Resurrection of the Poppies

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

Just minutes away from the Hospital I was born in was the home of Kettering Town (The Poppies), Sat on the edge of a housing estate stood Rockingham Road the home of this small town club for more than 100 years. But due to their lease running out, and under new ownership The Poppies saw them selves moving on in 2011 and plying their trade at former fierce rivals Rushden & Diamonds Nene Park ground. This move turned out to be disastrous for the club, sending them into financial turmoil and relegation of two divisions.
On October 8th 2012 their problems continued with the lights being switched off at Nene Park and their fixture list being postponed and yet again the club looking to relocate, they where able to recommence their fixture list on 10th November 2012 playing their matches at Corby Towns Steel Park Ground.

Relegation ensued yet again followed by another relocation this time to ground share at Latimer Park the home of Burton Park Wanderers, Where they still ply their trade today. Fortunately The Poppies have managed to work their way back up from the English Southern League First Division Central to the Vanarama National League North.

And Today with the hope of relocation back to Kettering after the purchase of land and agreement by the local council to approve a new ground build, I have taken the opportunity to lead the club back to where it belongs in the English football league.

Follow my journey.............

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

Well expectations aren't exactly high, with the board looking for me to achieve a top half finish. I have no transfer budget to work with and a very poor £250 p/w wage budget remaining.

The squad has very limited quality with the stand out player being former Wolves youngster Connor Johnson, who coincidently wants to leave and is looking to run down his contract if not sold before hand.

As for the rest of the squad, I have little to work with that will fit with my favoured tactic.

 

[Tongey]

Looking forward to this! Best of luck! Love it when people support their local team!

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

Looking forward to this! Best of luck! Love it when people support their local team!

thanks, hopefully i can do well with them and provide a decent story of progress

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

Day 1 at the club and it can only mean one thing for me as the new manager, setting the tactic I want to base the teams progress around and this was going to be a difficult task as the limited wage budget means there's no way I can bring in new players to fit the way I want the team to play without getting into some financial difficulty.
What more was the players I have at my disposal, although they may play in the right positions, that don't have any real level of skill to carry out the roles required to the high standard I expect of any team that I manage regardless of the level they are playing at.

So I set about working on the tactic, fitting players I already have at my disposal into the positions and roles the best I could, but there was something missing that fundamental piece of the jigsaw that would be the foundation that this tactic will be built on, The Mezzala!!!.

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

What this meant was I had to break the bank, knowing I was going to be putting the club in financial trouble from the off. Not an ideal situation to be in considering the history behind the clubs troubles and current standing, this will not get the fans on my side unless of course I seal the signing that makes the team and takes us forward.

So I set about scouring the free transfer market for my Mezzala and it didn't take long for me to find the player I needed, in the form of 22yr old former Tottenham youth player Dylan Duncan, the stumbling block in this deal would be he high wage demands. With only a measly £250 p/w budget left Duncan was demanding a staggering £600 p/w wage for what is a semi-professional club.

Would it be a deal that would come back and bit me later, or would I find a way of getting over the financial troubles this was no doubt going to put us in. It was a difficult decision as without this key figure my tactic wouldn't work, but it would be at the cost of instant debt.
But it was a risk I was willing to take, a risk I weighed up with my expectations of myself guiding this team to a better place both on the field and off.

So the decision was made, I snapped him up.

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

Pre season saw us play 6 games lining up against Market Drayton in the opening pre season fixture, with my tactic instilled during the first few training sessions and new signing Dylan Duncan taking his place in the center of midfield in the Mezzala role, the result was fair better than I could have expected and new signing Duncan gave us a glimpse of what was hopefully going to be a regular feature in the match day report.

A resounding 9-0 victory with Duncan grabbing himself a brace and finishing the game with a rating of 9.6, the rest of pre season saw the team being very clinical in front of goal and Duncan getting no less than a further 4 goals and 1 assist in the remaining 5 games.

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

So the opening day of the Vanarama North season has arrived and we are set to host Bradford PA at our temporary home Latimer Park, Pre Season has set us up nicely with the squad developing well with the new tactics.

