Northern Premier League 2016/17

[Jemfy]

Absolutely huge result for Diamonds tonight! 1-0 down with 10 men and we turn it around to win 2-1! Against a side that could have gone top. That's huge.

Diamonds were forced in to playing new signing Ben Heath in goal as Finlay hadn't recovered from his dislocated finger. Added injury came in the warm up to Sam Brown, the regular left back, meaning we effectively were playing a back line of 4 CB's. The first half had Diamonds all over Spalding, but it was the hosts who took the lead from a corner just before half time. The second half was a reversal of fortunes, Spalding all over us and not finding the net. With about 20 mins to go Winters got his second Diamonds sending off, this time for a second yellow card. Somehow Diamonds changed it around and pressed, with the first goal coming from a long range screamer from Richard Bunting. Then it was all Rushden pressure before Jack Ashton nodded in once again. After we took the lead Spalding really threatened. Heath had to make some good saves, but Diamonds held on for a big win against one of the top sides in the division.

Up to 9th now, having played at least 2 less than everyone above us except Witton Albion (same number of games). On Saturday we travel to Stocksbridge Park Steels, who are currently in 6th, 2 points ahead of us from 3 more games. If we can get a win there then we could start daring to dream a little bigger....

 

[Jemfy]

Two massive away games, two massive results, this time Diamonds beat Stocksbridge 3-2!

There was a penalty each way, first for Diamonds to open the scoring before Evangelinos made it 2-0. The two goal advantage didn't last long however, as that was when Stocksbridge got their spot kick. From there they kicked on and got the equaliser, with the game looking like it would finish 2-2 it was a tale of two 'keepers as Heath in the Diamonds net was making saves, and in the 88th min the Stocksbridge goalkeeper fumbled a corner right on to the boot of Nabil Shariff for Diamonds to take grab a 3rd late winner in a week.

Diamonds move up another place to 8th - overtaking Stocksbridge and moving firmly to the middle of the playoff chasing pack. Nothing gained on most of the teams above however as as the only points dropped by teams now higher placed were in the draw between Spalding and Newcastle Town. While we fall a little in the GD stakes - relatively speaking. The 3 games in hand are still there - in table of points dropped we'd be joint 3rd, but the games in hand would be a handicap rather than a help.

Next up is a visit Rugby Town on Tuesday. They are currently in a terrible run of form, and so I kind of expect us to drop points there after such a great week of results! Then it's back to cup action as we host Lincoln United in the Trophy.

 

[Jemfy]

After a somewhat disappointing draw at Rugby, and being knocked out of the FA Trophy in the replay at Lincoln, we returned to league action and visited Loughborough Dynamo where Diamonds ran out 3-0 winners. At a score of 2-0 early in the second half Dyanmo had a man sent off for a second yellow, and in truth Diamonds could have pressed more to increase the advantage.

The point at Rugby seemed poor at the time, but the question has to be asked if they've turned the corner now, as they beat Newcastle Town who came in to the day top of the table! In fact Spalding also lost to Stocksbridge and Witton went to Chasetown and won 4-1, meaning 3 of the teams above us lost.

We've moved up to 6th, just 1 point behind Chasetown with 3 games in hand on them. Despite having played a differing numbers of games 5th-11th are spread by just 3 points right now!

We move in to league cup action against Corby, but there is one massive game in the league as Witton travel to Shaw Lane, effectively playing their game in hand on us. It's big for us as these are the two teams we currently couldn't theoretically catch based on games in hand. No matter what happens it will still be true for Witton who are above us and have played less, but only a win for Shaw Lane will keep them out of our potential reach.

 

[DarkSithLord]

The situation at Ilkeston has reared its head again and once again looks desperate. After a mass of exodus much like last season (Again!) where experienced heads such as Luke Foster and Anton Brown have left manager Paul Holland has confirmed its a team of kids for the season which looks like certain relegation.

 

[Jemfy]

It's been a while without a Diamonds update, but it's an update of mostly draws and differing feelings over them.

We drew at home to Market Drayton, which was a rather disappointing result against a team in the lower end of the table. The performance was seen by most as not good enough.

