"I will give at least £20 to the Ebbsfleet United playing budget for 2008-09 but only if 1,000 other people will do the same." Not my words, but the words of one Thomas David Baker, joint-owner of Ebbsfleet United.

Thomas achieved his aim by the way, with 15 to spare, his very public begging letter on one of those internet pledge sites, bringing home a very successful bacon.

Now there's a part of me that secretly hates Thomas, as I imagine smugness writ large on his face as another pot of cash washes into the Ebbsfleet coffers, but is 1,000 people really a success given the assumed pool of tens of thousands of fans who have bought into the My Football Club experience?

There's one school of thought that in Non League terms, getting a thousand fans to collectively do anything is like Gordon Brown suddenly finding an extra ten thousand voters in Glasgow, ultimately impossible. I've lost count of the chairmen in the past 12 months who've called for "more support for our club" both monetary and voluntary, only to be met with a few hardy souls willing to give of themselves.

Also the £20,000 Thomas raised may not sound a huge amount (given the £20.3 million it's just cost Liverpool to take Robbie Keane off Tottenham's hands) but it has allowed the purchase of a new player, and more importantly another publicity swing for MY.FC (young man it's a place you too can go...)

It's easy to stand on our crumbled terraces and pour scorn on Thomas' pledge. He was able, after all, to pull on the heart strings of Icelandic fans, of German supporters and even soccer lovers from the good old US of A. In comparison what does your average Non League team have to draw on? The town's famous carpet man who takes up a perimeter board every two years if we're lucky?

The reason we all love to hate teams like Ebbsfleet, or like Leigh Genesis (who've completely rebranded from the days of the unlucky Leigh RMI) is they've got people behind them willing to take a risk, willing to run with energy and find another way of delivering the dream.

I took a bit of stick last week for banging on about sustainability and foundations at a club, and while I'm still reserving judgement on the validity of My Football Club until the next subscription comes around, I can't knock their continued drive to expand the world of Non League.

Ultimately, if we are all facing a financial meltdown and impending doom then every club needs a few more like Thomas, as sadly it's the bottom of the tank feeders in life that are first to go. For my pledge, I'm off to purchase a season ticket for my club now, I wonder how many will join me?

Caroline Barker

The BBC Non League Football Show - Every Monday from 9pm via www.bbc.co.uk/nonleague - Real Football, real fans.

If anyone has any stories, for the website or the radio, contact me via caroline.barker.01@bbc.co.uk or nonleague@bbc.co.uk

The latest podcast is available now via http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/nonleague/ and includes a discussion on the best managers in Non League, together with the usual mix of news and views. Justin Edinburgh, Steve King and others join us for a frank debate.

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