AGM

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quakersfan
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AGM

Post by quakersfan » Fri Jan 25, 2019 11:45 am

As a DFCSG member are we able to attend tonight or does the DFCSG board represent every member?

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Re: AGM

Post by bga » Fri Jan 25, 2019 12:00 pm

quakersfan wrote:As a DFCSG member are we able to attend tonight or does the DFCSG board represent every member?
You actually need to be a Shareholder from one of the previous Fund raising campaigns. If you only pay your DFCSG annual membership then answer is No I think.

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divas
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Re: AGM

Post by divas » Fri Jan 25, 2019 12:20 pm

Correct, you need to be a direct shareholder in DFC 1883 Ltd. From memory I think there are around a couple of hundred, most who just hold a single share.

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Re: AGM

Post by 50 years » Fri Jan 25, 2019 2:12 pm

Think the minimum shares you could buy was 100 at the time (but I have been wrong before of course :) ). Looking forward to attending the AGM as we have made progress off the field so hoping to hear the forecast how we stand financially for this year end, ( accounts were for last year so comparison would be good although realise it would only be a forecast ). Certainly will consider changing some of my loans on the amounts raised for the stands etc if the proposal is past to allow it. It is a way that current shareholders can help reduce the debt if they are able to release that capital.

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Re: AGM

Post by divas » Fri Jan 25, 2019 4:25 pm

50 years wrote:Think the minimum shares you could buy was 100 at the time (but I have been wrong before of course :) ). Looking forward to attending the AGM as we have made progress off the field so hoping to hear the forecast how we stand financially for this year end, ( accounts were for last year so comparison would be good although realise it would only be a forecast ). Certainly will consider changing some of my loans on the amounts raised for the stands etc if the proposal is past to allow it. It is a way that current shareholders can help reduce the debt if they are able to release that capital.
Originally it was 100 and then they did another offer which gave you a token share along with some other stuff which a fair few took up.

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divas
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Re: AGM

Post by divas » Fri Jan 25, 2019 4:27 pm

This doc is a little out of date but we’ve not done much activity since so it’ll be close. Basically anyone listed on here is a shareholder and can attend the AGM

Edit - it won’t let me hyerplink but go to the following link and select the PDF filed on 12th April 2017


https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/comp ... ng-history

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Quaker85
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Re: AGM

Post by Quaker85 » Fri Jan 25, 2019 7:18 pm

How often do shares become available to new shareholders?

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Re: AGM

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Fri Jan 25, 2019 9:04 pm

Quaker85 wrote:How often do shares become available to new shareholders?
They generally only come available to DFCSG now normally this is set at each AGM for the next period.

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Re: AGM

Post by quakersfan » Fri Jan 25, 2019 9:28 pm

Just heard there was a presentation by the supporters group on developing Blackwell can anyone expand on it if they were there. Disappointed this wasn’t opened up to every fan.

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Re: AGM

Post by onewayup » Fri Jan 25, 2019 9:42 pm

quakersfan wrote:Just heard there was a presentation by the supporters group on developing Blackwell can anyone expand on it if they were there. Disappointed this wasn’t opened up to every fan.
Every one will be informed of what the AGM was about shortly. The shareholders are always first informed at these AGMs,
I will say it was very interesting to hear,
Very disappointed with the turnout tonight,

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Re: AGM

Post by HarrytheQuaker » Fri Jan 25, 2019 9:51 pm

quakersfan wrote:Just heard there was a presentation by the supporters group on developing Blackwell can anyone expand on it if they were there. Disappointed this wasn’t opened up to every fan.
Chill out FFS you will find out in due course

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Re: AGM

Post by JE93 » Fri Jan 25, 2019 10:24 pm

onewayup wrote:
quakersfan wrote:Just heard there was a presentation by the supporters group on developing Blackwell can anyone expand on it if they were there. Disappointed this wasn’t opened up to every fan.
Every one will be informed of what the AGM was about shortly. The shareholders are always first informed at these AGMs,
I will say it was very interesting to hear,
Very disappointed with the turnout tonight,
Hard to open an AGM to non members as members votes are taken as to whether resolutions should be passed etc. Things like accepting the account. Appointment and termination of directors and so on.

