Wearmouth and Jameson : Available for loan

[TinShedDarloFan]

On the subject of goalkeepers, i notice we has 3 at the clubs photoshoot today, Bartlett, Jameson and Ed!

[Quakers83]

Along with Fenwick, Richards and Wheatley.

[quakerste]

Really liked the look of Wheatley definitely in the mould of Turnbull. One to keep our eye on if he can break into the team.

[Darlofan97]

Other player possibly looking like Bradley Fewster. 8 in 24 for York in League 2 a couple of seasons ago.

Will be interesting to see if we have signed any of the 4 mentioned above + Ed. Certainly expect some departures.

[Spyman]

No of course not. But we're sending people out on loan (because as much as anything, it makes financial sense to get the likes of Wearmouth and Jameson off the wage bill while they're not playing) and releasing young players - I don't really understand the purpose of our reserve team, that's all. I've never really seen it explained.

What is the bigger picture that I'm missing?

http://darlingtonfootballclub.co.uk/qua ... erve-team/

"First team manager Martin Gray said; “This is the final piece of the jigsaw, something we’ve been intending to put into place over the last year or two. The aim is to use this as mainly an Under 23 team, giving an opportunity for Under 18 players to continue their development."

The reserve team also forms a basis for players returning from injury / suspension to gain match fitness at a competitive standard when the first-team aren't playing, as we have recently seen with Portas & Wearmouth.

We have also seen un-used first-team players feature in reserve fixtures this pre-season too.

We also used the reserves for the first-team to keep fit / get minutes over winter last year.

But what jigsaw is it the final piece of? Because of the jigsaw is the return to the football league that Gray talks of, we are still several pieces short.

You go on to say that we are no longer a professional set-up - well that's kind of my point. Can we afford to carry a reserve side that doesn't appear to offer any real tangible benefit at the moment? You say it gives us the chance to get players fit again after injury, but Wearmouth has just been made available for loan - a far more sensible way to get players matches if you ask me as it means they're off the wage bill.

I'll continue to scrutinize because I think it is important as a fan owned club that we do scrutinize. You seem happy to back every decision and that's your choice. Plenty of wrong decisions have been made by plenty of people over the years though so while my scrutiny may bore you, it won't stop. Like I said to someone else, I'm not trying to entertain - I'm hoping that people will see there is a far far bigger picture than the players we put out on the pitch each week and that we may well end up throwing money away if we don't/can't go up this season.

Of course I didn't expect the money to be raised in a few short months, but I'd like to see it as a priority being out ahead of what is happening on the pitch - because ultimately the lack of a stand is what will hold us back, not an inability to put a promotion challenging team together.

While the stand building fund is stalling, it galls me to see money spent in areas that we don't need to spend it. I don't think that's an unfair position to take at all.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[don'tbuythesun]

I think as a fan owned club there should be a high degree of transparency. I'm hoping that our CEO who appears to have made a positive start has a handle on this and is keeping things within budget. Even better would be that we don't need the boost the budget money and could use it to move straight to phase 3 stand funding!!

[Darlo_Pete]

I'm sure that the reserves will help with bringing players from the fringes into the first team and also help with building up fitness for the players who get injured and can't jump straight back into the first team.

[Darlogramps]

We don't really do youth though do we. Which is quite ironic.

Indeed.

If only we had some kind of second team in which to give these promising young players some experience of competitive football.

Does anyone have any idea how much our reserve team costs us to run?

No idea at all Spyman,but let's do away with it anyway just in case it does cost something to run.
Money obsessed.

We have to be, don't we?

We have to make every penny count and prioritise spending. A reserve team that isn't benefitting the first team or the balance sheet is surely a luxury.

Everyone wants this club to progress, and that can only happen if we can afford to progress - which at the moment we can't.

Playing squad expenditure this week, reserve side the next.

We know that we need to raise funds for a new stand. The Board knows, the Supporters Group knows, the management team & players know, as do the fans.

Your constant reminders that we cannot currently progress is tedious and boring. Unless you were expecting c£130k worth of construction to be raised and completed by now.

And yes, I know that we need to raise c£80k to progress, but I also respect the fact that we have 5 months to raise these funds, and a further 3 to complete this work.

Your constant scrutinising of areas is boring.

This is such a dangerous position to take.

