Nearly 2,500 fans from all over the country have now signed a petition aimed at highlighting the worsening crisis at Darlington FC.
Darlington Supporters' Trust is urging fans to sign an Online petition to the Football League to step in and change its rules to help relieve the log-jam at the club. The situation at the club is getting increasingly desperate and farcical. As the petition states, the club could be sold under normal insolvency rules, but the Football League regulations which require all the creditors to agree to a sale leave the future for Darlington FC looking bleak. It is very likely that Darlington FC will go out of business. Look out also for hard copies of the petition at matches etc - add your name. The online petition closes on April 15, so hurry!
Last week, there were hopes that the Sterling Consortium would be able to take Darlington FC out of administration. But that appears, at least the time being, like it will be held up by former chairman George Reynolds. Meanwhile, the club's position is critical.
The petition to the League reads:
"Darlington Football Club was placed into Administration on the 23rd December 2003 to avoid a winding up order being presented by the Inland Revenue. The full scale of debts at the club are still be evaluated by the Administrators but are estimated at anywhere from £6m to £30m, the largest creditor being George Reynolds who resigned as Chairman earlier this year.
One of the Club's secured creditors, a finance organisation that loaned money to build the Reynolds Arena, had reached agreement with the Administrators to take the Club out of Administration, but this has been blocked by ex-chairman Reynolds. Mr Reynolds has over the last few months indicated that he would accept 10p in the pound, but is now saying that he will not agree to any sale of the club and that it will close.
The Club could be sold under normal insolvency rules, but the Football League regulations which require all the creditors to agree to a sale leave the future for Darlington FC looking bleak. It is very likely that Darlington FC will go out of business. The rules, of the Football League as they stand at the moment, are benefiting the people who have caused the problems and penalise genuine parties who could give clubs a realistic future.
We therefore ask the Football League to relax their rules on the procedures for club's coming out of Administration in order to preserve the future of Darlington Football Club."
