statement from the club

Open now for discussion of all things Darlo!

Moderators: mikkyx, uncovered

poppyfield
Posts: 1889
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 11:36 am
Team Supported: Darlington

statement from the club

Post by poppyfield » Sat Dec 01, 2018 10:57 am

Given the recent personnel changes at the club, I am writing to update you on what is happening off the field. As you are aware, we are a fan owned club with no external investment and as such our finances need to be supported from our excellent fan base. In addition, the club has a responsibility to not only manage our finances effectively but to also communicate to you all as things develop.

We entered this season with an improved financial position having utilised the transfer and legends income generated last season to pay down debt accrued over the previous two years. This and the fantastic Boost The Budget pledges allowed us to assist Tommy in his summer recruitment. However to date our financial performance this season has been below forecast. Gate receipts, pre-season income, sponsorship and commercial are all below budget. As a fan owned club this means we have to adjust the playing budget.

When Alfreton therefore, made an offer for Reece Styche, I decided we needed to accept this to help balance the books. Reece did not want to leave this club but understood my decision to let him go and he holds this club with high affection and we remain on good terms.

This week we have also agreed to let Dave Syers move to Farsley; his former club have chased his signature since the summer and one that Dave wished to return to at some point due to family and work commitments. I wish Dave good luck in his future career and thank him for his service to Darlington. In addition, Dom Collins who has been unavailable through injury since the end of August has also officially left the football club today after his contract was mutually terminated. Dom is due to have an operation in the near future and we wish him a speedy recovery and best wishes for the future.

Alongside these departures Tommy has been working hard this week in the local loan market to bring in some fresh faces to improve our squad and we hope to announce some additions early next week.

This is a challenging backdrop for Tommy and Alan to work within. The board continue to fully support Tommy and Alan as we work through these playing squad adjustments. In the short term these adjustments are necessary to help re-balance the budget whilst I continue to work on the bigger picture of providing a sustainable income for the club through the creation of income generating assets. Discussions have been ongoing with both the Sporting Village and Darlington Rugby Club and I will shortly be speaking to you all about the two different options that we have to consider for our long-term future. Both options have advantages and disadvantages, and both will require capital to move this club forward. This is an interesting point as the financial demands will be placed upon the fan base as we do not have the benefit of wealthy benefactors as other clubs do. We will obviously look at grant support but with limited finances the speed of our development will ultimately be slower.

In summary, I appreciate that this message may be hard to receive but can I ask that as fans you get behind Tommy and Alan who are working tirelessly to get this right on the pitch. It is my decision to cut the budget - Tommy and Alan will work within this remit and look to our local professional clubs to support us moving forwards.

Off the field we have recruited Craig Morley on a full-time basis to improve our commercial revenues and good progress has been made since his appointment and we will shortly arrange for a netcafe to provide the opportunity for you to ask any questions which I will endeavour to answer.

Thanks for your continuing support and please get behind the club and staff as we address the challenges moving forwards.

Share this




< Back News Home
Help get the club back to Darlo by helping to spread the word about the "Back to Darlo!" fund. The image on the right will be constantly updated with the latest total so please feel free to use the image link below the thermometer on your own signatures, blogs, websites, etc.Image
Image link: http://www.mydarlo.co.uk/img/BTD-therm-350x100.jpg

Darlopartisan
Posts: 1738
Joined: Sat Jul 22, 2017 12:49 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Darlopartisan » Sat Dec 01, 2018 10:59 am

Well we’ve been asking for one

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

Re: statement from the club

Post by Quaker85 » Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:12 am

Can't argue with that although some of this statement could have been made sooner i.e. when Styche was sold as it's obvious that DJ has been implementing this policy for some time.

Interesting that DJ mentioned the budget performance being below expected but no reference to the performance on the pitch.

Also, leaving 'share this' in at the end was a nice touch!

Maurice_Peddelty
Posts: 956
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:40 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Maurice_Peddelty » Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:13 am

I doubt very much that statements of this detail and sensitivity are drafted overnight.

Ghost_Of_1883
Posts: 1571
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2018 9:33 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Ghost_Of_1883 » Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:29 am

Boost the boost the budget is needed now! :lol:

I understand the need to cut the budget (which we have boosted), but why are we forecasting gates higher than what is reality? The gates are not much different to last season anyway. Why are we forecasting higher commercial and pre season revenue than what has actually happened?