DFCSG are there as elected representatives of the interests of the supporters group as major shareholder. I'm sure the information will be release in the course.

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Re: AGM

Post by 50 years » Sat Jan 26, 2019 10:16 am

Just a quick feedback for those interested:-

Some really good work being done in the background about the future options for the club, with still a lot of background / financial areas to look at before they are able to come to the fans with a full proposals regarding our options but clearly we are in good hands and the professional approach by the club board and the Supporters group board is really encouraging for me.

Don't think anyone will be surprised that we will still need some additional revenue to keep us going till the end of the season given our gates are down from what was expected etc, (although there is some revenue from a couple of sources that have not yet materialised but hopefully before the end of the season we may get them). Getting through this year we should be in a much better financial position than last year,(during the year there were some costs that were not expected, but DJ mentioned that there should be no more surprises now).

DJ mentioned that while he had plenty of experience in managing companies, running a football club has been a steep learning experience for him.

Budget will be reduced next year to get us in a sustainable model, with use of loans being the focus. DJ mentioned that they had a couple of offers for players recently that they have turned down. The Academy will break even this year and should make a profit in future years, with the youth coming through and potential sales from developing youth is one that is key for the club.

There are a few people interested in being directors, and it sounds like they will be good additions to the board, (although given the financial & legal responsibilities plus abuse given them etc why they want to - they must be hero's).

I have the greatest respect for our voluteers, every single one of them. The boards of the club and supporters group are the best we have had I believe (and that is no disrespect to the others, just this one has more balance and experience).

Personally a bit disappointed in the turn out, (was the same at the DFCSG AGM - could be because we are in a more stable state?), as shareholders missed a good presentation on the understanding of our current position, (I do realise that some will live out of town, and have other things on so can't make it, but there was quite a few less than normal AGM attendances).

Finally special thanks from me to David Johnson, John Tempest and Chris Stockdale who have steered us through a very difficult period, one that had the potential to go horribly wrong for us.

"Up the Quakers"

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Re: AGM

Post by H1987 » Sat Jan 26, 2019 10:44 am

Thanks for the update. Was there any expansion on the specifics of the budget reduction?

That sounds a little ominous to me, given the size of the squad now. I agree we need to use the loan market as most clubs at this level do, but how do we effectively downsize what we have now, and be in any way competitive? I realise stability at this level will be what we're looking for until we can build some infrastructure and guarantee the long term viability of the club, but i'm a little alarmed by cutting the playing budget more. Are we not already on a bare minimum?

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Re: AGM

Post by MikeinBlack2 » Sat Jan 26, 2019 10:58 am

H1987 wrote:Thanks for the update. Was there any expansion on the specifics of the budget reduction?

That sounds a little ominous to me, given the size of the squad now. I agree we need to use the loan market as most clubs at this level do, but how do we effectively downsize what we have now, and be in any way competitive? I realise stability at this level will be what we're looking for until we can build some infrastructure and guarantee the long term viability of the club, but i'm a little alarmed by cutting the playing budget more. Are we not already on a bare minimum?
Certainly the reduction will be made with a view of Boost The Budget upping it again.
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Re: AGM

Post by 50 years » Sat Jan 26, 2019 10:59 am

No more clarity, and none was asked for from the forum to be honest, but I suppose my thoughts were along the lines of that we have already reduced our budget from the beginning of the year with players moved out already in Styche, Collins, Caton which between just those three could be a fair bit, then we lose Saunders at the end of the year - so may be around the same or a little lower being replaced by cheaper / nil cost loans plus some of the academy team coming through?

That is a guess only of course.

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Re: AGM

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Sat Jan 26, 2019 11:05 am

H1987 wrote:Thanks for the update. Was there any expansion on the specifics of the budget reduction?

