Greetings again

[ShakerFan]

Hello again
Bury fan (returning) in peace.

Firstly I never got back to you all following on from our visit to Darlington back in February, in case any of you need reminding it was the game against Guiseley. So, I apologise for bringing that result back up as every Darlington fan I spoke to assured me you'd been very poor that day.

However I would like to say what an absolutely cracking day we had though. The journey up on the train with cans made it feel like an away day, we arrived and sampled a pub near the station then got a taxi to the ground, determined to put as much money in your coffers as possible. The friendly greetings we received from everyone, from the taxi driver, to the golden gamble lady (who realising we were Bury fans hugged us all), to the friendly fans we chatted to throughout the match were unbelievable. You have a fan base to be proud of.

Whilst the game itself was disappointing (we were desperate for a home win), the atmosphere around the ground was fantastic, especially in the second half when standing under that roof terrace. I was gutted you didn't grab a goal as I felt the atmosphere would have gone up a notch in there if you had.

As a dirty smoker I retreated to the gates near FT to chat to a few fans and catch a light. I spoke with two gentlemen all about what it has been like, and I can honestly say it felt like therapy as nearly everything that has happened to Darlington has happened to us in some we or another. We shared a disdain for the EFL, for scummy owners, we remembered Wigan before Whelan, we bemoaned Salford and the media's coverage of that sham of a club. We even spoke about how Middlesborough fans don't know how lucky they are having a guy like Gibson as chairman.
At FT we shook hands and wished each other well.

Me and my mates had a few more beers in some really good pubs then got a train home. We were full of hope looking to the future and the trip merely wetted our appetite for our own journey which (finally) looks set to start.

So, if you are still reading, there you go. A great day and I have to say I think I have a new second team, I do hope we can arrange a friendly in the coming years as I'd love to share a beer again with some of your fantastic fans.

Bury AFC now have a manager and a kit and league place, but whilst Bury FC still exists fans remain divided and it is infuriating. The scrote of an owner Steve Dale easily plays on fans emotions by spinning BS stories to the Sun newspaper and unfortunately, many believe it, probably out of hope than anything else. But we also have 'F**k the phoenix' crowd who are very vocal on social media and accusing fans who want to follow AFC as deserting the club. It's very difficult, however the club is dead. We had a consortium of Bury fans very close to rescuing the club but Steve Dale wanted more money for his pound return (and thousand of pounds he has stolen) so the deal fell through. That was our last hope, because with Steve Dale and the current situation there is so much dirt on the club I could write an essay, many can't it just won't see this, and my worry now is that this division with fans could hold the new club back.

Anyway, it's a weird time to launch a new club, but still going off the stories I've read on here it should be fun still, and there seems to be just as much passion at Darlington as there ever has been so I don't see why it can't be the same for us.
I really hope I get the bug for AFC, because I'm desperate to take my daughter to proper football once she's old enough, she's only 16 months but is showing interest in football already.

Happy to answer any questions, and re Gigg Lane there are still people trying hard to get the ground back for the town of Bury

Anyway, Up the Shakers and Up the Quakers

[joejaques]

Best of luck to you and your team. Hope you enjoy the journey half as much as we did.

[Quaker85]

I looked out for you all that day but must have missed you. Glad you enjoyed your visit to our club.

I have already followed you on twitter and saw the manager announcement. I see you’ve been placed at step 6 so you have a long way to go but at least you now have a club playing football again. I’ll be following your progress as the season goes on. Best of luck for the future!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ShakerFan]

I suppose the question is did you feel the bug right away or did it take some time?
Whilst watching Bury I have sat in and watched some awful games with a tiny sub 2000 crowd spread around Gigg Lane. But I can't imagine it is half as weird as turning to to an away ground with 1000 away fans but just 50 home fans. I'm not trying or meaning to sound disrespectful there, but does that make it feel strange at all or take some fun out of it?
Or does it go the other way and add to the fun?

[Darlo_Pete]

Good luck to all the fans who follow Bury. You will enjoy your climb back up the leagues & visiting some new grounds. I presume there is a danger that there could be 2 Bury clubs which is far from ideal, as 2 clubs will just dilute your support. Really pleased you enjoyed your day with us & like you say it would be great to organise a friendly between the 2 clubs when things are back to normal.

