Sunderland and Newcastle continue to argue about who are northeast top dogs and just a few miles down the road another northeast football club is about to go under. Maybe things are not that bad for us Sunderland fans after all. Will be a sad day IMO if Darlo fold and can be traced back to one crook and his hair clip. __________________________________________________________________ By Paul Cook » PrintEmailComments(5) Darlington FC chairman Raj Singh has issued a fresh ultimatum to the local council as he bids to ensure the clubâs survival. Mr Singh declared last night (Nov 6) that he would walk away from the non league club, into which he says he has pumped £3m of his money, within two weeks if the council does not meet his demands. His comments come just a day after he warned fans of the clubâs predicament in his programme notes and follows a demand that the clubâs players take a wage cut. Mr Singh said he was fighting on three fronts - against the council, the players and landowners Graham Scott and Philip Sizer, who want more than £2m for the area on which The Northern Echo Arena is built. In addition, he also criticised former manager Mark Cooper for demanding that his full contract be paid up following his sacking last month. However, Mr Singh saved some of his harshest comments for the council. He said he had offered four solutions, but none had been judged satisfactory and believed he was still in the same predicament as the day he took over as chairman more than two years ago. His proposals include: blob Selling the ground to Tesco. Swapping with Sainsburyâs to ensure a return to the old Feethams ground. The council buying former chairman George Houghtonâs 50 per cent share in the stadium and land. Or a groundshare agreement with rugby union side, Newcastle Falcons. His main plea to the council was to lift covenants which allows it to take 75 per cent of any profits generated from the land. He said if the figure was reduced, the players took a pay cut, which would be paid back if promotion was achieved, and Mr Cooper negotiated a settlement, he would remain in charge. He also pledged that all profits from any future sale would be invested back into the football club. He said: âThe next couple of weeks is make or break for the club. I am not prepared to keep putting my money in with all the uncertainty. âThe council has all the aces. It has a 75 per cent convenant. No one will do anything while it takes 75 per cent. That is a fact. âUnless we get this figure relaxed and an agreement with the players to take a cut, Iâm away.â He said if the figure was reduced he could redevelop the land, bring in money and jobs to the town enabling the football club to survive without him putting in £80,000 every week. He added: âI would be creating jobs and rates from the property. Otherwise we can sit on the land and keep hoping something will change, but it never will. âIf it was for my own personal benefit I could understand the councilâs position. Iâm asking them to do that for the benefit of the football club and bring in investment. They are not looking at the bigger picture.â When Mr Singh made similar demands earlier this year, Darlington Borough Council said it âdid not have any aces to playâ and had helped the club off-the field to reach its aspirations. A council spokeswoman said last night: "The land was sold to the club at a price based on the use of the area for sport only. "It was agreed if the land was to be used for any other purpose, such as offices or homes, the Council would receive 75 per cent of the significant increase in its value. The council is happy to come to a commercial arrangement on this basis. "However, we have to ensure we act in a fair and proper manner in relation to the tax payer; therefore, we cannot provide any developer with land at signifcantly less than its value set according to its use."
Sooner rather than later it'll be a premier league club, a club possibly in the top half of the table as well
It's a shame because it's a great stadium Should sell the land to tesco. if they have retail units around the stadium restaurants etc. It might just bring in a few more punters ya never know... Darlo has a population of 100,000 and i've never quite known why they are so badly supported. It's not excactly a small town.
