The Hotel End

We must be due a good run sooner or later and after lifting the 18 game Cup hoodoo with that win over Notts County in midweek perhaps it heralds the start of a good run of results in knockout competitions.

Anyway, we will be ball 33 in Mondays draw, and there will be a fair amount of local interest in that draw.

Kettering are through to the first round proper after their 2-1 win at Farsley Celtic today. Also through are Harborough Town who make the first round proper for the first time in their history with a 1-0 win over Bury FC. They have a good record on their plastic pitch and are definitely a club on the up.
Brackley are also in the draw after a 1-1 draw at Hartlepool United.

Some of the other teams through include Alfreton, Braintree, Kings Lynn, Weston-Super-Mare and Wealdstone. A good sprinkling of former league teams including Oldham, Dagenham, Forest Green and York City.

Plus Aldershot, Rochdale, Barnet, Sutton, Southend and Maidstone.
Lots of potential for potential giantkillers... plus there's quite a few local for me down here...

Not forgetting the Hornets!!

Plenty of possible good trips.
Hoping for Southend

Any non league team home or away for me...

That's what the FA Cup is all about...

Obviously, Kettering would be perfect...

Please not bl00dy Wycombe again though!

Are there any of the non leaguers with Cobblers connections?

A few that spring to mind
Barnet - Reece Hall-Johnson, Nikki Kabamba, Idris Kanu
Dagenham & Redbridge - Junior Morias
Oldham - Manny Monthe
Woking- Max Dyche

I'd forgotten about them.

Also at Woking Harry Beautyman.

Liam dolman came on as a substitute for harborough town yesterday

Adam Smith now at Hartlepool, they have to replay with Brackley.

Chatham! 😦

Yeah, they did well in the play off final, didn’t they.

It will probably be Wycombe or MK.

MK at home, so we can show Sam Sherring what we think of his summer move.

Whoever we get it will have been the trusts idea 😂

Someone like Rotherham at home so we can quietly and interestingly roll out of the cup away from the media glare.

Home to Kettering, interesting tie

Went to this as I’m sure many of you did as well.

https://youtu.be/_NT-hAPq7Mk?feature=shared

Interesting indeed.....hopefully we'll take it seriously!

Was willing Harborough to get Birmingham at the end there..... but Tonbridge Angels in a winnable tie for them again. Plastic Dons v Other Dons is good too.

A fair chance we'll play at some time other than 3pm on the Saturday for TV?

Just remember Thomas's shot bouncing 5 or 6 times before it hit the net!

A good draw.

I suspect it would be a prime game for highlights coverage,  so maybe in the matches on the Sunday.

Huddersfield,  Wrexham,  Birmingham,  and MK Don's look favourites for the live games.

The locals are happy.

https://x.com/BBCSportNhants

YES YES YES!!!

The magic of the Cup!

We need a bigger ground   :P

Might put a few on the gate and good away following.

What a superb tie best in a long while

Hard to believe that 35 years ago now. I feel old!!

Totally agree been a while since I’ve been excited about a cup draw

Great draw but I really hope we don't underestimate them. They will be right up for it, they have a decent striker in Nile Ranger, if we go with a reserve or young team it might not end well. Its bad enough losing the non league opposition, even worse when its your neighbours and  I have always liked Kettering as its where I was born (its fine, its an NN post code).

I’m ashamed to admit but in the late 70’s early 80’s when football and atmosphere at the county ground was dire I watched Kettering quite a bit - some fantastic away trips on the “Pirate’s” coach - one classic away at Weymouth when the coach driver got pissed and we had to play football on the beach until late at night while he sobered up.

£41,000 for the winners.

Surly got to be on the tv

I would be surprised if it a main tv game. Usually a non league team at home to a league team. Bristol Rovers at home against neighbours Weston Super Mare have as much chance as us.
It could be one of the group of games selected for limited coverage on Sunday.

Please not on the Monday night though!

Really hope they dont pick MK v Wimbledon as its been done before. Bradford Wrexham, Salford all have boring games.

There's a few local (ish) games with league v non league, Us and Bristol Rovers. But also some smaller teams like Rushall Olympic or Peterborough Sports, all non league ties such as Harborough etc

They are trying to kill the soul of this competition so Im sure they will chose a boring 'big name' instead of one of the teams who deserve it for reaching this round though

Whatever night it is...
I'm worried, I hate underdogs (unless we are the underdogs of course).
Will only be enjoyable if we put 5 past them...

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c206y0x71ggo
We were mentioned in the second paragraph, so are the BBC eyeing us up as a live game?

I went to this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS7-UCq4tkM

https://www.facebook.com/p/Dean-Thomas-100010557879461/

Yes it is him, maybe a pre-match show!

Checking VAR it bounced once, maybe twice before hitting the net.  :P
I was there and TBH can't remember what I had for dinner at the weekend.

