The Bizarre Stadium That BANKRUPTED A Football Club

In the late 1990s, a local kitchen worktop tycoon and multimillionaire named George Reynolds saved Darlington Football Club from extinction.
Initially, he was hailed as a saviour, but within the space of just five years - Reynolds loaded the club with debt, made a series of high-profile transfer failures, and built a bizarre football stadium that was among England's largest outside of the Premier League.
So in this documentary, HITC Sevens takes a look back at the life of George Reynolds, the ridiculous 25,000 seater stadium that he built, and the legacy that both he and it have had on Darlington FC.

[@elgard18]

“They almost managed to secure a return to the third tier, then called the second division, and now league one” …man if I wasn’t familiar with English football that would be confusing as hell.

[@MrSniperfox29]

Explain the pyramid system to an American, it will get very confusing to them

[@devinc5484]

It's only confusing to us Americans because Premier, Championship, and League 1 should all be names of top leagues. Makes as much sense as if they named them the best, the greatest and the elite.

[@BadgerBotherer1]

When I was a lad, it was first, second, third, and fourth divisions. Simple. Don't know why they changed it.

[@chrislamb382]

@@BadgerBotherer1 simple,money...

[@dragonmark9092]

Blame the TV companies buying out the original English league and starting a super-I mean "premier" league

[@Connorthecob]

I remember getting Reynolds to sign my programme one match day when I was a kid, I was fixated on a spider that was in his comb-over. You don't forget these things

[@B-A-L]

That must have been his only friend when he was in prison!

[@marcomolinero5877]

@@B-A-L he also had a mouse in his pocket

[@B-A-L]

@@marcomolinero5877 That would have been his prison bitch!

[@scottchawner2170]

Ffs 😂😂

[@tomthomassony8607]

Are you sure it wasn’t a cockroach crawling through his wig?

[@rhysjackson2597]

A video on the fall of ITV Digital and how lower leagues clubs were really affected by it would be interesting.

[@colegebohy]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXTOhZ6oYtBsrKs

[@michaelreay6992]

I didn't even know this happened so a hitc video would be greatly appreciated

[@duncig]

As someone from the area I knew quite a bit about what happened to Darlington F.C. This was a great and accurate insight. Every time I drive past that stadium it still shocks me.

[@mrkipling2201]

What’s the plans for it, any idea??

[@mrkipling2201]

@@djstuc that’s great, at least it’s still being used.

[@spaceghost8886]

@@mrkipling2201 gets used for concerts and that as well, Elton John filled it a few years back haha

[@mrkipling2201]

@@spaceghost8886 really?? I would have thought there would have been more there to watch Darlington than Elton John!! 🤣🤣

[@liamcooke1859]

I've lived in Darlington my whole life it's a shame honestly we were fighting for promotion into league one at one point even getting to the play off finals against Rochdale (I think it was Rochdale) it's really gutting to see where we are now but hopefully we'll keep rising. We should of stayed at feethams and used the money to renovate it. We've applied for a temporary relocation back to the darlington arena so looks like we are temporarily going back there. Nice stadium but it was too big for our club

[@Real_SkyRipper]

Brazil: "bankrupted a club? lol hold my beer" Brazil makes stadiums that can "bankrupt" a Nation XD

[@magivkmeister6166]

Hosting the World Cup and Olympics b2b will do that

[@f1champ551]

And also bring a Brazilian version of Trump too.

[@siddharthbirdi]

@@f1champ551 that came after the financial chaos, Trumps are a symptom not a cause.

[@f1champ551]

@@siddharthbirdi I was talking the Brazilian version of him as some were saying when he was elected at the time (because I forgot his name because he left my brain a while ago).

[@siddharthbirdi]

@@f1champ551 Bolsanaro came after the events I think, anyway they were planned and executed during the Lady President's rule, Desilva I think.

[@Justin-TPG]

I was there with Brentford in 08/09, the season we went up and the problems at Darlo were really coming to a head. The fans all got on great and we felt really sorry for them. A really decent set of fans who deserved better from that nasty owner.

[@DavidJames-rx1oj]

UTB 🐝 🔴⚪

[@largol33t1]

Wow, would it really have made THAT much of a difference if Adolf Hitler was chairman of the club? Reynolds struck me as one big bully and egomaniac who probably wasn't above punching out a fan if he was that crazy/angry...

[@Lamebred.]

All 10 of them?

[@lewispeacock2596]

@@largol33t1he really was the northern hitler 😢

[@thomashopper8616]

Wow what a fascinating story. My condolences to the Darlington supporters for having to put with this conman.

[@russellbrookes7238]

It was all so false to the media the football public from North to South and certainly to the Darlington fans at that time that this was supposed to springboard them on to bigger and better times......soul destroying to the fans who had gone to Feethams over the years..... If they had been able to put players in there to match the surroundings then it could of worked....Championship at best would of done and would of been achievable...but when I say it was false no money was there to spend on real talent.... Because it was never there sadly....