A break from the draws was provided by a good away win at Gresley, with Fazel Koriya scoring on his first game back in a Diamonds shirt.

The Lincoln United draw at home was disappointing, fair and amazing all at once. Lincoln United are one of the better sides we've seen, and we had the 3-3 at our place earlier in the year in the trophy. This one ended 1-1, but the story is more how the game ended 9 vs 10. Lincoln took the lead 1-0 early on, before getting the first red on 50 mins, Diamonds leveled things up in both aspects - first score then personnel, before another red card late on put us on the back foot again. Hostilities to be resumed this Tuesday as the fluid attitude to fixtures means we now play Lincoln away tomorrow night. All the sendings off interestingly were for two bookable offenses, and all seemed fair.

That was followed up by an away draw at leaders, and surely eventual champions, Shaw Lane. This was a well deserved draw in a game where we played well and could have won. We broke a ridiculous home winning streak where they seemed to be scoring for fun, and matched the team who are probably the best in the league by some distance. This was done while missing a couple of players suspended from the Lincoln game.

Overall there seems to be a feeling that we aren't quite fulfilling our potential, with a lot of home draws driving the narrative, though wins away from home are giving us enough points to keep us towards the top end of the table, even if we have dropped back out of the playoffs. We also have games in hand on everyone except Witton Albion - who will likely either challenge for the title or drop off under the weight of having so many games in hand (10 on Sheffield FC, 4 on us). No doubt if we miss out on the playoffs by a narrow margin home draws will be blamed.

Interestingly if you presume all teams wold win their games in hand we'd be 3rd - 9 behind Shaw Lane and 11 from Witton. We'd be level on points with Lincoln who have been moving up the table since going out of the cups, and Newcastle Town would also be level. Overall we're performing better than expected in terms of points, even if we're not quite turning in home performances to the level we are capable of.

There have been some muted concerns over the drop in attendances, but I think this is partially to do with the more northern based league, and partially the looming ground situation having a subconscious effect on some, and partially that we're having the natural drop off that all phoenix clubs get when you have the first season where you don't expect to be challenging right at the top end. When comparing to last season we should remember at this stage we were serious title challengers. I don't think it's a problem, but I do think it's something we should take in to account when the ground vote comes up at the end of January - if options are further away from our base they will likely see lower attendances.

 

[Jemfy]

Tuesday night saw us level things up with Lincoln over the 4 games we have played this season. Given the "sginificant" regionalisation of the league cup if we both progress then we could easily have a decider (n.b. we've had both of the closest possible clubs in the draws so far - Corby and now Rugby)

We won 1-0 away thanks to a late headed goal from Lewis Leslie. We've clearly been learning how to defend against them, because in order we conceded 3, 2, 1 and this time kept a clean sheet. And when I say late, I really mean it since KO was delayed by 30 mins due to our team coach getting stuck in traffic due to an incident not long after we set off.

This is important in terms of the league table for Diamonds for two reasons - it put us up in to 5th, possibly for the first time this season and still with 2 games in hand on most of the teams around us, and it also kept us above Lincoln who are in fantastic form.

It's quite a statement as a result as Lincoln seem to be widely regarded as one of the best teams in the division, despite their poor start and distractions with the cups. They are likely to be in or around the playoffs come the end of the season. It's also yet another away win, keeping up our impressive form on the road. We really don't fear going anywhere. If we can just pick up some more wins at home then we can really see what we can do in this league...

 

[Jemfy]

Well Diamonds are sticking to a pattern, which seems to be win your away games and draw at home! We carried on this tradition with a disappointing home draw against Stamford, both in terms of the performance and result, and then an away win at Bedworth, though again the performance was apparently nothing to write home about despite the last min winner.

There is another gear for us to find, though it won't be this weekend as we actually have no game! (A strange quirk of one team from our division, Lincoln, playing in the league cup and other fixtures being chopped and changed). Then on Tuesday we are in the league cup against Rugby, where Andy Peaks has already stated that we will rotate some players and give others a chance.

We're still waiting on two important players to come back from injury, so in that department there is definitely more to come, but I also think the teams we are putting out are good enough to be doing better than we are in terms of performances at least. The atmosphere around every club is driven by the home performances and results, and right now those are short of the mark, even if we are making up for it by consistently bringing 3 points back from our travels.