Nice to watch the highlights back and didn't remember the amount of chances there were, my memory was a really boring 0 v 1.

It should be on TV, first competitve derby for 34 years, plus Poppies are still the leading FA Cup goalscorers I believe...

It's a romantic tie which encapsulates what the FA Cup is all about...

Also, MK v AFC is now a bog standard L2 fixture anyway!

Would be peak Cobblers to get knocked out by Kettering & go to Birmingham the following weekend & win!  ;D

I'm actually looking forward to this! I've got a soft spot for Kettering and like to see them do well. Just not against us, obviously.

It's a great draw, first time I've been excited by an FA Cup tie for a few years. Obviously a banana skin we could potentially slip on but if we played them or any team at that level 100 times we would probably win 99 of them. You never know though, we've slipped up many times before.
Seen a few people comment about reducing prices to encourage a sell out but Kettering would surely sell their allocation (1400) whatever the price. Maybe a slight reduction to £20 if there was any doubt, particularly if selected for TV coverage.

Should get Dean Thomas and Kevin Shoemake to re-create the goal, a la Pheonix from the flames style from Fantasy Football Show.

As well as Nile Ranger Kettering also have Bruno Andrade.

 For me it's the best cup draw we've had for years and together with the East Stand and the Fan Zone it just adds to the positive vibe around Sixfields currently. I would take a draw followed by a victory for us at Burton Latimer but we have to negotiate victories against Leyton Orient and Crawley before we can start feeling happy again.

I don't mind a TV game ,but hopefully not Friday ( Out the Country) or Monday (Work).
Love how peoples memories embellish  certain games  ;DThomas goal bounced twice max, Pat Gavins goal came of his heal  not his arse,   also the Shrewsbury game, great win, but even a defeat we would of stayed up . ;D

looking at his career history he'll have a new club before the 2nd November

Marvin Sordell too!

And Marvin Sordell, who has come out of retirement to play for them.

You beat me to it  ;D

Sadly, No replays in the FA Cup from the 1st Round onwards this season.

At least beds hasn’t put this thread in some sort of doom and gloom ……. Yet 😎

Sssshhhhh! Half their fans live in our catchment area, you know...

can we not get a temporary stand like gillingham put extra 4000 away fans in quick time 😁

Be careful, if you mention his name three times he will appear talking garbage  ;D ;D

Well looking forward to a cracking cup tie anyway hopefully be a good crowd maybe even give them more tickets in the east stand depending on our demand

No, dont give them more tickets, never give up home advantage just for money.

I spent a couple of years living in Kettrin, in the late 80`s.  They were a bit of a feisty bunch back then.

Agree. Wouldnt give them (or any other club) any of the East personally

They were nowhere to be seen 35 years ago.

That draw was phat.

Brackley leading Hartlepool 3-1 - Scott Pollock scoring two and Maxted making some good saves apparently  :o

Brackley win 3-1. Three Northants teams in the 1st Round then even though Radio Oxford try to claim Brackley.

I went to school in Kettrin for a couple of years in the late 80s.

Both very good ... Morgan Roberts too!

Marc Richards in attendance tonight as well.

I think Liam Cross is there too?

Sent this to Jake and Graham on BBC RN, expect a "feature" in the build up to the game.

Fair play, he’s got a decent voice.

Away teams are entitled to 25% of the capacity in the FA Cup so just under 2000

I'm under the impression it's 15 % depending on the stadium , so 1,170.

Yep 15% but even then that's subject to if the home ground can do that safely.

15% subject to agreement with the local Safety Advisory Group.

Kettering will get the same as any other team a maximum of 1400 (ish).

If we could get away with it I'd only give them the south stand

I'm sure when we played derby just before covid that's all they had

I stand corrected

I’d imagine there’s a lot of people on the NTFC  database who may also be Poppies followers.

Upto 15%...

You Guys decided it’s 15% , or up to 15% or subject to whatever!

We didnt decide, the FA did.
 "FA Cup rules allow for an away allocation of up to 15% of the home stadium. However this is subject to the local Safety Advisory Group (SAG) agreeing to that ticket allocation number"
Way too dangerous to put them in the East so just give them the south and be done with it.

I think it'll depend if they think we'll sell the rest. No point having empty seats (apart from a strip of segregation) if they can sell them and we don't.

Has he?

Will we ever agree on anything?

 ???

I wonder how many times Kettering fans have vocally abused Jon Brady in his playing days? Hopefully means we'll be going full strength with the intention of a big win.

He played for them and was invited to their legends day for the 150th so guessing theres a good relationship. Will still want to win though

So, live coverage on BBC on Saturday 2 November but with a 5:30 kick off.  Both clubs apparently receiving a 'five figure' fee for the broadcast.

