How long have you supported Darlington?

I started supporting Darlington during the 1968/69 season.

Can you remember your first game, who was it against?

All my school friends were Darlo supporters and they persuaded me to go to the home match against Chesterfield in February 1968. At the time Darlington were top of the league and I was expecting a Darlo win for my first game. Unfortunately Darlo had a bit of an off day and found themselves 3-0 down, before Allan Gauden scored a late consolation. Undeterred, I returned three weeks later to see a 1-0 win against Port Vale.

Who have been your favourite players over the years?

Having supported the Club for nearly 40 years, I’ve seen a lot of players come and go. Therefore I have a lot of favourites from over the years. Here’s a few: Lance Robson (he was also my dentist until his untimely passing); Allan Gauden; Colin Sinclair; Peter Graham; David Speedie; Alan Walsh; Marco Gabbiadini; Neil Wainright; latterly Stephen Thompson, Gary Brown and Graeme Armstrong

What have been your most satisfying moments as a Darlo supporter?

Winning promotion to Division 3 in 1985 at the 17^th time of asking by me!

Winning the FA Trophy at Wembley after two miserable play-off final defeats.

Seeing Darlington take to the field in the pre-season friendly at Whitby in 2012, signifying the start of our journey back.

Seeing Darlington take to the field at the very first match at Blackwell Meadows and Mark Beck’s early opening goal. Whatever your views about Blackwell Meadows, it was some achievement by everyone involved with Darlington FC (fans and volunteers) to get us back playing in the town in such a relatively short space of time.

What have been your most memorable matches?

THE most memorable has to be the home match against Hartlepool on 27^th February 1996. As a 40^th birthday surprise, my better half Angela had arranged for friends from near and far to meet at our house for a few birthday drinks before she disappeared off to stay at my mum’s with the kids, leaving my mate Gary in charge. Gary then informed me that there was a mini-bus booked to take us all to Feethams where we were booked into hospitality. THE surprise came as we entered the ground to be met by a BBC TV camera crew and then presented with a replica kit whilst being informed that I was going to be mascot for the night! I’ll never forget the look on Matty Appleby’s face when he was asked to take the mascot onto the pitch for a kick about, nor the puzzled expression of Hartlepool’s skipper Ian McGuckin’s as we gathered around the centre-spot to shake hands.  I had a fantastic time and even managed to plant a couple of shots past ‘keeper Paul Newell, when he was looking the other way.  The Tin Shed was sufficiently amused to start chanting my name but only after they were satisfied I wasn’t a freak signing! The climax was Steve Gaughan’s belting late winner. It was an experience I seemed to re-live time and time again. First I heard my interview with BBC Tees on the radio next morning. Then there was the lengthy article in The Northern Echo. Then on ‘Look North’ in the evening, the legendary Mike Neville wished me ‘happy birthday’ after showing the recorded interview with presenter Steve Sutton. It also made nationals………well ok, a column inch in the Guardian. It even made news in my world as a Chartered Civil Engineer when it was mentioned in the Institution of Civil Engineers’ weekly publication ‘New Civil Engineer’. But that wasn’t the end of it.

Several years later Angela bought me a book called ‘Football Shorts’ as a stocking filler at Christmas. It was a collection of humorous football stories and anecdotes. To my huge surprise, there on page 165 was an abridged version of my experience as a mascot. However, I also learned that I had been outgunned by two Swindon mascots aged 50 and 82; but they were mere youngsters compared to Harold Farnell, who turned out as mascot for Bradford against Bolton on his 96^th birthday.

Other memorable matches include:

2-1 home win against Middlesbrough 2-1 in the FA Cup 3^rd Round replay in 1985;

2-2 draw at Gresty Road, to secure promotion to Division 3 in 1985 (see above);

• win at Welling to win promotion back to the Football League in 1989;

3-1 win at Spennymoor in 2013 after going a goal behind;

3-2 win against Spennymoor in the 2015 NPL Division One North Semi-Final – not one for the faint hearted!

7-1 win at Whitby to secure the Northern Premier League title in 2016.

What are your favourite away grounds?

My favourite away grounds are Bootham Crescent (York City) – nice traditional ground where we are always well supported. Also Edgeley Park (Stockport County) – I lived in Stockport for six years between 1978 and 1984, so I always enjoy the nostalgia when I return.

From the Football League days, which trips do you miss the most?

I miss the trips to Rochdale, in particular the Church Inn (sadly, now a pile of rubble according to Streetview!) and the Willbutts Lane chippy directly opposite Spotland.

Which Darlo occasions are the ones you would prefer to forget?

I don’t necessarily wish to forget any Darlo occasions because the bad times have helped me appreciate the better times so much more. There have been periods of watching Darlo that have brought very little in the way of joy and the 1970s was certainly ‘character building’ decade for Darlo fans, with only the 1970/71 and 1976/77 seasons not involving a fight against having to apply for re-election.

Do you enjoy games more or less than say ten years ago? Why?

I certainly enjoy games more now than I did ten years ago. Not just because of the overall success we’ve had but because of the involvement I’ve had with the Club and fans. I’ve been fortunate in the roles I’ve performed have brought me into contact with so many very nice people. Even clearing snow off the pitch, whilst being very hard work, was also very enjoyable having a good craic with fellow fans.

Why did you decide to join the DFCSG board?

I think it’s fair to say that I became a member of the DFCSG board by default. Back in 2012 the then board of the Darlington Supporters Trust announced that they were standing down to a man. My big fear was that unless another board was formed the funds within the Trust could be lost, which would have been harmful to Club’s chances to re-establish itself at a very critical time. I therefore made an appeal on Uncovered for anyone interested in forming a board to safeguard the Trust’s funds to meet the following night in the upstairs room of the Travellers Rest in Cockerton.

From that meeting, we managed pull together sufficient nominations for us to form a board at the forthcoming AGM. The rest, as the saying goes, was history. We achieved our aims of being able to channel the vital funding to the Football Club as well as re-establishing the Supporters Trust and in 2015 we combined with the Darlington FC Supporters Club and Darlington FC CIC to create a single entity that we know as ‘DFCSG’. I was part of the interim board that formed DFCSG and in accordance with the rules, a third of the interim board has had to stand down to face re-election and my turn doesn’t come around until next AGM.

What are you doing voluntarily for the club at the moment?

At the moment my voluntary role outside of being DFCSG Secretary is to be the ‘stand steward’ on match. My job is to ensure that everyone is able to find their seats and to resolve any issues that arise from time to time.

Where do you see the club being in five/ten years’ time?

It is difficult to say because circumstances can change so markedly in a relatively short period of time. I believe the club will still be fan owned 10 years from now. However, it is evident that without generating additional revenue streams it will be difficult for the club to sustain itself at the next level. Therefore it is important that we develop the club off the field with revenue generating infrastructure such as a 3G pitch as suggested by Dave Johnston and if we achieve this, there is every chance we could exist quite happily in the National League in 5 to 10 years from now.