The ground situation should be cleared up towards the end of the month or early February, hopefully that will all be positive and can be a good launching pad for a strong finish to the season and bringing people through the gates.

 

[Jemfy]

In the NPLD1S Northwich Victoria have been deducted 10 points for entering administration. This now leaves the Vics bottom of the table.

After Saturday's fixtures (with Diamonds not playing) the significant results at the top involved Shaw lane winning, while Spalding drew, the two are now level on points with Shaw Lane having played 4 less, unsurprisingly top on GD. Leek Town beat Sheffield FC, but Newcaslte Town lost, meaning the pair switch positions in to 3rd and 4th respectively. Basford in 6th dropped points with a draw against Bedworth, meaning they stay 6th down to 2 points behind 5th placed Diamonds despite having played 3 more games (n.b. deducted 3 points). Witton got a boost with their return to action and a win, moving them to 7th, level on points with Sheffiled FC - a team they have played 10 less games than!

In terms of points available in the league the top potential is:
(maximum 126)
Witton Albion - 114 (p16)
Shaw Lane - 113 (p20)
AFCR&D - 102 (p21)
Spalding United - 101 (p24)
Newcastle Town - 98 (p23)
Lincoln United - 98 (p19)
Leek Town - 97 (p24)
Stocksbridge Park Steels - 94 (p22)
Basford United - 91 (p24)
Romulus - 86 (p25)

I did work out more but I cut it off there. This demonstrates to me that the title is really a two horse race. Shaw Lane have the massive advantage in that they have 4 less opportunities to drop points, let alone the reduced fixture congestion. A further potential advantage is that they have already played us twice, though they did drop points on both occasions, Witton still have to play us twice.

For the playoff race I've taken it down to Romulus who I feel are out of it right now to demonstrate the form that they would need to be in as the next best team in order to make the playoffs if we assume a 5th placed points total of 73 (lowest it has been since it has been a 22 team division), worth noting that the highest was 81. Basford are a good team capable of a strong run to make it but will likely be heavily dependant on it being lower than that 81 mark in the end. For the remaining 6 sides that's a very tight grouping, going in to 3 playoff spots (assuming Witton and Shaw Lane do not have big drop offs).

This is just past the half way stage of the league for most teams, so a good time to take a quick look.

Tuesday only has one NPLD1S game, but it is a big one, with Lincoln United playing against Shaw Lane, most of the rest of the division are involved in League Cup, county cup, or taking a break.

 

[Jemfy]

Diamonds fell a 3rd defeat of the season, ending a 19 match unbeaten run. The victors were visitors Kidsgrove Athletic who staged a strong comeback. Diamonds went 2-0 up through Sam Brown and Fazel Koriya before Kidsgrove took command. Lead by former Kidderminster striker Anthony Malbon, Kidsgrove found themselves 5-2 up at the end of the game. This seems to be a combination of poor defending and good finishing.

Overall it's never acceptable to ship 5 goals in a game, especially when you haven't had a man sent off. Frankly the home performances haven't been up to standard so far this season, but the unbeaten run was a good way of papering over the cracks. It's all well and good going 19 unbeaten, but 9 of them were draws. It's better to get a win and a loss than two draws...

Hopefully this serves as the kick up the backside that we need in order to get ourselves moving forwards, to make a signing or two to fix the weak positions, and to just get the players we have to perform a bit better on a regular basis, especially at home. We're not scoring enough to justify the leaky defense that we have. There have been some key injuries, but not enough to justify the levels of performances we've seen.

Elsewhere in the league Shaw Lane continued their impressive form, winning at Spalding 1-0, this was after they hammered Lincoln 6-0 on Tuesday evening - giving them a 6 point lead over Spalding with 3 games in hand. A number of the other games were called off including Witton Albion vs Lincoln United, both clubs could really do without further postponements due to the number of fixtures they still have to catch up. Basford beat Rugby 4-0 to take 5th spot, while Sheffield FC lost 4-0 at Bedworth, further damaging their chances of making the playoffs. Romulus also dropped points with a 1-1 draw at struggling Loughborough Dynamo. Market Drayton pulled themselves a little further from danger with a 4-2 win over Stamford, the latter seem to have massively stalled in the league since exiting the cups.