[@philanderphillips2309]

I don't give a shite about either one of these teams, but yet I'm here, as this is one of the BEST sport channels on KZbin. Keep up the great work HITC.

[@llamarolled3843]

It's because it is so interesting!

[@davidjohnrobert5336]

I’ve been a Darlington fan for 38 years I don’t give a shit that you don’t give a shit about our club. It’s nice that we get some recognition from somewhere and that people can find out that George Reynolds is a complete idiot. Thank you

[@gian3008]

His name... is... ALFIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@lalitthapa101]

Sometimes I really wonder how Alfie finds these stories. One moment its mafia owning a football club and next its an owner burning down his football stadium to whatever was going On in the 50-60s. This guy's a genius👏👏👏

[@kieronparr3403]

@Gibby well told though. That's important

[@parmolord]

I miss Darlington playing in the Reynolds. My dad lived a 5 minute walk away and you could hear the entire crowd roar on the odd occasion that Darlo scored.

[@Hutchy]

Whole of neasham road was bouncing

[@adamrobson4855]

Only time I heard that place roar was when hartlepool battered them 3 nil

[@gabrielcupido3532]

😁 to u 🤠🤠🤠🤠🤠🤠😁🤠🤠😁🤠🤠😁🤠🤠😁😁🤠🤠😁🤠🤠👍🤠🤠😁🤠🤠😁🤠🤠😁😁🤠🤠😁🤠😁🤠🤠👍👍🤠🤠😁😁🤠🤠😁😁😁🤠🤠😁🤠🤠😁

[@edmundbloxam2714]

So, pretty quiet then.

[@lincoln_six_echo534]

I do t miss the arena all that much.. soulless stadium.. I miss Feethams however..

[@chrisguardiano6143]

As a American, this video is very informative. It also serves as a cautionary tale for any non MLS club wanting to build a new stadium because this could easily happen here.

[@SuperJNG18]

Tell me about it. I'm supremely excited for our NYC-based stadium (saves me, a Mets fan, from having to attend home matches at the home of the enemy, although they DO play at Citi Field sometimes), but I hope we get butts in seats and it stays well-maintained.

[@Cancun771]

Nah, American sport clubs make the taxpayer hand out new stadiums to them. Welfare for billionaires. Happens all the time. I saw it on _Last Week Tonight._

[@TC-qw3lr]

Not really, they can’t get relegated so financial risk is minimal

[@Alinamartinez--]

The taxpayers will prevent it from happening

[@MikeP2055]

I was just shaking my head and chuckling until you got to the part about him naming it Reynolds Arena, then I burst out laughing. What an odd lunatic, hahaha. Well done, Alfie. I just barely found your channel and it's a delight. Watching from Salt Lake City, UT in the States.

[@marsports14]

Remember going to a preseason friendly there when Middlesbrough played Darlington, and the stadium was far too big for the size of the club, such a shame to see what's happened to them since, but they're slowly on their way back 🤞

[@deanslyfield7870]

You forgot to mention, as any Darlo supporter would know. The stadium during winter was always 5-10 colder than it actually was. Like sitting in a freezer for 90 minutes.

[@nano11alexischile]

Do you know how/why it was colder?

[@clarkeysam]

Not just the winter! It was like sitting in a fridge even on a hot day!

[@deanslyfield7870]

@@nano11alexischile no idea. The stadium just broke physics and radiated colder chills.

[@deanslyfield7870]

@@clarkeysam not wrong 🤣. The lower seats in the sun would kick up sone heat directly in sunlight though. But aye, during winter was horrible. I vaguely remember sitting on my hands with gloves on, because even through trousers abd pants, the seats would freeze your arse off

[@tomthomassony8607]

@@nano11alexischile the ground was built on a flood plain, so the water would have made it colder?

[@RushfanUK]

Darlington council had a hand in this and you rather skirted over it with a very brief mention, the council decided that once built that the stadium on match days would lead to traffic chaos and so imposed a 5000 capacity on the stadium, this was destined to kill the club as they were never going to be able to improve on their finances with that cap, from what one councilor said to me it was very much a tool to get at Reynolds.

[@richl6966]

Sim Gormless bringing politics into it. The Council would base it's decisions on national guidelines. Yes, the council decided to destroy their own club. Yes, that makes sense. Doesn't it Einstein? Grow up. This video and football fans nationwide say grow up,

[@narabdela]

Silly post that doesn't make any sense simgorm. Sounds like pub talk.

