Darlington since 2012 – the story so far

2011-12

Tracing Darlington’s 2012 demise to the beginning requires examination beyond Raj Singh’s tenure, past predecessor George Houghton and even George Reynolds. Reynolds may have built a tribute to his own ego in the form of 25,000-seater money pit, yet his stewardship merely delayed the peril faced when he took charge in 1999 with Quakers £4m in debt.

Before him there were figures such as Mike Peden, Reg Brearley and Steve Morgan attached to the club during a period when a fanzine titled Where’s The Money Gone? was popular.

Further back, the early 1980s saw The Northern Echo’s sister paper the Despatch lead a campaign to save cash-hit Quakers.

Since time immemorial, whether at Feethams or the Arena, a wolf has been at the door.

But the major damage was done on Singh’s watch. Others may have had their fingerprints on the weapon, but he fired it. As a consequence he would not be welcome at Blackwell Meadows, and not only because he is now Hartlepool United’s chairman.

Under his stewardship Quakers were relegated from the Football League in 2010, won the FA Trophy at Wembley in 2011, during 2011-12 went into administration and on May 25, 2012 the Football Association decreed Darlington would play in the Northern League, a four-division demotion from the Conference, after being unable to agree a CVA with Singh.

The FA took the decision after fans who had bought the club for £100,000 – under the guise of Darlington FC Community Interest Company (since replaced by the Darlington FC Supporters Group) – were unable to transfer the football share from Singh (a notional ratification that enables clubs to compete in FA-affiliated competitions).

Some of the fans’ money was originally raised during administration in 2003-04 and held by the Supporters Trust. But in April 2012 and things looking bleak, that money was needed and a pivotal meeting was held among supporters. Around 25 or so, including Neil Raper, gathered in an upstairs room at the Travellers Rest in Darlington where they agreed to submit nominations for election at the forthcoming AGM to form a new Supporters Trust board, enabling to gain control of £50,000 which went towards purchasing the club from Singh.

But because Singh, as the main creditor, refused to agree a CVA – an insolvency procedure allowing a company to reach an agreement with its creditors regarding repayment - the club were treated by the FA as a new entity, not that their supporters see it that way and universally rejected the “1883” suffix.

2012-13

The first post-Singh season was a whole new ball game: New manager, new players, new rivals and new home.

The Northern Echo were proudly involved as kit sponsors while lifelong fan Denis Pinnegar became chairman as supporters answered a call to arms to become volunteers, taking a more active role than they had ever envisaged when previously following their club had meant little more than turning up and paying their admission.

Among the board’s first decisions was to find a home. Reynolds’ ridiculous Arena was deemed too costly, so after a brief flirtation with Shildon they agreed to be tenants at Bishop Auckland’s Heritage Park where fans soon adapted to their new surroundings. Winning most weeks saw to that.

They won 40 of their 46 matches, scoring 146 times and beating each team at least once en route to the title, the perfect way to begin the club’s journey through non-league wilderness.

Shildon, Newton Aycliffe, Billingham Synthonia and the like were on the fixture list in the first division of the Northern League, level nine on the football ladder.

A year previously Quakers had taken 9,000 fans when they won at Wembley in the FA Trophy, yet on a very damp day in August found themselves at Consett in front of 750 spectators. It was all part of the fun.

Martin Gray returned as manager to a club where he had previously been a player and coach, and he appointed familiar faces to his backroom staff in fellow ex-Quakers Brian Atkinson and Sean Gregan, while a shrewd move was making Harry Dunn scout, a wise old head with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the North-East non-league scene.

A squad of players almost all unfamiliar to Darlington fans was assembled, but they soon became heroes. Supporting players who had a ‘proper’ job during the week made for a novel experience, as suddenly fans were cheering, among others, gas engineer Gary Brown, part-time model Leon Scott and railway worker Steven Johnson.

