Raj Singh

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darloed19
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Raj Singh

Post by darloed19 » Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:40 am

As a relatively new fan I am pretty unsure of the hate for Raj Singh. I understand that he completely liquidated the club, but from a business standpoint the cost of running a professional club alongside a 25k stadium with fans below 2k surely isn’t viable? There maybe something I am missing…

real_darlo_85
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by real_darlo_85 » Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:49 am

It was the way he led the club's demise. There were things he could have done differently that may have made things easier for us to revive the club instead he just left it to die and had no interest in helping it survive beyond his tenure.
"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

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Spyman
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by Spyman » Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:10 am

darloed19 wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:40 am
but from a business standpoint the cost of running a professional club alongside a 25k stadium with fans below 2k surely isn’t viable? There maybe something I am missing…
Exactly - he was never going to make it add up, yet spent money that he then claimed was just a loan when it all went tits up. He called in a loan from a club with no money because he and he alone had decided to put his money in and had decided how it would be spent. Completely unsustainable yet he left the fans to deal with the consequences of his actions.
On Sunday April 29, 2012 at 10:25 pm, Darlo Cockney wrote:Sadly some people have nothing better to do that invent rumours.

We will be playing at the arena again next season - fact.

Quakerz - if you actually attended games and spoke to people you might actually find our facts, rather than spreading s*** on this board.

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onewayup
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by onewayup » Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:23 am

Biggest hole he left was not passing on the golden share, followed by not paying players, who were eventually paid what they agreed with fan ownership management, along with blatantly lying to people's faces about what he was/had done to save the club, basically absolutely nothing he saw it as a burden to ditch at the first opportunity. He couldn't grasp the basics of running the club sustainably, I hate the guy with a vengeance .best leave it there.

lo36789
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by lo36789 » Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:56 am

This is surely a wind up?

- Said publicly the club was debt free
- Said publicly he didn't want a penny from the admin

- Old holding company was effectively liquidated because it owed Raj Singh over £2million

In simple terms.

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Makka Pakka
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by Makka Pakka » Tue Apr 26, 2022 11:20 am

"I'm prepared to walk away without a penny if it helps the club survive" or words to that effect printed in his programme notes and repeated in an interview on BBC Tees at the time.
When that opportunity came along, he had a change of heart and was quite happy to see us die to try to recover some cash.
"At a meeting held at the Grammar School on Friday last - Mr Phillip Wood M.A., in the chair - it was resolved to form an Association Football Club for Darlington and neighbourhood. The opinions of those present were so unanimous as to the desirability of this step, that a committee was formed to complete the organisation of the club, and Mr Craven, 17, Garden Street, was appointed secretary pro tem." - The Northern Echo, Monday 23rd July 1883

biccynana
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by biccynana » Tue Apr 26, 2022 11:41 am

lo36789 wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:56 am
This is surely a wind up?
I do wonder about darloed19. A lot of the threads he starts seem a bit, I dunno, troll-y, or like fishing expeditions: what our players are paid each week, saying he’d have Martin Gray back in a heartbeat, an odd one about MG and the grim reaper, our top 5 rivals (including West Auckland apparently!), what’s the furthest we could get relegated to. Maybe I'm doing darloed a disservice but some of it doesn't sit quite right with me.

DavidCurriesMullet
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by DavidCurriesMullet » Tue Apr 26, 2022 11:47 am

Maybe he is 19? Or he's been on more fishing trips than Paul and Bob.

jjljks
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by jjljks » Tue Apr 26, 2022 11:49 am

Raj Singh broke promises & trust between the fans, board & players. Not giving over the golden share was the final straw then his infamous statement about "do anything to help the club survive" which was a blatant lie that even Boris would have apologised for.

