Today's action from Non Park

One down.....


 

....although some of the neighbours seem
happy with developments! 

Today's update from the Land that Time Forgot

You keep snapping them.
I'll keep including them!

Whilst reminiscing about our former beloved home of Non Park, the question that has occurred to me from time is how and when did the ground become de-Poppied?  Let me explain further.  During our all-too-long purgatory on the banks of the Nene, the letters KT replaced RD on many surfaces, walls and even seats.  As if constantly reading our club's name would in some way convince us we were still in Kettering!

Shortly after we'd escaped from the Planet of the Apes I saw a photograph of the away end and someone had taken the time and effort to remove the "K" and "T" seats from that stand.  Did we do this?  Keith Cousens?  The ghost of R&D FC?  And why do it?  Who was it going to bother as the place rotted away?  Did someone think it would put off the next owners?

I have to assume one of the KTFC logos on the side stands is the one now at Latimer Park, but did we remove other Poppies related signage into storage, or did someone else take it upon themselves to whitewash this shameful spell from our history?  I'm not particularly bothered.  Just curious.

Tune in again tomorrow for more views of Max's folly being raised to the ground!

Meanwhile, on the banks of the Nene....

Sometimes dreams DO come true

Right or Wrong? Right - obviously!

I scared the Missus today by announcing I'd perpetrated an act that could easily be considered to one of vandalism at Kettering library.  However, her dismay turned to delight when I showed her what I'd actually done.

Nestled among flyers for local events and services were a bunch of flyers from AFC Scum!  At Kettering library!  For real!  I went from shock to disbelief to anger in rapid steps.  What the hell were these doing here - in Kettering?  In a library?  Children could have seen them!  The f**king nerve of those inbred bastards!

I scooped them all up for "recycling."  Unfortunately being glossy, I couldn't use the disposal usage that first sprang to mind.  Never mind.  The official fortnightly Council collection would have to suffice.  Maybe they would be pulped and re-used for something more useful.  Such as an airline sickbag.

Amusingly, for a club that is happy to be the bastard
offspring of R&D FC - the club that did more to wreck the genuine
non-league game than anyother club, the flyer warns that kids
shouldn't be brought up believing football is a TV programme.

No it's not.  It's also not a rich man's hobby.  Not that this
bothered them when Uncle Max's millions poured in.

Having now calmed down a bit I find I'm less annoyed with the activities of "Scum-lite" than I am with the Poppies.  Why aren't OUR flyers and fixtures being displayed at Kettering library?  And Burton library?  And Desborough library.  And Rothwell library.  And, just as soon as anyone there can read, Rushden library?

Be Careful What You Wish For......

"Thanks" go to Richard Atkinson for reading the previous blog and linking us to footage from Wembley '79.

Great day, but -

It still hurts.....


Still, there's always these -

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Instant Replay

On Saturday, Hall scored our only goal with a gentle half volley that willo-the-wisped into the goal after tenderly kissing the underside of the crossbar.

Nothing unusual about that.  Ten minutes after getting home I watched the goal again as a Poppies fan had chosen to record that attack on his mobile phone, and then load the footage onto the internet.

The clip may still be here -

What a Cracker!

Leaving aside the expert camera-phone work - no wobble, and he sticks with the ball all the way to and from Hall's foot and into the net, Also glossing over the ridiculously good quality of the footage - since when did camera phones become so good (alternatively -  how ridiculously old and technology unsavvy am I?)  And, not ignoring for a moment Clive Shackleton's astute commentary, I can't believe I'm the only person who is amazed by the advances in technology that allows this to happen?

Week in, week out, whether it's Poppies TV, or a beery Terrace God with a mobile; for the price of an internet connection, we are treated to seeing Poppies goals on demand.  Whether it's Liam shooting from the edge of Finedon, or Rene scoring with a part of his body (as opposed to simply being the closest Poppies player when an own-goal is scored), we can settle back and bask in front of Poppies goal-glory.

We've become used to such coverage.  It's part and parcel of modern football, But you don't have to go back many years when such visual entertainment would have been seen as witchcraft.  Nothing more, nothing less.

I saw Rene Howe's recent winner at Hayes & Yeading, filmed from 2 different angles.  Which is one more angle that I've seen Robbie Cooke's goal at Charlton, or Phil Brown's great goal at Blackburn.  Famous goals from our history, where thousands of us roared with delight, generated less actual footage than a nothing league game in front of a few hundred bodies.

What about the Poppies at Wembley in 1979?  I've never seen any film from that game.  The largest ever grouping of Poppies supporters in history and I've seen more video from our last game away at North Greenford United from a couple of seasons ago, although this may be mainly because I recorded it!

Lincoln's Perfect Day

Huge congrats to Lincoln for flying the non-League flag all the way to the quarter finals. Furthest a non-League side has got since 1914 apparently. But that was when the League only had two divisions, so no comparison really.  This is totally new territory. If it wasn’t for the fact they are an ex-League set up with an ex-League fanbase, this would feel even more like a fairy tale, but by any standards it’s an amazing achievement.

