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The recent letter written by George Houghton came as no surprise to many of our supporters. Since taking control of Darlington Football Club, George has outlined various plans that he intends to implement to give us a better future on and off the pitch. Many of us will have seen the plans to develop the land around our stadium, which will not only benefit our club but will also give the town some excellent facilities. On the pitch, Dave Penney has been allowed to build a large squad to a quality rarely seen in League 2. Darlington fans would love to see our club have a successful future, and George Houghton now offers us that chance. However, attendances still continue to be disappointing. I am sure that most people reading these notes are regular supporters, and probably agree that we need to be attracting more people to games, and building a larger fan base. Therefore, George Houghton has every right to appeal for more support from the people of Darlington and the surrounding area.
It certainly appears that some supporters have taken notice, and have since held meetings with club officials and suggested idea's to attract new support. It is good to see that posters have recently been produced to display around the area, which advertise forthcoming games, how to get tickets and where you can catch the football bus from in the town centre. I know that various other ideas are being looked at, which is very encouraging.
At one of our recent home games, I met up with a friend in town before travelling up to the Arena. I must admit that it is a number of years since I last went into the town centre on a Saturday afternoon, and had forgotten just how busy it could be. As I walked around the town, I saw numerous youngsters wearing football shirts, like Chelsea, Man.Utd and Newcastle Utd. These young people obviously have some interest in football, but do they come and watch Darlo? Also, why do all these people want to spend Saturday afternoons looking around shops? We need to encourage some of these people to try spending a Saturday afternoon at the Arena watching their local football team.
Although our attendances are probably at an average if compared over the course of our history, I honestly do believe that with the right strategy we can significantly increase support for our club, which in turn can help bring success to the town of Darlington. However, we can all play our part in this by encouraging our family and friends to come and watch Darlo, and by passing on any comments or suggestions to our football club. So the simple message is, please support George Houghton and his ambitions for Darlington FC.
The Supporters Club ran the 'Bring a friend on Boxing Day' campaign to attract extra support, and will continue to assist the football club in relation to this and other issues. Anyway, back to matters on the pitch now. Our last home game was against Mansfield Town a fortnight ago, which was a very disappointing afternoon. After taking the lead through Neil Austin, we looked comfortable. However, after Alan White was sent off we struggled and were unfortunately beaten. I'm sure that we were all very disappointed; however we just have to put it behind us and focus on the next game. Thankfully, that is what Dave Penney and the lads did, and won at Bury. The injury and suspension situation did not help the manager's plans, but all credit to the lads who put in a good performance and came away with all 3 points. Kevin Gall was voted 'man of the match' by one of the Supporters Club coaches returning from Bury, and 'Fozzie' by the other coach. .
AWAY TRAVEL
The Supporters Club continue to provide luxury coach travel to away fixtures, the next 2 being as follows:
Bookings can be made in the Tinshed Bar before this evening's game, or give us a ring on 01325 243911. Please note that fans under 14 years old must be accompanied by an adult when travelling on our coaches.
Don't forget that we are at home on Tuesday night, for the re-arranged game against Chester City. With tickets reduced for the game, why not bring along a friend or relative to support the lads?
Anyway, please continue to give the lads your excellent support this afternoon, and enjoy the game.
Regards
Andy Smith
Regards
The dfcsc.co.uk team
