Source: Northern_Echo
How a trip to Wembley led to decade of despair
Darlington say farewell to the Football League on Saturday and it is only natural to find a scapegoat, someone to bear the burden of guilt. After a traumatic decade at the club, Assistant Sports Editor Craig Stoddart points the finger of blame.[LNB] DARLINGTON have not been relegated because of Steve Staunton.[LNB] Nor is it solely Colin Todd's fault or Raj Singh's that the club will be in the Blue Square Premier next season.[LNB] As damaging as George Houghton's decision to plunge the club into administration was, it would be unfair and inaccurate to point the finger of blame at a single person.[LNB] A range of reasons have contributed to Darlington's decline that can be traced back to ten years ago this month and a rain-sodden night at Wembley.[LNB] The 2000 Division Three play-off final promised to crown George Reynolds' inaugural season at the helm with a promotion.[LNB] Instead, Andy Clarke's goal sealed a Peterborough win that not only ended the promotion hopes of David Hodgson's side, but also signalled the end of Reynolds' pipe dream.[LNB] He had boasted of reaching the Premier League in five seasons and ten years later, as the club prepares for the Blue Square Premier, some would argue he was almost right.[LNB] Key players such as Marco Gabbiadini, Neal Heaney and Peter Duffield all left, while Hodgson resigned, replaced by Gary Bennett.[LNB] Then followed three mediocre campaigns, which preceded the cataclysmic move from Feethams and the club's maiden bout of administration.[LNB] In the summer of 2003, Reynolds dragged the club from their tired but muchloved home of 120-years to the then-named George Reynolds Arena, 25,000 seats and all.[LNB] A fine stadium, but one that has no place in Darlington.[LNB] Although, with its various bars and executive boxes, The Northern Echo Arena boasts revenue streams[LNB] that Feethams didn't, such benefits aren't sufficient to counter a sterile atmosphere that has played a part in driving supporters away.[LNB] Average attendances have declined from 5,023 during the stadium's first year (when Quakers finished 18th) to 1,907 this season.[LNB] Even during 2007-08, when Darlington reached the playoffs under Dave Penney, they averaged 3,818 1,700 down on the 1999-00 play-off season.[LNB] After seven years and 174 matches, many supporters are no closer to forming an emotional attachment to what remains a tribute to Reynolds' ego and it is a crying shame he was allowed to build it.[LNB] Ultimately, and soon after re-appointing Hodgson as manager, the stadium led to Reynolds plunging Quakers into administration in December 2003. He stepped down as chairman the following month before Stewart Davies took charge in May 2004.[LNB] The threat of liquidation was only staved off because of a deal between Reynolds and Davies who steadied the ship, providing financial stability.[LNB] He then sold to Houghton in 2006 and the first signs were ominous.[LNB] In an astonishing first public address, the Tyneside businessman promised Darlington would win every game the next season; Quakers finished the campaign 11th.[LNB] Under Houghton, Penney replaced Hodgson in October 2006, and the following summer the chairman handed the new manager a healthy budget which enabled the arrival of quality players such as Pawel Abbott, Steve Foster and Alan White.[LNB] Season 2007-08 ended with the Arena attracting its second highest attendance for one of the highlights of the club's recent history, the first leg of a play-off semifinal with Rochdale, which was lost on penalties.[LNB] Had Quakers gone up then, who knows where they would be today. Houghton would surely have found it easier to attract investment and the club would certainly have made more in gate receipts in League One where Leeds, Leicester, Hartlepool and Huddersfield would all have provided big crowds.[LNB] Instead, Darlington stayed in League Two where they continued to flourish and, with just a third of 2008-09 to go, Penney had the team seventh with games in hand.[LNB] Then, in late February came a devastating blow.[LNB] Without warning, Houghton dropped a bombshell by plunging Quakers into administration with debts of £7.8m and the club losing £54,000 a week.[LNB] He had spent more than the club could afford, and now it was time for the players and fans to suffer.[LNB] Automatically, Quakers lost their loan players, were deducted ten points and the squad lost its focus. It was no surprise that their form slipped and finished outside the top seven. Another ten points and they would have been in the play-offs.[LNB] Administration appeared a hasty and unnecessary move, given that promotion would have made the club a more lucrative asset for Houghton to sell.[LNB] Furthermore, rather than resorting to administration, Houghton could have sought assistance from the Professional Footballers' Association in paying players' wages, as is common among cash-strapped clubs.[LNB] Stockport County did just that this season.[LNB] Houghton's decision was made all the more perplexing when he kept the club going with a six-figure cash injection.[LNB] He gave £150,000 to see the club through to the end of the season so why bother putting the club into administration at all[LNB] Further frustration came with the appointment of Leeds-based insolvency practitioners Brackenbury, Clarke & Co as administrators. They delayed Raj Singh's takeover and the chairman has since made his feelings clear.[LNB] In April he claimed: Life was made extremely difficult by the administrators which simply did not help us and has ultimately been the biggest factor in our current position.[LNB] Almost all of last season's team took Brackenbury, Clarke & Co's advice, given in a letter last May, and sought employment elsewhere, meaning Todd inherited only Ian Miller, Steve Foster and Nick Liversedge.[LNB] With administrators delaying the exit from administration until the eve of the season, Todd could only cobble together a collection of players that were not in demand. Had they been they would have already signed contracts elsewhere.[LNB] So it was no surprise that Quakers started the season so poorly and after two points from the first nine games, Todd was sacked and in came Staunton, who proved a poor choice.[LNB] The former Republic of Ireland manager arrived with Quakers eight points from safety, but did little to suggest he could give Darlington even a fighting chance.[LNB] Singh allowed Staunton to sign 23 players but his 23 games featured only four wins and 17 defeats, and by the time he was sacked the gap to safety had increased to 19 points.[LNB] The Irishman proved to be a poor judge of a player, while his treatment of senior pros was equally shabby.[LNB] Freezing out Foster, Jeff Smith, Paul Arnison, Mark Convery and Lee Thorpe succeeded only in creating disharmony and division among a squad already low on morale.[LNB] A unified squad is paramount, no matter what the league position, but Staunton's cack-handed man-management ensured there was no team spirit to speak of.[LNB] He did, however, bring in Irish striker Tadhg Purcell, who it is hoped will stay, while Gareth Waite and Chris Moore have shown promise.[LNB] There have been occasional glimmers of hope during new boss Simon Davey's first month in charge, but he is well aware that, like Todd last summer, he faces a rebuilding job as Darlington prepare for visits to the likes of Tamworth, Histon and Salisbury.[LNB] It's a long way from Wembley.[LNB]