I appreciate it's difficult but it's not as if we have no historical markers to work from - AND - we were assured that the budget forecast for this season was VERY cautious, so we didn't repeat previous season's mistakes?

Obviously still not cautious enough!

At we're least making cuts to outgoings before we land in trouble though.

Ghost_Of_1883
Posts: 1571
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2018 9:33 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Ghost_Of_1883 » Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:30 am

Maurice_Peddelty wrote:I doubt very much that statements of this detail and sensitivity are drafted overnight.
I could have written something similar in 30 minutes, I don't see why it couldn't have been drafted and proof read overnight?

banktopp
Posts: 861
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 8:59 pm
Team Supported: Darlington
Location: Hereford

Re: statement from the club

Post by banktopp » Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:31 am

A pragmatic and sensible statement. Short term pain for the long term security of the football club.

al_quaker
Posts: 5942
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 2:51 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by al_quaker » Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:34 am

Fair enough statement - its good that there is a proactive step to address financial issues rather than a cash call come the end of the season. I am struggling to understand how gate receipts are below budget when we are averaging a not unexpected 1457 - maybe we've more concessions than expected or something like that.

I'm looking forwards, albeit with some trepidation, to finding out about the two options for the long term future. This is absolutely key - I feel we're in desperate need of some sort of medium term plan for the club people can rally around

Ghost_Of_1883
Posts: 1571
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2018 9:33 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Ghost_Of_1883 » Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:38 am

banktopp wrote:A pragmatic and sensible statement. Short term pain for the long term security of the football club.
I think we need to realise that short term pain is going to be something that crops up over and over again, as there is no other way than to make cuts if the sums don't add up.

I know that we were aiming for a play off spot this season, but just imagine if we happened to sneak in there and win them?

The club is simply in no shape to go up, costs would increase massively, and that's before we attempt to somehow bring the ground up to scratch. Reality is biting.

Ghost_Of_1883
Posts: 1571
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2018 9:33 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Ghost_Of_1883 » Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:42 am

al_quaker wrote:Fair enough statement - its good that there is a proactive step to address financial issues rather than a cash call come the end of the season. I am struggling to understand how gate receipts are below budget when we are averaging a not unexpected 1457 - maybe we've more concessions than expected or something like that.

I'm looking forwards, albeit with some trepidation, to finding out about the two options for the long term future. This is absolutely key - I feel we're in desperate need of some sort of medium term plan for the club people can rally around
Just a guess here but probably a) stay at BM, move the pipe and properly develop the main stand and open end, which would cost millions, and b) move to the Arena site as part of the sporting village and try and build a suitable ground on site from scratch, which would cost millions.

Cheapest option would be to stay and not move the pipe, and try and develop what little available area we have but I don't think we could get it to league standard.

Vodka_Vic
Posts: 2473
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:27 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Vodka_Vic » Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:42 am

One thing that I don't get these days is short term attitudes. We've tried that in the past and that just puts a sticking plaster on things. Both pre and post 2012. Look at the losses sustained to get us through the leagues. Now we're going through a period of readjustment and fans are saying that they're disinterested and thinking of cancelling their direct debits. Come on. If we'd carried on like we were this season then we'd not be here. In fact it appears that if it wasn't for the Dan Burn money and Josh Heaton money then we wouldn't be here. I wouldn't even classify it as short term pain. If we can remain stable in this league then we'll need a period of consolidation. This is the time we need to stick together and just support the club and go to games and support the team. What I'm hearing too much of is moaning for moaning's sake and people prepared to throw in the towel at the first hurdle. And I'm not talking about being wallflowers either. Comments about TW's management and genuine complaints about BM are completely appropriate, or we'll always accept mediocrity.

Vodka_Vic
Posts: 2473
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:27 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Vodka_Vic » Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:46 am

Ghost_Of_1883 wrote:
al_quaker wrote:Fair enough statement - its good that there is a proactive step to address financial issues rather than a cash call come the end of the season. I am struggling to understand how gate receipts are below budget when we are averaging a not unexpected 1457 - maybe we've more concessions than expected or something like that.