[@CaptLoquaLacon]

@@narabdela Not really, councils can be incredibly venal. One of the reasons WImbledon FC moved is because the council were more interested in redeveloping Plough Lane in to a Supermarket than in letting the club move back there. After the club found a new home ground, suddenly supporting a club moving to Plough Lane became a more profitable political opinion. It's maybe cynical, but it feels like without the original club moving away to avoid going bankrupt, I don't think the council would have changed their mind. The few remaining fans may have tried to make AFC WImbledon, but it likely wouldn't have had anywhere near the same momentum behind it

[@Biffo1262]

@@richl6966 You obviously haven't had much in the way of dealings with local authorities!! For starters 'guidelines' are simply that and for 'the obedience of fools and guidance of wise men'. Trouble is many are of the former, not the latter. I once worked in a large City Architects Dept as a building surveyor and logic wasn't a premium asset I can assure you. I left to join a career I thoroughly enjoyed though many said I had undersold myself but it drove me mad and they and planning departments are still the same today.....money talks in more ways than you can possibly imagine...Albert!

[@clarkeysam]

Simgorm's post is factually incorrect. The capacity wasn't limited to 5,000. The council told Reynolds the limits and he would need to upgrade the infrastructure. He ignored them and then tried to bully them into doing it themselves, which obviously wouldn't work.

[@pauldebenham4406]

Superb video, Alfie. I enjoy all the channel's content but think these longer, documentary-style uploads are particularly interesting.

[@RyxnFX]

Great video from a Darlington fan, all very factual apart from we never formed a phoenix club, we were the same club, but treated like a new one by the FA even though we carried over the debt.

[@liamcooke1859]

Yeah and they forced us to rename so we went with the name Darlington 1883

[@Stephen_Platt]

Can’t have the same name but have to take the debt? Wtf, Rangers did the opposite. Talk about big team biases in football (I’m aware the SFA and the English FA are separate entities but the point still stands).

[@graemeyetts3465]

@@Stephen_Platt Absolutely spot on

[@jackwatsonepic626]

So who does Hartlepool FC dislike now since Darlington ceased to exist

[@olafweiske6132]

so how did you get rid of those debts, or are they still there?

[@ExplodingChickenPie]

As someone from Darlington, this is a fantastic video

[@gdgsdgdgdsgds309]

Even better as someone from Hartlepool

[@paulsmith7162]

Wasn’t half the issue with the stadium that he built it to host concerts but the council wouldn’t give them permission? Paul (Boro)

[@eidur2440]

Yea I drive past it all the time and always wonder why it’s was never used

[@RichO1701e]

@@gdgsdgdgdsgds309 guilty 🙋‍♂️ UTP 🔵⚪

[@jkharris3032]

UP THE DL1

[@paulbennett772]

Darlo born, resident & fan here. I was at the Wembley game v Peterborough - got soaked! And the last game at Feethams, the first at the Stadium, and the first at the Meadows.

[@liamcooke1859]

My first ever Darlo match as a kid was at feethams which funny enough was Vs Peterborough I was young at the time but I distinctly remember it being 5-1 to Peterborough I could be wrong as I say I was very young back then

[@RichO1701e]

Pools fan here, my only visit to Darlo for footy was March 2007 when we had a massive police escort from Hartlepool on 50 odd buses, all doing 30mph along the A66! Took us an HOUR to get to the stadium!

[@garymay799]

Darlington have always been shit like monkey Utd down the road . I’m 60 and always remember them bottom league, UP THE BORO.

[@paulbennett772]

@@garymay799 Thank you for your smoggy remark which, nevertheless, was neither welcome nor required by Quakers or our friends the hangers. You really don't understand, do you?

[@garymay799]

@@paulbennett772 I’m only joshing. Benno but I think you should apologise to our Hartlepool friends for insinuating they swing from trees and eat bananas.

[@DarrenBates]

What an incredible video. Wow. I was kinda feeling sorry for him after he had what must've been a f***ed up childhood being abandoned like that, then he got himself together and as soon as he had the cash, blew it all. This man needed a financial advisor around him. Smart people. What a waste of everything.

[@mcallisterwill]

Yeah I mean, a rough childhood can make you a rough adult, and I don't hold the fact that he cracked safes against him, he wasn't given the opportunity to learn a legal trade so he picked up an illegal one instead. But then no amount of childhood trauma can rob you of the ability to be a decent human being, so if he chose not to be one that's a decision he made as an adult and deserves all the flak he gets for that.

[@Mag7Music]

Absolutely the kind of video that makes me love this channel.

[@alexgunn2468]

Loved that video! I’m from Middlesbrough and was only young when all this was going on in Darlo so didn’t understand the ins and outs fully until watching this 👏🏻

[@rogerramjet5302]

Used to visit Ayresome Park - great atmosphere.

[@Yakkahboo]

I remember visiting both Feethams and the new Arena on several occasions as a child at school in the town through schemes by the club to get more people going to games. It was a very turbulent time with feelings constantly ebbing between blissful and woeful depending on the current goings on, and ultimately the up and downs of the club led it to where the club is now. The townspeople tried so hard to support the club, with regular concerts taking place at the new stadium, as well as the charity game mentioned (which I was at) in attempts to justify its existence and buoy the finances of the clubs but theres only so much a northern, working-class town can do against such reckless financing. Sad times.

