Kettering Town Football Club

General information

Kettering Town were originally formed in 1872, turning professional in 1891. The club graduated through twelve different leagues from 1892 until they became founding members of the Alliance Premier League in 1979. The club maintained its status in the top flight of semi-professional football until the 2000–01 season.

Many honours have found their way to Rockingham Road, winning the Midland Football League title in 1896 and 1900. The Southern League Championship was won on three occasions by the club, in 1928 and 1957 under Tommy Lawton and in 1973 under the guidance of Ron Atkinson. In the 1930s the club won the East Midlands League and in 1948 the Poppies became Birmingham League Champions.

In a Southern League game against Bath City on 24 January 1976, Kettering became the first British club to play with a sponsor's name printed on their shirts after signing a deal with local firm Kettering Tyres.

The club finished runners-up in the Football Conference in 1981, 1989, 1994 and 1998. The GMAC Cup, (the non-league, league Cup) was won in 1987 and the Poppies were runners-up in 1995. County competitions have been won regularly by Kettering Town, with the Northants Senior Cup won on 28 occasions and the Maunsell Cup 13 times.

The FA Cup has brought success and publicity to Rockingham Road with the first round proper being reached on 41 occasions. The third round in 1991–92 loss to Kenny Dalglish's Blackburn Rovers and during the 1994–95 season, the club made their debut live on Sky TV in a first round tie against Plymouth Argyle. The Poppies have scored more goals than any other team in the FA Cups history.

Wembley has been reached on two occasions before. The Poppies lost 2–0 to Stafford Rangers in the 1979 FA Trophy Final. More recently, the FA Trophy Final in 2000 saw the Poppies lose a closely fought final with Kingstonian 3–2.

Season 2005–06 was to be one of massive change at Rockingham Road. In 2005 England legend Paul Gascoigne was installed as manager, replacing Kevin Wilson, and ex-Arsenal stalwart Paul Davis was recruited as assistant manager. The eyes of the world were on Gascoigne and the Poppies, and media interest was massive.

Chairman Imraan Ladak installed former Tamworth manager Mark Cooper as the new Kettering Town manager for the 2007–08 campaign. The club finished the season as Conference North champions, breaking several records along the way (including seven consecutive wins at the start of the season, 29 wins overall, and a divisional record of 87 points). As a result, the club was promoted to the Conference National.

In the 2008–09 season, Kettering Town beat Lincoln City, Notts County and Eastwood Town to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup, where they faced Fulham at home. While twice pulling even with the Premier League squad and looking like they could possibly produce a draw late in the 2nd half, they gave up two goals and ultimately lost the spirited match, 4–2.

The Poppies also did well in the FA Cup in the 2009/10 season, having drawn 1–1 to Leeds United at home on 29 November 2009, live on ITV. Kettering replayed the match at Leeds' stadium Elland Road and after a valiant effort in normal time, the ninety minutes ended 1–1. The score stayed equal throughout the first half of added time however Leeds scored twice in one minute in the second half and then scored another two goals. The game ended 5–1 to the home side.