Ex-Quakers boss in cash appeal to 'missing' fans

8:00am Thursday 7th June 2012 in Sport Photograph of the Author By Joe Willis, Regional Chief Reporter

RALLYING CALL: David Hodgson RALLYING CALL: David Hodgson

A FORMER North-East football club manager last night urged 850 “missing” fans to invest in their club.

David Hodgson, who took Darlington to the Wembley play-off final in 2000, said: “This club is like the Titanic and it’s hit the sand at the bottom of the ocean – I know that Martin Gray can bring it back, but not without the fans’ financial backing.

“The fans have rightly been critical in the past of individuals who have owned this club and not done the right things by them; now they have the chance to fix all that hurt and revive their Darlington FC. If the fans back their club, there is a future.”

More than 1,000 supporters made pledges to community company Darlington FC 1883 (DFC 1883) earlier this year.

That money was returned to fans last month after a different ownership model was drawn up. However, only 150 supporters have so far reinvested their cash in the new community interest company (CIC) – 1883CIC.

Although some fans have chosen to put their money direct into DFC 1883, the club still only has about £75,000 despite setting a target of £200,000 by the end of this month.

To join the CIC, fans have to invest a minimum of £100. In return, they are being offered benefits including access to exclusive events and forums involving the players and management, discounts on club merchandise, regular newsletters and priority booking for tickets.

DFC 1883 leaders say the CIC will provide the necessary funds for the football club to succeed both on and off the pitch. The immediate objectives are to put together a team capable of gaining promotion next season and for the club to return to Darlington as soon as possible.

DFC 1883 chairman Denis Pinnegar said the club was hoping for 1,000 people to join the CIC by the end of the month.

He added: “When we saw how many fans had taken the time and effort to back their club with hard cash, it was inspiring – but we need to ask them to do the same again.

“The CIC will be great for Darlington FC in many ways and the structure gives members a genuine voice in the running of their football club.”

For more details on the CIC, visit 1883cic.org

Comments(30)

extratime says...
11:10am Thu 7 Jun 12

I wonder if Mr H has invested himself?

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IonlySpeaktheTruth says...
12:05pm Thu 7 Jun 12

Maybe it's time for the supporters Trust to throw their money in. Instead of sitting on their hands like they have for the last 5 years.

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Skallywagg says...
12:10pm Thu 7 Jun 12

Why? I supported the club for 37 years until Houghton put the club into Administration. Since then I voted with my wallet and did not attend any further games at the arena.

The reason for withdrawing my support was simple, it was plain to see that the DFC was spiralling out of control rapidly. Singh did not have a clue what to do, with a succession of poor managerial appointments, no doubt costing the club. DFC has got what it deserves in my opinion. Put the begging bowls away and get on with life in the bowels of lower league football. The club is nothing now and will probably never regain league status.

Oh and while I am on DARLINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL you must shoulder a large proportion of the blame for giving Reynolds permission to build a stadium not fit for purpose in terms of capacity.

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morgan1 says...
12:46pm Thu 7 Jun 12

I am sorry I have said this all along the board is only listening to a narrow group of fans and I have been told time and time again that this is the way they want it.
I believe that 1883 Ltd should change the model to allow a dividend payment to be made to investors allowing more people to invest for a return thats what most people want fans and non fans alike and it would get the club growing again.
The CIC is a good idea for the long term and maybe eventually they can own the entire club, but in the short term the club needs money to ensure it can get quick promotions., the CIC will not do this.
Go back to CrowdCube with a standard company situation where shares receive a dividend with Profits clealy defined into dividend, community, club and set a £200K target, this way small investors (non fans) will invest, as I have also said before not everyone on CrowdCube were Darlington fans some were small investors.
The fund raising has been a 'MESS' but can be sorted quickly by getting the correct company model in place, the CIC is a long term ambition well realise that to be the case and get another CrowdCube pitch set up with a clear statment of return for investment otherwise you will be lucky to get the support back.
PS:- most fans/investros on CrowdCube thought we had a chance to get back quick not to end up in the Northern League, so they need a return incentive to invest whilst at this level of football unless you have lost them already with the changes to CIC and the chaos, of which league, new club, new name, football share etc, it may be too late!!
Simply put get your act together, unify the factions of supporters and listen to those outside the narrow group of fans

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the greek says...
1:57pm Thu 7 Jun 12

Hodgson your still a muppet, who do you think you are , coming out of the woodwork all of a sudden and telling people what to do their cash.

