Darlington
Supporters' Trust presents:
Farewell to
Feethams events
Here's a look back
at a few events associated with the Farewell to Feethams exhibition,
including our opening nights, as well as a review of the Farewell
to Feethams book of memories.
Books and debate
ON HOME GROUND
Our special guest, writer, broadcaster and stadium expert Simon
Inglis read from Sightlines - A Stadium Odyssey and
discussed his fascination with football stadiums and his travels around
the world.
Darlington Supporters' Trust
and DAFTS presented on Friday August 16th:
Journalist and BBC Radio Cleveland
broadcaster Ray Simpson and Evening Gazette journalist
Andrew Wilkinson previewed and discussed "Farewell
to Feethams - A Collection of Darlington FC Memories" their new book.
"Writers
often over-use the phrase 'quintessentially English', but I can think
of no better description for Feethams. For me it is almost perfect...For
all its shortcomings in the modern era, it has a character and a setting
that I, and no doubt many other visitors to Darlington, will greatly miss.
That said, I will always pop in to see it when coming to the town, and
just hope it will survive as an open space. " - Simon Inglis, July
2002
Ray
Simpson and Andrew Wilkinson collected dozens of memories from fans and
players stretching back to the 1920s to recent times. The 120-page illustrated
collection"Farewell to Feethams - A Collection of Darlington
FC Memories" is available in paperback for £8 in conjunction
with the Northern Echo. Available by post at £9.60 inc p and
p (cheques payable please to "Ray Simpson") and sent to The
Northern Echo Sports Desk
"Farewell to Feethams," Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF. Also available at the Darlington FC club shop and from the Trust table at Strikers before and after home matches.
REVIEW November 2002 by Steve Duffy for www.footie51.co.uk
With Darlington FC due to move to a new stadium after 120 years next August, journalists and self-confessed Darlo fans Ray Simpson and Andrew Wilkinson have compiled this rich collection of memories of former players and supporters of past matches and life languishing in the lower leagues.
A ”labour of love,” you don’t have to have set foot inside Feethams to appreciate the universal appeal of such football folklore, as a trainer following the players on his bike and asking them not to run too fast as he can’t keep up.
You wonder how many of today’s
pampered Premiership stars might cope as well as Darlington striker Ron
Harbertson on the day in 1958 he scored in a 4-1 FA Cup replay win over
Chelsea:
"I worked a shift down
the pit from midnight until eight in the morning,” he
remembers. “I travelled 40 miles down the A1 to play
for Darlington, got home at 9.30pm and then went back
down the pit for another shift at midnight."
Roy Keane is a big girl’s blouse next to Darlo “hard
men.” The book is littered with tales from the
trenches, like the player told to take a shower by the
manager after breaking his neck; another warrior Brian
Henderson played on for six weeks with a broken ankle,
with cotton wool inside the bandages to lessen the
pain. The same player’s career was ended with a badly
broken leg – his final Feethams exit was lying on an
unrolled joiner’s bag, because another injured player
was on the only stretcher. Then they finished him off
by catching his leg on the tunnel wall on the way to
the dressing room.
The book, with numerous black and white archive
photos, is presented in a simple A-Z format dividing
potted-biographies and memories of former managers,
players and supporters. Covering half a century, they
include occasional cup exploits, promotion and
relegation to routine life behind the scenes,
recalling days when dogs routinely ran onto pitches
and trainers’ false teeth fell out at the drop of a
hat. It’s typified by the recollections of the haunted
young goalkeeper making his debut, letting in seven at
home to Southport in 1973, while the fan on the
terrace recalls missing all the goals due to the thick
fog at Feethams.
However low some of the lows or how badly players were short-changed by penny-pinching
chairmen in successive regimes, reading their recollections it’s still
easy to understand the great affection most maintain for the club. It
produces a wealth of anecdotes. Like Clive Nattress, who tells of the
surprise appearance of legendary former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly
in the Darlo dressing room before a Cup tie at Goodison in 1978 for an
impromptu team talk:
"Shanks told us we could win the game and we very
nearly did. Everton had beaten Wimbledon 9-0 in the previous round and
they could only beat us 1-0. Shanks was an inspiration.”
