The Hotel End

This is from Northampton Town Football Club.

On the whole we like and appreciate the value of this message board. We can find out what fans are happy/unhappy about, and what issues are currently important to our supporters.

We also appreciate that criticism is part and parcel of the football industry. We have no issue with that. Fans will have their opinions on who is doing a good or bad job, and their own opinions on players, manager, staff and Chairman. We fully accept criticism and the opinions of supporters. That is the heart and soul of any message board.

However, when those opinions turn into accusations, in our opinion a line is crossed.

Despite the Chairman doing the in depth Q&A session on this messageboard last year, a few posters seem to have forgotten most of the facts laid out in those answers and we simply can't keep allowing accusations, untruths and lies that are harmful to the club to be posted in the public domain.

No one has any problem with the truth, but the untrue accusations have and are continuing to cause the club harm (although no doubt the posters who make those claims will not see it).

If any poster wants to post accusations against the club, our Chairman, Directors, personnel or employees in the future then please ensure you are fully able to back up your accusations with the necessary evidence in a court of law.

Our solicitors will be asking the administrators of this board for contact details of 2 posters from the 'sinking ship' thread and we do intend to take legal action against them.

This is a fans message board and we have no intention of intervening again but we will take action again without warning should the practice of posting false allegations against the club, our Chairman, Directors, personnel or employees continue. 

The club apologies for having to take this action but lies and malicious gossip on a public message board will not be tolerated because of the damage it can cause to our business and our integrity.

In the meantime, and without prejudice to the legal action we will be taking, the club is offering the posters called Manwork, Random and anyone else the chance to meet, email or call us to discuss the issues they have and to try and inform them of the issues we face. There are obviously a number of misunderstandings that need to be addressed.

No questions are off limits, no topic cannot be discussed and we will answer all questions openly and fully. The club will not post on the board again, only to update all users every 30 days to say if anyone has been in touch and has met with us.

The contact details for any poster who wishes to meet with us are 01604 683777, gareth.willsher@ntfc.tv or Gareth Willsher, Head of Media, Northampton Town Football Club, Sixfields Stadium, Northampton, NN5 5QA. Once we hear from any interested poster we can arrange a mutually convenient date and time. Please note that with staff movements email is our preferred method of communication.

We look forward to reading the opinions of supporters on a range of issues on this messageboard in the future, but we will continue to act robustly where untrue accusations that damage the club and our personnel are posted in the public domain.

Thank you for reading this message and for your support.

Northampton Town Football Club