The unofficial AFC Rushden & Diamonds messageboard

Oh and I'll add this, if the people actively working to save the club do feel this is the route to go down then be open about it so I, and others who feel as I do, can withdraw quietly and let you get on with it. If thats the chosen route and there are plenty of fans for it, then I'll melt away and re-learn the rules of Rugby Union and follow Bedford Blues or something.

Is there a later edition of the ET today ?, as the copy I purchased at 9am today did not mention last nights meeting. :? Oh, And I must say how dissapointing it was to see only 71 people there last night.

Of course it's a personal thing & you, I and every fan are free to choose!

This is a tough call - but at the end of the day I really suspect few fans of either club would support this.
I'm mindful that it could be a route to survival for at least 50% of R&D but then joining with our bitter rivals would surely reduce a dwindling fanbase for both clubs.
It really is unthinkable and yet I have a lot more respect for K*ttering since the game in January at Nene Park when Diamonds fans and Ploppies fans joined in just one song "There's only one Dale Roberts".
We can join for that then perhaps we could when both clubs might fail otherwise ?
And haven't Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds set a precedent ? Or were they never in the same rivalry as R&D and K*ttering ?
Outwardly I believe most fans of both teams would say no, but quietly perhaps when they looked at other options they might not be so much against it if there was little choice but tear it all down and restart from the bottom.
My heart says I love RDFC and would never support a merger with K*ttering - but my head looks at the figures and keeps wondering if that would be a technical answer to so many issues for both clubs.

E T Are putting all details discussed at the meeting in their Monday/Tuesday edition. Also A trust board member along with Roger Knight have a meeting with the ET editor and sub editor. We need to get the media on our side and get the word out nationally that we need HELP and we need it now!

OMG i have just had a thought how this might pan out.

a) RDFC raise 250k and keep the club going, and we are all saved
b) RDFC and KTFC merge
c) RDFC fold, a local landlord with a conference football ground who could easily provide a 10 year lease approaches a local conference team who need a ground and da da! KTFC play at Nene Park.

I'd be back at Bedford like a shot. End of..............

I've been saying this is the obvious soultion for ages now.
Both clubs/areas cannot sustain a reasonable standard football club with the lack of support, money etc. The local area just simply cannot sustain both.
An 'East Northants United' would at first struggle to attract bitter fans but would, in time, IMO, attract more and more fans, whilst being able to sustain itself as a more attractive proposition for future investments, and dare i say it, establish itself as a football league club.

diamondal wrote:Is there a later edition of the ET today ?, as the copy I purchased at 9am today did not mention last nights meeting. :? Oh, And I must say how dissapointing it was to see only 71 people there last night.

Regarding the attendance, that was as expected as we'd made clear it was for people who were prepared to "get involved". What was disappointing was that many of those who dominated the questions on Tuesday weren't prepared to put their "actions where their mouth is" and attend the meeting last night. Indeed, I'd hoped one of them might step even further up to the plate and offer to head the campaign, but given the meeting was made up primarily of the "usual suspects" last night there was too much "history" for any of them to put themselves forwards - so the campaign will suffer as a result.

I just hope those who made all the noise on Tuesday aren't those who bleat excessively if we don't achieve what we set out to do. Most of us realise it's a real challenge - but we want to "give it a go" rather than letting our club die.

(Rant over - sorry for the cliché overload)

As with Formic have very little in the way of links with Northamptonshire (family entirely from outside, born outside, moved away as soon as I left school) so keeping football in the county alive would mean very little to me.

I support RDFC, I wasn't concious of football till 2000 really so the Irthlingborough/Rushden means nothing to me. I have nothing in common with KTFC, the club that was created would be tainted for me. I'm sure I'd watch out for the results, but I wouldn't be a fan.