George Reynolds

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Alfie
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George Reynolds

Post by Alfie » Thu Mar 11, 2021 5:05 pm

His much delayed court appearance over alleged harrasment in connection with a planning application has concluded.

Got off with conditional discharge and costs.


https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/ ... sts-order/

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by shildonlad » Thu Mar 11, 2021 7:56 pm

George still causing havoc in his 80s. Theres probably a part of him who gets a thrill out of it all and been back in the limelight
I may not live in the north east anymore but i still support the north east teams

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by quakersfan » Fri Mar 12, 2021 7:38 am

If only we had won against Plymouth on that rainy Friday night at Wembley things could have been very different.

eek
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Re: George Reynolds

Post by eek » Fri Mar 12, 2021 7:47 am

quakersfan wrote:
Fri Mar 12, 2021 7:38 am
If only we had won against Plymouth on that rainy Friday night at Wembley things could have been very different.
Peterborough, Plymouth was in 1996.

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Quaker85
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George Reynolds

Post by Quaker85 » Fri Mar 12, 2021 8:59 am

eek wrote:
quakersfan wrote:
Fri Mar 12, 2021 7:38 am
If only we had won against Plymouth on that rainy Friday night at Wembley things could have been very different.
Peterborough, Plymouth was in 1996.
And it was sunny Image (Plymouth game)


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Norm_D_Ploom
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Re: George Reynolds

Post by Norm_D_Ploom » Fri Mar 12, 2021 9:12 am

eek wrote:
Fri Mar 12, 2021 7:47 am
quakersfan wrote:
Fri Mar 12, 2021 7:38 am
If only we had won against Plymouth on that rainy Friday night at Wembley things could have been very different.
Peterborough, Plymouth was in 1996.
And it would still probably all have fallen apart because although we didn't know it at the time,it was all built on sand.

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by Nimrod » Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:16 pm

quakersfan wrote:
Fri Mar 12, 2021 7:38 am
If only we had won against Plymouth on that rainy Friday night at Wembley things could have been very different.
To be fair you can trace our current situation all the way back to the early 90’s but Reynolds’ building of the arena and move away from Feethams certainly sped up our demise as a league club. To me the financial rot really seem to set in during 1991/92 and from that point onwards we were always seemingly on the verge of financial catastrophe. With hindsight I think we would have survived without George coming into the club in 1999 as Hodgy could probably have sold off players like Gabbas, Liddle, Preece and brought in circa £700-800k in transfer fees to keep the wolves at bay but at the time such a move would have seemed unacceptable to the fans. I will still never forgive George for the folly of the arena & leaving behind what was a perfectly good ground in Feethams.

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by quaker4life » Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:41 pm

Nimrod wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:16 pm

With hindsight I think we would have survived without George coming into the club in 1999 as Hodgy could probably have sold off players like Gabbas, Liddle, Preece and brought in circa £700-800k in transfer fees to keep the wolves at bay
I would tend to disagree with this, player sales would not have even come close to paying off the debt we were in at the time which I think was in the region of £5million.

With very little tangible assets, ironically other than the newly built East Stand to which the debt was attributed, had Reynolds not stepped in I don't see how the club could have survived. You could even argue Reynolds saved the club twice, as the major creditor he voted in favour of Sterling's CVA in 2004 which if I recall rightly was worth around £150,000 had he vetoed as I believe he did initially before they forced his hand with bankruptcy proceedings, the fate that befell us in 2012 could well have happened a lot sooner.

It was scandalous looking back as creditors barely got a fraction of what they were owed and the fact the Arena was not repossessed and bulldozed all them years ago beggars belief, to say it has had a charmed existence is an understatement.
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Re: George Reynolds

Post by Darlogramps » Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:56 pm

quaker4life wrote: You could even argue Reynolds saved the club twice, as the major creditor he voted in favour of Sterling's CVA in 2004 which if I recall rightly was worth around £150,000 had he vetoed as I believe he did initially before they forced his hand with bankruptcy proceedings, the fate that befell us in 2012 could well have happened a lot sooner.
You can’t argue that, as his reckless mismanagement put us in administration in 2003.
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Re: George Reynolds

Post by quaker4life » Sun Mar 14, 2021 2:20 pm

quaker4life wrote: his reckless mismanagement put us in administration in 2003.
That goes without saying.