Adjustments were required along the way with Stephen Thompson and Terry Galbraith each arriving for five-figure fees. Both remain with Darlington and are now club stalwarts with around 300 appearances each. Thompson, nicknamed by Brown ‘The Peterlee Gascoigne’ is now just one short of 100 goals for the club.

Gray got the best out of his squad, he had to in order to finish ahead of Spennymoor Town, who were champions three seasons in a row before Darlington put an end to their run by taking their title at the first time of asking with 122 points.

But the season was not without teething problems. A cash injection from the CIC of more than £50,000 was required after a shortfall caused by budgeting errors, a drop in revenue and an overspend on playing costs.

Martin Jesper replaced Pinnegar at the helm, and explained: “A combination of inadequate financial awareness, a shortfall in revenues and an overspend on playing costs have also contributed to the cash demand.”

Another issue was a 300-seat stand built at Bishop costing £50,000, Darlington then deciding against erecting a roof due to cost – seven years on it remains at Heritage Park as the club say it would not be too expensive to relocate it.

2013-14

The reward for promotion was a place in Division One of the Northern Premier League, rubbing shoulders with Harrogate RA, Prescot Cables, and Salford City, more of whom later. Trips to venues many Darlington fans were only vaguely aware of became routine, but such journeys were not without reward.

Thompson scored a hat-trick of fantastic goals in a 7-0 win at Burscough, a performance earning 10/10 in The Northern Echo, he also scored a blockbuster at Bamber Bridge, while a fixture on Merseyside remains memorable for those who braved it.

On a wet and windy November day, the rain coming into the stand sideways, was a visit to Cammell Laird where facilities were basic and the attendance 163. They should have sold ‘I was there’ t-shirts.

At least Darlington won that day as they did most weeks, though without enjoying the same level of dominance they had in the Northern League.

Gray freshened up the squad but not all of the signings worked. Ex Middlesbrough kids Curtis Edwards, who has recently won the Swedish league with Djurgårdens, and Bruno Pilatos had spells, as did Lewis Wing, who is now in Boro’s first team.

In 2013-14 he played in a heavy home defeat to Curzon Ashton, who would finished top, Darlington second and in the play-offs. They lost 2-0 to Ramsbottom United, then managed by Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley, who would later find fame when recruited by the Class of ’92…

2014-15

Still at Heritage Park though with Jesper and director Dave Mills in talks ongoing about moving back to the town at Blackwell Meadows, Darlington again finished second in 2014-15 but would go one better via the play-offs, a season in which they resumed rivalries with Spennymoor Town, but it was Salford who became the real enemies.

Taken over in March 2014 by a group of ex-Man United players and Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim, Salford were suddenly a stark contrast to Darlington’ fan-ownership model and chucked money at their club, finishing top at the first attempt with Johnson and Morley at the helm.

Quakers joined them in achieving promotion, beating Bamber Bridge with a routine win in a play-off final at Heritage Park, all the drama having come three days earlier in the semi against Spennymoor Town.

In front of 1,987 fans Darlington trailed 2-1 late on, but Liam Hatch equalised with his first touch and David Dowson nabbed a winner at the death, for what was then the best moment since Wembley in 2011.

They did not enjoy the same success in the FA Cup, however. Darlington had missed out on the FA Cup in ’12-13 and ’13-14, a consequence of the FA treating them as a new club due to Singh refusing to hand over the share, so they hoped for a money-spinning run in ’14-15. The run did not last long.

Having defeated West Auckland, they were then beaten by Blyth Spartans in another replay, Galbraith having missed a penalty at 0-0 in the first meeting. It set the tone for next four years.

2015-16

The win at Whitby. It is the memories of that game, at least until last week at Walsall, which are treasured more than any other since 2012 and it came at the end of 2015-16.

It was the culmination of a season’s work, it was the eighth match in 20 days after a raft of postponements, and it was 5-0 after 20 minutes.

It’s worth repeating that line: It was 5-0 after 20 minutes. The 1,804 attendance, most of them stunned Darlington fans, could not believe what they were seeing.

