RAJ SINGH’S previous involvement with Darlington was a disaster. There is no point trying to sugar coat that, and even the former chairman would have to concede he made catastrophic errors that almost killed off the club during his three years in charge.

Players went unpaid, the administrators were called in, and even the Quakers’ subsequent re-emergence in the nether reaches of the Northern League was compromised by Singh’s refusal to hand over the club’s football share.

Given the acrimonious manner in which he departed, you would have thought Singh would have been the last person to show an interest when investment was sought. Once bitten, twice ready to run a mile.

Yet here we are, on the verge of a vote that is threatening to tear the newly-rebuilt Darlington apart, and Singh once again finds himself at the heart of things. Should the man who almost drove Darlington to the wall be allowed to play a prominent role in rebuilding them? Is Singh’s £40,000 pledge important enough to override all the angst and anger that still simmers amongst the Quakers’ fan base?

The answer is both yes and no. No, Singh should not be allowed to assume sole control of Darlington again. A legion of volunteers have not poured their heart, soul and no little money into keeping their football club alive, only to see it handed over to a businessman who will hardly be acting out of the goodness of his heart as he looks to make it more profitable.

But, yes, Singh should be allowed to invest in Darlington and become a prominent shareholder. That shareholding should never exceed 50 per cent, and if Singh is not prepared to accept that, then his motives for wanting to return can justifiably be questioned.

The Northern Echo: BID PRAISE: Raj Singh

But as long as he is willing to accept he is merely one of a number of key decision-makers rather than the lord and master of all he surveys, Singh should not be rebuffed because of his previous failings. The brutal reality is that Darlington desperately need investment, and at the moment, Singh is the only show in town.

Yes, there have been rumours of potential interest from Steve McClaren, David Hodgson and a number of other local figures. We have looked into them extensively, but they currently don’t stack up and so Martin Gray is right when he says it is effectively a choice between accepting Singh’s money and having a tilt at promotion next season or turning it down and undoing so much of the good work that has been enacted in the last five years.

Gray has been a fantastic figurehead for Darlington, both on and off the field, but he is an ambitious manager who has turned down a number of offers to remain with the Quakers. He wants to see the job through, but who could blame him if he felt he had taken the club as far as he possibly could in its current guise?

The Northern Echo:

The administrative error that meant Darlington were unable to compete in the play-offs was an unfortunate mistake committed by well-meaning volunteers, but it also smacked of amateurism at a time when Gray finds himself competing against clubs run with professional structures and budgets to match.

The manager shouldn’t call all the shots at a football club, and there will be those who claim Gray should be allowed to leave if that is the price of keeping Singh at arm’s length. Ultimately, though, that will surely be self-defeating.

Let Singh invest his money, but ensure there are rules and regulations in place that will prevent him from being able to make the kind of catastrophic decisions that proved so costly five or six years ago. Allow him to come up with ideas and proposals, but make sure they have to be supported by the rest of the board, and guarantee that board still has a powerful fans influence.

That will keep Gray at the club, and give Darlington the best possible chance of forcing their way back into the Conference. Crucially, though, it will not jeopardise the progress and stability that have made the journey from the Northern League so enjoyable.


**


WHO is to blame for Middlesbrough’s relegation? As Ben Gibson was right to point out in the immediate aftermath of Monday’s 3-0 defeat at Chelsea, it has to be regarded as a collective failure, although a personal opinion is that Boro would have had a much better chance of avoiding the drop had Aitor Karanka been dismissed sooner.

The rot had set in long before Steve Agnew took over, and with the benefit of hindsight, Karanka should have been sacked after last season’s nonsense before the Charlton game. From that point on, his authority in the dressing room was fatally undermined.

The Northern Echo:

Now, though, it is time to look to the future, and for all that the current campaign has been intensely disappointing, Boro will return to the Championship with every chance of bouncing straight back up.

They are financially stable and boast the core of the squad that was promoted last May. The key now is to appoint the right man to lead that squad, and for all that he clearly respects Agnew’s work in the last two months, Steve Gibson must have serious reservations about whether the current head coach is the right man to lead the fightback.


**


FOR once, everything is sweetness and light at Newcastle United. Well, possibly not quite, with the finer details of Rafael Benitez’s agreement with Mike Ashley still to be tested in the heat of an argument over transfer targets.

Things are undoubtedly brighter than they have been for a long time though, and having watched Benitez and Lee Charnley make a decent fist of restructuring things last summer, perhaps Ashley has finally accepted that he does not have all the answers when it comes to running a football club.

The Northern Echo:

Benitez has played a canny political game from the moment he walked into St James’ Park, and thanks to his achievements in the dug-out, not to mention the unqualified support he receives from the fans, he has always held the upper hand in negotiations.

Ashley might not have liked that, but he appears to have concluded there is no point picking a fight he cannot win. That can only be a good thing, and while Benitez will not be given a blank cheque this summer, he should have the freedom and finances to assemble a team that is capable of finishing well clear of the bottom three next season. Long may the Tyneside truce continue.