That sounds a little ominous to me, given the size of the squad now. I agree we need to use the loan market as most clubs at this level do, but how do we effectively downsize what we have now, and be in any way competitive? I realise stability at this level will be what we're looking for until we can build some infrastructure and guarantee the long term viability of the club, but i'm a little alarmed by cutting the playing budget more. Are we not already on a bare minimum?
The argument is next season we will start with a squad of 12/13 I guess and the other 3/4/5 will be loan players.

So we would probably have similar squad size to now.

We won't like it but sounds like we need to suck it up for a while, we are paying for overspending and not really ever having yearly revenues that stick to similar levels. We have gone through a lot in the last seven years and we have hit a period where some stability is required.

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Re: AGM

Post by divas » Sat Jan 26, 2019 11:42 am

Seems a no brainer to bring your maximum 5 players in on loan until January and then re-assess in January and either extend them in January or bring in different players until the end of the season. The main issue I see with this is that loan players may not arrive until just before the season starts which gives little time to integrate them into the group.

Perhaps rather than having a small squad of well paid players we look to reduce this down and try and pick up a few lads released from the local clubs which Blyth and Whitby seem to do ok with. You could still have a core of experienced players.

Next season has the potential to be tough but there are quite a few revenue upsides coming the season after so it’s just a case of all pulling together, getting through it and then seeing what we can do.

In terms of boost the budget the board I’m hoping that people will be used to not having the cash and will let it run. Even if people have an issue with the manager they’d be cutting their nose off to spite their face. I don’t think there’s anything to gain by making his job harder

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HarrytheQuaker
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Re: AGM

Post by HarrytheQuaker » Sat Jan 26, 2019 11:49 am

The unfortunate thing if we don't hit the ground running we will probably still get the hard-core through the gates as usual so that won't help the cash flow and the budget so we have definitely hit our ceiling I'm afraid BUT we are fan owned and living within our means which is good..

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Re: AGM

Post by H1987 » Sat Jan 26, 2019 11:55 am

Surely TW's position is not decided for next year yet? He's only contracted until the end of this season, is he not?

I think we should be reserving judgement on whether to extend that for now. The jury is certainly out, for me.

I certainly hope the squad won't be trimmed more than it is at this stage... because it was a joke before the loans came in. I'd hate to think we might have a squad like that *including* loans, and then kids on the bench. I'm all for giving kids a chance to play if they're good enough, but you can't build an entire bench of them.

I'm not expecting us to make it out of this league any time soon, but I do think we should be competitive, with an outside chance of sneaking into the playoffs. Realistically, the infrastructure and revenue streams need improving before we are in any position to move up the leagues. That means at least another stand at BM, another access path for segregation purposes, and sustainable streams of income, such as clubhouse / 4G. To me, that is our realistic goal for the next 5-10 years.

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Re: AGM

Post by divas » Sat Jan 26, 2019 11:59 am

I don’t know for certain but it wouldn’t surprise me if Tommy is on a rolling contract with various clauses rather than season to season.

Let’s face it, attracting someone who is going to want to come in, rip it all up and start again on a modest budget whilst at the same time being “successful” (whatever you term that as being) is a big thing to ask. Of course the rest of the season will determine whether we need to do that but if we can continue to play as we have over the past 5 or 6 games I’d rather start next season with as little upheavel as possible. After changing a large part of the playing squad we’ve seen how long it’s taken to get things going in the right direction.

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Re: AGM

Post by divas » Sat Jan 26, 2019 12:05 pm

H1987 wrote:Surely TW's position is not decided for next year yet? He's only contracted until the end of this season, is he not?

I think we should be reserving judgement on whether to extend that for now. The jury is certainly out, for me.

I certainly hope the squad won't be trimmed more than it is at this stage... because it was a joke before the loans came in. I'd hate to think we might have a squad like that *including* loans, and then kids on the bench. I'm all for giving kids a chance to play if they're good enough, but you can't build an entire bench of them.

