davieG Posted 10 October 2012 Posted 10 October 2012 BBC - Yesterday Crisis club Kettering Town have been unable to name a squad for Tuesday's league game at Leamington, strengthening fears their 140-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 toldBBC 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. No money. No players. No points. No electricity. Any day now could be the last in Kettering Town's 140-year history. The Poppies, one of non-league's most successful clubs, have dwindled from Blue Square Bet Premier mainstays to Evostik Southern Premier basement boys. The crippling financial failures that put the club where they are now continue to gather speed, the power at Nene Park has been shut off, they are rock bottom of the league on -5 points after a 10-point deduction and, on Tuesday, their game at Leamington was postponed due to a lack of players. That is the scenario caretaker-manager Alan Doyle has inherited. The responsibility of keeping the club alive, making sure 14 decades of proud history are not consigned to football almanacs, falls heavily on his shoulders. "It's OK, apart from getting another divorce - my missus is going potty about the whole thing," he joked to BBC Sport. "I was on the phone from eight until 11 Monday night and I've been on the phone since eight Tuesday morning. It's been crazy. "I can't do much unless we get a buyer for the club. Things change in football so quick. I took this poisoned chalice nine days ago and I never thought I'd be doing interviews for TV and radio." On Saturday Kettering, with just 10 men available, were thumped 7-0 by Bashley. The squad was reduced to six by midweek, with two out injured and another pair unable to get time off work. But the response of the Poppies fans after that weekend thrashing persuaded Doyle, a former Cambridge City striker, to keep on fighting a losing battle. "After the game people were shaking my hand saying 'thank you for trying to keep it going'," he said. "You don't want to sit on the bench every week knowing you're going to get beaten. But I also thought the longer it can be kept going the more chance it's got of being saved. If I pack up it's finished. "I might be doing the wrong thing. People might say 'I've had enough of it, why don't you just finish it?'. At the moment I'm not getting that feedback." If Kettering, who count Ron Atkinson and Paul Gascoigne as former managers, could exist until the end of the season and finish bottom of the table, they would fall just one division. If they folded and re-appeared in the form of a phoenix club, the drop could be three or four leagues. But they need players to play games and, after releasing squad members who are owed wages, they are short of numbers. The club cannot just get anyone with a pair of boots to play because they are under a transfer embargo from the Southern Football League, who argue the club had plenty of registered players when the embargo was placed. "I can understand why the officials have done this because they want to get the club into order," added Doyle, the former scout turned caretaker-manager. "But it doesn't make sense that we can't get more players on the books. I think common sense has to come in now." There is nothing in it for Doyle, who is one among an army of volunteers at Nene Park. There is, of course, the possibility of attaining cult status in a pocket of Northamptonshire and a permanent job should the club survive. "That's the dream. But unfortunately life's not like that. It would be nice if it was," he said. "I can't afford to do it really. That's the big problem. I'm owed about a third of the money from July. The whole of August. "I didn't do much in September because I wasn't getting paid. And I got money that just about covered my petrol when I went to Kettering three times last week. "That's another thing my missus isn't too happy about."
Fox92 Posted 10 October 2012 Posted 10 October 2012 Sad to see any club go in this direction, hope they survive.
Simmo86 Posted 10 October 2012 Posted 10 October 2012 Had many a cracking awaydays following the Poppies!
Guest MattP Posted 10 October 2012 Posted 10 October 2012 Great shame, always came across as a decent footbal club that cared about its supporters.
Craig Posted 10 October 2012 Posted 10 October 2012 Great shame, always came across as a decent footbal club that cared about its supporters. Until Ladak, that is. That man has ruined a great club, yet still fails to accept any guilt. Tosser.
Leicesterpool Posted 10 October 2012 Posted 10 October 2012 It will be sad to see Kettering, a good club. However I'm sure they will back soon, hope they reform in the summer as maybe AFC Kettering Town or whatever, look at Nuneaton Boro and Chester both went bust and came back stronger and better. However if they do reform they must leave Nene Park, move in Rothwell Town if must!
