Darlo Uncovered

Signed for South Shields.

Thought he was on the retained list?

So has Garry Brown

He was!

If we have got a fee for a 30 year old then fair play, he wasn't going to be first choice at either right-back or centre-half next season but he does provide adequate cover in both areas.

A shame. But I suppose TW & AW know what they're doing. In reality we've lost 2 players recently good enough for the 16-man squad, they'll need replacing.

Was Hunter under contract?

http://darlingtonfootballclub.co.uk/chr ... -contract/

This is all I could find - and it says he signed a 2 year contract in 2016. Considering he was on the retained list, it looks like he was one Wright wanted to keep but he's chosen to sign for S Shields instead. Which is a shame

Ive agreed with most decisions so far and was maybe 50/50 on Portas at the time but without Hunter Brown and Marrs we dont really have RB coverage since Trotman has been injured a fair bit.

Quaker0006 wrote:Ive agreed with most decisions so far and was maybe 50/50 on Portas at the time but without Hunter Brown and Marrs we dont really have RB coverage since Trotman has been injured a fair bit.

Collins has played there for us and did OK

al_quaker wrote:

Quaker0006 wrote:Ive agreed with most decisions so far and was maybe 50/50 on Portas at the time but without Hunter Brown and Marrs we dont really have RB coverage since Trotman has been injured a fair bit.

Collins has played there for us and did OK

i disagree. But either way get the feeling Wright wasnt expecting this

One point which does come as a surprise is that there doesn’t seem to have been any announcement from the club about this. I first saw it on Facebook via an announcement from South Shields.
It is a little bit disconcerting that we announce a retained list and then a player on that list leaves within days but with luck our management team will have their own targets in mind to replace anyone who leaves.
On that point I would hope that there are target players in the minds of messrs. Wright & White for most positions because we must be at risk of losing Heaton & Wheatley after their appearances in the V9 Academy this summer, Trotman looks (sooner or later) destined for full time football and we need another striker now. (Plus a goalkeeper)
Can’t wait to see who actually signs for Wright & White during the summer.

Really hope Tommy has got players with character lined up because losing Brown,Portas and now Chris Hunter within the last week is not good IMO.These were strong characters and not easy to replace so over to you Tommy.

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Quaker0006 wrote:

al_quaker wrote:

Quaker0006 wrote:Ive agreed with most decisions so far and was maybe 50/50 on Portas at the time but without Hunter Brown and Marrs we dont really have RB coverage since Trotman has been injured a fair bit.

Collins has played there for us and did OK

i disagree. But either way get the feeling Wright wasnt expecting this

Each to their own

Considering he was on the retained list I get the impression he wasn't either! Thankfully Hunter was only a backup player, and it's only the 10th of May so we've got plenty of time to find a replacement. Although, considering as it stands we've still got experienced defensive cover but no GKs, 1 senior striker and the only back up to wide players is Caton, I'd argue there are other priorities to spend our budget on.

Hunter probably liked the idea of playing for his hometown club, maybe he'll get more first team opportunities, they get big crowds, they may well win the evo prem and no doubt pay well. Can see why the switch was appealing.

If we were going to lose a player from one position it would be defence since we’re very well covered. Collins can fill in tab RB so it allows us to recruit a player further up the pitch where we were a bit short.

al_quaker wrote:

Quaker0006 wrote:

al_quaker wrote:

Quaker0006 wrote:Ive agreed with most decisions so far and was maybe 50/50 on Portas at the time but without Hunter Brown and Marrs we dont really have RB coverage since Trotman has been injured a fair bit.

Collins has played there for us and did OK

i disagree. But either way get the feeling Wright wasnt expecting this

Each to their own

Considering he was on the retained list I get the impression he wasn't either! Thankfully Hunter was only a backup player, and it's only the 10th of May so we've got plenty of time to find a replacement. Although, considering as it stands we've still got experienced defensive cover but no GKs, 1 senior striker and the only back up to wide players is Caton, I'd argue there are other priorities to spend our budget on.

Think Wright must have been happy with it as even though the info on contracts doesn't back it up but from what I heard Hunter was in contract.

super_les_mcjannet wrote: Think Wright must have been happy with it as even though the info on contracts doesn't back it up but from what I heard Hunter was in contract.

Obviously a shame to see Hunter go on a personal level as he's played a key role in 2 promotions for us, but if he was under contract and we got a small fee then thats a good piece of business for us I reckon.

No guarantee he is the same player after a bad injury and a season out.Obviously I hope he is and does well at Shields,but you never know.
Now looking forward to some incoming after the last week.

Darlofan97 wrote:He was!

If we have got a fee for a 30 year old then fair play, he wasn't going to be first choice at either right-back or centre-half next season but he does provide adequate cover in both areas.

