http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/9 ... ing__fans/

Interesting to see that only 150 people out of the 1,000 that originally invested, have done so.

We need an up to date totaliser that is updated every day, and lots of press.

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http://twitter.com/Quakerz72

It says in the Echo only of the 150 out of the original near 1000 investors have put money into the 2nd pitch. I take the argument about a lack of publicity for the general public, but that's not really an argument for Uncovered readers.

I only got round to investing yesterday which was purely down to laziness. I'm not judging but I was just wondering why people hadn't reinvested.

We need to get some momentum going again why don't we start a thread for people to post when they invested. Seeing people invest may convince more to dig deep into their pockets again.

I'm one of the 85% of fans who haven't yet re-invested into the new model.
The reason is, when the decision was made to leave the Arena it was reported that the 1883 board stated we would be back playing football in Darlo sometime during 2013 and indicated it would be at Blackwell Meadows.
This statement must have been made because a) there are firm plans to play in Darlo next year (or the year after) or b) it was BS simply to appease fans because we are moving out of town.
We must believe plans are in place, so therefore IMO the board should make it clear a likely timetable of events, how a ground will be funded, who will own the ground and what category of ground it will be.
With that information out in the open then I believe fans will start re-investing in numbers.

My head understands this but my heart says put the money in. I wrote the money off at the time once put in Crowdcube and to be honest it was the lowest you cound invest. I did prefer the Crowdcube model but I just want a football club that I can take my sons along to watch.

I do feel it will be self fulfilling and the more we hold off the longer the reality of playing in Darlington will take.

I personally think that with all the talk of us signing new players, season ticket prices etc... people have forgotton about the need for people to reinvest in the club.

Because it's not being screamed about, people think that they'd rather use that money to get a season ticket for the upcoming season. Little do they know, that if they don't use that money to reinvest, that there won't be a upcoming season!

The problem we have now is that its nearly time to purchase season tickets. Fans will no doubt be keeping tight hold of their investment to buy a season ticket. I had initially invested £600.00 but that was buying the shares as presents for others too but under the new model the investments are donations which we will never get back.

I'll probably reinvest £100 - £200 under the new model soon. What happens to our investments this time around if we don't reach our target?

A point of note in that Northern Echo article is:

" To join the CIC, fans have to invest a minimum of £100. In return, they are being offered benefits including access to exclusive events and forums involving the players and management, discounts on club merchandise, regular newsletters and priority booking for tickets."

I had no idea up until reading this that these benefits would even exist?!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

I think you are all missing the point, most people i have spoke to wont invest again as its not the same investment. Who wants to put money into a northern leauge team that they cant go and watch as a lot of the investors were older supporters who wont be able to travel to Bishop.
I know i going to be shot for this but this is not the same as the crowdcube model

my take on why people may not be putting in this time around could be because in the first pitch its shares. now some would see this as an investment and something they could maybe sell on at a later date if times got tough.
im not sure how CIC works but my understanding is that you get a certificate but its not a share. i could be wrong but if i think that then others may too that put into the first pitch but not this one yet.

the problem with getting momentum going is that we're in the close season.

we had momentum when the players we're putting in their heart and soul week in week out for nothing at all

it's hard to feel the same way when there's no football being played, and to be honest, no players getting ripped off.....not that i would advocate that happening I'm just saying that's why people did invest

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Wherever I may roam, Darlo is my home

if you're gonna treat me like a kid, i prefer my ass being slapped with a steel ruler

You never would have got back your 'investment' under the old model either. Unless the first target wasn't hit and the club liquidated.

At least under this new model you stand to maybe make some savings on retails and stuff in the future.

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Even if we kept the Crowdcube model we would still have been shafted by the FA and be in the NL (depending on the appeal) so cant see that as an excuse!

I think that's the crux of it.

People were investing before because there was something to save - a club in the BSP with the nucleus of a team playing in Darlington.

I know we're not a phoenix club (yet) but the level we're playing at and the fact we're playing out of Darlo means we've all but perished in many peoples eyes. How many other clubs at this level need £200K to begin the season?

To that end i can see why people aren't putting money in again, we're almost as low as we can go so they'll be thinking the money isn't really needed as there's nothing to save anymore.

That's exactly why the CC investement had to be returned, it's now nothing like what people inititally invested for.

However, there must still be 700 people who are interested in the club, it's those people who need to put £100 in the CIC and become vocal in the running of THEIR club. If there aren't 700 people interested and the 150 who have invested are the only ones who are bothered then we're in for a shock come August.

I don't think we can get anywhere near the £350K raised in Crowdcube but i'd like to think we can get another 600 people investing £100 in the CIC and raise around £60K, beyond that i can't see anymore, it'll have to come from sponsors/season tickets.

Perhaps we need to look at the current campaign and cut through some of the crap, basically telling people in no uncertain terms that if they want a say as to how their club is run going forwards they need to put £100 up now. A bright new era beckons and you can get on board now and have a tangible say in the running of the club for £100 - i know that's the general gist but it needs to be black & white.

I think it was highlighted over time if people wanted to and someone was willing to buy share/shares off them then this was possible. So you could of bought now and then if say Supporters Club were buying more shares and all had been sold they could purchase individuals shares over time up to 15%.

