New Finance Director

Open now for discussion of all things Darlo!

Moderators: mikkyx, uncovered

User avatar
beatroute66
Posts: 1485
Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2009 3:46 pm
Team Supported: Darlington
Location: Ingleby Barwick

Re: New Finance Director

Post by beatroute66 » Mon Feb 11, 2019 12:26 pm

OnTheTerraces wrote:If he is at the match on Saturday I'm going to find him and ask him what his plans are.
:shock:

AndyPark
Posts: 12155
Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2009 3:08 pm
Team Supported: Darlington
Location: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by AndyPark » Mon Feb 11, 2019 2:41 pm

OnTheTerraces wrote:If he is at the match on Saturday I'm going to find him and ask him what his plans are.
:wtf: :wtf:

Emdubya
Posts: 1117
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2015 9:31 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by Emdubya » Mon Feb 11, 2019 2:53 pm

OnTheTerraces wrote:If he is at the match on Saturday I'm going to find him and ask him what his plans are.
If you do find him ask him if any of his wealthy hedge fund punters fancy a dabble with a local football club :lol:

quakersfan
Posts: 491
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2018 2:26 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by quakersfan » Mon Feb 11, 2019 5:08 pm

divas wrote:
quakersfan wrote:Spot on Divas that’s his profession so I’ve no doubt he will work within the budget and as a director he has to ensure DFC is not knowingly trading as insolvent.

However getting to the next level is the difficult bit, we still haven’t heard from anyone how we would fund to get into the national league with its much larger playing budget, long trips which many players couldn’t do on a part time basis.
It’s fairly clear that the funding to move to full time status would need to come from non matchday revenue. Whilst we could theoretically increase attendances with an improved offering both on and off the pitch the revenue is far too volatile to budget for anything more than our current average until we see as sustained increase. Fan donations into a boost the budget scheme are vital as we’re in effect the football club’s benefactor but this isn’t sustainable and should be seen more as a bonus than core revenue. Transfer fees and cup money (!) are exactly the same - bonuses which are nice when realised but can’t be relied upon. Should they be realised they should either be used to create revenue generating assets or (more likely) reduce structured debt / create future headroom.

So non matchday revenue - basically we need some way of generating significant sums of money that are as guaranteed as possible. The best way I’ve heard to date is the 4G pitch which has a business built around it that generates revenue regardless of how the team is doing on the pitch. I reckon we’d need an extra £150-200K per season to go full time and be competitive in the league. The sums I’ve heard from such a venture do seem to be in that ballpark.

If that can’t be realised then we’ll have to come up with another revenue generating business that can support the club otherwise we become a perennial NLN club that may from time to time be in with a chance of promotion to the next level but unable to sustain that for any period due to no increased revenue from playing at that level to sustain ourselves. Whilst teams do compete in the National League at semi pro level i imagine its very difficult and would be even more so for ourselves due to our geographic location
I think the ownership model we have has worked well for the last five years and our current level. Perhaps now the SG should start looking seriously at bringing outside investment in to the club or highlighting they are willing to talk to any potential investors, otherwise I can only see us stagnating.

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

Re: New Finance Director

Post by Maurice_Peddelty » Mon Feb 11, 2019 5:43 pm

quakersfan wrote: I think the ownership model we have has worked well for the last five years and our current level. Perhaps now the SG should start looking seriously at bringing outside investment in to the club or highlighting they are willing to talk to any potential investors, otherwise I can only see us stagnating.
quakersfan, could I suggest you take a look at DFCSG's website and download their rules from https://dfcsg.co.uk/?page=aboutus. If my interpretation of the rules and their objects are correct, I don't believe it is the role of the DFCSG board to solicit the involvement of outside investors.

quakersfan
Posts: 491
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2018 2:26 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by quakersfan » Mon Feb 11, 2019 6:08 pm

Maurice_Peddelty wrote:
quakersfan wrote: I think the ownership model we have has worked well for the last five years and our current level. Perhaps now the SG should start looking seriously at bringing outside investment in to the club or highlighting they are willing to talk to any potential investors, otherwise I can only see us stagnating.
quakersfan, could I suggest you take a look at DFCSG's website and download their rules from https://dfcsg.co.uk/?page=aboutus. If my interpretation of the rules and their objects are correct, I don't believe it is the role of the DFCSG board to solicit the involvement of outside investors.
That’s madness so your saying situation can’t change. If for instance it hadnt been Raj looking but someone else who wanted to invest they couldn’t? I’m not saying there’s a queue of people who want to invest but from what your saying it’s just a a stalemate situation. Whose role is it then to potentially talk to outside investors. With why your saying I’m deciding now whether to renew my BTB contribution or reduce the amount.

