New signing

[real_darlo_85]

Laurent Blanc was at least 38 when he joined Man Utd...ended up with a Premier League winners medal. Age is just a number and if you still have the fitness and desire to play then I don't see a problem with signing him.

[Darlogramps]

Not sure a 37 years old is really needed at this time , not saying he hasn't been a good player but I really don't like players at that age dropping down from the league for a pay day..
We don't really know for certain what we are getting so I will wait and see if he proves me wrong and has a great season.. I won't be getting excited like many are just like they did with Gary Martin etc..Also

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On the contrary, I’d say he’s exactly what we need.

Someone with plenty of higher level experience who can organise that defence and prevent its sporadic, chaotic collapses. He may well be the leader that defence was missing last season.

Players like Laing and Storey should learn a lot from his experience.

Of course, we can’t see into the future, so you’re right in the sense of it being important to wait and see. But given he was a regular for a promotion-winning side in League 2 last season, I can’t see age being a factor just yet.

As for “pay day”, well we never know exactly what someone is paid, and I doubt he’ll have come for peanuts. But I don’t think we’ll be breaking our wage structure either.

Put it this way, we know AA wants players who genuinely want to be here, so I’d be surprised if Hunt was coming here to go through the motions and wind down before retirement.

[My opinion]

Laurent Blanc was at least 38 when he joined Man Utd...ended up with a Premier League winners medal. Age is just a number and if you still have the fitness and desire to play then I don't see a problem with signing him.

He was actually 35.. But it's a good point given where Man Utd were at the time.

[Geordie Quaker]

To say he is coming for a payday is utter drivel. The lad has just been promoted from L2 - if he wanted the money I am sure he could have earned antoher 1 year FT contract elsewhere. What he might be thinking is he can pair the wage from us with another venture he will be financially sound - I see nothing wrong with that.

I think this is a tremendous signing. Proven, a postiive influence on others, exactly what we needed. Reminds me of when we signed Foster.

To be honest on Twitter I have seen a fair few questioning the signing based on his age / his motivations etc. This staggers me - Alun has a track recrod of bringing in players with a) ability and b) attitude, and I see no reason to question him on this.

[eddie-rowles]

He is not going to run around the pitch and play 40-50 games a season but hopefully will bring some organization to the Darlo defence and improve Storey and Laings game which the later definitely needed in the tackling department.
Yes he could turn into a bag of shite like Ainge who was younger at 30 but couldn't run, complained constantly to team mates who dared put the ball a metre ahead of him or be arsed at all but I believe AA has done his homework and Nicky Hunt will be a great asset for the team & training also.

[H1987]

Laurent Blanc was terrible at Man Utd... I remember seeing him get torn a new one at the Riverside by Boro.

[QUAKERMAN2]

To say he is coming for a payday is utter drivel. The lad has just been promoted from L2 - if he wanted the money I am sure he could have earned antoher 1 year FT contract elsewhere. What he might be thinking is he can pair the wage from us with another venture he will be financially sound - I see nothing wrong with that.

I think this is a tremendous signing. Proven, a postiive influence on others, exactly what we needed. Reminds me of when we signed Foster.

To be honest on Twitter I have seen a fair few questioning the signing based on his age / his motivations etc. This staggers me - Alun has a track recrod of bringing in players with a) ability and b) attitude, and I see no reason to question him on this.

Totally agree GQ, good, sensible and positive post unlike some on here

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[Darlofan97]

Hunt has came highly recommended by Liddle. I think we should trust his judgement given he also recommended Hatfield. Given how much of a positive character Liddle is, I highly doubt he would recommend someone that would have a negative impact on the group!

Hunt is pushing on a bit, but he has just played 1,850+ minutes in a side that has just finished joint-top of League 2, predominately at centre-half. That’s an impressive signing.

His legs may be going, but we all know there is a gulf in quality between League 2 and the Conference National, let alone League 2 and the Conference North. The simple fact he was able to more than hold his own in a top-quality League 2 side (playing the equivalent of 21 matches last season) should be a cause for encouragement, even if we only get a couple of seasons out of him.