The Home fans are going to play a massive part in any success we may have this season and with a ground capacity of 3,131 its disappointing to see a incredibly low turn out from the home crowd of just 678. Its going to take a lot to get the home faithful on board and being my home town club there's nothing more I want than to see this club grow.

So as the teams walk out onto the field, I have this overwhelming fear that things weren't going to go to plan but that was short lived.
The referee blew his whistle and the match was underway and in the blink of an eye we where 1-0 up with just 17 seconds on the clock with advanced forward Decarrey Sheriff being put through behind the back line of Bradford PA with a defense splitting pass from Callum Powell before rounding the keeper and slotting home in front of the home crowd.

The remainder of the 1st half was very steady with the Poppies getting plenty of shots on the Bradford goal, with the teams going in at half time with the score still 1-0 an encouraging team talk was all that was needed. The team knew they where playing well the crowd where excited by the positive play and the early goal had everyone on their toes.

The teams took their positions for the 2nd half and we started the way we finished the 1st half putting pressure on the opposition, and with reward as just 4 mins into the half and we were 2-0 up. Claudio Ofosu our right sided winger struck a sweet shot from just outside the 18 yard box, rifling it into the bottom corner through a crowd of defenders.

Unfortunately it wasn't all to be good news on the opening day, as with just 15 mins left on the clock, goal scorer Ofusu took a knock in a challenge resulting in a hamstring injury which forced him off the field and would later see him miss 4 weeks.

The opening game ended with a comfortable 2-0 win, with the players leaving the field to a fine applause from the Poppies faithful.

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

The remainder of Augusts Fixtures saw the Poppies go unbeaten...

21/08/2021

A fortunate 1-1 draw against Gateshead with what was a difficult fixture, Decarrey Sheriff grabbing his 2nd of the season to take a share of the spoils.

28/08/2021

A comfortable victory in front of the home crowd, with another early goal getting the team on their way. Mezzala Dylan Duncan also getting his name on the score sheet to get his season underway. Impact sub Perry could have had 2 goals to his name but his 88th min goal was chalked off for an offside in the build up to the goal.

30/08/2021

Another comfortable victory for the Poppies with Sheriff getting his 3rd of the season late in the 1st half, before Perry popped up 3 mins after coming on to make an immediate impact scoring from a thunderous header at the back post. Duncan making it 3 in injury time.

August couldn't really have gone much better for myself or the team with 3 wins and a draw in the opening 4 games, seeing us sat at the head of the table early on. This impressive start also saw me pick up August Manager of Month award to top it off.

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

September saw a continuation of August good performances and what's beginning to look like a very positive season ahead..

04/09/2021

A instant start again from the Poppies, getting off the mark in the 1st minute with Sheriff grabbing his 4th of the season slotting home from the 6 yard box with the assist coming from Duncan knocking it back from the byline straight into Sheriffs path. Callum Powell making it 2 just before half time, and that man again Kyle Perry coming on in the 75 min and finishing the game off nicely with his 3rd off the bench.

11/09/2021

A resounding win away to Guiseley, but not without incident. A sluggish start from the Poppies falling behind to 2 goals within the first 20 mins, and a much needed grueling from the sidelines ensued.
The team responded well to my words, grabbing 2 quick goals to level up before half time. With 2 more goals coming soon after the restart with Crawford getting his 2nd of the game after Sheriff netted his 1st of the afternoon. Mezzala Duncan then saw Red for 2 yellows in the space of a minute with the 2nd being a silly push in the middle of the park.
The team didn't panic tho and Sheriff quickly made it 5 to put any doubt of the result out of the travelling supporters minds, before Kennedy doubled his contribution to the scoreline with the 6th.

18/09/2021

Next up was the FA Cup second qualifying round match against Northern Premier League side Ashton Utd, Kennedy and Sheriff contributing once again to the score line with Kennedy getting his 3rd and 4th of the season either side of half time. Sheriff took his tally to 7 soon after Kennedy's opener, The Poppies progressing to the next round with a comfortable win.

25/09/2021

The final game of September saw us pit our wits against 2nd place in form team Spennymoor, the game saw us take the lead in the 23rd minute with Callum Powell heading in from a cheeky dinked cross from the Connor Kennedy. The lead was short lived tho with Spennymoor leveling just 3 minutes later with what was the final key moment in an un eventful game between 2 in form teams.

