The website is giving the opportunity for each member of the DFCSG board to introduce themselves, and tell everyone about their Darlo experience.

To kick the series off, it’s the new Supporters’ Liaison Officer Dave Collinge

Tell the fans more about yourself! I’m very passionate about supporting my local team wherever I am, and following Darlington was a natural extension of this footballing ethos.  Since working in Darlington in 1992, I’ve managed local teams, played pub football and was a member of the executive committee of the Sunday morning football league after moving to the North East in 1988.  However, I was born in Blackburn, so a natural part of my heritage was supporting my home club Blackburn which I still do as a family legacy although it is mainly at a distance now.

I became disillusioned with the financial excesses at my home town club Blackburn.  It radically changed the ID of the club and was unsustainable.  Time has proved me right.  I moved to the North East with work and I wanted to follow grassroots football.  My earliest recollection was David Booth’s side although I can’t remember the exact year.  At the time, I noticed a lot of Darlington  footballing mates were more into premier league TV clubs but I can’t support a team based on impersonal TV exposure.  My dad stood in the general election in Darlington and he mentioned to me several times what a great little club Darlington was.  That was it really.

Can you remember your first game, who was it against? No.  It was definitely at Feethams and Gary Worthington was playing and that is all I basically remember.  I was very much a floating supporter at that time

Who have been your favourite players over the years? I like players who offer something unique.  In this category, Robbie Blake, Clark Keltie, Peter Duffield, Joey Hutchinson, Dan Burn, Nathan Cartman

[caption id="attachment_39036" align="alignnone" width="300"] Robbie Blake[/caption]

What have been your most satisfying moments as a Darlo supporter? In my view the 1996 play-off team was the best Darlington side on an individual by individual basis.  My favourite season was the Northern League championship season in 2013 for many reasons.

What have been your most memorable matches? Most recently, the Northern League game away against Spennymoor and the play off semi-final against them in the Evostik First Division North.  The play- off games against Plymouth (1996) and Peterborough (2000) also stand out.

What are your favourite away grounds? In the non-league scene, I really like what Harrogate have done.  I also like the old-fashioned grounds like Spennymoor and Chorley.  My favourite ever stadium visited was the old Rushden and Diamonds ground.  Give me a small ground with character any day than some of the enormous modern arenas.  The Sports Direct Arena a case in point.

From the Football League days, which trips do you miss the most?  I liked visiting all grounds.  They all have their individual character.  I like grounds that try hard to put on a match-day experience something we radically need to improve on.

Which Darlo occasions are the ones you would prefer to forget? Pretty much any game played at the Arena during the Steve Staunton reign.  Soulless football team playing in a soulless stadium.  I think the season ended with a 2-0 home defeat to Torquay which just about summed things up.  You couldn’t help but feel detached from everything at the Arena.

Do you enjoy games more or less than say ten years ago? Why? More.  The club is in a much better place than it was at the Arena although there are still difficulties to overcome.  I’m a big believer in sustainability and having a club that reflects the local community.  That is only largely possible through keeping budgets in line with revenue.

Why did you decide to join the DFCSG board? It is a great honour to be on the fan board of such a great club and at the same time a daunting challenge.  I know how much this club means to many people.

I’ve volunteered at the club since the move to Bishop Auckland and this was a chance to try and implement some of the lessons I had learnt from these activities and also observations gained from being involved in football since a young age.  I’m very passionate about football administration.  I also want to influence the future strategy of the club and feel I have a lot to offer in this respect.   If there is a job that needs to be done, I’ll be first to offer support as long as it is within my skills set.  I want the club to be a proper organisation and grow in an organic and sustainable way.  No amount of community tags will obviate against the need to run this club in a business- like manner.  Fan ownership for me provides the best platform for doing this.

What are you doing voluntarily for the club at the moment? Ground maintenance and preparation (externals), ticket sales, match-day experience and my new Supporter Liaison role (to be developed). At HP I worked the turnstiles, sold tickets and was a steward.

Where do you see the club being in five/ten years’ time? In 10 years, I would hope that the club would be a regular fixture in the National League on a full or part-time platform.   However, this can’t be achieved until the club has developed a sound infrastructure particularly commercially.  I see the future strategy as typical of most turnarounds, essentially repair, prepare and grow.  Repair the current impact of loose budgeting (immediate priority), prepare the infrastructure for new revenue streams and grow the playing potential of the club.  These phases have to be balanced properly.  We need to think more about a 10-year plan than continual firefighting.

What is an SLO?