We were too soft at the back (at times) last season. Hunt & a quality goalkeeper will change that without doubt.

In terms of Charman, I will reserve judgement until I’ve seen him play. With limited/no past career history other than Newcastle U23’s then it is hard to judge. He ticks the boxes in terms of what we’ve missed since O’Neill was recalled, let’s see if he can deliver.

[onewayup]

Why get on the lads back age is just a number for a quality player, crewe's fans thought he was quality and were hoping to get him for another year,Give the lad a chance, alun knows what he's doing of that I have no doubt, and I think that Hunt will be very good for Darlington FC.
Welcome nick

[loan_star]

From what I have heard, Hunt actually approached us with a view to signing. AA checked him out and decided it was one that was good enough to go ahead with.
As has been said elsewhere, he could easily have got a better pay packet elsewhere and probably far closer to his home.

[QUAKERMAN2]

From what I have heard, Hunt actually approached us with a view to signing. AA checked him out and decided it was one that was good enough to go ahead with.
As has been said elsewhere, he could easily have got a better pay packet elsewhere and probably far closer to his home.

Apparently Ashton wanted to sign him and they have made some very good signings and are really going for it.

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[Old Git]

From what I have heard, Hunt actually approached us with a view to signing. AA checked him out and decided it was one that was good enough to go ahead with.
As has been said elsewhere, he could easily have got a better pay packet elsewhere and probably far closer to his home.

Apparently Ashton wanted to sign him and they have made some very good signings and are really going for it.

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Curzon or United ? Either way spending can not be linked to crowd revenue as they both are poorly supported.

[HarrytheQuaker]

Why get on the lads back age is just a number for a quality player, crewe's fans thought he was quality and were hoping to get him for another year,Give the lad a chance, alun knows what he's doing of that I have no doubt, and I think that Hunt will be very good for Darlington FC.
Welcome nick

I will never get on the lads back. It's a personal choice I just don't like signing players nearing the end of there career , of course I hope it works but I'm not that excited about it but will get my full support as always ...And as for AA we trust him 1000% and I would not ever question that

From what I have heard, Hunt actually approached us with a view to signing. AA checked him out and decided it was one that was good enough to go ahead with.
As has been said elsewhere, he could easily have got a better pay packet elsewhere and probably far closer to his home.

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[lo36789]

Ashton United I imagine. They have Michael Clegg as manager has quite an impressive record of getting players on a budget.

[Vodka_Vic]

Alan White did more than OK for us in his late 30s.

[Maurice_Peddelty]

The discussion about Nicky Hunt reminds me of Mick Tate. He joined Darlo in 1990 after we'd secured promotion back to the Football League from the Conference. Tate was 34 and had played nearly 550 matches in the FL, the vast majority in the 2nd tier. He then was a massive influence in getting us promoted to Division 3 and played just short of 80 matches before moving on to Hartlepool at the age of 36, where he played nearly 140 matches over three seasons before retiring from playing at 39. So if Hunt is as influential on the pitch as Tate was in his latter years, we'll have nothing to worry about and everything to be pleased about.

[quakerste]

Didn't we have our own Alan White playing for us who was around that age, people weren't complaining then other than his disciplinary record. York signed Mcnulty might have not performed against us at their place but he marshalled the defence and they kept a lot of clean sheets.

[Ghost_Of_1883]

Agree with many others, especially GQ - I can't quite believe some people are writing Hunt off because he is approaching 37.

He is exactly what we need, and providing he can steer clear of injuries he will piss this league. He's never played lower than L2, and loads of Crewe fans have been VERY complimentary about him on twitter. If he was good enough for them last season, then he will be good enough for us for the next couple of seasons.

Look at James Curtis at Spendy, solid no nonsense, I'd have him. He's 38. I'd say Nicky Hunt looks like an upgrade based on his pedigree.

