Raj Singh withdraws investment interest

[Darlo_Manc]

http://darlingtonfootballclub.co.uk/dar ... nvestment/

[DFC98765]

"Unfinished business". Was that intended to sound so ominous?

Can the club now open itself to other investment approaches?

[lo36789]

Lol the other investors have walked away basically they were planning to use Raj's money by my reading of that. Oh well distraction over with back to it now.

The paragraph about social media in the middle of the statement was a bit weird either way it's your move Martin Gray.

[grimsbyquaker]

Thin skinned, or has there been another development behind the scenes that has made these plans hit the skids?

[Darlo_Manc]

Thin skinned, or has there been another development behind the scenes that has made these plans hit the skids?

He said he saw the backlash on social media, probably didn't want to see how bad it would be in person if he invested and turned up at a game.

[shawry]

So, the following extract annoys me.

"As a consequence of his withdrawal and the reasons for it, a second potential investor has also decided not to continue exploring his potential involvement.

Although social media can be a very useful tool, it can have very undesirable effects. I’m really not sure what the solution is as people who sit behind keyboards appear to be able to say anything without knowing the facts and not realising the potential impact in public of some ill-thought comments."

Someone withdrew interest because fans were clearly worried upset and angry that RS was trying to come back.

Secondly, does the club really have to have a go at it's fans again

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[al_quaker]

What did he expect - being welcomed with open arms

One thing I will say - I'm glad he's withdrawn and not been rejected, as this way we hopefully avoid a split in the fanbase

[Spyman]

Didn't even have the guts to explain himself.

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[DFC98765]

Thin skinned, or has there been another development behind the scenes that has made these plans hit the skids?

He said he saw the backlash on social media, probably didn't want to see how bad it would be in person if he invested and turned up at a game.

How deluded must he be if he did not think there would be a major backlash to his approach.

[Craig09]

Can not say im gobsmacked goes to show money does not always talk raj. Right so martin mentioned there was 2 investors whos the other

[lo36789]

Basically my reading is that fans had clocked that there was potential to take £40k off him and he could sense there was no way he would be able to get agreement from fan base to get the 51% share he wanted.

The other investor was clearly linked. Don't believe for a second the other investor and their family felt out off because people didn't like Raj Singh - unless of course they were in it with Raj Singh.

[Darlogramps]

This just illustrates to me why he was not suitable to become a shareholder.

He didn't have the self-awareness to realise his return, after what happened in 2012, would cause anger.

He didn't have the backbone to explain his plans. The other investor was clearly in cahoots with him.

I'm relieved in a way that this issue has been resolved so quickly. I do worry for what comes next though.

All eyes on Martin Gray now. I'm hoping we'll see a display of unity from all sides. If ever there was a time for it, it's now. I do fear however this could get very messy.

[D_F_C]

As someone has said, it's time for MG to confirm his stance asap.

[JamesDarlo]

Well, if his plan was to kill us again he's not made a bad start, now the fanbase is split in half and we're probably going to lose our coaching staff. Tough times ahead.

[PierremontQuaker03]

Better to do it now rather than a long protracted period of uncertainty. I would have still liked to know his side of the story going back to 2012 - this could have answered so many unanswered questions.
Wonder where this leaves Gray.

[Darlo_Rob]

I'm glad this circus can now be put to bed. I really hope this actually boosts the current crowdfunding pitches. We're all this in together so let's get these pitches moving again.

[al_quaker]

Someone has just chucked a substantial amount of money into the seating pitch (£9k I think). I'd imagine it's linked to this news..

[DarloDave40]

I can't see any other investors queuing up. It will be interesting to see whether MG stays on or for that matter John Tempest he must be getting fed up particularly as it's a volunteer role.

[Vodka_Vic]

He knew he wouldn't get the 75%.

[Darlo_Manc]

Thin skinned, or has there been another development behind the scenes that has made these plans hit the skids?

He said he saw the backlash on social media, probably didn't want to see how bad it would be in person if he invested and turned up at a game.

How deluded must he be if he did not think there would be a major backlash to his approach.

https://twitter.com/CStoddartEcho/statu ... 9869391872

He was unhappy with criticism according to this.

[The Golden Hairclip]

This has made my day. Fantastic news. Let's stick together and get on with raising money and making this club a success.


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[lo36789]

"Can't wait for Norton away in 2 year" the quality of the response on the clubs twitter. How do you even reason with that sort of argument?

[sada8022]

Bye bye MG how can he stay now this has happenef

[al_quaker]

Now that (imminent) external investment is off the table, we need to move forwards as a club. I'm not sure we can continue exactly as we are - we're down to our last director and he must be getting sick now. There are 2 ways I can see: we either remain fully fan owned, or we try and find another (less controversial) investor in a hybrid model.

Both come with risks. Remaining fan owned I think we need some sort of model like FCUM have (http://www.fc-utd.co.uk/2013_uploads/FC ... 202017.pdf), and decide which roles need to be paid (I think we have to start having some paid staff away from football, even if it's a reduced playing budget). In a hybrid model, instead of the manager going off looking for people, we could produce a professional brochure where we look for investment for a percentage, and in a model the majority would be happy with. We may not get any takers, but you never know.

I don't know the answer as to what's best for the club, but I know it probably wasn't Singh.

[Darlogramps]

I don't really see how this could have had a positive ending either way.

If we accepted his offer, it would have been humiliating, poisonous and split the fanbase, as well as causing massive amounts of uncertainty.

If we rejected his offer, we're still left with massive amounts of fundraising and question marks over the future of our coaching team.

It was a horrendous position to be in.

[Magical Quakers]

Hallelujah!

[lo36789]

hopefully the manager situation can be sorted quickly. If we lose Martin Gray then Boost the Budget becomes redundant. Still a nice little fund though but perhaps for the first year it is reinvested in the ground rather than funding his backroom staff.

[comeondarlo]

What did he expect - being welcomed with open arms

One thing I will say - I'm glad he's withdrawn and not been rejected, as this way we hopefully avoid a split in the fanbase

Couldn't agree more.

Although as I said all along the 'yes' vote was always an uneasy one.

Lol, I'm glad it was only a poor rumour after all!

[sada8022]

hopefully the manager situation can be sorted quickly. If we lose Martin Gray then Boost the Budget becomes redundant. Still a nice little fund though but perhaps for the first year it is reinvested in the ground rather than funding his backroom staff.

Totally agree

[Magical Quakers]

Wonder if he will try to take his £10k back from the other pledge?