It was the penultimate match and a point was needed to secure the title ahead of Alun Armstrong’s Blyth Spartans after a titanic tussle, both sides recording over 100 points. Easy to forget now and looking back with Whitby finishing in midtable, before kick-off it was tense as it would be with so much at stake, but then Quakers cantered to a 7-1 win.

It was a fitting way to cap a fine season in which players such as Kevin Burgess, Phil Turnbull, Nathan Cartman and others all made a huge contribution, as well as the aforementioned Brown, Thompson and Galbraith, to earn their place in Quakers folklore.

Two highly satisfying wins were over title rivals Salford, recovering from being behind on each occasion to win 4-3 away and 3-2 at home, hammer blows for what was then the BBC’s favourite non-league club.

This was the season Dave Mills, known for his enthusiasm and dedication, suddenly stepped down as the club’s sole director citing health reasons. His surprise exit came just months after Martin Jesper stepped down as chief executive officer, so into the breach came John Tempest from the Supporters Group.

2016-17

After four years and 109 games, Quakers left Heritage Park and, after a huge amount fundraising amounting to £500,000, plus a grant from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund, headed home to Darlington midway through 2016-17 to become tenants at Blackwell Meadows.

Malcolm Cundick was project manager at Blackwell, and he said: “I am very, very pleased, because I have been working on this project for four years.”

“It is the culmination of a lot of hard work,” said director Richard Cook. “We are also looking forward to a long and happy working relationship with Darlington Rugby Club.”

The relationship remains a work in progress. All concerned were happy to be heading home, but Quakers have had 66 games at Blackwell now and plenty do not enjoy being there - there is not a single item of football memorabilia on display as the landlords will not allow it, instead flags are erected on matchdays must be removed after the game. The flat-standing meaning sightlines are an issue, the food sold in kiosks continues to receive mixed reviews and some boycott the bar due to the minimal amount of the profit their club makes.

For well over a year the club have been in discussions with Darlington Borough Council and Mowden Park Rugby Club over a potential Arena return.

Blackwell at least has the Tin Shed. It had been kept in storage by haulage and plant hire company TM Ward after they were tasked with dismantling Feethams, the home Darlington left in 2003, so 16 years later their foresight proved invaluable.

Otherwise, it is less a football ground and more an exercise in meeting the FA’s ground grading requirements, something Darlington fell foul of at the season’s end.

They finished fifth in 2016-17, but were banned from the play-offs as they did not have enough covered seats, an issue that has since been rectified after fans raising the bulk of the £132,000 cost.

The ignominious end to the season continued when Gray attempted to get Singh back on board. Fans were furious, many did not want his “dirty money” and he quickly thought better of it, but the writing was on the wall for Gray.

Amid the acrimony, David Johnston was appointed as chief executive in May 2017. Formerly managing director at Stansted Airport, it was seen as a step towards running the club in a more professional manner. “I’m not here for money,” he said.

2017-18

Over summer 2017 more of the fans’ fundraising was put to good use with significant work on the pitch costing £80,000, a FSIF grant covering half the cost, taking the total spent by fans on Blackwell to circa £712,000.

Results and performances on the pitch, however, were disappointing with Darlington 12th after 12 games and after the 13th Gray was gone. He went to full-time York City, an offer he could not refuse and in hindsight should have gone in the summer.

His squad building had been delayed by the Singh debacle, leading to some misguided decisions such as giving bleach-blonde misfit James Caton a two-year contract.

Nonetheless, Gray had guided Darlington to three promotions, the lowest final league position on his watch was fifth and we will never know if he would have secured another promotion had his team been allowed to compete in the play-offs.

Not popular with all supporters due to speaking to Singh, something he regrets and apologised for last year in The Northern Echo, his achievements are a matter of record and many a player in his time talked highly of his coaching, his professional approach and will to win being a driving force behind the club’s revival.

With Gray gone, Tommy Wright arrived in October 2017.

