Darlo Uncovered

Wanting to add my two pence worth to this fantastically emotional thread - started with a breathless piece of work. Darlo have been a club synonymous and ever present to my own side throughout my three decades of following lower division football; and visiting Feethams used to be a highlight of the calendar, back in the day.
When our clubs both reached Wembley last year it genuinely pleased me that a similar club and group of people would have a deserved day out in the smoke: a club and fans that deserved some fortune after years of nonsense; fans that were proper dyed in the wool sorts from a club that had seen better days, gone through their own version of football club abuse, and were hopefully - like my own club - beginning to see shafts of hope through the gloom.

What's happening to Darlo hits all clubs like ours like a hammer to the heart. Fans of clubs that are struggling for breath in times of a lingering austerity for clubs down on their luck and finding themselves free from the security of the football league. What's happening to relegated clubs, often finding themselves in the non-league via a legacy of malpractise is nothing short of scandalous; one that the authorities do not give a monkeys bright pink arse about, because Darlo and the like aren't Manu, or Arsenal, or Chelsea, or Liverpool etc etc - these clubs and their survival are an irrelevance - try telling that to the communities that lose a vital local commodity, a national presence, a past time and over a century of history. Football in this country stinks, and the wiff ain't rising, but sinking from the very top.

Darlington FC have my very best wishes, not just now in the next 24 hours, or this week, but in the distant future, whether that's as your current guise or a phoenix club; one day I'll return to County Durham to see my side play: a proper game, at a proper club, supported by genuine real supporters.

God bless you and may good fortune come your rode.

DoomMerchant (Mansfield Town FC)

I know it's not much, but for what it's worth I'm sorry to hear about the troubles Darlington are having - you should all raise your voices and be proud of what you are a part of.

The good times, the bad times, and everything in between - every football fan knows how that feels and it's the one thing we can all share and understand without needing to say a word.

Best of luck to you all, you have our support.

RenegadeDS (Crewe Alexandra FC)

I just want to wish everyone involved at Darlington FC all the best of luck for the future. Northampton Town almost lost their club and I can't imagine to know how it feels having losing your club on the brink of non-existance.

I hope you guys take the good book out of AFC Wimbledon and see how far they've come, and you guys can do the same, with the right mentatlity and effort, anything is possible.

I wish you all the best of luck.

As for the original post, that was very well written, and certainly sent shivers down the spine. If everyone involved with the club has the same attitude, then I expect to see AFC Darlington back in the league in the future.

All the best.

DHCobbler. (Northampton Town fan)

As a Palace fan, I can empathise with Darlo fans, with Palace having been in administration twice in recent years.
I have been to watch Darlo at both the old and new grounds as part of doing the 92. Have a bit of a soft spot for the club as my wife is from Saltburn and her late parents used to take the weekly Darlington paper (can't recall it's name).
Clubs like Darlo represent real football, with almost all fans having some sort of geographical link with the town, even if it is second or third generation and from thousands of miles. Being a Darlo or a Palace fan means being part of a special family. In contrast, most Moan U "support" the team because they win trophies.
I desperately hope that Darlo survive and just wish that the greedy teams in the Premiership might just spare a thought and a minuscule portion of the players' wages to help save the Quakers.

Plymouth fan here.

The OP is truly incredible and really moving - it is what makes football so special. The passion of your supporters in your club's darkest hour deserves far more recognition than it gets. I bet 90% of the glory hunting plastic premier league fans have no idea that this is even happening to your club, and would just laugh if Darlington were mentioned, giving the usual "who cares, sh*t small town club" etc. This is where proper football is - not teams full of players earning huge wages, making a name for themselves in front of the tv cameras, who think a "crisis" is losing two games in a row, but fans who know the true meaning of "the bad times" and will do anything to stop their club from falling.

As a Plymouth fan, Darlington played a part in two of the greatest moments in our recent history - our only visit to Wembley in '96, and clinching the title in '02. We were so nearly liquidated, and we managed to pull through. I hope with all my heart that you do the same.

Up the Darlo.

I agree with the comments above. Radio 5 last night a great exmaple of crap football programmes in the media. Spent house talking about this player and that player of the top 3 clubs. The focus of the whole programme should have been about Darlington. As a real football fan (west brom) I'm interested in all football teams as are most of my friends who support all different teams including chelsea and arsenal, liverpool, newcastle etc. All we have talked about the last week is Darlington's plight, not whether City will miss Yaya et al. It's a shame the media don't serve the general population better, if they did you guys would have got much more coverage and probably a decent couple of wealthy gents to make a donation / purchase of your club. Sad that with so much money in the game, other clubs couldnt help out more or even individual wealthy players. Good luck anyhow!!!!