 

[Harrier94]

How did Malbon look? Still think he's got great natural ability but lacked the commitment to make it full time.

 

[Jemfy]

How did Malbon look? Still think he's got great natural ability but lacked the commitment to make it full time.

Fat allegedly. Not been getting to many games personally, so can only go off what I've heard - listened to most of the game. Technically he was probably one of, if not the best player on the pitch.

 

[Jemfy]

Back to winning ways on Tuesday night for Diamonds, moving back up in to 5th.

It was a routine 3-0 win against Rugby Town, who would be bottom of the table if not for Northwich entering administration. The performance however is still being criticised by some fans due to the quality of the football on display, and the fact it was only 1-0 until the final few mins where the further goals were added. It was also a low crowd of just 306 too, though the fact it was freezing in a ground that really offers little protection from the elements. This was our first home win in about 3 months though, which is pretty worrying despite the long unbeaten run that ended last weekend.

Shock of the night came as Witton Albion lost at Market Drayton - further advantage to Shaw Lane in the title race. In the only other game of the night Newcastle Town kept a good grip on their playoff place and all but condemned Chasetown to midtable mediocrity.

 

[Jemfy]

The weekend saw Diamonds fall to a 3-2 defeat at Romulus that was considered unlucky by most there, however if you concede 3 you almost always lose - and there has been an implication that we are much too leaky at the back. The whole division seems to score more goals than the SLD1C did though, so perhaps there is just disparity between the forward and defensive play?

The much more important news is regarding the changes to where Diamonds will play. It's felt like this has been an issue looming over the club all season, now the members have been given 3 choices to vote between. In my opinion this is going to be a landslide. I won't say too much about it until the final result is in and announced on Monday Feb 6th, but I can see certain local clubs getting increased attendances as fans take a closer look when there are suitable fixtures.

local reporting - http://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk...der-way-to-decide-diamonds-new-home-1-7791615

 

[Jemfy]

Side news is the win at Sheffield FC on the weekend, with an overhead kick to score one of our goals!

The main story is the results of the vote on where AFCR&D will play in the near future - and the result was resoundingly that we will share with Rushden & Higham at Hayden Road, the original home of Rushden Town.

This is a fantastic move for the club IMO, despite being one of very few realistic options.

Unfortunately it's not a permanent solution, however hopefully it can be good for the short to medium term.

There are some major down sides to this move, it will require a lot of work to bring up to standard, especially if we were to win promotion. The amount of work will probably be too much to be done by the March 31st deadline, so we will almost certainly have a ground share agreement in place for next season, though the Northern Premier League appear fine with teams switching home stadium within the season, so hopefully we will not have to play too many home league fixtures in another ground next season.

 

[Crewelad87]

Nantwich flying in the Premier, up to 3rd and still games in hand on some sides around them. Blyth don't really look like being caught but a play off place and home tie would be a great season.

 

[Jemfy]

Big win away at Kidsgrove for Diamonds today. Significant as they were the team to end our unbeaten run, and they are a decent outfit picking up. Anthony Malbon was rumoured to be injured but played and was kept a bit quieter this time around!

It was 1-0, but it was a significant goal for Tom Lorraine as it was his 50th for the club. Brad Harris also became the first to make 200 appearances in this game.

We're currently 5th, but significantly we're 4 points ahead of 6th placed Basford from 3 less games, only 5 from Leek who have played the same amount though.

Elsewhere in the division Shaw Lane moved a big milestone closer to the title, handing a 3-1 defeat to Spalding, while Witton Albion also dropped points. Shaw Lane have now extended their lead to 6 points, and Witton are down to a single game in hand over them. Spalding are 3 ahead of Witton, though only a point separates Witton, Newcastle and Diamonds.

At the wrong end it looks like 2 from 3, and Northwich might survive on points even if they do go pop in the summer (no buyer is lined up and they are currently in admin). The vics managed an impressive win against Gresley and tighten the bottom positions up. Loughborough and Rugby both lost.