[super_les_mcjannet]

I suppose the question is did you feel the bug right away or did it take some time?
Whilst watching Bury I have sat in and watched some awful games with a tiny sub 2000 crowd spread around Gigg Lane. But I can't imagine it is half as weird as turning to to an away ground with 1000 away fans but just 50 home fans. I'm not trying or meaning to sound disrespectful there, but does that make it feel strange at all or take some fun out of it?
Or does it go the other way and add to the fun?

I guess it can feel different to different people.

However when you are winning and turning up with 1,000 fans to local away games etc. it can feel a bit like what I guess Man Utd fans felt in the 90's. You out number everyone, you generally win, a lot start disliking you but still want the money you provide.

You are the big fish in the little pond for a while, which is different for how Bury fans must feel generally, just being a normal standard/smallish football league club in Division 2 with the odd promotion to Division 1 like we once were.

It was always fun in the even lower leagues but the urge was always on winning and moving up to the next level, without that I think the fun would disappear fast.

[ShakerFan]

Good luck to all the fans who follow Bury. You will enjoy your climb back up the leagues & visiting some new grounds. I presume there is a danger that there could be 2 Bury clubs which is far from ideal, as 2 clubs will just dilute your support. Really pleased you enjoyed your day with us & like you say it would be great to organise a friendly between the 2 clubs when things are back to normal.

Bury FC will only exist as an entity not as a playing club. Stewart Day abused and mismanaged the club for six years so he could play real life football manager, paying himself a big wage in the process. He handed over to the asset stripper to finish us off. Steve Dale has since stolen from the club and stripped whatever assets he can purely for his own financial gain. He never paid anyone a penny and confesses to not being a football man. There are hundreds of thousands of pounds owed in wages that he never paid, there is the debt to the CVA and the car park scam which is costing 1500 quid per day. Then there is 500k worth of repairs on Gigg Lane needed for it to get a safety certificate. All of that is before you consider everything else he'd have to pay for and arrange to get a team playing. Off the top of my head a squad, a manager, sponsors, kits and a training ground. A consortium of Bury fans would have managed with council help to sort this out. A greedy, penny pinching scumbag who knows nothing about football won't. But the name still existing continues to give fans hope.

[EDJOHNS]

I think that once you get going the fact that the fans own the club and no-one like Dale can harm you ever again will spur you on.
The big ask is, when asked, will the fans that go with the new club be prepared to put their hands in their pockets to keep on funding the steps forward. I do hope so because that is what makes the club we all follow so special.
We have bluntly wasted a lot of money as we have progressed, (seats at Bish as an example), but that is hindsight, (how wonderful that is), and you just have to rattle a few more buckets and twist a few arms to make up for the mistakes, and in fact those mistakes are all part and parcel of the moving forward.
I hope you don't come across what we did at 2 grounds where entrance was inflated simply because they knew so many would be coming, and if it does happen, I also hope you do as we did at 1 particular place and just say not paying it. Others soon got the message that they could loose a packet with left over food and extra stewards when trying to be greedy.
This may look as if I am putting a downer on things. Not so, simply trying to forewarn you of things that will quite possibly happen to you as they did us.
If you can get Gigg lane back at some point that would take away much of the problems we have had to endure, and some of the grounds you will go to will be real eye openers to those who have never been to non league games before.
The 1 thing we would all tell you is to embrace the fact you are now non league and enjoy the journey. I know a lot of Stockport fans in particular and the vast majority have taken the line that they are far to big a club to be in non league. They have NOT enjoyed the last few years, while I think most of our fans would say they have. The choice is yours which thought pattern you use.
Hope it goes well and we meet again in a few seasons. We have had some real crackers v Bury going back in time and it would be nice to revisit old league friends on the way back.

[JE93]

I suppose the question is did you feel the bug right away or did it take some time?
Whilst watching Bury I have sat in and watched some awful games with a tiny sub 2000 crowd spread around Gigg Lane. But I can't imagine it is half as weird as turning to to an away ground with 1000 away fans but just 50 home fans. I'm not trying or meaning to sound disrespectful there, but does that make it feel strange at all or take some fun out of it?
Or does it go the other way and add to the fun?

I was more than apprehensive for our first northern league season. We'd signed players that I'd never heard of, playing at a level that I'd never watched against teams we only ever used to come across in pre-season friendlies.

Walking through the turnstiles for our first league game back, (which ironically was against our new landlords Bishop Auckland in the northern league) everything was forgotten. You were walking past the faces you would have seen at Feethams and the arena, the team ran out in our colours, with our crest on the shirts. The passion of the fans was just as real, the feeling of scoring and winning games just as real. That continued into the away games, you turn up and take over the ground, black and white (in our case) on all sides. Some clubs and opposition fans will get their backs up about you, but you get that at any level.