Jack Grealish is hot?

Perfect timing and great to be chosen for TV (providing we win)!!

The BBC and ITV have made their live broadcast selections for the first round proper of the 2024-25 Emirates FA Cup, and further details can be seen below.

Friday 1 November 2024
Tamworth v Huddersfield Town at 7.45pm GMT on BBC Two

Saturday 2 November 2024
Northampton Town v Kettering Town at 5.30pm GMT on BBC Two

Sunday 3 November 2024
Sutton United v Birmingham City at 12.30pm GMT on ITV1
Harrogate Town v Wrexham at 3.30pm GMT on ITVX

Monday 4 November 2024
Chesham United v Lincoln City at 7.15 GMT on ITV4

Each of the clubs involved in these ties will receive a live broadcast fee in addition to payments from the competition’s prize fund.

The complete Emirates FA Cup first round proper schedule and any further broadcast details will be announced as soon as possible.

I'm a little surprised this game has been selected for tv and I note that all of the other games selected have the non league team at home. We are 4 divisions above Kettering so it is the equivalent to a Premiership team being at home to a National League team. I expect JB to make some player rotation for the game as we play at Lincoln on the previous Tuesday although his hands are tied in defence as we only have 5 fit players currently.
Should we progress to the 2nd round, which we should, it becomes more of an issue as we are at Wigan and Stevenage on the 2 Tuesdays either side of the date for the second round.

BBC expecting a giantkilling?  :)

Ranger and Hooper up front? Interesting. I assume the 5.30 on saturday being the 1st pick as well?...

I expect some will stay at home to watch it on tv instead of paying to attend.

Depends if it’s £25 a pop or if some more imaginative pricing structure is used!

I think the TV £ will make up for any empty seats. We've already seen the impact of this on the previous home games, without it being available on terrestrial TV. Just being at 5:30pm on a Saturday will put some off.

They should drop the prices for this one to entice in as many as possible but I am sure they are crunching their projections and no doubt Kettering will have a say too.

If you can’t sell this out then that would be really disappointing, tv or not

 I doubt it will sell out, might be a big game for Kettering fans maybe not so big for us ?

It won’t sell out - ST holders of cause have to pay and some will look at £25 pp and simply decide to use the great value for money BBC - obviously those licences dodger wont and will just listen to it on the radio …..oh no, they can’t do that either as it’s BBC radio Northampton funded by the licence fee.

Agreed... live on TV, everyone having to pay (season ticket holders), a mix'n'match team against the part-timers.... we're getting sub-6000 crowds for home games in League 1 with almost 4000 season ticket holders.

Of course it will sell out.

I don't see it selling out. 5.30 kick off will put some off. Some will prefer to watch it on tv instead of forking out money. Other than Kettering being just down the road they are 4 divisions below us so although I will be there I find playing Birmingham, Huddersfield and some of the other bigger division 1 teams a bigger attraction.

Tickets go on sale noon tomorrow..... s/t holder seats held until Friday 25th.

£20 adult season ticket holders (£22 non)
£16 65+/U21 s/t holders (£18 non)
£9 U18 s/t holders (£11 non)
£5 U14 s/t holders (£7 non) *must be accompanied by paying adult
Free U 7's

A shame it is not £15 and £18 ... this should sell out, but possibly not going £20+

Plenty of Kettering in the home areas I reckon. Must be a nightmare for the club to stop when they mostly will have an NN postcode. Already suggesting "demand is definitely going to exceed supply" on their X page.

I hope Brady doesn't muck about with the team and play fringe players. The BBC will be all over this hoping for a Kettering win. If we field a strong team and lose then fair play to Kettering, play a weakened team (injuries excepted of course) and lose then Brady will come under fire.

I'd say prices are pretty fair. Should sell out, but possibly not if people are going to quibble over a fiver ???
How much is it for a league game?

Difficult to judge. If you consider that we have over 3800 season ticket holders but are only averaging around 5500 home fans per game we only have 1700 "walk ups" to our league fixtures.

You would assume that a fair proportion of s/t holders will pay to watch this one but will it capture the imagination of say 2500 non-regular fans especially as it is on live terrestrial TV?

Normal league prices this season for non-st holders are £24 in advance and £26 on the day so for non-season ticket holders buying in advance this is only £2 cheaper than a league game.

Kettering will sell out, presumably a 1400 allocation? Reduced prices is about right I’d say to get close to a home sell out with a sprinkling of Kettering within no doubt. Really looking forward to this. We have to play a strong side. Injuries are a big problem especially in defence but unleash Fosu and Roberts on them.

I'm confused by this… What if you want to allocate 30% to the away support. Can you. Or is it capped at 15%.

I think it means you have to give away fans at least 15% unless its not safe to do so, but should you so wish you can give them as many as you like. Its unlike the FA to be unclear with the rules / laws.