However if he had vetoed the CVA then it would have been curtains.
love it! wrote:Considering we are Darlington 1883 I'm happy that we are named correctly

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by Nimrod » Sun Mar 14, 2021 3:05 pm

quaker4life wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:41 pm
Nimrod wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:16 pm

With hindsight I think we would have survived without George coming into the club in 1999 as Hodgy could probably have sold off players like Gabbas, Liddle, Preece and brought in circa £700-800k in transfer fees to keep the wolves at bay
I would tend to disagree with this, player sales would not have even come close to paying off the debt we were in at the time which I think was in the region of £5million.

With very little tangible assets, ironically other than the newly built East Stand to which the debt was attributed, had Reynolds not stepped in I don't see how the club could have survived. You could even argue Reynolds saved the club twice, as the major creditor he voted in favour of Sterling's CVA in 2004 which if I recall rightly was worth around £150,000 had he vetoed as I believe he did initially before they forced his hand with bankruptcy proceedings, the fate that befell us in 2012 could well have happened a lot sooner.

It was scandalous looking back as creditors barely got a fraction of what they were owed and the fact the Arena was not repossessed and bulldozed all them years ago beggars belief, to say it has had a charmed existence is an understatement.
Of that £5m debt in 1999, wasn't Hodgy one of the major creditors, so in effect we weren't in as much peril as perhaps was made out as he was never going to call in that debt if it would lead to the club going under?

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George Reynolds

Post by Darlogramps » Sun Mar 14, 2021 3:34 pm

quaker4life wrote:
quaker4life wrote: his reckless mismanagement put us in administration in 2003.
That goes without saying.

However if he had vetoed the CVA then it would have been curtains.
Let’s be fair, had he vetoed it, no one would have got anything. Either get some money or zero money. His motives were not out of altruism. He never cared about the club, only his ego.

And if he managed the club properly, not built an oversized stadium we didn’t need, taken us away from the centre of town needlessly, spent money beyond our means, let his ego run rampant, bullied fans, banned press, alienated players and generally been a total shyster, we wouldn’t have been in the mess in the first place.

Never understood why people are so keen to mitigate Reynolds’ actions, and make out he was some sort of decent guy who saved the club.

Reynolds is responsible, more than anyone, for the destruction of the club. It’s taken 15 years to start turning around the damage he did.
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Re: George Reynolds

Post by EDJOHNS » Sun Mar 14, 2021 4:51 pm

Nimrod wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 1:16 pm
quakersfan wrote:
Fri Mar 12, 2021 7:38 am
If only we had won against Plymouth on that rainy Friday night at Wembley things could have been very different.
To be fair you can trace our current situation all the way back to the early 90’s but Reynolds’ building of the arena and move away from Feethams certainly sped up our demise as a league club. To me the financial rot really seem to set in during 1991/92 and from that point onwards we were always seemingly on the verge of financial catastrophe. With hindsight I think we would have survived without George coming into the club in 1999 as Hodgy could probably have sold off players like Gabbas, Liddle, Preece and brought in circa £700-800k in transfer fees to keep the wolves at bay but at the time such a move would have seemed unacceptable to the fans. I will still never forgive George for the folly of the arena & leaving behind what was a perfectly good ground in Feethams.
As bailiffs were actually at the ground removing stuff when GR got there I do not think you can say we would have survived with any confidence

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by onewayup » Sun Mar 14, 2021 5:45 pm

The bailiff was actively orcastrating removal of items from the Worthington stand entrance as George Reynolds pulled up in his then green Rolls Royce,
He spoke to the bailiff sorted something and the items were returned straight away,
So had he not stepped in Darlington fc would have gone that evening , that is fact, how do I know, I was there,I saw it happening.
There was then a meeting of shareholders who were told that shares worthless,

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by TKOA » Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:02 pm

I wonder if he hadn’t been our ‘Knight in shining armour’ and paid off our debts would we have went bust and lost Feethams anyway?

I like to think if he hadn’t turned up that day we’d have found another buyer or ended up starting again at Feethams and 20 years later we’d be in a much better position than we are now.

Even after 18 years I still miss that place, I still look at old photos and think of what he could have done to improve it rather than moving to the white elephant on Neasham road.

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by bga » Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:32 pm

TKOA wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:02 pm
I wonder if he hadn’t been our ‘Knight in shining armour’ and paid off our debts would we have went bust and lost Feethams anyway?

I like to think if he hadn’t turned up that day we’d have found another buyer or ended up starting again at Feethams and 20 years later we’d be in a much better position than we are now.

Even after 18 years I still miss that place, I still look at old photos and think of what he could have done to improve it rather than moving to the white elephant on Neasham road.
But wasn't that the problem. We (he) didn't own Feethams therefore developing it any further was harder than building a new stadium?

