Match thread

[HarrytheQuaker]

Thought Galbraith and Hunter were excellent today - I'd be tempted to keep those 2 in the centre of defence. Galbraith would've been my choice for man of the match.

Agreed Tez we're MOTM for me

[HarrytheQuaker]

Burgess failed a fitness test and with Brown out injured the back line is Marrs, Hunter, Tez and Ferguson. Rest of the team unchanged.

Wearmouth on the bench alongside Lee Hume who has moved in from the reserves.

Browny suspended

[al_quaker]

First Darlo game since I can't remember.

Darlo were the better side - Brackley offered very little.

Stand out players were Marrs (#3), Galbraith (#6) and Beck (#9). All exceptional.

Really enjoyed the day (despite nursing a horror of a hangover).

Great to be back in Darlo.

P.S. I hope you enjoyed the air display I booked for you all

Ferguson was number 3 - and he had a great game. MOTM Galbraith for me - give him someone to learn alongside and I reckon he could be a very good CB.

Good performance, on possibly the worse BM pitch yet, against a very disappointing Brackley side. Same again on Wednesday please.

Shame about the crowd, but not overly surprising. Hopefully if we can stay in playoff contention things will pick up. And then moving forwards a better pitch and hopefully better facilities might make it more appealing to more people.

[DarloPeGi]

Very pleasing performance against a side which did have a decent
reputation. We nullified them and deservedly won the game.

Despite the 10 minutes added on, there was nothing to be
alarmed about and we comfortably saw the game out

Onto Bradford PA .... we shouldn't under estimate them, it will
be a tough game .... but if the players perform like they
did today, then we have a great chance of another 3 points

[Darlofan97]

Shame about the crowd, but not overly surprising. Hopefully if we can stay in playoff contention things will pick up. And then moving forwards a better pitch and hopefully better facilities might make it more appealing to more people.

Agree with this.

I had the same discussion the other week. The ground can only realistically hold c1,800, anything more than that and you struggle to get a decent view of the match, it puts people off.

The pitch is unfortunately very poor and the ball is up in the air a lot. It isn't pretty as I find our games at BM have turned very scrappy as the pitch doesn't allow any kind of passing football.

Hopefully this issue will be rectified in the summer when the pitch is re-laid, and also visibility will be improved from a spectators point of view with an additional 250 seats.

Next steps we will have to look at putting a terrace 8/10 steps deep at the open-end which will improve visibility no-end.

[theoriginalfatcat]

Agree with the comments above. The pitch is lousy - I heard today that the players hate it, and who can blame them!

[Henley]

First Darlo game since I can't remember.

Darlo were the better side - Brackley offered very little.

Stand out players were Marrs (#3), Galbraith (#6) and Beck (#9). All exceptional.

Really enjoyed the day (despite nursing a horror of a hangover).

Great to be back in Darlo.

P.S. I hope you enjoyed the air display I booked for you all

Ferguson was number 3 - and he had a great game. MOTM Galbraith for me - give him someone to learn alongside and I reckon he could be a very good CB.

Good performance, on possibly the worse BM pitch yet, against a very disappointing Brackley side. Same again on Wednesday please.

Shame about the crowd, but not overly surprising. Hopefully if we can stay in playoff contention things will pick up. And then moving forwards a better pitch and hopefully better facilities might make it more appealing to more people.

Sorry, meant #2.

[al_quaker]

Shame about the crowd, but not overly surprising. Hopefully if we can stay in playoff contention things will pick up. And then moving forwards a better pitch and hopefully better facilities might make it more appealing to more people.

Agree with this.

I had the same discussion the other week. The ground can only realistically hold c1,800, anything more than that and you struggle to get a decent view of the match, it puts people off.

The pitch is unfortunately very poor and the ball is up in the air a lot. It isn't pretty as I find our games at BM have turned very scrappy as the pitch doesn't allow any kind of passing football.

Hopefully this issue will be rectified in the summer when the pitch is re-laid, and also visibility will be improved from a spectators point of view with an additional 250 seats.

