Poppies Year One

That's that then.  George has chosen the CVA path which most knowledgeable pundits had predicted from the moment he arrived.  That said, with our debts at over a million quid, his options were extremely limited.  Although there are still a small rump of our support who cannot understand why any club owner doesn't simply write out a cheque to underwrite the Poppies, the rest of us are well and truly awake and smelling the coffee.

Although several businessess and individuals stand to lose out by the Poppies applying for a CVA it must be said that they'd lose even more were the club to cease trading.  And given that a number of the people owed money were some of the unfit, no-effort "players" who barely went through the motions, I won't be shedding too many tears.  They rightfully would want the money Imraan promised them.  I'd rather they'd played as well as their fees suggested they could, and we'd still be in the Conference National.  I guess we don't always get what we want in life.

Amazingly, Imraan himself is one of the people we owe money too. This would be laughable were the situation not so tragic.  As the crap we are wading through these days is down to Imraan's mismanagement of funds, sponsorship, player contracts and the rush to Non Park it is difficult to see how he has the gall to put his hand out.  I can't recall many times when we supporters get the opportunity to say, "Nah, it's been a bad season, I think I'll have all the money back I spent on tickets, food and programmes.  Hell, I'll even have my Klondike money back too while I'm at it...."

So, what now?  Assuming all goes as GR predicts we will start next season 10 points adrift at the bottom of the Southern League.  And bear in mind this is not the same Southern League we won 10 years ago.  No, these days it is, with all due respect, a piddling little affair. The sort of division where teams like Cambridge City, Totton and Redditch are considered "players".

We've got St Albans's lethal trees to look forward to, as well as Hitchin's bouncy wooden terracing.  We may finally get to see what Bashley actually looks like, and listen to 90 minutes of booing when we visit Weymouth.  Happy days.

We will start next season as Northamptonshire's FOURTH club, trailing behind the shining trio of Northampton, Corby and even Brackley.  However, I'm sure our Caledonian friends from Steal Park won't feel the need to crow about this reversal in fortunes too much......We've pretty much just got Daventry below us now, so we will have to learn to deride them just as soon as we know anything about them!

In the final analysis though, would we rather be plunged into the Southern League, or follow the Direones down the direct path to extinction?  We've still (just about ) got our club.  Whether we continue to support the Club is obviously more of an issue.  It has felt less "ours" the moment we left Rockingham Road, although curiously, as supporters, we have had more direct influence in the past 6 months, and hopefully moving forward, more than we ever had before. 

Some of us don't go to games anymore.  Some will be lured in by the glamour of KFC and park football.  Others will pick and choose games.  Will we manage the 700 figure George has mooted?  This is Kettering Town FC.  If we don't rate gates double that of Corby, you've got to ask, "what's the point?"