Behind the scenes – update 9

Here is the latest of the behind the scenes updates of events at Darlington FC.

The Boards of Darlington FC and DFCSG continue to meet weekly via video conference call, to discuss various ongoing relevant matters. They met on Thursday 14^th May 2020

The Current league season:

There has been no further communication from the National League Board during the past fortnight. Therefore, there is nothing further to report on the status of the current league season. We have noted that the Premier League intend to restart in June.

Club finances:

Boost the Budget for season 2020/21 has been launched with the aim of raising at least £100,000 by the end of May. All of the previous contributors have been contacted, while further details are available here:

https://darlingtonfc.co.uk/news/boost-the-budget-202021-launches

At the time of publishing this article, the fans had raised £82,000… an outstanding effort so far!

Community engagement:

The club has continued to be very active again in the last week, and we intend to maintain this level of involvement through this period.

• The Buddy Mentoring Scheme has now reached over 700 supporters, with a great deal of excellent feedback. We know our fans appreciate the Club getting in touch to have a chat. We have now reached the point where we have started the cycle again, with fans receiving another call, but this time from a different person from the club.
• Another reminder of our dedicated Contact Line (07488 564642 and email address media@darlingtonfc.org ) for supporters who feel the need to talk to someone at the Club. Many thanks to those supporters who have used this service so far.
• The Rev John Barker, a life long Darlington fan, has been appointed club chaplain. He can be contacted on chaplain@darlingtonfc.org. To find out more about John, who is writing an occasional column for the official website, click the link below:

https://darlingtonfc.co.uk/news/quakers-appoint-club-chaplain.

• The 2011 FA Trophy final was re-played in full on the official website and attracted 4000 views. It can still be accessed on the official website here: 
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skr3yQAxVw8

In the coming week, in addition to a continuation of the above, we will:

• Touch base with all our existing and current main sponsors, to bring them up to date on Club developments since lockdown began in March
• Be maintaining contact with all our schools, as they continue to provide a service for our vulnerable children and children of Key Workers.
• Continue to run feature articles on our sponsors and partners from the website. The Club remains in continuous contact with our sponsors and partners and we are maintaining our excellent relationships with them during these worrying times.
• Be holding a Netcafe with Darren Holloway, the assistant manager. Please keep your questions to Darren coming in.
• Be publishing a series of interviews with former player and captain Kevan Smith on Zoom.
• Be working on the progress of existing and new and exciting features for the website.

Playing matters:

We have exercised the options and offered new contracts to all the players that finished the season with us with the only exclusion being Chris Elliott, and we are busy collating the responses. Luke Trotman has indicated that travel is an issue, and he is not planning to return, although he remains under contract.

As you will have also seen from the club website, striker Stephen Thompson has informed the club that he is leaving. We offered him new terms and a guaranteed testimonial in recognition of his great service, but he's decided that he wants to play elsewhere. He spoke to manager Alun Armstrong on Saturday morning and told him that he was moving to another club. Everyone at Darlington FC would like to wish him well for the future.

Throughout these very difficult and unprecedented times, we have maintained a very high profile for the club on our official website and social media channels, and we will continue to do so for the benefit of our much-valued supporters. In the coming weeks and months, we will be exploring several new ideas to help provide our supporters with their ‘football fix’.

Thank you for your continued support, it is very much appreciated.

Don't forget that you can still Boost the Budget here: 

https://fundraising.darlingtonfcsupportersgroup.org/pitches/boost-the-budget-20-21

Remember, stay at home, stay safe and help the NHS.