[biccynana]

The discussion about Nicky Hunt reminds me of Mick Tate. He joined Darlo in 1990 after we'd secured promotion back to the Football League from the Conference. Tate was 34 and had played nearly 550 matches in the FL, the vast majority in the 2nd tier. He then was a massive influence in getting us promoted to Division 3 and played just short of 80 matches before moving on to Hartlepool at the age of 36, where he played nearly 140 matches over three seasons before retiring from playing at 39. So if Hunt is as influential on the pitch as Tate was in his latter years, we'll have nothing to worry about and everything to be pleased about.

You know an awful lot about Mick, apart from how to spell his name, Maurice

[Maurice_Peddelty]

The discussion about Nicky Hunt reminds me of Mick Tate. He joined Darlo in 1990 after we'd secured promotion back to the Football League from the Conference. Tate was 34 and had played nearly 550 matches in the FL, the vast majority in the 2nd tier. He then was a massive influence in getting us promoted to Division 3 and played just short of 80 matches before moving on to Hartlepool at the age of 36, where he played nearly 140 matches over three seasons before retiring from playing at 39. So if Hunt is as influential on the pitch as Tate was in his latter years, we'll have nothing to worry about and everything to be pleased about.

You know an awful lot about Mick, apart from how to spell his name, Maurice

Fair point, but 30 years is a long time ago! I gleaned the detail from Mick Tait's Wiki page. I remembered he was getting on a bit when he signed for Darlo but I was surprised to see how old he was when he eventually packed in playing. It's a pity that his influence as a player didn’t transfer to his managerial career but then again, he did have Reynolds to contend with.

[jjljks]

Hardly coming for a pay day. More likely to get experience & working toward his coaching badges.

[bga]

Hardly coming for a pay day. More likely to get experience & working toward his coaching badges.

Off Topic but I really enjoyed listening to the interviews with Smudger. Interesting he says he made more money as he came down the leagues than when he was going up them!

[grimsbyquaker]

I see Wrightson has left Blyth today. No news on destination as yet

[Ghost_Of_1883]

Hardly coming for a pay day. More likely to get experience & working toward his coaching badges.

Off Topic but I really enjoyed listening to the interviews with Smudger. Interesting he says he made more money as he came down the leagues than when he was going up them!

I can believe it - when we were in the Conference, we had a two year sh1t or bust plan. We absolutely threw money at getting back into the league, and luckily succeeded at the first attempt.

I was amazed a few years ago on this board to find out that there Darlo fans out there who thought we were running some sort of tight ship in the Conference winning season, when Smith had dropped about 3 leagues to join us, we paid 40k for Toman to drop down to non league, and so on.

[QUAKERMAN2]

I see Wrightson has left Blyth today. No news on destination as yet

Sure his name popped up on The Pride message board and notice it had been removed Nick.Pretty sure it will be us or them who sign him.

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[spen666]

I see Wrightson has left Blyth today. No news on destination as yet

Sure his name popped up on The Pride message board and notice it had been removed Nick.Pretty sure it will be us or them who sign him.

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What message board would that be?

[QUAKERMAN2]

I see Wrightson has left Blyth today. No news on destination as yet

Sure his name popped up on The Pride message board and notice it had been removed Nick.Pretty sure it will be us or them who sign him.

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What message board would that be?

Not the message board as I don't think you have one, my mistake, but was googling your official site and his name appears.Not sure why?

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[Darlogramps]

In order to have a messageboard, you first need fans.

[HarrytheQuaker]

In order to have a messageboard, you first need fans.

They do Gramps have you not seen there massive attendances last season and all the money they have raised to keep them going through these uncertain times

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[spen666]

In order to have a messageboard, you first need fans.

They do Gramps have you not seen there massive attendances last season and all the money they have raised to keep them going through these uncertain times

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Did you read that on the Spennymoor message board?

Just like Darlington, the club owners of Spennymoor have endured the club have the necessary funds to keep the club going.


BTW the mention of Adam Wright's on on the Spennymoor website is from September 2019 and is in the context of a preview of the then upcoming game v Blyth.

https://spennymoortownfc.co.uk/2019/09/ ... -spartans/