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by TKOA » Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:43 pm

He made a right pigs ear of it.

I could be wrong but didn’t he try to buy the football ground and the cricket ground first then when that failed he built the arena. I wish he’d just stayed away.

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by bga » Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:55 pm

Fact is no one knows what might or might not have happened but what is clear is that developing Feethams any further would have been problematical.

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by lo36789 » Sun Mar 14, 2021 8:15 pm

TKOA wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:43 pm
He made a right pigs ear of it.

I could be wrong but didn’t he try to buy the football ground and the cricket ground first then when that failed he built the arena. I wish he’d just stayed away.
I thought that a monument to George was his ambition from the outset.
Last edited by lo36789 on Sun Mar 14, 2021 8:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by lo36789 » Sun Mar 14, 2021 8:19 pm

bga wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:55 pm
Fact is no one knows what might or might not have happened but what is clear is that developing Feethams any further would have been problematical.
Not sure if needed 'developing' as much as it needed maintaining.

Who knows what pressure there would have been to relocate regardless when the housing developers had eyes on the site.

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by H1987 » Sun Mar 14, 2021 9:42 pm

bga wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:32 pm
TKOA wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:02 pm
I wonder if he hadn’t been our ‘Knight in shining armour’ and paid off our debts would we have went bust and lost Feethams anyway?

I like to think if he hadn’t turned up that day we’d have found another buyer or ended up starting again at Feethams and 20 years later we’d be in a much better position than we are now.

Even after 18 years I still miss that place, I still look at old photos and think of what he could have done to improve it rather than moving to the white elephant on Neasham road.
But wasn't that the problem. We (he) didn't own Feethams therefore developing it any further was harder than building a new stadium?
Depends on what you mean by 'developing it further' I suppose. The fact is, we weren't filling Feethams anyway. Modernising the west stand and actually replacing some crumbling concrete on the terraces would've been more than enough.

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by EDJOHNS » Mon Mar 15, 2021 9:09 am

TKOA wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:02 pm
I wonder if he hadn’t been our ‘Knight in shining armour’ and paid off our debts would we have went bust and lost Feethams anyway?

I like to think if he hadn’t turned up that day we’d have found another buyer or ended up starting again at Feethams and 20 years later we’d be in a much better position than we are now.

Even after 18 years I still miss that place, I still look at old photos and think of what he could have done to improve it rather than moving to the white elephant on Neasham road.
Onewayup has confirmed what I said about the bailiffs being in the ground when GR turned up.
As to reforming and still having Feethams, I think the cricket club would have made it VERY difficult if not impossible for us to get a contract to play there as the old contract would have died with the club.

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by Emdubya » Mon Mar 15, 2021 9:59 am

EDJOHNS wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 9:09 am
TKOA wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:02 pm
I wonder if he hadn’t been our ‘Knight in shining armour’ and paid off our debts would we have went bust and lost Feethams anyway?

I like to think if he hadn’t turned up that day we’d have found another buyer or ended up starting again at Feethams and 20 years later we’d be in a much better position than we are now.

Even after 18 years I still miss that place, I still look at old photos and think of what he could have done to improve it rather than moving to the white elephant on Neasham road.
Onewayup has confirmed what I said about the bailiffs being in the ground when GR turned up.
As to reforming and still having Feethams, I think the cricket club would have made it VERY difficult if not impossible for us to get a contract to play there as the old contract would have died with the club.
You think VERY wrongly then.The cricket club did not want the football club to move but it soon became clear that they were dealing with an arsehole in Reynolds,

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by Norm_D_Ploom » Mon Mar 15, 2021 10:52 am

Emdubya wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 9:59 am
EDJOHNS wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 9:09 am
TKOA wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:02 pm
I wonder if he hadn’t been our ‘Knight in shining armour’ and paid off our debts would we have went bust and lost Feethams anyway?

I like to think if he hadn’t turned up that day we’d have found another buyer or ended up starting again at Feethams and 20 years later we’d be in a much better position than we are now.

Even after 18 years I still miss that place, I still look at old photos and think of what he could have done to improve it rather than moving to the white elephant on Neasham road.
Onewayup has confirmed what I said about the bailiffs being in the ground when GR turned up.
As to reforming and still having Feethams, I think the cricket club would have made it VERY difficult if not impossible for us to get a contract to play there as the old contract would have died with the club.
You think VERY wrongly then.The cricket club did not want the football club to move but it soon became clear that they were dealing with an arsehole in Reynolds,
The cricket club made their antipathy towards the football club very clear when they blocked access to the comedy club nights and various other functions.

