Darlington FC: I THINK The Northern Echo has a lot to answer for in the departure of former club chairman George Reynolds.

The newspaper, while giving tacit approval to his plans, seemed to add riders to its stories which were detrimental to the pursuits of the chairman. This in turn stirred up a dislike of the man. Surely a person who owns a club is entitled to be the boss.

As a season ticket holder, I was saddened to hear ugly chants from certain supporters when the team conceded a goal.

Individually, the existing players are of high quality and I am sure that the present manager in time will make them successful. So why the constant clamour to replace them and abuse the chairman? Recent results have not been a true reflection of the standard of play.

I do not know George Reynolds, but he is the person who:

1. Talked to people in a long queue saying how sorry he was that they were delayed;

2. Went for refreshments for his staff when they were working non-stop selling season tickets;

3. Opened doors when it was raining to protect fans queuing for season tickets.

It will be interesting to see what happens when a new consortium has to dig deep to cover future costs of the club. Its members may wish they still had a benefactor. - D Kerriss, Bishop Auckland.

GEORGE Reynolds deserves a medal for all the money, hard work and effort he has put into the new stadium. Instead of working against him, how about the council, the people and the footballers get behind him to finish the wonderful work he has done?

A few car boot sales, pop concerts and after-school sessions for the younger generation can only help to make a bigger success of what he has already started.

Good luck, George. Hopefully sense will see your dreams come true. - Mrs Stanwick, Darlington.

ON SATURDAY we arrived home from shopping to find there was a football match on at the Reynolds Arena. We came via the A66 from Stockton and were horrified to find that the parking layby was full. Then we realised that there were cars parked all the way along the grass verges in both directions. If my husband was to park on the verges on any other day of the week, you can be sure he would very quickly be told to move.

What happens if someone comes along the road, needs to stop and then finds out the layby is full? If people park on the carriageway, you may be sure that it will be them who gets into bother and not the football fans who have caused the problem.

Is this just another problem that will be allowed to continue? Join it up with all the conditions that were made when planning permission was first granted and then just ignore it, or reverse it along with the rest? - ML Dunn, Darlington.

ROBERT KILROY-SILK

BRAVO to Nick Morrison for his put down of the arrogant and vain Robert Kilroy-Silk (Echo, Jan 13).

How this psuedo Valentino has appeared on BBC for 17 years is beyond me. Who is responsible for renewing his contract year on year?

I was delighted to read that Peter Mullen supported Kilroy-Silk as it confirmed to me that what I felt about this pretentious phoney was absolutely correct (Echo, Jan 13).

This is not about free speech, as his supporters would have you believe. In these troubled times in the Middle East it is vitally important that public figures do not indulge themselves by broadcasting their sordid prejudices.

We have a Race Relations Act, and I hope Kilroy-Silk is prosecuted and his programme is taken off the air. Mealy-mouthed apologies from him merely try to disguise his racist views. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

POOR Kilroy-Silk. Like most English speakers who are unable to understand Arabic, he will never know what the Arabs call him. - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

IT IS an absolute disgrace that Robert Kilroy-Silk is castigated while the mullah Abu Hamza continues his outpourings outside Finsbury Park Mosque every Friday and is given police protection to do so.

Can this really be England? Surely democracy means freedom of speech for all. Sadly not for the indigenous people, it seems.

Will we have any rights left in the end? - Rachael Hunter, Stockton-on-Tees.

I AM disgusted at the spinelessness of BBC chiefs in suspending Mr Kilroy-Silk's programme.

This is England and he is entitled to his freedom of speech without any fear of any recrimination whatsoever.

British and Commonwealth servicemen and women fought a war to uphold this freedom. - Andrew Fowler, Ferryhill.

TUITION FEES

THE comment about Tory leader Michael Howard's lack of an alternative on tuition fees (Echo, Jan 12) is a fair assertion. The Tories seem to have adopted a cynical political ploy rather than a fair and just solution to the problem of university underfunding.

I also believe that The Northern Echo's opposition to the Government's proposals is also questionable, as it assumes that more tax hikes are the way forward and that the more people we send to universities will benefit to us all.

Such ambiguity and blinkered thinking will be of benefit to no one, but the black hole where a lot of our taxes end up without a jot of improvement will grow deeper.

I am not a fan of Tony Blair, but I do believe that, on tuition fees, he has the best formula for everyone concerned.

It will give more students the chance to go to university. It is a more responsible approach for those who attend universities and the waffle that it will give the less well-off an unfair disadvantage is simply a lie.

As for those Labour MPs who oppose these reforms, they lack the responsible vision of their leader.

In my opinion, if those reforms do not succeed because of selfish MPs, I hope they get their just rewards at the next election. - John Young, Crook.

ST MARY'S COLLEGE

IT WAS interesting to read that St Mary's College, Durham, is soon to admit men (Echo, Jan 12). Our eldest daughter attended New Hall College, one of the two Cambridge colleges which are ladies only.

She recalls the fantastic reception they got from the crowds of tourists and bystanders as the girls marched for their graduation ceremony.

Of course, single sex is only relative. She recently met a fellow Cambridge graduate and, on finding out she had attended New Hall, he gave a wistful smile and said: "Ah, New Hall, my favourite college".

Nothing stays the same for ever. - Martin Birtle, Billingham.

LITTER

IT IS a sad reflection on some of today's schoolchildren that Asda has to ban them at lunch times because of the litter they create.

Does this mean that the Darlington Anti-Litter Campaign is not as effective as we are led to believe? - E Simpson, Darlington.