An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

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richymidd
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An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by richymidd » Tue Jan 14, 2014 10:03 pm

It would normally be the Chairman....but therein lies the problem and another subtext of this post.

And a bit of context - I do understand what is going on with the club at the moment. I understand there are a lot of people doing great stuff, a lot of them for very little, or no, reward or recognition. I understand that this is the way it will be until we find ourselves with a home in the town, with some financial security and the basis for a sustainable, community club that can look to grow.

But that doesn't negate the fact that:

I really don't understand the club infrastructure at the moment and I don't understand what seems to be an inordinate number of fundraising schemes and mechanisms, who owns them, where the money is going and where I can best contribute.

This concerns me because there is probably enough goodwill around the club and town to make this happen but i fear at the moment it's destined to, at worst, all fall down or at best be a whole load more difficult than it needs to be.

Mr Chairman, the Board, anyone else who is in a position to respond and/or act: can we please have a succinct summary of the club position, with a clearly defined fund-raising channel that allows the people of darlington the opportunity to help return the club to the town and prosper.

I'm confident there'll be some negative responses below! Maybe I've been lazy, all the information i need is probably on this board somewhere and if i was that bothered i could have worked it all out.

The thing is, i'm a one club guy, i've been here years, i get to all the games i can, i help with cash where i can, i'm fully behind this community club notion and while enjoying the last couple of years i look forward to supporting a sustainable club, in the heart of the community that is run the way i think a football club should be as it climbs the pyramid.

Now if i can't be bothered to work it out by following every development on the official site or here, aren't there thousands of other people in the same boat? There are some dedicated people on here who follow, discuss, contribute to every development. There are thousands more who don't. Thousands more who may only have a passing interest but would throw a few quid in the pot if given the chance.

Maybe i've got this all wrong.....i don't think so, so i throw it out there.....

princes town
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by princes town » Tue Jan 14, 2014 11:39 pm

richymidd wrote:
But that doesn't negate the fact that:

I really don't understand the club infrastructure at the moment and I don't understand what seems to be an inordinate number of fundraising schemes and mechanisms, who owns them, where the money is going and where I can best contribute.
..
I agree cumbersome infrastructure and unbelievably confusing to a lot of people.

quakerfan
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by quakerfan » Wed Jan 15, 2014 12:56 am

There is an old joke that a camel is a horse designed by a committee , sadly there is an awful lot of truth in the comments launching this thread and I fear we may have got ourselves a camel when we wanted a horse , particularly with regard to fund raising arrangements . This is not said to put down the truly magnificent efforts of so many dedicated supporters of the club who have found themselves drawn into the task of keeping the club afloat and giving it a sustainable structure . In fact I do believe that we will succeed and climb the football pyramid , returning home to Darlington as we do so . Somehow we have to keep the faith with everyone doing what they can and it will happen , the path we are now on may not be exactly as we would have chosen had we started with the benefit of hindsight but the strength of the goodwill that is alive and well in the club's fanbase will see us through .

liamsears
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by liamsears » Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:42 am

I'm pleased I'm not the only one. I am an exile who doesn't attend any games but still have an interest in the club. I found myself sitting at the weekend wondering where I should donate a few quid that I had spare.

I read through the pitches on squareknot, only to realise that my money would only be taken when the target was reached (the money I have spare now may not be spare when the target is met).

I searched for a way of sending the money directly to the club (as in effect this is the money that most pay week by week to the club in attendance) but couldn't find a link.

I ended up dumping it into the Back to Darlo fund as that was the link I could easily find.

My original plan was that my money was for the day to day running of the club as I don't attend matches. Is there anyway that someone could sticky the ways of donating cash to the club so people like me can find them easily. Fortunately my money found it's way into a pipeline to the club, I could so easily have given up.

ted_do
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by ted_do » Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:11 am

richymidd wrote:It would normally be the Chairman....but therein lies the problem and another subtext of this post.

