WELL, we are now well and truly through the looking glass. In a matter of weeks, we have gone from having returned to the town and challenging the playoffs to now not being allowed in the playoffs and facing the reality that moving back to the town took its toll on our finances and will continue to do so. Meanwhile, we were reasonably happy to plod on as a fans’ owned club but now there is the possibility of allowing outside investment and control once again.

I’ve got to be honest and say my own views on the matter of ownership have changed during this time of controversy and instability. For a long time, my take on the ownership of the club was that we should maintain and build on the fan ownership through a period of organic growth. It was never going to happen overnight but slowly and steadily, we could have achieved what we wanted.

So what has changed? I have generally trusted whoever has been in charge of the football club. Likewise, I trust Martin Gray. Throughout the last few years, returning to Darlington has been spoken of as both a necessity but also some sort of panacea to solve our seemingly annual financial shortcomings. When I have been told that, I have agreed with the logic and bought the notion. With that in mind, the first hour or so of last Friday’s fans’ forum was brutal.

After all of the unnecessary vitriol and abuse had been put aside, the financial update was brutal. I’m sure some will have been aware of the forecast losses but I wasn’t. To actually generate less revenue when crowds are up nearly 45 per cent and we’re in a more Darlington-appropriate postcode is enough to make the most ardent supporter of the fan-owned model think twice. There are obvious constraints on our revenues, most notably the 500 Club which took future revenue to help finance the development of Blackwell Meadows. With another four years of the 500 Club, we are going to face the same challenges in the coming year.

After all the negativity in the first hour or so of the forum, it’s fair to say that Martin Gray’s speech resonated with me. I needed it! While I was all for organic growth, as a fan-owned club, we are facing the prospect of taking one step back without any sense that the two steps forward will follow. While Fylde will be leaving this division, there is a strong chance that the league will be even more competitive next season. While removing such a large chunk of the player budget is financially necessary, the prospect of possibly dropping in to the midfield of the league or maybe even the bottom half would be a severe acid test of the various levels of the assumed ‘core support’. If we’re not breaking even on average crowds of over 1,700 in Darlington with its improved commercial opportunities, pulling lower crowds due to less appealing football will only amplify our financial problems.

So, with all that in mind, for me, the option of ending the fan-owned model if an investor finds circumstances viable should be given full and serious consideration. I’ve read throughout social media the suggestions on how such an arrangement should be governed. I’ve got to be honest when I say some of those don’t feel viable. We have to be realistic. I’m not a corporate law expert but even I know there is a strong likelihood that any deal would need at least a 75 per cent of the club’s shares. While the notion of a 51/49 per cent split is nice, I would be amazed if that is felt to be viable, regardless of what Martin Gray said at the forum. Our red lines have to be realistic.

Finally, there has been a lot of speculation about Raj Singh being involved. That would prove to be difficult. However, if he is involved, let’s hear him out. Let’s see what he has to say. That said, his plan would have to be bulletproof for him to receive my backing. I continue to hope that the investor/s are anyone but him.