Source: Northern_Echo
Fordy is hoping for some stability
IF it was a surprise to Darlington chairman Raj Singh when Simon Davey opted to turn his back on the club after 77 days in charge, it is difficult to put in to words his feelings when his successor decided to resign just 12 days into a two-year contract.[LNB] When Graham Fordy, the club's managing director, was asked to reflect on the unpredictable events he was clearly still hurt by recent goings on at The Northern Echo Arena, even if he is confident Mark Cooper is the man for the job.[LNB] Fordy and Singh are now on to their fourth managerial appointment since replacing Colin Todd with Steve Staunton last October. They acted to remove Staunton, but the last three months have been surreal.[LNB] Even when Davey informed a stunned Singh through email of an intention to resign earlier this month, the Quakers chief couldn't have imagined what was to follow.[LNB] The decision of successor Ryan Kidd to step down without taking as much as a training session would have been difficult to take at any level of the game.[LNB] Having been saddened and, to a certain extent, humiliated by the problems Darlington have encountered, Fordy is convinced this soap opera is set for happy ending.[LNB] Of course there is a personal embarrassment we feel, said Fordy. I have been in football for a long, long time and we are going through a series of events that are unprecedented really, we could make a good TV series, that's how unbelievable these events have been.[LNB] It is embarrassing because we are trying to take this club forward. In our minds we have taken decisions to try to move the club forward.[LNB] The last two managerial appointments have been an absolute nightmare. The fans must think what the hell is going on' We have sat and thought that as well.[LNB] The chairman is very uptight about the whole scenario we are in and you can't just sit back, you have to get on with it and take this club back where you want it to be and beyond the division we were in previously. We are here, a bit bruised and battered, but we can't wait to get underway in August.[LNB] Cooper was paraded at a low-key press conference yesterday alongside his assistant Richard Dryden, a much-travelled former Southampton and Exeter City defender, who will take charge of pre-season training on July 8.[LNB] That should also have been Kidd's first day with his players.[LNB] Instead, he met Singh last Saturday to offer his resignation but Darlington insist it is not to team up with Davey at Hereford.[LNB] It isn't as though he has walked away to another club, insisted Fordy. There are still talks going on between us both because he hasn't got a job at the moment. If he was to turn up at Hereford then our whole approach to those talks would change.[LNB] Ryan had felt like he wanted to have a go. He approached a few people to become his No 2, neither of the people he approached were prepared to leave their jobs.[LNB] Then out of the blue he rang the chairman on Friday.[LNB] He was in a bad frame of mind really and he offered his resignation even though the job hadn't really even begun.[LNB] It is understood that despite stepping down as manager Kidd suggested he would like to stay at Quakers in a coaching capacity, but that idea was turned down.[LNB] Less than two weeks after insisting Kidd would be at Darlington for the duration of his two-year contract, Fordy and Singh were forced to think again.[LNB] Cooper, sacked by Peterborough in January after 76 days in charge but a successful non-league boss with Kettering and Tamworth, was quickly signed up to a one-year deal.[LNB] We believe we have made an appointment who will last longer than the previous three, smiled Fordy. He has worked at this level, the Blue Square Bet Premier.[LNB] Mark was on our radar when we appointed Simon Davey. We had a chat with him then and it didn't come to anything. Mark was on our selection process more than Darlington was on Mark's.[LNB] We approached Mark when we had the vacancy, we met him on two occasions and we couldn't come to a concrete arrangement.[LNB] Things that were on Mark's mind at that particular time like where he wanted to be and what he wanted to do have changed a little bit.[LNB] We are several months down the line now and the opportunity has arisen again.[LNB] His frame of mind is a little different. He is very keen to grasp the opportunity here.[LNB] I'm not saying he wasn't keen the last time. He liked the opportunity but we couldn't convince him or he couldn't convince himself that this was his next job after leaving Peterborough.[LNB] He is proven at this level, he has experience at this level and that is something we had looked at when we first spoke to him.[LNB]