I'm looking forwards, albeit with some trepidation, to finding out about the two options for the long term future. This is absolutely key - I feel we're in desperate need of some sort of medium term plan for the club people can rally around
Just a guess here but probably a) stay at BM, move the pipe and properly develop the main stand and open end, which would cost millions, and b) move to the Arena site as part of the sporting village and try and build a suitable ground on site from scratch, which would cost millions.

Cheapest option would be to stay and not move the pipe, and try and develop what little available area we have but I don't think we could get it to league standard.
Q, Malcolm Cundick in an interview before we moved into BM said 'We have plans enabling us to get it up to the 5,000".

Ghost_Of_1883
Posts: 1571
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2018 9:33 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Ghost_Of_1883 » Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:48 am

Vodka_Vic wrote:
Ghost_Of_1883 wrote:
al_quaker wrote:Fair enough statement - its good that there is a proactive step to address financial issues rather than a cash call come the end of the season. I am struggling to understand how gate receipts are below budget when we are averaging a not unexpected 1457 - maybe we've more concessions than expected or something like that.

I'm looking forwards, albeit with some trepidation, to finding out about the two options for the long term future. This is absolutely key - I feel we're in desperate need of some sort of medium term plan for the club people can rally around
Just a guess here but probably a) stay at BM, move the pipe and properly develop the main stand and open end, which would cost millions, and b) move to the Arena site as part of the sporting village and try and build a suitable ground on site from scratch, which would cost millions.

Cheapest option would be to stay and not move the pipe, and try and develop what little available area we have but I don't think we could get it to league standard.
Q, Malcolm Cundick in an interview before we moved into BM said 'We have plans enabling us to get it up to the 5,000".
Yes he did, but IMO he was talking out of his arse hole.
Last edited by Ghost_Of_1883 on Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
theoriginalfatcat
Posts: 6717
Joined: Wed Jul 15, 2009 7:40 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by theoriginalfatcat » Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:52 am

Ghost_Of_1883 wrote:Boost the boost the budget is needed now!

Next season B.T.B may simply be called T.B.
Profile pic ↗️
Feethams the Panda. 28 Jan 2012.
Now extinct!

Vodka_Vic
Posts: 2473
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:27 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Vodka_Vic » Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:56 am

Q, is that a guess from yourself that Malcolm Cundick hadn't got it right or have you heard from people who say that actually what was suggested can't be done?

al_quaker
Posts: 5942
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 2:51 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by al_quaker » Sat Dec 01, 2018 11:57 am

Ghost_Of_1883 wrote:
al_quaker wrote:Fair enough statement - its good that there is a proactive step to address financial issues rather than a cash call come the end of the season. I am struggling to understand how gate receipts are below budget when we are averaging a not unexpected 1457 - maybe we've more concessions than expected or something like that.

I'm looking forwards, albeit with some trepidation, to finding out about the two options for the long term future. This is absolutely key - I feel we're in desperate need of some sort of medium term plan for the club people can rally around
Just a guess here but probably a) stay at BM, move the pipe and properly develop the main stand and open end, which would cost millions, and b) move to the Arena site as part of the sporting village and try and build a suitable ground on site from scratch, which would cost millions.

Cheapest option would be to stay and not move the pipe, and try and develop what little available area we have but I don't think we could get it to league standard.
Yep I'd imagine those are the 2 options. Personally I'd be very hesitant to spend any more money on BM without a comprehensive renegotiation of what we can and can't do at BM.

I've no doubt DJ will present us with two comprehensive plans, so I suppose it's just a case of patience at the moment until the time is right (although I hope it's soon :lol: )

User avatar
coles
Posts: 310
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:10 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by coles » Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:04 pm

Ghost_Of_1883 wrote:Boost the boost the budget is needed now! :lol:

I understand the need to cut the budget (which we have boosted), but why are we forecasting gates higher than what is reality? The gates are not much different to last season anyway. Why are we forecasting higher commercial and pre season revenue than what has actually happened?

I appreciate it's difficult but it's not as if we have no historical markers to work from - AND - we were assured that the budget forecast for this season was VERY cautious, so we didn't repeat previous season's mistakes?

Obviously still not cautious enough!