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

Re: New Finance Director

Post by Maurice_Peddelty » Mon Feb 11, 2019 7:04 pm

quakersfan wrote:
Maurice_Peddelty wrote:
quakersfan wrote: I think the ownership model we have has worked well for the last five years and our current level. Perhaps now the SG should start looking seriously at bringing outside investment in to the club or highlighting they are willing to talk to any potential investors, otherwise I can only see us stagnating.
quakersfan, could I suggest you take a look at DFCSG's website and download their rules from https://dfcsg.co.uk/?page=aboutus. If my interpretation of the rules and their objects are correct, I don't believe it is the role of the DFCSG board to solicit the involvement of outside investors.
That’s madness so your saying situation can’t change. If for instance it hadnt been Raj looking but someone else who wanted to invest they couldn’t? I’m not saying there’s a queue of people who want to invest but from what your saying it’s just a a stalemate situation. Whose role is it then to potentially talk to outside investors. With why your saying I’m deciding now whether to renew my BTB contribution or reduce the amount.
I'm simply informing you of what my conclusions are. You could read the rules and conclude something different.

JE93
Posts: 1854
Joined: Sun Nov 29, 2009 2:48 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by JE93 » Mon Feb 11, 2019 7:13 pm

quakersfan wrote:
Maurice_Peddelty wrote:
quakersfan wrote: I think the ownership model we have has worked well for the last five years and our current level. Perhaps now the SG should start looking seriously at bringing outside investment in to the club or highlighting they are willing to talk to any potential investors, otherwise I can only see us stagnating.
quakersfan, could I suggest you take a look at DFCSG's website and download their rules from https://dfcsg.co.uk/?page=aboutus. If my interpretation of the rules and their objects are correct, I don't believe it is the role of the DFCSG board to solicit the involvement of outside investors.
That’s madness so your saying situation can’t change. If for instance it hadnt been Raj looking but someone else who wanted to invest they couldn’t? I’m not saying there’s a queue of people who want to invest but from what your saying it’s just a a stalemate situation. Whose role is it then to potentially talk to outside investors. With why your saying I’m deciding now whether to renew my BTB contribution or reduce the amount.
Why would the DFCSG structure effect whether you support BTB for one amount or another?

The Supporters Group is a community interest company. It operates under an asset lock, to preserve the assets under it's control to meet its objectives (running a community based football club). There will be a point at which serious advice needs to be taken on how DFCSG could divest its holdings in the football club. But until a serious investor comes along with an intention of finding out, i doubt there would be many parties willing to foot that hypothetical legal bill.

Any investment would come into the club not the DFCSG. So club officials / Directors could talk to any interested investor with a view to investing in the club. But that would require a change in the Asset position of the CIC either by selling it's shares, which the Asset lock prevents. Or by issuing new shares which as 80% owner the CIC would have to support. But once again this would materially change it's asset position in relation to it's objectives. Both scenarios would require detailed legal review and most likely substantial change in the CIC. It's not impossible. But until you have someone serious interested ready to foot the bill probably not worth it either.

super_les_mcjannet
Posts: 5995
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:41 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Mon Feb 11, 2019 7:26 pm

quakersfan wrote:
Maurice_Peddelty wrote:
quakersfan wrote: I think the ownership model we have has worked well for the last five years and our current level. Perhaps now the SG should start looking seriously at bringing outside investment in to the club or highlighting they are willing to talk to any potential investors, otherwise I can only see us stagnating.
quakersfan, could I suggest you take a look at DFCSG's website and download their rules from https://dfcsg.co.uk/?page=aboutus. If my interpretation of the rules and their objects are correct, I don't believe it is the role of the DFCSG board to solicit the involvement of outside investors.
That’s madness so your saying situation can’t change. If for instance it hadnt been Raj looking but someone else who wanted to invest they couldn’t? I’m not saying there’s a queue of people who want to invest but from what your saying it’s just a a stalemate situation. Whose role is it then to potentially talk to outside investors. With why your saying I’m deciding now whether to renew my BTB contribution or reduce the amount.
As others have mentioned, it would take a major change to the DFCSG rules/articles of association. I thought everyone understood this, it was mentioned when Raj was sniffing about.