Doncaster Rover in peace here

I always watch out for Darlo's results after meeting so many of your great fans and enjoying the many times I've watched our games and feel absolutely distraught at the way your club has been treated by your previous chairmen. I hope it doesn't come to exitinction however I hope we've and wimbledon have shown that theres light at the end of the tunnel whether you get saved or you start afresh.

And after reading the kind words from the other fans around the UK and world, I think the Liverpool fans have the right words for you when they say 'You'll never walk alone'.

Good luck for the future Darlo fans

Rovers (and Darlo) till i

p.s Thought you might like to see our support : http://www.drfc-vsc.co.uk/index.php?opt ... Itemid=108

Hibernian fan here wanting to wish you guys all the best in your fight for survival.

Read the opening post on this thread and was captured by the passion and pride that the Darlington fans have for your team.

Keep fighting - all true football fans are with you

Everton fan here lads, I really feel for you. We have our own issues at the moment but I can't comprehend what you are having to deal with.

I'm from Chester and seen my local club go through something similar a couple of years ago, I hope you can come back in some capacity like Chester have.

All the best for the future. This should not be happening to clubs in the modern age.

Good luck.

Hi, Kettering fan here.We seem to be in very similar circumstances albeit that the Darlo situation is somewhat more advanced.
Our situation could crystallise any day now.At least your Chairman did something by calling in administrators.Our Chairman is subjecting the club to a slow painful death, by not doing anything- including paying NO ONE- and not treating offers to buy the club with any respect or haste.
The two Club's situations this time ( and yes we have been in administration before albeit 20 years ago) are too similar given the profile of the two Chairmen.
I just hope for all of your fans, that something is sorted tomorrow.If not then start again and never let your club be dominated again by one person.
Good luck and hope that the last game of the season on 28th April does go ahead.If it does, even if both clubs are being relegated, it would be a great day for celebration as both clubs will have survived to fight another day.

Heartbraking post, so near to the same thing here at Argyle.

I hope that you can find a solution to your problems and survive for another 129 years.

Please don't give up, hope to hear some good news soon.

Spurs fan all the way from North Carolina here.

Nice to see that I am not the only one hopelessly in love with my teams and prone to writing about it, as I often feel. This is downright brilliant.

I have retweeted this and made it my Facebook status- the Quakers (slighted fans especially) deserve all of the press they can get!

Many congratulations upon reaching the deal (had Peter Barrow's twitter up while note taking in class I was so worried), and hoping that this need not be repeated after the York fixture!

Burgess Hill Town fan here from the depths of the Ryman League.

Here's hoping that fan power can win, always sad to see a club on the brink but keep fighting! Hopefully a good crowd will attend your game on Saturday

Dan (Burgess Hill Town F.C)

That was an emotional thread and I feal quite helpless.

We have seen at matches around the country recently fans unite in applause for real reasons. I don't know how far I can take this or how much I will be heard, but I will email the local newspapers in Wigan, email the club and will ask why is this being allowed.

Played City Monday night and it's scandalous the money some of these players are on whilst some of our football clubs are being allowed to suffer. The premier league is no more than a joke, with more cheating, bias and downright disrespect. Who ever decided to introduce that instead of keep with 4 simple divisions should hang their head in shame.

We play QPR away at weekend and I promise all the fans from both clubs will unite in applause for you.

Only a small club Wigan, but watched by 62million each week. I will do everything in my power to ensure each one is speaking of you.

Accrington Stanley Fan

I have be watching the news over the last week or so and reliving nightmares of when our club came so close to dying,we were very lucky and in the dying hours a local business man came in to save the club.

I will never forget trying to explain to my very small daughter that she may not have a football club come the morning,at 8 yrs old she walked 15 miles to raise money to what we thought was our last game,it was hammering with rain and the wind nearly blow her over,she even wrote a letter direct to the Taxman asking them to give the club a chance,held carboots,saved all her sweety money and donated part of her birthday money,so I really do understand the pain your fans are going through.

