By midday today....

[bozza]

The town of Datlington where I live may not have a local football team.

They were put into administration the other week and yesterday the administrators sacked all the players and whatever other staff was left.

So if they don't get a deffintate investor by midday today they said they have no choice to fold the club.

They have been in administration twice before and always managed to find a investor but I really think this is the end for a club that last season won the FA Trophy and has been around for 127 years.

It's been nice to see ex players like David Stockdale who is now at Fulham donate money and auction off shirts signed by the Fulham players to try help the club but It's too little too late I fear.

The only person to blame for all this is a local man (crook) George Reynolds, he took over the club about 10 yeas ago and promised to bring in top players and a new stadium. He built a 25,000 seater stadium which is nice but it was way too big for a league 2 team. His idea was to get concerts there to but the council said he couldn't have them but he still went ahead with it cause he thought he was bigger than them and would get his own way but didn't so he walked out on the club not long after.

So thanks George Reynolds for ruining my hometown club.

Sorry about the rant, just needed to get it off my chest.

 

[bluewolf]

Its a football tragedy to see Darlo fold. I remember being stood on the terraces at Springfield park with a bucket for spare change when the 'tics were in trouble in the 80's. What makes the whole situation more unpalatable is the obscene amounts of money swilling around the game, yet no one is willing to save the smaller clubs when this happens. People need to realize that clubs may be owned by rich folk, but they are rightly the property of the community that supports them...

Good luck in the future, If Darlo do fold, I doubt they'll be the last. Then we'll have only one Sooper Dooper league, populated by only the biggest clubs with vast amounts of money being funneled into relatively few pockets.

 

[DaveM]

The town of Datlington where I live may not have a local football team.

They were put into administration the other week and yesterday the administrators sacked all the players and whatever other staff was left.

So if they don't get a deffintate investor by midday today they said they have no choice to fold the club.

They have been in administration twice before and always managed to find a investor but I really think this is the end for a club that last season won the FA Trophy and has been around for 127 years.

It's been nice to see ex players like David Stockdale who is now at Fulham donate money and auction off shirts signed by the Fulham players to try help the club but It's too little too late I fear.

The only person to blame for all this is a local man (Aledged crook) George Reynolds, he took over the club about 10 yeas ago and promised to bring in top players and a new stadium. He built a 25,000 seater stadium which is nice but it was way too big for a league 2 team. His idea was to get concerts there to but the council said he couldn't have them but he still went ahead with it cause he thought he was bigger than them and would get his own way but didn't so he walked out on the club not long after.

So thanks George Reynolds for ruining my hometown club.

Sorry about the rant, just needed to get it off my chest.

Take care with what you write. Corrected it for you, as your statment was libelious(sp) and could land you in all kind of trouble.

 

[Hobbit]

I do hope they'll not disappear. But at £80k a month just to pay for the stadium... who's going to take that on at a club with such low crowds. I liked Reynolds ambition but maybe a touch naive.

I'd always hoped to see the mighty Boro, Darlo, Hartlepool, Newcastle & Sunderland in the Premiership at the same time.

 

[bozza]

Take care with what you write. Corrected it for you, as your statment was libelious(sp) and could land you in all kind of trouble.

He served time for smuggling,theft, robbery and safe cracking on more than one occasion so surely the term
I used to describe him is correct?

The bloke is seriously dodgy, when he was chairman of Darlo a friend of mines brother worked for the local paper and questioned his commitment to the club. Reynolds didn't like it and turned up at his door one night with 2 of his minders and told him to be careful what he says in the paper.

I could think of a lot worse ways to describe him.

 

[bozza]

I do hope they'll not disappear. But at £80k a month just to pay for the stadium... who's going to take that on at a club with such low crowds. I liked Reynolds ambition but maybe a touch naive.

I'd always hoped to see the mighty Boro, Darlo, Hartlepool, Newcastle & Sunderland in the Premiership at the same time.

Just been announced that ex chairman George houghton is in talks with administrators.

Yeah the biggest problem is the stadium and the land it's on, part if the deal with the council when Reynolds bought the land from them was that it couldn't be used for anything other than football and it couldn't be sold on for shops etc.

 

[Wildrover]

Reminds me of Ken Richardson and what he did to Doncaster Rovers a few years ago. He never had the ambition though, he just wanted to put the club out of business and use the land the ground was on to build on. He very nearly succeeded until he was put away for paying some halfwit to burn the main stand down. He failed and was caught after police checked cctv at a nearby filling station where he wandered in with a can and filled it with petrol, muppet. It looked like we would fold until John Ryan took over the club and we have gone from Conference to Championship in a very short space of time, and we've got a new stadium. I guess what I'm saying is keep hope alive, we are proof that sometimes a Phoenix does rise from the ashes. I really hope Darlo survive, small clubs have got to stick together in this money is everything world of football.

 

[bozza]

Reminds me of Ken Richardson and what he did to Doncaster Rovers a few years ago. He never had the ambition though, he just wanted to put the club out of business and use the land the ground was on to build on. He very nearly succeeded until he was put away for paying some halfwit to burn the main stand down. He failed and was caught after police checked cctv at a nearby filling station where he wandered in with a can and filled it with petrol, muppet. It looked like we would fold until John Ryan took over the club and we have gone from Conference to Championship in a very short space of time, and we've got a new stadium. I guess what I'm saying is keep hope alive, we are proof that sometimes a Phoenix does rise from the ashes. I really hope Darlo survive, small clubs have got to stick together in this money is everything world of football.