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gums says...
2:26pm Thu 7 Jun 12

@morgan1

I admire you're enthuiasm if you think the club is going to make money to be able to pay dividends.

The dividend will be more money for Martin Gray to spend on the team to give us the best chance of promotion.

We are not asking people to blindly put money into the club who have no association. We are asking the 700 or so who will be there next season to part with £100 so that Martin can be given decent funding to build a winning team.

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QuakerZone says...
2:29pm Thu 7 Jun 12

the greek you are a tool.

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extratime says...
3:11pm Thu 7 Jun 12

I think the fans have voted with their feet (er read wallets) they have no confidence in 1883 based on the mistakes they've made in their short reign - what happens when we fall short of the 200k and how long can you keeping asking fans to put their hands in their pockets

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gavshaw62 says...
4:29pm Thu 7 Jun 12

well i ain't got £100 spare only have p/time job but i will be going along next season and getting behind the club. only visited the white elephant once and it wasn't for me to big no atmosphere liked the shed better. but lets hope everyone puts the bickering behind them come the start of the season goes along and support the club

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gums says...
5:08pm Thu 7 Jun 12

@extratime

If that's how you/others feel then i'd say it's absolutely imperative you join. How else will you ever get rid of the current 1883 board and replace it with one that is perfect?

That's the beauty of this scheme, if you don't like it you can change it. When have we ever been able to do that with a previous board?

I wish people would stop seeing a "them and us" situation. Anyone is welcome to stand up and be counted.

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asupporter says...
5:10pm Thu 7 Jun 12

Morgan 1

You are living in a fantasy world if you think people will invest in football clubs like Darlington to make money. Football club shareholders are either supporters, "businessmen" on an ego trip or asset strippers after valuable real estate. Darlo will get the money they need from supporters when they see we have a competitive team and have some good victories under our belts. Your comments don't help and if you are a true supporter you should get behind the club now. I will be at Bishop at the start of the season. Will you?

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extratime says...
5:11pm Thu 7 Jun 12

Cant see it the prices are pitched too high cheaper to watch champions Spenny or even L1 Hartlepool with their great season ticket offer - how they think they can justify charging more because where they hope to be next season is beyond me - and if were not do we get a refund or if we are then a discount next no they'll want more again in case they are higher the following season - missed opportunity to entice fans back with a realistic price

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asupporter says...
5:19pm Thu 7 Jun 12

extratime

I am a Darlington Supporter and I wouldn't watch Hartlepool if it was free. You go and watch your team but keep your nose out of ours.

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jewitt says...
5:27pm Thu 7 Jun 12

morgan1 wrote:
I am sorry I have said this all along the board is only listening to a narrow group of fans and I have been told time and time again that this is the way they want it. I believe that 1883 Ltd should change the model to allow a dividend payment to be made to investors allowing more people to invest for a return thats what most people want fans and non fans alike and it would get the club growing again. The CIC is a good idea for the long term and maybe eventually they can own the entire club, but in the short term the club needs money to ensure it can get quick promotions., the CIC will not do this. Go back to CrowdCube with a standard company situation where shares receive a dividend with Profits clealy defined into dividend, community, club and set a £200K target, this way small investors (non fans) will invest, as I have also said before not everyone on CrowdCube were Darlington fans some were small investors. The fund raising has been a 'MESS' but can be sorted quickly by getting the correct company model in place, the CIC is a long term ambition well realise that to be the case and get another CrowdCube pitch set up with a clear statment of return for investment otherwise you will be lucky to get the support back. PS:- most fans/investros on CrowdCube thought we had a chance to get back quick not to end up in the Northern League, so they need a return incentive to invest whilst at this level of football unless you have lost them already with the changes to CIC and the chaos, of which league, new club, new name, football share etc, it may be too late!! Simply put get your act together, unify the factions of supporters and listen to those outside the narrow group of fans
Some very interesting comments about dividends on shares. However, I suspect that 'benefits in kind' may be a better option. The Board announced today the following benefits rather than a formal dividend. This is similar to the way most horse racing clubs are run.

