Darlington FC

mdd2 · Post by **mdd2** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 11:20 am

They finished 5th in National League North 2 points ahead of Chorley FC who finished 6th and just outside the play offs. However it is Chorley and not Darlington who join Kidderminster Halifax and Salford City in the play offs.
Ralphpom used to have his finger on the non-league pulse, not sure he posts now or if he does he may have changed his user name.

MDWat · Post by **MDWat** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 11:21 am

Their ground doesn't meet the requirements

minnieclaret · Post by **minnieclaret** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 11:24 am

as post 2. A lack of seats in the ground they've just moved into back in Darlo.
Football should be about football not effing seats.

mdd2 · Post by **mdd2** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 11:25 am

Thanks MDWat. What do you need to have to be in Nat League? is it the same as the FL?

wilks_bfc · Post by **wilks_bfc** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 11:26 am

How does their ground not meet requirements?
They had a new ground built recently or have they moved out following the Reynolds case?

Edit:posted whilst Minnie replying

TeesClaret · Post by **TeesClaret** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 11:33 am

The Reynolds Arena (now called the Northern Echo Arena) is the home of a local rugby union team. Darlington 1888 F C moved back to a new ground in Darlington this season after playing outside the town for a number of years. Somehow someone seems to have made a cock up in that they have moved to a new ground but didn't factor in the number of covered seats they needed for the Conference.

tim_noone · Post by **tim_noone** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 11:36 am

Shame how theyve fallen...enjoyed going there.

randomclaret2 · Post by **randomclaret2** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 12:35 pm

They finished above Stockport...who sadly narrowly missed out on the playoffs.

Bordeauxclaret · Post by **Bordeauxclaret** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 12:49 pm

The irony of Darlington not having enough seats.

Quicknick · Post by **Quicknick** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 12:57 pm

I particularly enjoyed my one trip to Darlington for a match. Not the result, though. 5-3, I think. Or maybe 5-2-

Colburn_Claret · Post by **Colburn_Claret** » Sun Apr 30, 2017 1:07 pm

They moved back to Darlo half way through the season. They are now sharing with Darlington RFC. Part of the move involved putting on some seating, but they didn't realise until too late, that these seats had to be covered.
If they'd stayed sharing with West Auckland they would probably have been OK.
I've been to watch them a few times at West, always a good day out, and their fans have been terrific. A great shame as things could go badly wrong from here, they need 80,000 to avoid it all falling apart and promotion would have been a God send.

ralph · Post by **ralph** » Mon May 01, 2017 8:25 am

mdd2 wrote:They finished 5th in National League North 2 points ahead of Chorley FC who finished 6th and just outside the play offs. However it is Chorley and not Darlington who join Kidderminster Halifax and Salford City in the play offs.
Ralphpom used to have his finger on the non-league pulse, not sure he posts now or if he does he may have changed his user name.

Hello Mr D , I don't post much these days apart from the historical stuff as Mr PP has been a full time member of the medical staff at BFC for a few years now and spends a fair amount of time with the first team so I have to keep my mouth shut/fingers away from the keyboard

the temptation to post on the pre-season thread or the new kit thread is there but I'm behaving myself I'm afraid

...

ralph · Post by **ralph** » Mon May 01, 2017 8:48 am

Colburn_Claret wrote:They moved back to Darlo half way through the season. They are now sharing with Darlington RFC. Part of the move involved putting on some seating, but they didn't realise until too late, that these seats had to be covered.
If they'd stayed sharing with West Auckland they would probably have been OK.
I've been to watch them a few times at West, always a good day out, and their fans have been terrific. A great shame as things could go badly wrong from here, they need 80,000 to avoid it all falling apart and promotion would have been a God send.

That was a good trick as they never shared with WEST Auckland

quiet afternoon out eh ?

...they were at Heritage Park - Bishop Auckland

edlass · Post by **edlass** » Mon May 01, 2017 8:57 am

I was at the Salford - darlington match at the weekend. at 1-1 they were chanting. "you're staying down with the darlo". unfortunately for them they got hammered 5-1 in the end and Salford made the playoffs.

great away turn out for a team knowing they had nothing to play for.

Tribesmen · Post by **Tribesmen** » Mon May 01, 2017 9:30 am

ralph wrote:Hello Mr D , I don't post much these days apart from the historical stuff as Mr PP has been a full time member of the medical staff at BFC for a few years now and spends a fair amount of time with the first team so I have to keep my mouth shut/fingers away from the keyboard the temptation to post on the pre-season thread or the new kit thread is there but I'm behaving myself I'm afraid ...

You must have superhuman powers Ralph to keep it all inside as it were .