Also available from various newsagents in the Darlington area, including: Harper's, 99 Victoria Rd; Costcutter, 4 Clifton Rd; Toor Stores 51 Geneva Drive; Forbuoys, 364 Yarm Rd, Springfield Post Office, 168 Thompson Street; Hamilton News, 320 North Road; Dixon's, 65 Brinkburn Road, Jackson's, 73 Bondgate and WH Smith, Cornmill Shopping Centre.
The pair have already started work on a book about Darlington's 100 Greatest
Players, which they hope to publish at the start of the 2003-2004 season.
Andrew Wilkinson (left), 42, has been a journalist for 20 years
and has covered Darlington for the Evening Gazette for the past
decade, following up his time as a supporter at Feethams from the age
of 12. He has also worked for the Angling Times, helping the
likes of Chris Tarrant and Bernard Cribbins with their columns! And even
briefly for the Sunday Sport, where he phoned the late Bobby
Moore for copy during West Ham matches! "The biggest pleasure in writing
the book was speaking to players I had watched at Feethams over the years,"
said Andrew. "Meeting Bryan Robson and speaking to Alex Ferguson is one
thing - but they never played for Darlo! Speaking to the likes of Colin
Sinclair and Alan Walsh was more nerve wracking, as I had idolised them
from the terraces."
On Sightlines Fed up with being labelled as an
"anorak", yet repeatedly led astray by the glimpse of a grandstand
across a crowded city, Simon Inglis searches the world for a deeper meaning behind his
fascination for stadiums. What is it, he asks en route from ancient
Olympia to Sydney 2000, about men and neatly-edged turf? Why are there more
football grounds in Buenos Aires than public libraries? Why do Auckland
residents resent their local stadium while those in Chicago celebrate theirs? And
what can we learn from the Indians, the Irish and a huckster from Houston?
AVAILABLE PRICED £8 FROM YELLOW JERSEY PRESS. "Another classic, a glorious stadium odyssey." Frank Keating, The Guardian
Ray Simpson (pictured
right) is well known to Darlington fans as the "voice" at
matches for BBC Radio Cleveland since the days in the Conference, missing
less than 10 matches since those days. He became a freelance journalist
in 1979 and started working for the station in 1987, starting with covering
a match at Shildon and continuing to be Radio Cleveland's non-league expert.
Ray also worked for the Northern Echo from 1980 and also covers
the club for other sections of the media. He first saw a Darlo game in
1970. Away from football, Ray also works full-time in the finance department
of a Newton Aycliffe company. Married with two grown up children, his
son Andrew is a Darlo fan. Ray was a promising goalkeeper as a schoolboy
and was once watched by Manchester United. That would have been another
story altogether!
Simon Inglis is a 47 year old Birmingham-born writer, now based in
London. He studied the history of architecture before embarking on a career in
journalism. His Football Grounds of Britain (last updated in 1996)
remains the authoritative work on football stadiums in this country.
He also wrote The
Football Grounds of Europe in 1990. Other titles include League
Football and the Men Who Made It (the official cenentary history
of the Football League), Soccer in the Dock, a history of British
football scandals, and Villa Park - 100 Years, the history of
the ground where Simon has been a regular supporter since 1962. In 1997,
after six years as a member of the Football Licensing Authority, he edited
the government's Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (better known as the
Green Guide). He has also written for a number of newspapers including
the Guardian, Observer, Times and Daily Telegraph, and
is a regular contributor to 5-Live. He also occasionally sat
in for David Mellor as presenter of Six-O-Six. Currently he is
a director of Malavan Models, makers of models of old stadiums for exhibitions
and museums, and is a consultant to English Heritage on historic sports-related
architecture. Simon also regularly performs entertaining readings and
lectures on his work for a wide variety of organisations, including English
Heritage, the Arts Council, the British Council and the Twentieth Century
Society.
"A funny, honest and highly readable account of one man's obsession."
