IT’S a stressful existence being a Darlo fan. The last three weeks have been nothing short of a nightmare. For me, my position on ownership and outside investment has flip flopped on an almost daily basis. Trying to balance aspirations with reality can be a challenge. Just when we thought some of the fundamental questions were about to be answered, we learn that Raj Singh has withdrawn his investment proposal.

While the thought of Raj Singh coming back in to the club has sat uncomfortably for me, more than anything, I wanted to hear (well, read) what he had to say. I genuinely wanted to be given a reason to reconsider my position on him. That would have required some considerable contrition and a load of mitigating factors on his part as to why he let our club go to the wall for the sake of a pretty modest sum of money for a person of his resources.

Clearly, Mr Singh didn’t like what he read on the various social media platforms although I do wonder what he was expecting. If he thought that the fans would roll out the red carpet for the sake of his money, I can only assume that he has not exposed himself to the sentiment of the Darlo fanbase over the last five years like he has in recent days.

So where does this leave us? Goodness only knows. Martin Gray put forward a compelling argument for outside investment at the fans forum with the caveat that he would likely leave should such investment not be forthcoming. That then begs the question about Gray’s future at the club.

For me, I am keeping everything crossed that he decides to stay, despite his threat to the contrary. Darlington Football Club of 2017 wouldn’t look anything like it does right now without his considerable hard work, commitment and, I choose to believe, affection for the club. Something that we have discovered over the last five years in non-league football is that managers make football clubs. They create dynasties that can be very hard to replace or replicate. As a football club, we are almost totally intertwined with both Martin Gray and his academy. Having to replace all that infrastructure and network of coaches and scouts would be very difficult indeed. However, it would not be impossible.

Whatever decision Martin Gray chooses to take following Mr Singh’s withdrawal, it needs to be taken very quickly. We know what the situation is off the pitch; now we need to know whether we need to go out and find a new manager and potentially a whole load of players. With clubs already announcing retained lists and signing new players, we have given our rivals for players a head start.

Finally, what I really hope – actually more than Martin Gray staying on as manager – is that the fans can pull back together and focus on the unified goal of helping the club to continue to develop on and off the pitch. One of the unintended consequences of the last three weeks has been the division of fans between the two options of ownership and outside investment. I said a month ago that the seat situation should not be an existential threat and yet everything that’s happened since has put the club’s long term future in some doubt. Some of the vitriol on social media aimed at fellow fans has been very disappointing and has made the situation even more divisive than it already was. Let’s not lose sight that everyone wants the same thing – a strong, sustainable and successful football club. We are all Darlo.