true reflection of the will of the citizens they represent rather than the whims of one man. Power to the people at a time when elite football seems to be growing ever more distant from the ordinary fan.

Democracy in action

–– Would-be Sir Alex Fergusons sign up at web2sport.com (the site is mostly in Hebrew)
–– They use detailed, statistical information on the site to select their preferred lineup and tactics
–– The assistant coach takes training and implements the most popular selections
–– During matches, members log in, watch the game, chat with other users and vote on tactical changes. The assistant, who is in the dugout with a laptop, carries out their wishes

Three to benefit

Steven Gerrard
If Liverpool fans picked the team, would Gerrard ever be rested or substituted, especially in a Merseyside derby?

Jermain Defoe
Surely Tottenham Hotspur supporters would use him a bit more often than Martin Jol does

Shane Cansdell-Sheriff
The casual user, who cannot be bothered to wade through statistics, might use basic selection methods – funny haircuts or memorable names, such as the Tranmere Rovers player

Three to suffer

Frank Lampard
The target of the England boo-boys might never pull on the Three Lions again

Didier Drogba
How would Chelsea fans react to Drogba wanting out?

Sol Campbell
Voting could be sabotaged by still-bitter Spurs fans eager for him to stew in the reserves

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