Anything is possible but the rules mean a full members vote would be required and likely some of the board would step down (my opinion not a fact/threat from the board).

quakersfan
Posts: 491
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2018 2:26 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by quakersfan » Mon Feb 11, 2019 7:49 pm

super_les_mcjannet wrote:
quakersfan wrote:
Maurice_Peddelty wrote:
quakersfan wrote: I think the ownership model we have has worked well for the last five years and our current level. Perhaps now the SG should start looking seriously at bringing outside investment in to the club or highlighting they are willing to talk to any potential investors, otherwise I can only see us stagnating.
quakersfan, could I suggest you take a look at DFCSG's website and download their rules from https://dfcsg.co.uk/?page=aboutus. If my interpretation of the rules and their objects are correct, I don't believe it is the role of the DFCSG board to solicit the involvement of outside investors.
That’s madness so your saying situation can’t change. If for instance it hadnt been Raj looking but someone else who wanted to invest they couldn’t? I’m not saying there’s a queue of people who want to invest but from what your saying it’s just a a stalemate situation. Whose role is it then to potentially talk to outside investors. With why your saying I’m deciding now whether to renew my BTB contribution or reduce the amount.
As others have mentioned, it would take a major change to the DFCSG rules/articles of association. I thought everyone understood this, it was mentioned when Raj was sniffing about.

Anything is possible but the rules mean a full members vote would be required and likely some of the board would step down (my opinion not a fact/threat from the board).
Super Les you obviously know the board well, are you saying it’s the board that would push to change the rules but the fact some of the board would step down indicates they haven’t got the desire or appetite to look at changing the articles?
If that’s the case the club has reached its level.

super_les_mcjannet
Posts: 5995
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:41 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Mon Feb 11, 2019 8:18 pm

Can't say I know the board well at all, spoken to a number of them over the years but nothing more.

Below can be ambiguous in terms of the overall goal, but you could say to achieve this role being the majority owner makes it easier to complete than allowing their shareholder percentage to reduce and have someone else as the majority owner.
DFCSG wrote:The purpose of the Supporters Group is to be the vehicle through which a healthy, balanced and constructive relationship between the Football Club and its supporters and the communities it serves is encouraged and developed. The business of the Supporters Group is to be conducted for the benefit of the community served by the Football Club and not for the profit of its members.
Another one is that the Football Club currently owes at a rough guess 200k (I can't remember exacts) to DFCSG, if they relinquish overall control and then this wasn't paid back then that could be seen as quite neglectful from the DFCSG board. Especially as that cash is then owed to DFCSG members who if they want to cash their shares back in could make it quite a tricky situation.

With that in mind I can't see DFCSG actively looking for someone to take a majority ownership in the club, if the offer comes in then they would need to take the offer to the members with all pros and cons and allow a vote.

quakersfan
Posts: 491
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2018 2:26 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by quakersfan » Mon Feb 11, 2019 8:37 pm

super_les_mcjannet wrote:Can't say I know the board well at all, spoken to a number of them over the years but nothing more.

Below can be ambiguous in terms of the overall goal, but you could say to achieve this role being the majority owner makes it easier to complete than allowing their shareholder percentage to reduce and have someone else as the majority owner.
DFCSG wrote:The purpose of the Supporters Group is to be the vehicle through which a healthy, balanced and constructive relationship between the Football Club and its supporters and the communities it serves is encouraged and developed. The business of the Supporters Group is to be conducted for the benefit of the community served by the Football Club and not for the profit of its members.
Another one is that the Football Club currently owes at a rough guess 200k (I can't remember exacts) to DFCSG, if they relinquish overall control and then this wasn't paid back then that could be seen as quite neglectful from the DFCSG board. Especially as that cash is then owed to DFCSG members who if they want to cash their shares back in could make it quite a tricky situation.

With that in mind I can't see DFCSG actively looking for someone to take a majority ownership in the club, if the offer comes in then they would need to take the offer to the members with all pros and cons and allow a vote.
Thanks for explaining it’s a lot more complicated than I ever thought and sounds difficult to bring outside investment in.

super_les_mcjannet
Posts: 5995
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:41 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Mon Feb 11, 2019 8:46 pm

Very complicated and the role for DFCSG is to ensure we have a football club and not to gamble that away.

