Darlington

[Svlad Cjelli]

The game I went to (early '82, I think) is one I chiefly remember because the side window fell out of the coach on the M1 on the way back - which meant waiting at LFE Services for a couple of hours in the wee small hours - this was back when services didn't open 24 hours.

[Terminal Boardom]

Of course - 1985/86 for a tense 0-0 draw to clinch promotion to the Original Division 2.

Tense is a euphemism for crap.



That was my only visit as well.

Indeed - as was much of the second half of that season. 0-6 hammering at Walsall anyone?

[Terminal Boardom]

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/football/darlington/9463045._Quakers_could_cease_to_exist_by_weekend_/

Does not look good

[3 veesinarow]

Never mind all that, what about the other headline news on that page?

Man locked up for having sex with Andrex the labrador.

[Stuka]

Never mind all that, what about the other headline news on that page?

Man locked up for having sex with Andrex the labrador.

[TheMaraudingDog]

I thought last week was their last ever game? Or is it this week? Maybe next week?

[Terminal Boardom]

Never mind all that, what about the other headline news on that page?

Man locked up for having sex with Andrex the labrador.

I saw that, thought about posting it on AE then decided against it as that forum is nothing short of a clique full of in-bred mongs who would not look out of place at a fisting convention.

[Jackson Corner]

Darlos ground will be ultimate white elephant. Has to be the maddest ownership in the history of football a 25,000 all seater stadium and now no football club.

[Svlad Cjelli]

Quite an interesting little piece about the ground and about Reynolds : http://daveboyle.net/analysis/darlington-by-george/

[Royal With Cheese]

Quite an interesting little piece about the ground and about Reynolds : http://daveboyle.net/analysis/darlington-by-george/

Very good.

Unconnected with the quality of the piece - I sniggered at the term "Growth Fetish"

[Stranded]

I thought last week was their last ever game? Or is it this week? Maybe next week?

They have no game today so last week could well be their last.

[soggy biscuit]

Talksport trying to get a campaign going to have PL players donate to save them

[AthleticoSpizz]

all players and manager sacked by administrators tonight

[moo]

Talksport trying to get a campaign going to have PL players donate to save them

I really hope they don't go under. But PL players shouldn't have to save them... do the next club to go into administration do the same plea? Rinse and repeat.

[Jerry St Clair]

Talksport trying to get a campaign going to have PL players donate to save them

I really hope they don't go under. But PL players shouldn't have to save them... do the next club to go into administration do the same plea? Rinse and repeat.

Agreed.

A more useful campaign would be to make the Football League enforce a working fit and proper person test on club owners. Reynold's did for Darlington - he never have been allowed near a football club.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

Talksport trying to get a campaign going to have PL players donate to save them

I really hope they don't go under. But PL players shouldn't have to save them... do the next club to go into administration do the same plea? Rinse and repeat.

Agreed.

A more useful campaign would be to make the Football League enforce a working fit and proper person test on club owners. Reynold's did for Darlington - he never have been allowed near a football club.

Darlington are a strange case though. In some ways he did everything right - get finances to build a new stadium, and see crowds grow as more fans are attracted by better facilities. He didn't even saddle them with huge debts. Despite actually being a crook in the past, he wasn't the evil crooked chairman in the usual mould.

What he did do was make them play at an oversized stadium they couldn't afford, which broke them when they went down. It's not a turn of events all that common in football, so it's not something anyone at the FA could have foreseen.

[Terminal Boardom]

Funnily enough, Wolves, Chelsea and Tottenham all suffered when they put the building of new stands in front of the playing side. That said, a 25,000 stadium for Darlo was ambitious in the extreme. 15,000 with the option to expand would have been more than enough.

[Stuka]

Are their any clubs who have ever downsized to a smaller stadium to better reflect their fanbase/ambitions?

Would make more sense for some clubs these days.

[who are ya?]

Something Reading should give thought

etc etc

[Svlad Cjelli]

Are their any clubs who have ever downsized to a smaller stadium to better reflect their fanbase/ambitions?

Would make more sense for some clubs these days.

Not as such, but many clubs like Scunny, Northampton, Oxford have limited their future growth by building a smaller capacity stadium than they might otherwise have done.