Greetings

Open now for discussion of all things Darlo!

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ShakerFan
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2019 8:28 am
Team Supported: Bury

Greetings

Post by ShakerFan » Fri Sep 27, 2019 8:54 am

Bury fan in peace, not that my username is a giveaway. :D
Anyway, you have probably been unable to escape from Bury in the news in the last few months. Yesterday's news however seems to have finally given me at least some closure on the matter as we will definitely not be allowed back into the EFL. I can now look forward to a fan owned Bury FC, either under the current name or a new name.
Anyway, like with yourselves, I can tell a long sorry tale of the corruption, lies and criminals and not to mention the incompetence and lies of the EFL that has led to our demise. It certainly has similarities with Darlington.
Anyway, that is not why I am here.

I am finally thinking positively about us starting again, and thought I'd pop on here to get some good stories of your time since you had to restart.

I have no doubt it will be tough, but since when has being a proper football fan been easy?

I have always had alot of time for Darlington as a club.
I remember a hot May in 1995 as we beat you 2-1 as we prepared for the playoffs.
I remember the Titanic battle for 3rd spot in 96.
Robbie Painter
Feethams, a proper old fashioned ground.
And how can I forget, the fact you always seemed like a proper set of fans. A set of fans, like Bury, fighting a losing battle with much bigger and stuck up neighbours. There was also the fact that you always brought good numbers to Gigg Lane.

Anyway, it will be good to hear some stories of your time in none league and if you want to include any 90s nostalgia as well, even better.

Up the Shakers and Up the Quakers

JE93
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Joined: Sun Nov 29, 2009 2:48 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Greetings

Post by JE93 » Fri Sep 27, 2019 9:36 am

Welcome shakers fan. Saw the news yesterday and tbh with you, I was slightly glad, not for any past rivalries or injustices etc. But from the perspective that, based on Bury's current situation, the only persons who could afford to or would be willing to take on and try and untangle that mess would be similar con-artists to the one you have currently attracted. If the club goes back to the fans, you can make sure people like Steve Dale never have a say in the future of your football club again.

Have very fond memories of a couple of trips to Gigg Lane a great ground and bit of history with it being a munitions store during the war etc.

Best memories;
1) Our first competitive game after the dust had settled. 2-1 Win against Bishop Auckland. Capacity crowd in there, mostly Darlo fans after Danny Mills said we would all abandon the club if we fell down the leagues. Collective sense of pride that we had stuck together, rescued our club, found a ground and a team. The sense of achievement at getting to that game and winning was massive. We went on to win the league that season, record points tally and record goals tally.

2) Winning the Evo-Stick Prem with a record equalling points tally. Due to a bad pitch and horrendous weather conditions through winter we came to the end of the season fighting for the title against Salford and a very good Blyth Spartans side, with something like 7 or 8 games to play in 25 days. We sealed the title with a 7-1 victory over Whitby away from home with about 1,500 darlo fans making the trip mid-week.

3) Its hard to put your finger on it, but there is also a great satisfaction to knowing your favourite player is also a Plumber. Gary Brown was with us from the Northern League to the Conference north. A lad who had played for the club as a Yth but been released. All round captain fantastic, old fashioned CB who played with absolute pride for representing his home town club. When an average League 2 player these days is likely on in excess of £1k a week its great to see a lad who you know grafts all day and turns up of an evening/weekend and plays with so much pride and passion for representing his home town club.

Your biggest obstacle to success I would say is the ground situation. Securing Gigg Lane will be fundamental to your success. At the moment we have spent hundreds of thousands upgrading a ground we only have a license to play at on match days and which is still not particularly fit for crowds of above 1,800. The fact we don't have greater access or control limits our commercial operations and sponsorship opportunities too. Clubs like Halifax, Chester etc who retained access to their grounds have managed to continue growing passed where we are currently stuck, partly because of this.

Best advice I can give is look towards your fan base. You would be amazed at the skills which the people who support your club have and how generous they will be with their time when it is for the benefit of the club they love. That being said, stick together, there will be some fairly fundamental mistakes made in your trip back through the leagues for example:
- We signed up to play at one ground in our first season, realised it wasn't suitable, instantly went to play somewhere else.
- We made the playoff places in our first season in the Conference North only to be denied an ability to play in the as our ground was not up to standard. We simply didn't have the cash to upgrade in time.
But the mistakes will be made by those who have and will have always had the clubs best interests at heart.

Wish you huge luck, I have no doubt we will meet again. Hopefully one day it will be back in League 2.

magic1
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Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:36 pm
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Re: Greetings

Post by magic1 » Fri Sep 27, 2019 9:42 am

Used to play against Bury supporters club back in the day, always a fun away day.

