voiceofraison
New Member
Sure many of you have had the standard reply, but for those who haven't here's the response I got from the chaps who vets the chairman's emails. Basically it says we may as well take the 30 pieces of silver as anyone else..
"Thank you for your email.
Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding, we as a club were unable to comment before the Football League board had made their decision.
Please also accept my apologies for the slightly impersonal nature of the email. I am attempting to reply to as many emails as possible and with only one pair of hands and my every day work to do that has proved something of a challenge. As I hope you will also please appreciate, given the volume of emails I am responding to, I am unable to enter into correspondence beyond this reply. This is not a lack of respect, and please do not take it as such, it is simply because of the numbers involved.
Firstly, please let us say that we totally understand the frustration and anger felt by Coventry City fans that your club will not be playing in your city. That is completely understandable and we truly appreciate that.
We also need to be clear it is not our wish to remove Coventry from Coventry. We did not court this move, we were not lurking around encouraging this to happen, it was Coventry City who approached us, asking about the possibility of playing here. There wasn't any plan for us to try and tempt another club away from their local community for our financial gain. We are simply helping a fellow football club at their request.
Our Chairman's responsibility is to the players and supporters of Northampton Town Football Club. We are not judge and jury over everything in football, of course Coventry should be playing in Coventry but the reason why they cannot for this temporary period is not down to us. Coventry City have come forward, asking to hire our stadium on days when it is not in use, helping Northampton Town's cash flow in the process and have Football League approval to do so. We are a League 2 club who lose a lot of money each season, so given the facts that are presented the decision has been made in the best interests of Northampton Town Football Club while also attempting to help Coventry City.
The income we will receive will be welcome, but it doesn't change things massively for us. What it does do is help our cash flow, which any League 2 club would benefit from.
Had we not reached agreement, and had Coventry been forced to look somewhere else, it may have been at a stadium even further away than Sixfields and with a club who were less aware of the sensitivity and emotion felt by Coventry fans. All we can do, and we will do, is to make the period when they are playing their home games at Sixfields as bearable as possible for Coventry City FC and their supporters.
We know this move won't be popular with Coventry supporters and we genuinely feel for all Coventry fans. It is never nice seeing a club have to play their home games in a different location on a temporary basis but we are just doing our best to help. The rights and wrongs of why Coventry are not playing in Coventry is not our issue to comment on. The Football League have accepted that Coventry's inability to play at the Ricoh, for reasons that are between CCFC and the Ricoh owners, then left Coventry without a home to play at for the next 3 years. As discussed, the issues about whether or not they could use the Ricoh or any other venue in Coventry are not ours to comment on. CCFC felt the only option was to move outside of the city on a temporary basis.
From Coventry's point of view, it was clear it was not a question of playing in Coventry or at Sixfields, it was a question of playing at Sixfields or somewhere else. Had we said no, it wasn't a case of Coventry going back to the Ricoh, they wouldn't have had anywhere to play and that would have made a difficult situation even more difficult.
We understand that some Coventry fans can't or won't travel to Sixfields and we fully understand that. For those who do, we will do the very best we can to make a very difficult situation as bearable as possible for them until Coventry are able to return to their city.
We are genuinely trying to help a club that has come to us in trouble, asking for our help. If the Football League are happy for us to help by lending Coventry our stadium for home matches in the next few years, then as long as the deal is right for us, which it is, that is what we will do.
We are not 'getting in to bed' with anyone, nor are we 'propping anyone up.' It is a genuine attempt in good faith to help a football club who have asked for our help. We feel by not helping in may make a difficult situation even worse. In no way did we try and tempt Coventry here, we are just helping out as asked.
We truly hope that Coventry will be able to return to Coventry as soon as possible, and if we have been able to help them through a difficult period, then we will have done what we were asked to do.
In short, Coventry say they cannot play in Coventry and asked for our help. The Football League board, who are far better qualified to investigate and make a decision than we are, have looked into the matter and have granted permission for them to play outside Coventry for a temporary period. We are simply hiring our venue out to give Coventry City a venue at which to play at their request.
Thanks again for your email and all the very best for the future.
