| Full name | Kettering Town Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Poppies, The Kettles | ||
| Founded | 1872 | ||
| Ground | Nene Park, Irthlingborough (Capacity: 6,441 (4,641 seated)) |
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| Chairman | Imraan Ladak | ||
| Manager | Mark Cooper | ||
| League | Conference National | ||
| 2010–11 | Conference National, 15th | ||
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Kettering Town Football Club are a football club originating in Kettering, Northamptonshire but currently based in the nearby village of Irthlingborough. The club play in the Conference National after winning the Conference North in 2007–08. The team play their home fixtures at Nene Park, former home of their local rival,[1] Rushden & Diamonds.
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Kettering Town were originally formed in 1872, turning professional in 1891. The club graduated through twelve different leagues from 1892 until they became founding members of the Alliance Premier League in 1979. The club maintained its status in the top flight of semi-professional football until the 2000–01 season.
Many honours have found their way to Rockingham Road, winning the Midland Football League title in 1896 and 1900. The Southern League Championship was won on three occasions by the club, in 1928 and 1957 under Tommy Lawton and in 1973 under the guidance of Ron Atkinson. In the 1930s the club won the East Midlands League and in 1948 the Poppies became Birmingham League Champions.
During the 1970s, Kettering Town sought election to the Football League, coming five votes short of election in 1974. [1]
In a Southern League game against Bath City on 24 January 1976, Kettering became the first British club to play with a sponsor's name printed on their shirts after signing a deal with local firm Kettering Tyres. The deal was brokered by chief executive and manager Derek Dougan. Four days later, The Football Association ordered the club to remove the slogan, but Dougan changed the words on the shirts to "Kettering T", and claimed that the T stood for "Town". Nonetheless, the FA ordered the club to remove the words, which the club did due to the threat of a £1,000 fine. Shirt sponsorship was eventually legalised within the English game in 1977. Kettering are also the first ever British team to have their initials on their ground's floodlights.
The club finished runners-up in the Football Conference in 1981, 1989, 1994 and 1998. The GMAC Cup, (the non-league, league Cup) was won in 1987 and the Poppies were runners-up in 1995, then known as the Bob Lord Trophy. County competitions have been won regularly by Kettering Town, with the Northants Senior Cup won on 28 occasions and the Maunsell Cup 13 times.
The FA Cup has brought success and publicity to Rockingham Road with the first round proper being reached on 41 occasions. In 1901 the club reached the last sixteen and in more modern times the Poppies reached the fourth round proper in the 1988–89 season and also the third round in 1991–92 only to lose to Kenny Dalglish's Blackburn Rovers. During the 1994–95 season the club made their debut live on Sky TV in a first round tie against Plymouth Argyle, soon followed by another appearance against Wrexham at Rockingham Road. As of 1999 the Poppies had scored more goals than any other team in the FA Cups history, with 774 goals scored in 347 appearances.
Wembley has been reached on two occasions before. The Poppies lost 2–0 to Stafford Rangers in the 1979 FA Trophy Final. More recently of course, the FA Trophy Final in 2000 saw the Poppies lose a closely fought final with Kingstonian 3–2.[2] Most recently, the club were narrowly relegated on the last day of the 2000–01 season which ended 30 years in the top flight of non-league football. The Poppies made a quick return to the Conference in the 2001/02 season winning the Southern Football League with a last-day victory at Tiverton Town under Carl Shutt – his first full season in charge.
The following season was a major disappointment and the club, rarely out of the bottom three, were again demoted – this time to the Isthmian League. Carl Shutt left the club in April 2003 and Dominic Genovese, after a short period as acting manager, took over the reins.
After a poor run of home results and a disappointing defeat to Boreham Wood in the FA Cup Dominic Genovese was replaced by former Northampton Town manager, Kevin Wilson. Changes to the team were made and the club finished the season on a 12 game unbeaten run. Ninth place was enough for the club to return to the Conference albeit in one of the two new feeder leagues – the Conference North.
Wilson nearly led his charges to promotion in the first season of the new North division. A late spurt saw the Poppies into the play-offs, but an own goal from club legend Martin Matthews meant that Altrincham prevailed 3–2 in the regional final.
Season 2005–06 was to be one of massive change at Rockingham Road. In October 2005 it was announced that long-serving chairman Peter Mallinger was to hand over the reins to a consortium consisting of Imraan Ladak, Mick Leech and England legend Paul Gascoigne. Gascoigne was installed as manager, replacing Kevin Wilson, and ex-Arsenal stalwart Paul Davis was recruited as assistant manager.
The eyes of the world were on Gascoigne and the Poppies, and media interest was massive. However, for a variety of reasons, Gascoigne was only to remain in the job for thirty-nine days. Kevin Wilson was given his old job back, but only held onto it for two months as a run of one win in twelve games saw the Poppies slump into the bottom half of Conference North.
In February 2006, Morell Maison was appointed Kettering Town manager, and led the team to 6th place in Conference North, after a run of seven wins in the last eight games. An announcement was made in May 2006 that the playing staff for 2006–07 would be full-time, and that six new signings had been made. These included Darren Caskey from neighbours Rushden & Diamonds. The ambition was there for all to see, but after a rollercoaster of a season, saw the Poppies fall behind eventual champions Droylsden, with Maison sacked with just two games to go.
Caretaker manager Graham Westley was brought in to oversee the final conclusion of the season, that saw defeat via penalties to Farsley Celtic in the play-off semi-final. Westley left the club.
Chairman Imraan Ladak installed former Tamworth manager Mark Cooper as the new Kettering Town manager for the 2007–08 campaign.[3] The club finished the season as Conference North champions, breaking several records along the way (including seven consecutive wins at the start of the season, 29 wins overall, and a divisional record of 87 points). As a result, the club was promoted to the Conference National.