And a bit of context - I do understand what is going on with the club at the moment. I understand there are a lot of people doing great stuff, a lot of them for very little, or no, reward or recognition. I understand that this is the way it will be until we find ourselves with a home in the town, with some financial security and the basis for a sustainable, community club that can look to grow.

But that doesn't negate the fact that:

I really don't understand the club infrastructure at the moment and I don't understand what seems to be an inordinate number of fundraising schemes and mechanisms, who owns them, where the money is going and where I can best contribute.

This concerns me because there is probably enough goodwill around the club and town to make this happen but i fear at the moment it's destined to, at worst, all fall down or at best be a whole load more difficult than it needs to be.

Mr Chairman, the Board, anyone else who is in a position to respond and/or act: can we please have a succinct summary of the club position, with a clearly defined fund-raising channel that allows the people of darlington the opportunity to help return the club to the town and prosper.

I'm confident there'll be some negative responses below! Maybe I've been lazy, all the information i need is probably on this board somewhere and if i was that bothered i could have worked it all out.

The thing is, i'm a one club guy, i've been here years, i get to all the games i can, i help with cash where i can, i'm fully behind this community club notion and while enjoying the last couple of years i look forward to supporting a sustainable club, in the heart of the community that is run the way i think a football club should be as it climbs the pyramid.

Now if i can't be bothered to work it out by following every development on the official site or here, aren't there thousands of other people in the same boat? There are some dedicated people on here who follow, discuss, contribute to every development. There are thousands more who don't. Thousands more who may only have a passing interest but would throw a few quid in the pot if given the chance.

Maybe i've got this all wrong.....i don't think so, so i throw it out there.....
I can see where you are coming from, and for me the structure has never been right from day one, all these unelected boards spending fans cash, needing cash injections to keep going ……BUT, having thought, moaned, whinged and cried I can not see a better way of operating, think about it there is no easy way out of this mess (none of which is our doing).
I think that running this club can and will take over your life with some real risks as shown by Laura Drew “investing” a large amount of her own money to keep the club afloat. She could lose that probably her life savings how many of us would be willing to do the same (as much as I love DFC I would not)
Without a ground and without any real assets we try to repay historic debt, if this was not a football club you would say it’s a lost cause and needs winding up. But WE the fans will not let it die, so we must stumble along doing our best and hoping for a slice of luck like the Burn money and Blackwell Meadows opportunity.

What we really need is a DAD who will take over the debt, finance, running of the club then get/buy us our own ground and then gift it into trust for the people of Darlington. Sadly no one came forwards and our previous DAD`s were not very nice.

For me DFCs biggest assets is its fans and I think we need to concentrate our time and efforts in getting something tangible at Blackwell, I have already approached my firm and we are donating time and labour to sorting the pitches out and site drainage. Could we all do the same and give something to the club other than money.

Its going to be hard and we are not out of the woods yet, but there is a chink of light :thumbup:

quakerlady
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by quakerlady » Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:28 am

My main worry about all four pitches is the fact you have to be internet savvy to invest in them. Ok you can post cheques in to a couple of them but you would need internet access to find this out.

When we initially did the Crowdcube investment, one of the main group of investors was the older generation who came down to the Dolphin Centre with cash or cheques following publicity in the Northern Echo. I am not sure if all these folks took their money back out when the initiative failed.

We need more publicity and drop off points for these people again. I feel we are at the moment only tapping into a small pool of people who are getting 'donation' fatigue.

banktopp
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by banktopp » Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:31 am

I agree with a lot of the sentiments expressed especially the question of which fund to support, or indeed which fund is the most important.
In a funny sort of way the Dan Burn money came at the wrong time, just after the squareknot pitches were announced. Perhaps some people thought a windfall of £75,000 took away the need for more fundraising. Had the board known the Dan Burn money was coming, to give us breathing space on the cash flow side,would they have delayed the squareknot pitches in favour of 'Back to Darlo'?
Ring-fencing of the 'Return to Darlo' fund ?, I'm not sure either. The clubs survival depends on a speedy return to Darlington, but if the club can't survive then there's no point in developing the ground, catch 22. Funds to develop Blackwell and funds to secure the long term future of the club are intertwined .
If the squareknot pitches are not successful I should like to see one fund with clearly defined aims such as 50% towards Blackwell and 50% to the clubs coffers. I don't want freebies in the shop, and if I want hospitality packages I'll pay.

