Thetownend.com

Rushden and diamonds expelled from the conference.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13738222.stm

Hoddle was going to save them with a link to his academy, but didnt.

Im so glad that we are one of the more secure clubs these days after the shit we've been through.

Village team. They were only ever made viable by one man's fortune. Always going to happen once the money ran out.

Hopefully this happens to crawley in the future

Was just about to post that.

True....but they've tidy facilities there, shame we couldn't have had someone like Griggs to invest in our club.

R and D away Boxing Day 03, was without doubt the worst experience I've ever had in nearly 50 years of support.

Toxic combination of personal stuff and dire football... :(

the following couple of months were ok though, king's award and all that

I heard he was a Northampton fan, but when the board wouldnt give him full control he threw his toys out of the pram and set up a rival team? For me that is unforgivable and the hallmarks of a cunt. We dont need someone like that. If I somehow won the lottery and had a proposal for the STFC and they turned me down, the last thing I would do is go and invest in Supermarine out of spite.

I never bothered going to either of our games there. Just didnt appeal to me. Ive got a list of clubs like that I just dont bother with for regular games. Yeovil was one of them, but we relented this year and went down on the train, big mistake.

Fair point, but he did build a good community facility, which he handed over to their Trust when he quit. Makes a change from cunts who are trying to take money out, whatever his reason.

Diamond burgers were tasty there

Thats all it is now, a community facility. If he had bided his time Im sure he could have gone back to Northampton in 3 or 4 years and really pushed them up to the 2nd tier. Overrall he's damaged football in that area. Northamptonshire cannot support 2 FL teams.

yep, especially when the saints are getting to european cup finals, got county cricket too, both are fairly central in the town

A community facility is a pretty decent legacy....with or without a league club.

Still not much more than a village though. They get loads of investment anyway. Not like Swindon, which has loads of people, but virtually no investment at all (yes Im bitter).

Our investors not good enough Reg?

Correct me if Im wrong, but I guess he means 10 years ago when Griggs was piling the money into Rushden and we were limping from one crisis to another?

I'm really surprised at some of the negative comments about teams like R&D, Crawley and Franchise. Need to think very carefully about this, because, the more clubs go to the wall, the more likely we are to move towards an NFL style football league. A small number of Premiershit clubs backed by 'farm teams' with little identity. Its not what I want and I'd be surprised if it is what many on here want.

Very few clubs do actually go bust and out of existence and out of those most are reformed and start again.

The English leagues are the most insulated from an NFL type structure due to the sheer number of clubs and the money involved - the Championship is a richer league than most countries top tier. So even if clubs do disappear there are always plenty lining up to take their place.

Biggest risk of the NFL thing is all the foreign owners buying in to the PL, who want protection from relegation to protect their investment. But I'd say they've as much chance of getting it as we have of winning the Champions League.

will never happen, supporters would never stand for it, probably rather see football go to the dogs completely than watch a 'farm team'

I think that's more MLB than NFL but I get your point.

As a side issue, as a result of the subsequent re-shuffling which has gone on as a result of R&D's demise, Bishops Stortford (which is in Hertfordshire, right next to Stansted Airport) are going to have to play in the Conference North next season against the likes of Workington, Harrogate and Blyth Spartans, through no fault of their own. They must be gutted.

I believe Gloucester City are in the same situation. 

I was there that day as well...and remember having to listen to one of our fans in the row in front repeating the line that R&D were now a bigger, better run club than ourselves.  Now I won't deny that we were being run by a shower of shite in those days, but the statement still seemed so wide of the mark that it really upset me.

Rushden should simply never have been there.  Bought their place in the League just as Crawley have bought theirs.  It's the lower league equivalent of Wigan's purchased place in the Prem.  Don't see the point, myself.  When the artificial support is withdrawn, the club will inevitablt return to its natural level.  I never like to see a club disappear, but I'll not regret Rushden's demise for long.

Worked in Rushden for three years,Strong and Fisher was the company.
When they joined up with Irthlingborough Diamonds it upset a few at local level,reminds me of Wycombe in a way,really suprised Wycombe have stayed the course.

They are indeed. Insane.