Darlogramps
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Raj Singh

Post by Darlogramps » Tue Apr 26, 2022 11:52 am

biccynana wrote:
lo36789 wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:56 am
This is surely a wind up?
I do wonder about darloed19. A lot of the threads he starts seem a bit, I dunno, troll-y, or like fishing expeditions: what our players are paid each week, saying he’d have Martin Gray back in a heartbeat, an odd one about MG and the grim reaper, our top 5 rivals (including West Auckland apparently!), what’s the furthest we could get relegated to. Maybe I'm doing darloed a disservice but some of it doesn't sit quite right with me.
Glad I’m not the only one who thinks this…..

He also says he’s a new Darlo fan, but joined this messageboard in April 2017 (so around the time Raj tried to get back on the scene with Martin Gray’s backing).

Makes three posts in a year (the first of which is very different in style to now). Then after a break of four years he starts posting some odd threads. Maybe I’m being unfair and cynical and he is genuine. But there’s something not quite right here for me.
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al_quaker
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by al_quaker » Tue Apr 26, 2022 12:04 pm

Darlogramps wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 11:52 am
He also says he’s a new Darlo fan, but joined this messageboard in April 2017 (so around the time Raj tried to get back on the scene with Martin Gray’s backing).
And also says elsewhere his first season was 07/08 viewtopic.php?f=2&t=39928&p=482661#p482661

Young when Singh was involved certainly, but pushing the definition of a 'relatively new fan' in my opinion...

Anyway, if it was a genuine question, others have answered it fully, although darloed19 does explain a large part of the answer in the first clause of the second sentence of his question!

darloed19
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by darloed19 » Tue Apr 26, 2022 1:24 pm

Most of the questions I ask on this forum are designed to get opinions. What is wrong with asking questions like who are our main rivals are comparing contemporary to a retrospective of our previous rivals especially after reading this article https://fanbanter.co.uk/the-top-five-ri ... -revealed/ and about Martin Gray considering the success with have had with him and how we have stagnated without him, players wages as it is interesting to know what these part-time players are on(blame football manager for this post). Granted the Martin Gray Grim Reaper one was a weird post, but I was unsure if I had seen it on here or on Twitter, it was actually on a Spennymoor Twitter feed. In relation to this post, I was 12/13 when we got liquidated so understanding the whole context surrounding an administration and the politics surrounding it can be difficult. Because of this thread, I have a better understanding of what context behind Raj Singh was now.

To be fair I used "New fan" slightly loosely, however after the 2014/2015 season my support somewhat faded after leaving County Durham, however, I have recently gotten back into Darlington in the last two seasons. I have always been a fan, however, I found it difficult attending and following the games, but I try and go to most away games now.

Apologies if my posts do seem somewhat fishy, however, I do find myself checking this forum quite regularly and posts are few and far between compared to previous years, so I do like posting somewhat debatable subjects which most of my posts do get a large number of comments (compared to others).

banktopp
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by banktopp » Tue Apr 26, 2022 7:38 pm

darloed19 wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 1:24 pm
Most of the questions I ask on this forum are designed to get opinions. What is wrong with asking questions like who are our main rivals are comparing contemporary to a retrospective of our previous rivals especially after reading this article https://fanbanter.co.uk/the-top-five-ri ... -revealed/ and about Martin Gray considering the success with have had with him and how we have stagnated without him, players wages as it is interesting to know what these part-time players are on(blame football manager for this post). Granted the Martin Gray Grim Reaper one was a weird post, but I was unsure if I had seen it on here or on Twitter, it was actually on a Spennymoor Twitter feed. In relation to this post, I was 12/13 when we got liquidated so understanding the whole context surrounding an administration and the politics surrounding it can be difficult. Because of this thread, I have a better understanding of what context behind Raj Singh was now.

To be fair I used "New fan" slightly loosely, however after the 2014/2015 season my support somewhat faded after leaving County Durham, however, I have recently gotten back into Darlington in the last two seasons. I have always been a fan, however, I found it difficult attending and following the games, but I try and go to most away games now.