There is fun to be had on your journey. The 'benefit' we had was that it happened at the end of the season and we were straight into the next season so was easy to gain/build/maintain momentum but best of luck to you. However, you have a stadium (I believe) so that's a great start.

You'll get to see some new grounds, experience winning matches, which was a novelty for us !! It's cheaper despite some clubs putting up their prices when you visit. The players you get, most will thrive on it and you'll build a rapport with some like you've never had before. They are committed, love playing in front of a crowd and want to go on the journey with the club. Some obviously will only be after the money but that happens at every level. We've now found our current level, hopefully in time we can go again but as fans we are just pleased to have a team to follow, despite some wanting/demanding victory every week when by us playing is a victory !

The best thing is, it can't happen again, one man cannot destroy your club as you will all have a stake in the club and not one selfish individual.

Good luck for the future, I look forward to visiting Gigg Lane again

EDJOHNS
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Re: Greetings

Post by EDJOHNS » Fri Sep 27, 2019 10:08 am

I admit I would not have been happy had the club been allowed back in the league. As has been said above, it would probably have led to another charlatan getting hold of the club.
The advice is simple, no matter where you get dropped into, and how far you think you have fallen, embrace it. I would not even advocate coming back into the National league as I see you plan to do. It takes a lot of money. I think most Darlo fans would say the first few years when we were so low down the pyramid were actually very enjoyable for many reasons, not least the chance to have a competitive side from day 1.
When you get back to the level we are now at and see such as York, Chester, Kiddy Southport, and yes, us, you will realise you have hit a decent level and it is hard to advance from here.
1 big advantage you have is like Hereford, you have the ground ready willing and able to get you back up the leagues.
You are going to meet the odd pillock club and fan who try to take the mike, but you will find the vast majority of both clubs and fans really welcoming and far more ready to enjoy a good chat and some decent banter than in the FL.

Alfie
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Location: Eye, Suffolk

Re: Greetings

Post by Alfie » Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:07 am

Like others have said, I'm pleased that staying in the EFL has been ruled out - obviously nothing personal, but anything else would have set a terrible precedent and only encouraged rogue/stupid owners to gamble money they haven't got in the hope that success will somehow generate enough to keep the scam going and give them a profit.

The future may look bleak now, but as we and others have shown it can be an enjoyable experience. If you go down the fan owned route there will be frustrations when you have to compete with bankrolled clubs and being fan financed does place limitations and ambitions have to be realistic - despite our horrendous experiences under several owners there are still people who say we must have outside finance (ie an owner with total control) to progress - from a purely short term financial viewpoint they may be right, but I think the majority can see the bigger picture and are content with our financial model.

Although we were very dissapointed that we were dumped down to the Northern League, step 5 of the non league pyramid, in hindsight it was probably a good thing. We became a 'big' club relative to many others in the league and had the unusual experience of winning games and getting promotions.

I don't know how organised you fans are - Supporters Trust or similar, but you definitely need some central group to coordinate the efforts of the 'ordinary' fan. Supporters Direct provided a lot of help in the early days, and I'm sure you'd get a positive resonse from clubs like ourselves who are a few years ahead of you.

Most of all enjoy it and relish the opportunity to secure a long term future for a club that is there first and foremost for its fans not some malign or delusional individual

ShakerFan
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2019 8:28 am
Team Supported: Bury

Re: Greetings

Post by ShakerFan » Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:47 am

There has been a lot of injustice from the EFL and that is why many fans thought we should be allowed back in.
Bolton were allowed to start the season despite having their ongoing soap opera with Ken Anderson, administration and being unable to pay players. They still have not been punished for not playing a game last season and have not been punished for cancelling a game without informing the EFL. Yet Bury were not allowed to start the season. When we appeared to have a takeover in place the EFL told us we could only work with that interested party (who appeared genuine) but nobody else, and were given a deadline of 24 working hours.
Bolton were given a two week extension. Since then the EFL have span lies and half truths to try and support their position. They even broke several of their own rules when deciding our fate.

However I do take your points, and it is a stance I have been telling myself since yesterday, we can start again and be 100% secure under our own fans watchful eyes. Personally, I think the EFL is that bent that the idea of playing away from it and on packed terraces and as (for a change) one of the big boys, is not a bad one. Perhaps if or when our clubs get back to the EFL the corruption may have been weeded out (not getting my hopes up though).

I don't think the club is aiming to get back in the conference by the way, I don't know what the plan is. Right now I am just desperate to see my club play again.

