Darlington have appointed Craig Elliott as manager on a contract running until the end of the 2028–29 season. The club announced the appointment on 6 November, with Elliott moving from Bradford Park Avenue. His first game is at home against Oxford City on Tuesday. Elliott said in the club announcement: “I can assure everyone that I will work very hard and honestly to help the club climb the table.” The club says he has managed more than 900 games, while the Non-League Paper reports that Terry Mitchell stays on. Darlington had no fixture on Saturday, so the new manager begins with the team still twenty-second.
Darlington stand 22th on 11 points from 15 league matches. Their record is 3 wins, 2 draws and 10 defeats, with 19 goals scored and 28 conceded. The goal difference is minus 9. This is the BBC table updated at 09:09 GMT on Sunday 8 November, including Saturday’s league programme. Cup goals and results are not included in those figures.
The BBC’s last-six league sequence records 1 wins, 2 draws and 3 defeats. That is a league-only measure, not a combined run across all competitions. The next Trophy result will therefore remain separate from those league figures, whatever happens in the second-round tie.
Scarborough, Marine and Radcliffe each have 16 points, with goal differences of minus one, minus two and minus eight respectively. Radcliffe occupy the first relegation place, ahead of Darlington on eleven and Southport and Spennymoor on ten. The latter two are six points from safety, while Darlington are five away. Harborough have 17 points, with Merthyr and Brackley on 19.
No National League North club is playing on Sunday. The next league fixtures are on Tuesday 10 November: Darlington host Oxford City, Morecambe host Hereford and Scarborough host Marine. All three are scheduled for 7.45pm, before the FA Trophy programme the following Saturday.
The next FA Trophy assignment is at home against Bury on Saturday 14 November, with kick-off scheduled for 3pm. It is a second-round tie, separate from the league programme.
On 10 November, the league schedule lists a home game against Oxford City, who currently have 27 points from 14 matches. Kick-off is scheduled for 7.45pm. On 21 November, the league schedule lists a visit to Hereford, who currently have 29 points from 15 matches. Kick-off is scheduled for 3pm.
The FA Cup is now a separate closed chapter for the division this season. Oxford City, Macclesfield, Harborough and Marine were its four first-round representatives, and all four have been eliminated. Their cup results do not alter National League North points or league goal differences.
The appointment changes the managerial position reported earlier in the month. Elliott begins against a team in third place, before a Trophy tie with Bury and a league visit to second-placed Hereford. The five-point gap to safety remains the starting point, not something the appointment itself has reduced.
Blackwell Meadows is a compact, friendly groundshare with Darlington Rugby Football Club on Grange Road (DL1 5NR), about a mile and a half south of the town centre and Bank Top station. The Quakers have played here since Boxing Day 2016. Capacity is around 3,300, with a covered Tin Shed terrace behind the town-end goal, a 588-seat stand along the south side, open standing at the west end, and flat standing behind the pitchside rails.
Most league matches are not segregated. You enter through the home turnstiles to the left of the clubhouse, nearest the Tin Shed. You can walk the ground, stand on the rails, or take a seat if one is free. The Tin Shed itself is reserved for home supporters, so do not settle there even on mixed days. When a fixture is segregated, away fans use the turnstiles to the right of the clubhouse and are housed on the open west terrace, with up to about 90 seats usually made available in the main stand.
The Tin Shed is the character piece: a covered, stepped terrace of about 900, rebuilt with steel from the old Feethams stand of the same name. Home noise comes from there. The seated stand is covered, slightly off-centre, and includes season-ticket blocks plus space for families, disabled supporters and away sitters. Views are close; there is no running track. The west end is uncovered, so pack a coat if you are allocated that end on a wet National League North afternoon.
On-site parking is £5 a car, cash or contactless, or buy online in advance. It fills and empties slowly because cars and pedestrians share the same access off Grange Road, so allow extra time after the whistle. Blue Badge bays should be booked through the club ticket portal. Only vehicles heading for the official parks are let down the access road; drop-offs and taxis use Grange Road itself. Town-centre car parks are a 20–25 minute walk. Please do not park on verges or block residents.
Buses X26, X27 and 12 serve the Blackwell Grange Hotel stop, a short walk from the turnstiles. From Bank Top a taxi is typically only a few pounds. The clubhouse opens before kick-off with drinks, food and TVs; there are further kiosks by the Tin Shed and near the clubhouse (including pizza on some days). Programmes are sold just inside the turnstiles. Toilets are in the clubhouse and around the concourse. Wheelchair bays sit at the front of the seated stand; away wheelchair users use the away gates on segregated days.
Typical recent prices have been in the region of £16 standing / £18 seated for adults, with concessions and under-18s cheaper and under-12s free with a paying adult — always check darlingtonfc.co.uk before you travel, as figures change by season. Buy online if you can. Stewards are used to mixed crowds and the ground has a good reputation among travelling supporters. Arrive early if you want a rail spot or an unreserved seat, respect the Tin Shed as home territory, and you will have a straightforward, close-to-the-pitch afternoon in County Durham.