A Supporter Liaison Officer is an advocate for the fans, someone who can present the fans’ issues in a professional manner and vice versa.    The key task is to make the fans feel a part of shaping the future of the club and feel included.

Why did you become an SLO?

I’ve been a volunteer involved in various activities (turnstiles, stewarding and ground perimeter preparation).  I’ve also been involved in various Supporters Group committee roles and a member of the Darlington local football committee.  This has given me balanced insights into the issues facing both fans and the club in improving the matchday experience.

Do you work for the club or the fans?

My role is a club position endorsed by the DFCSG if that makes sense.  I have to act independently and really have a foot in both camps.

What areas do you cover?

It is a wide-ranging role.  Issues can include parking, ticketing, ground safety and catering.  I obviously don’t deal with football playing issues.

How do you plan to improve the matchday experience?

First of all I need to continue to engage with the fans and work out the issues that bother them.

How will you engage with the fans?

I am currently working on a communication plan.  I propose to be a listening ear for fans at home and away games.  I also have a twitter account (dfc_slo) and a facebook account (@dfcslo).  Fans can raise concerns through these channels.  I also intend to run 3 to 4 focus groups per year “where fans are” and work with Tony Waters and Rob Duncan in understanding more about our footballing community.   I know, traditionally, we have pockets of support outside the town in places like Aycliffe, Catterick, Northallerton and Barnard Castle.  Other groupings such as DAFTS and the 500 club also exist but I need to know more.  I also want to engage with independent fan forums such as Uncovered and Tin Shed who have often risen to the plate to provide much needed funds for certain things.  The dugouts, camera equipment for Kev Luff a case in point.

Is this a paid job?

No, I am a volunteer,  passionate about football.

What is your day job?

I’m a statistical analyst.  I plan to use these skills to run small snap surveys and a longer summer survey to find out more about supporter experience.  I’m hoping that surveys of this kind attract a wider range of opinion than perhaps currently exists on social media.  I think the club will find it useful to have quantitative evidence in informing their business decisions.

Why hasn’t the club had an SLO before?

The concept is relatively new and emerged out of the 2011 UEFA licensing requirement.  The role is mandatory for league clubs but voluntary for a non-league clubs.  There are only a handful of SLOs at non-league level.   York City and Hartlepool have one.  I have already contacted my counterpart at York to find out how he has developed the role.

What will be the benefits of having an SLO?

I would hope a better matchday experience in different aspects.  The fans know what the issues are and I hope to be able to capture their best ideas.  I hate seeing good ideas lost in social media and not acted upon because of lack of communication or contact.  It creates disappointment and a feeling of exclusion.  I mentioned inclusion before. A key concept.

Are there any constraints to what you do?

In principle no.  In practice yes.  Obviously, any ideas have to be costed in terms of time and money.  That is why I prefer simple ideas that can provide tangible dividends for the club and are relatively straightforward to implement.  I also work within the existing stadium and commercial agreements.

What do you hope to achieve?

I’d rather do one thing well than promise a lot and end up doing thing.  I want to repay people’s faith.  I’m still drafting my action plan and will be publishing this shortly.  My first objective is to get more information from the fans through the methods I referred to earlier.  I want my priorities to be fan-driven.

Do you have a particular segment of the fan base you are interested in?

I’d like to find out more about the demographics of the club.  Specifically, the number of young people who attend games and how we encourage them to attend on a regular basis.  Recent surveys suggest young people are being driven away from sterile premier games by high prices.  This is a gap we can exploit.  Ultimately, young people are the life-blood of the club and we need to make it interesting for them.

Who is your greatest inspiration at the club?

That’s an easy one.  Glen and Mary Bowes.  Their services to Darlington football are immeasurable.  I adore them and they have always been honest with me.

Are you optimistic about the club’s future?

Yes, I have great admiration for the club and Supporters Group Board.  We’re all united in trying to create a sustainable future for the club.  Sometimes, disappointing football results can obfuscate some of the good things happening off the pitch.  I really don’t like hearing people say the club is a shambles from top to bottom as it is simply not true.  The fans also make me optimistic.  We are in a long-term planning phase which can neatly be summed up as “Repair, prepare and grow”.  I think we are in a better place but there is a long way to go and we need to embrace the wider performance metrics.  The club should still have a strong foundation even when footballing results don’t work out.  Darlo Radio, Kev Luff’s video highlights, the club shop and the new online ticketing system are just some examples of how we have improved the supporter experience basically from scratch.  I’d encourage anybody to read Lee Kilcran’s blog about club identity to see why the fan owned club is still my preferred model.