Darlo Uncovered

http://darlingtonfootballclub.co.uk/net ... my-wright/

Just seen this on the OS while reading about our fire sale Not sure it's been mentioned on here

Should be plenty to talk about. It's never dull..

Question 1 - what the f**k is going on?


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Question 2 - Will Exodus Geohageon and Ashley Chambers be car sharing with you to training?

Ashley Chambers signing would certainly lift the mood

The Golden Hairclip wrote:Question 1 - what the f**k is going on?


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Honestly, what do you think is going on? We're selling players for actual money to reshape the squad under a new manager and to balance the budget.

We've maybe made 100 grand from these transfers - that's about, what, a third of our annual turnover?

This should have happened in the summer really, and it's only different to it happening then in that the players are under contract so we're getting money for them. If they'd left when Gray got his cob on they'd have all gone for fuck all.

We have a perfectly good keeper, and have lost a striker who wasnt playing. Now we can get one in who will. If love Ferguson to still be here but more than that id love to have a club that is balancing its books and will still be here in 10 years' time.

tdk1 wrote:

The Golden Hairclip wrote:Question 1 - what the f**k is going on?


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Honestly, what do you think is going on? We're selling players for actual money to reshape the squad under a new manager and to balance the budget.

We've maybe made 100 grand from these transfers - that's about, what, a third of our annual turnover?

This should have happened in the summer really, and it's only different to it happening then in that the players are under contract so we're getting money for them. If they'd left when Gray got his cob on they'd have all gone for fuck all.

We have a perfectly good keeper, and have lost a striker who wasnt playing. Now we can get one in who will. If love Ferguson to still be here but more than that id love to have a club that is balancing its books and will still be here in 10 years' time.

Well put, tdk1.

al_quaker wrote:Ashley Chambers signing would certainly lift the mood

Heard a bid was placed but he knocked it back as didn't wanna relocate.

AndyPark wrote:

al_quaker wrote:Ashley Chambers signing would certainly lift the mood

Heard a bid was placed but he knocked it back as didn't wanna relocate.

He wouldn't need to relocate. Car share with Tommy = problem solved.

From what I've read the Nuneaton fans will be dancing in the streets if Exodus hits the exit.

What are people's thought after the Netcafé?
Personally, I'm feeling much more positive about our current situation having read the answers to the questions.
New players are imminent and money from the transfers will be allocated as well as paying off debts.
Good to see that Tommy has plenty of contacts, particularly with the big 3 and wants us to increase our relationship with them.
Looking to set up our own academy (with education funding from the government) sounds very exciting. He wants to give young players a chance and feels that this is a part of our infrastructure which can certainly be improved.
All in all, I'm left with the feeling that he was the right man for the job. I think MG left at the right time and it may take a while, but I think TW can take us onwards and upwards.

Been fantastic this, Tommy comes across so well in interviews and written communication like this. So so refreshing.

A very positive Net Cafe.

He certainly says the right things. If he can deliver as he suggests then the future is positive.


One thing stood out for me. He is still based in Leicestershire and travelling up for training and matches.He has no other employment and regards Darlington as a full time job. So, he must be on a good salary to enable him not to work anywhere else. Effectively he must be on a full time salary plus travelling expenses as the latter would eat massively into a salary if not reimbursed

I like TW, he's certainly more personable than MG. I'm surprised he's publicly still saying the playoffs are the goal. Hope he's not setting himself up for a fall.

Agree with posts above. Feel a lot better. Now we need to do it on the pitch.

Don’t think aiming for mid table would do anything

H1987 wrote:I like TW, he's certainly more personable than MG.

He sure is I think he'll do well.

I'm going to risk the wrath of plenty on here, but there's an Emperor's New Clothes feel about this.

It's all well and good him being a nice guy but he'll be judged on his results. And he's played two, lost two so far, with Brackley being a horrendous display.

He can be as pleasant and personable as he wants but if we lose the next four games in a row, rightly or wrongly, there'll be a section of our support laying into him.

I wasn't convinced by his appointment - given his record in his managerial career, I don't think we'd have gone near him had he not been ex-Darlo.