One Club, One Fund, One Aim. " Sustainability Back Home At Blackwell".

Mrs_Money_Penny
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by Mrs_Money_Penny » Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:43 am

On the squareknot site you can pose questions to the board & I believe it is the same on the Back to Darlo site but it is probably too hard to donate cash via those channels. Cash can be paid into the Uncovered Fund with Darlington Credit Union but I think a decision needs to be made about what those funds are intended for and probably should be made by the 6/7 individuals who have paid in to date.

Quakerz
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by Quakerz » Wed Jan 15, 2014 11:58 am

Ted, whilst I agree with some of your points, I really wish you'd stop droning on about "unelected boards", as if you've got the hump about it. Or as if it's a big deal, or shouldn't have happened, or is not fair, or whatever the fucking fuck you mean when you blart on about it.

Nobody should have the hump about the so called "unelected boards" because these people on the various boards were the first people to put themselves up there to be shot at, and actually DO something. If they didn't, then no one would have. Elections can and will be held as we go.
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by Mr_Tibbs » Wed Jan 15, 2014 12:36 pm

quakerlady wrote:My main worry about all four pitches is the fact you have to be internet savvy to invest in them. Ok you can post cheques in to a couple of them but you would need internet access to find this out.

When we initially did the Crowdcube investment, one of the main group of investors was the older generation who came down to the Dolphin Centre with cash or cheques following publicity in the Northern Echo. I am not sure if all these folks took their money back out when the initiative failed.

We need more publicity and drop off points for these people again. I feel we are at the moment only tapping into a small pool of people who are getting 'donation' fatigue.
The advantage back then was that we were riding a huge wave of sympathy and there was so much media attention that everyone knew about it and wanted to help.

I take my hat off to those who have done so much since we went into admin and who continue to do what they do, alongside their regular day jobs. It must be very tiring. I'd guess that they're all hoping for the day to come when the club can truly stand on its own two feet and look after itself, not knowing when or even if that will happen, so they just soldier on and take each day as it comes.

If anyone has any ideas about how to go about publicising it all a bit better - e.g. if anyone could come up with a more eye-catching poster than the one on the Back to Darlo website (sorry, it looks a bit "last minute") and post it on here for people to print out and stick in their windows or in their local shop window, then I'm sure the current board would be quite happy to have another little weight taken off their shoulders.

I've forgotten the name of the member here who did a great poster for the York game towards the end of the conference season. That was a very good one, or the guy who did that recent one which went viral.

The best results have generally come from people like yourself, who have an idea, test the waters a bit on here, then just go ahead and do it.

Got my scarf on today, btw :thumbup:
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ted_do
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by ted_do » Wed Jan 15, 2014 1:03 pm

Quakerz wrote:Ted, whilst I agree with some of your points, I really wish you'd stop droning on about "unelected boards", as if you've got the hump about it. Or as if it's a big deal, or shouldn't have happened, or is not fair, or whatever the fucking fuck you mean when you blart on about it.

Nobody should have the hump about the so called "unelected boards" because these people on the various boards were the first people to put themselves up there to be shot at, and actually DO something. If they didn't, then no one would have. Elections can and will be held as we go.
re-reading it I can see your point, that was not the context I was trying to show, which was I cant think of a better way of running the club or fund raising than what the club have done.

Fans need to look at what they can do to help our club get some foundations and stability this may not be always handing over money,

It’s a good job Jazz maverick is not around these days, he also likes a go :(

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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by olrad » Wed Jan 15, 2014 1:20 pm

Problem is you can't just turn up with a bucket and stand and ask for cash donations to be deposited in the BTD kitty. It needs official approval to be there in the first place, and as we have had 2500 fans through the gate at Bishop since Xmas that's a big miss. Also spoke to various people on Saturday that are unsure where or why to donate for the best so haven't as yet.....this will be most peoples default mode and one clear avenue needs to be pushed..and sharpish.