I'm not expecting us to make it out of this league any time soon, but I do think we should be competitive, with an outside chance of sneaking into the playoffs. Realistically, the infrastructure and revenue streams need improving before we are in any position to move up the leagues. That means at least another stand at BM, another access path for segregation purposes, and sustainable streams of income, such as clubhouse / 4G. To me, that is our realistic goal for the next 5-10 years.
Totally agree with future development - for me the next development(s)/investment(s) have to be to build a revenue generating assets which will allow us to generate revenue outside of a matchday - it’s the only way the club can be sustainable at a level above this. The 3/4G pitch is a great idea as you can borrow against future earnings which you can’t really do with a new stand. Unfortunately I believe this is going to be difficult to achieve at BM based on what was said last night.

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Re: AGM

Post by H1987 » Sat Jan 26, 2019 12:16 pm

divas wrote:
H1987 wrote:Surely TW's position is not decided for next year yet? He's only contracted until the end of this season, is he not?

I think we should be reserving judgement on whether to extend that for now. The jury is certainly out, for me.

I certainly hope the squad won't be trimmed more than it is at this stage... because it was a joke before the loans came in. I'd hate to think we might have a squad like that *including* loans, and then kids on the bench. I'm all for giving kids a chance to play if they're good enough, but you can't build an entire bench of them.

I'm not expecting us to make it out of this league any time soon, but I do think we should be competitive, with an outside chance of sneaking into the playoffs. Realistically, the infrastructure and revenue streams need improving before we are in any position to move up the leagues. That means at least another stand at BM, another access path for segregation purposes, and sustainable streams of income, such as clubhouse / 4G. To me, that is our realistic goal for the next 5-10 years.
Totally agree with future development - for me the next development(s)/investment(s) have to be to build a revenue generating assets which will allow us to generate revenue outside of a matchday - it’s the only way the club can be sustainable at a level above this. The 3/4G pitch is a great idea as you can borrow against future earnings which you can’t really do with a new stand. Unfortunately I believe this is going to be difficult to achieve at BM based on what was said last night.
Is that in terms of 4G or stands? Obviously we all know the difficulties with the stands, but there may be work arounds as have been suggested / discussed before.

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Re: AGM

Post by divas » Sat Jan 26, 2019 12:30 pm

From what was said last night the land to to the open end of the ground is very soft and lies on a flood plane which has the potential to cause issues with aspects of planning and build. Add that to the pipe issue and the clubhouse and you’ve got a site that clearly isn’t up to being developed to the level we need if we have aspirations of playing above this level. Factor in the relationship we’ve had with the rugby club to date who have stifled us massively and only a mad man would want to sink more cash into that option imo.

Lee and Jon from DFCSG have done a great peice of work to demonstrate how if/when we go up the leagues our capacity will actually drop if we don’t do any work as hard standing is not applicable to differing degrees. They have identified what would need to be done to get BM to a level we would need in the league(s) above. Of course it’s all theoretical and whilst it could be done theoretically there are a lot of obstacles - for once not all financial.

I don’t expect that any of that is a surprise but it was good to see some level of detail to prove it.

I should point out last night at no point did any member of the board suggest what we should or shouldn’t do - it was a simple presentation of the facts gathered to date. You can see how much due diligence is required to pull this stuff together which is why it’s taking longer than we’d hope to get all of the facts but things are moving and at some point the owners of the club will be given some options and the full pros cons and funding required etc.

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Re: AGM

Post by quakersfan » Sat Jan 26, 2019 1:05 pm

Was the sporting village option discussed?

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divas
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Re: AGM

Post by divas » Sat Jan 26, 2019 1:09 pm

Yes, it was touched upon briefly but there is still a lack of detail around it. It was mentioned that there may be an option of having a floodlighted pitch for us to play on but it would be up to us to build the infrastructure and there would be no real option for us to generate non matchday revenue from the facility.

The old issue around primacy of fixture and the proposed 3G/4G surface in the actual arena are still hurdles to overcome for that option too.

Again as I’m sure we all knew anyway there isn’t an outstanding option unfortunately. All avenues will take lots of time, money and negotiation. We just have to wait until all the facts are known and continue to support the club where we can so that when we’re in a position to be presented with an option we’re in as good a position as we can be.