The Sunday Times
Launch nights and more photos
Farewell to Feethams attracted more than 6,000 visitors during
its Summer run at Darlington Arts Centre. The exhibition was officially
opened by Darlington FC chairman George Reynolds on July 12, with invited
guests ranging from sponsors to old players. Appropriately, Mr Reynolds
was asked to mark the opening by taking a photograph of the team of photographers
from Darlington Camera Club.
Mr Reynolds praised the exhibition as "superb," promising room at the new stadium to house the collection. The centre-piece of Farewell to Feethams was an exhibition of 40 new black and white photographs, from hundreds taken over the final months of the last full season at the ground.
Two of Darlington's longest serving
players of Feethams past, Ron Greener and John Peverell, were among guests
at the opening. Former stars of the 1985 side Mitch Cook and David McLean
also attended, with other "old boys" of varying ages ranging
from Ken Furphy, Keith Morton from the 1950s to Andy Toman and Gary Gill
(Cook, Toman and Gill are pictured right in the corner of the gallery).
Pete Ashmore, Trust chairman, outlined the hard work that had been put in by many people in organising the exhibition - and challenged others to join the Trust, to strengthen the concept of supporter representation and commitments to areas like fund-raising for good causes involving both club and community.
Steve Duffy, who led
the organising committee, paid special tribute to the photographers, especially
Jim Lycett. He also said the project would not have been possible without
the sponsorship by individual supporters - "the dedicated type of Darlington
supporter, you can rely on."
Towards the end of the exhibition's run, author and stadium consultant Simon Inglis paid a visit to the show, after appearing at a books night connection with the exhibition. And 50 fans turned up for a hastily-arranged book signing session with Ray Simpson and Andrew Wilkinson with their appropriately entitled book of memories, Farewell to Feethans - A Collection of Darlington FC Memories"
Pictured left are some of the old players who made the night, including John Peverell and Ron Greener both right of the picture, Ken Furphy and Keith Morton. Fan and former scout Ernie Cuthbertson (centre) features in the sound memories in the gallery. All pictures by Ted Blair. Click photo for larger image.
Simon
Meynell, Steve Harland and Mark Meynell (top left) as guests
assemble for the Farewell to Feethams launch night in July. Trust
chairman Peter Ashmore talks with club chairman George Reynolds (top
right).
More guests mingle in the gallery (middle left), George Reynolds
opens the exhibition by taking a photograph - of the photographers (middle)
and Camera Club chairman Jim Lycett is presented with a souvenir framed
shirt and a honorary life membership by the Trust for all his dedication
to the project (right)
Former players are among the guests signing in with Trust secretary Hannah Taylor and member Margaret Tinkler (bottom left), who were also responsible for arranging the memorabilia and trophy case in the foyer. Meanwhile, at the media preview, Darlington skipper Craig Liddle (pictured right) is interviewed by a BBC North reporter and crew. Photos by Ted Blair
Stockton opening
LONG-SERVING Darlington legend John Peverell and the former editor of the Mission Impossible fanzine Steve Harland were guests of honour at the official opening of the exhibition at Stockton-on-Tees in March. Trust board member Doug Embleton (pictured left, introducing John and Steve) spoke of the work of the Trust in its first full year, as well as sharing his own memories of Darlington since the late 50's.
You could be at home with a Feethams memory...
Limited edition fine art photographic prints from original negatives are available to buy during the Farewell to Feethams exhibition. The photographers are offering two sizes: Approx 15"x9" photograph mounted on 20"x16" conservation board (same size as the exhibition prints) at £110 each. Or approx 9"x7" photograph mounted on 16"x12" conservation board at £70 each. Contact: Reception at Darlington Arts Centre, ask about buy-art purchase schemes. Or e-mail Darlington Supporters Trust and we will put you in touch with Darlington Camera Club direct.
Exhibition posters available for just £1 from the Trust All proceeds to project funds
e-mail us at darlotrust@hotmail.com Back to Trust homepage
As featured on:
BBC1 Look North, Tyne Tees' North East Tonight, BBC
Radio Cleveland, BBC
Tees Sport Online
© Darlington Supporters' Trust 2002
The Northern Echo, Alpha Radio, www.footie51.co.uk, The North Guide
Supporters' Direct magazine, D@rlo Uncovered website and The Tinshed fanzine