Apologies if my posts do seem somewhat fishy, however, I do find myself checking this forum quite regularly and posts are few and far between compared to previous years, so I do like posting somewhat debatable subjects which most of my posts do get a large number of comments (compared to others).
When were we liquidated ? Second time you have said that. Just a trolling s*** stirrer.

darloed19
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by darloed19 » Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:00 pm

We were liquidated… Do you think we were in the Northern league just for craic like

tdk1
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by tdk1 » Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:02 pm

Why then do we have the same badge, whereas Wimbledon and Hereford and Telford don't?

darloed19
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by darloed19 » Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:04 pm

Hereford and Telford do have the same badge…

Darlogramps
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Raj Singh

Post by Darlogramps » Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:10 pm

darloed19 wrote:We were liquidated… Do you think we were in the Northern league just for craic like
Demoted, not liquidated. The holding company Raj Singh used to run the collection of assets that made up Darlington FC was liquidated.

The football club itself was not.

There is a contradiction in your logic. You claim to know nothing about Raj Singh (the man responsible for the club’s collapse), yet insist you know all about our “liquidation”.

Also, you claim to be born in 1997 (see the link al_quaker posted). But you also say you were 12/13 when we had our financial implosion of 2012. That would make you 15. Again, it could be getting mixed up with ages. Or it could be another hole in the story.

Someone claiming to be “a relatively new fan” whose first season was actually 15 years ago. There’s something not adding up here.
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darloed19
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by darloed19 » Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:22 pm

I honestly don’t understand how am I s*** stirring and apologies I would of been 14 the start of the 2011/2012

tdk1
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by tdk1 » Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:55 pm

darloed19 wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:04 pm
Hereford and Telford do have the same badge…
No they don't

biccynana
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by biccynana » Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:40 pm

tdk1 wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:55 pm
darloed19 wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:04 pm
Hereford and Telford do have the same badge…
No they don't
tdk1 is right.

Not even close
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telford_United_F.C.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFC_Telford_United

biccynana
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by biccynana » Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:41 pm

tdk1 wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:55 pm
darloed19 wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:04 pm
Hereford and Telford do have the same badge…
No they don't
Similar, but not the same
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereford_United_F.C.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereford_F.C.

darloed19
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by darloed19 » Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:02 pm

Using that logic, why did we have to change our name to Darlington 1883 then.

biccynana
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by biccynana » Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:34 pm

darloed19 wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:02 pm
Using that logic, why did we have to change our name to Darlington 1883 then.
You're embarrassing yourself now, fella. Ask the FA.

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Lawman3
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by Lawman3 » Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:44 pm

darloed19 wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:02 pm
Using that logic, why did we have to change our name to Darlington 1883 then.
Because Raj Singh kept the football share for Darlington FC, despite promising to give it to the fans. The FA wouldn't let us compete as Darlington FC without it.

Another reason why he is a loathsome, disingenuous turd.
Never argue with an idiot: The best possible outcome is that you win an argument with an idiot.

darloed19
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by darloed19 » Wed Apr 27, 2022 5:23 am

biccynana wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:34 pm
darloed19 wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:02 pm
Using that logic, why did we have to change our name to Darlington 1883 then.
You're embarrassing yourself now, fella. Ask the FA.
How is the point of a badge change an indication of liquidation a reasonable point to make (which many clubs that haven’t gone bust do) but a point about a name change is completely out of the question and a ridiculous response… think anything I say is going to be miss interpreted at this point.

shildonlad
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by shildonlad » Wed Apr 27, 2022 5:35 am

Whether the club is the same club or not is a debatable matter. If the football share was transferred over to the new owners then the club would have continued in conference north. Normally when a club is bought the football share is transfered to new owners, if singh never transfered it then he was comitting fraud or was it a very big blunder by the new owners that it never got tranfered over due to the haste of the purchase. Without getting the football share for whatever reason the club may has well been liquidated as the new club would have ended up in the northern league anyway and had no debts
I may not live in the north east anymore but i still support the north east teams

shildonlad
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by shildonlad » Wed Apr 27, 2022 5:37 am

darloed19 wrote:
Wed Apr 27, 2022 5:23 am
biccynana wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:34 pm
darloed19 wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:02 pm
Using that logic, why did we have to change our name to Darlington 1883 then.
You're embarrassing yourself now, fella. Ask the FA.
How is the point of a badge change an indication of liquidation a reasonable point to make (which many clubs that haven’t gone bust do) but a point about a name change is completely out of the question and a ridiculous response… think anything I say is going to be miss interpreted at this point.
Many football clubs also change names without been liquadated but aint demoted 3 divisons, thats what happens to phoenix clubs
I may not live in the north east anymore but i still support the north east teams

