I agree entirely. I am firmly convinced that this is the plan. The pressure to re-develop will vanish once we are back to mid-table in Div4.
The astute football chairmen know that crowds only roll in at the end of season if the club is trying to get promoted, else fighting for survival. For Northampton Town, it has always been clear that our chairman does not see the club progressing..... so, it is essential that we are in the mix for relegation at the end of season, in order to create a bit of crowd interest. They know that supporters are always very down at this time of year, especially if things are not looking good on the pitch. But, come April (or the first daffodils), that energy & enthusiasm returns to the fans, and, like migrating birds, they are drawn inexorably back to the turnstiles.
Remaining in this division will always cause issues about whether the capacity is right - especially if there are "big fish" that want to bring a few thousand. This season, it is particularly relevant. It seems likely that any 1 or 2 of Birmingham, Sunderland, Reading, Bolton, Hull or Sheffield Wednesday will be relegated from the Championship. They will easily fill our limited away section. That is aside from the possibility of welcoming back Luton, Notts County & Coventry, who may all come up this time. Then assume that Peterborough, Milton Keynes, Oxford and Portsmouth are still in this division. All of a sudden, our ability to host away fans may seem somewhat limited. (And, yes, I know that we are no worse than most other clubs at this level - or, are we?)
So, as our chairman has already said quite clearly that he has no intention of further developing the stadium (given which club we are), one can only conclude that the club's future is seen to lie other than in this division.
I rest my case.
Hindsight.
