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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2012 23:06:38 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2012 6:24:02 GMT
Nice pictures, Barton. What are the chances, if any, of Darlington FC ever playing at Feethams again?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2012 8:39:07 GMT
Well, Wildebeeste, it would be wonderfully simple if the building company that has plans for the Feethams - 146 houses apparently - could be persuaded to build on the white elephant Arena site instead. Then Darlo fans - in the spirit of what happened at The Valley - clear the old playing area and everyone gets down to building a new ground.
But I sense it's nowhere near as simple as this, partly because the present club possess little that is tangible. Nor am I sure how much they are even pursuing the idea.
It sounds a complex story; one that is resurrected and put to bed again at regular intervals. This is probably inevitable with no sign of the building work which has been said to be "imminent" for a long while.
The cricket club is part of the story. It appears the old football club and the cricket club enjoyed something of an awkward relationship. And, as should be partly apparent from my pictures, the cricket club is very much "gatekeeper" to any future development because of the layout of the site. Access to the former football ground from other directions is extremely limited as would be appreciated by those who went there as an away supporter.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2012 10:38:18 GMT
As every historian knows, of course,  Darlington FC once played a home game on the cricket ground. In December 1923 the football pitch was too badly frozen for the Thirs Division North game against Chesterfield to go ahead, so they shifted the goalposts (literally), put them up on the cricket ground and played the match there instead. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2012 10:44:25 GMT
Played in front of a tidy 5,675 crowd, slightly higher than Darlington's average that season. Was that due to Chesterfield's travelling barmy army? Or those groundhopper types? Was Clive there? Map from The Ultimate Directory of English and Scottish Football League Grounds. Note the presence of the river:  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2012 12:02:13 GMT
Clive was thinking of going to the game but he discovered a local derby at School Aycliffe so he went to that instead. I believe Peter and Ollie were there too.
When the Spireites first played Darlo in 1921 the Derbyshire Times ran a story on what a green and pleasant place Darlington was in comparison with the mucky hole that was Chesterfield. I suppose that was better than reporting on the match, since Darlo won it 7-0.
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Darlington FC once played a home game on the cricket ground.