EDJOHNS
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by EDJOHNS » Wed Apr 27, 2022 6:35 am

onewayup wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:23 am
Biggest hole he left was not passing on the golden share, followed by not paying players, who were eventually paid what they agreed with fan ownership management, along with blatantly lying to people's faces about what he was/had done to save the club, basically absolutely nothing he saw it as a burden to ditch at the first opportunity. He couldn't grasp the basics of running the club sustainably, I hate the guy with a vengeance .best leave it there.
The "Golden share" always was and always will be a total red herring in many ways.
The simple fact is that the FA used it as the excuse they were looking for to make an example of the club for 3 stretches in admin in 10 years.
The "Golden share" is a piece of paper that belongs to and is in the name of Darlington FC, As with any club you need this to be allowed to play in any FA ruled competition. The key point is that it belongs to the club and not the "club's owner". Singh therefore had no right to keep it and the FA could simply have reissued a copy of the original 1 to the club when we bought it out of admin correctly.
I know of 1 vice-chairperson at a premier league club who has never seen the share, and has no idea where it is, since they bought the club over 10 years ago

shildonlad
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by shildonlad » Wed Apr 27, 2022 7:17 am

EDJOHNS wrote:
Wed Apr 27, 2022 6:35 am
onewayup wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:23 am
Biggest hole he left was not passing on the golden share, followed by not paying players, who were eventually paid what they agreed with fan ownership management, along with blatantly lying to people's faces about what he was/had done to save the club, basically absolutely nothing he saw it as a burden to ditch at the first opportunity. He couldn't grasp the basics of running the club sustainably, I hate the guy with a vengeance .best leave it there.
The "Golden share" always was and always will be a total red herring in many ways.
The simple fact is that the FA used it as the excuse they were looking for to make an example of the club for 3 stretches in admin in 10 years.
The "Golden share" is a piece of paper that belongs to and is in the name of Darlington FC, As with any club you need this to be allowed to play in any FA ruled competition. The key point is that it belongs to the club and not the "club's owner". Singh therefore had no right to keep it and the FA could simply have reissued a copy of the original 1 to the club when we bought it out of admin correctly.
I know of 1 vice-chairperson at a premier league club who has never seen the share, and has no idea where it is, since they bought the club over 10 years ago
Seems to make sense, they did the same with gateshead, not liquadated or even in admin, all debts paid but still demoted, abit only 1 division. As i said if singh had to hand over the golden share and never thats fraud. I wonder if the club was not liquadated as the new owners thought that would get them placed higher than the northern league
Last edited by shildonlad on Wed Apr 27, 2022 7:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
I may not live in the north east anymore but i still support the north east teams

biccynana
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Re: Raj Singh

Post by biccynana » Wed Apr 27, 2022 7:18 am

darloed19 wrote:
Wed Apr 27, 2022 5:23 am
biccynana wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:34 pm
darloed19 wrote:
Tue Apr 26, 2022 10:02 pm
Using that logic, why did we have to change our name to Darlington 1883 then.
You're embarrassing yourself now, fella. Ask the FA.
How is the point of a badge change an indication of liquidation a reasonable point to make (which many clubs that haven’t gone bust do) but a point about a name change is completely out of the question and a ridiculous response… think anything I say is going to be miss interpreted at this point.
I'm struggling to see your logic. You say it's a reasonable point to say a badge change is an indication of liquidation, and then in the very same sentence say loads of teams have done it without having gone bust.

Teams also change their names for all sorts of reasons, again often with it having nothing to do with going bust or being liquidated. DFC had to change its name, but it had nothing to do with being 'liquidated'.

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