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Kettering Town's Alan Doyle fights to save club

By Chris OsborneBBC East Sport

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments70

Alan Doyle

No money. No players. No points. No electricity. Any day now could be the last in Kettering Town's 140-year history.

The Poppies, one of non-league's most successful clubs, have dwindled from Blue Square Bet Premier mainstays to Evostik Southern Premier basement boys.

The crippling financial failures that put the club where they are now continue to gather speed, the power at Nene Park has been shut off, they are rock bottom of the league on -5 points after a 10-point deduction and, on Tuesday, their game at Leamington

That is the scenario caretaker-manager Alan Doyle has inherited.

The responsibility of keeping the club alive, making sure 14 decades of proud history are not consigned to football almanacs, falls heavily on his shoulders.

"It's OK, apart from getting another divorce - my missus is going potty about the whole thing," he joked to BBC Sport.

"I was on the phone from eight until 11 Monday night and I've been on the phone since eight Tuesday morning. It's been crazy.

"I can't do much unless we get a buyer for the club. Things change in football so quick. I took this poisoned chalice nine days ago and I never thought I'd be doing interviews for TV and radio."

On Saturday Kettering, with just 10 men available, were The squad was reduced to six by midweek, with two out injured and another pair unable to get time off work.

But the response of the Poppies fans after that weekend thrashing persuaded Doyle, a former Cambridge City striker, to keep on fighting a losing battle.

"After the game people were shaking my hand saying 'thank you for trying to keep it going'," he said.

"You don't want to sit on the bench every week knowing you're going to get beaten. But I also thought the longer it can be kept going the more chance it's got of being saved. If I pack up it's finished.

"I might be doing the wrong thing. People might say 'I've had enough of it, why don't you just finish it?'. At the moment I'm not getting that feedback."

If Kettering, who count Ron Atkinson and Paul Gascoigne as former managers, could exist until the end of the season and finish bottom of the table, they would fall just one division. If they folded and re-appeared in the form of a phoenix club, the drop could be three or four leagues.

But they need players to play games and, after releasing squad members who are owed wages, they are short of numbers.

The club cannot just get anyone with a pair of boots to play because they are under a transfer embargo from the Southern Football League, who argue the club had plenty of registered players when the embargo was placed.

"I can understand why the officials have done this because they want to get the club into order," added Doyle, the former scout turned caretaker-manager.

"But it doesn't make sense that we can't get more players on the books. I think common sense has to come in now."

There is nothing in it for Doyle, who is one among an army of volunteers at Nene Park.

There is, of course, the possibility of attaining cult status in a pocket of Northamptonshire and a permanent job should the club survive.

"That's the dream. But unfortunately life's not like that. It would be nice if it was," he said.

"I can't afford to do it really. That's the big problem. I'm owed about a third of the money from July. The whole of August.

"I didn't do much in September because I wasn't getting paid. And I got money that just about covered my petrol when I went to Kettering three times last week.

"That's another thing my missus isn't too happy about."

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70 comments

  • Comment posted by Nene Valley, at 15:41 10 Oct 2012

    Poor Kettering, blah blah blah, how about they pay their bills, pay their players, or make sure the Nursery on the site has power or events like a wedding next weekend go ahead. They've already run up 1.2 million in debt, arranged a CVA which was celebrated by their fans and left local companies out of pocket, now in the space of 4 months ran up another 200k in debt; some clubs deserve to be lost

  • Comment posted by A Movement of Lard, at 15:57 10 Oct 2012

    Oh please! This is just another club. Were there reports on the BBC to this extent when the likes of Chester, Halifax, Scarborough, Boston etc were in serious trouble? Not really no.

    KTFC wasted other peoples money living the dream. They moved to Nene Park, leaving the town behind them & now it seems that the town, and the people, has left them. Get behind the 'phoenix' club Kettering FC.

  • Comment posted by U15126675, at 21:13 10 Oct 2012

    These clubs have themselves to blame. Don't spend what you don't have.

    At a time when more people are no longer going to watch the big teams, because of the ticket prices needed to pay Mr Rooney's 200K per WEEK salary, non-league football should be increasing their supporter base.

    If you've not seen non-league football, go and watch your local team. You might enjoy it.

  • Comment posted by Nene Valley, at 16:15 10 Oct 2012

    Its karma for dancing on the grave of Rushden and Diamonds and then moving into their still warm bed; its karma for their fans who voted to move to Nene Park despite calling it Legoland for the best part of 20 years, its karma for their fans who laughed about the demise of the Diamonds; on the day Kettering could only field 10 players the Diamonds got a crowd of over 1100 in Level 10 of pyramid!