Hmm maybe, I certainly wouldn't turn him down.

However over the years I have set myself quite a low bar as it were  8)

Oh those Jolly Anker nights...

😂

It's not going to happen though. KT is on record as not wanting to give away home advantage by increasing capacity for away fans  ;)

Your opinion has failed on the first afternoon of sales because most tickets have gone at the prices the club set!

Trying to charge me £22 even though I'm a season ticket holder  >:( Is it because I'm doing something wrong?

Are you definitely looking in the reserved seats section, rather than selecting from the map?

I'm looking on the map but our seats are highlighted, so clicked on them and they come up as £22. I take it there's a seperate section for reserved? I'll take another look, thanks for your help.

Not had chance to look myself, but in My Account perhaps, there is sometimes a reserved seats bit!

The discount is applied at the end , payment is £20.

Yes, this ^

I looked in My Account, under My Current Tickets-  nothing there.

Selected on seat plan as normal, it said £22 at first ... then £20 on the next screen.

Good luck sorting it out!

Thanks but mine says £22 all the way to the end - the screen before payment screen.

It will say discount of £2 right at the end

Mine doesn't - I just went into the payment screen and it said amount to pay £44 for 2 tickets.

If Ticketmaster were involved, it would say £440 for 2 tickets.

Thanks for those who tried to help, they obviously don't want to give me the discount  :( I'll contact the club at some point to try and sort it out.

When you clicked seats, was it a weird colour (I think yellow and pink)

Also, have you tried doing individually - might be a weird setup, and not allocate discount for a pair.

Yes, they were that weird colour. I will have a go at ordering individually. Thanks again corno. 

I did mine and the discount was applied right at the end of the process. Good luck.

Very few seats left according to the latest update from the club. And they said it wouldn’t sell out at those prices! Should have put them up.
I’m sure a few season ticket seats will become available next Friday though for those struggling now.

When you say right at the end do you mean before the payment screen?

I've tried it individually and they still want to charge me the full price  ;D

I think it was on the payment screen but before you input your card details .

Yeah, I went to the payment screen to input my card details but the amount to be charged said £44 instead of £40. Thanks Wadey.

At least you have some time to get that sorted as ST seats are held until next Friday.

Just pay the money. You can always sell it on to Kettrin for x4.

Mine went through at lower amount, no issues. It is a crap system though.

Just did mine with no problems although the senior discount age appears to have gone up from 60 to 65.

Former Premier League forward becomes second ex-top flight star to sign for SEVENTH-tier Kettering https://mol.im/a/13975997 via https://dailym.ai/android

Senior discount goes up to 65 because you are buying a match day ticket, seniors is 60 on season tickets only.

Ah. That explains it although I'm sure I've bought a cup ticket at discounted rate before.

When you buy online, do you get a barcode ticket via email straight away, or do you still have to go to the ticket office & collect a physical ticket?

You can add to Apple wallet a qr code, email, print at home or collect from ticket office.

Sold out now for all unreserved areas. Friday will see any ST not brought then released to general sale.

I got mine and you have to print at home with a QR code, no electronic versions, more trees cut down, I blame KT.

I got an electronic version in the email confirmation, as should you.

No, I just got the print at home, however I went into my account, my tickets and managed to download to apple wallet from there, KT gets a reprieve, for now.

No worries Comrade, when you print it at home, you would be using your supply of recycled paper, wouldn't you. So no more trees cut down. What a good job you made the right decision when you bought the paper.

Do you ever get anything correct?

A sell out in less than a day shows the club was right pricing wise

Yes Manny a lot correct in that post,
I said I was surprised that it was selected for tv which I was so that is CORRECT
I said the other games selected had the non league team at home which is CORRECT
I also said we are 4 divisions above Kettering which is also CORRECT
not sure what you are seeing that is incorrect

But then again you "don't see what McGeehan brings to the team", well again he was jonny on the spot today to score his 4th goal in 10 games (not bad for a midfielder) and those goals have won us 4 points so without them we would be in the bottom 4 on 7 points. Perhaps you need to take another look before instantly writing players off.

Oh FFS will you stop expecting Manny to deal in truths he is after all a Daily Mail reader and a Tory.

Generally I agree with you and I do like McGeehan but outside the goal I thought (along with the miss) he had a decidedly average game, giving the ball away a lot and frequently being out of position - ultimately if you get the winning goal by being there it justifies you place but I think he can and will have better games

McGeehan is a touch one paced. Hoskins and Pinnock are far quicker to get back to help the defence (as they did yesterday). I agree with you.

My season tkt was the last one available(on my block) if that makes sense for the Kettering game. I claimed it  after a bit of patient probing!  I only paid £16 for it when I was expecting a minimum of £19/20 stg. My advantage if it is an advantage is I am a OAP who due to circumstances have yet to attend a game this season. Would have made the Orient home game but for a sudden cold!