They are not there to hand over ownership to an investor, however they have to be available to discuss possibilities and then hand it over to the membership, with one vote per member.

It's all very moot as only Raj has ever shown his hand, even then didn't face the fans and advises of his plan. Had a few insults shot his way and then backed away.

User avatar
D_F_C
Posts: 2054
Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2010 8:43 am
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by D_F_C » Tue Feb 12, 2019 12:18 pm

I also believe that they would listen to anyone who was interested but there won't be anyone because we don't have much appeal

OnTheTerraces
Posts: 147
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2019 2:57 pm
Team Supported: Darlington
Location: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by OnTheTerraces » Tue Feb 12, 2019 12:31 pm

when we get back to the conference and then league 2 we can tell vultures that will inevitably circle around us to .... "*&^ off

footifan
Posts: 792
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:34 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by footifan » Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:13 pm

OnTheTerraces wrote:when we get back to the conference and then league 2 we can tell vultures that will inevitably circle around us to .... "*&^ off
That simply not going to happen without outside investment...
We are destined to wallow in this league or below...support is & will continue to fall.
I truly fear for the long term existence of the club unless something happens in the not too distant future.

Some one made a comment about Southport bringing just 10 fans....Southport used to be Football League club till 78 with an average 4th Division fan base that has literally been allowed to die on its feet.
It had the advantage of remaining at its original Haig Avenue ground which has been leased since the early 1900's but that is not enough.
I am sure in the early 80's their fans were hopeful of a quick return to Football League status. I wonder where they are now?
There are many examples BPA, Workington, Barrow etc..

Sadly I fear this is our fate... We had a League past but the future ????

super_les_mcjannet
Posts: 5995
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:41 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:38 pm

footifan wrote:
OnTheTerraces wrote:when we get back to the conference and then league 2 we can tell vultures that will inevitably circle around us to .... "*&^ off
That simply not going to happen without outside investment...
We are destined to wallow in this league or below...support is & will continue to fall.
I truly fear for the long term existence of the club unless something happens in the not too distant future.

Some one made a comment about Southport bringing just 10 fans....Southport used to be Football League club till 78 with an average 4th Division fan base that has literally been allowed to die on its feet.
It had the advantage of remaining at its original Haig Avenue ground which has been leased since the early 1900's but that is not enough.
I am sure in the early 80's their fans were hopeful of a quick return to Football League status. I wonder where they are now?
There are many examples BPA, Workington, Barrow etc..

Sadly I fear this is our fate... We had a League past but the future ????
That is possibly our future, I see Halifax/Chester as our yardstick.

As we have no other options currently other than pack it all in, then take your pick really.

footifan
Posts: 792
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:34 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by footifan » Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:51 pm

I am not saying pack it in.
But there too many " we own the club " brigade that have no sense of financial workings who think we will magic the club to success.
Sadly it does not happen.

quakersfan
Posts: 491
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2018 2:26 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by quakersfan » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:00 pm

super_les_mcjannet wrote:
footifan wrote:
OnTheTerraces wrote:when we get back to the conference and then league 2 we can tell vultures that will inevitably circle around us to .... "*&^ off
That simply not going to happen without outside investment...
We are destined to wallow in this league or below...support is & will continue to fall.
I truly fear for the long term existence of the club unless something happens in the not too distant future.

Some one made a comment about Southport bringing just 10 fans....Southport used to be Football League club till 78 with an average 4th Division fan base that has literally been allowed to die on its feet.
It had the advantage of remaining at its original Haig Avenue ground which has been leased since the early 1900's but that is not enough.
I am sure in the early 80's their fans were hopeful of a quick return to Football League status. I wonder where they are now?
There are many examples BPA, Workington, Barrow etc..

Sadly I fear this is our fate... We had a League past but the future ????
That is possibly our future, I see Halifax/Chester as our yardstick.

As we have no other options currently other than pack it all in, then take your pick really.
All rather depressing, all this talk about whether we develop BM or go the SV is utter nonesense if we don’t have the budget to play successfully at a higher level,
as I can only see crowds dropping again for next season, sorry to sound pessimistic but I just can’t see it changing under the current model. Everyone seems to be trying really hard but we need a major cash injection to get us to the next level.
The next two games could well decide our season.

super_les_mcjannet
Posts: 5995
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:41 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:01 pm

footifan wrote:I am not saying pack it in.
But there too many " we own the club " brigade that have no sense of financial workings who think we will magic the club to success.
Sadly it does not happen.
I don't speak to many like this to be honest, the moment we were sent down to the Northern League, with no home ground and no one wanting to put money in should have given everyone the answers they needed for the future.

