It looks increasingly unlikely that Rushden and Diamonds can be saved. Even if a phoenix club can be formed, it will not be in time for next season.
It looks increasingly unlikely that Rushden and Diamonds can be saved. Even if a phoenix club can be formed, it will not be in time for next season.
Kettering Town FC fans have voted in favour of a move to Nene Park. The lease on their Rockingham Road stadium has two years to run. All that seems to be on offer is a seven year extension on the lease at quite a high rent. They would need a ten year lease to qualify for admission to the Football League.
Diamonds benefactor Max Griggs is reportedly in favour of such a move because it would provide a use for the stadium. A Rushden and Diamonds team playing in the Southern Premier League could also play there and attract a reasonable attendance. The Football Association is not opposed to enlarging the third tier league to 23 teams next season but whether it would be possible to maintain the club in being is uncertain to say the least.
Club stalwart and leader of the supporters’ trust Helen Thompson told the Non-League Paper, ‘Rushden & Diamonds has been a fantastic ride. It was a really happy time while it was happening and everyone enjoyed it, but at the end of the day, it was all subsidised by Max.’
‘The year we were in League One, Max gave us £4m. The next season it cost him £2m, and when the supporters’ trust took over we were still operating with a deficit of £1.5m. It took me until just before Keith (Cousins) sold the cub last December to get us just about trading profitably. That’s why he was so successful in selling it, because the figures looked so reasonable.’
Keith Couins owns the ground and repossessed it on Monday and has started a clean-up operation. The Beasant family who run the club appear to be out of contact. Steve Beasant, who was the force behind the takeover, could not be named as a director having been declared bankrupt in 2009. Their plan to offer NVQs in sport and leisure in Nene Park foundered in the face of government cutbacks.
Many years ago a journalist likened Nene Park to a Meccano set set down in the countryside, a plaything for a rich man. But Max Griggs could have spent his money on a mansion or a yacht. Instead he created something that was of benefit to the community and gave many people pleasure. The flaw in his vision was that it was not sustainable without his money given the population in the catchment area and the state of the local economy.
Someone should write a book about this story because it has been a roller coaster ride. You could even made a film about it like Kinky Boots which was based on the story of a traditional Northants boot and shoe firm which survived by branching out into speciality footwear for cross-dressers.