Do we officially know how many tickets Kettering have been given?

That must be frustrating for you Evers. I hope you get to a game soon.

It would appear to depend on how many vouchers you have accrued. They are running a coach though, so at least 50.  ;D

https://www.ketteringtownfc.com/emirates-fa-first-round-ticket-allocation-and-collection-qa/

No figure quoted anywhere as far as I can see, but our ticketing website has blocked off the end four blocks of the East. Assume therefore the allocation is the normal max 1473 approx.

Kettering are charging £15 on the coach! They are/have also being doing a raffle at two home games to win a pair of tickets for the FA Cup game.

The voucher offer has also been well received, a decent crowd of 1,439 watched Saturdays game against AFC Sudbury, a figure 500 up on their regular league gates so far this season.

Imagine their excitement, coming to the big city, the capital of Northamptonshire...

Staring in awe at buildings bigger than 4 storeys high

…. and being able to pronounce words with one or more T in the middle.

Do they still point at planes, round that way?

Not sure mate but they are still throwing sticks at the moon.

Telegraph actually  ;)

Never works though, does it? Sinwar tried chucking sticks at drones.

1551 in attendance tonight as they won their top of the table clash 2-0 over Stourbridge.

6 wins from 6, top of the pile, and they don't have a game now before our Cup clash.

The way we play in cup games Kettering could pull off a shock

My only hope is that they are building this up way more than we are, they were talking about resting players etc for the cup game, not many non league teams do that.

It will be tough game, but I think there expectation is seemingly a lot higher than a normal non league club so that might work in our favour!!!!

Just keep telling myself Jon Brady was a Diamonds legend and presumably hates Kettering. He'll pick a full strength side aiming for a double figure winning margin.

In fact. The only Northamptonshire club he hasn't played for, is us!

https://x.com/backofthenetfc1/status/1650400034091851779
https://x.com/NorthantsLegend/status/1650449131435966464
https://x.com/KTFCOfficial/status/1631625719322406912

41 games for Kettering and invited to their legends game. He said in an interview he still has a lot of friends there and also as part of Northants FA so I'm sure he will want to win this as much as us all, if not more. 

Not true, he never turned out for Pattishall Rangers, truth be told he wouldn't have got in the great Rangers team of 1997-98

Ward,
Broadbent,  M Hellewell, Powell,  A Reeve
Fox, Hewett, P Reeve, Townsend
Hammons D Hellewell

I mean I could never see him shifting any of those can you?

1440 some from Kettering told me yesterday, so definitely includes the East corner which based on sold out home sales we should have kept for ourselves as only have to give 15% of capacity. I work with a couple of Kettering fans and they are concerned about getting tickets now as they aren't season ticket holders and over 1400 attended the two home games to earn the vouchers. There will definitely be Kettering fans in the home stands. Indeed I saw some old boy in a Kettering coat in the West Stand on Saturday (not in the posh seats either). I've always had a soft spot for Kettering and back in the day used to make the occasional trip to Rockingham Road so if people behave all should be good.

Put like that, I see what you mean.

Would have been interesting if they made this a 'friendly derby' like they do in Liverpool and opened up the whole stadium to both sets of fans to sit anywhere. Going to be a lot of people who support both and no history of a rivalry between the two clubs. Could have sold a few extra seats to as no need to block any off.

I'm not sure the Merseyside derby is as friendly as people make out.
The bitterness on the blue side has boiled over many times recently.

Definitely so..... Everton's recent financial struggles , failed takeovers and battles against relegation happening at the same time that Liverpool re-established themselves in the top two or three clubs in the country. Cue gloating and jealousy, and a deterioration in the relationship. In times of tragedy they will always come together, but the relationship is definitely not very rosy at the moment.

The Merseyside Derby is not friendly at all. I work with an Everton fan and he states that they loathe Liverpool FC and their fans. The love in has long since gone.

It used to be called the 'friendly derby' as there is no segregation between home and away fans. Or has this changed now?

Changed a whole back.

Have many Kettering fans been on here at all ?

Not noticed any but I took one to Wrexham as he lives near Chester and for the first time in the 38 years I have known him, he referred to the Cobblers as "we" and he clapped and cheered our goal. A never to be forgotten moment, which I shall remind him about for the next 38 years.

Assume they’re still on dial up over in Kettering.

I would assume anything dial up with their extra digits is going to cause them problems  ;D

I have and never will buy this "plucky underdog nonsense"
I have met and played with and against players that essentially were at the level Kettering are at now.
And to be honest they were a bunch of w*nkers. Constantly going on about "getting £xxxs a game at this or that club, before moving en-masse when a manager goes elsewhere.
Prancing around changing rooms like the Racecourse and Abington Park telling us they "shouldn't be playing on a Sunday" in their sliders and designer towels, and driving off in their hairdressers cars...