I can see that we can compete at this level, which considering we are paying for funding the ground (500 club) is pretty decent currently.

Anyone who thought we would steam through the leagues all the way to the Football League were sadly in la la land.

super_les_mcjannet
Posts: 5995
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:41 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:04 pm

quakersfan wrote:
super_les_mcjannet wrote:
footifan wrote:
OnTheTerraces wrote:when we get back to the conference and then league 2 we can tell vultures that will inevitably circle around us to .... "*&^ off
That simply not going to happen without outside investment...
We are destined to wallow in this league or below...support is & will continue to fall.
I truly fear for the long term existence of the club unless something happens in the not too distant future.

Some one made a comment about Southport bringing just 10 fans....Southport used to be Football League club till 78 with an average 4th Division fan base that has literally been allowed to die on its feet.
It had the advantage of remaining at its original Haig Avenue ground which has been leased since the early 1900's but that is not enough.
I am sure in the early 80's their fans were hopeful of a quick return to Football League status. I wonder where they are now?
There are many examples BPA, Workington, Barrow etc..

Sadly I fear this is our fate... We had a League past but the future ????
That is possibly our future, I see Halifax/Chester as our yardstick.

As we have no other options currently other than pack it all in, then take your pick really.
All rather depressing, all this talk about whether we develop BM or go the SV is utter nonesense if we don’t have the budget to play successfully at a higher level,
as I can only see crowds dropping again for next season, sorry to sound pessimistic but I just can’t see it changing under the current model. Everyone seems to be trying really hard but we need a major cash injection to get us to the next level.
The next two games could well decide our season.
You are allowed to be as pessimistic as you want, still won't change that we don't have any who wants to put money in.

How much do you think an investor needs to put in and how many do you reckon can't wait to buy into a club with 300k worth of debt and no ground/land of their own or and a revenue v costs negative situation?

Sadly unless you know someone who wants to take the above on and be very open with DFCSG then you might as well just crack on.

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

Re: New Finance Director

Post by poppyfield » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:14 pm

super_les_mcjannet wrote:
quakersfan wrote:
super_les_mcjannet wrote:
footifan wrote:
OnTheTerraces wrote:when we get back to the conference and then league 2 we can tell vultures that will inevitably circle around us to .... "*&^ off
That simply not going to happen without outside investment...
We are destined to wallow in this league or below...support is & will continue to fall.
I truly fear for the long term existence of the club unless something happens in the not too distant future.

Some one made a comment about Southport bringing just 10 fans....Southport used to be Football League club till 78 with an average 4th Division fan base that has literally been allowed to die on its feet.
It had the advantage of remaining at its original Haig Avenue ground which has been leased since the early 1900's but that is not enough.
I am sure in the early 80's their fans were hopeful of a quick return to Football League status. I wonder where they are now?
There are many examples BPA, Workington, Barrow etc..

Sadly I fear this is our fate... We had a League past but the future ????
That is possibly our future, I see Halifax/Chester as our yardstick.

As we have no other options currently other than pack it all in, then take your pick really.
All rather depressing, all this talk about whether we develop BM or go the SV is utter nonesense if we don’t have the budget to play successfully at a higher level,
as I can only see crowds dropping again for next season, sorry to sound pessimistic but I just can’t see it changing under the current model. Everyone seems to be trying really hard but we need a major cash injection to get us to the next level.
The next two games could well decide our season.
You are allowed to be as pessimistic as you want, still won't change that we don't have any who wants to put money in.

How much do you think an investor needs to put in and how many do you reckon can't wait to buy into a club with 300k worth of debt and no ground/land of their own or and a revenue v costs negative situation?

Sadly unless you know someone who wants to take the above on and be very open with DFCSG then you might as well just crack on.
Christ on a bike 300K worth of debt, I didn't realise it was that much.
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

quakersfan
Posts: 491
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2018 2:26 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by quakersfan » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:18 pm

super_les_mcjannet wrote:
quakersfan wrote:
super_les_mcjannet wrote:
footifan wrote:
OnTheTerraces wrote:when we get back to the conference and then league 2 we can tell vultures that will inevitably circle around us to .... "*&^ off
That simply not going to happen without outside investment...
We are destined to wallow in this league or below...support is & will continue to fall.
I truly fear for the long term existence of the club unless something happens in the not too distant future.