Quicknick · Post by **Quicknick** » Mon May 01, 2017 9:31 am

Because of this link I have just watched several match highlights from this league. Really entertaining stuff. FC Utd of Manchester 0 Salford City 3 is epic stuff. That youth team striker of ours playing up front for FC Utd and George Greene playing for Salford. Harrogate 3 Salford 3 is good, too. 3-3, but up till a few minutes from the end it was 1-2. All on Youtube. I am going to make viewing of this level a regular thing.

Colburn_Claret · Post by **Colburn_Claret** » Mon May 01, 2017 9:36 am

ralph wrote:That was a good trick as they never shared with WEST Auckland quiet afternoon out eh ?

...they were at Heritage Park - Bishop Auckland

No they didn't, they shared with West Aukland. I've been have you.

ralph · Post by **ralph** » Mon May 01, 2017 9:43 am

Heritage Park is Bishop Auckland's ground .. West Auckland play at Darlington Road Yes ? a different club at a different ground ...

ralph · Post by **ralph** » Mon May 01, 2017 9:46 am

https://www.footballgroundmap.com/groun ... darlington" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://bishopafc.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.westaucklandtownfc.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

.... and yes I've been to quite a lot of grounds

ralph · Post by **ralph** » Mon May 01, 2017 9:51 am

Colburn_Claret wrote:No they didn't, they shared with West Aukland. I've been have you.

always best not to be too cocky only to be proved completely wrong within seconds

Colburn_Claret · Post by **Colburn_Claret** » Mon May 01, 2017 9:53 am

Apologies Ralph, I've just google mapped it to check the name of the pub next to the ground and it is Bishop. The ground is in West Aukland and threw me.

Goodclaret · Post by **Goodclaret** » Mon May 01, 2017 9:53 am

I went to the AFC Fylde game against Worcester City on Saturday (before dashing back for Palace game!) and Fylde have a fantastic set up. Brand new ground currently holding 6,000 but with a new stand going up over the summer. New training pitches being built on site too.

The game itself was a 4-2 win for Fylde but I have to say there was some good football played and, to say Worcester got relegated, they more than played their part. It is nice to watch games like these and there is definitely a more honest approach to the way the players conduct themselves.

ralph · Post by **ralph** » Mon May 01, 2017 9:58 am

Colburn_Claret wrote:Apologies Ralph, I've just google mapped it to check the name of the pub next to the ground and it is Bishop. The ground is in West Aukland and threw me.

No problem .. one of the few things I'm confident on in this world is non-league football

ralph · Post by **ralph** » Mon May 01, 2017 10:08 am

Tribesmen wrote:You must have superhuman powers Ralph to keep it all inside as it were .

oh yes that's me alright

sent you an email this morning ...

Quicknick · Post by **Quicknick** » Mon May 01, 2017 2:27 pm

I wonder where Blackburn will play when they are non-league.

minnieclaret · Post by **minnieclaret** » Mon May 01, 2017 3:41 pm

Quicknick wrote:I wonder where Blackburn will play when they are non-league.

witton park? have they still got the astroturf?

Zom Zom · Post by **Zom Zom** » Mon May 01, 2017 3:55 pm

My first visit to Darlington is one I remember well after a really well taken goal for Darlo by a player called Les McJannet (sp?). A goal I saw replicated By Joey G against Preston a few years ago.

Oddly, I also recall Burnley being awarded a corner, despite the ball being clearly headed behind by Ron Futcher. Strange, the things you remember!

ontario claret · Post by **ontario claret** » Mon May 01, 2017 4:15 pm

Well, forego signing a new 3rd left back this summer, and build a bus shelter. That should do the trick. (But they are on the right road.)

ontario claret · Post by **ontario claret** » Mon May 01, 2017 4:29 pm

Get used to the Northwich Victoria derby, minnieclaret.

Diesel · Post by **Diesel** » Mon May 01, 2017 5:03 pm

Strange place is Darlington, they can't decide whether they are from Yorkshire or the North East

Ashingtonclaret46 · Post by **Ashingtonclaret46** » Mon May 01, 2017 5:16 pm

Diesel wrote:Strange place is Darlington, they can't decide whether they are from Yorkshire or the North East

Having lived in Darlington I can assure your that they certainly don't think they are from anywhere other than County Durham.

Diesel · Post by **Diesel** » Mon May 01, 2017 5:19 pm

Ashingtonclaret46 wrote:Having lived in Darlington I can assure your that they cetainly don't think they are from anywhere other than County Durham.

See..

Tribesmen · Post by **Tribesmen** » Mon May 01, 2017 6:09 pm

ralph wrote:oh yes that's me alright sent you an email this morning ...