What was the deal of getting your old name back btw? I gather that it was not granted right away but the FA then let you take it back.

Regarding the ground, it is a bit of an issue.

Steve Dale is the asset stripping scumbag who has made the headlines, but it was the man before him, the disgusting, lying Stewart Day, our version of George Reynolds/Michael Knighton if you will. He was the egotistical, delusional lying conman who caused this before selling to Dale for a pound to finish us off.
Anyway he took a loan out from a loan company called Capital Bridge. The owner of said loan company was the brother in law of Day's revolting sidekick, Glenn Thomas. I can't remember the total amount of the loan, but the club saw 140 grand of it. The rest went into Day and Thomas's back pockets and it gave Capital Bridge a hold on the ground which the club continued to pay weekly interest on. It was they that blocked the recent takeover that would have saved us. The value of the land is worth 1.5 million, the consortium that wanted to buy us offered this, Capital Bridge demanded 3 million and would not relent, forcing the takeover to collapse.
The ground is a community asset, so when we are legally wound up CB will own what will be a useless white elephant and so our phoenix group may have the upper hand in getting it back. However they still have a say on the land so to speak, or so I understand it.

Stewart Day and Glenn Thomas I could write a book about the lies, crap and fall out that they caused. I just hope, like Reynolds the law catches up with them one day as they have attempted to play real football manager whilst making a fortune out of our club's limited income before vanishing.

Sorry to take it off topic, but I had to give some background information.

For memorable Darlo vs Bury moments, how could I forget 2006 and our 3-2 win which went a long way to securing our league status and who can forget that Chris Brass OG. :-)

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theoriginalfatcat
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Re: Greetings

Post by theoriginalfatcat » Fri Sep 27, 2019 12:09 pm

There are some brilliant posts here, and I echo the sentiment of "enjoy it" which is written above. I enjoyed the early years a lot, much more than I expected.

One thing I would like to add is that Raj Singh (previous chairman and mostly to blame for our demise) attempted to buy his way back into DFC a couple of years ago. He let us (the fans) do all the work, clear up all the mess then thought he could breeze back in with the aid of his tainted cheque book and support from then manager Martin Gray. It's a long story but ultimately we (owners/fans) put a stop to this plan - something that most other clubs would never be able to do.

The amount of good feeling surrounding the club is impressive now. For instance our 50/50 draw on a match day now generates around £1300 per match or more. This is because the fans know that half of this money goes directly to the club, there are now no dodgy characters or charlatans up to who knows what..

Good luck ShakerFan.
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Feethams the Panda. 28 Jan 2012.
Now extinct!

JasonDeVos
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Re: Greetings

Post by JasonDeVos » Fri Sep 27, 2019 12:56 pm

theoriginalfatcat wrote:
Fri Sep 27, 2019 12:09 pm
There are some brilliant posts here, and I echo the sentiment of "enjoy it" which is written above. I enjoyed the early years a lot, much more than I expected.
This is totally my view. Seeing us win the league with 122 points and being pushed all the way was brilliant. A playoff win and another league title beating the financially doped Salford was superb.

Does not matter what league you are in if you are watching 11 men giving their absolute all every week. Being part of a fan owned club is something very special and although it creates ups and downs I would not swap it for being crook owned in the football league.

banktopp
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Location: Hereford

Re: Greetings

Post by banktopp » Fri Sep 27, 2019 1:52 pm

One vital issue you must address if you are to reform as a phoenix club is to appoint a chief executive who as well as being a fan must be
prepared to make unpopular decisions in the best interests of the club. By that I mean you must not let the your manager whoever you appoint, dictate his own terms. He should be given an annual playing budget and have to stick to it. In the past few years during our resurgence there have been occasions when I believe we have sailed very close to the wind, when during winter months and inevitable postponed games, cash flow and an over enthusiastic manager ( in financial terms ), caused major problems. Fortunately we are lucky to have in David Johnson our chief executive, a man who has steered us through the difficult times and who is in my humble opinion is the greatest asset of our club.
It will be a huge shock to find yourself playing away at teams you have never heard of, with a few hundred home supporters. But you will find that a hard core of loyal supporters, true supporters, will stick by your club.
As others have said our recovery has been exciting, turbulent,and at times worrying but in all my years following Darlington FC I have felt more part of the club. After all not many folks down the pub can claim to partly own a football club.

Darlo_Pete
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Re: Greetings

Post by Darlo_Pete » Fri Sep 27, 2019 2:15 pm

Don't worry things will seem bad now, but there is life after the FL. You might well enjoy being a large fish in a small sea. Have you any idea what league you will be playing in next season & will you be playing at Gigg Lane or somewhere else? Good luck for the future & as others have said I have enjoyed my visits over the years to Gigg Lane & when we do play you again I'm sure there will be a large following from Darlo that will come over the pennines to meet our friends from Bury.