The fans are the ones who run the club. No one else gives a stuff. It's down to the fans to ensure this club is a success.

This includes holding the decision-makers to account and highlighting issues we may have.

To turn round and say someone scrutinising the club is boring is naive in the extreme. Given our "rocky" recent history financially, it is not unreasonable to scrutinise and question decision that are made about our spending.

It's not done to drag the club down or be negative (as I believe you seem to think it is) but it's out of concern further problems are going to emerge down the line.

[HarryCharltonsCat]

We don't really do youth though do we. Which is quite ironic.

Indeed.

If only we had some kind of second team in which to give these promising young players some experience of competitive football.

Does anyone have any idea how much our reserve team costs us to run?

We do give youth players a chance in the reserve set-up.

And when we get one like Saunders, who appears as if he can cope at the level we are at, we bring three players in over his head.

[Spyman]

We don't really do youth though do we. Which is quite ironic.

Indeed.

If only we had some kind of second team in which to give these promising young players some experience of competitive football.

Does anyone have any idea how much our reserve team costs us to run?

We do give youth players a chance in the reserve set-up.

And when we get one like Saunders, who appears as if he can cope at the level we are at, we bring three players in over his head.

Laughable, isn't it?!

[JE93]

There are now two words that are incredibly important for this season and MG performance management.

It's clear he has been given the budget he wants if indeed we have made all of these signings. Even if this is partially off-set by some departures in the coming months. I can't deny with my fan hat on I'm really excited if we have signed these players. With my business strategy hat on I wonder if it the best allocation of resources.

But if it is the case that we have now given MG what he wants then he has to have strict performance management targets in place.
- While I was happy with the signings we'd made over the summer I was expecting a close scrap for the play-offs, with a realistic target of finishing 6th or 7th. With this team I expect to be top 5.

- FA cup, we have been notoriously bad in this competition this is an opportunity to gain extra revenue and profile. I'd expect at least 2 wins. Which, if I've got my rounds right, would be £20k in prize money + Gate receipts.
(prize money available here: http://www.thefa.com/competitions/thefa ... prize-fund).

- FA Trophy again another competition we have under performed in. 3 wins could be worth £11k + Gate receipts.
(Prize money available here: http://www.thefa.com/competitions/fa-tr ... prize-fund).

In addition our CEO and commercial people have to get the advertising at BM sold out, as well as any hospitality. We have to reduce matchday costs on security etc.

The fans have had a lot of expectation put upon them, and we have always delivered, and I believe we will continue to deliver. But if these big expectations are to be put on the fans. I want equally stringent expectations put on our paid staff. £31k in prize money and £20k from sales across 5 matches would bring us a lot closer to success.

[Spyman]

There are now two words that are incredibly important for this season and MG performance management.

It's clear he has been given the budget he wants if indeed we have made all of these signings. Even if this is partially off-set by some departures in the coming months. I can't deny with my fan hat on I'm really excited if we have signed these players. With my business strategy hat on I wonder if it the best allocation of resources.

But if it is the case that we have now given MG what he wants then he has to have strict performance management targets in place.
- While I was happy with the signings we'd made over the summer I was expecting a close scrap for the play-offs, with a realistic target of finishing 6th or 7th. With this team I expect to be top 5.

- FA cup, we have been notoriously bad in this competition this is an opportunity to gain extra revenue and profile. I'd expect at least 2 wins. Which, if I've got my rounds right, would be £20k in prize money + Gate receipts.
(prize money available here: http://www.thefa.com/competitions/thefa ... prize-fund).

- FA Trophy again another competition we have under performed in. 3 wins could be worth £11k + Gate receipts.
(Prize money available here: http://www.thefa.com/competitions/fa-tr ... prize-fund).

In addition our CEO and commercial people have to get the advertising at BM sold out, as well as any hospitality. We have to reduce matchday costs on security etc.

The fans have had a lot of expectation put upon them, and we have always delivered, and I believe we will continue to deliver. But if these big expectations are to be put on the fans. I want equally stringent expectations put on our paid staff. £31k in prize money and £20k from sales across 5 matches would bring us a lot closer to success.

I think it's also fair to suggest that if we finish in the play-off places and do not have a ground fit for promotion, the CEO should stand down (or whoever is responsible for the allocation of funds).

[roadrunner]

Wearmouth gone to west Auckland on loan