Some one made a comment about Southport bringing just 10 fans....Southport used to be Football League club till 78 with an average 4th Division fan base that has literally been allowed to die on its feet.
It had the advantage of remaining at its original Haig Avenue ground which has been leased since the early 1900's but that is not enough.


I am sure in the early 80's their fans were hopeful of a quick return to Football League status. I wonder where they are now?
There are many examples BPA, Workington, Barrow etc..

Sadly I fear this is our fate... We had a League past but the future ????
That is possibly our future, I see Halifax/Chester as our yardstick.

As we have no other options currently other than pack it all in, then take your pick really.
All rather depressing, all this talk about whether we develop BM or go the SV is utter nonesense if we don’t have the budget to play successfully at a higher level,
as I can only see crowds dropping again for next season, sorry to sound pessimistic but I just can’t see it changing under the current model. Everyone seems to be trying really hard but we need a major cash injection to get us to the next level.
The next two games could well decide our season.
You are allowed to be as pessimistic as you want, still won't change that we don't have any who wants to put money in.

How much do you think an investor needs to put in and how many do you reckon can't wait to buy into a club with 300k worth of debt and no ground/land of their own or and a revenue v costs negative situation?

Sadly unless you know someone who wants to take the above on and be very open with DFCSG then you might as well just crack on.
As far as I can see there’s no one courting the business community or entrepreneurs, it’s obviously not going to be the DFCSG, Super Les has already said there’s no appetite and the DFC board get their remit from the SG board. I’m sure we will end up with a club working within its budget which is good but not able to match what is most fans ambition and that’s promotion to a higher level.

super_les_mcjannet
Posts: 5995
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:41 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:18 pm

300k sounds a bit alarmist and might be off a little bit. However most of it is long term loan from DFCSG which is to be paid over 20 years or so if I remember rightly.

Still though the debt does exist on a balance sheet, it was for funding the ground etc.

super_les_mcjannet
Posts: 5995
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:41 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:27 pm

quakersfan wrote:
super_les_mcjannet wrote:
quakersfan wrote:
super_les_mcjannet wrote:
footifan wrote:
That simply not going to happen without outside investment...
We are destined to wallow in this league or below...support is & will continue to fall.
I truly fear for the long term existence of the club unless something happens in the not too distant future.

Some one made a comment about Southport bringing just 10 fans....Southport used to be Football League club till 78 with an average 4th Division fan base that has literally been allowed to die on its feet.
It had the advantage of remaining at its original Haig Avenue ground which has been leased since the early 1900's but that is not enough.


I am sure in the early 80's their fans were hopeful of a quick return to Football League status. I wonder where they are now?
There are many examples BPA, Workington, Barrow etc..

Sadly I fear this is our fate... We had a League past but the future ????
That is possibly our future, I see Halifax/Chester as our yardstick.

As we have no other options currently other than pack it all in, then take your pick really.
All rather depressing, all this talk about whether we develop BM or go the SV is utter nonesense if we don’t have the budget to play successfully at a higher level,
as I can only see crowds dropping again for next season, sorry to sound pessimistic but I just can’t see it changing under the current model. Everyone seems to be trying really hard but we need a major cash injection to get us to the next level.
The next two games could well decide our season.
You are allowed to be as pessimistic as you want, still won't change that we don't have any who wants to put money in.

How much do you think an investor needs to put in and how many do you reckon can't wait to buy into a club with 300k worth of debt and no ground/land of their own or and a revenue v costs negative situation?

Sadly unless you know someone who wants to take the above on and be very open with DFCSG then you might as well just crack on.
As far as I can see there’s no one courting the business community or entrepreneurs, it’s obviously not going to be the DFCSG, Super Les has already said there’s no appetite and the DFC board get their remit from the SG board. I’m sure we will end up with a club working within its budget which is good but not able to match what is most fans ambition and that’s promotion to a higher level.
I would assume some will be more than happy to listen to an investor, however they would have to have deep pockets straight away and willingness to work with the fans.

If not then those ambitious fans better be as ambitions in their working/personal life and they can all pay for us to march up to the football league.
Every fan is ambitious, it’s always easy to ask for more and more when you are not paying.

footifan
Posts: 792
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:34 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by footifan » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:31 pm

I am not being pessimistic I am being a realist.

