Darlington Football Club was founded in 1883 and immediately took up residence at the Feethams using turf from the local Park cricket ground as a playing surface. Two years later they entered the FA Cup for the first time and were rewarded with an 8-0 thrashing by nearby Grimsby Town. Undeterred, the club eventually secured election to the Third Division (North) of the Football League in 1921/22 and three seasons later were promoted the Second Division when over 13,000 watched a 0-0 draw against Notts Forest. Fortunes on and off the field follow the now familiar tales of success, failure and financial problems. In 1955 history was made when “The Quakers” played Carlisle at St. James’ Park, Newcastle in the first ever FA Cup game to take place under floodlights; a facility that was installed at their own ground in 1960 eight years after our beloved Edgar Street was floodlit.
During the Seventies, Darlo had to apply for re-election to the Football League on no less than five occasions and were eventually relegated to the GM Vauxhall Nova Conference at the end of the 88/89 season. Managed by the Ex-Villa player, Brian Little, they immediately bounced back to the then League 3 as Champions and followed up with another Championship to take them up again. The following season, however, saw them tumble back into the basement division. In 1997, the old East stand at Feethams was demolished and re-built at an expense, which was to come close to crippling the club. Local businessman, George Reynolds stepped in to pay off debts rumoured to be around £5 million and started construction of a new 25,000 seater stadium on the outskirts of the town. The start of the 2003/04 season saw them at the new “Reynolds Arena” for their opening game, which they lost 2-0 to the Skiddy Farriers. The new stadium carried huge debts and it came as no surprise to many of their fans that the club went into administration in December 2003. Reynolds changed from hero to villain almost overnight and eventually one of the clubs main creditors, The Stirling Consortium, took over. One of the first jobs was to remove the Reynolds Arena signs and replace them with signs for the Williamson Motors Stadium (it is now called the 96.6 TFM Darlington Arena), which hosts the visit of the Mighty Bulls on Saturday.
Darlington V Hereford United Saturday 17th March 2007 Kick-Off 3.00pm.
Admission…Adults £16, Student/Senior Citizen/Disabled £11, 10 to 16 y/o £6, 7 to 10 y/o £5, under 7s Free (£1 discount can be obtained by pre-booking on 0870 0272949)
TRAVEL BY CAR...Join the M5 North at Worcester then at J4A join the M42. Continue to the end of the M42 and join the A42 before joining the M1 North and then the A1(M). Leave the A1(M) at Junction 57 and take the A66 towards Darlington/Teeside. Continue straight along the A66 going across two roundabouts. At the third roundabout you can clearly see the stadium just over on your left. Turn left at this roundabout into Neasham Road for the stadium. Parking at the ground costs £5 per car but there is some street parking as you continue passed the ground towards the town.
BY TRAIN...not really, unless you drive to Stockton and catch the train from there. We understand it goes like a rocket!
COACHES
HUISA departs Merton Car Park at 8.00am Fare £23 (Club 01432 276666)
HUMADS departs Cross Keys Malvern at 8.00am Fare £20 (Reg 01684 572945)
FUNBUS departs Merton Car Park at 8.00am Fare est. £19 (Contact Oxo)
REFRESHMENTS…Special thanks to Darlo fans Quakerz and Nick for their help and advice. There are a couple of bars at the ground which both allow visiting supporters as well as watering holes within the concourse of the stadium. For those who want to venture into the town, the usual fare can be found at the local Wetherspoons outlet, which trades as The William Stead in Crown Street. There is a veritable clutch of good Real Ale Pubs in Darlo and a personal favourite is the Number Twenty 2 in Coniscliffe Road. Other gems include Quaker House in Mechanics Yard of High Row while The Britania in Archer Street was the 2005 Darlo Camra Pub of the year. If in doubt, head for the Market Square where you will find a good selection of alehouses including the excellent Hole in The Wall, which has several pumps, Sky TV and does highly regarded Thai food at reasonable prices.
A comprehensive guide can be found at http://www.btinternet.com/~duffnort/DAFTS2.index.html
Enjoy
Text at top (next game etc)
Next Game: Darlington Away In The League On Saturday 23rd November At 3.00pm