Kettering Town's Season Descends From Bad to Worse

With a transfer embargo in place and the owner silent, Kettering Town’s thrashing at York City feels like a new low. Supporters are already discussing what form a phoenix club might take.

A New Low at Bootham Crescent

Manager Mark Stimson arrived at Bootham Crescent with only two substitutes. By the time his Kettering Town side left, they had been thrashed 7-0 by York City. The first goal went in after just seven minutes; by half-time, York were four goals to the good. The defeat leaves Kettering just one place above the Blue Square Premier relegation places, burdened by the division’s second-worst goal difference.

To deepen the humiliation, the final goal was scored by Moses Ashikodi, a player still on Kettering’s books but on loan at York. Ashikodi was sent away after a public brawl with a teammate over who should take a penalty during a home match against Hayes & Yeading United a couple of months ago. The incident now seems like a minor footnote in a season of escalating chaos.

The club is on its knees.

The Silence from Nene Park

While supporters openly debate the logistics of a phoenix club on forums and wonder whether to cancel season ticket direct debits, the club itself remains eerily quiet. The official website gives no indication of the profound crisis engulfing the Poppies. Owner Imraan Ladak, previously never shy in dealing with the press, has fallen completely silent. It was his ‘blue sky thinking’ that moved the club from its traditional Rockingham Road ground to Nene Park, eight miles away from its home town, incurring crippling running costs. His recent silence suggests a man who has lost all interest in the consequences of his decisions.

The expensively assembled squad built by previous manager Morrell Maison - whose summer appointment was itself a sign that something was not right - has disintegrated. After the entire team was put on the transfer list, five players departed on loan deadline day. Three replacements were lined up, but their moves were cancelled when the club was placed under a transfer embargo. Stimson has been working with at least one hand tied behind his back, watching players leave faster than rats from a sinking ship with no ability to replace them.

A County in Crisis

The plight of Kettering reflects a strange and worrying season for football in Northamptonshire. It is entirely possible the county could have no representative in the top four divisions of English football for the first time since 1921. While Kettering plummet, Northampton Town are in serious danger of relegation from the Football League. Nearby Corby Town are, at least, challenging near the top of the Blue Square North.

For Kettering Town, there appears to be nobody waiting in the shadows to ride to the rescue this time. The speed of the collapse has been staggering, demolishing a club with almost 140 years of history in a matter of months. Supporters’ groups have been unable to react quickly enough to the rapidly changing fortunes. The scent of dry rot hangs over Nene Park, and as long as Ladak remains silent, fans have little choice but to expect the very worst.

How can the club remain operational without a sudden and enormous change in fortune? That is an absolute mystery.