-You will get the opportunity to elect the board to run the CIC.
-You will get to vote on matters relating to Darlington Football Club.
-You will get to attend events exclusive to CIC members, some will involve the playing and management team.
-You will get regular newsletters covering the things that really matter at DFC
-You will get priority booking for match tickets and fan events
-You will get to attend fan forums with the board of 1883 Ltd and management team
-You will get a £5 voucher for use at the club shop
-You will get to know that you helped to revive the great football club that is Darlington FC
-You will get a personalised individually numbered membership certificate

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Idontknowaboutyoubut says...
5:54pm Thu 7 Jun 12

asupporter wrote:
extratime

I am a Darlington Supporter and I wouldn't watch Hartlepool if it was free. You go and watch your team but keep your nose out of ours.
Dave Hodgson wants to know where the missing fans/money is. Read the quote Mr.Hodgson.This attitude has been prevalent all along,the "us and them"attitude of the group of supporters that Morgan1 is on about."its OUR club,so if you dont like it,clear off",or words to that effect.
That was the attitude that I encountered,as has morgan1 on many occasions.He now says,his money is invested elsewhere.So is mine,and I wont be back.

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morgan1 says...
6:48pm Thu 7 Jun 12

asupporter
Actually I live in the real world, the fans have had the opportunity to buy into the CIC and only 150 of them have done so a very poor showing.
Even if all 943 fans of CrowdCube investors were fans they still would only raise 100K as the CIC share should have been £200.00 per share.
I am pointing out a simple fact of life no one likes giving money for nothing.
Of the cash offerings only half of those who gave money are doing so again and 50% have yet to make their minds up which its money which cant be used until they make a decison, you will be lucky to get 30%, so if we use the same criteria to CrowdCube then CIC membership will be around 280-300.
The various factions of Darlo support will not unite under one banner and when they eventually do it will be too late to help the immediate situation.
So I guess it comes down to those in 1883 Ltd who bought the club to cough up the cash for the future of the club, so they own the club not the CIC and not the fans, they maybe fans but they will own the shares.
Has there been a formal transfer of the assets of the club to the CIC I honestly dont know.
I am sorry but this is simple not going to be enough and Darlo will be in the lower leagues probably for good, unless they can raise investment, some common sense is needed.
What is wrong with paying 5 -10% of profits to those willing to fund this club out of oblivian, the vast majoprity still goes back into the club.
The narrow fan base believe business men have damaged the club, well I cant think of anything more damaging than a CIC with only 150 members raising an insignificant amount of £15K.
If reality does not set in soon the club will be in a very worrying state before they even kick a ball.

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monteforte says...
7:06pm Thu 7 Jun 12

re;,,, Closed Shop..,
So people aren't re-investing can you blame them?
Major decisions taken behind firmly shut doors.
Get real fans on board not plastic ones give us supporters full details of what's going on behind the scenes .. Where we are heading for instance.? I know for a fact most fans don't want Darlo Football Club playing out of town!
This is now becoming a private club run by the so called elite but if you invest £100 you are a very minute tiny part of it !
Only 150 supporters have reinvested but DFC 1883 chairman Denis Pinnegar said the club was hoping for 1,000 people to join the CIC by the end of the month. This is a Community fans Club in name only...

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asupporter says...
8:33pm Thu 7 Jun 12

Morgan 1

Pay 5% or 10% to investors? Are you for real. Football clubs like Darlington don't make profits, they raise money to keep playing. You might not like 1883 but they are the only game in town and without them the club would now be dead. 1883 have to show they can build a decent team and win the Northern League and then the money will follow. They didn't have much choice about moving out of the Arena and they have made a good start on the footballing side. What's wrong with giving them a chance - it was Reynolds and Singh and the rest who got the club into trouble not them.

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morgan1 says...
9:34pm Thu 7 Jun 12

asupporter,

You miss the entire point, and I dont intend to teach them how to make it happen and get the money.

So I guess you need 1277 new members before the end of June, 56 CIC members per day from now on, its a good target suggest you make it happen.

