Making the sun shine again for the Quakers?

Mr Houghton, who placed the club into administration, said he was helping one interested bidder in talks with the administrators and was independently negotiating with two other potential investors.

His interests also face competition for the club from former vice-chairman Raj Singh – as well as up to five other interested parties.

Mr Houghton put the club into administration in February after three years at the helm. The ten point penalty automatically issued by the Football League effectively ended the club’s hopes of promotion.

Despite the punishment angering the fans, Mr Houghton has not ruled out a future involvement in the club.

Yesterday, he told The Northern Echo that he was trying to manufacture three bids for the club. He said one possible deal involved Stephen Vaughan, the former chairman and current owner of Chester City.

A Football League spokesman said that under the league rules, owners of other clubs could not be a director or own more than 9.9 per cent of shares. However, it is understood Mr Vaughan is trying to sell Chester City.

Mr Houghton said he had been party to talks with the administrators and Mr Vaughan’s business partners.

He added that he was independently holding talks with Otis Lifts, based in China, and Schulz Academy, a football academy in Fort Lauderdale, US.

Mr Houghton has business interests in both companies and has tried before to secure investment from them into the club. He said the two parties would bring substantial financial and footballing pedigree respectively.

He said: “If I was a betting man, I would say there was an evens chance it was one of these three.”

Mr Houghton said he was also prepared to stay with the club as an executive director or consultant to help new owners take over.

He added that he had placed the club in administration because it needed another £1.5m to keep it going and the only alternative was to place it into receivership and close the club. He still owns the club’s ground, The Northern Echo Darlington Arena, but said he would lease it back to new owners rent-free for six months or sell if for the right price.

But his former vice-chairman Mr Singh, who was the first person to announce publicly he hoped to buy the club, warned he needed to resolve the stadium and land problems.

He said: “Nobody in their right mind will take on the debt and take on the cash flow with forecasted losses without knowing where they will be in a year’s time. The stadium and land would have to be included. Without them they would not work.

“But I have the corporate packages and season ticket packages in place and am ready to hit the ground running.”

Administrator Dave Clark has set a deadline of Monday for bidders to come forward.

There were six parties who had expressed an interest, of which he classed four as definite.

New owners have to satisfy the league’s fit and proper person’s test, which discounts people with unspent convictions for fraud or dishonesty, disqualified directors, those subject to bankruptcy rules and previous owners of clubs which had been in administration twice in a five-year period.

■ An All-Stars fundraising match to help cash-strapped Darlington FC is to take place on its original date.

The match, which will feature a host of footballing talent, will take place at The Northern Echo Darlington Arena on Sunday, May 3 at 2pm. Tickets cost £10 for adults and £5 for children.

GEPRGE HOUGHTON

AT the age of 11, George Houghton started to acquire his business acumen and amass his fortune by taking on three jobs.

He describes himself as a self-made man but one who keeps his business dealings a closely-kept secret.

His millions came as a property developer, but he only entered the football world at the age of 65 when he became Darlington’s accidental chairman, taking over from Stewart Davies in March 2006.

Mr Houghton put forward multi-million plans for a footballing academy, training ground and business developments at the stadium site.

He also made several high-profile appointments to improve the running of the club and sought investment from overseas including from the companies in China and the US in which he has shares.

On the pitch, he appointed Dave Penney as manager and invested heavily in the team to fight for promotion, promising fans the club could compete in the Championship.

However, they lost in the play-offs last season and with promotion again a possibility, he placed the club into administration and a ten-point deficit.

And the club’s other key players . . .

RAJ SINGH

TEESSIDE-BORN businessman Raj Singh, is the owner of the Prestige Group, worth £30m and owns residential care homes and investment properties across the Tees Valley.

He invested £1.2m in Darlington Football Club for a ten per cent share in December.

He helped to bring in new faces including Graham Fordy, Middlesbrough’s commercial manager, to run a similar role in a parttime capacity at Darlington.

Mr Singh helped to put together corporate and season ticket packages for the forthcoming season, before he withdrew his support from the club in February with the club heading for administration.

STEPHEN VAUGHAN

UNTIL now, Mr Vaughan’s high-profile and controversial involvement in football clubs has been limited to the North- West.

Born in Liverpool, he was an amateur boxer who founded Vaughan Promotions in 1990 to promote fights across the country.

His first involvement in football came at non-league Barrow in 1995. He invested heavily in the team, rebuilt the ground and helped land the Northern Premier League title in 1998.

He withdrew financial support for the club by the end of the same year because, he said, Customs and Excise and the National Crime Unit were investigating allegations of money laundering through the club on behalf of Curtis Warren, a convicted drug trafficker.

It led to the club’s liquidation.

Until the FA stepped in to force the Unibond League to accept the club, it nearly led to Barrow’s downfall.

Mr Vaughan bought into Chester City in 2001 but kept shares with Barrow. When the two clubs met in the FA Cup, the FA threatened to cancel the tie and expel both clubs because of competition rules banning ownership of two sides.

The game went ahead after Mr Vaughan transferred his shares in Barrow and bought them back after Chester’s victory before selling them again.

Mr Vaughan helped to invest in Chester’s Deva Stadium and remains their owner although he quit as chairman in December 2007. He tried to buy into Tranmere Rovers in 2003 and was chairman of Widnes Vikings Rugby League Club.

Mr Vaughan also faced six fraud charges involving deception and theft, but the charges were dropped.