And don't mention the way that the BBC will cover this match. Literally willing Kettering on to create a story for themselves.

Patronising them to the full, talking like they have never kicked a football in their life before.

Getting a round of applause and lap of honour of they keep the score down to less than 5 goals.

Personally I hope we absolutely hammer them 6/7-0

I hate underdogs, until the 3rd round when of course we ARE the underdogs. ;D

I vaguely recall one of the stewards at Anfield asking if the Cobblers players got paid, or something to that effect.
You also have to remember that the opportunity for the Kettering players to play at a stadium like Sixfields is one they thought they could only dream of. Especially that guy who plays up front for them. Its a big day out.

Yes I expect most of their supporters will make a day of it, maybe do a bit of sightseeing, point at a few non-white people and finally gaze in awe at the top of the hill with the view of Stade De Sixfields below them.

A few tickets left for this game before any unsold season tickets come up for grabs, will not be a capacity sell out due to some seats being taken up by the TV cameras.

Just had a quick look and can only see 23 seats available but for some reason in the east stand it does not appear that the block of seats 138-153 is not on sale. Clicking on it you get the message that it is not available online, this block is not usually given to away supporters.

You mean lose?

Surprised seats are available to buy with it being sold out until 5pm? How is that?

Plenty of seats available all over.

Imagine some ST holders didn't claim their own seat and bought elsewhere, or are not going.

I was about to say the same thing. Our season ticket holders are not that interested in this game after all. Could be the time of kick-off, TV coverage or just not interested in little old Kettering  :P   

I know a few Poppies have chosen the home seats. Big day out for them. Now seats have been released we may see a few more.

As I predicted, this will nowhere near sell out

Looks like we have probably sold 4800.

Kettering Town football supporter fans are contacting their club about tickets.

Someone told me they are called the Poppies on account of the amount of opium consumed in the Town, but I don’t believe it.

Consumed or grown?

I've got my ticket but when I looked last night I was surprised how many tickets left especially as it was sold out before season ticket seats were released

I can understand our fans' relative apathy towards this game. I've got friends who live in and around Kettering, but none can claim to be ardent fans of the club. They've never really been a threat or considered rivals except for a blip when they did well in the conference in the 80s and 90s. It's a non-league club that happens to be nearby rather than anything else.

157 left in the West Upper
170 in the West Lower
182 in the North
228 in the East

Around 6,750 sold then, taking in to account the seats being used for TV camera's,  better than I expected

Surprised Crawley Town is looking like it was a bigger draw for home fans than Kettering Town

Kick-off time and live on the Beeb are reasons for it probably, not that it will stop me. 

4 of the season ticket holders, who sit near us, are not coming because they face a 4 hour round trip and travelling back after 7.30pm.

Capacity is 7798, Kettering allocated about 1450, this leaves 6348 for home fans less seats not used because of segregation and tv. So even if we sell out it would only be up to 200 more than the home Crawley attendance.

What a pitiful capacity.

To the people whining about a Saturday 17.30 kick off, consider this.
The Saints have played six premiership games so far this season, four friday night games 19.45 KO, and two saturday afternoon games 17.30 KO. 
And the next cup game is this Friday, against Leicester, 19.45 KO.
They seem to manage OK without moaning.
https://darkroom.northamptonsaints.co.uk/original/a9440dd9c05038c6b90f5cd87bb253dc:7711535f6b15df0380c7beab73d391a6/2024-25-fixtures.pdf

How many of the fans in the East Stand for the Crawley game paid?  I ould think there will be more paying fans for the Kettering game

There are 6 teams below us in our division and we are playing a team who are top of the table 4 divisions below us. So to put the fixture into perspective it is the same as Man Utd v York and nobody would give York a chance.

Interestingly all 24 division 1 teams can progress to the second round as none have been drawn to play each other, what is the chance of that happening?

You say that but.........

Dont know why we dont just stick a load of terracing behind the South Stand. Could get an extra 10,000 in easy for only a few quid.

I reckon some are thinking of Kettering (of old) in a higher standing. This SHOULD be a pretty comfortable victory, especially at home. They will undoubtedly be massively up for it with a good backing, so we need to turn up. We don't want any 'magic of the cup' moments and I am sure Brady will treat the game accordingly.

I'll go for 5 v 1. As for all Div 1 team progressing, you'd get some very big odds on that!

Hi Dav, my comment of "what are the chances of that happening" was in regard to none of the division 1 clubs having to play each other. I also doubt that all 24 make it through to the second round but a good proportion of the remaining 40 teams will come from our division. There will be at least 5 non league teams in the hat as there are 5 non league fixtures.

