Staff cull leaves Darlington FC unable to host home game

By  Paul Cook 

ADMINISTRATORS at Darlington Football Club have dismissed all but five members of non-playing staff.
The Quakers’ financial position is so severe that the move means there are not enough employees left to host the next home game – against Fleetwood Town on Saturday, January 21.
On Tuesday, it was believed there were only days left to save the club, but The Northern Echo understands administrators are working to a timescale of two weeks, meaning the club will no longer exist if a buyer is not found by January 17.
The club was put into administration on Tuesday for the third time in nine years, only eight months after Wembley success in the FA Trophy.
Harvey Madden, from accountancy firm Rowlands, which was appointed as administrator by chairman Raj Singh, said that without any financial support, he would have little option to cease trading in a “very short time”.
Since the players were not paid last month and only received part of their previous wages, they are entitled to hand in a 14-day period of notice.
Employees dismissed include ticket office staff and the groundsman.
Players are expected to be paid £200 for playing this Saturday away against Barrow, in Cumbria.
Earlier this week, Mr Singh repeated his warnings from November that he would not put any more money into the club, dashing the hopes of the Darlington Football Rescue Group being in a position to put a package together in the summer.
Darlington MP Jenny Chapman, who is due to meet the rescue group this week, hoped a deal could be finalised in time, but believes a new club may be the only option.
She said: “I am meeting with interested parties and trying to encourage a deal to come together as quickly as possible.
“We have to be realistic because the club does not own its land or stadium. Obviously, they would have to take the club onward and take over the responsibility it has to its employees and other contracts.
“I will be working alongside other people to try and find a solution, but I do not want to give the impression I am leading on it.”
A club spokesman said: “We are waiting to see if anybody comes forward.”
Sean Hamilton, head of business recovery at Price Waterhouse Coopers, in Newcastle, said the administrator’s statement did not sound promising. He added: “The thing about football clubs is that you have to have a connection with the club. At lower levels, you do not make any money in football. It is more of a cash drain than a way of making money.”
Former captain Kevan Smith had been preparing a bid for the club, but halted his plans after the club went into administration.
To contact the administrator, call 01642-790790.
􀁧 In yesterday’s story, it was incorrectly reported that 75 per cent of profits from nonfootball related activities go to Darlington Borough Council because of a covenant on the land surrounding the stadium.
However, if the land was sold for non-sport use, 75 per cent of the increase in value of the land would go to the council because it originally sold the land to the club at a low value, reflecting the use only for sports.
A council spokesman said that if the land was sold for higher-value uses, then it was fair to the council taxpayer that the correct value of the land was paid.