Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Death of A Football Club

Here's a sad story surrounding Darlington FC. Things took an unfortunate twist on the demise of the promising football club.

Darlington moved a step closer to folding on Monday night after the club’s administrators sacked caretaker manager Craig Liddle and the remaining 10 players.

Supporters and businesses are still trying to put together a rescue package for the 128-year-old Blue Square Bet Premier club but hopes of a deal before Saturday’s league match at home to Fleetwood are fading.

Liddle was still planning to be at Darlington on Tuesday to coach their youth players, whose futures are secure for now thanks to FA funding.
Earlier this month the Quakers entered administration for the third time in nine years, with the subsequent 10-point deduction leaving them hovering just above the relegation zone in the Blue Square Bet Premier.

Joint administrator Harvey Madden confirmed the decision in a statement released this afternoon but offered a glimmer of hope that the 128-year-old club could still survive.

Darlington's 25,000-seater stadium has come to represent the stark contrast between the lofty aims of former owner George Reynolds and the reality of their situation.

Reynolds revealed a five-year plan to take the club into the Premier League, with the stadium, then known as the Reynolds Arena, forming a key part of his ambitions.

In 2003 they went into administration for the first time as they struggled to meet loan repayments on the ground and they were back in administration in 2009, with the subsequent points deduction costing them a place in the League Two play-offs.
Relegation from the Football League followed in 2010, making the newly-named Northern Echo Arena the biggest ground in non-League football history.


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