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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Wed Jan 15, 2014 2:02 pm

Got to say it's an excellent discussion and is needed currently.

I have enough interest in the schemes to know exactly what each is for and how to donate/buy shares or whatever I want to. However as many have said this is because as an individual I have sat and read the documents/websites even discussed with Board members, I would imagine 75% of our fan base of around 1400 or so won't have bothered taking anywhere near as much interest.

To be quite truthful they have probably gave up and just decided to turn up for the next match.

If the Dan Burn 75k has made us sustainable (which it should have) until the end of the season & if it only sees us through to the end then we can review ST prices/budgets etc. As it is widely acknowledged/believed that coming back to Darlo will generate so much more revenue turnover - then for me it's simple we should have one pot/one collection all going towards coming back to Darlo.

The Club and the CIC need to agree to focus all attentions on the one thing that will really get people enthused about fundraising, unless the club foresees further cash flow issues before we even get back to Darlo.

Once the initial 20k is raised the plan will be that particular elements will be split up and fundraised for. So in theory you could chip in for a fence panel or towards the new terrace, the idea being you will know what amount is needed and you can put towards particular things.

Also more chance of say Cleveland Bridge/Cummins for examples to be willing to pay for the stand to be moved from Bishop to Darlo (rather than put in 5k) if we can then throw in some naming rights of said stand etc.

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Spyman
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by Spyman » Wed Jan 15, 2014 2:36 pm

ted_do wrote: I can see where you are coming from, and for me the structure has never been right from day one, all these unelected boards spending fans cash, needing cash injections to keep going ……BUT, having thought, moaned, whinged and cried I can not see a better way of operating, think about it there is no easy way out of this mess (none of which is our doing).
I think that running this club can and will take over your life with some real risks as shown by Laura Drew “investing” a large amount of her own money to keep the club afloat. She could lose that probably her life savings how many of us would be willing to do the same (as much as I love DFC I would not)
Without a ground and without any real assets we try to repay historic debt, if this was not a football club you would say it’s a lost cause and needs winding up. But WE the fans will not let it die, so we must stumble along doing our best and hoping for a slice of luck like the Burn money and Blackwell Meadows opportunity.

What we really need is a DAD who will take over the debt, finance, running of the club then get/buy us our own ground and then gift it into trust for the people of Darlington. Sadly no one came forwards and our previous DAD`s were not very nice.

For me DFCs biggest assets is its fans and I think we need to concentrate our time and efforts in getting something tangible at Blackwell, I have already approached my firm and we are donating time and labour to sorting the pitches out and site drainage. Could we all do the same and give something to the club other than money.

Its going to be hard and we are not out of the woods yet, but there is a chink of light :thumbup:
Ted, as per Quakerz I can see some of your points, but also see some pretty big contradiction in what you're saying.

You are critical of the 'unelected board spending the fans money', but then suggest we need a 'Dad', by which I assume you mean a rich money-man to prop up the club?

What we're trying to get away from is one man or business propping up the club, as it seems that in most cases, all they do is prop the club up with fans money and then walk away calling in any money they might have put in to the club from their own pocket.

Yes, it is not ideal having a board that hasn't been elected, but no 'Dad' as you put it, would be elected either - so I don't see why having an unelected board is any different to what you're saying we need. At least the board have to report to the supporters, and are regulated by things like the CIC arrangement.

As an aside, I see Mr Allam down at Hull is threatening to call in a £70million+ 'loan' he's put in to the club over the last couple of years. That's money that he has approved spending on players etc. Just Radged Strings on a bigger scale.
On Sunday April 29, 2012 at 10:25 pm, Darlo Cockney wrote:Sadly some people have nothing better to do that invent rumours.

We will be playing at the arena again next season - fact.