Genuinely best of luck to Bury AFC hope it won't be too long till we see you in the NLN, you seem to have made a sound appointment in the Ossett United head coach. Hope Dale and the Phantom of the old Bury stay away and let you take back control of your club, I still firmly believe 51%+ fan ownership is the future of lower league football and we will see it increasingly over the next 5-10 years. Gigg Lane will be the key to your success. If you can get 2k fans behind the new club you will have the budget to go through the leagues up to atleast the NLN, but funding a ground of your own is particularly hard and expensive, and may be difficult if there is potential for Gigg lane to become available at a later date.

[Old Git]

I understand what you mean about getting the bug because I feared that it would be lost when we were demoted to the Northern League. Could I really care that much about football at such a lowly level? Would the desire and passion still be there?
For me it all came flooding back in the first league game when we played Bishop Auckland in front of a full house. We came back from 1nil down to win 3-1 and it just was pure elation. After that it turned out to be a brilliant season and I was able to attend all the home games and most of the away ones as well. Believe me it could take your involvement and attachment to the club to another level. Good luck on your journey.

[theoriginalfatcat]

I suppose the question is did you feel the bug right away or did it take some time?
Whilst watching Bury I have sat in and watched some awful games with a tiny sub 2000 crowd spread around Gigg Lane. But I can't imagine it is half as weird as turning to to an away ground with 1000 away fans but just 50 home fans. I'm not trying or meaning to sound disrespectful there, but does that make it feel strange at all or take some fun out of it?
Or does it go the other way and add to the fun?

At the start I was encouraged to go by others. Others who were of a more positive nature than me, but as is said above after the first few games my passion came back. I got to know who the new players were and the team continued to evolve, to be improved.

I like the fan owned thing now. We should never again fall victim to unscrupulous "business" men but my word of warning would be to watch out for predators on the road back up the leagues, as our old chairman attempted to buy his way back in after a good few years of hard work and money had been given by the new owners, us the fans!

[onewayup]

You have to stick together whatever challenges come your way, there will always be an answer for every problem, working together towards an end without bitterness you will make it.
It's going to be a long tough hard slog but I believe that now you've started it will get a little easier. Good luck to you all ,

[jjljks]

One thing we never had to contend with was the schism of the club. The SD's of this world will be judged in the next, so try to keep them out of your mind and crack on with a clean slate. No doubt there will be help from some old Bury legends in pulling a team together through their contacts. Covid19 has proved even to the big teams, that fans are needed to create that unique match day atmosphere and without them, some vital magic is missing. Stay strong and stick together

[ShakerFan]

Thank you, some brilliant posts that I have shared with my fellow Bury fans.
It is great to have a set of fans who seem to fully understand everything that has happened.
One thing that infuriated me last year was when I read comments declaring 'Bury overspent, they've brought it on themselves,' it was and never is that simple, something I'm sure you can all agree with.
Now if it takes ten years to make it to the conference nevermind league two, but we find ourselves fan owned, well ran, back at Gigg Lane and with most of our support and our name back, then despite the heartache I will say it has been worth it, especially with the endless memories I will no doubt make in the coming years.

Genuinely though, your fans have been absolutely top notch and Darlington will forever be held in the highest regard by me.

[Darlofan97]

I can only echo what others on here have said. You will enjoy the journey and get that football bug back 100%, if not more as it is your club.

There will be bad moments, you’ll lose to Dog & Duck FC and you’ll feel like the rest of the league is laughing at you. Big clubs are there to be shot at, and they’ll treat you as their cup final.

However, I can imagine a club with the size & stature of Bury will have plenty more positives and these will vastly out-weigh any small blips on the way.

Good luck - you’ll be back up to a decent standard with ‘proper clubs’ in no time.

[QUAKERMAN2]

Thank you, some brilliant posts that I have shared with my fellow Bury fans.
It is great to have a set of fans who seem to fully understand everything that has happened.
One thing that infuriated me last year was when I read comments declaring 'Bury overspent, they've brought it on themselves,' it was and never is that simple, something I'm sure you can all agree with.
Now if it takes ten years to make it to the conference nevermind league two, but we find ourselves fan owned, well ran, back at Gigg Lane and with most of our support and our name back, then despite the heartache I will say it has been worth it, especially with the endless memories I will no doubt make in the coming years.

