End of the road for Kettering Town?

[RalphC]

Crisis club Kettering Town have been unable to name a squad for Tuesday's league game at Leamington, strengthening fears their 130-year history could come to an end.

 

The Poppies could only field 10 players in Saturday's 7-0 Evostik Southern Premier defeat by Bashley.

 

And they must pay £3,000 as part of a company voluntary agreement to avoid a winding-up petition.

 

On top of that, the club has no electricity at their Nene Park ground.

 

Owner Imraan Ladak had hoped to deregister a number of youth players in order to free up squad spaces for the Leamington game.

 

And Saturday's visit of Bideford is also in doubt, with the club looking to hire a generator to power Nene Park, after electricity was turned off when the club could not afford to pay a deposit to the supplier.

 

Despite all those hardships, Ladak is confident the club has a future, with three prospective buyers interested in launching a takeover bid.

 

"We're in talks with different people to take the club over," Ladak told BBC Radio Northampton.

 

"Non-disclosure agreements have been signed with two of those. Hopefully, one of the buyers can reach a conclusion sooner rather than later.

 

"The way things are progressing with at least one of the parties, it does look good."

 

One of the offers includes the possibility of buying Nene Park, the former home of now defunct Rushden & Diamonds.

 

Ladak, who is attempting to recoup £422,000 in a dispute with sponsors, has also assured supporters that the £3,000 required to meet the conditions of a company voluntary agreement and thus avoid a winding-up petition will be paid.

 

The Poppies are currently bottom of the league following a 10-point deduction.

 

They were founded in 1872 and at one time were one of the leading clubs in non-league football.

 

The club's former managers include Tommy Lawton, Ron Atkinson, Derek Dougan, Peter Morris, Alan Buckley and Paul Gascoigne.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19883178

[The Mayor Of Simpleton]

Hopefully they'll live to fight another day.

 

Would be a major shame if they went the same way as the club in who's ground they now reside.

[The Mayor Of Simpleton]

Heard that they may be making an announcement tomorrow re: their saturday home game v Bideford

[missunderstood]

If every club has it written into constitution that they never spend money they don't have this kind of thing would never happen. No crocodile tears from me on this one.

[The Mayor Of Simpleton]

Like with Truro City, a club run into the ground by circumstances and an incompetent chairman.

 

Circumstances with Truro were that they wanted a new 'Stadium For Cornwall' which the council would not approve (and I gather Cornish Pirates RFC were not keen to move from Launceston to Truro). When that becoming reality didn't happen, Kevin Heaney tried to take over Plymouth Argyle (and failed).

 

Heaney couldn't get his way, so now Truro City find themselves on life-support with the plug about to be pulled.

 

Kettering Town only had a covenant on the land at Rockingham Road until this year, and so the goings on there aren't totally Imraan Ladak's fault (although he is culpable in them suffering). The move to Nene Park was never going to work, and fans have had to suffer unduly.

 

Their game at Leamington was called off, and Saturday's game is in the balance - although I hear they have had an offer of players for the game.

[missunderstood]

Like with Truro City, a club run into the ground by circumstances and an incompetent chairman.

 

Circumstances with Truro were that they wanted a new 'Stadium For Cornwall' which the council would not approve (and I gather Cornish Pirates RFC were not keen to move from Launceston to Truro). When that becoming reality didn't happen, Kevin Heaney tried to take over Plymouth Argyle (and failed).

 

Heaney couldn't get his way, so now Truro City find themselves on life-support with the plug about to be pulled.

 

Kettering Town only had a covenant on the land at Rockingham Road until this year, and so the goings on there aren't totally Imraan Ladak's fault (although he is culpable in them suffering). The move to Nene Park was never going to work, and fans have had to suffer unduly.

 

Their game at Leamington was called off, and Saturday's game is in the balance - although I hear they have had an offer of players for the game.

 

The incompetent chairman are the ones who hand their clubs over lock stock and barrel to money-men, with no guarantees that any debts incurred by overspending will be solely the dept of the money-man, and is never the responsibility of the club.

 

Dont feel sorry for the fans who will have suffer, as you put it, because most of them had probably never even heard of Truro until Heaney took them over, and led them to five promotions.If Truro/Kettering do fall by the wayside then the supporters just have to find another ground to watch a game, most supporters are fickle so its not really a big deal.

 

In my experience fans love to give it the big I am when someones throwing cash at them, and then when it all goes tits up they all expect everyone to feel sorry for them. Its all rather pathetic really.

[The Mayor Of Simpleton]

The league are meeting now to discuss what to do with Kettering.

 

It does look ominous for them - I would say they've played their last game. Meaning a reprieve for a side in the Southern Premier League come the end of the season.

 

With no teams at Nene Park, what is the future for that venue? I did hear that Northampton RFC might use the ground for their Reserve Team games, but that is only gossip from those supposedly in the know.

 

Will Kettering Town reform in the UCL next season? There was talk of an AFC Kettering forming and playing at the town's athletics stadium...