  • Comment posted by stAGaz, at 15:23 10 Oct 2012

    Or pay ypur debts and you wouldn't be in this prediccament

  • Comment posted by A Movement of Lard, at 00:12 11 Oct 2012

    42. Why should the Council Tax payers help? Cuts everywhere, services being slashed and yet their hard earned cash shold be used to bale out a failed football club? I think not. The local traders who haven't been paid are somehow expected to dig into their pockets again simply because KTFC blew their cash? No and no again. KTFC are finished. Back the phoenix club - Kettering FC.

  • Comment posted by Klunk, at 22:31 10 Oct 2012

    why on earth are kettering using professional players in the Evo-Stik southern league ? absolutely barmey

  • Comment posted by U13883475, at 16:06 10 Oct 2012

    Karma for the way the club treated John Deehan immediately after their FA Cup defeat at Leeds in December 2008.

  • Comment posted by Nene Valley, at 15:51 10 Oct 2012

    Don’t be fooled into thinking they need help, their debt is all of their own making, they moved into Nene Park after the demise of Rushden and Diamonds which was celebrated by their fans and despite warnings that their club would go the same way they sat back and did nothing other then keep putting money into the pockets of the owners who repeatedly failed to pay any of their players or bills

  • Comment posted by U14983791, at 13:35 10 Oct 2012

    Why should anybody else pay for them to get out of their own mess? They tried to profit from the demise of Rushden & Diamonds and it failed. People get too worked up when football clubs are about to close or have just closed, when in truth if they were a business they would have been shut a while ago, 140 years of history or not.

  • Comment posted by Shortlands, at 00:54 12 Oct 2012

    After the pleasure that their fans took from the demise of Rushden & Diamonds there'll be some reciprocal schadenfreude in East Northants.

  • Comment posted by Stuart, at 07:06 11 Oct 2012

    @48

    Don't you read ANYTHING!
    They cannot sign ANYONE, even if they want to play for nothing, players have to be registered, it's one of those little rules.
    Not registered equals playing unregistered players, leads to further points deduction.
    Do half the players actually know the rules, apparently not in some cases.

  • Comment posted by Stuart, at 21:00 10 Oct 2012

    I admire Doyle's optimism but every day they keep going just adds to the spiraling costs. It would be better to end it now and allow a new club to be set up rather than just drag the name of this fine old club through the mud.

  • Comment posted by A Movement of Lard, at 19:48 10 Oct 2012

    Carl (no.34) - I disagree. Two clubs of bigger stature have in recent years collapsed & had 'phoenix' clubs replace them~ Chester & Halifax. Nobody is going to convince me that the failed clubs were in a stronger position than the new clubs that replaced them. The name Kettering Town is toxic and the debts overwhelming. A clean break is required to restore football to the town. Back Kettering FC

  • Comment posted by collymonster, at 16:17 10 Oct 2012

    When people ask me"what is wrong with football" I always say, put your head through any boardroom door and all will be apparent. Kettering Town are one of many clubs who now know that.The FA, UEFA and FIFA are also a major problem, self elected muppets to a man.

  • Comment posted by Y2Neildotcom, at 15:51 10 Oct 2012

    Can Kettering not get some Sunday League players who are fans of the club to play and not take a wage? If you're that short of players, forgo trying to get the best, just get what you can. If it were Worcester, I'd be offering my services to help my club.

  • Comment posted by Leebee, at 15:19 10 Oct 2012

    And elsewhere the FA have opened their multimillion pound training facility

  • Comment posted by U15167764, at 13:24 10 Oct 2012

    People would rather argue over who does and does not dive or which overrated defender should be picked for England.

    This has happened before and will happen again. Plymouth, Wrexham, Chester, Stockport and Truro all followed Leeds and there are others.

    This has to stop as the more lower teams die out, the more we have to put up with the Premier League and all that's associated with it.

  • Comment posted by DavidHankey, at 14:39 12 Oct 2012

    What a sad and sorry state of affairs for a once proud football club. Without doubt the last 7 years have been the worst in the Club's long and eventful history with starting Mr Ladak thinking he could bring a drunk in as manager and everything in the garden would be rosy.

    The next debacle was the ground switch to their once arch rival Rushden & Diamonds whoever in their right mind would do that.

  • Comment posted by U15131030, at 13:37 12 Oct 2012

    @63 Agree about regionalisation.The powers that be have got to make it easier.There are several clubs in the Blue Square North who aren't!,
    Bishops Stortford just north of London have to travel further than
    Premier League clubs.Look at their fixtures/distances it is unbelievable.
    They have been penalised for success.This is the sort of situation that puts clubs in trouble.

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