Genuinely though, your fans have been absolutely top notch and Darlington will forever be held in the highest regard by me.

All the very best ShakerFan, we Darlo fans know exactly what you have been through and wish you nothing but good times from here on in.I have seen many ups and downs over 50 years supporting Darlo, the lowest being back in 2012 when our former chairman spat his dummy out and sent us down to step 6.But got to say I and many Darlo fans have loved having a football club to support, have enjoyed 3 promotions, and now find ourselves in a good standard NLN.Absolutely certain you and the many Bury fans, like us, will enjoy the ride.
Best of luck, will be looking out for your results and one day would love to play back at your place hopefully in the football league.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[MCFCDarlo3]

Hello again
Bury fan (returning) in peace.

Firstly I never got back to you all following on from our visit to Darlington back in February, in case any of you need reminding it was the game against Guiseley. So, I apologise for bringing that result back up as every Darlington fan I spoke to assured me you'd been very poor that day.

However I would like to say what an absolutely cracking day we had though. The journey up on the train with cans made it feel like an away day, we arrived and sampled a pub near the station then got a taxi to the ground, determined to put as much money in your coffers as possible. The friendly greetings we received from everyone, from the taxi driver, to the golden gamble lady (who realising we were Bury fans hugged us all), to the friendly fans we chatted to throughout the match were unbelievable. You have a fan base to be proud of.

Whilst the game itself was disappointing (we were desperate for a home win), the atmosphere around the ground was fantastic, especially in the second half when standing under that roof terrace. I was gutted you didn't grab a goal as I felt the atmosphere would have gone up a notch in there if you had.

As a dirty smoker I retreated to the gates near FT to chat to a few fans and catch a light. I spoke with two gentlemen all about what it has been like, and I can honestly say it felt like therapy as nearly everything that has happened to Darlington has happened to us in some we or another. We shared a disdain for the EFL, for scummy owners, we remembered Wigan before Whelan, we bemoaned Salford and the media's coverage of that sham of a club. We even spoke about how Middlesborough fans don't know how lucky they are having a guy like Gibson as chairman.
At FT we shook hands and wished each other well.

Me and my mates had a few more beers in some really good pubs then got a train home. We were full of hope looking to the future and the trip merely wetted our appetite for our own journey which (finally) looks set to start.

So, if you are still reading, there you go. A great day and I have to say I think I have a new second team, I do hope we can arrange a friendly in the coming years as I'd love to share a beer again with some of your fantastic fans.

Bury AFC now have a manager and a kit and league place, but whilst Bury FC still exists fans remain divided and it is infuriating. The scrote of an owner Steve Dale easily plays on fans emotions by spinning BS stories to the Sun newspaper and unfortunately, many believe it, probably out of hope than anything else. But we also have 'F**k the phoenix' crowd who are very vocal on social media and accusing fans who want to follow AFC as deserting the club. It's very difficult, however the club is dead. We had a consortium of Bury fans very close to rescuing the club but Steve Dale wanted more money for his pound return (and thousand of pounds he has stolen) so the deal fell through. That was our last hope, because with Steve Dale and the current situation there is so much dirt on the club I could write an essay, many can't it just won't see this, and my worry now is that this division with fans could hold the new club back.

Anyway, it's a weird time to launch a new club, but still going off the stories I've read on here it should be fun still, and there seems to be just as much passion at Darlington as there ever has been so I don't see why it can't be the same for us.
I really hope I get the bug for AFC, because I'm desperate to take my daughter to proper football once she's old enough, she's only 16 months but is showing interest in football already.

Happy to answer any questions, and re Gigg Lane there are still people trying hard to get the ground back for the town of Bury

Anyway, Up the Shakers and Up the Quakers

Amazes me how these people are still getting into football and destroying clubs. Saw an interview with him where he said he didnt even know where Bury was before the takeover, he had a local Manc area accent to make it even worse.

At least fan owned you can determine your future. Yes one of your first targets is a derby with Radcliffe but I am sure your fans will enjoy the ride. The secret is to get up the leagues quickly as Im sure you are all too aware.

Unlike some of FCUMs initial support your fan base will be mainly long term Bury fans who might stick around a bit more when you reach your limits and stop winning nearly every week.

Then the difficult questions will come about investment but for now all the best, glad you survived.