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

October proved to be a very busy month of fixtures, which wasn't helped by unwanted replays in the FA Cup Qualifying rounds...

02/10/2021

Dylan Duncan scored what proved to be the winning goal in a quiet game at Latimer Park, heading in a cross from just outside the 6 yard box in the FA Cup 3rd qualifying round.

09/10/2021

A commanding 3-1 victory for the Poppies against Chester in front of an increasing band of home supporters with no fewer than 889 home faithful turning out to watch as Decarrey Sheriff grabbed his 8th of the season midway through the 1st half, Ofosu doubled the lead 10 mins before half time, and bagged his 2nd shortly after the break. With a comfortable 3-0 lead the lads went to sleep conceding a late consolation goal to finish the game 3-1.


16/10/2021

A poor performance all round in this FA Cup fourth qualifying round, leading to an unwanted replay in what is already a demanding schedule.

18/10/2021

A hard fought win with the only goal of the game coming in the 31st minute with Sheriff latching on to a long ball over the top of the Chorley defence, slotting it neatly under the out rushing Chorley keeper for his 9th of the season.

21/10/2021

A commanding win in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round replay over Oxford City, with a bit of team rotation required due to the vast amount of games in such a short period of time, Gary Stohrer getting a rare start slotted home a close range effort after being slotted through by Dylan Duncan. Callum Powell scored late on with his 3rd of the season, to conclude a nice 2-0 victory with the Poppies progressing into the FA Cup first round proper.

23/10/2021

Yet another fixture with very little rest between games in what is a very demanding month, which sees us take on struggling Southport at home in front of a strong regular following of home supporters. Dylan Duncan getting the game of to a flying start with a smooth finish into the bottom right corner from just inside the box for his 3rd of the season, with want away CB Connor Johnson leaping above the Southport Defense to head home from a perfectly executed Luke O'Neill set piece.
O'Neill got himself in on the action early in the 2nd half with a stunning free kick from around 25 yrds out curling into the top corner leaving the Southport keeper with no chance of keeping it out. Decarrey Sheriff scored his 10th in all competitions with a near post tap in, before Southport scored a consolation goal in injury time.

26/10/2021

Some very tired legs amongst the Poppies, lead to a lacklustre performance against 3rd place Hereford. Which saw Perry come on in 77 minute only to see a straight red 5 mins later for wreck less two footed lunge.


October saw me pick up my 2nd Manager of Month award, leading the team to 3 wins and a draw in 4 games.

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

3 months into the season and things are looking extremely positive for the Poppies, and this can only be of benefit to the club going forward.

The fan base is slowly increasing, starting the season off with 678 attending the opening fixture, to now regularly seeing around 880 of the Kettering faithful showing their support at home games.

With the Poppies sat in 1st spot in the early stages of the season, and qualifying for the FA Cup 1st round proper things are heading in the right direction. And with a little cup run, the financial rewards could do the club coffers a world of good. And alleviate some of the financial damage over spending on the wage budget has done since signing Dylan Duncan.

Top scorer Decarrey Sheriff has signed a new contract, tying him to the club until June 2023 and a contract has also been offered to want away CB Connor Johnson in an attempt to keep the commanding CB at the club with increasing interest coming from football league clubs.
With the majority of the squad having contracts expire at the end of the season, I have a decision to make as to who do I think can cut it if we get promoted, and who can I tempt to stay without increasing the current wage expenditure.

Limited funds mean I have no scope to sign any new players and with a demanding fixture list, I may have to start utilising some of the youth players I have currently playing in the U23's to avoid fatigue and increase in injury's to key first team players.

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

The Kettering Town Faithful can be heard cheering his name as its announced that Connor Johnson has had a change of heart, and has signed a new contract ending any speculation of him heading to pastures new.....With Johnson stating to be delighted to working under me.

With it looking increasingly likely that Johnson was about to leave with League clubs showing interest, this signing means a great deal to me as the manager and that of the impact the current league position of the team is having on the players. They are beginning to believe that under my guidance this club can increase it stature and move towards its goals of returning to the Football League.