But, before I get jumped on, I genuinely hope he does well and gets the time to build a team. It's too early to be rushing to any conclusions. But I'm not as sold on him as some on here seem to be.

Darlogramps wrote:I'm going to risk the wrath of plenty on here, but there's an Emperor's New Clothes feel about this.

It's all well and good him being a nice guy but he'll be judged on his results. And he's played two, lost two so far, with Brackley being a horrendous display.

He can be as pleasant and personable as he wants but if we lose the next four games in a row, rightly or wrongly, there'll be a section of our support laying into him.

I wasn't convinced by his appointment - given his record in his managerial career, I don't think we'd have gone near him had he not been ex-Darlo.

But, before I get jumped on, I genuinely hope he does well and gets the time to build a team. It's too early to be rushing to any conclusions. But I'm not as sold on him as some on here seem to be.

Even on the pitch he's not adopted the best circumstances, he's having to build a team halfway through a season with the key players being sold off. For me so far he's ticked all the boxes off the pitch, so it's good to have that optimism.

He's also got an incredibly difficult run of games coming up, so I'm willing to grant some leeway on his first few matches. FA trophy is where we could get some excitement were we to hover around mid table all year.

Gramps, I think the main positivity comes in the fact that reading between the lines a lot of the talk is about sustainability. I think we're all expecting, despite TW's statements contrary to this, that we'll be in a battle to stay up. I like the fact that he wants to give youth a chance more, and set up our own proper academy. Yes, this may have been forced upon us and I'm sure in interviews the directors will have pointed out that we've overspent and this has to stop, but I get the feeling that something can be built long term, in the NLN not the Evostik. It's not just the managerial appointments, but the realisation that after MG things have to change. I think that under MG we were heading for trouble and more debt, this gives us a fresh start. As you say, very early days. We need people to be patient and not get on TWs back if/when things don't pick up straight away.

The difficulty for TW in turning things around is illustrated by our scarily poor away form which suggests we'll have a tough task getting anything out of Saturday's match. In the last eight away games we have collected three points out of a possible 24, scoring just five goals and leaking 14. That winless away run included four games against teams currently below us in the league.

Vodka_Vic wrote:Gramps, I think the main positivity comes in the fact that reading between the lines a lot of the talk is about sustainability. I think we're all expecting, despite TW's statements contrary to this, that we'll be in a battle to stay up. I like the fact that he wants to give youth a chance more, and set up our own proper academy. Yes, this may have been forced upon us and I'm sure in interviews the directors will have pointed out that we've overspent and this has to stop, but I get the feeling that something can be built long term, in the NLN not the Evostik. It's not just the managerial appointments, but the realisation that after MG things have to change. I think that under MG we were heading for trouble and more debt, this gives us a fresh start. As you say, very early days. We need people to be patient and not get on TWs back if/when things don't pick up straight away.

Certainly some encouraging words and I'm probably somewhere between you and Darlogramps on this.

The thing about these Netcafe's is that they can all be pre-prepared, answers checked and made to give the right message. Whether that message will be followed through or not remains to be seen and I think we've got to be open-minded about Tommy Wright's appointment and take what is being said at face value.

There's a bigger picture than instant results on the pitch and while staying up and stabilising is a clear priority, as long as progress is being made off the field (assuming TW is playing a part in this) then we need to avoid panicking if results don't go our way and we do find ourselves in a relegation scrap.

I'd rather we went down with infrastructure being put in pace (academy development, progression of young players, ground being improved) than panic, sack TW and spend excessively on the squad as a short term gamble and start from square one again with infrastructure.

But as Darlogramps points out, if results aren't decent on the pitch there will be a section of our support calling for TW's head.

Here is the link to last nights Netcafe Chat.

http://darlingtonfootballclub.co.uk/net ... -wright-2/

You can't really judge him on two games so far. He's essentially just begun to sort out the mess MG has left. We'll start to get a picture by the end of the season, as he builds his team and gets them playing his way.

I was thinking the same thing H1987.

Gray was happy to take the glory and good times but as soon as we looked to have slowed down and needed a little time to rejig things both on and off the pitch he caused trouble then flounced off.