ShakerFan
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Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2019 8:28 am
Team Supported: Bury

Re: Greetings

Post by ShakerFan » Fri Sep 27, 2019 2:43 pm

Hi,

What league we are in and keeping Gigg Lane is all up in the air. I think that unless by a miracle some genuine bloke with money who is willing to work with our supporters steps forwards on October the 16th then the club will be wound up.

I am guessing things will really kick on from there, however there is a massive stumbling block regarding Gigg Lane that I have mentioned in the post above. :-(

jjljks
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Re: Greetings

Post by jjljks » Fri Sep 27, 2019 8:08 pm

Sorry to see Bury's plight, but there are some highlights to look forward to, particularly if a couple of ex-Shakers can give you a steer in the early days. Also engage the fans to bind them say with £10 share certificate, although i have an uncertain grasp of what the actual football share of the club was. It was painful not to be allowed to use the original club name for a while, but giving fans a vote on what we called the club was engaging. One thing not yet mentioned was the great day when our old Tin Shed was resurrected at the new (rented) ground. All the best for the future, no matter where you have to start. One day we will see Shakers v Quakers again!

quaker4life
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Re: Greetings

Post by quaker4life » Fri Sep 27, 2019 10:25 pm

ShakerFan wrote:
Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:47 am
For memorable Darlo vs Bury moments, how could I forget 2006 and our 3-2 win which went a long way to securing our league status and who can forget that Chris Brass OG. :-)
This is usually the first thing I think of whenever discussing Bury! Even now 13 years later I'm not sure how he managed to do it, I was told he even broke his nose in the process! As you say though you had the last laugh winning 3-2 with a goal in injury time if I remember rightly.

In fact from what I recall you became somewhat of a bogey team for us at the Arena! I remember you beating us 3-1 in what turned out to be Mick Tait's final game in charge in October 2003 and I remember a "Reynolds Out" banner appearing in the West Stand and the stewards were promptly sent to have it removed the atmosphere that day was as toxic as I ever experienced there even during the dark days of the Houghton & Singh eras. I also remember you beating us 2-1 there the following season one of your goals coming through an absolute clanger from our centre half Matt Clarke and also "that" Dean Windass penalty early in the 2009/10 season which set the tone for what was to come that year (and of course you won once again, 1-0!).

I went to Gigg Lane a few times and always enjoyed it, decent little away day and a decent little ground I think the last time I was there was in December 2008 and I believe it was a 2-2 draw.

As has been said above, with the greatest of respect, in principal I agree with the decision to not allow you to return to League 2 next season however I do understand and appreciate you doing all you can to achieve the best possible outcome from this dire situation and I'm sure our fans would do the same in your position. However I look at it like this, had Bolton been expelled instead of yourselves and they too came forward with a proposal to start next season in League 2 (which ironically it looks likely they're going to) would you have voted in favour of it? I was deeply saddened like many others were to see you in this situation, one which is unfortunately all too familiar to ourselves and the likes of Chester, Halifax, Hereford, Kettering and Rushden.

And as for the drop down the pyramid I can assure you of one thing, it will be eye opening! You'll go to places you never even knew existed and for the most part you'll be greeted with open arms as many of these clubs will have never seen a full house at their ground before. But be warned, there could well be some rouges amongst them, as there was for us who shall remain West Auckland and the now defunct Norton & Stockton Ancients - the former who doubled their prices which resulted in a boycott and the latter who stung fans for an extra few quid on the turnstiles.

It's also absolutely essential that Gigg Lane is retained, although we had a hugely successful stint outside of town in Bishop Auckland, trying to maintain an upward surge up the league's as well as building a new ground in town for a fan owned non league club was financially demanding and as someone pointed out already we flew a little too close to the sun at times and we've had to make a lot of sacrifices to achieve longer term stability.

But above all the most important thing to remember is that you, the supporters, are custodians and it is up to you to carry 134 years worth of history forward be it with the current incarnation of Bury FC or a phoenix club, your destiny is in your hands. When we dropped down the leagues it was very, very difficult for everyone concerned but Martin Gray forged a siege mentality between both fans and players and it felt for the first time since leaving Feethams that the club and supporters were all one again.

