IN its glory days, the unique character of one of English football's most northerly outposts gave it a special place in the hearts of supporters.

But now Feethams, the former home of Darlington Football Club, stands, according to Quakers manager David Hodgson, a "dilapidated wreck".

Mr Hodgson dreams of turning the ground into a profitable sports academy for youngsters, with five all-weather pitches.

Indeed, he says it was his plans for Feethams and the promise of ownership of the main East Stand from former chairman George Reynolds, which partly persuaded him to return to Darlington as manager in October 2003.

What he did not know then was that the club was about to plunge into administration - and that his claim on the stand, which was built at a cost of £3m in 1998, was shaky, to say the least.

Mr Hodgson now accepts that he does not own the stand - but who does is far from clear.

The Feethams ground is owned by Darlington Feethams Cricket Field Trust, which leases it to Darlington Cricket Club.

The cricket club used to sub-let part of the ground to the Quakers, before the team moved to its new stadium in Neasham Road in August 2003.

Litigation to settle the terms of a new lease never made it to court and, in August 2004, Darlington FC's court-appointed administrator Wilson Field relinquished any claim to the ground.

Wilson Field believes, however, that it does have a claim on the East Stand, which it hopes to sell as an asset to pay off creditors of the club.

But Darlington Cricket Club is adamant that the trust owns the stand, seeing it as part of the "fixtures and fittings" of the ground.

Mr Hodgson stands in the middle - desperate to strike a deal with either party to buy the stand.

"The stand is the main asset," said Mr Hodgson.

"Without the main stand being there, it's nothing, it's just a piece of grass.

"But it's only an asset to me if the cricket club feel they want to go down the route of the sporting facility and lease the ground to me."

He fears the cricket club will decide to sell Feethams to a developer for housing - though cricket club chairman Brian Johnson insists all options on the land are still being considered.

But Mr Johnson told The Northern Echo the club would not sell the stand to Mr Hodgson.

He said Mr Hodgson's solicitor had told him the manager's plan was to sell it on to somebody else.

"There is no logic in selling the stand to Mr Hodgson," he said. "We have no plans to sell the stand to either David Hodgson or indeed to anybody else at the moment."

Administrator Dave Field said nothing had been decided. "The question is: do we own the building and, if we do, is it worth anything? I have gone to our solicitors to see if they can confirm the legal situation, and I'm hoping anytime now to find out.

"If we own it, it will need to be sold to somebody. It may well be sold to David Hodgson or the cricket club. It's money that comes into the pot for creditors."

Bill O'Hanlon, Mr Hodgson's solicitor, said: "We'll deal with either of them if they can decide between the two of them who owns it.