AS the Reynolds chapter in the history of Darlington Football Club is brought to a close (hopefully not the last) a point worth making is that the economics of football remain those of the madhouse.

Mr Reynolds, a successful businessman in the real world of manufacturing, thought he could bring some sanity to the dream world that is British football. The amazing thing is that it took four years for him to realise that no-one, not even a man with a sizeable fortune like him, can do that.

He thought if he built a modern stadium people would flock to it. He thought he could build a successful team without spending money on players. He thought he could run a football club on three hours of entertainment a fortnight.

The fact that he couldn't do those things surprised no-one in football and it wouldn't have mattered if Mr Reynolds' fortune had been a little bit bigger and he was fool enough to spend it.

This week's parting of the ways was inevitable because Mr Reynolds, unlike many other football club chairmen (the late Jack Walker at Blackburn and Sir Jack Haward at Wolves spring to mind) was not a fan of the club. What inspired him to become of the club's saviour initially was a combination of ego and a desire to be recog ised for more than being a former safe-cracker turned chipboard tycoon.

Had he been a true fan he would not have been so cavalier with its future in building the stadium. By remaining at Feethams he could have poured the millions in year after year, keeping the club afloat, though good and not-so-good times, and died a happy man.

Unfortunately, Mr Reynolds was not a Darlington fan (his first love was Sunderland) and at times he seemed not to care a jot whether the team won or lost. The fans cottoned on to that and it helped to cause the split between the club and its chairman.

The Reynolds' legacy is the stadium which should, if the money can be found to remove the giant neon back-lit lettering proclaiming it the Reynolds Arena, be swiftly renamed.

That's not meant to be a slap in the face for the former chairman, more an erasing of that glowing and embarrassing reminder of the man's greatest folly.