Apologies for the long winded post and all the best of luck to you :thumbup:
love it! wrote:Considering we are Darlington 1883 I'm happy that we are named correctly

shildonlad
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Re: Greetings

Post by shildonlad » Mon Sep 30, 2019 10:44 pm

Alright pal whilst im sorry about bury i think it would have set a bad example if they were allowed back in the league especially with the same owner. The ground issue seems a mess. Mind if the grounds got a covant on and theres a new bury wanting to play there that would be better than it lying empty surely. Of course when a grounds in hands of shady businessmen its never that simple just look at northwich
I may not live in the north east anymore but i still support the north east teams

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Geordie Quaker
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Re: Greetings

Post by Geordie Quaker » Tue Oct 01, 2019 4:27 am

Genuinely giutted for all the Bury fans - as a Darlo fan that started attending through the early 90s they are inextricably linked to my formative Darlo years. That 4-0 at Feethams in 96 man 8-)

Only thing I should add which will contribute to your adventure - if you end up below step six (i.e. under the National League North), then you are going to spend most of yor time playing teams within an hour of you - we seemed to spend every other weekend on the bloody M62. When we were in the Northern League we loved that - easy travel, big numbers and home for tea / back to the local nice and early (delete as appropriate).

Very best of luck with the journey - I personally do not subscribe the view that Bury are a small club. Maybe in comparison to some of the big boys who have inexplicably ended up in the Leagues 1/2, but I always thought of them as bigger than the staple Division Three diet of the 90s (us, Pooly, Donny, Scunny, Mansfield, Wigan, etc). With some momentum (and the ground secured), their fan base gives them greater potential to clamber the ladder than we have / had.

FozzQuaker
Posts: 52
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Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Greetings

Post by FozzQuaker » Tue Oct 01, 2019 10:56 am


quaker4life wrote:
ShakerFan wrote:
Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:47 am
For memorable Darlo vs Bury moments, how could I forget 2006 and our 3-2 win which went a long way to securing our league status and who can forget that Chris Brass OG. :-)
This is usually the first thing I think of whenever discussing Bury! Even now 13 years later I'm not sure how he managed to do it, I was told he even broke his nose in the process! As you say though you had the last laugh winning 3-2 with a goal in injury time if I remember rightly.

In fact from what I recall you became somewhat of a bogey team for us at the Arena! I remember you beating us 3-1 in what turned out to be Mick Tait's final game in charge in October 2003 and I remember a "Reynolds Out" banner appearing in the West Stand and the stewards were promptly sent to have it removed the atmosphere that day was as toxic as I ever experienced there even during the dark days of the Houghton & Singh eras. I also remember you beating us 2-1 there the following season one of your goals coming through an absolute clanger from our centre half Matt Clarke and also "that" Dean Windass penalty early in the 2009/10 season which set the tone for what was to come that year (and of course you won once again, 1-0!).

I went to Gigg Lane a few times and always enjoyed it, decent little away day and a decent little ground I think the last time I was there was in December 2008 and I believe it was a 2-2 draw.

As has been said above, with the greatest of respect, in principal I agree with the decision to not allow you to return to League 2 next season however I do understand and appreciate you doing all you can to achieve the best possible outcome from this dire situation and I'm sure our fans would do the same in your position. However I look at it like this, had Bolton been expelled instead of yourselves and they too came forward with a proposal to start next season in League 2 (which ironically it looks likely they're going to) would you have voted in favour of it? I was deeply saddened like many others were to see you in this situation, one which is unfortunately all too familiar to ourselves and the likes of Chester, Halifax, Hereford, Kettering and Rushden.

And as for the drop down the pyramid I can assure you of one thing, it will be eye opening! You'll go to places you never even knew existed and for the most part you'll be greeted with open arms as many of these clubs will have never seen a full house at their ground before. But be warned, there could well be some rouges amongst them, as there was for us who shall remain West Auckland and the now defunct Norton & Stockton Ancients - the former who doubled their prices which resulted in a boycott and the latter who stung fans for an extra few quid on the turnstiles.

It's also absolutely essential that Gigg Lane is retained, although we had a hugely successful stint outside of town in Bishop Auckland, trying to maintain an upward surge up the league's as well as building a new ground in town for a fan owned non league club was financially demanding and as someone pointed out already we flew a little too close to the sun at times and we've had to make a lot of sacrifices to achieve longer term stability.

But above all the most important thing to remember is that you, the supporters, are custodians and it is up to you to carry 134 years worth of history forward be it with the current incarnation of Bury FC or a phoenix club, your destiny is in your hands. When we dropped down the leagues it was very, very difficult for everyone concerned but Martin Gray forged a siege mentality between both fans and players and it felt for the first time since leaving Feethams that the club and supporters were all one again.

Apologies for the long winded post and all the best of luck to you Image
He never broke his nose...Only injury was his wounded pride...