 

[DarkSithLord]

Highlights of Basford v AFC Rushden and Diamonds included here -

 

[Jemfy]

Our fans and management are very unhappy about that performance.

We've been dealing with having a DM playing CB for most of the season due to injuries to two CB's who would start for a good proportion of the teams in this division (Rory Winters and Jack Ashton). We've been defensively below par all season and it looks like Basford really took advantage of that.

We have now signed Jamie Tank from Corby to play at CB so we can actually field a back 4 made of all defenders. He couldn't play at Basford as apparently he can't play on artificial surfaces...

We've also since re-signed Jack Bowen on a month loan from Brackley. He went there at the start of the season but soon got injured. If he sticks around then we've got a great player on our hands again, though I imagine when he is fully fit Brackley will want him back, and he'll want to go to play at the higher level.

Further to this we are to sign another player, which should be done this evening. All indications are that it is the return of Dan Quigley for a 3rd spell. He's a tough tackling box-to-box midfielder, and should be very useful in this division, though he has come and gone a few times now. He'll get some goals and some suspensions too. Hopefully he'll be an adequate replacement for the injured Ross Oulton.

I still think we're relatively weak on the wings this season, but that's partially because we were largely spoiled for choice last season with some very high quality players there. We're lacking a little something going forwards, and it feels like we have been for most of the season. Even at our best we've never been overly free scoring.

Current projections, assuming we don't win the playoffs, have us going to the SLPD1C again next season. Assuming Royston and Farnborough go up that should be a relatively weak division at the top end next season. There may even be extra promotion spots if these plans to add a 4th league at step 3/4 happen

 

[Jemfy]

Confirmed the signing as Dan Quigley.

So Quigley, Bowen and Tank all in the frame for places in tonight's game at home to Witton Albion. This is going to be a huge test I expect us to lose to be honest. Witton and Shaw Lane are much better than everyone else in the league. They are currently joint second (ahead o GD), having played 5 games less than Spalding.

Diamonds are currently just outside the playoffs after having dropped a lot of points recently. Based on the table at this stage, both points and games played, it's likely to be the top two, and then 3 from 4 for the playoff spots. Basford or Lincoln theoretically trouble the playoffs but realistically nobody beyond that.

A win for Diamonds would be a huge marker for the playoffs - both getting a result against one of the best sides in the table, and potentially re-gaining a playoff spot. If Witton win it's huge for them in the playoff race. A draw isn't great for either team.

 

[DarkSithLord]

Seems that yet again matters are coming to a head at Crisis club Ilkeston FC.
Club captain Matt Baker has broken silence to say the players havent been paid a penny since December.
Meetings between the players and the crook of an owner, Nigel harrop are taking place today. Real concerns they wont finish the season.

Joshua Smith‏ @SmithJournalist 38m38 minutes ago
A vital meeting at Ilkeston FC today. Players speaking to chairman, following this week's news they haven't been paid since December.

Joshua Smith‏ @SmithJournalist 37m37 minutes ago
Boycott of Saturdays game on the cards. Players will talk through frustrations of poor communication from chairman, missed meetings & wages.

oshua Smith‏ @SmithJournalist 37m37 minutes ago
Players were told "you can bank on" payment on Tuesday, this did not happen. Today is a massive day for Ilkeston FC.

 

[Jemfy]

After 3 losses in a row all it takes is another signing of a returning player and a visit to the bottom club in the division to turn things around with a 4-1 win.

By all accounts Northwich were poor and we were OK, we could have had more, we missed a penalty and sounded like we lacked a clinical edge up front - which has been a bit of a running theme for years to be honest. Jack Bowen opened the scoring, and Nabil Shariff hit a hat-trick despite missing the penalty - his first goals since mid-January, taking him up to 18 in all competitions so far.

The returning player was Shawn Richards, winger/forward who left last season to be more northern based. He then signed for Brackley but barely got a look in there. All in all that's 3 of the team from last season that have rejoined in the last couple of weeks.