Elsewhere Ball Winning Midfielder Lamine Sherif has sensationally been called up to international duty by Guinea after an impressive run of form for the Poppies.

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

November kicked off with the FA Cup 1st round proper the first of no less than 7 fixtures throughout the month.

06/11/2021

And what a start it was, that man Duncan proving his signature to be the right decision yet again. Popping up with a well executed half volley inside 5 minutes, Ofosu making it 2-0 shortly after to the joy of the travelling Poppies faithful. Darlington got our nervous going scoring early in the 2nd half but Jordan Crawford but the game to bed in the 86th minute with a header at the back post.

09/11/2021

Yet again a fast paced start to the game saw the Poppies take full advantage heading into the half time break 3-0 up after scoring 3 goals in the first 27 mins, Sheriff taking his tally to 12 in all competitions scoring either side of a sensational 30yrd curling shot from young Jordon Crawford. Leamington scored what turned out to be a consolation goal early in the 2nd half.

13/11/2021

Ofosu scored the only goal of what was a dull game at Latimer park in front of the Poppies faithful, a win is a win as they say.

16/11/2021

Playing Darlington for the 2nd time in 10 days, this time in the league. The 1st half was some what uneventful almost forgettable some might say, the 2nd half was like a completely different game. Jordan Crawford opened the flood gates in the 55th minute, doubling his tally 11 minutes later with his 6th of the season. Darlington quickly responded from the penalty spot, before Luke O'Neill free kick specialist curled the ball into the top corner from the edge of the 18 yrd box. Sheriff scored the 4th with 5 minutes remaining, with Darlington ending the goal fest 4 minutes later. The Poppies taking the points in what was a 45 mins to remember.

20/11/2021

Dylan Duncan had a part to play in both goals in this 2-0 win over mid table York City, cushioning a cross down into the path of Ofosu to score the opener midway through the 2nd half, before tucking the ball beneath the York keeper with a fine strike to make it 2-0 with 20 mins left on the clock.

23/11/2021

Claudio Ofosu got himself on the score board yet again just before the break with his 7th of the season. Decarrey Sheriff continued his prolific form making it 3-0 with a 3 minute brace taking his tally to 15, Boston scored with around 20 mins left on the clock setting up a tense finish to the game.

27/11/2021

Something a little different bringing November to a close, with the FA Trophy second round game. Opportunities where given to fringe players for this fixture, Sheriff opened the scoring for the travelling Poppies late in the 1st half. Riccardo Calder took advantage of his opportunity of game time scoring the 2nd midway through the 2nd half, Unfortunately he needed to get replaced shortly after due to suffering a groin strain putting an early end to what was a good performance from the ex Villa youth player. Bradford scored a consolation goal in injury time with the last kick of the game.

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

Yet another Manager of the Month award to put on display in what will hopefully be a full trophy cabinet in years to come.

5 wins in 5 thanks to some solid performances from the lads, with each game making promotion looking more and more like an achievable target.

16 games into the league season, 13 wins - 3 draws - 0 losses, performing well above expectation with the board not expecting a play-off push until next season.

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

December proved to be a month of injuries woes for the Poppies.....

04/12/2021

The FA Cup second round saw us face Solihull at Latimer Park, with Solihull going down to 10 men early on the 1-0 win was a pretty dismal result considering we had a man advantage for 77 mins of the game. Bad news struck in the 31st minute when leading scorer Decarrey Sheriff had to be withdrawn due to a calf injury, which would leave us without the influential striker for a minimum of 4 weeks at a time when games are coming thick and fast. Youngster Jordon Crawford scoring the only goal of the game early in the 2nd half with the Poppies progressing into the FA Cup 3rd round with a Home Draw against Premiership Side Brighton on the cards.

11/12/2021

With leading scorer Sheriff out injured young Isaac Stones was promoted from the U23's and the youngster did not disappoint scoring a brace on his debut and helping us to a share of the spoils in this close thought trip to Telford.

18/12/2021

A cold winter afternoon in the FA trophy class against Blyth, but an opportunity to rest some key players with tiredness and fatigue starting to set it....unfortunately with a small squad not everyone could be rested and yet another key figure in Conner Kennedy was lost due to injury, and set to miss 3 weeks with a twisted ankle. Fringe player Stohrer stepping up to score the winning in this slow day at Latimer Park.