[Darlo_Pete]

It will be a special day when Darlo & Bury meet up again, either in a friendly or a competitive match. I'll look forward to that day, as it will be a special day for both sets of fans.

[jjljks]

Nice gesture from Radcliffe Borough to allow AFC Bury to groundshare and hope this will help kickstart the phoenix club. Best of luck to both teams for next season, whenever that may start.

[Mister e]

Nice gesture from Radcliffe Borough to allow AFC Bury to groundshare and hope this will help kickstart the phoenix club. Best of luck to both teams for next season, whenever that may start.

They need to hopefully part company with the eccentric Steve dale a.s.a.p and hopefully the phoenix club can start climbing the league once more and hopefully take back possession of what is their ancestoral home gigg lane.

[jjljks]

At least for the moment Gigg Lane exists, but that may be a torment for Bury fans. I still have to look at what remains of the Feethams towers when I pass by.☹

[biccynana]

At least for the moment Gigg Lane exists, but that may be a torment for Bury fans. I still have to look at what remains of the Feethams towers when I pass by.☹

Nice piece on AFC Bury in today's paper https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... h-football

[onewayup]

Hello again
Bury fan (returning) in peace.

Firstly I never got back to you all following on from our visit to Darlington back in February, in case any of you need reminding it was the game against Guiseley. So, I apologise for bringing that result back up as every Darlington fan I spoke to assured me you'd been very poor that day.

However I would like to say what an absolutely cracking day we had though. The journey up on the train with cans made it feel like an away day, we arrived and sampled a pub near the station then got a taxi to the ground, determined to put as much money in your coffers as possible. The friendly greetings we received from everyone, from the taxi driver, to the golden gamble lady (who realising we were Bury fans hugged us all), to the friendly fans we chatted to throughout the match were unbelievable. You have a fan base to be proud of.

Whilst the game itself was disappointing (we were desperate for a home win), the atmosphere around the ground was fantastic, especially in the second half when standing under that roof terrace. I was gutted you didn't grab a goal as I felt the atmosphere would have gone up a notch in there if you had.

As a dirty smoker I retreated to the gates near FT to chat to a few fans and catch a light. I spoke with two gentlemen all about what it has been like, and I can honestly say it felt like therapy as nearly everything that has happened to Darlington has happened to us in some we or another. We shared a disdain for the EFL, for scummy owners, we remembered Wigan before Whelan, we bemoaned Salford and the media's coverage of that sham of a club. We even spoke about how Middlesborough fans don't know how lucky they are having a guy like Gibson as chairman.
At FT we shook hands and wished each other well.

Me and my mates had a few more beers in some really good pubs then got a train home. We were full of hope looking to the future and the trip merely wetted our appetite for our own journey which (finally) looks set to start.

So, if you are still reading, there you go. A great day and I have to say I think I have a new second team, I do hope we can arrange a friendly in the coming years as I'd love to share a beer again with some of your fantastic fans.

Bury AFC now have a manager and a kit and league place, but whilst Bury FC still exists fans remain divided and it is infuriating. The scrote of an owner Steve Dale easily plays on fans emotions by spinning BS stories to the Sun newspaper and unfortunately, many believe it, probably out of hope than anything else. But we also have 'F**k the phoenix' crowd who are very vocal on social media and accusing fans who want to follow AFC as deserting the club. It's very difficult, however the club is dead. We had a consortium of Bury fans very close to rescuing the club but Steve Dale wanted more money for his pound return (and thousand of pounds he has stolen) so the deal fell through. That was our last hope, because with Steve Dale and the current situation there is so much dirt on the club I could write an essay, many can't it just won't see this, and my worry now is that this division with fans could hold the new club back.

Anyway, it's a weird time to launch a new club, but still going off the stories I've read on here it should be fun still, and there seems to be just as much passion at Darlington as there ever has been so I don't see why it can't be the same for us.
I really hope I get the bug for AFC, because I'm desperate to take my daughter to proper football once she's old enough, she's only 16 months but is showing interest in football already.

Happy to answer any questions, and re Gigg Lane there are still people trying hard to get the ground back for the town of Bury

Anyway, Up the Shakers and Up the Quakers

Dales creditably is shot Bury fc is gone no one will deal with Dale, your option is by far the best ,right now BURY AFC ,the future for football fans ,and fan owners, Bury AFC in your hands you can make it what you want it to be
It will take time, there will be bumps in the road but with strong leadership you will get to the level that can be sustainable as a fan base model. Good luck keep striving to better.