In the 2008–09 season, Kettering Town beat Lincoln City,[4][5] Notts County[6][7] and Eastwood Town[8] to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup, where they faced Fulham at home. While twice pulling even with the Premier League squad and looking like they could possibly produce a draw late in the 2nd half, they gave up two goals and ultimately lost the spirited match, 4–2.[9]
Over the summer of 2009 Kettering released long-serving midfielder Brett Solkhon who later went on to sign for Corby Town. However, Poppies manager Mark Cooper has added to his squad by bringing in Lee Fowler from Forest Green Rovers as well as young, ex-Northampton midfielder Greg Taylor.
The Poppies also did well in the FA Cup in the 2009/10 season, having drawn 1–1 to Leeds United at home on 29 November 2009, live on ITV. Kettering replayed the match at Leeds' stadium Elland Road and after a valiant effort in normal time, the ninety minutes ended 1–1. The score stayed equal throughout the first half of added time however Leeds scored twice in one minute in the second half and then scored another two goals. The game ended 5–1 to the home side. Leeds went on to play Manchester United at Old Trafford and caused an upset by winning 1–0. Assistant manager John Deehan was sacked after the game and player/manager Lee Harper considered his own future as a result, but decided to stay on. Kettering chairman Imraan Ladak said he sacked Deehan due to putting on Lee Fowler for Patrick Noubissié. He seemingly blamed Fowler for the loss and questioned his commitment to Kettering.
Harper led the team to a decent 6th place finish at the end of the season, missing out on the play-offs by only one place, but resigned after the club suffered a poor start to the following season, leaving them in danger of relegation. Marcus Law succeeded Harper and led the club to safety and a 15th place finish, but resigned himself when the season ended and took over as manager of Tamworth. That summer, the club re-appointed former manager Morrell Maison, who resigned barely a month into the season after the club made a dreadful start. Mark Stimson came in as Maison's replacement and initially improved the team's form, but a financial crisis began to take hold at the club, resulting in Stimson having to release players as the campaign went on, and form deteriorating significantly. He eventually resigned just after the turn of the year, feeling unable to work under the financial restraints, and was replaced by another former manager, Mark Cooper.
In November 2011, Kettering Town was unable to pay its players full wages.[10] As a result, a number of players have been unable to turn up for training.[11]
Kettering currently play at Nene Park, in Irthlingborough, having moved to this site in 2011. Between 1897 and 2011 they played at Rockingham Road, after spells at North Park and Eldreds Field. Chairman Imraan Ladak has stated the club's intention to return to a new ground in Kettering. In June 2011, it was announced that Kettering had reached an agreement with the owners of Nene Park, the home of former local rivals Rushden & Diamonds, to secure a lease on the ground that would potentially secure the club's future.[12]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Job title | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Mark Stimson |
| Assistant Manager | Scott Barrett |
| Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win% | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Lawton | 1956 | 1957 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 Southern Football League | |
| Harry Mather | 1957 | 1958 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Jack Froggatt | 1958 | 1961 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Wally Akers | 1961 | 1963 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Tommy Lawton | 1963 | 1964 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Dick White | 1964 | 1965 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| George Swindin | 1965 | 1965 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Steve Gammon | 1965 | 1971 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Ron Atkinson | 1971 | 1974 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 Southern Football League | |
| Geoff Vowden | 1974 | 1975 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 Southern League Cup | |
| Derek Dougan | 1975 | 1977 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Mick Jones | 1977 | 1979 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Colin Clarke | 1979 | 1982 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Jim Conde | 1982 | 1983 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Don Masson | 1983 | 1983 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| David Needham | 1983 | 1986 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Alan Buckley | 1986 | 1988 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 Conference League Cup | |
| Peter Morris | 1988 | 1992 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Dave Cusack | 1992 | September 1992 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Graham Carr | September 1992 | 1995 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Gary Johnson | 1995 | 1996 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Steve Berry | 1996 | 1998 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Peter Morris | 1998 | 2001 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Carl Shutt | 12 May 2001 | 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 Southern Football League | |
| Domenico Genovese | 2003 | 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Nick Platnauer (caretaker) | 2003 | December 2003 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 37.50 | ||
| Kevin Wilson | December 2003 | October 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| Paul Gascoigne | 27 October 2005 | 5 December 2005 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 37.50 | ||
| Kevin Wilson | 2005 | 2006 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 12.50 | ||
| Morell Maison | February 2006 | April 2007 | 58 | 31 | 13 | 14 | 107 | 75 | 53.45 | ||
| Graham Westley (caretaker) | April 2007 | May 2007 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.00 | ||
| Mark Cooper | 16 May 2007 | 14 November 2009 | 108 | 62 | 22 | 24 | 167 | 91 | 57.41 | 1 Conference North | |
| Lee Harper | 15 November 2009 | 20 September 2010 | 37 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 31 | 44 | 21.62 | ||
| Morell Maison (caretaker) | 21 September 2010 | 30 September 2010 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 33.33 | ||
| Marcus Law | 1 October 2010 | 25 May 2011 | 37 | 13 | 9 | 15 | 56 | 64 | 35.14 | ||
| Morell Maison | July 2011 | September 2011 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 14.29 | ||
| Mark Stimson | September 2011 | Present | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 44.44 |
2006 – Mark Osborn.
2007 – Rene Howe.
2008 – John Dempster.
2009 – Lee Harper.
2010 – John Dempster.
2011 - Marcus Kelly.
† Joint winners with Desborough Town