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After being plunged into administration in February, Darlington have been left wondering if they will be able to continue to play in League Two. Thom Kennedy investigates the depth of the clubs problems
If a week is a long time in football, events at League Two Darlington have proved that a day is long enough for a crisis to unfold in the bottom division. On February 21 fans were celebrating a 1-0 victory over Grimsby, and another obstacle on the path to promotion cleared. Curtis Main, 16, had become Darlo’s youngest ever scorer, dropping a neat match-winning header into the bottom corner within moments of coming on, and an exciting run-in lay ahead.
Some retired footballers go into management, but for many lazing on the cosy pundits' sofa is irresistible. Harry Pearson observes
Back in the 1960s, commentators such as Kenneth Wolstenholme and Huw Johns effectively spent 90 minutes on Saturday afternoon talking to themselves: “Now I wonder what United can come up with in response to that?” They would probe, before replying, after a brief pause: “This boy Brown looks like he may have half an idea!”
Dear WSC
I don’t normally read your magazine as I have no interest in football. However I wanted to read your article about Paul Gascoigne (Crying Shame, WSC 257) and found it very poignant. If I was in a position to help Mr Gascoigne (as obviously he needs this urgently), I would suggest he gets himself an allotment. It’s not as flippant a suggestion as it sounds. As long as he manages to avoid somewhere like Hampstead, he’ll find himself surrounded by solid, down-to-earth people, which is what he needs right now. He’ll be able to use his physical strength, which will be good for his mental health. He’ll be working outdoors and taking part in an activity that is so far removed from the fickle world of the sycophants that have helped drag him down it can only do him good. I hope I don’t sound too patronising, because I have his best interests at heart.
Victoria Lofas, Stockport
As Leeds have lurched from crisis to crisis, outsiders have wondered why fans have not become more militant. For Duncan Young, it’s because there’s no question of a move from Elland Road
As this summer’s Leeds United pantomime ran its course, I was increasingly confronted by passionate supporters of other clubs, incredulous that Leeds fans have not risen in righteous anger and deposed Ken Bates, or at the very least made a stand against him. How much humiliation would it take before we finally seized control of our own destiny rather than accept a constant diet of wailing and gnashing of teeth?