A shame. But I suppose TW & AW know what they're doing. In reality we've lost 2 players recently good enough for the 16-man squad, they'll need replacing.

Considering Hunter barely played all season due to injury, I don't think he needs replacing. Brown was down the pecking order so doesn't need replacing as such, and Portas similar although in many ways has already been replaced by Wheatley and Glover coming in last season.

I'm sure we'll see some new recruits come in over the next few weeks, but hopefully players who balance the squad out a bit rather than like for like replacements. We were very defender-heavy so shifting some players from that group makes sense - especially if Burgess is sitting tight.

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divas wrote:If we were going to lose a player from one position it would be defence since we’re very well covered. Collins can fill in tab RB so it allows us to recruit a player further up the pitch where we were a bit short.

Absolutely right. Hunter wasn't an automatic choice in back 4 after his injury & more recent signings although would have been good cover if any of the V9 candidates are successful in getting picked up by a League team. Also Hunter is no spring chicken, so his departure may give an opportunity for some of our youngsters to get a regular first team slot & keep the likes of Jack Vaulks happy.
Having said all that, it would be churlish not to wish Hunter all the best in his move, but any chance of inserting a clause so that if & when we play South Shields, he is ineligible? He could come back to haunt us!

Looks like South Shields are going for it next season and they could do worse by signing Kev Burgess (hint hint)

PierremontQuaker03 wrote:Looks like South Shields are going for it next season and they could do worse by signing Kev Burgess (hint hint)

They could just rebuild our defence from the Evostick but with Arca at left-back.

There was no guarantee that Hunter has or will fully recover from his injury. So it would have been a big gamble to keep him. I'm sure TW has more than suitable replacements to take over.

I thought I had read that that Chris Hunter and Tom Portus were out of contract but TW had asked them to come back in close season to check on there fitness before considering signing them on a contract.
To be honest for both guys this would have meant that they were going to be late getting another club if TW decided they did not meet the requirements in pre season training. Therefore you can't blame them for getting signed up with another club earlier so they had their future sorted with options of clubs rather than waiting to see which clubs were still looking for players (impacting pay?).

Both been great servants for the club and wish them well, and glad for Browny getting signed up quickly.

South Shields have certainly moved on from the club that was struggling and we went there putting money into their collections buckets to save the club.

The non league scene in the North East is certainly thriving at the moment.

50 years wrote:I thought I had read that that Chris Hunter and Tom Portus were out of contract but TW had asked them to come back in close season to check on there fitness before considering signing them on a contract.

I think this is true. The release from South Shields describes them both as 'former' Darlington players which indicates they weren't contracted to use when they signed them.

I am not interpreting that TW had made any presumptions about Chris Hunter being in his squad for next season, he just offered the opportunity to prove himself. Probably a toss of a coin whether he would have been retained or not.

Shame to see him go and does seem the Wright was not expecting it. Though as I doubt Hunter was going to be first choice RB it can't come as a huge surprise either.

I dont have any worry over the players we have at RB. Trotman looks well capable of playing above this level, but both he and Collins seem to struggle staying fit.

BaronsCourtQuaker wrote:Shame to see him go and does seem the Wright was not expecting it. Though as I doubt Hunter was going to be first choice RB it can't come as a huge surprise either.

I dont have any worry over the players we have at RB. Trotman looks well capable of playing above this level, but both he and Collins seem to struggle staying fit.

Collins by all accounts was carrying an injury when we signed him and I don't think this was ever given adequate treatment/rest until the new year hence why he was in and out of the team over the first part of the season.

Hopefully with a few months rest he'll come back to pre-season fully recovered and ready for a full season. He played right-back in the win against Harrogate and looked comfortable there, although probably offers less attacking support than Trotman will.

lo36789 wrote:
I think this is true. The release from South Shields describes them both as 'former' Darlington players which indicates they weren't contracted to use when they signed them.

Or just that they used to play for Darlington?

Spyman wrote:

PierremontQuaker03 wrote:Looks like South Shields are going for it next season and they could do worse by signing Kev Burgess (hint hint)

They could just rebuild our defence from the Evostick but with Arca at left-back.

Arca has retired today

darlo2001uk wrote:

lo36789 wrote:
I think this is true. The release from South Shields describes them both as 'former' Darlington players which indicates they weren't contracted to use when they signed them.

Or just that they used to play for Darlington?

or as per our press release he was released by us before signing for South Shields.

I am not sure I buy into it not being the managers expectation given we released him from his contract in order to sign for South Shields.

Must be weird for Spennymoor having some competition from South Shields for our ex-players!?

Nice words from Chris thanking our club and fans in the echo today