Non league club speaks out having conceded 134 goals in 13 matches

Non league club Durham City AFC speaks out having conceded 134 goals in 13 matches in league and cup for the 2022/23 season so far.

Their performances on the pitch has become well known and talked about in the north east over the last few months and it’s easy to see why.

Last Saturday, the club endured a 9-1 loss against Silksworth CW, ending a run of six successive double-digit defeats.

Their social media activity of late hasn’t been great either, with mikeamosblog summing up exchanges of theirs “ranging from the distinctly unpleasant to the potentially hugely libellous. Like those fairground freak shows, some of those accounts are places where decent people might not wish to go.”

In the Wearside League First Division, Durham City sit bottom of the table, lost all 10 games, scored 2 and conceded 98. In the cup, they’ve played 3, lost three, scored 2 and conceded 36.

The latest statement issued by Zenith SEM and “DCAFC management”, dated September 24, insists the club’s future is “solid” and their plans are “on track”.

CLUB STATEMENT

At this point in time, we thought it appropriate that we should write to you our fans, media partners, sponsors, governing bodies and associates to address some issues.

1. APOLOGY

We apologise to all of you who genuinely care for, or have a stake in our proud club. (we’ll talk about the non-genuine ones later). On the park, our season has started disastrously, and we take the blame. We inherited a team of Sunday League mentalities and replacing them with Saturday League mentalities has been a difficult task .. more difficult than we imagined. While we went about improving the club’s fortunes off the park, we have failed you out on the pitch.

This will change. We are slowly finding players with better attitudes. Players who show up regularly, on time, and treat the club and their teammates with respect. From the owner, to the management team, to the football department .. everyone is working hard to fix things as quickly as we can.

2. NEWS and SOCIAL MEDIA

We are now being a little careful about “what we say, when we say, and where we say”.

There are disgruntled ex-members of the club, sacked coaches, sacked secretaries, fake or amateur media, and cowards – all who are trying to bring us down by spreading lies and disinformation on social media. Most of this is on twitter – the toilet of the internet, coming from scurrilous cowardly individuals, who we have blocked or cut off from club news.

Let us make this perfectly clear – If you don’t hear it from us (email, web, socials), always check for the true story.
Not the club, nor its officials, have “burner accounts” on social media.

The club will use twitter, facebook, and Instagram to distribute news. We will also answer genuine questions where we feel the answers are for a broader audience. Anything more detailed and opinionated, we are happy to answer in private messages. We will not engage with those who are disrespectful or deemed as trouble. Those people generally get blocked as we have no time for them.

3. OUR FUTURE

Our future is solid and our plans are on track. While attending to the issues of our on-field performance, our management committee are eagerly working on –
• our return to New Ferens Park
• the establishment of a training hub and social football centre
• working with our new patron, Mr. John Smart
• our greatly improved income streams (sponsorships on the rise)
• growing our commercial relationships with our major sponsors such as TiDi, Difference Group UK, and Starwood Sweethope Log Cabins.
• our club community growth
• acquiring new teams to join our club
• the establishment of an academy aligned with us, and clubs higher up the pyramid
• major football projects

4. COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIPS

We still have a number of match day sponsorships and Corporate Citizen packages available. Phone Club Secretary – Justin Smart on 07446622222.

5. QUESTIONS

As mentioned above, there are people trying to bring us down. However, there has also been a number of genuine complaints and questions we have fielded from those who actually care about Durham City. We encourage anybody who wants to talk to the club, or ask questions of the club, to reach out to us via the club website. We are more than happy to talk to those who are genuine.

DURHAM CITY AFC’S RESULTS SO FAR

JULY
Sat 30 – 14:30 – Home – Shotton Colliery FC – League – 0-7 defeat

AUGUST
Wed 3 – 18:45 -Away – FC Hartlepool – League – 11-0 defeat
Sat 6 – 14:30 – Home – Gateshead Leam Rangers – League – 0-3 defeat
Wed 10 – 19:00 – Away – Richmond Town – League – 12-0 defeat
Sat 13 – 15:00 – Away – Durham Corinthians – Cup – 15-1 defeat
Wed 17 – 19:30 – Home – Darlington Railway Athletic – League – 0-6 defeat
Sat 20 – 14:30 – Home – Norton and Stockton Ancients Youth – League – 1-12 defeat
Sat 27 – 14:30 – Home – Shildon AFC Reserves – League – 0-11 defeat
Wed 31 – 19:30 – Away – Darlington Town – League – 13-0 defeat

SEPTEMBER
Sat 3 – 14:30 – Away – Gateshead Leam Rangers – League – 14-0 defeat
Wed 14 – 19:30 – Away – Darlington Railway Athletic – Cup – 11-0 defeat
Sat 17 – 14:30 – Away – Darlington Railway Athletic – Cup – 10-1 defeat
Sat 24 – 14:30 – Away – Silksworth Colliery Welfare – League – 9-1 defeat

This is what fans said as the non league club speaks out having conceded 134 goals in 13 matches…

@wdt0_0: Now follow what you say here and stay professional and positive in your responses. Sometimes publicly it is better to say nothing than become embroiled in arguments. I represented Durham at different levels for a few seasons and this club needs to move forward

@LewisTaylor02: Seen Sunday teams ran better than this 😂 would just concentrate on the pitch first before being all talk on twitter

@magpieGlenn1968: Please start updating the football side of things

@RobPhilipson00: Absolutely faultless ‘apology’, definitely won’t get any bad responses to this one 😂

@OllyHFR: Hahahaha thats hilarious. Also, locking your account is a great way to encourage new fans IMO

@reevedarlo: You still have to have a dig when putting out an apologys. not doing a great old club any favours

@KProudlock13: If you want to change the club mentality you’ve got to start acting professional in your public communication rather than getting into tit for tat. You’d never see a professional club arguing with supporters or releasing statements calling twitter the dregs. Stay neutral

@RealSoulCracka: Great Statement Durham. Excited for the future 👍

@Stevenrodden: This “statement” is crackers! You’ve not “apologised”, you’ve passive aggressively blamed social media for your lack of professionalism whilst also blaming players who wanted to play for the club. Maybe it’s your mentality that has affected the players mentalities?

@DarkKnightFTM: Good luck. 👍⚽

If you can’t be bothered to read the apology, here it is in video: pic.twitter.com/bUDwq0CJds

— Neil (@neil5005) September 23, 2022

Featured photo for the article by Richard Gandy and Jason Lee