Next steps we will have to look at putting a terrace 8/10 steps deep at the open-end which will improve visibility no-end.

A deep terrace behind the other goal would be priority for me I reckon (or whatever we can build around the pipe). I've had a look in the seats before matches, and unless you're in the top row or 2 it's not really any better than standing. Adding 250 more seats wouldn't really add that many good viewing points. Unless we need to put in the extra seats with a promotion, I personally think a terrace behind the goal, and then replacing the seats with a deeper/steeper seated stand would be much better, finances permitting. No idea how much that would cost mind.

Of course, the ideal solution would be to replace the clubhouse with a big stand, but I can't ever see that happening for a whole variety of reasons!

A pitch fit for football, and some height so people can see the action better and it would be much more appealing for people to come a watch. Money is the answer as always!

[al_quaker]

Sorry, meant #2.

To be fair, they were both very good. Ferguson adds a lot going forwards, but Marrs is very solid defensively. Good to have him back after his injury lay off

[Henley]

Sorry, meant #2.

To be fair, they were both very good. Ferguson adds a lot going forwards, but Marrs is very solid defensively. Good to have him back after his injury lay off

I thought Ferguson's first half delivery was poor which is why I didn't mention him as stand-out but there were a lot of good performances throughout.

Re. others' comments on the pitch - absolutely agree - it's a shocker - players couldn't feel confident receiving a 5 yard pass - bobble, bobble, bobble.

[Darlo_Pete]

At times we played the ball far too much in the air, probably a combination of a bad pitch and playing Beck up front. When we got the ball down on the deck, we looked a lot more threatening.

[princes town]

BM has been an utterly underwhelming experience for me despite tbh the best efforts of both sports clubs. I left the Halifax game utterly disillusioned and my mood hasn't really improved. At the end of the day, a good aspiration to be in darlington but football still has to be a positive customer experience. I concur with the view that the ground can only hold 2000 max. One side for me is utterly redundant and the other side has chronic viewing issues. That is the harsh reality.

[Vodka_Vic]

Very true Princes Town. That's why people aren't coming. I actually like the leafy surroundings and being back in Darlington. My view is OK, but only because I get there for 2.30 to ensure I get a front row standing position. I guess it's still at an embryonic state. There is a delicious irony in all this, in that there is a virtuous circle whereby if 500 more people came each week, we'd have more money to improve their view.

[QuakerPete]

Are we really saying "the view" is the primary reason for current crowd figures? Or maybe we've reached our natural limit, apart from end of season increases due to the playoffs. There's currently plenty of viewing room and certainly in the Tin Shed for those who want to attend


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[Darlo_Pete]

Are we really saying "the view" is the primary reason for current crowd figures? Or maybe we've reached our natural limit, apart from end of season increases due to the playoffs. There's currently plenty of viewing room and certainly in the Tin Shed for those who want to attend


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think it's impossible to say that one reason is behind our low crowds, it's a combination of reasons. Take your pick for reasons fans are not coming to BM from the following:-

View
Style of play
Performances on the pitch
Lack of toilets
The rugby club
Distance from town
Parking issues
Bar facilities
Etc

Personally I prefered the matchday experience at HP and speaking to a good few fans of ours, I'm not alone in this opinion. But we can't go back to how it was and some of the above reasons have been resolved, but not all. I don't think fans will return unless we have a big match.

[Darlogramps]

More trolling from Pete. Distance from town - how do you propose we solve that issue?

We're facing the same issue we've always faced - apathy from non-regulars.

These are the people who'll turn up to the big occasions but will stay away otherwise.

Games like Brackley just don't appeal.

It's frustrating but these are the kinds of people who'll find any excuse not to come, regardless of how spurious. Is anyone who considers themselves a fan really going to stay away because of the bar facilities?

[Comfortably_numb]

And don't forget not having a sign or something somewhere inside the ground.