What 300,000 debt ?
Where did that one come from ?

I didn't say I had the answers I just responded to the comment that when we " get to the conference then the Football League " comment.
Even though not now a regular at matches, I & others still support the club in any we we can.
But sadly that is with others that do the same way short of our needs.

User avatar
divas
Posts: 13213
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:38 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by divas » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:35 pm

Yes a very large portion of that is community share funds that have been loaned from DFCSG into DFC. We did it that way to protect the community shareholders if something changed with the ownership model and also to create a way for funds to be repaid over time in line with the community share offer. The DFCSG are obviously not going to call in this debt whilst the current ownership model is in place but if the model were to change it might mean that a benefactor coming into the club would have to find that money - it would be up to the DFCSG members / community share investors to make that decision if and when the time came.

As for where we go from here, it’s quite clear we’ve reached our current ceiling and that it’s going to be baby steps from here compared to the large strides we took in the first 5 years when our finances blew most teams out of the water. There are ways and means to potentially make the move to the next level in the next 3-5 years but it’s going to take a lot of business development and an external income. The decision on what we do next re BM/SV will have a big impact on this imo

quakersfan
Posts: 491
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2018 2:26 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by quakersfan » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:45 pm

Chatting to board members in the past, there was more than Raj who have expressed an interest perhaps we should engage again or perhaps we are.

User avatar
QuakerPete
Posts: 1196
Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2009 11:51 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by QuakerPete » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:57 pm

quakersfan wrote:
super_les_mcjannet wrote:
quakersfan wrote:
super_les_mcjannet wrote:
footifan wrote: That simply not going to happen without outside investment...
We are destined to wallow in this league or below...support is & will continue to fall.
I truly fear for the long term existence of the club unless something happens in the not too distant future.

Some one made a comment about Southport bringing just 10 fans....Southport used to be Football League club till 78 with an average 4th Division fan base that has literally been allowed to die on its feet.
It had the advantage of remaining at its original Haig Avenue ground which has been leased since the early 1900's but that is not enough.


I am sure in the early 80's their fans were hopeful of a quick return to Football League status. I wonder where they are now?
There are many examples BPA, Workington, Barrow etc..

Sadly I fear this is our fate... We had a League past but the future ????
That is possibly our future, I see Halifax/Chester as our yardstick.

As we have no other options currently other than pack it all in, then take your pick really.
All rather depressing, all this talk about whether we develop BM or go the SV is utter nonesense if we don’t have the budget to play successfully at a higher level,
as I can only see crowds dropping again for next season, sorry to sound pessimistic but I just can’t see it changing under the current model. Everyone seems to be trying really hard but we need a major cash injection to get us to the next level.
The next two games could well decide our season.
You are allowed to be as pessimistic as you want, still won't change that we don't have any who wants to put money in.

How much do you think an investor needs to put in and how many do you reckon can't wait to buy into a club with 300k worth of debt and no ground/land of their own or and a revenue v costs negative situation?

Sadly unless you know someone who wants to take the above on and be very open with DFCSG then you might as well just crack on.
As far as I can see there’s no one courting the business community or entrepreneurs, it’s obviously not going to be the DFCSG, Super Les has already said there’s no appetite and the DFC board get their remit from the SG board. I’m sure we will end up with a club working within its budget which is good but not able to match what is most fans ambition and that’s promotion to a higher level.
What is there to market? What positives could be included in a portfolio to hand over? We don’t own our ground in order to generate anything other than basic finances. We don’t have other revenue generating streams such as a 4G pitch. Apart from a rich super-fan, why would anyone take on a cash eating machine? We actively pursued new owners when we survived in 2012 and ended up with no serious contenders, hence having to go as fan-owned.
Football has moved on a lot in the past ten years, still with the potential to return to the Football League but our present circumstances regarding finances, ground, Sporting Village, etc., strongly suggests we’ve reached our level. It is up to fans and club to make the club as attractive to follow on and off the field as possible, otherwise the alternative doesn’t bear thinking about after all the hard work and successes of the past 6-7 years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

User avatar
divas
Posts: 13213
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:38 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: New Finance Director

Post by divas » Tue Feb 12, 2019 11:21 pm

quakersfan wrote:Chatting to board members in the past, there was more than Raj who have expressed an interest perhaps we should engage again or perhaps we are.
News to me.

Post Reply