I actually wanted to transfer mine to my kids when they were 18 and I think others planned the same.

You could still buy shares direct in 1883 DTID - the minimum investment is £500, you just need to email 1883.

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Robbie Painter - http://twitter.com/RobbiePainter

Make that 151.... I'm in now despite my reservations.

I didn't invest after crowdcube as I really didn't like the model. I don't like that there's no clear ownership structure. I don't like that such a large amount if money is to be invested via loosely formed fans groups that were not and probably still are not set up to deal with such a role - I think doing it that way is really wrong.

I really liked the idea of having one member one vote and owning a share. Now I don't own a share and I have one vote in one of many groups and I am not sure how that translates into decision making. I'm not asking for an explanation or any "but you do get membership etc" I'm just talking about how it feels - I 100% see how this has failed to capture the imagination of the general Darlo public.

I know there are various arguments for going the CIC route but I really think 1883 should have done everything possible to put a similar deal forward. Would it have been possible to set up a different pitch via crowdcube? I reckon a similar pitch would have got around 75% conversion (figure pulled out of my a*** obviously).

Anyway I'm not having a go at 1883 I'm really pleased with the job they're doing and the way they are conducting themselves but I'm just disappointed that they made it so difficult / unappealing to throw £100 at the club.

Bang on mate.

We are a community club..... that is playing outside of our community.

I'm not being critical here because 1883 have done a great job and they had little choice but to leave the Arena under the circumstances.

But for many fans, the Northen League holds no interest and they certainly won't travel to Bishop to watch a mix of former pros, youngsters and lads who play both Saturday and Sunday League football.

It's a toughie to know the solution.

Ash you can invest directly yourself into the CIC without going through a fan group

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@Charliejovi on twitter

the solution is to back the future of the club, we have secured the history....now it's time to secure the future

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Wherever I may roam, Darlo is my home

if you're gonna treat me like a kid, i prefer my ass being slapped with a steel ruler

But for these fans, they want a professinoal club to support, in the league if possible. Sadly, there are only two ways they can achieve this - get behind the Northern League club that is based out of town, and bring it back to the town and back to the League, or altternatively, go and support York, 'Artlepools, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle or whoever. They will then at least get their League Club, although it won't be based in their town and they won't get to be part of something.

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But for these fans, they want a professinoal club to support, in the league if possible. Sadly, there are only two ways they can achieve this - get behind the Northern League club that is based out of town, and bring it back to the town and back to the League, or altternatively, go and support York, 'Artlepools, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle or whoever. They will then at least get their League Club, although it won't be based in their town and they won't get to be part of something.[/quote]

But we've been told there are firm plans to bring the club back to the town within one year.

What are those plans?

We need businesses on board and fast. Where's the money the Echo pledged - £10k last time (even though they only put in £3K) what about now? Where they lead others may follow, and they can certainly publicise the fact - "The Northern Echo - proud supporters of Darlington Football Club" might work?

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COME ON DARLO!

I understand that is a concern, and it concerns me too. I don't think it is realistic (and I suspect most don't), so they need to either let us know how they think it is achievable, or set out a realistic time scale.

But the long and the short of it is that if we don't back 1883 to deliver a return to the town, then it won't happen. Not within a year, and not ever.

I know £100 is a lot of money for some people, but isn't it worth gambling £100 on the existance of Darlington FC?

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We don't half like to make our older supporters sound useless and unfit, don't we?

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http://twitter.com/Quakerz72

what we need to do is find all the definitive reasons why people aren't reinvesting and answer the questions posed...for me, saving the club was motive enough....but i'm an exile, where we play next year isn't a massive concern to me and neither is playing in bishop this year....but there must be more reasons than those 2

As for gathering momentum, the club needs to show the fans it is still Darlington's team, it's all well and good holding an open day in bishop....but that's in bishop, not in Darlo, there needs to be a ''Darlington FC Day'' perhaps on a sunday in the market square where people can meet the team, manager and DFC1883, buy merch, ask questions and invest

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Wherever I may roam, Darlo is my home

if you're gonna treat me like a kid, i prefer my ass being slapped with a steel ruler

"They are working on it hard" - that is all they'll tell you.

As far as I can tell there will be no firm plan of any sort, the decision to move out of the Arena was a late one, forced on us by circumstance.

There will be no move back in one year or two, without a massive slice of luck and finance, of that I'm fairly sure.

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http://twitter.com/Quakerz72

The plan at the moment is to explore all possibilities, that's where it's at. You need to do groundwork before you can be sure it's the right route to pursue. It doesn't mean there is a firm plan, it just means that the plan is in it's infancy. A lot will also ride on the appeal so until that is finalised you need to keep a range of options open.

Like I said then!

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http://twitter.com/Quakerz72

Well yeah, but i don't see how anyone can expect them to be any further on, there isn't a magic solution and i don't think 1883 are proclaiming there is. They aren't miracle workers but are exploring possibilities of how we can get back as quickly as possible.

As long as there is a plan, which in the not too distant future identifies a single goal then i can take a couple of years away from Darlo, we will get to that point but we're certainly not there yet AFAIK.

A bit foolish to say we will be back in the town in a year then, of all possibilities hadn't even been explored then presumably they didn't even know that being back in a year was a possibility?

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I believe the quote was "the aim is to be back in the town in a year"