Avoiding the Drop

Two weeks ago you would’ve never seen this coming. It was all wine and roses for Kettering Town when, on November 29th, the eighth-best team in the Blue Square Premier League drew 1-1 with Leeds United in their Second Round Proper FA Cup tie. Of course, being the FA Cup, that meant that the tie would need to be replayed a week later at Leeds.

And so on Tuesday, Kettering Town met Leeds United a second time. They played them to another 1-1 draw in regular time, but in the second half of extra time they fell apart after substitute Lee Fowler was brought on in the 106′ and conceded four goals, losing 5-1 AET. End scoreline notwithstanding, that’s a much better performance than anyone probably expected them to put in; it was so good, in fact, that Kettering promptly fired assistant manager John Deehan.

After hearing the news that Deehan had been sacked by chairman Imraan Ladak, player-manager Lee Harper had this to say:

“There are some upset people and I will certainly be considering my future because things have been said to my assistant manager that he is not to come back to the club. It’s a strange way to go about things. We have just made the club £200,000. What was said was just not on.”

“I’ve mentioned to the lads that might be it and every single one said we are beside you. Everyone is disgusted with what has been said. I’m not going to name names but he is someone high up. It’s down to the substitutions but we only had three players who could go on.”

The match report confirms that Kettering only brought five substitutes to the match. One of those subs – Niall Cooper – was the back-up goalkeeper, and was never likely going to get on. Another – Ryan Cherry – has his position listed as “Other” on Kettering Town’s website. That left Deehan with three players: Danny Thomas (MF), Darren Wrack (MF), and Lee Fowler (MF). Thomas came on at the 46′ for striker Kithson Bain (who was apparently not effective, as Leeds had 21 shots on goal to Kettering’s 2), while the other two showed up in extra time for players who (presumably) were exhausted.

Harper’s account of how much money the cup run made is pretty much spot on as well. For getting out of the First Round Proper and playing Leeds to a draw, Kettering Town earned themselves £192,000 in prize money and television rights fees, not including the gate on both matches.

The issue is probably this. On November 29th, the draw for the third round of the FA Cup was held. Ties that had yet to be determined were drawn, so the winners of this match knew where they were going next, and the prospect was amazingly enticing for a non-league side: Old Trafford. See, while Kettering Town is playing in front of about 5,000 fans a week, Manchester United’s stadium fits about 150 times that amount. The gate is split between two teams, and Manchester United’s match was bound to be televised; if they were to beat Leeds and advance, they’d get an additional £171,000, plus half the gate at Old Trafford. They could have effectively doubled their prize money and set the team up for a little while (£400,000 is what Ronaldo makes in a month, but it can also float a non-league side’s wage bill along for two or three years).

There’s also the possibility that they’d have gotten even more than the 171,000; today, Leeds announced that they would receive £750,000 in television rights for their first match in six years at Old Trafford. A non-league side against Manchester United could be a very intriguing match; the upset potential is huge. It’s not out of the realm of possiblity that they’d get £300,000 for TV rights, which is again a ton of cash for a non-league team.

Of course, chairman Imraan Ladak (the 77th richest person under 30 in England, ahead of Cesc Fabregas but behind Emma Watson) says that money has nothing to do with it, claiming that the issue was solely related to Deehan’s tactical changes:

“We have a player at the club, Lee Fowler, who doesn’t want to be at the club and has made it very clear he doesn’t want to be at the club. I felt when someone’s that uncommitted off the field, they are that uncommitted on the field. He came on and we conceded four goals. I think things would have been different if he hadn’t been on the pitch. I was very angry that he had been brought on because he was only on the bench to make up numbers but shouldn’t have played.”

“There’s a big regret that the incredible performance has been overshadowed by the John Deehan scenario. I’m very disappointed that I’ve taken some of the positive spotlight away.”

Be that as it may, Deehan was obviously behind a rock and a hard place on this one. Certainly Fowler shouldn’t have been on the field if he didn’t want to be there; however, when he came on in the 106′, it’s likely that Patrick Noubissie – the player he subbed out – was exhausted. Ryan Cherry might not even be a player (did he win a radio contest and get to sit on the bench or something?), and the other sub is your keeper. What’re you supposed to do?

It’s also hard not to see the loss of revenue money as being a big motivating factor here. At the moment, Kettering Town’s lease on their Rockingham Road stadium is set to run out in 2013; Kettering’s city council has opted not to renew the lease, instead turning the land over to developers for condos. Even Ladak this morning couldn’t deny the obvious link between the potential Manchester United payoff and the stadium issue:

“Money from Manchester United would have been used towards trying to find a deal to stay at Rockingham Road. We have a lease running out which the landlord doesn’t want to extend. We want to stay at Rockingham Road but I’m concerned that option will be closed as well. If that’s the situation in January we’ve got a problem.”

So the money that might’ve helped fix the stadium that was lost because Deehan brought in Fowler was not relevant to Deehan ultimately being sacked, even though the club really needed that money. Got it?

For his part, John Deehan claims that he’s never felt as abused as he felt when working at Kettering Town. Ladak, perhaps predictably, denies he ever abused anyone. He also would like everyone to back off and “cut him some slack”:

“There is an incredible lack of loyalty from some fans. I’ve got the message, it’s loud and clear – ‘Ladak, no matter what you do you’re only one decision from being the enemy’…I love the football club. I’m fully committed but understand that’s just football and hopefully some people will cut me some slack.”

Cut him some slack indeed.