Simmo86 Posted 10 October 2012 Posted 10 October 2012 It will be sad to see Kettering, a good club. However I'm sure they will back soon, hope they reform in the summer as maybe AFC Kettering Town or whatever, look at Nuneaton Boro and Chester both went bust and came back stronger and better. However if they do reform they must leave Nene Park, move in Rothwell Town if must! Rothwell have gone bust and their ground is in not fit state to hold any football matches
Guest Bilo Posted 10 October 2012 Posted 10 October 2012 Corby could be a decent option for a phoenix club. Close to Kettering, new ground and appropriate capacity.
Daggers Posted 10 October 2012 Posted 10 October 2012 Kettering FC has already started up, they had to get into gear seeing as no one believed KTFC would start the season. Now a load of idiots are more abusive about KFC than they are about AFCR&D. The supporters (aside from those setting up KFC) couldn't have been more limp in fighting Ladak. I don't think they deserve a club.
Tielemans63 Posted 10 October 2012 Posted 10 October 2012 Kettering are my local club and very much my second team - been to see them many times over the last few years when City have been away so I'm absolutely gutted about this. To be honest the soul of the club died when they moved from Rocky Road to Nene Park.
Voll Blau Posted 10 October 2012 Posted 10 October 2012 Corby could be a decent option for a phoenix club. Close to Kettering, new ground and appropriate capacity. A merger was proposed some time back I think. Suffice to say it went down like a lead balloon, not a lot of love between the two towns.
OzFox Posted 11 October 2012 Posted 11 October 2012 Sad to hear that. Watched them play a couple of cracking games against my local lot, Wealdstone, back in the days of the Southern League
foxesfan1989 Posted 11 October 2012 Posted 11 October 2012 Never get why some millionaire football fan doesn't step in. Might seem reductive, but if I were a very rich man, I would!
davieG Posted 11 October 2012 Author Posted 11 October 2012 Never get why some millionaire football fan doesn't step in. Might seem reductive, but if I were a very rich man, I would! Or heaven forbid an overpaid professional footballer or two! Why don't the PFA have a levy on all Professional footballers purely to help stricken clubs where their co-members are about to lose their livelihood and another potential employer is going out of business.
MattyFromLE Posted 11 October 2012 Posted 11 October 2012 Or heaven forbid an overpaid professional footballer or two! Why don't the PFA have a levy on all Professional footballers purely to help stricken clubs where their co-members are about to lose their livelihood and another potential employer is going out of business. This! I can't imagine that the £100,000+ can't stretch to help a club out. Over the year that's an obscene amount of money.
davieG Posted 11 October 2012 Author Posted 11 October 2012 This! I can't imagine that the £100,000+ can't stretch to help a club out. Over the year that's an obscene amount of money. Well I believe Gordon Taylor pays himself over £1mill/year so he and the players probably can't afford it.
hairy Posted 11 October 2012 Posted 11 October 2012 Or heaven forbid an overpaid professional footballer or two! Why don't the PFA have a levy on all Professional footballers purely to help stricken clubs where their co-members are about to lose their livelihood and another potential employer is going out of business. But that would only help the owners to add value to their 'asset', the same people who are responsible for their demise. I used to follow Kettering on and off. Remember going to London to see them play Cwhen they had a good cup run many years ago. I felt like the whole town had turned up. Great day eventhough they lost.
davieG Posted 11 October 2012 Author Posted 11 October 2012 But that would only help the owners to add value to their 'asset', the same people who are responsible for their demise. I used to follow Kettering on and off. Remember going to London to see them play Cwhen they had a good cup run many years ago. I felt like the whole town had turned up. Great day eventhough they lost. Well it would depend under what conditions the money was made available. for instance it could be in the form of an interest free loan to a Fans Trust to enable them to takeover buy out unscrupulous or failing owners, to do nothing is surely worse.
AyewJoking Posted 11 October 2012 Posted 11 October 2012 When clubs at Ketterings level cant get enough players why cant they just ask people to volunteer. They may lose matches but they'd still be able to compete? I know financial problems are the main threat but am I missing something obvious?
davieG Posted 11 October 2012 Author Posted 11 October 2012 When clubs at Ketterings level cant get enough players why cant they just ask people to volunteer. They may lose matches but they'd still be able to compete? I know financial problems are the main threat but am I missing something obvious? I believe they have a transfer embargo on them and that appears to stop them signing anyone even for free or if they'll play for nothing.
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