[@yusufkassim8236]

Hey Alfie, I just thought of a cracking idea for a video you could do on the turbulent recent history of Goztepe in the Super Lig. They’re one of the Super Lig’s most well supported clubs (a bit like a Newcastle United, Sunderland or Strasbourg if you may). In the 2001/02 season, they finished seventh in the top flight, however from 2002 to 2008, they were relegated five times in six seasons, due to their inability to reduce their outstanding debt which resulted in the football club being banned from signing new players during that time. In August of 2007, a business based in Istanbul, vowed to take them back to the top flight making them one of the top five clubs in the country, but they were met with lots of suspicions from the fan base, and then they handed over the ownership to another bloke called Mehmet Sepil in 2014. Anyway, they’re back in the Super Lig as a solid mid table/weaker top half team. Why am I bringing all this up? Because apparently Abramovich is looking to possibly buy the club himself, after being sanctioned from the UK. It’s a crazy crazy story and may you could look into this, not to mention, they are not only a rare example of a club that is considered a neighbourhood club, as well as the fact that they’ve played in 3 different stadiums since 2011, but also in 1969, they became the first Turkish football team to play a semi-final of a European competition.

[@liamgbooth]

33:43 Hartlepool Town? Don't you mean Hartlepool United? Jeff Stelling will be going ape right now!

[@CARLIN4737]

Hartlepools?

[@liamgbooth]

@@CARLIN4737 It's been Hartlepool United since 1968.

[@pete2278]

And stating 'winning the FA Vase' while showing the team on front of The 'Winners of the FA Trophy' board

[@angelosvlahos]

In the Netherlands, Feyenoord is one of the historic top 3 teams. However, these last few years they have been struggling financially which have lead them to fall out of that top 3. To get them back to the top, they want to get American investors in and build a new stadium that would be called Feyenoord City. Feyenoord themselves don't have the finances to build the stadium themselves, that's why they need the investors. The investors on the other hand only want to invest when the stadium is built. This back and forth discussion has been going on for years now and has only costed money so far. Thw fear is, that if Feyenoord demolish "De Kuip", their iconic stadium, and built a new gigantic stadium while barely having the funds for it, they'll go completely bankrupt.

[@brunogiegerich6496]

This is absolutely fascinating on many levels. Subtley hilarious, historically intriguing. Genuinely the best thing ive watched in any form for a while. Very well made indeed.

[@DerekSiddle]

Being a supporter through this sad recap. Painful. The win over Mansfield being a huge high and my best day watching football. Hopefully they can make their way back from the wilderness in the future.

[@Super100reasons]

As Darlington are my go to team whenever I play a manager game (cm01/02) , this is a sad story to hear. Would love to see them reach higher levels of football soon!

[@lewispeacock2596]

Cheers mate

[@davidcollinge1035]

Very accurate and well researched account. I have followed darlington since 1992 and remember these events as if they were yesterday. Horrendous

[@robertcarter9350]

Thank you very much for a hugely informative, and entertaining clip. Such a sad, but intriguing story. Fantastically narrated as well.

[@DavidWatts505]

I was a season ticket holder but from the late 00’s onwards so I heard stuff about Reynolds and the pre-stadium era but nothing in this much detail, thank you x

[@andrewtaylor5984]

The old Darlington ground was in the town centre, within walking distance of the Railway Station. The replacement is in the middle of nowhere.

[@matthewmurphy3140]

fantastic work archie you make incredible detailed and obscure videos and they never disappoint

[@dazwebster]

Liked at 2:50. Great intro and a fascinating piece. More of stuff like this please Alfie.

[@dabro2080]

Getting that stadium built was a big achievement, shame everything else went wrong for Darlington and Feethams was not available to return to. Good luck to them I went to the Reynolds Arena and they beat my team 5-1 so shocked what happened to them. Proof also out of town football stadiums are not a good thing.

[@wolfmauler]

Top notch Alfie, another bit o' history to sink our teeth into. Love this aspect of your channel; When you do these, you're the Mark Felton of Footie content! 🍻👍

[@wolfmauler]

By the way, my video idea; 7 Best individual seasons by players who only spent only one in the top flight.

[@YCFCfollower]

Mark Felton, youtube legend.

[@wolfmauler]

@@YCFCfollower Two channels with so much quality back catalogue to geek out on lol...

[@baliksupper6043]

Always interesting,informative and fantastically researched,thank you.

[@danielebowman]

Brilliant video, it really informs and educates me on these topics in ways I can't get from anywhere else. Such an in-depth research you'll never find almost anywhere else. Thanks so much.