On the basis that we are properly prepped up for this game, I think it will be more like 3-0 or 3-1. I think once (if) we hit that score line, we will see some kids thrown on which may stem the tide somewhat. Id expect and hope that we start the game with our strongest possible team. They have some good pedigree within their ranks, a few ex league players etc and they will arrive full of confidence with nothing to lose.

Stourbridge under Page is comparable and look how that panned out. I think they will thrive at our gaff, so I don't expect home advantage to come much into it. They will be noisier than us by far and much more up for it in the stands which will will on their players.

Complacency is my worst fear and its making sure that doesn't happen must be Brady's number1 priority once we've got the Lincoln game out of the way.

As already mentioned, £41k for the winners of the tie and the potential of another favourable home draw in the second round, with a win there for another £67k, with then the chance of a bumper third round draw.....

That should be enough incentive to guard against complacency.

…. but as a RU premiership club the Saints and their supporters have been slaves to the TV media gods for a couple of decades now - for us a Saturday 3 pm kick off is still very much part of a (disappearing) tradition

Enough to finish the East stand then.

Could be interesting on Saturday as we quite possibly have no strikers available

Recall Max Dyche from his Woking loan, he can play up front. James Wilson and Neo Dobson should be at Ketterings level also.

Dyche can't be recalled until January at the earliest...

Roberts is now suspended for Saturday & can't play against Birmingham either...

Eves & Hoskins probably out too...

Oh, and James Wilson is somehow injured!

Literally, no strikers, bar Dobson...

Bet the neutrals are now licking their lips for this one!

How bizarre would that be? League 1 side starting with Dyche and Dobson up front whilst Southern League Central Division side Kettering put Nile Ranger and Gary Hooper out as their strike force!!

Whats the rules on emergency recalls? Im not too sure myself. Someone will know.

Via the medium known as Google, I discovered tonight that the great Martin Smith (one of my faves) played for both us and Kettering.

Think some loan deals include recall options and some don't.

Rotherham recalled striker Ciaran McGuckin from his loan spell at Yeovil last week...so it can be done.

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/rotherham-united-recall-striker-from-loan-spell-at-national-league-side-4839639

EDIT: Max Dyche would be cup tied anyway as he came on as a 95th minute sub in Wokings 4th qualifying round win over Slough.

Nice to see that the Yorkshire Post, has the same amount of pop up adverts as the Chron. They make it unreadable.

Sweet Jesus, if we are trying to recall Max Dyche to save our season…….😂

So after last nights game Eaves presumably is out injured and now Roberts suspended, leaving us with Wilson and Dobson as our attacking options.

I would argue Kettering front 3 more useful than Wilson, not seen Dobson yet so not judging him.

Is this the game for Hoskins to come back in up top.

According to James at the Chron Wilson is also injured

And hoskins missed last night's game as a precaution so probably injured as well

I would prefer Josh Tomlinson over Dyche anyway

Wilson & Hoskins definitely out for Saturday, so that leaves us with just young untried Dobson, as our only available proper striker!

Unless, Eaves can get some sort of Zorro mask, enabling him to play...

Still, at least we haven't got Birmingham away in our next league game!

Tomlinson played for Needham Market on Saturday who got beat 7 - 1. Not saying it's his fault though.

How the hell did Wilson get injured we never see him. Doesn't Fosu count as a striker?

https://www.ketteringtownfc.com/fa-cup-saturday-festivities-latimer-park/

Couldn't get more non-league could they?

It's their Wembley

8th tier part time outfit makes a big day out of their glamour trip to their nearest and biggest football league neighbours.....can't knock them for that surely?

Totally agree. Unless they start selling half n half scarfs. Then we can chase em around town with burning pitchforks.

I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this one - our squad looks thin at the moment, morale down after last nights result, Kettering fans will be louder and like their players much more fired up - what could possibly go wrong?

In other news in the Fa Youth cup we are currently 2-0 up with Neo Dobson getting the 2nd goal.

UTC FTP

Should really take him off now, he’ll be in the red zone otherwise.

 ;D

You're not the only one. Who on earth is going to play up front ???

Plus, he did quite a bit of warming up and warming down last night...

Apparently Hylton's in good form for Charlton. Damn he's not available until at least January  :P

Probably should left out as a precaution then.

Is it too late to sign and unattached striker on a short term deal as cover, it might not be great but at least its a striker! or Rico coming out of retirement lol

Yes we can  ;D

can we cancel mortons loan, if we havent already and sack off wilson?

We can still bring in another loan in January even if Morton remains on our books to the end of the season, the same applies to Mbete if he doesn't look likely to be fit to play much more this season.