While I have sympathy for Bury, letting them back in the Football League is wrong, it sets a bad example, it'll mean that Clubs in financial trouble need not worry about it, that they may be suspended from the League, but they needn't worry, they'll be dropped straight back in the 4th tier.

I reckon they will try and get put in the Northern Premier League, but think they will probably be placed in the North West Counties League Premier Division.

I hope the matter concerning Gigg Lane is sorted in there favour, being the big fish in the small pond will be enjoyable, I enjoyed our season in the Northern League, going from having nothing to winning the League in 12 months was awesome and brought a nice feel good factor round the club.

Those wilderness years brought me some of the best years supporting football, winning the Northern League, then 2 years later getting back to back promotions through the Play-Offs and Winning the League at Whitby gave me some of my happiest memories as a football fan.

Good luck Bury, I have only been to Gigg Lane once, enjoyed my night down there and hope to come again in the future

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


Comfortably_numb
Posts: 2074
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Re: Greetings

Post by Comfortably_numb » Wed Oct 02, 2019 12:21 pm

ShakerFan wrote:
Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:47 am


Steve Dale is the asset stripping scumbag who has made the headlines, but it was the man before him, the disgusting, lying Stewart Day, our version of George Reynolds/Michael Knighton if you will. He was the egotistical, delusional lying conman who caused this before selling to Dale for a pound to finish us off.
Anyway he took a loan out from a loan company called Capital Bridge. The owner of said loan company was the brother in law of Day's revolting sidekick, Glenn Thomas. I can't remember the total amount of the loan, but the club saw 140 grand of it. The rest went into Day and Thomas's back pockets and it gave Capital Bridge a hold on the ground which the club continued to pay weekly interest on. It was they that blocked the recent takeover that would have saved us.
jesus - what a mess!!

best of luck in your journey

spen666
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Re: Greetings

Post by spen666 » Wed Oct 02, 2019 12:28 pm

Comfortably_numb wrote:
Wed Oct 02, 2019 12:21 pm
ShakerFan wrote:
Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:47 am


Steve Dale is the asset stripping scumbag who has made the headlines, but it was the man before him, the disgusting, lying Stewart Day, our version of George Reynolds/Michael Knighton if you will. He was the egotistical, delusional lying conman who caused this before selling to Dale for a pound to finish us off.
Anyway he took a loan out from a loan company called Capital Bridge. The owner of said loan company was the brother in law of Day's revolting sidekick, Glenn Thomas. I can't remember the total amount of the loan, but the club saw 140 grand of it. The rest went into Day and Thomas's back pockets and it gave Capital Bridge a hold on the ground which the club continued to pay weekly interest on. It was they that blocked the recent takeover that would have saved us.
jesus - what a mess!!

best of luck in your journey
As a lawyer, I hope that the police are investigating the conduct of all those involved including Dale, Thomas, Day etc. It seems that the conduct described is at the least suspicious and may well be fraudulent or even theft.

Its not nice to see any club destroyed by people like these. The loan over the ground stinks

EDJOHNS
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Re: Greetings

Post by EDJOHNS » Wed Oct 02, 2019 12:38 pm

ShakerFan wrote:
Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:47 am

What was the deal of getting your old name back btw? I gather that it was not granted right away but the FA then let you take it back.

Still a touchy subject with some. Because some pillock decided we were a "new" club we had to change name. We served a 5 year punishment before they allowed us to have our name back.

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don'tbuythesun
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Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Greetings

Post by don'tbuythesun » Wed Oct 02, 2019 5:41 pm

Ah, our resident legal eagle. Be careful what you're saying Spen!

spen666
Posts: 2296
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 9:12 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Greetings

Post by spen666 » Wed Oct 02, 2019 6:05 pm

don'tbuythesun wrote:
Wed Oct 02, 2019 5:41 pm
Ah, our resident legal eagle. Be careful what you're saying Spen!
What's wrong with expressing my view that I hope there is an Investigation into various people?

What should I be careful about?

shildonlad
Posts: 978
Joined: Mon May 07, 2012 9:53 pm
Team Supported: Newcastle united and gateshead
Location: Chesterfield

Re: Greetings

Post by shildonlad » Thu Oct 03, 2019 12:13 pm

EDJOHNS wrote:
Wed Oct 02, 2019 12:38 pm
ShakerFan wrote:
Fri Sep 27, 2019 11:47 am

What was the deal of getting your old name back btw? I gather that it was not granted right away but the FA then let you take it back.