[@brownb09bb]

I remember being a young fan through the 2nd and 3rd administrations, fa trophy run was one of the best football experiences of my life, similarly some dangerously cold winter games where they only opened 1 block of the stadium are some of the most depressing. The club has a strong history of young players getting their start there and have always had their loyal core, a club that deserves a professional set up but this time in a financially stable way. I speak for other fans when I say we don’t care about the level we play at, we are just happy we still have our club.

[@jamiethompson9519]

We still need to get these old fans back we’re averaging 1500 but the level is good with a young exiting squad fans need to come back support the club

[@brownb09bb]

@@jamiethompson9519 completely agree, but unfortunately i now live in leeds, so have only managed to catch a couple of games

[@fut_ospina4854]

As a Darlo fan myself. I really appreciate this. Keep up the good work

[@liammoss9586]

Always wanted to hear about this story in full. Very good video!

[@stnicholas54]

An extremely interesting and well presented documentary about the ups and downs of Football in the 21st Century.

[@huttonmedia6890]

Excellent video, great to learn about what happened as I wasn't old enough to remember all this. As a Poolie I hope to see Darlo back in the football league.

[@rosstaylor1039]

I'd love to see you do a video on Sutton United - the oldest football club to every debut in the Football League, 123 years in the making, in our little non-League ground and our strange colours of amber and chocolate.

[@daviddooker7817]

Absolutely fantastic video enjoyed it immensely

[@gavhayes9381]

Brilliant doc. Need more extra long vid like this from you :)

[@stuarttatton1861]

I would love as I'm a port vale fan to hear information on the clowns we've had since our championship relegation. I'm guessing it would surprise a good few people 😄. Loving your channel m8 😀👍

[@AdamMiligan]

Saturday night here in Brazil and I watching this masterpiece, amazing piece of jornalism, great work Alfie.

[@GEricG]

Really interesting video. I was aware of the problems over the arena and I remember the Tino Asprilla saga but it's only from watching your video that I have become fully informed of what went on!

[@Tewy]

Subbed from this strange and bewildering story. Well told 👍

[@normanby100]

Hull City at least share their stadium with a well-supported rugby league team to share costs.

[@PenryMMJ]

Hull city's ground was funded entirely by the council, which was flush with cash from selling a large stake in Kingston Communications. It was then leased out to the football and rugby league teams, both of which had a substantial fan base but didn't have the funds to build the ground themselves. It's a great example of a city authority making sensible investments in the city and it's infrastructure.

[@adamdruett9107]

At least hull already had immense support even in league 2 they were getting crowds over 10,000. Darlington never had that. To build a 27,000 seater was pure stupidity.

[@falchoon]

on the plus side, it's an impressive looking stadium!

[@adamdruett9107]

@@falchoon I've been a few times.

[@parster2010]

It was built to give the chairman a place to hide his money is closer to the real answer

[@DarrenBates]

Hull's population is twice that of Darlington. Yes there's towns and cities with small populations that can make it into the premier league but very often their catchment area is wider, they're the club for the whole region (think of Bournemouth which is really the club of Dorset). It's incredible that no one shouted stop or at least tried some accounting magic to separate the football club from the debt incurred on the stadium.

[@charliezobel511]

@@DarrenBates Twice the size? I’d have thought it must be three or four times bigger, Hull is a big gaff whilst Darlington is little more than an average sized provincial town to be honest.

[@beatlegreg07]

Thanks to this channel I am able to appear knowledgeable about football at dinner parties and social gatherings. Thank you!

[@mike-yn3mn]

I visited the TFM/Reynolds arena with Carlisle back in the day there was barely 2000 fans in there. Good to see they've reformed and are clawing their way back.

[@TheDuckman02050]

American here. New to football, loving these historical videos. I find it amazing to compare George Reynolds to Boston's New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Kraft was a 'hundred millionaire' as well. The Patriots were in dire straights. He gained control in Kraft is now a multi-billionaire and the most powerful owner in the most powerful league in the world. Reynolds is in a pine box. I sincerely hope that Darlington can find an owner half as good as Kraft.

[@leonedwards9193]

Swansea fan here we also got American owner's who are utterly useless

[@RBzee112]

What about Liverpool?

[@iankemp1131]

The point is that all clubs have a natural scale. New England Patriots have a catchment area of millions of people. Sunderland, Hull and Middlesbrough have about 200-300,000 people and big hinterlands. Darlington has barely 100,000 people and are traditionally a lower league team supported only by the local population. The video rightly makes the point about club loyalty. People are not going to travel 50 miles to see a team just because the tickets are cheaper. Darlington could never support a 25,000 seat stadium against the local competition. Occasionally it cuts the other way. Bournemouth's new owners built a neat modern stadium with 11,000 seats commensurate with their history in the lower tiers, but have since climbed into the Premier League. However they balance the books because most income is from TV rights rather than stadium attendance. Bournemouth has nearly 200,000 residents and is in a conurbation of nearly half a million with no other nearby football team. Darlington need a Bournemouth-style owner, not a Kraft.