As DG says - people will default to apathy related excuses when really it's a case they'd prefer to do something else. Which is fine - people's prerogative and all that. We shouldn't overthink this as you end up catering for the exception and not the majority.

[don'tbuythesun]

In 2011 we finished 7th in the conference and averaged 1886 playing in Darlington. We're now just into the play off places and averaging 1738 and that's despite all the issues people are having. We knew this would be tricky!

[real_darlo_85]

This is going over old ground but we all know that for our club it has been numerous factors that have taken us to where we are now, especially the last 17 years! Our 2000 Wembley heartache is really where our most recent problems start. A couple of missed opportunities for promotion, plum cup ties, moving from Feethams and 3 administrations (of which the last was the most devastating!) have all been negatives that have stuck with many and turned people off the club.

Add to this other outside influences such as increased interest in Premiership and Champions League football from tv and the fact you can sometimes go to these games for the price of a football league/conference ticket. General financial downturn and increased costs of living especially since 2008.

The truth is we are where we are based on what has happened in the last 20 yrs. We have a loyal set of supporters at around the 1,500-2,000 mark and a club in the Conference North, this is what we have to work with. Unfortunately, it seems that despite a return to town apathy towards the football club still runs very deep and will not change overnight.

[al_quaker]

Are we really saying "the view" is the primary reason for current crowd figures? Or maybe we've reached our natural limit, apart from end of season increases due to the playoffs. There's currently plenty of viewing room and certainly in the Tin Shed for those who want to attend


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I certainly don't think it's the primary reason, but it's a contributing factor as to why we haven't had the return home "bounce" most other clubs have.

I know a couple of fans who go to the majority of games - they haven't been recently because they don't like BM, the football on show is poor (because of the pitch), and you can't get a particularly good view. They basically aren't enjoying football at BM. I don't completely agree with their reasoning, but why would they spend £12 on something they aren't enjoying? Even in the Tin Shed I wouldn't describe the view as particularly good - the rugby run off areas don't help in that respect. Flat or shallow standing when you are right on the pitch (as at HP) is one thing, but flat/shallow standing when you're set back from the pitch a reasonable distance is completely different - which is why I would really like a deep terrace built behind the other goal.

A better pitch, and better views would mean that the football would be better, and people would enjoy it more (hopefully). It wouldn't suddenly add on 1000 to the crowds, but it would certainly make it more appealing to those who don't go to every game religiously (and make it better for those who do go every game)

[Darlogramps]

In 2011 we finished 7th in the conference and averaged 1886 playing in Darlington. We're now just into the play off places and averaging 1738 and that's despite all the issues people are having. We knew this would be tricky!

I was going to have a look at our attendances last time we were in the town. Interesting to note that they're only slightly down, despite everything that's gone on in the last few years.

As real_darlo_85 says, we're still suffering from 15-20 years of mismanagement, which caused massive damage to our reputation. It'll take a long time to repair this.

I think over time, with good management and attempts to rebuild our our reputation in the community, we can improve attendances. Particularly if we get promotion and start playing some better recognised teams.

[theoriginalfatcat]

Are we really saying "the view" is the primary reason for current crowd figures? Or maybe we've reached our natural limit, apart from end of season increases due to the playoffs. There's currently plenty of viewing room and certainly in the Tin Shed for those who want to attend


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I certainly don't think it's the primary reason, but it's a contributing factor as to why we haven't had the return home "bounce" most other clubs have.

I know a couple of fans who go to the majority of games - they haven't been recently because they don't like BM, the football on show is poor (because of the pitch), and you can't get a particularly good view. They basically aren't enjoying football at BM. I don't completely agree with their reasoning, but why would they spend £12 on something they aren't enjoying? Even in the Tin Shed I wouldn't describe the view as particularly good - the rugby run off areas don't help in that respect. Flat or shallow standing when you are right on the pitch (as at HP) is one thing, but flat/shallow standing when you're set back from the pitch a reasonable distance is completely different - which is why I would really like a deep terrace built behind the other goal.