Quakerz - if you actually attended games and spoke to people you might actually find our facts, rather than spreading s*** on this board.

DC

ted_do
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by ted_do » Wed Jan 15, 2014 3:50 pm

Spyman wrote:
ted_do wrote: I can see where you are coming from, and for me the structure has never been right from day one, all these unelected boards spending fans cash, needing cash injections to keep going ……BUT, having thought, moaned, whinged and cried I can not see a better way of operating, think about it there is no easy way out of this mess (none of which is our doing).
I think that running this club can and will take over your life with some real risks as shown by Laura Drew “investing” a large amount of her own money to keep the club afloat. She could lose that probably her life savings how many of us would be willing to do the same (as much as I love DFC I would not)
Without a ground and without any real assets we try to repay historic debt, if this was not a football club you would say it’s a lost cause and needs winding up. But WE the fans will not let it die, so we must stumble along doing our best and hoping for a slice of luck like the Burn money and Blackwell Meadows opportunity.

What we really need is a DAD who will take over the debt, finance, running of the club then get/buy us our own ground and then gift it into trust for the people of Darlington. Sadly no one came forwards and our previous DAD`s were not very nice.

For me DFCs biggest assets is its fans and I think we need to concentrate our time and efforts in getting something tangible at Blackwell, I have already approached my firm and we are donating time and labour to sorting the pitches out and site drainage. Could we all do the same and give something to the club other than money.

Its going to be hard and we are not out of the woods yet, but there is a chink of light :thumbup:
Ted, as per Quakerz I can see some of your points, but also see some pretty big contradiction in what you're saying.

You are critical of the 'unelected board spending the fans money', but then suggest we need a 'Dad', by which I assume you mean a rich money-man to prop up the club?

What we're trying to get away from is one man or business propping up the club, as it seems that in most cases, all they do is prop the club up with fans money and then walk away calling in any money they might have put in to the club from their own pocket.

Yes, it is not ideal having a board that hasn't been elected, but no 'Dad' as you put it, would be elected either - so I don't see why having an unelected board is any different to what you're saying we need. At least the board have to report to the supporters, and are regulated by things like the CIC arrangement.

As an aside, I see Mr Allam down at Hull is threatening to call in a £70million+ 'loan' he's put in to the club over the last couple of years. That's money that he has approved spending on players etc. Just Radged Strings on a bigger scale.
Here not wanting to go on and on, my thinking behind an owner/suggerdaddy would be best for Darlo is, we have hardly anything to lose, we don’t have a ground, a league place or a cash mountain to blow. Also I said a nice Dad, someone like Boro had with Steve Gibson and ICI.
But I suppose I have answered my own question and why no one came forward to save us as we don’t have a ground, league status and a cash mountain, so someone would have to take on DFC for philanthropic reasons and Darlo doesnt not seem to have many of these type of people.

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Robbie Painter
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by Robbie Painter » Wed Jan 15, 2014 4:29 pm

We've done the single owner model multiple times with Darlo - it does not benefit us in the long term. Once we get this debt down and get back to Darlo we'll be able to build a sustainable long term future for DFC.

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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by princes town » Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:26 pm

Is there a perfect football model.

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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by love it! » Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:36 pm

princes town wrote:Is there a perfect football model.
Yes. See the post by Robbie Painter

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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by lo36789 » Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:56 pm

So we need a multimillionaire supporter. Who is is happy to abide by Duncan Bannantyne's theory that the only way to become a millionaire from football club ownership is to start out as a Billionaire.

I don't want a 1 man ownership unless it was someone I knew was a long term Darlo supporter. Who I could truly trust wouldn't be loaning the money and had it just to give away. Even then I'd be suspicious since running a club is a commitment and anyone with that sort of money surely has their interests elsewhere!

There will be no financial return on investment. People are investing in the club, not for expectation of financial gain or a dividend and they are writing that money off. This club can run sustainably but only after a hefty initial investment which is looking close to £270k if I have done my sums right!