Still a touchy subject with some. Because some pillock decided we were a "new" club we had to change name. We served a 5 year punishment before they allowed us to have our name back.
Those who saved the club paid off the debt so the club was not liquidated yeah? So why was the club deemed a new club was it the football share. Before anyone says im not takeing the pee and apologies for rakeing over old ground. Just thinking with gateshead new owners paid off the debt and a demotion was handed out due to the previous owners antics but just by one division so why so many for darlo?
I may not live in the north east anymore but i still support the north east teams

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theoriginalfatcat
Posts: 6718
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2009 7:40 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Greetings

Post by theoriginalfatcat » Thu Oct 03, 2019 1:22 pm

Shildonlad - below is an explanation, but it's NOT WRITTEN BY ME, it's written by QUAKERZ (who now calls himself Ghost83 or something)
I liked this explanation at the time so copied it - I hope he doesn't mind me posting it here.


You see, Darlington 1883 never rose from the ashes of Darlington, because Darlington never ceased to exist as a club. Darlington 1883 is a figment of the FA's imagination.

The problem we had was that the FA brought out shiny new rules which did not previously apply to other clubs who had exited administration without a CVA before (like Leeds, Luton and Bournemouth). Yes they were hit with large points penalties, but in our case the FA applied their shiny new rules and instead of giving us a large points deduction or an extra relegation, they pretended that we were a new club that should "start again" at step 5. They also decreed that we had to use a different playing name just to make sure that everyone knew we were a "new" club, unlike other clubs in the same situation previously.

Whether any of this was anything to do with Radged Strings holding on to the golden football share, is anyone's guess. A lot of people do seem to think it is down to the share not being transferred from Radged to the new owners, but I'm not so sure. The new rules were already in the FA rulebook which stated that all clubs who exited administration without a CVA would now be classed as a new club - so I think that the golden share issue is probably irrelevant.

The name Darlington 1883, although voted for by us, was only intended to be used if we went bust and had to start again, like for example Halifax did.

As a continuation of the same club Darlington but under the pretend name of Darlington 1883, and in the pretend guise of a new club - we paid in full the player debts of Darlington, and in the end, thanks to transfer clauses owned by Darlington, we gained extra money, half of which went to pay a little something towards the other creditors of Darlington.

Obviously if we had risen from the ashes of a now defunct club, we would have been under no obligation to pay a penny of it's playing or non playing debts, and neither would we have been able to receive transfer clauses from that now defunct club. It would just be impossible for the latter.
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Feethams the Panda. 28 Jan 2012.
Now extinct!

shildonlad
Posts: 978
Joined: Mon May 07, 2012 9:53 pm
Team Supported: Newcastle united and gateshead
Location: Chesterfield

Re: Greetings

Post by shildonlad » Thu Oct 03, 2019 7:33 pm

theoriginalfatcat wrote:
Thu Oct 03, 2019 1:22 pm
Shildonlad - below is an explanation, but it's NOT WRITTEN BY ME, it's written by QUAKERZ (who now calls himself Ghost83 or something)
I liked this explanation at the time so copied it - I hope he doesn't mind me posting it here.


You see, Darlington 1883 never rose from the ashes of Darlington, because Darlington never ceased to exist as a club. Darlington 1883 is a figment of the FA's imagination.

The problem we had was that the FA brought out shiny new rules which did not previously apply to other clubs who had exited administration without a CVA before (like Leeds, Luton and Bournemouth). Yes they were hit with large points penalties, but in our case the FA applied their shiny new rules and instead of giving us a large points deduction or an extra relegation, they pretended that we were a new club that should "start again" at step 5. They also decreed that we had to use a different playing name just to make sure that everyone knew we were a "new" club, unlike other clubs in the same situation previously.

Whether any of this was anything to do with Radged Strings holding on to the golden football share, is anyone's guess. A lot of people do seem to think it is down to the share not being transferred from Radged to the new owners, but I'm not so sure. The new rules were already in the FA rulebook which stated that all clubs who exited administration without a CVA would now be classed as a new club - so I think that the golden share issue is probably irrelevant.

The name Darlington 1883, although voted for by us, was only intended to be used if we went bust and had to start again, like for example Halifax did.

As a continuation of the same club Darlington but under the pretend name of Darlington 1883, and in the pretend guise of a new club - we paid in full the player debts of Darlington, and in the end, thanks to transfer clauses owned by Darlington, we gained extra money, half of which went to pay a little something towards the other creditors of Darlington.