Having mulled the limited information over I’ve performed a bit of a 180 degree shift. Originally I was happy to stop at BM and try to develop the 4G and then a proper stand with facilities as it allows us to be sustainable at a half decent level but looking at the challenges presented I just don’t think it’s feasible anymore. Add to that our landlords who I believe have stifled our progress due to their totally amateur setup and I’m more minded to try and get on board with the sporting village. Whilst the deal at the village also isn’t likely to be ideal for us (but what can you expect when you have little to offer) it does mean that we’ll be part of a much more professional setup with proper funding ploughed into it and whilst we won’t see much/any of that funding I believe we can benefit from the inertia of the whole project to give the club a new lease of life. I also believe that attracting external investment into the club be that within the parameters of the the current ownership model or by flexing the ownership model will be inherently easier at a sporting village site surrounded by retail and leisure facilities than it would be out on our ear over at the dwindling rugby club.

The obvious downside is that we’d still have to pay the rent at BM until the end of the lease and a lot of the money spent of infrastructure to date would be wasted. You can move certain things like seats but other bits and pieces would be just as costly to purchase new as to remove, make good and re-install. Add to that our planned revenue generating asset of a 4G pitch wouldn’t be possible there so we’d need another business plan to ensure the club is self sufficient at a higher level than current (however see not above on external investment)

We absolutely have to think about our long term future though and for me that only exists away from BM as difficult as that might be to swallow we owe it to the future fans of the club to leave behind something that at least has a chance of competing higher up the pyramid in a fit for purpose ground that whilst we might now own the land we have a long lease and crucially access to it when we need it without a landlord telling us what we can and can’t do

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Re: AGM

Post by Ghost_Of_1883 » Sat Jan 26, 2019 3:49 pm

divas wrote:Seems a no brainer to bring your maximum 5 players in on loan until January and then re-assess in January and either extend them in January or bring in different players until the end of the season. The main issue I see with this is that loan players may not arrive until just before the season starts which gives little time to integrate them into the group.
Well, it'll be no different to the start of this season, where we looked like a bunch of players who had never met each other.

Regarding BTB, I will keep mine going, let's not forget that we still have some 2 year contracts to honour for core players, removing that funding will help nobody.

But yeah, the BTB is going to be a tough sell next season.

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Re: AGM

Post by quakersfan » Sat Jan 26, 2019 4:00 pm

Let’s face it what’s the point in spending £2.5-3m to develop EFL standard at BM, we have a stadium up the road which won’t cost us anymore in rent yet can create much more commercial revenue. It’s unlikely we will find ourselves back in the league within 5 years which in that time we could develop a smaller stadium outside where apparently the pitch and floodlights will be paid for as starting point. Also I’m sure there’s a deal to be done on the outstanding rent on BM. Also if we did have our our ground at SV perhaps then an outside benefactor would be come involved as with a long term lease they have something to invest to with some sort of return.

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Re: AGM

Post by Yarblockos » Sat Jan 26, 2019 4:11 pm

50 years wrote:Just a quick feedback for those interested:-

Don't think anyone will be surprised that we will still need some additional revenue to keep us going till the end of the season given our gates are down from what was expected etc, (although there is some revenue from a couple of sources that have not yet materialised but hopefully before the end of the season we may get them). Getting through this year we should be in a much better financial position than last year,(during the year there were some costs that were not expected, but DJ mentioned that there should be no more surprises now).
What about the transfer fee for Saunders? This must have changed the financial outlook, surely?

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Re: AGM

Post by divas » Sat Jan 26, 2019 4:25 pm

Yarblockos wrote:
50 years wrote:Just a quick feedback for those interested:-

Don't think anyone will be surprised that we will still need some additional revenue to keep us going till the end of the season given our gates are down from what was expected etc, (although there is some revenue from a couple of sources that have not yet materialised but hopefully before the end of the season we may get them). Getting through this year we should be in a much better financial position than last year,(during the year there were some costs that were not expected, but DJ mentioned that there should be no more surprises now).
What about the transfer fee for Saunders? This must have changed the financial outlook, surely?
Yeah it’s meant we run out of cash middle of Feb rather than end of Jan

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