Kind regards
Gareth Willsher
Head of Media
Northampton Town Football Club
Sixfields Stadium
Northampton
NN5 5QA
www.ntfc.co.uk
"Thank you for your email.
Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding, we as a club were unable to comment before the Football League board had made their decision.
Please also accept my apologies for the slightly impersonal nature of the email. I am attempting to reply to as many emails as possible and with only one pair of hands and my every day work to do that has proved something of a challenge. As I hope you will also please appreciate, given the volume of emails I am responding to, I am unable to enter into correspondence beyond this reply. This is not a lack of respect, and please do not take it as such, it is simply because of the numbers involved.
Firstly, please let us say that we totally understand the frustration and anger felt by Coventry City fans that your club will not be playing in your city. That is completely understandable and we truly appreciate that.
We also need to be clear it is not our wish to remove Coventry from Coventry. We did not court this move, we were not lurking around encouraging this to happen, it was Coventry City who approached us, asking about the possibility of playing here. There wasn't any plan for us to try and tempt another club away from their local community for our financial gain. We are simply helping a fellow football club at their request.
Our Chairman's responsibility is to the players and supporters of Northampton Town Football Club. We are not judge and jury over everything in football, of course Coventry should be playing in Coventry but the reason why they cannot for this temporary period is not down to us. Coventry City have come forward, asking to hire our stadium on days when it is not in use, helping Northampton Town's cash flow in the process and have Football League approval to do so. We are a League 2 club who lose a lot of money each season, so given the facts that are presented the decision has been made in the best interests of Northampton Town Football Club while also attempting to help Coventry City.
The income we will receive will be welcome, but it doesn't change things massively for us. What it does do is help our cash flow, which any League 2 club would benefit from.
Had we not reached agreement, and had Coventry been forced to look somewhere else, it may have been at a stadium even further away than Sixfields and with a club who were less aware of the sensitivity and emotion felt by Coventry fans. All we can do, and we will do, is to make the period when they are playing their home games at Sixfields as bearable as possible for Coventry City FC and their supporters.
We know this move won't be popular with Coventry supporters and we genuinely feel for all Coventry fans. It is never nice seeing a club have to play their home games in a different location on a temporary basis but we are just doing our best to help. The rights and wrongs of why Coventry are not playing in Coventry is not our issue to comment on. The Football League have accepted that Coventry's inability to play at the Ricoh, for reasons that are between CCFC and the Ricoh owners, then left Coventry without a home to play at for the next 3 years. As discussed, the issues about whether or not they could use the Ricoh or any other venue in Coventry are not ours to comment on. CCFC felt the only option was to move outside of the city on a temporary basis.
From Coventry's point of view, it was clear it was not a question of playing in Coventry or at Sixfields, it was a question of playing at Sixfields or somewhere else. Had we said no, it wasn't a case of Coventry going back to the Ricoh, they wouldn't have had anywhere to play and that would have made a difficult situation even more difficult.
We understand that some Coventry fans can't or won't travel to Sixfields and we fully understand that. For those who do, we will do the very best we can to make a very difficult situation as bearable as possible for them until Coventry are able to return to their city.
We are genuinely trying to help a club that has come to us in trouble, asking for our help. If the Football League are happy for us to help by lending Coventry our stadium for home matches in the next few years, then as long as the deal is right for us, which it is, that is what we will do.
We are not 'getting in to bed' with anyone, nor are we 'propping anyone up.' It is a genuine attempt in good faith to help a football club who have asked for our help. We feel by not helping in may make a difficult situation even worse. In no way did we try and tempt Coventry here, we are just helping out as asked.
We truly hope that Coventry will be able to return to Coventry as soon as possible, and if we have been able to help them through a difficult period, then we will have done what we were asked to do.
In short, Coventry say they cannot play in Coventry and asked for our help. The Football League board, who are far better qualified to investigate and make a decision than we are, have looked into the matter and have granted permission for them to play outside Coventry for a temporary period. We are simply hiring our venue out to give Coventry City a venue at which to play at their request.
Thanks again for your email and all the very best for the future.
Kind regards
Gareth Willsher
Head of Media
Northampton Town Football Club
Sixfields Stadium
Northampton
NN5 5QA
www.ntfc.co.uk