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Lawman3 says...
3:38pm Fri 8 Jun 12

Morgan. You clearly have an agenda to jeopardise the efforts of 1883 to save the football club. You are by far the most vocal poster on here so, if you really do care about the future of the club you can do one of two things:
1.Get involved with 1883 - they are fans simply trying to preserve the club and would welcome the help and input of other fans, or;
2. Stop trolling and leave the rest of us to try to save our club.
All this sniping from the sidelines serves no constructive purpose.

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60 years a quaker says...
5:54pm Fri 8 Jun 12

As a darlo supporter for over 60 years, I can not believe some of the negative comments being posted on this site. Yes our club is on its knees and yes we have been well and truly stuffed by previous chairmen, but now is the time for all of us true supporters to get behind our club and the people who are trying to keep us going. I can not believe that people would have a go at Hodgey, I would suggest that he loves our club far more than some of the so called supporters who do nothing but critercise the efforts of others. I am an OAP but I have made my donation to 1883, and although on its own it will not save our club, but if people who call themselves supporters all donate what bit they can afford, hopefully we will pull through. So please stop all this negativity and get behind 1883 and Martin Grey and lets give this a good go, whatever league we are playing in.

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60 years a quaker says...
8:50pm Fri 8 Jun 12

Martin please accept my apologies for spelling your name wrong, I should have put Gray. I might not be a good speller but I am right behind you and your team

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neilj_dafts says...
10:39pm Fri 8 Jun 12

I have just noticed the magic words - investors get to vote.

This a revolutionary change for DFC's fortunes after 100 plus years of being "run" by a succession of lacklustre to downright swindling owners.

My Crowdcube money is now on it's way back to the club.

I am living in Norway and may catch a few games a season, so will miss out on the "fringe benefits", but that doesn't sway my judgement one iota.

Talk of DFC being able to orgainise and actually pay out "dividends" is laughable.

I am investing in MY club & ex home town, not for any financial return.

It would be nice to get a peice of the action, if we reached some dizzy heights and some big investor with real good intentions & shallow pockets wanted to take over, but i'de rather trust a fans' run club for the long term.

It's time for all people calling themselves fans to stop naval gazing & whinging and do something positive!

I suggest short term invest and long term join a fundraising lottery.

I will be trying to organise such a lottery with the DAFTS exiles group, to help DFC acheive a series of promotions and build a better stadium than the last monstrosity.

Maybe DFC should invest in silver polish for the first time ever.

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asupporter says...
9:23am Sat 9 Jun 12

Good to see some positive stuff on here at last, morgan1, and extratime you have had your say, we know you are not going to invest, we know you think 1883 will fail, so why do you keep posting? Is is because you want to undermine the club? You have nothing new to say and nothing to contribute. Martin Grey has made a great start recruiting players and when the season starts we can expect some great games and supporters will get behind the club. They will have no problem raising money then.

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asupporter says...
9:31am Sat 9 Jun 12

oops sorry Martin Gray

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rockfordIL says...
5:02pm Sat 9 Jun 12

Please tell me how I can invest in the CIC. I now live in the USA but have followed Darlington F.C for nearly sixty years. Remember when they beat Chelsea!

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60 years a quaker says...
1:42pm Sun 10 Jun 12

I am in complete agreement with asupporter, even though we both spelt Martin Grays name incorrectly, I for sure am totaly behind him and his team. So please all of you people who call yourselves real supporters, now is the time to make your donation and make your voices heard.Lets get rid of the negative snipers / comments and get behind our club.

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Real Darlo says...
11:46pm Sun 10 Jun 12

It's not Darlington FC anymore! It's a new club, live with it for God's sake. It can't be classed as Darlington anyway when they're not even playing in the town anymore. The only team in Darlington now is the RA.

Get us back to Darlington! I for one think we should have gone to play at Brinkburn Road.

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asupporter says...
10:15am Mon 11 Jun 12

What do you think 1883 are trying to do? Set up a new club in Bishop Auckland? Martin Gray has made a great start building the team and at Bishop they can be promoted. I doubt if Brinkburn road even meets the standard for the Northern League First Division at the moment. With support from the fans Darlington will come back to play in town, other clubs have done it so can we (check out Newport County). Why not give them a chance, the season hasn't even started yet, they didn't put the club into administration, they are trying to save it.

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Skallywagg says...
2:06pm Mon 11 Jun 12

Too much too little too late!

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