Ahhhh back at work tomorrow i will read it then . Now myself and Mrs Tribes are over for the West Ham game .............................. Coffee or beer catch up, ohhhh have a few progammes for you ????????????????????

holdyourfire · Post by **holdyourfire** » Mon May 01, 2017 6:43 pm

mdd2 wrote:They finished 5th in National League North 2 points ahead of Chorley FC who finished 6th and just outside the play offs. However it is Chorley and not Darlington who join Kidderminster Halifax and Salford City in the play offs.
Ralphpom used to have his finger on the non-league pulse, not sure he posts now or if he does he may have changed his user name.

Darlington share with the rugby club,at black meadows. However,the ground needs to have 500 seats undercover,to be eligable for promotion to the national league. The same thing has happened to Poole town and Hungerford town,in the national south.

ralph · Post by **ralph** » Mon May 01, 2017 7:51 pm

holdyourfire wrote:Darlington share with the rugby club,at black meadows. However,the ground needs to have 500 seats undercover,to be eligable for promotion to the national league. The same thing has happened to Poole town and Hungerford town,in the national south.

It's Blackwell Meadows you'd know that if you had read the rest of the thread

ralph · Post by **ralph** » Mon May 01, 2017 7:52 pm

Tribesmen wrote:Ahhhh back at work tomorrow i will read it then . Now myself and Mrs Tribes are over for the West Ham game .............................. Coffee or beer catch up, ohhhh have a few progammes for you ????????????????????

aye let me know your plans nearer the time

Woodleyclaret · Post by **Woodleyclaret** » Mon May 01, 2017 7:53 pm

Shafted by the league previously and now crapped on again.What on earth happened to the new ground when they left the league.Is this another case of businessmen screwing up their local team?

ralph · Post by **ralph** » Mon May 01, 2017 7:57 pm

Woodleyclaret wrote:Shafted by the league previously and now crapped on again.What on earth happened to the new ground when they left the league.Is this another case of businessmen screwing up their local team?

They couldn't afford to play there - Darlington Mowden Park play there now .. shafted how ? rules are rules they knew them in August .. they might not make sense to many of us but they apply at all levels of the pyramid .

minnieclaret · Post by **minnieclaret** » Mon May 01, 2017 8:30 pm

it does look like somebody in admin has not read the rules before they moved back to town.
If any leeway had been given I'm sure they could have covered the required seats.

ralph · Post by **ralph** » Tue May 02, 2017 7:01 am

It happens every season at one or more levels of the pyramid and it is often a difficult decision for a club to make -lower down the leagues some of the requirements seem petty and excessive relative to the average attendance of the clubs involved but I think in Darlington's case committee rule may be part of the reason ? .. I don't know anything about their finances but when you have x number of people debating the merits of ground improvements deadlines are easily missed.

NickBFC · Post by **NickBFC** » Tue May 02, 2017 2:29 pm

ralph wrote:It happens every season at one or more levels of the pyramid and it is often a difficult decision for a club to make -lower down the leagues some of the requirements seem petty and excessive relative to the average attendance of the clubs involved but I think in Darlington's case committee rule may be part of the reason ? .. I don't know anything about their finances but when you have x number of people debating the merits of ground improvements deadlines are easily missed.

Yep! We're having to ground share next season at a cost of c£150 a game, plus our bar takings gone because we haven't yet got 50 seats installed. The planning is there as is funding, but because solicitors are taking an age to extend our lease we haven't met the deadline. Our average attendances are less than 50. That's the FA for you.

ralph · Post by **ralph** » Tue May 02, 2017 3:11 pm

NickBFC wrote:Yep! We're having to ground share next season at a cost of c£150 a game, plus our bar takings gone because we haven't yet got 50 seats installed. The planning is there as is funding, but because solicitors are taking an age to extend our lease we haven't met the deadline. Our average attendances are less than 50. That's the FA for you.

Which club is " we " ?

NickBFC · Post by **NickBFC** » Tue May 02, 2017 6:26 pm

ralph wrote:Which club is " we " ?

Club in the Southern Combination League (Sussex). Is a widespread issue at this level though.

ralph · Post by **ralph** » Tue May 02, 2017 10:21 pm

Sussex County League as was ? I think it is a widespread issue across the country to be fair clubs playing to less than 100 having to meet all kinds of ridiculous grading requirements ?

NickBFC · Post by **NickBFC** » Wed May 03, 2017 3:13 pm

ralph wrote:Sussex County League as was ? I think it is a widespread issue across the country to be fair clubs playing to less than 100 having to meet all kinds of ridiculous grading requirements ?

Yep, name was changed, quite why is anyone's guess

Eventually you'll end up with every other club ground sharing permanently, and a lot of grounds probably sold off for housing etc. It's a ridiculous situation - we have one of the best club houses and pitches in the league but the lack of seats (partly through no fault of the club) is going to cost the club several thousand that we can ill afford to lose. As for the seats themselves, costing the thick end of £40k for 50 seats....