I count us lucky as the man never pretended to know what he was doing or how to run a football club but loved the club and was in a postion to save us,yes we have hit hard times and lost staff but we running along skint yes but we are still alive and growing as a club,its a good job the man wasnt in it to make money,ASFC is run on so much good will but I would rather have a club full of good will and great people than the money grabbing clubs with 1000s of armchair fans!

When the news broke today that you had be given a chance to live on as a club it brought tears to my eyes,yes a softy but lower league football is real football and something that should not be lost.

Good Luck to you all from one family football club to another!

I know theres not many of us, but Wigan are fully behind you. We weren't in a disimiliar situation to yourselves a good few years back until Mr Whelan came and saved us. Im praying that someone see's sense and will do the same for you.

Posted that post on all the Wigan forums, getting nothing but support from us. Remember, if you do go out, go out with a BANG!

COME ON THE DARL!

This thread should never end .
It gets the views of true football fans from what ever clubs singing from the same song sheet.
It should make the leaders of our great game sit up and take note of how true football fans feel.
Not just the big clubs but all the way down to none league teams .
Let us keep pushing this and the word will filter out anyone reading the tittle post must get a lump in their throat even if it just a memory of going to a game with family or friends,remember the first game you attended some are hooked for life . Bring back that memory and attend a game at your local club. It is not just about Darlo it is about every teams survival.
First we save Darlington then help any club who needs it , if we shout loud enough eventually someone will listen to what true fans wish for the home town clubs.

Hello,

A Stockport County fan here. I've been keeping track of your club's situation and just wanted to add my support to this email thread, which does more to demonstrate the passion people feel for a football club than any badge-kissing centre forward can ever come close to. My own team have stumbled from crisis to crisis in recent times and its not hard to foresee a similar situation for County to that playing out at Darlo. We're in a situation where we may benefit this season from Darlo and Kettering folding, as it may prevent another relegation, but no true football fan wants their team to avoid relegation that way. I really hope both teams survive and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that come May 2012 we're all still in the BSP.

Just to add to the memories others have shared - I have a County goals of the season video from the 91-92 season and there is some classic amateur video footage of our defeat at Darlington that season, featuring a very shaky camera positioned almost too low in the crowd to record any of the action, an angry local pundit after our defender is red-carded for elbowing and footage of a goal from Steve Mardenborough. We have also both witnessed the footballing genius of Super Alun Armstrong - one of our best ever players.

Best wishes Darlo fans - keep up the fight.

Bump.

shameless bump ( someone at work couldnt find it!)

MKDarlo wrote:shameless bump ( someone at work couldnt find it!)

You weren't Winston Churchill's speech writer by any chance?

QuakerPete wrote:

MKDarlo wrote:shameless bump ( someone at work couldnt find it!)

You weren't Winston Churchill's speech writer by any chance?

Can you tell us anything Pete

Why was it unstickied?

Also not forgetting some of your earlier work MK! viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14612&p=179601&hili ... ay#p179601

QuakerPete wrote:

MKDarlo wrote:shameless bump ( someone at work couldnt find it!)

You weren't Winston Churchill's speech writer by any chance?

he didnt need my help! Might quote him next i think!

Unstickied it while I was tidying up as the view count had slowed down and most of the traffic to the thread was coming via direct links anyway - so even if it wasn't stickied people would find it. Sorry it this wasn't a popular decision....

comeondarlo wrote:

QuakerPete wrote:

MKDarlo wrote:shameless bump ( someone at work couldnt find it!)

You weren't Winston Churchill's speech writer by any chance?

Can you tell us anything Pete

Tend to stay on the outside of the group and let the guys get on with what they do best - I do know they are still working extremely hard to ensure that every avenue is explored and won't give up until whatever outcome is reached.

I'm like every Darlo fan really - fingers crossed that an accommodation can be reached which will satisfy everyone. Don't want to see the club close down after these 129 years of history - at Feethams where I first took both my boys as small toddlers and who now tower above me as grown men - we can still be seen together at the games.

Think we've all now seen how important the club is to fans, community and town - just hope those at the centre of all this can appreciate that importance and history we've all shared together over the years and allow the club to move forward.

mikkyx wrote:Unstickied it while I was tidying up as the view count had slowed down and most of the traffic to the thread was coming via direct links anyway - so even if it wasn't stickied people would find it. Sorry it this wasn't a popular decision....

I wasn't critcising mikky, was just curious!

thought i best bump this - we might need some more support!

Re-stickied!

Cheers, mikky