21/12/2021

Another hard thought victory on our travels, with Youngster Stones continuing to take advantage of his opportunity in the 1st team scoring his 3rd in as many games.

28/12/2021

Another early goal set the Poppies on their way in front of the Poppies faithful, with youngsters Crawford and Stones getting themselves on the score sheet before Kidderminster scored a late consolation goal.

With the busy December schedule out the way, and several key players lost to injury the Jan transfer window couldn't come soon enough.

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

With the Jan transfer window open, I was scouring the market to know avail, with no wages budget to work with...I was left with very little options and to make things worse, my 2nd choice keeper a youngster on loan from Wolves was set to return to his parent club which left me needing another keeper as well as at least 1 central midfielder and a winger.


I moved quickly to sign a bk up keeper snapping up 18yr old Jack Berman from Stevenage with no cost involved. This just left me needing to sort out my midfield and winger shortages.

I also had the task of making more decisions on contract offers to players already at the club with just 6 months left on their contracts.
CB Chris Smith, young winger Jordon Crawford and Box to Box midfielder Connor Kennedy where all offered new contracts and agreed to stay at the club for a further 12 months with all accepting a £25 reduction on their previous weekly wage. Not a massive saving but every little helps in reducing the wage issue we currently have.

As for the remainder of the squad I'm still making decisions on who to offer renewals as its looking ever increasing that I may just pull off promotion, so don't want to tie myself down with players who cant cut it at the next level.

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

January Blues, with injuries already starting to effect the Poppies squad it was inevitable that the amazing run would come to an end at some point. and it without doubt had to happen in January.

02/01/2022

The first game of the new year brought a inspired victory over a local rival, Ofosu scoring early on with a 20yrd strike leaving the keeper stranded. Unfortunately for Ofosu his game was cut short 1min into the 2nd half when he sustained a broken arm in a heavy fall, adding to the Poppies ever increasing injury worries. The returning Deccarrey Sheriff saw a goal disallowed 9 minutes from time, before sustained pressure lead to Brackley conceding a 2nd goal at the hands of one of their own players.

05/01/2022

The return game saw the Poppies tired players drop points after conceding an injury time equaliser.

09/01/2022

The FA Cup 3rd round brought Premiership side Brighton to Latimer Park, which saw a bumper crowd of just over 3,000 attend the match in which the Poppies gave a great account of themselves, only falling to tiredness and fatigue in the 2nd half, to a full strength Brighton side. Although it put an end to the FA Cup run, the £70,000 funds it brought in helped massively with increasing the clubs financial position.

11/01/2022

Injury struck Poppies suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Curzon in what was a tired performance from the home side, with much needed January signings needed to give the squad a bit of flexibility and fresh legs for the 2nd half of the season.

15/01/2022

FA Trophy fourth round action saw the poppies return to winning ways with a comfortable 2-0 win over Chester, with ball winning midfielder Kennedy scoring early on before youngster Crawford scored his 10th in all competitions.

22/02/2022

A hard fought draw for the travelling Poppies with Sheriff grabbing the equaliser and his 17th in all competitions early in the 2nd half. New loan signing Keziah Martin made his debut after his loan switch from Kidderminster, in the centre of midfield giving Mezzela Dylan Duncan a much needed rest.

29/01/2022

Two quick 1st half goals from Duncan and Johnson gave the Poppies a comfortable victory on their travels in the final fixture of the difficult January schedule.

The unfortunate side of the transfer window is that it also means we lose players occasionally, and for the Poppies it meant the end of set piece specialist Luke O'Neill's stay at the club, leaving for League 2 side Leyton Orient on a free. As he was a non contract player on no wage there was nothing we could do to stop this from happening and if I'm honest he is definitely now playing at the level his talent deserves.

 

[DanielSommerville]

Keep up the good work have enjoyed your story so far

 

[WatchCommanderJD200536]

01/02/2022

A fairly slow game away a Blyth, but that man again Decarrey Sheriff was the difference between the two sides slotting away a tidy finish in the 66th minute