Not so much of an update on my thoughts all things NTFC, although I do plan to do one of those over the next week or so, I'm just waiting for our demolition of Wolves live on Sky so I can wax lyrical about how we sold ourselves to the nation.
Below is a copy, word for word, of an e-mail I sent to NTFC with their response included. I have to be honest I'd had a few when I sent the e-mail and ramble about absolute bollocks in places...
Hello Gareth,
Hope you are well? I just wanted to pen an e-mail to the club to try and quash any rumours or concerns before the rumour mill goes into over drive. Obviously the announcement about the Northampton Rebels has just been made and I think most supporters of the football club will have a few concerns about the impacts on the football side of things. I believe the press release states that this was one of the reasons for pulling out, because it became clear the rugby league project would impact on the Cobblers which is something you didn't want to happen, which makes sense. At the moment I'd say the football side of things is in the best state it has been for the last three years. We have the right management team in place and it is clear they are the most clued up guys we have had in charge of the club for a long time, they have displayed that already with their tactical nous and transfer dealings. The playing squad is one of the best we have had since the Calderwood days, in terms of all round ability but also diverse options and experience. I am fully confident that the team will have a successful season, although I personally feel we could still do with an addition or two, perhaps a midfielder and maybe another defender as cover but that might just be the greedy fan part of me coming out! I am not sure when the next fan forum is but I wanted to really ask has there been any change in the redevelopment that has perhaps impacted the rugby league decision? I appreciate it is a long winded process and impossible to keep fans up to date on every detail, especially when it comes to raising expectations etc however after the initial joy of the deal finally being signed by the council it has gone relatively quiet once more, could the club look to give a monthly update on the website (if I could work out how to use it ;) ) so to appease fans and keep them in the loop? The club are in a fantastic position at the moment and I think ADB has the trust of 99% of the supporters with all football decisions and Mr Cardoza is worshipped by the fans for his efforts at the club to date, despite his previous failures when it has come to management he seems to have finally learnt from his mistakes and it was immensely pleasing to see him back ADB in the transfer market this summer.
I also noted in the Chron last week about Legal & General (in my opinion, w*nkers) are looking to build retail premises on the cinema plot in the name of 4 eateries, the only two named so far are Nandos (Bayo will be overjoyed) and Prezzo, this surely will have some effect on the clubs plans to build around the stadium and perhaps would limit our options so I have a few concerns about this side of things. Don't get me wrong I love Northampton as a town and want to see development across the town, however I love Northampton Town Football Club more and am desperate for the club to succeed and progress forward, the chance to become a championship club is within our grasp and I would hate for us to miss an opportunity, something which perennially has happened at Northampton throughout the years.
The best thing about this club is the feel of the place, you actually feel like you are part of the club as opposed to just being £££ signs. That said the catering at Sixfields is surely over priced, I believe burgers currently cost £4.20, seriously? You're a top man for the way you interact with the fans and that is throughout the club from players to directors, however I think you'll agree that you'd struggle to find anyone at the club that believes that is a fair price for a burger?! Only a small gripe maybe but it all adds to the experience!? Even the bottles of drink are something ludicrous like £2.50, every other retail outlet they are around £1! The catering at Sixfields is the one thing that has always been ludicrously poor, Carrs Bar has started to improve and made great strides, it would be fantastic to see the catering side of things follow suit.
Apologies for the length of the e-mail and the rambling. Please pass on my thanks to ADB for bringing the club back from the brink, I understand we have a long way to go however the start of the journey couldn't have been better.
Cheers
Neil
Below is the response from the club....
Hi Neil
Thank you for your email.
There has been absolutely no change in the re-development plans, the Rebels announcement was very much made in isolation. We were always keen to stress that the Rebels needed to stand on their own two feet, and it was important that the football club wasn't required to support the Rebels at all. As time went on, as our plans progressed it became more and more likely that the Rebels would struggle to be competitive based on original budgets and forecasts and we didn't want the Rebels to become a struggling club without much hope of success.
The town, the area and the supporters would soon lose interest, and that was not something we wanted. The only way the Rebels would succeed would be to win games, win promotion and then attract bigger crowds/sponsors and based on the views we sought, that was getting more unlikely in a very competitive competition.
It was a tough, sad but necessary decision. We will always investigate ways of taking the football club forward and try things out. Sometimes they may work (such as Group Tickets) other times they may not, but we will always be brave enough to have a go. It may mean we have to take some criticism on the chin, but that is what we will do and we won’t hide away or stop trying.
I agree with you that we are hopefully moving forward on the football side of things, and the last thing we wanted was a struggling rugby league side causing a distraction from that progress, or even possibly needing support at the expense of the football club. It is important, with Aidy in charge, that we offer as much support to him and the team as we possibly can, as we are hopefully at the start of something exciting. The excellent progress he is making with the side was another consideration for us.
Things were always going to go a little quiet on the re-development while all parties involved come together and decide what needs to go where to maximise the value of the land at Sixfields. It is a complex process that will be resolved but it takes time. Things should move forward as we move into the autumn but there is no change from our last announcement when we were given the go ahead.
The Legal & General news today about restaurants at Sixfields doesn't change anything, or alter our plans at all. In no way does it conflict or detract from our own plans. If at anything their quotes about “Northampton’s residents are already voting with their feet in favour of an evening at Sixfields," are a help.
The cost of food and drink at Sixfields is really a question for Lindleys, who run the catering here and at many other venues up and down the country. They attended an Open Forum a couple of months ago and said that they only have a small window of a few hours 30 days a year to sell food/drink and they need to cover their own costs etc. They also say their costs are in line with most other sports venues/cinemas/theatres, but I am sure they can explain far better than I can - http://www.thelindleygroup.com/contact if you wish to send them your comments.
Thanks for your support.
Kind regards
Gareth Willsher
Head of Media
Northampton Town Football Club
Sixfields Stadium
Northampton
NN5 5QA