Things got better for us as we leapfrogged both Newcastle Town and Leek Town who both lost, putting us back in the playoffs in 4th. Basford also jumped ahead of those two in to 5th, but having played 3 games more are unlikely to remain there. Spalding also lost to Witton Albion, while Newcastle's defeat was to Shaw Lane, so we close a few points on them too.

I'd predict the top 5 to finish something like this:
Shaw Lane
Witton Albion
Spalding
AFCR&D
Newcastle Town

 

[Jemfy]

Big result for Diamonds today, a 2-1 home win over Leek Town.

It's big in a couple of ways, not least because it keeps Leek out of the playoffs and cements our place, not just because it keeps us in 4th ahead of Newcastle Town and Basford on GD, but because it is a win against one of the top sides - something we have struggled to do frequently at this level. We've had a few here and there, so I'm not counting any chickens, but it's a good result. It's also important because Ross Oulton made his first league appearance for months after injury, Callum Westwood stepped back in to the first team at RB. We're still short a CB, with Sam Brown stepping in and Ben Ford playing LB.

Basford had a huge result, beating Shaw Lane and opening the title race up somewhat for Witton, well unless Witton hadn't lost at home to lowly Rugby! Splading and Newcastle Town won. They had the opening they needed and slipped up.

Leek are dropping back, and have a difficult week ahead with fixtures against two more of the teams above them, poor results could see them well and truly out of the playoff race. Basford are keeping themselves in the mix, but require either us or Newcastle to drop a serious number of points since they have played 3 extra games. The two of us are picking up wins where needed so far, so I'd still back the above prediction for the top 5 in order.

We've also passed a couple of milestones. On Tuesday in the league cup loss Tom Lorraine scored his 51st goal for the club, making him the lone top goalscorer since we reformed. Nabil Shariff's winner today put him at 20 for the season. Hopefully he can reach 25+ over the 8 remaining games.

Interestingly that was just our 5th home league win of the season! We really need to fix our home form!

 

[nonleaguefc]

Anyone heard or know anything about 2017/18 preseason matches wheather that be teams that are in talks or matches most certin to happen

 

[DarkSithLord]

Anyone heard or know anything about 2017/18 preseason matches wheather that be teams that are in talks or matches most certin to happen

Welcome. Why are we going to be interested in boring glorified training sessions when we are just entering the most exciting part of the season?

 

[genesimmons]

I never have much to do with pre season after takeing in a few matches over course of season traveling all over i and my wallet need a break. I certainly think county cups and other minor regional cups should be moved to pre season and add a couple of friendlys against much higher league opposition. Would generatr more intrest and reduce fixture pile up

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

 

[DarkSithLord]

AFC Rushden and Diamonds to play at Kempston Rovers next season

Evo-Stik League Southern Division One Central Kempston Rovers and Evo-Stik Northern Premier League First Division South AFC Rushden & Diamonds have announced that the two clubs have agreed a deal which will allow Diamonds first-team to play at Hillgrounds for the 2017/18 season.

The agreement gives Diamonds the requisite security of tenure at a ground which is appropriate to the club’s position in the National League System and will provide a home for the team whilst Rushden & Higham United’s Hayden Road is brought up to the required ground grading standard.



Diamonds chairman Ralph Burditt said: “Signing this agreement gives our club the stability which it needs to move forwards following a challenging period of time. From our first contact with them, Kempston Rovers have been extremely friendly, accommodating and professional and I am thoroughly looking forward to continuing to work with them. Hillgrounds is a great place to watch football and we will be proud to call it home during our time there.”

Kempston Rovers chairman Russell Shreeves said: “We’re very pleased to have signed this agreement with AFC Rushden and Diamonds and look forward to welcoming them and their supporters to our ground for the forthcoming season. We’ve developed an outstanding facility at Hillgrounds and are looking forward to continued success both on and off the pitch for our respective clubs”

One likely implication of this will be that Kempston`s development team will have limited access to the grass pitch.

The Kempston Rovers committee will be discussing pitch options with the Beds County League with the intention of keeping the development team at the highest possible level.

 

[DarkSithLord]

*NOT AN APRIL FOOL*

All but two of the Ilkeston FC players have striked and refused to travel to todays game at Workington.