Popular as a player during his time as a Quaker and in the FA Trophy-winning team of 2011, as manager he started with one win in 12 games, Reece Styche’s goal help pull the team out of the mire.

Styche was Wright’s best piece of business. A strong, charismatic forward, the grifter with an eye for goal quickly became a fans’ favourite and was exactly what Darlington needed.

Typically, it was Styche diving into a mound of snow beside the pitch after scoring which led to the club winning a non-league celebration of the season prize.

That the game took place at all, at home to Chorley in January 2018, was entirely down to Darlington’s fans. Snow meant the game was in serious doubt, but around 100 supporters with shovels turned up early doors at Blackwell to clear the pitch.

2018-19

Wet and horrible. Those were the conditions on what was otherwise Britain’s best summer in many a year on the day Darlington staged what was meant to be a money-spinning friendly against assorted former Premier League players. A miserable day set the tone for a dire season.

The game was part of a prize won when the club topped an online poll for Styche’s snow-jump goal celebration, plus £20,000.

More money rolled in when fans responded to a Supporters Group initiative to bolster the manager’s playing budget, adding an extra £85,000 to Wright’s war chest, yet the final position of 16th fell well below expectations.

The poor results were a consequence of Wright bringing in underwhelming players, many of whom gave nothing like value for money.

The reality of being a fan-owned club without a sugar daddy signing blank checks hit home when, after an early exit from the FA Cup, Styche had to be moved on.

Purely a financial decision, but a necessary one in order to balance the books – if Quakers have learned anything from their scrapes with characters such as Singh and Reynolds it is that they must cut their cloth accordingly.

Around the same time came the appointment of Craig Morley as commercial director, the club’s first full-time off-the-pitch position. Darlington-born and bred, Morley has made his presence felt and there are now far more local businesses represented at Blackwell, a sign of progression for Quakers.

There was no progress on the pitch, however, and Wright departed after the final game of the season. He had 71 games, winning 21, losing 29.

Unperturbed by what had happened over the course of the season, in the 2019 boost the budget supporters again showed remarkable faith by digging deep to raise £100,000 for the next manager to invest in the team, taking the overall tally since 2012 to £1.4m.

2019-20

Alun Armstrong replaced Wright, after taking Blyth Spartans as far as he could in his first managerial job, the former Middlesbrough striker headed down the A1 for a crack at the Quakers job and he is making a real go of it.

They have more points, just, than at this time last season, but it’s the FA Cup that has really inspired supporters.

For all that has been achieved since 2012, they craved a cup run for not only the money that it generates, but also the thrill of seeing their team progress, a chance of glory – every year it was another team’s turn in the spotlight, why couldn’t it be Darlington?

Already Armstrong has won three FA Cup ties – the last Darlington manager to do that was Brian Little in 1989-90.

He has made wholesale changes, recruiting players from Blyth he knew he could rely on and the current squad are earning less than those they replaced.

Armstrong has repeatedly made it clear he feels a responsibility to spend the supporters’ money wisely.

He took the job on fully aware that Quakers do not rely on a philanthropic owner, there is no sugar daddy pumping money in arbitrarily, which, it must be admitted, some still harbour hopes for.

Some supporters retain misgivings about fan-ownership and long for a white knight to arrive and pay the bills, despite Darlington’s past being an example of what can happen in the hands of private ownership.

While money can be valued, what cannot be measured is the dedication shown by willing volunteers who have gone the extra mile and are worth their weight in gold.

There’s the ladies who look after the club shop during the week, the 50/50 ticket and programme sellers on a matchday, Allan Wilson spends hours after home matches doing unseen work tidying the place up, Chris Stockdale looks after the accounts, Kevin Luff films each game and edits the highlights, the DFCSG board members…the list goes on. All volunteers, all vital cogs in the wheel.

They have shown immeasurable commitment to Quakers and without these and many others since 2012 there would be no Darlington Football Club and it is because of their efforts they have a club to support and are able to look forward with relish to Wednesday’s sold-out replay with Walsall.