Martin Gray makes his first return to Darlington with York City, three months after resigning from a club he was manager at for over five years. He took charge of 258 games in that time, winning far more than he lost and taking the club to three promotions, but it was not all plain sailing. Deputy Sports Editor Craig Stoddart looks back on the notable moments of his tenure

June 2012

NEW RECRUITS

HAVING been appointed Darlington manager on May 27, 2012, Martin Gray soon began building a squad from almost scratch. Following the previous season’s financial implosion he had inherited only two players – John McReady and Phil Gray – and his first tranche of signings saw six new additions.

Only four were available for the picture, however, taken at Hardwick Hall, Sedgefield. Lining up alongside Brian Atkinson (assistant manager) were Shaun Reay, Daniel Mellanby, Darren Richardson and Jamie Clarke and Gray. The other two signings were Dan Smith and Adam Nicholls, but none of the six remain with the club today.

August 18, 2012

NEW SEASON, NEW ERA

DARLINGTON began their new beginning with a 3-1 win over Bishop Auckland at Heritage Park, Arjun Purewal having the honour of scoring Quakers’ first goal.

Also on target were Reay and David Dowson, two players who had previously been with the club, the latter going on to play a significant role in the Gray era. Gary Brown and Leon Scott both played and are still with the club.

Gray’s first competitive game saw him in a shirt in the dug-out, but he soon changed to a tracksuit and the squad, a work in progress, would change too, with a number of players arriving as the team improved. Joe Tait, Craig Gott, Jonny Davis, Steve Thompson, Mark Bell and Terry Galbraith all arrived after the season started and went on to play major roles.

April 27, 2013

CHAMPIONS

AFTER a titanic tussle with Spennymoor Town, who had been Northern League winners the previous three seasons, Darlington came out on top, claiming the title with a game to spare and eventually finishing on 122 points.

Gray was held aloft by Chris Porter, reserve goalkeeper, at Heritage Park after the penultimate match, a 3-1 win over Team Northumbria.

Four days later the curtain came down on the season with a 3-0 win over Guisborough Town, Amar Purewal – Arjun’s twin – adding a bit of symmetry by scoring the final goal.

September 2013

DISAPPOINTING SIGNINGS

IT is inevitable that not every signing a manager makes proves worthwhile, but not getting the best out of players who flourished before or after Darlington became a regrettable trend.

Perhaps most notable was Andy Johnson, a regular scorer at Bishop Auckland but released after just eight appearances in 2013.

Others to have come and gone without making an impact included Nathan Thomas, Lewis Wing, Paul Robinson, Nathan Fisher, Curtis Edwards, Rob Youhill, Dale Hopson and Scott Fenwick.

April 30, 2014

PLAY-OFF LOSS

THE second season saw Gray add a number of players to his squad, Chris Hunter, Chris Moore, Robinson and Johnson among them. Some signings worked, some didn’t, with Edwards and Bruno Pilatos falling into the second category.

While Darlington were among the promotion contenders in the Evo-Stik First Division they were unable to make it two promotions in a row.

They finished second, nine points behind Curzon Ashton, and in the play-off semi-finals lost to Ramsbottom United, managed by Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley.

January 31, 2015

RED LETTER DAY AT SALFORD

BY the midway point of the following season Johnson and Morley had taken charge at the by now financially powerful Salford, the teams going head-to-head in the title race.

They met on a chilly day at Moor Lane, a crunch clash, tempers frayed and Johnson and Morley again got the better of Gray, their team deservedly winning 2-0 to tip the title race in their favour.

Quakers’ Alan White and Adam Mitchell were both sent off, while Gray and Brian Atkinson were dismissed too.

May 2, 2015

GOING UP

A YEAR after falling short in the play-offs, this time Gray guided Darlington to promotion, beating Bamber Bridge in the final.

It was a straight-forward win, 2-0 with goals by Nathan Cartman and Graeme Armstrong, overshadowed by the drama of the semi-final against Spennymoor Town three days earlier. A five-goal thriller saw Quakers snatch it at the death with goals by Liam Hatch and Dowson.

Again Quakers finished second in the table, behind Salford, a club with which Darlington would continue their rivalry the following season.

September 12, 2015

CUP UPSET

GRAY trudging across Heritage Park after a deeply disappointing defeat in the FA Cup to Hyde United was a forlorn sight, and it summed up the club’s poor record in cups during his five-and-a-half-year tenure.

A failure to progress in any of the cup competitions would become a defining characteristic of Gray’s Darlington days, missing out on both the excitement such a run generates as well as the prize-money on offer.

April 21, 2016

THE TITLE WIN AT WHITBY

IT was 5-0 after 20 minutes, and that just about sums up a crazy end to an incredible season, which climaxed at Whitby Town.

Following a rash of postponements the final 19 days of the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League season saw Quakers play eight games, yet Gray managed to get the best out of his weary players to keep the pressure on Blyth Spartans and ultimately overtake them.

The seventh of those eight games was at Whitby when Darlington needed a point to win the title, yet strolled to a never-to-be-forgotten 7-1 win, Armstrong scoring a hat-trick – one of the best matches in Darlington’s recent history.

June 2016

TOP MAN

GRAY was presented with the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League manager of the year gong at the end of 2015-16 season awards in recognition of the team’s title win. They finished with 104 points, five more than Blyth.

April 8, 2017

ALL FOR NOTHING

AFTER a home win against Tamworth the players were told in the changing room that not having enough covered seating would cost the club a place in the play-offs. They would finish the season in fifth, yet their efforts had been wasted, and Gray was fuming.

April 21, 2017

FANS’ FORUM

THIS was the evening Gray lost the support of some fans, a section of which believe he should have been sacked for his conduct.

Unbeknown to the club’s directors, for several months he had been in talks with former Darlington Raj Singh – though he was not identified on the night – about potentially putting money into the fan-owned club.

Given the manner in which Darlington had missed out on the play-offs, and with three promotions on his CV, Gray felt he had licence to say and do as he pleased.

September 30, 2017

ALL OVER

A 1-0 loss at Curzon Ashton, combined with York City’s defeat to South Shields in the FA Cup, brought to an end Gray’s reign.

The Curzon match had made it one win in his final 11 matches, a sorry way to end what had largely been a successful period in Quakers’ history.