DAFTS Manx 1

Isle be damned - pre-season 2000
Darlington 2000/2001: Craig Liddle, Martin Gray, Adam Reed - and some mates they don't see around any more.Pics: Ted Blair The Isle of Man is famous for drinking, cats with no tails, drinking, TT races, drinking, Norman Wisdom, drinking, Rick Wakeman, drinking, Nigel Mansell, drinking, other tax exiles, drinking, some connection with George Formby, drinking, that Chef from Ready, Steady Cook (not Ainsley Harriott, the scrawny looking one), drinking, and Darlo not winning a match... Close to Wisdom - Ted (left) pictured next to one of the Island's most famous inhabitants, while (change photo) Liz gets to grips with one of the Comedy Greats. For the record: Darlington 0-3 Stoke City Bury 3-1 Darlington Burnley 3-2 Darlington Back to home page To Isle of Man pre-season guide 2002 page IRELAND TOUR 2001	The Isle of Man pre-season trip was an eye-opener. It allowed us to forget Wembley and contemplate a club heading for disarray on the pitch in the coming season. We saw the good and the bad of the new signings - and the last of an obviously frustrated manager David Hodgson. Neil Heaney and Marco Gabbiadini had left - and so had self-belief. DAFTS at least showed it was in the top division when it came to the social side. Man has, let us put it kindly, a drinking culture which is based on quantity as opposed to quality. Our hotel barman, we discovered, not only enjoyed a very late night tipple, nursed worse hangovers than any of us but recommended to us a quay-side drinking den where he could be found at 10.15 most mornings. Ted Blair organised a splendid brewery trip, on an island where you felt producing good ales was akin to banging your head against a wall. Try as we might, we found only two decent pubs after that around the island, at Peel (pictured left) and Laxey. Others in Douglas offered very bog-standard fair, apart from one which went close to being a proper boozer, where the landlady was ex-Page 3 pin-up Debbie Ashby. So we were told. Honest, the beer was OK there. The scenery was a little similar to Ireland, with tram (left) and steam train trips out of Douglas on non-match days. In fact, it was quite tempting on match days too, as the defeats mounted up. The upshot was - a nice little holiday and a lousy foretaste of the season to come. Oh, and Darlo didn't get asked back in 2001.

Isle be damned - pre-season 2000

Darlington 2000/2001: Craig Liddle, Martin Gray, Adam Reed
- and some mates they don't see around any more.Pics: Ted Blair

The Isle of Man is famous for drinking, cats with no tails, drinking, TT races, drinking, Norman Wisdom, drinking, Rick Wakeman, drinking, Nigel Mansell, drinking, other tax exiles, drinking, some connection with George Formby, drinking, that Chef from Ready, Steady Cook (not Ainsley Harriott, the scrawny looking one), drinking, and Darlo not winning a match...

Close to Wisdom - Ted (left) pictured next to one of the Island's most famous inhabitants, while (change photo) Liz gets to grips with one of the Comedy Greats.

For the record:
Darlington 0-3 Stoke City
Bury 3-1 Darlington
Burnley 3-2 Darlington

Back to home page

To Isle of Man pre-season guide 2002 page

IRELAND TOUR 2001

The Isle of Man pre-season trip was an eye-opener. It allowed us to forget Wembley and contemplate a club heading for disarray on the pitch in the coming season.

We saw the good and the bad of the new signings - and the last of an obviously frustrated manager David Hodgson. Neil Heaney and Marco Gabbiadini had left - and so had self-belief.

DAFTS at least showed it was in the top division when it came to the social side. Man has, let us put it kindly, a drinking culture which is based on quantity as opposed to quality. Our hotel barman, we discovered, not only enjoyed a very late night tipple, nursed worse hangovers than any of us but recommended to us a quay-side drinking den where he could be found at 10.15 most mornings.

Ted Blair organised a splendid brewery trip, on an island where you felt producing good ales was akin to banging your head against a wall.

Try as we might, we found only two decent pubs after that around the island, at Peel (pictured left) and Laxey. Others in Douglas offered very bog-standard fair, apart from one which went close to being a proper boozer, where the landlady was ex-Page 3 pin-up Debbie Ashby. So we were told. Honest, the beer was OK there.

The scenery was a little similar to Ireland, with tram (left) and steam train trips out of Douglas on non-match days. In fact, it was quite tempting on match days too, as the defeats mounted up. The upshot was - a nice little holiday and a lousy foretaste of the season to come. Oh, and Darlo didn't get asked back in 2001.