On Tuesday we only had 16 fit first team players and had to draft Neo Dobson onto the subs bench. Roberts is now banned and if Eaves is also out we will be down to 14 fit first team players unless Wilson is deemed ready so JB will have little option but to play a relatively strong side but the bench will have some youth team players on it. If this is the case I would play Fosu down the middle (he is usually keen to get a shot away) with Pinnock and McCarron outside him.

Elliott Bell is our referee and it is his first season in the EFL and so far he has shown a reluctance to get his cards out as he only averages 3 yellow cards a game. In his 14 games this season he has issued 42 yellows, 1 red and so far has not awarded any penalties.

I was thinking similar - only Fosu resembles anything like a striker from who we have available (was Sowerby once a striker? Or did I make this up?). McCarron should make light work of Kettering really. Also hoping Tomlinson starts at the back too.

Wonder if we'll see any of Dibley-Dias?

I think Tomlinson will have to wait until Tuesday night when he will probably be paired in central defence with Magloire against Leicester U21's as he was at Notts County.
At least we don't have a league game for the next 3 Tuesdays.

Sowerby did play as a striker in his early years, wouldn't believe that now.

Tomlinson is out on loan so can't play but he can play in the EFL trophy for the next two Tuesday's as can Reuben Wyatt.

I came to the same conclusion post Tuesday evening. M&F certainly have the pace and skill to trouble any defence at that level (and ours) and P should certainly be able to deliver. We need to keep the ball on the ground. We really should have far too much for them to cope with. We need an early goal to break their hearts.

Christ, imagine Sowerby up front, pace to burn!  ;D

Pretty sure Dobson is going to get his full debut, if Eaves isn't available...

Worryingly, that'll mean absolutely no striker options off the bench, if we're chasing the game!

We'll have to play like Manchester City without Haaland !

Dobson Hatrick

First upset of the weekend at Tamworth??
'Uddersfield making hard work of it, one down at HT.

Tin foil cups, half n half scarfs, screaming kids desperate to be seen on tv, whats not to love?  ;D

Yep

Great win with Northamptonian Andy Peaks in charge..

I hope nobody put a quid on this one....  :)

Just making my tin foil cup, can’t wait to have my face on the BBC  :P

Would you like me to bring my spare set of clappers?  ;D

;D ;D

Good to see AFC 2-0 up at MK after 60 mins.

So, another defeat to a non-League in the FA Cup. How many of those have we had in our history? We must be in the running for the current FL club to have lost the most times to non-League clubs in the FA Cup. Statto's can you help?
By memory the list includes: Tooting & Mitcham, Enfield, Leatherhead, Telford, Bromsgrove, Barnet, Yeovil, Luton, Canvey Island, Stourbridge, Grimsby, Oxford City, Chesterfield, Kettering. That's 14. Have I missed any?

And after the mighty Wrexham have lost at Harrogate with 1 game tomorrow night (Chesham v Lincoln) we have in the draw for the 2nd round 17 division 1 teams, 13 division 2 and 9 non league.

Hereford knocked us out in a 1st round replay in 1970, and they also did us again the following season in a second round second replay played at The Hawthorns. They were in the Southern League at the time.

Decent draws for all the local teams left in as Kettering will host Doncaster, Brackley travel to Stockport and Harborough Town will play at Reading

So had we won yesterday we would have been at home to Doncaster, you couldn't really have asked for a much better draw from the 2 rounds. Anyway we have passed up the opportunity of over £100,000 in prize money and a place in the 3rd round with the big boys.

Another TV game for Kettering then.

Doesn't matter, its all about the league! Lets have some more attritional backs-to-the-wall football as we try and get at least 20th in the table, then look forward to more of the same next season!

Simple. Take the cash out of Roberts & Brady’s pay packets.

Hopefully you are not Curle man with an attritional outlook!

I didn't realise that Gainsborough Trinity who have a second round tie at Harrogate are managed by Russ Willcox.

I admire your optimism thinking we may have beaten the 4th placed L2 side!

So in a world where we couldn't beat Kettering, you think we would have walked over Doncaster?

Thanks I missed that. Must have assumed they were a League side back then. So that's 16 non-league defeats then  :o  There can't be many FL clubs who have lost 16 FA Cup ties to non-league opposition??

So now we have a free weekend (FAC2).

should we
 
a) re-arrange a fixture?
b) Look for a friendly
c) get them in for extra training.
or
d) let them go on holiday

Although most of them were on holiday at the weekend, it would be a shame for them not to be able to take advantage of some winter sun on lastminute.com.

Have booked mine, what’s not to like about a free weekend?

Isn't that the website we use for our signings..

 

   ;D

In the draw for the third round... ;)

I think we all know the answer for this one, holidays, I can see Cam Mcgeehan and Burge at the all you can eat buffet.

And what a draw for them Spurs at home

And we had survived we would have been away to Hull.

And his Assistant Manager is the PE teacher at Northampton Academy (Lings Upper)?