*NOT AN APRIL FOOL*

Mark Duffy‏ @DuffersSport 4m4 minutes ago
More
Workington v Ilkeston will NOT go ahead today due to Ilkeston failing to raise a team. Club officials have confirmed it to me. #noaprilfool

http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/workingtonafc/news/ilkeston-game-off-1774965.html#.WN91f5ZkTUo.twitter

 

[genesimmons]

*NOT AN APRIL FOOL*

All but two of the Ilkeston FC players have striked and refused to travel to todays game at Workington.

*NOT AN APRIL FOOL*

Mark Duffy‏ @DuffersSport 4m4 minutes ago
More
Workington v Ilkeston will NOT go ahead today due to Ilkeston failing to raise a team. Club officials have confirmed it to me. #noaprilfool

http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/workingtonafc/news/ilkeston-game-off-1774965.html#.WN91f5ZkTUo.twitter

Thats bad. Always thought team had potential to rise througth the leagues due to large catchment area

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

 

[Jemfy]

AFC Rushden and Diamonds to play at Kempston Rovers next season

Evo-Stik League Southern Division One Central Kempston Rovers and Evo-Stik Northern Premier League First Division South AFC Rushden & Diamonds have announced that the two clubs have agreed a deal which will allow Diamonds first-team to play at Hillgrounds for the 2017/18 season.

The agreement gives Diamonds the requisite security of tenure at a ground which is appropriate to the club’s position in the National League System and will provide a home for the team whilst Rushden & Higham United’s Hayden Road is brought up to the required ground grading standard.



Diamonds chairman Ralph Burditt said: “Signing this agreement gives our club the stability which it needs to move forwards following a challenging period of time. From our first contact with them, Kempston Rovers have been extremely friendly, accommodating and professional and I am thoroughly looking forward to continuing to work with them. Hillgrounds is a great place to watch football and we will be proud to call it home during our time there.”

Kempston Rovers chairman Russell Shreeves said: “We’re very pleased to have signed this agreement with AFC Rushden and Diamonds and look forward to welcoming them and their supporters to our ground for the forthcoming season. We’ve developed an outstanding facility at Hillgrounds and are looking forward to continued success both on and off the pitch for our respective clubs”

One likely implication of this will be that Kempston`s development team will have limited access to the grass pitch.

The Kempston Rovers committee will be discussing pitch options with the Beds County League with the intention of keeping the development team at the highest possible level.

Thanks for posting, I was away for much of the weekend so never got around to this.

For clarification I believe we will move in to Hayden road as soon as possible, however for the ground grading purposes you must have a stadium plan in place, up to standard, for the whole of the next season, by the 31st of March (the date that this was announced!). We will play at Kempston for as many games as we need to, but we will be able to move to Hayden Road during the season (league/FA permitting) when the work is done and Hayden Road is graded up to whatever standard we require.

Obviously if we don't get promoted (as is most likely) then this is going to be a faster process than if we do go up. I'm not sure how long the process of transforming Hayden Road will be in either situation, so the fans really have no idea how long we are due to play at Kempston for!

Playing at Kempston for next season, for the purposes of league allocations, should see us in the Southern League again (regardless of potential promotion).

 

[Jemfy]

Getting back to the games, Diamonds ran out easy 6-1 winners against Northwich Victoria on Saturday.

It's a sad state of affairs for the club, and there are a lot of politics involved. If they do go under it would be good to see a reunification of the fan base with 1874 Northwich, or even just those that stayed moving across. Realistically (and potentially ignorantly) I think there may be some animosity there which may prevent it.

Even this win wasn't enough to put us back in the playoffs, though we do still have 2 games in hand. We are 1 point behind Basford with 2 games in hand, and curiously currently the exact same GD (they would be ahead on goals scored as things stand. We are also 3 behind Newcastle Town, and 7 behind Spalding who also have the same 2 games in hand on Basford. Leek, having played the same number as Basford, are hanging around waiting for others to drop off, just 1pt behind us and 2 off the playoffs, while Lincoln United are mounting a late run for a spot.

Diamonds, Lincoln and Newcastle are all in action on Tuesday night, getting one of the games in hand out of the way. We're away at Chasetown, who beat us early in the season.