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by theoriginalfatcat » Mon Mar 15, 2021 11:22 am

As I remember it the Cricket Club looked down on the football club and enjoyed always having the whip hand.

In a way Reynolds had a point though. DFC could only progress if it had it's own stadium - it's exactly the same as now, D.J. now says the same thing.

So it wasn't the idea of the Arena (although personally I didn't like it) it was the way that Reynolds carried it out. He did it in the only way he knows how, and we all know how he operates.

I think that even if we had of won that night at Wembley and gone up, with Reynolds it would have come crashing down at some point. Not so much a matter of if, but when!
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Re: George Reynolds

Post by Maurice_Peddelty » Mon Mar 15, 2021 3:36 pm

TKOA wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:02 pm
I wonder if he hadn’t been our ‘Knight in shining armour’ and paid off our debts would we have went bust and lost Feethams anyway?

I like to think if he hadn’t turned up that day we’d have found another buyer or ended up starting again at Feethams and 20 years later we’d be in a much better position than we are now.

Even after 18 years I still miss that place, I still look at old photos and think of what he could have done to improve it rather than moving to the white elephant on Neasham road.
Had the club gone bust and re-emerged as a phoenix club at Feethams (assuming the Cricket Club allowed us back), at some point I think our progress back up the football pyramid would have been hampered because of access issues. If you remember, the away team's coach used to park in South Parade and the team with all their kit had to walk over 200 metres around the cricket pitch to reach the changing room. The football world has moved on a long way in the 18 years since the club left Feethams and I can't imagine that the EFL (nor possibly the NL) would admit a club with such antiquated access arrangements for the opposing team.

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by loan_star » Mon Mar 15, 2021 4:52 pm

Maurice_Peddelty wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 3:36 pm
TKOA wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:02 pm
I wonder if he hadn’t been our ‘Knight in shining armour’ and paid off our debts would we have went bust and lost Feethams anyway?

I like to think if he hadn’t turned up that day we’d have found another buyer or ended up starting again at Feethams and 20 years later we’d be in a much better position than we are now.

Even after 18 years I still miss that place, I still look at old photos and think of what he could have done to improve it rather than moving to the white elephant on Neasham road.
Had the club gone bust and re-emerged as a phoenix club at Feethams (assuming the Cricket Club allowed us back), at some point I think our progress back up the football pyramid would have been hampered because of access issues. If you remember, the away team's coach used to park in South Parade and the team with all their kit had to walk over 200 metres around the cricket pitch to reach the changing room. The football world has moved on a long way in the 18 years since the club left Feethams and I can't imagine that the EFL (nor possibly the NL) would admit a club with such antiquated access arrangements for the opposing team.
From what I understand, thats an issue likely to cause Spendy problems too, poor access and lack of on site parking.

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by lo36789 » Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:39 pm

Parking at Harrogate Town is Willow Tree Primary School can't be too much difference!

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by EDJOHNS » Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:56 pm

Emdubya wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 9:59 am
EDJOHNS wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 9:09 am
TKOA wrote:
Sun Mar 14, 2021 7:02 pm
I wonder if he hadn’t been our ‘Knight in shining armour’ and paid off our debts would we have went bust and lost Feethams anyway?

I like to think if he hadn’t turned up that day we’d have found another buyer or ended up starting again at Feethams and 20 years later we’d be in a much better position than we are now.

Even after 18 years I still miss that place, I still look at old photos and think of what he could have done to improve it rather than moving to the white elephant on Neasham road.
Onewayup has confirmed what I said about the bailiffs being in the ground when GR turned up.
As to reforming and still having Feethams, I think the cricket club would have made it VERY difficult if not impossible for us to get a contract to play there as the old contract would have died with the club.
You think VERY wrongly then.The cricket club did not want the football club to move but it soon became clear that they were dealing with an arsehole in Reynolds,
Would like to hear where you get your info mate as from my youth I remember a lot of antipathy reported from the cricket club towards the football club.
Just 1 example a fund raiser in Strikers was locked out by the rugby club with no notice whatever. As that was in Strikers it was obviously in the last days of us being there though I do not know the exact date

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Re: George Reynolds

Post by Maurice_Peddelty » Mon Mar 15, 2021 9:20 pm

lo36789 wrote:
Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:39 pm
Parking at Harrogate Town is Willow Tree Primary School can't be too much difference!
At least there is room for a team coach to pull up right outside Harrogate Town's ground to offload players and kit.

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