[@StuTheDon17]

What a story. I feel for the fans, but this should be made into a movie or TV series. Unbelievable

[@michaelreay6992]

Agreed. First I've heard of it but you couldn't make it up.

[@no_soy_rubio]

This is superb, great documentary 👍

[@ajons190]

Excellent video. Thank you.

[@Paultrfc1]

I hope Darlington get back in league the ASAP, met a load of them at an England game top lads , Tranmere fan

[@christopherlithgo2600]

They're scum.

[@londonad5289]

ewww lol jk

[@christopherlithgo2600]

@WILLIAMS F1 RACING. Not a troll at all football banter kiddo

[@SimbianMinistry]

@@christopherlithgo2600 Monkey-Hanger...??

[@christopherlithgo2600]

@@SimbianMinistry you know it tiger

[@andrewhorner1078]

My dad was a football scout for darlo and middlesbrough at the same time different age groups the F.A. wrote to him saying he could be a scout for two teams at the same time so he had to decide which team to scout the boro payed him quite well be darlo paid him three times as much under george .he did not need the money but decided to choose boro and found some good players for them probably a wise choice in the long run.

[@TheJonbanks87]

Enjoyed that mate, thank you

[@SimbianMinistry]

Darlo fan since my schooldays (late 70s) - In 1999 I won tickets to the Villa FA Cup game, full hospitality with meal etc... Met Villa chairman Doug Ellis in the restaurant - He said he'd just been speaking to Reynolds and called him 'interesting' with a sarcastic smile on his face. I told him to keep a close eye on his watch 🤣

[@clarkeysam]

A few in accuracies: The club wasn't in liquidation in 2004 or any other time. The club has never gone bankrupt. Our winning goal at Wembley against Mansfield was in 120th minute, in the FA Trophy, not FA Vase. We were never wound up! A phoenix club was not formed! The fans bought the club from the Administrator. The fans then paid off all the clubs debts. Our ground is up to National League standard and has been for 2 or 3 years. You also say we fell victim to Sterling's loans. Many fans would disagree with that. They were the only decent owners we had at the Arena..

[@FozzQuaker]

the old Darlo went bankrupt is what always got me, I would be asked on pretty much a weekly basis about the status of DFC and explaining why we aren't a Phoenix club

[@mrkipling2201]

Thanks for the info. I always thought that they went bankrupt and that a Phoenix club was formed. Growing up watching football in the 80’s, Darlington were a football league mainstay. I hope that they get back to playing league football.

[@clarkeysam]

@@mrkipling2201 No worries. I understand it's hard to research as not all of the info is available, and some of the info which is available is incorrect. The old holding company (the company which owned the "asset" of Darlington FC) was eventually wound up, but that was several years after the fans bought the football club, but that doesn't mean the club has ever been wound up.

[@mrkipling2201]

@@clarkeysam no problem. I think it’s great that the actual club wasn’t liquidated. Darlington were and always will be a proper football club. Seeing the derelict Feethams was horrible.

[@FuriousHoon]

Love these videos, would be incredible if you could do one on Rushden & Diamonds at some point

[@greestogreest2324]

Wow That's a club I totally forgot about. Nice one 👍😁

[@brianmunich553]

Was a great club remember them from when Doncaster rovers got relegated into the conference

[@mjc8281]

Used to go to Fortuna Dusseldorf in the 80s and their old "Rheinstadion" had a capacity of 65,000 at the time and was drawing crowds of less than 10k, it was soul destroying just watching a game like that, I can only imagine what its like to play in those conditions week in week out.

[@davidturner7025]

A Documentary Well Worth Watching! Especially for football fans. Can only assume Mr Reynolds didn't fully take in to account the Infrastructure needed, to cope with , a stadium of that capacity, ( re -traffic). A once, Great Vision , in principle, for any football fan in Darlington. Good Luck,.. to the New Club, on,.. and especially off the field.

[@MillbrookFC]

Mad coincidence that we uploaded this exact topic 3 days ago, just not in 37 minutes 😂 Great video though Alfie

[@Brian_nld]

I watched your video then I saw this and I was like in my head well I already know the story now someone else put up a video 😂😂.Loved it tho

[@MillbrookFC]

@@Brian_nld thanks for watching mate 😂💪🏻

[@MB-mn7pr]

So did they copy??

[@MillbrookFC]

@@MB-mn7pr I doubt it as his video is pretty long that it would take some time to produce

[@colinuk1984]

I'm a Darlo fan, hate the stadium and what happened to the club.

[@rhyspeter4682]

I’m pleased you’ve uploaded this as Darlo are my non league side (I’ve been to games) but I’ve got work in 5 hours and I’ve not slept 😭

[@mrmeerkat1096]

I know how you feel mate. Am I going to hear the alarm if I go to sleep? Should I call in sick because I know it's going to be busy? Your not on your own mate, hope you're able to sleep well now.