I really do hope someone can come in and save them but te problem is they don't technically have a team anymore since the administrators finished all the players contracts yesterday, so I'm not sure where they would stand legally by trying to get the players to play again if the club was saved.

Heard that Craig Liddle said if the game goes ahead at home on Saturday the only players that are left are the youth team.

 

[AuburnWarrior]

I feel for you, pal. Palace have been in trouble twice since 1999 - it's not nice.

I hope it's all sorted out.

I wonder why it's always the littler teams that are plunged into administration? I wonder when a PL team will be forced into administration seeing as some of them are £25mil+ in debt........ :mmm:

 

[jpenno]

I feel for you, pal. Palace have been in trouble twice since 1999 - it's not nice.

I hope it's all sorted out.

I wonder why it's always the littler teams that are plunged into administration? I wonder when a PL team will be forced into administration seeing as some of them are £25mil+ in debt........ :mmm:

The vast majority of Premier League clubs would like to be only £25million in debt.

United are in for over £500 million, Liverpool were in for £245 million before the takeover last year. Chelsea owe Abramovich in excess of £300 million in directors loans (unless he has now written them off). Everton are in dire straights and are desperately seeking a buyer. Bolton are in deep debt and must be facing serious problems if relegated.

Norwich owed a fair bit when in Championship but the promotion and increase in income without spending fortunes on players and wages should make them safe.

The failure of a Premier league team is not too far away!. IF United failed to qualify for Champs league then they would struggle to service debts. my bets are either Bolton or Everton to be the first to go Bump.

Found debt table from 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/may/19/football-club-accounts-debt

 

[Dodger]

I really cannot see a way out of this bar going tits up and starting up again at the bottom of the pyramid.

Who in their right mind would touch you with the running cost of the stadium??

Unless they can do something with that like housing/commercial around it (although I hear your lovely local cooncil are against this) then I can't see a way out.

The death of the club happened when the crook Reynolds took over and you shifted from the great ground that was Feethams....I had 2 fantastic days there,once to a pre-season friendly v Berwick and once for a local derby v the Monkey Hangers and the atmosphere was superb.

Sadly it looks like Darlo F.C. are no more. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16597529.stm

 

[AuburnWarrior]

I really cannot see a way out of this bar going tits up and starting up again at the bottom of the pyramid.

Who in their right mind would touch you with the running cost of the stadium??

Unless they can do something with that like housing/commercial around it (although I hear your lovely local cooncil are against this) then I can't see a way out.

The death of the club happened when the crook Reynolds took over and you shifted from the great ground that was Feethams....I had 2 fantastic days there,once to a pre-season friendly v Berwick and once for a local derby v the Monkey Hangers and the atmosphere was superb.

Sadly it looks like Darlo F.C. are no more. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16597529.stm

A great, great shame! I hate it when any team goes to the wall - it's the common fan that feels it most!

On a brighter note - it frees you up to come and support the Palace now........ :temper:

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Know the anxiety. Fulham were in all sorts of trouble in the 80's with Bulstrode trying to flog the ground to his own developmers etc. I went to the old Darlo gorund (we lost). I went to the last Aldershot game when they went bust about 20 odd years ago and I guess if you look at them now having come from well down the pyramid and back into the FL it can be done. I hope it isn't too late for you

 

[Val]

My son has just said Mario Ballotelli was thinking of buying into Darlington, some rumours these teens create

 

[AuburnWarrior]

Know the anxiety. Fulham were in all sorts of trouble in the 80's with Bulstrode trying to flog the ground to his own developmers etc. I went to the old Darlo gorund (we lost). I went to the last Aldershot game when they went bust about 20 odd years ago and I guess if you look at them now having come from well down the pyramid and back into the FL it can be done. I hope it isn't too late for you

Sounds like you're the kiss of death!

I'll pay you to not visit Fortress Selhurst........

 

[AuburnWarrior]

My son has just said Mario Ballotelli was thinking of buying into Darlington, some rumours these teens create

The sad thing is that players of his type could probably buy half a dozen lower league teams!

They say that 95% of the world's wealth is owned by 5%. I reckon it's the same in football.

 

[bozza]

We have a lifeline!!

According to a reporter from the local paper.

This is what he has tweeted.

Darlington FC latest: Lot of optimism tonight that administrator is minded to accept a bid from a Yorkshire-based developer...

...Understood involves homes/leisure development. Club looks set to carry on until end March to give time for sustainable plan...

...Hurdle left to overcome is position of ex-chairman Raj Singh who claims he is owed £1.8m. However, negotiations taking place...


....Conference chairman has told MP that everything possible will be done to enable Fleetwood game to go ahead on Saturday...

...Has confirmed that rules allow players to play on non-contract basis...

...Must stress this is the position at the moment. Looking hopeful but administrator won't make final decision until noon tomorrow.

Singh who was the old chairman went on record saying he wouldn't be asking for the £1.8m he was owed when he left. But now it seems the council are going to be flexible on what can be built on the land he now wants the £1.8m he is owed.

 

[daymond]

With a record like you say he's got don't the FA or whoever have a 'fit and proper' rule for club owners?

 

[AuburnWarrior]

With a record like you say he's got don't the FA or whoever have a 'fit and proper' rule for club owners?

Supposedly yes but Portsmouth can testify to that not being the case! oo:

 

[Durango]

Been following this closely as a County fan, with us not far below you in the league. Don't want to stay up at the expense of Darlo folding. Quakers on your messageboard is abit of a character!