2009–10 Darlington F.C. season
| 2009–10 season | |
| Chairman | Raj Singh |
|---|---|
| Manager |
Colin Todd (until 26 September 2009) Steve Staunton (until 21 March 2010) Craig Liddle and Neil Maddison (caretakers, until 1 April) Simon Davey |
| League Two | 24th |
| FA Cup | First round (eliminated by Barnet) |
| League Cup | First round (eliminated by Leeds United) |
| FL Trophy | Second round (eliminated by Leeds United) |
| Top goalscorer |
League: Tadhg Purcell (9) All: Tadhg Purcell (9) |
| Highest home attendance | 2,744 (vs Bradford City, 5 December 2009) |
| Lowest home attendance | 1,296 (vs Aldershot Town, 23 March 2010) |
| Average home league attendance | 1,943 |
The 2009–10 season is Darlington Football Club's 81st season in the Football League and their 18th consecutive season in the fourth tier of English football, currently called Football League Two. It covers the period from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010.
In February 2009, Darlington went into administration, which meant the Football League deducted 10 points from their total. The club finished the 2008–09 season in 12th place in League Two, only seven points below the promotion playoff places.
On 3 May, a charity game was played featuring international footballer Paul Gascoigne, as well as former players Bernie Slaven and Marco Gabbiadini. This match attracted a crowd of over 3,000 and helped keep the club going. On 7 May, it was announced that no buyer had been found for the football club. On 8 May, it was revealed Darlington's administrators Brackenbury Clark and Company had released the "majority of the first-team squad" from their contracts to cut costs, with immediate effect, as well as the club's coaching staff and administrative staff including caretaker manager Martin Gray, leaving Craig Liddle and Neil Maddison as joint temporary caretaker managers.
On 20 May, former chairman George Houghton returned to the club as owner and chairman and appointed former Middlesbrough boss Colin Todd as manager. However, he kept the club for sale and on 7 August, the club officially came out of administration and were given permission by the Football League to do so with Raj Singh officially taking over as new chairman of the club. New contracts for players such as Lee Thorpe and Jeff Smith and assistant player manager Dean Windass were sanctioned. However, on 26 September, Todd left the club after failing to find a win during the first two months of the season.
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