It looks very likely that Kettering Town will abandon their Rockingham Road stadium and move the eight miles to beautiful downtown Irthlingborough. Rushden and Diamonds are on the verge of collapse and Nene Park is claimed to be the best stadium outside the Football League.
Not all Kettering fans are happy about the move, but the lease on Rockingham Road has just two years to run and the maximum extension on offer is seven years which would debar the Poppies from the Football League promotion they aspire to.
So where does Charlton come into all this? In an editorial today's Non-League Paper concludes, 'for those [Kettering fans] who fear it will signal the end of the club, think of Charlton. Kicked out of the Valley in 1985. But their fans stuck with them - and home they came.'
The Valley Party continues to be an inspiration to fans everywhere, even if many of those involved have scattered to the four winds. Rick Everitt is a Labour councillor in Ramsgate, although still with a role at The Valley and Richard Hunt has lived for many years in Prague.
Gordon Bennett
Do you remember Mickey Bennett who was eventually sold to Wimbledon? He is now the counsellor for the Professional Footballers' Association.
1 comment:
Very strange goings on at Kettering & Rushden Wyn. Diamonds are to appeal about their demotion & have foreign investors who will come to their rescue if they are succesful. Without the money being in place, it is difficult to see that their expulsion will be overturned by the Conference.
If it is, then Kettering's move to Nene Park will be off. At the meeting to decide Kettering's future on 18 June, Imran Ladek sprang his bombshell re staying at Rockingham Road. The rent would go up if the Poppies were to gain promotion (which is hardly likely), so to stay in the town, Ladek wanted 600 pledges of £10 per month for several years. Surprisingly, these pledges were not required if the club relocated to the more expensive Nene Park.
Ladek also promised to keep the name of the club as 'Kettering Town FC' as long as attendances remained above 1000. Seeing as they have dwindled to 1300 or so it is unlikely that this will be achieved for any length of time unless the club are successful.
As an outsider looking in, with no feeling either way for either club, it seems like an elabaorate plan to force through the already mooted merger. Indeed, names such as Rockingham Forest FC are already being bandied about locally.
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