[@ilyaasissa7986]

Have you fallen a sleep now

[@rhyspeter4682]

I think I used flex time and went in 5 hours late haha

[@ilyaasissa7986]

@@rhyspeter4682 your still alive yay

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

I've watched a lot of your vids over the years and never subscribed for some reason. I am now because these newer deep dives videos are very entertaining.

[@richxci3386]

Great video. I remember the fundraiser game sat behind one of the goals - I believe it was before the game Gazza was messing around taking shots at the keeper. When he scored a penny he turned around and pulled a mooney in front of the entire stand!

[@ayaantauquir17]

This reminded me of football manager. Never ask the owner to buy the stadium unless you're really well off financially.

[@mustafaabdulsahib9317]

i once played 1860 munichen and the board decided to build a new stadium, about 20 000 and i was stuck with it forever despite getting promoted and gradually reached euro cup then euros then even wining bundesliga

[@reganbrannigan3006]

@@mustafaabdulsahib9317 you have to wait 10 years until you can build a new one

[@Paultrfc1]

I remember playing a update of champ man 01/02 but with 2011 squads ( buy it on EBay) and I went Darlo in the conference because of this stadium, you stay off £7M in debt 🤣

[@gregkiteos1936]

Great video. I've always been intrigued about Darlington FC and its bizarre stadium. Surely they could have just stayed at Feethams and addressed the waterlogged pitch problem with the money they spent. I'm also curious as to why the seats are red instead of black or white.

[@MrTeaTwoSugars]

Well the clubs colours are red white and black

[@clarkeysam]

@@MrTeaTwoSugars no, the reason the seats were red is because Reynolds was a Sunderland fan. Our club colours are black and white. He tried to change it red and white but the fans kicked off.

[@tomonetruth]

really enjoyed this one, thanks

[@pjsmith2744]

I’m surprised a major sporting organisation hasn’t picked you up yet. Your research and presentation are second to none!!

[@kareliask]

I love the detail in this, keep it up. Your editing is also underrated, the wide range of pics you scatter around the videos really helps these from just being podcasts (which would be good enough anyway!).

[@callmedavid9696]

Do a video on strangest player signing announcements

[@bustednug9921]

Very interesting idea, I would definitely watch this

[@kiriakoz]

You do it.

[@PeacockRhino]

The Peter Odemwingie story would be a good video as well!

[@mktrvls]

Like tino asprilla 😂😂😂

[@peterarmstrong6730]

The Duth lad who West Ham signed, who lived in a Caravan, I can't remember his name but he was a proper loon apparently.

[@The2107Ng]

Great video. Keep up the great work

[@stonelyfans592]

Unreal video, yet again 👏👏

[@HITCSevens]

Thanks Harry!

[@1979mattant]

Brilliant video, I worked at the club as a chef when Reynalds was there at Feethams and he was a bizarre character, you had to address him as Mr Chairman and I once saw him try to fire a kid who was on work experience for calling him George lol

[@RichO1701e]

Aye, I've heard similar stories. He sacked a guy at his kitchen business for coming into work with a broken, worn out shoe. When the front part of the sole comes loose and makes that flappy noise when walking. The guy couldn't afford new shoes and the sound irritated GR

[@1979mattant]

@@RichO1701e I can believe it, I heard another one that a guy working at his worktop place wrote his name on a forklift so George went to the guys house at night and wrote George on his car bonnet with his keys lol

[@mustafaabdulsahib9317]

remind me of when valencia started building a new stadium, rediced its planned capacity gradually until its became slightly larger than their old stadium, then they gave up when they couldnt afford completing it

[@andrew7taylor]

I think it just stands there unfinished for a decade now. Instead of them being able to sell the old stadium and bring in more money with the new, it costs them double.

[@Micfri300]

Valencia couldn't bulid that stadium due to a high debt unlike this example though

[@mustafaabdulsahib9317]

@@Micfri300 yeah i know there is no connection but i just remembered that situation just because a stadium was involved 😅

[@paulfarr7]

Really enjoyed this one.👌🏻

[@glenvance6737]

Not a George Reynolds fan then.....absolutely scathing! lol brilliantly informative, entertaining video

[@vqlid417]

I’ve been a darlo fan all my life, living only 10 mins away from the town. I was at the 2011 FA cup final in Wembley. I’m only 18 now but have seen some shocking moments happen at the club. I really hope we can one day make it back to when we were knocking on the doors to promotion into league 1. I believe. Cmon darlo🖤🤍

[@chonkassSM64]

You know a club has great support when they go through that much of a torid history and still comes back strong with a new club with an average attendance of 1500 nowadays! Up the Quakers!