At we're least making cuts to outgoings before we land in trouble though.
Not quite true we are on average 150 fans down on a game by game basis versus 2017 at £14 per game over a ten match period that’s £2100 per game and £21k over those ten games that’s a big loss

Vodka_Vic
Posts: 2473
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:27 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Vodka_Vic » Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:06 pm

What's also key is that when we're presented with the options, what will the fundraising options be? As fans we've raised over a million but get the feeling it'll have to be much much more.

LoidLucan
Posts: 4536
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 11:29 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by LoidLucan » Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:11 pm

Right, so it's now clear that the budgetary predictions went awry. It seems clear that there were hopes that with the decent budget that was provided the management would be able to provide the spark to fire up the fans and increase income at BM along with bringing some cup cup cash, both of which didn't materialise. So now action has to be taken to compensate as the reality has overtaken the over-optimism and faith in us having a good season. And yes I get that the fans have to stick by the club just as they have done on every other occasion.

It also means that the team management have to step up to the plate and ensure that everything possible is done to provide something better at BM that will win back the missing fans. So far TW has lost Styche, which was a big blow, and has now shed Collins, which isn't a massive blow, and Syers, who TW hardly ever used anyway. I rated Syers but I don't think TW largely did (or couldn't fit him into whatever pattern and line-up he decided upon). The linchpins of his summer recruitment are still there and at last we are finally going to look at the loan market as most of our rivals do. Good contacts here in North-east football are vital to that.

It's time for everyone to deliver... players, fans and TW.
Last edited by LoidLucan on Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Ghost_Of_1883
Posts: 1571
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2018 9:33 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Ghost_Of_1883 » Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:27 pm

Vodka_Vic wrote:Q, is that a guess from yourself that Malcolm Cundick hadn't got it right or have you heard from people who say that actually what was suggested can't be done?
I have heard nothing from people suggesting that whatever the plan is, cannot be done.

Just to clarify - it is my personal opinion that he was talking bollocks when he said there are plans in place to get to 5,000. Remember, this was 2 years ago, not today.

Here is why I hold this opinion...

1 Just look at the footprint which we have to work within? Assuming that we can't do anything with the clubhouse side, we only have roughly 2/3rds of the open end to build in, maybe only even half, depending on where the pipe exclusion zone exactly is. Same with the main stand side - we can't use all of the available gap, again because of the pipe. Ultimately we need 5,000 capacity with 2,000 seats (although 5,000/1,000 is enough to get you into the league as a starter). Where are we going to fit all that then? The only way I can see it being feasible is if we knock down the stands we just built and/or move the pipe. If we start knocking down structures just built to replace them with bigger structures then that would be a tremendous waste of money. So I'm assuming we wouldn't do that and in that case there does not look like enough room to get the required capacity.

2 It's been nearly 2 years since he said we have plans to get to 5,000 (did this include 2,000 seats by the way, or just 1,000?). To be able to say this with certainty you would need detailed plans for that. Detailed plans ultimately for 5,000 including 2,000 seats. This was 2 years ago, where are the plans?

Whilst I believe that we have been working hard on ideas to improve the ground over the last 18 months (and maybe even have come up with an almost impossible solution) - I don't believe there were detailed, accredited plans then, when the statement was made. If there was, show me. Show me the evidence, that's all that is required.
Last edited by Ghost_Of_1883 on Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Vodka_Vic
Posts: 2473
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:27 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Vodka_Vic » Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:27 pm

Cracking post Loid. That's the Darlo spirit. If you look at a team like Leamington, who do a great job on half our gates, they use the loan market very well. We have Boro, Sun'lan, and Newcastle to draw on. What's frustrating is that we seem to be a bit hamstrung by TW's managerial shortcomings. As you say, it's time for him to show his mettle as a manager and repay us for hiring him. I also would like us to have a bit of luck, that a couple of these loanees are the next Aynsley Pears, Dan Burn or Josh Heaton.

Vodka_Vic
Posts: 2473
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:27 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Vodka_Vic » Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:31 pm

Q, we'll know soon enough one way or another as the Infrasructure group are apparently close to producing their findings.

LoidLucan
Posts: 4536
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 11:29 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by LoidLucan » Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:35 pm

There aren't many clubs in this league who don't utilise the loan market as a matter of course to bolster their squads.