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Spyman
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by Spyman » Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:41 pm

lo36789 wrote:So we need a multimillionaire supporter. Who is is happy to abide by Duncan Bannantyne's theory that the only way to become a millionaire from football club ownership is to start out as a Billionaire.

I don't want a 1 man ownership unless it was someone I knew was a long term Darlo supporter. Who I could truly trust wouldn't be loaning the money and had it just to give away. Even then I'd be suspicious since running a club is a commitment and anyone with that sort of money surely has their interests elsewhere!

There will be no financial return on investment. People are investing in the club, not for expectation of financial gain or a dividend and they are writing that money off. This club can run sustainably but only after a hefty initial investment which is looking close to £270k if I have done my sums right!
I wouldn't want one single Darlo fan, no matter how rich.

Why should one life long fan get to make all the decisions? There'd be no objectivity. No accountability. Just decisions made based on their own opinion and preference.

The fan owned, run by committee, model is the only way forward.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
On Sunday April 29, 2012 at 10:25 pm, Darlo Cockney wrote:Sadly some people have nothing better to do that invent rumours.

We will be playing at the arena again next season - fact.

Quakerz - if you actually attended games and spoke to people you might actually find our facts, rather than spreading s*** on this board.

DC

charlie

Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by charlie » Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:13 pm

Being someone who puts the euro on and wanting to win and give some to Darlo, I agree one owner is not the route to go down, if I came into some money donation to the club would be the route to go down. We've come too far to let one person make the decisions

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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by princes town » Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:25 pm

I think the Swanses model may be the best fit run by a consortium of local businessmen with a Supporter Director elected by a fans group (20 per cent). They've never looked back.

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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by richymidd » Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:31 pm

I agree, fan-owned, group-run, sustainable football. I dislike so much about top level football these days and I just want this club to try something different and maybe even lead the way. If Blackwell is what we've got, then we do what we've got to do to get there, grow the relationship with the rugby club, and carry on.....

I do fully understand why we have the situation we have - my post was constructive critisism at worst, as i feel the path being trod, the messages coming out at the moment probably aren't the best. I'm in no position to 'complain' or 'critisise' cos i've done naff all to help the cause other than attend games, put something in the kitty and promote in my circles on social media. If this can help in some way then so be it......

So is there anything to be done to turn this thread into an action?

I guess the burn situation has stimulated board discussion as to how to proceed - is the club secure for the season? Should we risk all on the return to darlo?.......so how can we at least get these points of view across and into the mix. Even if they are already aware, or have a suspicion, no harm in reinforcing......

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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by Bogratsteve » Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:38 pm

The club are aware of the thread and are reading the comments

fat tony
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by fat tony » Thu Jan 16, 2014 12:54 am

Our football club needs to be fan-owned, with elected expertise in key positions. More than anything it else it needs to be sustainable - not just financial sustainability, but also building relationships in the community that will be sustained and nurtured to our benefit.

To me it feels like we are not too far off getting things right. There is a lot of good will and intention, a strong desire to rebuild the club, and a lot of positive vibes.

However I think the questions raised in the opening post are valid and confuse me as well, this in particular strikes a chord...
richymidd wrote: I really don't understand the club infrastructure at the moment and I don't understand what seems to be an inordinate number of fundraising schemes and mechanisms, who owns them, where the money is going and where I can best contribute.
I'm not afraid to say that I haven't given a penny to the recent initiatives yet; simply because I don't fully get which one is which, who's running what, and where/what my money will go to. I've chucked in to pretty much everything that has cropped up in the past because it all felt urgent and directed, but this time I haven't felt as keen to give.

I think a big part of that is being baffled by the fact a club with an average gate of just over 1k seems to have a fan-owned board, CIC, trust, supporters club, back to Darlo club, fundraising club etc. etc. with a series of different websites, twitter accounts and buckets to put money in.

I accept that as fans we need to get used to being in 'give' mode in some form or another for the forseeable future. By and large I think it's been that way since the Barrow coach this time two years ago. However I think a sense of cohesion and overall direction would be useful at this stage.

