Thu Apr 13, 2017 5:31 pm
After years of clawing their way back from the depths of parks football they get within 1 promotion of the national League then this happens !!!
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/1 ... ngton_FC/#
Thu Apr 13, 2017 10:04 pm
doesnt seem that long ago that they built a new stadium and tried signing Gazza.
Thu Apr 13, 2017 10:27 pm
Too many seats, now not enough - the curse afflicting Darlington FC
Trevor Oakley has supported Darlington FC for more than 25 years, seeing few highs and many lows. Like all fans, he has his opinions. Here are his thoughts on the National League decision to prevent Quakers from taking part in the play-offs:
The Northern Echo:
We're cursed by seats. For a decade, we had far too many of them at the Arena.
At Heritage Park, we didn’t think we’d have enough which proved to be a costly misjudgement.
Now, at Blackwell Meadows, we definitely don’t have enough.
Am I frustrated? Of course I am.
From before the start of this season, everything has been geared up for a play-off push. The manager spoke of his desire to make the play-offs and the players echoed those sentiments.
As things stand, they’ve held up their end of the bargain but unfortunately, seats keep coming back to haunt us.
While us fans won’t be happy, you have to feel for the playing and coaching staff who have worked hard towards securing their objective only to see it cruelly snatched away, subject to appeal.
Thursday's announcement from the club that the league would not let us participate in the play-offs came as a blow, although I doubt there’ll have been many fans surprised by the outcome.
Sadly, the biggest surprise in this episode was reserved for those who should have been on top of rules and regulations in the first place.
The ball was dropped.
For me, what is worse than the oversight is that the communication between the club and the fans seems to have been poor at best.
Let’s never forget that the fans are the owners, they are the benefactors of the club and as such, communication on this matter and other issues relating to Blackwell Meadows need to be sharpened up significantly. Complaining at fans for raising their concerns is not a good look.
There have been a lot of calls on social media for the current directors to stand down.
For me, I believe this wouldn’t be in the best interest of the club. If we are not careful, the negative sentiment swirling around will turn an issue that is not insurmountable into an existential threat.
There are lessons to be learned from this, both in terms of how the club is run and how major issues are communicated to the fans.
If we can all be honest, open up the communication channels and use this to develop as a club, we will come out of this better for the experience.
As soon as possible, the directors need to start building bridges with the fans and begin to earn their trust once again.
Regardless of this setback, this summer was always going to be tough. After a bumpy start to life at Blackwell Meadows, appealing for money was going to be a tough ask but that has now got a whole lot harder.
We are operating in a tough, professional division. It is time for us to put this matter to bed and start working together to make our off-pitch operations look and feel as professional as our on-pitch operation.
Fri Apr 14, 2017 6:20 am
I have been following their battle to go up the Leagues and hopefully one day get back in to the proper League.
They average about 1,500 at home and take away about 500 every game on average.
Fri Apr 14, 2017 11:44 am
[quote="Forever Blue"]I have been following their battle to go up the Leagues and hopefully one day get back in to the proper League.
They average about 1,500 at home and take away about 500 every game on average.[/quot
historic club who i think joined the football league the same day as ourselves.
to have had a brand new stadium which is now a rugby ground and now find themselves short of seats must be such a gutter.
good luck to them next season.