Positive?

If nothing else came out of the Trust get together at the Police Club last week we were all given an obvious choice.  Support our club while we have one, or let it fade away.  With Imraan seemingly concentrating solely on keeping Cousins happy, and his own thumbs unbroken, we have a curious situation where the club is being run almost entirely separate from the Club Chairman.

Richie made it clear that the club currently playing out of Steal Park has nothing to do with Imraan, and all the money generated on matchdays from entrance fees, programmes, Klondikes, and even a percentage of the kiosk sales goes towards keeping our club playing.  This is augmented by the sponsorship from Richie's own company.  Along with Ken, The Trust, and various others, Richie is keeping our club's faint pulse still beating.  It is ironic that it has taken for us to teeter on the brink of existence to have finally the unearthed the "Chairman" we've always sought.

As we have finally registered a positive points total on the Southern League table we are all again faced with the decision that has fragmented further our historically splintered support - do we go and watch our football team?

We now seem to have more more factions than fans!  There's the ones who called it a day when we were dragged to Non Park.  The ones we lost when it became clear that not only had we been ripped from Kettering, but we were going to have a season long struggle.  The ones who won't watch their own team play at such a low level.  The ones that refuse to acknowledge the club's existence whilst Imraan's still involved.  The handful that have thrown the Poppies over for the Red Tights.  There's the Poppynetters who spend most of the time looking to get banned, or complaining about cliches (the members of which change almost hourly, depending on who has taken the hump first in any discussion!)  And then there's the angry Poppytalkers who have nothing but negativity and accusations for everyone.  And, of course, the majority of lost fans who have silently slipped away and have probably found other non-Poppy activities to do on their weekends.

One thing is clear.  If the Poppies come to an end there is no chance of a Phoenix club rising from such scattered ashes.  Between us we have the organisational ability of porridge.  We have the get up and go of cold tea.  Say what you like about the Scum and their soulless supporters.  But they stuck together to create a club from the Direones' death.  What have we done in a similar position?  Whilst a handful try to save the club, the majority can only bicker and argue.

Whilst we continue to play, and specifically play away from Non Park, surely we should make one last effort to show that being a Poppies fan is more than just being a self-centred, misery guts, happy to rattle the crushingly heavy chains of our 140 years of history, but flippantly prepared to forgo any chance of a future?

Is it time to try being positive for a change?  While we have the chance.