A better pitch, and better views would mean that the football would be better, and people would enjoy it more (hopefully). It wouldn't suddenly add on 1000 to the crowds, but it would certainly make it more appealing to those who don't go to every game religiously (and make it better for those who do go every game)

al_quaker's post reads the situation spot on.

We haven't had a return home bounce because of all the things he's mentioned above, namely the pitch, the view and the Rugby Club's attitude.

In theory-these issues could all be solved.

[Quakers83]

Regarding attendances, it's clear for me as to why they have declined since the first game against Halifax. As mentioned above in order for all spectators to have a suitable view you're looking at an attendance of 1,700-1,800. Obviously during the ground inspection we were advised of a capacity of 3,000+, however this is taking into account standing areas of 4 rows deep which is certainly not ideal.

At Heritage Park this wasn't so much of an issue. The tin-shed/main-stand/temporary-seating and grass-bank pretty much ensured that the majority, if not all spectators had a reasonable view. The only facilities we have at Blackwell to challenge that is a bigger tin-shed and a 250 capacity seated stand. We have no temporary stands behind the goal opposite the tin-shed, and no grass-bank to elevate spectators.

In my opinion several things need to happen in order to increase attendances. I'd look at a fundraising drive for a stand in the open end. Stepped terracing similar to Lancaster, running 60% across (obviously taking into account the pipe exclusion zone) would help no end. This would hold around 500-600 minimum.

I'd also look at extending the existing seated stand by another 250 seats. Again I appreciate that the views in the current stand aren't great in areas, and adding onto the current stand would rule out the hard standing directly in front, however overall it would be more beneficial from a spectator point of view.

The pitch also needs to be dug-up and re-laid on a flat surface, although I hope people don't expect us to completely change our style of play when this happens. Yes it's difficult to watch with a bobbly pitch at the moment however our game is typically direct regardless.

Another minor thing would be to lower the dug-outs, which helps visibility on the clubhouse side although that's not much of a concern. However factor in all of the above and you would have a tin-shed that holds circa 1,000, stepped terracing in what is now the open end that would hold 500-600, plus 500 seats in the main stand, and hard-standing around all other areas. The car-park, which I don't believe is an issue currently, can be expanded as and when required

There are positives. The prices are reasonable, the turnstiles flow well even 10 minutes before kick-off, toilets are OK, as is the car-park plus the bar, and more importantly we're in Darlington. I think that weather has played a factor as we've moved back to town in the harsher months (Dec-Jan-Feb-Mar), which are typically colder months whilst not playing attractive opposition. I read a Tweet this morning that said the home attendance yesterday was 26% higher than this time last year against Rushall Olympic so it certainly puts things into perspective.

If similar improvements of the above are put into place over the summer then it'll certainly be interesting to see the attendances in Aug-Sept-Oct 2017 at Blackwell, preferably against decent opposition (I.E, Boston/Halifax/Kidderminster/Salford/Stockport/FC United of Manchester/Harrogate/potentially York).

[loan_star]

If similar improvements of the above are put into place over the summer then it'll certainly be interesting to see the attendances in Aug-Sept-Oct 2017 at Blackwell, preferably against decent opposition (I.E, Boston/Halifax/Kidderminster/Salford/Stockport/FC United of Manchester/Harrogate/potentially York).

In an ideal world this would happen. However we would need a massive fund raising drive for this to happen unless some kind hearted soul who has a few hundred grand to give away comes along.
The difficult part is for DFC to convince fans to part with more money whilst DRFC still seem to be being awkward over some issues.

[dfc4me]

Don't know if this is possible but could we raise the back 2 rows of slabs that make up the hard standing and create 2 steps. It must be cheaper than a full terrace and presumably could be done over the water pipe both behind the goal and beside the seats.