Put simply, I just want to feel as though I'm backing MY CLUB in what it is setting out to do - and not choose between some constituent part or group or segmented activity.

I hope the above is received in the sentiment in which it is intended - there is a lot of good stuff and enthusiasm out there which is great. It just feels like there is a piece of activity required that either unites the clans, or explains what all these groups/initiatives/roles etc. are ultimately for.

PS - sorry for saying 'vibes' early on everybody, it's a bit lame but I couldn't think of anything else.

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Mr_Tibbs
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by Mr_Tibbs » Thu Jan 16, 2014 6:18 am

Bogratsteve wrote:The club are aware of the thread and are reading the comments
Here's an organisation chart of how I see things...

Image

Seriously though, take a look at the one which Dorchester Town put in their business plan:

http://www.dtfcct.org.uk/documents/DTFC ... 013-14.pdf

Ok, that's not perfect either and our structure is quite different but could someone who truly understands the complexities of it all without having to look it up just draw something on a piece of paper so someone can turn it into a nice looking chart which should help most people to get their heads round it?
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Collect free donations for your club every time you shop the easyfundraising way:

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www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/dfcsg

John Tempest
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by John Tempest » Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:19 am

Mr_Tibbs wrote:
quakerlady wrote:My main worry about all four pitches is the fact you have to be internet savvy to invest in them. Ok you can post cheques in to a couple of them but you would need internet access to find this out.

When we initially did the Crowdcube investment, one of the main group of investors was the older generation who came down to the Dolphin Centre with cash or cheques following publicity in the Northern Echo. I am not sure if all these folks took their money back out when the initiative failed.

We need more publicity and drop off points for these people again. I feel we are at the moment only tapping into a small pool of people who are getting 'donation' fatigue.
The advantage back then was that we were riding a huge wave of sympathy and there was so much media attention that everyone knew about it and wanted to help.

I take my hat off to those who have done so much since we went into admin and who continue to do what they do, alongside their regular day jobs. It must be very tiring. I'd guess that they're all hoping for the day to come when the club can truly stand on its own two feet and look after itself, not knowing when or even if that will happen, so they just soldier on and take each day as it comes.

If anyone has any ideas about how to go about publicising it all a bit better - e.g. if anyone could come up with a more eye-catching poster than the one on the Back to Darlo website (sorry, it looks a bit "last minute") and post it on here for people to print out and stick in their windows or in their local shop window, then I'm sure the current board would be quite happy to have another little weight taken off their shoulders.

I've forgotten the name of the member here who did a great poster for the York game towards the end of the conference season. That was a very good one, or the guy who did that recent one which went viral.

The best results have generally come from people like yourself, who have an idea, test the waters a bit on here, then just go ahead and do it.

Got my scarf on today, btw :thumbup:
Agree with poster if anyone has the time and skills we would appreciate a well designed poster to get the message out there.

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divas
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by divas » Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:24 am

John, I sent you a message on here around a week ago re getting involved in driving the back to Darlo campaign. Have you seen it?

quakerlady
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by quakerlady » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:15 am

After reading some of the above comments. I have been wondering if we should have an open day at Blackwell. Open to everyone in Darlington, promoted by the echo. Maybe players their training, Under 18 game on, whatever we can organise on a day the venue is available.
Plans up for view, people there to explain all the fundraising schemes, forms to sign up, merchandise on sale. Any thoughts?

Bogratsteve
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Re: An open post to......someone, but I don't know who......

Post by Bogratsteve » Thu Jan 16, 2014 8:47 am

quakerlady wrote:After reading some of the above comments. I have been wondering if we should have an open day at Blackwell. Open to everyone in Darlington, promoted by the echo. Maybe players their training, Under 18 game on, whatever we can organise on a day the venue is available.
Plans up for view, people there to explain all the fundraising schemes, forms to sign up, merchandise on sale. Any thoughts?
That sounds like an excellent idea, coupled with a auction/raffle where you could buy tickets/enter online to involve exiles and also people from other clubs who want to help the cause

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