Obviously if we had risen from the ashes of a now defunct club, we would have been under no obligation to pay a penny of it's playing or non playing debts, and neither would we have been able to receive transfer clauses from that now defunct club. It would just be impossible for the latter.
Thanks saves trawling through endless threads
I may not live in the north east anymore but i still support the north east teams

ShakerFan
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2019 8:28 am
Team Supported: Bury

Re: Greetings

Post by ShakerFan » Fri Jan 31, 2020 9:15 am

Hello again.
Just to announce, though nothing confirmed yet, me and two mates might be at your game with Guiseley tomorrow.
Just a few questions, how far from the train station is the ground and are there any home fan pubs you'd recommend?
If you become aware of several lads in Manc accents it is probably us.

We all have young families so the trip is still wife and babysitter pending.

😂

Darlo_Pete
Posts: 14080
Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2009 10:13 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Greetings

Post by Darlo_Pete » Fri Jan 31, 2020 10:49 am

You'd be more than welcome tomorrow. It's a fair hike from the station, but fortunately there is a bus outside that takes you to the ground. The bus is every 20 mins & you need to catch the X27 or X28. There is a pub right out the train station, but your probably better off coming to the bar at the ground which opens at 1-30pm or doing a combination of the two. If you wear your Bury colours, then I'm sure you'll be made very welcome in the bar & the ground. As you come through the ticket barriers head down the steps & then under the train track & that'll bring you out at the right exit for the right bus. :thumbup:

TFDM
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Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2009 11:32 am
Team Supported: Darlington
Contact:

Re: Greetings

Post by TFDM » Fri Jan 31, 2020 11:17 am

The ground is about 1.3 miles from the train station. I reckon you can walk it in half an hour. Maybe even a bit less.

If you walk down Victoria road out of the train station (head through the underpass and not past the taxi rank) you'll walk past the Feethams entertainment area. There is a pub there called the Woollen Mill so you could easily break up your journey with a pint or two and then continue on your way. Its not a great pub but if you're walking its a good place to stop. Alternatively you can head into the town centre and there are plenty of decent enough options.

DAFTS do a guide at https://dafts1883.wordpress.com/town/

Once you're in the town you could book a taxi. I think 1AB are a flat £4.50. 01325 282828. Although if you're going to use them ring a bit in advance. Taxi's from the station rank tend to be more expensive I think. You'll be welcome in the club bar although we as a club don't see much profit from the bar annoyingly. If you want to chuck a few quid at the club then either buy a programme or a 50/50 ticket :)

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Quaker85
Posts: 1028
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2018 7:38 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Greetings

Post by Quaker85 » Fri Jan 31, 2020 1:08 pm

Darlo_Pete wrote:You'd be more than welcome tomorrow. It's a fair hike from the station, but fortunately there is a bus outside that takes you to the ground. The bus is every 20 mins & you need to catch the X27 or X28. There is a pub right out the train station, but your probably better off coming to the bar at the ground which opens at 1-30pm or doing a combination of the two. If you wear your Bury colours, then I'm sure you'll be made very welcome in the bar & the ground. As you come through the ticket barriers head down the steps & then under the train track & that'll bring you out at the right exit for the right bus. :thumbup:
1.4 miles a fair hike???


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HarrytheQuaker
Posts: 3148
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2009 3:57 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Greetings

Post by HarrytheQuaker » Fri Jan 31, 2020 2:41 pm

Quaker85 wrote:
Darlo_Pete wrote:You'd be more than welcome tomorrow. It's a fair hike from the station, but fortunately there is a bus outside that takes you to the ground. The bus is every 20 mins & you need to catch the X27 or X28. There is a pub right out the train station, but your probably better off coming to the bar at the ground which opens at 1-30pm or doing a combination of the two. If you wear your Bury colours, then I'm sure you'll be made very welcome in the bar & the ground. As you come through the ticket barriers head down the steps & then under the train track & that'll bring you out at the right exit for the right bus. Image
1.4 miles a fair hike???


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I know ImageImageI walk it quite often and it takes me 20 mins but that's taking a short cut over the muddy field

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H1987
Posts: 2073
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2016 4:14 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: Greetings

Post by H1987 » Fri Jan 31, 2020 3:18 pm

Personally I'd say that if you have lots of time, break up your walk. Go to the town centre for a bit.

Go to Orb or Twenty Two for a beer - from that part of the town it's about a 15 minute (ish) walk to Blackwell (walk along Grange Road, past the park).

This isn't the quickest way, but it's a couple of nicer bars. You can walk straight to the ground in about 25 minutes from the station, or you can break it up as suggested above at the Woolen Mill. Personally, i'd rather go five minutes further into the town for a nicer bar, but I'll leave that to your own judgment. The beer is pretty good at the ground as well, and good value too. It can be a bit tricky getting served at half time, but before the game, it's usually fine.

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