[loan_star]

I know a couple of fans who go to the majority of games - they haven't been recently because they don't like BM, the football on show is poor (because of the pitch), and you can't get a particularly good view. They basically aren't enjoying football at BM. I don't completely agree with their reasoning, but why would they spend £12 on something they aren't enjoying? Even in the Tin Shed I wouldn't describe the view as particularly good - the rugby run off areas don't help in that respect. Flat or shallow standing when you are right on the pitch (as at HP) is one thing, but flat/shallow standing when you're set back from the pitch a reasonable distance is completely different - which is why I would really like a deep terrace built behind the other goal.

A better pitch, and better views would mean that the football would be better, and people would enjoy it more (hopefully). It wouldn't suddenly add on 1000 to the crowds, but it would certainly make it more appealing to those who don't go to every game religiously (and make it better for those who do go every game)

I actually think the view from the tin shed is better than what we had at Bishop, at least you can see the goal without people being stood in the way.
Down the sides and far end is an issue though.
As for the run offs, I would reckon we are closer to the pitch than we were at the arena!

[loan_star]

Don't know if this is possible but could we raise the back 2 rows of slabs that make up the hard standing and create 2 steps. It must be cheaper than a full terrace and presumably could be done over the water pipe both behind the goal and beside the seats.

Thats a good idea for down the stand side however it could make viewing from the seats more awkward. These really need raising too but thats even more expense!

[al_quaker]

If similar improvements of the above are put into place over the summer then it'll certainly be interesting to see the attendances in Aug-Sept-Oct 2017 at Blackwell, preferably against decent opposition (I.E, Boston/Halifax/Kidderminster/Salford/Stockport/FC United of Manchester/Harrogate/potentially York).

In an ideal world this would happen. However we would need a massive fund raising drive for this to happen unless some kind hearted soul who has a few hundred grand to give away comes along.
The difficult part is for DFC to convince fans to part with more money whilst DRFC still seem to be being awkward over some issues.

I was thinking the other day - surely we would have heard by now of a fundraising drive if we needed money to do stuff (specifically the pitch) over the summer? I'm far from a pitch expert, but I would think it would better to do it earlier in the summer rather than later, which doesn't leave huge amounts of time for fundraising (if it's needed/still happening)

[Quakers83]

If similar improvements of the above are put into place over the summer then it'll certainly be interesting to see the attendances in Aug-Sept-Oct 2017 at Blackwell, preferably against decent opposition (I.E, Boston/Halifax/Kidderminster/Salford/Stockport/FC United of Manchester/Harrogate/potentially York).

In an ideal world this would happen. However we would need a massive fund raising drive for this to happen unless some kind hearted soul who has a few hundred grand to give away comes along.
The difficult part is for DFC to convince fans to part with more money whilst DRFC still seem to be being awkward over some issues.

Completely agree loan_star, the above would certainly be substantial and it would be difficult for fans to willingly commit when it seems there are still a few issues.

[al_quaker]

I know a couple of fans who go to the majority of games - they haven't been recently because they don't like BM, the football on show is poor (because of the pitch), and you can't get a particularly good view. They basically aren't enjoying football at BM. I don't completely agree with their reasoning, but why would they spend £12 on something they aren't enjoying? Even in the Tin Shed I wouldn't describe the view as particularly good - the rugby run off areas don't help in that respect. Flat or shallow standing when you are right on the pitch (as at HP) is one thing, but flat/shallow standing when you're set back from the pitch a reasonable distance is completely different - which is why I would really like a deep terrace built behind the other goal.

A better pitch, and better views would mean that the football would be better, and people would enjoy it more (hopefully). It wouldn't suddenly add on 1000 to the crowds, but it would certainly make it more appealing to those who don't go to every game religiously (and make it better for those who do go every game)

I actually think the view from the tin shed is better than what we had at Bishop, at least you can see the goal without people being stood in the way.
Down the sides and far end is an issue though.
As for the run offs, I would reckon we are closer to the pitch than we were at the arena!

Tin shed is perhaps better for viewing the near goal, but much worse for viewing the far goal (and I have just had my eyes tested ).

We probably are closer than at the Arena, but I suppose at the Arena people had height (if they wanted it) to get a good view.