Kettles facing the final whistle?

Kettering owner Imraan Ladak has stepped down as club chairman

It appears that Kettering Town are in some trouble. Imraan Ladak has stepped down as chairman of the club and plans for a new stadium have been shot down.

With the current lease on Rockingham Road ending in a few years, the Kettles may find themselves homeless.

As this is serious bother, I'm going to take the high road and avoid using any Kettle related puns in this article.

So lets take a look at why the Kettles are in hot water (couldn't resist.)

Ladak was the chairman of the club and had grand plans for the Northamptonshire club but problems with Kettering Council and a new stadium have forced the owner to take a step back from the day-to-day running of the club.

Ladak, who made his money through recruitment services, had already been banned by the FA from having any football involvement following his failure to pay a fine and this appears to be another bullet wound to the Top Kettle.

With the club's wages set to be reduced, fans have been worrying about the future of their club and, despite the directors insisting that the club is in safe hands, the fans have every reason to worry.

With no plans for a stadium and not long left on the lease to Rockingham Road, the club is set to be homeless and that presents an obvious problem.

So what's happening? Not a lot at the moment. Fans are panicking, directors are calming, and Ladak is smarting.

The next few months could be huge for the future of the Northants outfit and here at Soccer AM/MW, we hope the club keeps its head above water and manages to keep on playing football.

This doesn't just apply to Kettering - it applies to every club. Stay Strong and Play Fair.

Turls.

Big Match Review - Kettering 1 Leeds 1

FA Cup

Kettering Town 1-1 Leeds United

Sunday November 29, Rockingham Road, (Att: 4,837)

Jermaine Beckford's goal 13 minutes from time rescued profligate Leeds from a giant killing at the hands of Kettering in the FA Cup second round.

A second half goal from Ian Roper had threatened to cause an upset but the two sides will now be forced to meet again at Elland Road for the right to meet Manchester United in the next round.

Leeds will feel they should have already had the job done though. After dominating proceedings early on at Rockingham Road they were unfortunate not to go ahead when John Dempster blocked Richard Snodgrass's header on the line.

Then it was the turn of the woodwork to deny the Whites with Jermaine Beckford's strike coming back off the crossbar and Snodgrass hitting the outside of the post with the rebound.

Kettering, under the player-management of goalkeeper Lee Harper, were struggling to really cause any problems up front themselves and had to rely again on Dempster to block a stinging shot from Mike Grella to keep things level.

The visitors began the second half where they left off in the first and only more heroic defending, this time from Sol Davies, stopped United taking the lead through a Snodgrass effort.

However, it was the Kettles who took the lead against the run of play. Just after the hour mark an inswinging free-kick found Roper who beat Leeds keeper Casper Ankergren to the ball to head into an unguarded net.

Simon Grayson's men responded and were twice denied by reflex saves from Harper in the Town goal to thwart first Jason Crowe and then Michael Doyle.

However, the manager was eventually beaten when neat play found Snodgrass in space and his low centre driven across goal was flicked in by Beckford.

And Leeds could have won it late on when captain Jonny Howson's mazy run ended with him poking a shot narrowly wide of the Kettering upright as both sides were forced into a replay in West Yorkshire.

Big Match Preview

FA Cup

Kettering Town vs. Leeds United

Sunday November 29, 13:45, Rockingham Road

Runaway League One leaders Leeds make the trip to Conference club Kettering Town hoping to avoid an FA Cup exit to a Non League side for the second successive seasons.

It was back in last year's first round when defeat in Cambridgeshire to village side Histon helped to bring Gary McAllister's reign as United boss to an end.

His replacement, former Blackpool manager Simon Grayson, has overseen a remarkable run of results since returning to his native West Yorkshire though.

The Elland Road club are six points clear at the top of their division with a game in hand, having suffered just a single defeat in 17 league matches. Leeds will therefore be heading into Sunday's game at Rockingham Road with great confidence.

Preventing Leeds's top scorer Jermaine Beckford, with 13 goals to his name already, will be a difficult prospect for Kettering's defence.

However with the likes of Robert Snodgrass, Jonny Howson, and Bradley Johnson scoring goals from midfield too, the Whites are no one-man-team going forwards.

Grayson's men also have the best defence in League One, leaking just eight goals to date with keeper Shane Higgs in fine form since his summer move from Cheltenham.

Leeds striker Beckford knows where the back of the net is

It's a steep task facing the Kettles and their new boss Lee Harper therefore. Harper, a former QPR and Walsall keeper, stepped up to take over the hotseat after Mark Cooper's move to Peterborough.

And it's been a baptism of fire for the rookie with the Northamptonshire club suffering back-to-back home defeats to Hayes & Yeading and Kidderminster in their last two matches.

Town raised their game in the last round to dispose of Leeds's League One colleagues Hartlepool in a tight contest at Victoria Park though, and will be hoping for a repeat in front of the live ITV cameras.

Their cause hasn't been helped this week with the loss of imposing centre half Exodus Geohaghon who's linked up with his former boss Cooper at London Road.

The defender was a key part of the side who ran Premier League Fulham close in the fourth round of last season's competition.

However, at the other end the new boss will look to the promising strike partnership of Moses Ashikodi and former Leeds man Anthony Elding to pierce the visitors' backline.

It'll be a difficult test though. Leeds are full of confidence and looking ruthless at both ends of the pitch. Kettering will give it a go, but they won't have enough to upset their illustrious opponents.

Nobes' Prediction: Kettering Town 0 Leeds United 2