PierremontQuaker03
Posts: 2178
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 11:53 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by PierremontQuaker03 » Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:39 pm

Going back to the players, we have a core of good players at this level. We can now get some players on loan, and I am sure there will be plenty of non contract players around where we can give them a platform to rebuild their career.
I agree with a lot of the comments on here. I think we have literally hit the ceiling with the fan ownership model, primarily because of the ground and the facilities. Until this issue is resolved the best we can hope for is getting to the playoffs some how.
“If you can't hit a driver, don't.”
Greg Norman

Ghost_Of_1883
Posts: 1571
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2018 9:33 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Ghost_Of_1883 » Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:40 pm

coles wrote: Not quite true we are on average 150 fans down on a game by game basis versus 2017 at £14 per game over a ten match period that’s £2100 per game and £21k over those ten games that’s a big loss
Not sure I follow - do you mean 150 down on comparing like for like matches from 2017 - ie crowd vs Alfreton 2017 compared to crowd vs Alfreton 2018, and so on?

Or do you mean that we are 150 down on the average at the 10 match point last season - ie at this stage last season it must have been 1,607?

Assuming that we are 150 down as you said, the losses will be there but they won't be as steep as you calculate. It's more likely that the average ticket price is nearer £9/10, of which we will see £7/8 because of the VAT included in the price. Still a loss though, which is never good.

Ghost_Of_1883
Posts: 1571
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2018 9:33 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Ghost_Of_1883 » Sat Dec 01, 2018 12:44 pm

LoidLucan wrote:There aren't many clubs in this league who don't utilise the loan market as a matter of course to bolster their squads.
I agree, we were fielding an entire bench of kids for 3 or 4 weeks in a row because he wouldn't bring in loanees as we had players coming back from injury and it meant he couldn't guarantee they would therefore get many matches. It doesn't stop other clubs when they're short on players though. Look at Whitby loaning Vaulks as an example, he was brought in as cover and sat on the bench.

jjljks
Posts: 3014
Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2015 10:25 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by jjljks » Sat Dec 01, 2018 1:10 pm

Thanks for getting an official statement out, but why did it take so long for Reece Styche news to come out? It was 24th October when that happened. Just a quick paragraph of explanation via a recognisable 'official' spokesman would have avoided tons of inaccurate speculation that may have adversely affected the team.

User avatar
coles
Posts: 310
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:10 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by coles » Sat Dec 01, 2018 1:16 pm

Ghost_Of_1883 wrote:
coles wrote: Not quite true we are on average 150 fans down on a game by game basis versus 2017 at £14 per game over a ten match period that’s £2100 per game and £21k over those ten games that’s a big loss
Not sure I follow - do you mean 150 down on comparing like for like matches from 2017 - ie crowd vs Alfreton 2017 compared to crowd vs Alfreton 2018, and so on?

Or do you mean that we are 150 down on the average at the 10 match point last season - ie at this stage last season it must have been 1,607?

Assuming that we are 150 down as you said, the losses will be there but they won't be as steep as you calculate. It's more likely that the average ticket price is nearer £9/10, of which we will see £7/8 because of the VAT included in the price. Still a loss though, which is never good.
Sorry I wasn’t clear was I yes 150 down as an average per game over the first ten games this season versus the first ten games of last season. I did just take the base price but even at an average of £10 it’s still £15000 minus vat your still looking at £12000 over the first few months of the season the point is that it’s the pay on the gate fans that really boost the finances

Darlo_CR
Posts: 552
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2017 11:33 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: statement from the club

Post by Darlo_CR » Sat Dec 01, 2018 1:18 pm

jjljks wrote:Thanks for getting an official statement out, but why did it take so long for Reece Styche news to come out? It was 24th October when that happened. Just a quick paragraph of explanation via a recognisable 'official' spokesman would have avoided tons of inaccurate speculation that may have adversely affected the team.
An explanation was written in the news article when Styche left: https://darlingtonfc.co.uk/news/reece-s ... o-alfreton

Alfie
Posts: 420
Joined: Tue May 22, 2012 8:33 am
Team Supported: Darlington
Location: Eye, Suffolk

Re: statement from the club

Post by Alfie » Sat Dec 01, 2018 1:28 pm

Let's hope we don't get other clubs come sniffing round for players - we may not quite be in a 'fire sale' situation but I can imagine the club might have to seriously consider any offers.

Post Reply