Surely every sensible person can see that sorting this out will take a little time.

theoriginalfatcat wrote:I was thinking the same thing H1987.

Gray was happy to take the glory and good times but as soon as we looked to have slowed down and needed a little time to rejig things both on and off the pitch he caused trouble then flounced off.

Surely every sensible person can see that sorting this out will take a little time.

Spot on.

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Vodka_Vic wrote:Gramps, I think the main positivity comes in the fact that reading between the lines a lot of the talk is about sustainability. I think we're all expecting, despite TW's statements contrary to this, that we'll be in a battle to stay up. I like the fact that he wants to give youth a chance more, and set up our own proper academy. Yes, this may have been forced upon us and I'm sure in interviews the directors will have pointed out that we've overspent and this has to stop, but I get the feeling that something can be built long term, in the NLN not the Evostik. It's not just the managerial appointments, but the realisation that after MG things have to change. I think that under MG we were heading for trouble and more debt, this gives us a fresh start. As you say, very early days. We need people to be patient and not get on TWs back if/when things don't pick up straight away.

I don't disagree with any of this at all.

But ultimately TW will be judged on results, rather than if we become sustainable on the pitch.

As others rightly point out, the team wasn't left in a good state by MG and TW does have a bit of a rebuilding job. Because of this he deserves to be given time.

Signing Heaton seems to be a good step, although again, he should be judged on performances.

However Wright's record as a manager, in my opinion, leaves a lot to be desired and he does in the next few games need to demonstrate some element of progress on the pitch. The fanbase would soon turn if we play keep repeating our Brackley performance.

Darlogramps wrote:

Vodka_Vic wrote:Gramps, I think the main positivity comes in the fact that reading between the lines a lot of the talk is about sustainability. I think we're all expecting, despite TW's statements contrary to this, that we'll be in a battle to stay up. I like the fact that he wants to give youth a chance more, and set up our own proper academy. Yes, this may have been forced upon us and I'm sure in interviews the directors will have pointed out that we've overspent and this has to stop, but I get the feeling that something can be built long term, in the NLN not the Evostik. It's not just the managerial appointments, but the realisation that after MG things have to change. I think that under MG we were heading for trouble and more debt, this gives us a fresh start. As you say, very early days. We need people to be patient and not get on TWs back if/when things don't pick up straight away.

I don't disagree with any of this at all.

But ultimately TW will be judged on results, rather than if we become sustainable on the pitch.

As others rightly point out, the team wasn't left in a good state by MG and TW does have a bit of a rebuilding job. Because of this he deserves to be given time.

Signing Heaton seems to be a good step, although again, he should be judged on performances.

However Wright's record as a manager, in my opinion, leaves a lot to be desired and he does in the next few games need to demonstrate some element of progress on the pitch. The fanbase would soon turn if we play keep repeating our Brackley performance.

Of course it is also worth remembering that while Wright's managerial record so far is patchy, he's also very young and only has a couple of seasons to be judged on. From what I can see he's had a very steep learning curve (ie he's not had a few years as part of a coaching team) and so will still be learning and hopefully improving.

If he's smart enough and self-aware enough to learn from his mistakes then there's no reason why his record can't improve. Lets hope that's the case!

Im sure he said that as he was now working part time it wasnt a problem with travel as he worked full time before.

Does he have another job to go along ours anyone know?

MCFCDarlo3 wrote:Im sure he said that as he was now working part time it wasnt a problem with travel as he worked full time before.

Does he have another job to go along ours anyone know?

No he doesn’t and from what I gather he doesn’t intend to either. He’s treating the job as a full time position, which is great from our perspective!

Darlogramps wrote:The fanbase would soon turn if we play keep repeating our Brackley performance.

I see your point, however some of the performances with Gray at the helm were worse than last Saturday. His record this season (Gray) has been poor apart from the first 4 games.

Take the away game at North Ferriby - we had a better team out against a side far inferior to Brackley, so through my eyes T.W. has made an improvement already, he's just had a tough 2 games - with unfortunately more in the pipeline.

Thought he came across and there were some excellent questions notably Quakerman2 and Vodka Vic. I am convinced he’s the right man at the right time. MG would have taken us to the wall financially