Non League Footy Day

[Col ISIHAC.]

Last Saturday; Sept 4th WAS the official day in question.

Now. As an exile, I had a lot of fun in getting the armchair Chelsea, Man U, Villa fans for example, out to a proper game. There were ten of us in all and we ended up at Raunds - home to Desborough - and witnessed a 5 - 2 home win.

The consensus from my non-league virgins was that the standard of football (This is the United Counties Prem, remember) was way higher than they were expecting. The ground (Raunds is tidy, great playing surface - and has THE most excellent burger bar I have seen anywhere!) was also a pleasant surprise. We met in the bar beforehand - again, the virgins were most impressed with the bar, the function room etc - and spent a great afternoon in the fresh air, watching a good game. Two of the guys even brought their kids along too - and both enjoyed the afternoon.

I'm in the minority here as an exile; I get to see a lot of football in this particular league these days and I know that a lot of clubs were offering incentives to the casual observer over that weekend.

So did your club do anything? was the crowd noticably bigger than usual? Was the effort (and, believe me, there was a lot of effort involved in publicising this event) all worthwhile...


Your views please.

[Meadow]

It made no difference to us as we were away at Klattering (what a dump of a ground). I do know that some of our supporters who couldn't (or wouldn't) go to Klattering made the effort to go to local matches. A few went to Sutton, and one went to Raynes Park Vale.

[bh]

Yes, that's right Meadow. A friend / colleague of mine and his family attended, all in their AFC gear! Great to see them.

[robotsmfc]

We were away

What's the problem between Wimbledon and Kettering, Meadow?

[Meadow]

robotsmfc said:

We were away

What's the problem between Wimbledon and Kettering, Meadow?

The fact that they raised their admission prices for the more high profile matches last season (they saw sense this time around as a lot of our supporters said they wouldn't return). They're also an incredibly dirty team to watch.

A lot of our supporters swerved the match because of the Kettering chairman's 'special' relationship with MK Scum. Personally I can't be doing with that, condemn the scum but no-one else.

[Col ISIHAC.]

Klattering is as does - and why spend a fortune on a gorund when the lease is running out and the council has washed its hands of football at this level? The fans I know are wondering just how much longer they'll have a club to watch at all.

As for fans swerving the trip; there's a goodly number of people in this area with a relationship of one sort or another with MK! It offers pretty darn good training and playing facilities for a lot of junior leagues, ladies teams, footy for a variety of disabled goups for example, never mind anyone else. It does a massive amount for the community and spreads that pretty widely.

Should AFC find themselves in League 2 next season, there's a lot of soul searching needed. I suspect, for starters, that fans of other clubs will have way shorter memories than you think. On and off teh field, any link between MK Dons and AFC has now gone - with the exception of that one solitary name which cannot be uttered... With good cause, no doubt, AFC fans will always be convinced of the need to do this, but there is just one group perpetuating the ill feeling and resentment now. You'll be just another side, in a league populated by teams which have little money and above all want to survive. Believe me, nobody there will have any qualms about sending you straight back down again if it means they remain put!