From the highlights, it’s clear that this was no fluke.  They went there to win, even pushing men forward in the 89^th minute rather than playing for time.  An interesting contrast with us taking the ball into the corner yesterday to protect a lead against the mighty Kings Langley.  Also top marks to the Imps for winding up Joey Barton (admittedly not quite such a challenge: this is a man who can be provoked by breathing the same atmosphere).

It was good to see Barton tangling with an old fashioned striker like something from a pub team, and a pleasingly retro Bobby Charlton comb-over. There aren’t enough people in the modern game that clearly don’t spend much time in front of a mirror.   Also great to see the goal celebrated by fans going absolutely mental like you or I would, rather than taking photos on their phones or clearly only there for the occasion with their brand new scarves.

For Burnley it was karma biting them on the arse after the famous day in 1987 when they were at the bottom of the old Division Four and scraped a win which sent Lincoln down to the Conference.

For Lincoln, it could still get better. This run isn’t over yet. They’re possibly only two games from Europe, for crying out loud.

At this point, having given Lincoln all due praise we must conclude by citing our record against them.  Played 6, won 5, drew 1, lost nil. We even managed to do the double in the Non Park season, when everything else was going tits up.

 

This is completely irrelevant to what happened yesterday or indeed our present situation, but it makes me feel better to get it out there again.

A Week On.....

.....and no change with the KTFC Forum.


http://www.ktfcforum.co.uk/


I'm not sure whether the lack of change is the saddest thing, or the fact none of the Forum invitees has chosen to write anything.

Or possibly even notice....!

Kenilworth locals eagerly await Kettering Town
supporters discussing of their football team,
and presumably calling for sweeping changes
to the Management.

Poppies Forums' Ignominious Ending

For those not entirely happy to plunge headlong into the anti-Marcus bear pit of Facebook's KTFC Chat, the alternatives for online Poppies discussion are growing increasingly thin on the ground.  Not so long ago we had the venerable Poppynet and upstart KTFC Forum to splurge our post-match thoughts on to.

Poppynet was wiped out by a worldwide f*ck-up by 123Reg, leaving us all lumping our Poppies-writing eggs into the KTFC Forum basket.

And then, KTFC Forum vanished too!

Unless we all set-up our own Poppies blogs, (well, I have...) how the hell are we supposed to natter anonymously about KTFC?  Oh, other than actually chat to one another at a match, of course.  What the hell are we to do?

Thankfully,  KTFC Forum soon re-appeared.  Or at least, it looked like it had for a short time.  Until it was made clear that the Forum had been reborn as an invitation only platform.  Problem being no-one seems to have received an invite.  Speaking at the Biggleswade game to a few people it soon became clear that we'd all failed whatever test had been set us for continued membership.  Did anyone actually make it through the auditions?

And if you were lucky enough to find one of the golden tickets, what were your thoughts at logging on this evening to chat and wax lyrical about the comings and goings of Kenilworth Town FC?  Personally I can find no actual evidence that club still exists, but we've very kindly set this club up with a supporter forum for zero fans to discuss zero events.  I guess KTFC isn't always necessarily KTFC as we know it.....

http://www.ktfcforum.co.uk/

Marcus keeps things interesting

Supporters of most other club must look at Marcus Law's seemingly precarious existence with a bemused eye.  They would see a club with frankly rubbish facilities, small crowds, who should have ceased to exist 5 years ago.  They would see a team 9th in the table and 6 points outside of the Play-offs.

These non-Poppies supporters might well look at the excessive way sections of our support demand Marcus's head after every game and shake their own heads in wonder.  Just as we would be amazed at a manager under threat if the above description was given about the boss at another club.  Were it not Marcus and the Poppies, we would ask how a club could possibly sack a manager with such a record.  We would bemoan knee-jerk Chairmen and fans with unrealistic expectations.

Have we had a great season so far?  No.  Have we underachieved?  Yes.  Did the Manager waste pre-season?  Definitely.  Have we had our worse season ever.  Not by a million miles!  Did we start this season expecting to steam-roller the other teams in the division because we finished last season so strongly?  You bet your skinny ass we did.  Did we put ourselves under undue pressure by having our Chairman demand promotion before a ball was kicked in anger?  Hell, yes.

Has Ritchie's bold statement-of-intent poisoned this season?  The season has not been allowed to develop naturally.  Rather than revel in some frankly astounding away victories, our fan base has wallowed in the home defeats.  Some supporters are unhappy that the League table doesn't reflect the Chairman's wishes and hold Marcus entirely to blame for this.  Others have chosen to not attend matches until the Manager is replaced, which they presume will lead to us winning every game.

But what gives us such a sense of entitlement?  Why should we beat everyone?  Why should we be top of the league?  Because Ritchie wants promotion?  Because we are the mighty Kettering Town FC?  We are not a big club at this level.  In fact we are a good deal smaller than some.  A cursory glance at the crowds teams like Hereford and Darlington are getting shows how small-time we are at the moment.

In the grand scheme of things, we are small-fry, and the sooner we get our heads around that, the better we'll enjoy what success comes our way.  We play on the worst pitch in the league, with a step of concrete around it and a handful of crappy little stands.  We are attracting a couple of hundred less people than we were 2 years ago.  Yet, we're still going and still challenging.

Do we support the Poppies, or do we support table-topping-Poppies?  Are we real or plastic?