[@rmh032]

Darlington do not have great support. The town is full of chavvy Liverpool and Manchester Utd fans who couldn't care less about their own town's team.

[@gdcodurham.]

Like Manchester & Liverpool don't have chavs, man utd fan myself not chav 55yrs old

[@peslad]

As a academy player around that time i loved this video. Going to a club with massive high hopes to fall to pieces within a few year and being there you could tell no money for strips and played our games in old Southampton strips. Training on just a field. And after spending 5 year at the club for the hole academy prospects to be shown the door was bad overall. Glad to see them on the up now.

[@peslad]

@jim1a2a played a little Northern league but fell out of love with it tbh. Looking now just a waste of a youth. Travelling along with 2s week training and matches. But like me 1 of millions that don't make it.

[@monty9412]

Nice to see a video on my most local club. I actually shared a season ticket in the first season the new stadium opened. Sad to see the drastic decline of the club. George Reynolds was a crook and I heard a rumour once that he didn’t even fulfil the construction bills for the stadium, instead throwing an amount of cash at said construction workers and saying take it or leave it! It always baffled me how he chose to fit it out with Red seats! He was a Sunderland man after all 🤣

[@rswpt]

great video Alfie, well done man

[@HITCSevens]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@JimmyNDriver]

Went to many Darlington games from 2008-11 as met a Darlo fan at Uni, was at the 2011 FA Trophy Final. (Chris Senior, what a legend!) Fantastic football club, supporters were great but have been absolutely shafted by an obscene stadium and terrible ownership. Hoping they come back to the Football League soon and I can sample a delightful parmo again. #HawayDarlo

[@elshaarawy9255]

Watching this while figuring out how to put Trent, Salah, Kane and Sancho in my FPL.

[@white_will_smith]

Wouldn't put Sancho in just yet, always a risk of new players not perfoming when they join a new team

[@elshaarawy9255]

@@white_will_smith I am going for a double up of Cavani and Sancho instead of Bruno. And I think Sancho will not take time to adjust as he is English and he knows most of the players. Also he trained with PL players at the euros.

[@DJ_Dopamine]

@@elshaarawy9255 Plus he was in Manchester with Man City before he went over to Germany.

[@L45456]

@@elshaarawy9255 this aged well

[@elshaarawy9255]

@@L45456 I change my fpl team every week

[@hugoreinh1hard]

This channel is such underrated.

[@ryanwilson2665]

Love your content my dude

[@depekthegreat359]

In this and other worlds,Darlington are one of my favourite clubs daily in my life forever and every generations that we would be born!!!I am extremely so sad to hear this news about this wonderful club being disrupted by being bankrupted because of the owner who did not even save the finances of the stadium to fund for their club's transfer budgets and earn profits through the sales of the players whom they would offload each and every seasons made the stadium debt remain unpaid!!!I fully hope that the owner would smartly save the club from being extinct by galvanising the squad and pay the debt amount of the stadium as soon as possible!!!

[@alanjames762]

Used to love visiting Feethams when Fulham played Darlo…a proper football ground.

[@londonad5289]

you mean "PROPA

[@albertmccready478]

Certainly looks it, I love the old skool stadiums.

[@nicocorbo4153]

Great video, Alfie. Reynolds, the adult bedroom tycoon, was exactly who I expected him to be

[@stevenmeachin21]

Great video tbf! Would be great to see more about the history of different English clubs that have interesting stories

[@balham5606]

Good that Darlington FC Supporters Group own their club btw Can you do a video on the AFC Wimbledon story?

[@AldershotDave]

Good video aside from the two GLARING mistakes: "Hartlepool Town" - WHO?? "Darlington beat Mansfield Town to win the FA Vase" - no they didn't! They won the FA Trophy (as per the picture you showed!).

[@MartinT]

Came here to say both of these! Haha

[@KindredBrujah]

I wondered about that one myself. The Hartlepool I know is Hartlepool United. I'm not even from England.

[@JamesSomersetActor]

I noticed this two. Those two mistakes so close together really stood out!

[@JamesSomersetActor]

@@KindredBrujah you're correct, they're Hartlepool United, originally called Hartlepools United as they represented West Hartlepool and the original Hartlepool (also known as Old Hartlepool).

[@clarkeysam]

The bigger mistake is that Darlo have never gone bankrupt, and the fans never started a phoenix club.

[@stevenspraggs4953]

fantastic really enjoyed that thanks

[@KennethBarr1957]

Thank you for this video. It is a cautionary tale that affects even the top tier of football. At one point my club, Crystal Palace, proposed a new ground at their birthplace, The Crystal Palace Park. That was blocked & now a redevelopment of Selhurst Park is slowly moving forward. Liverpool abandoned plans to build a new ground & have been successfully redeveloping Anfield. On the other hand, Everton is building a new ground after new deep pocketed owners took over. Time will tell how that goes.