What If The Worse Happens? Part 2

The Chairman

Despite the concerted efforts of a handful of f*ckwits to drive Ritchie out of the Club, and despite Ritchie seemingly being open to offers for the club we look like we're going to be tethered together a while longer.  I struggle to understand why a small but hardy number of our "supporters" lambast possibly our most effective ever Owner / Chairman.  Usually just before they ask him to build a brand new ground for us in a field in Kettering that is only reachable via helicopter.

If we go down will it hasten Ritchie's exit?  Would we be as attractive a proposition to a potential new owner when we're back in the Southern League?  Some people can't get their head around the fact there isn't a queue as long as your arm of wealthy benefactors desperate to pump money into the Poppies.  Barely 10 years after our previous owner overspent wildly and we dodged liquidation by a hairs-breadth, and ended up in a division where three figure crowds were newsworthy, too many of us are looking for a similar "saviour".  I imagine if Imraan was to show up tomorrow with his wallet open an awful lot of us would welcome him back with open arms.

Off Field

I'd like to think the running of the club would continue to function.  The people who quietly work behind the scenes at Latimer Park would, hopefully, continue to do so in a lower league.  Beer will still be drunk.  Food still eaten.  Klondikes still bought with no expectation of winning.

Frenchies Field

We need to forget about this patch of pointless scrubland until it has viable access.  Until then it's just a distraction and a convenient excuse for lapsed fans to not bother getting over to Latimer Park.

The Supporters

Perversely, we may get more of us at games.  As much as we all love the Poppies we all seem to love them a hell of a lot more when they are winning.

The Players

I always find it weird when a team gets relegated and most of the players get moves to other teams in the division their former team has just been dumped out of.  If you were all that good, how the hell did you get relegated?  I'm sure if the worse happens tomorrow most of our team will be on their way.  Part of me would be disappointed.  They all seem like honest triers and we could certainly build a reasonable team around the likes of Myles, Gascoigne, White, Stohrer, Sharpe and a few others.  More likely they'll all want away, and by the time next season's fixtures come out I probably won't miss any of them.

The Manager

After a shaky start both on and off the pitch (some of Lee's early interviews were painfully terse) I think Glover has done an OK job.  After a bad start he got us into a position where a couple of wins in our last dozen games would have seen us safe.  The fact we didn't get these wins highlights the downside of Lee's management style.  When we needed to be ballsy and go for it we showed nothing.  We relied on a good defence and a hopeful Burton bobble in the opposition's penalty area.  And that was about it.  I don't think Ritchie will have to sack Lee if things go badly tomorrow.  I think he will have the good grace to know he has failed and walk.

Ritchie = Please stop feeding the trolls.  Unless you can
guarantee them wins and titles you'll never win them over.  

And probably not even then....