The new all improved AFC Poppies website has today been launched.

The new website can be found here

http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/afcpoppies0102/

AFC Poppies have today announced another new sponsor. Kettering supporter Hammy "elvis" Young has agreed to sponsor the team the £120 pounds needed to buy new socks and shorts.

Everyone at AFC Poppies would like to thank Hammy for his sponsorship of the team.

The 20 man squad is.......

1. Wayne Sharpe
2. Simon Colson
3. Garry Smith
4. Wayne Munton
5. Jamie Wells
6. Ross Patrick
7. Mark Severn
8. Dave Taylor
9. Jamie Peacock
10.Mark Knight
11.Dez Goodwin
12.Steve Perkins
13.Seb Lund
14.Matt Spearman
15.Jacob Sanders
16.Lee Wright
17.Curtis Kirk
18.Matt Kirk
19.Matt Knight

20.Mel Ridley

Stand by players - Dave Armour, Chris Bussey, Luke Smith

The next training session will be on Thursday the 18th of September.

From this week training will be taking place as the all weather pitch at Kettering Leisure Village. Training will start at 6pm and will last for one hour.

All players are asked to bring £2 to cover the cost of pitch hire. - Also see "Training News"

AFC Poppies will train at the Glebe for the last time tonight (11th September) due to the nights drawing in.

From next Thursday (18th September) and the following 9 weeks training will take place at the all weather pitch at Kettering Leisure village starting at 6pm and lasting for an hour.

Cost for each player will be £2 to help cover the £29 cost for pitch hire.

Despite being without nine players that kicked off AFC Poppies season last weekend with a 8-0 victory over Nuneaton manager Darren Young insists his side are ready for the visit to Oxford.

AFC make the trip down to Cuttleslowe Park without the likes of captain Garry Smith, Jamie Wells, Ross Patrick, Nick Smith and last weeks man of the match Terry Baines. But Young has still been able to name a squad of twenty for the game and admits that him and his players are looking forward to the tough test they will face.

"It's not ideal being nine players down and even more so when six of those nine would have started the game if available. But we have to get on with it and have been able to name a squad of twenty players for the game. There is four or five players in the squad that i admit to knowing little about but i have picked a starting XI and it does not look as weak as i thought it would at the start of the week. Myself and the players are looking forward to it".

Young did warn that his side face a much different challenge to the one they faced against Nuneaton last week. "This will be a much tougher game than we had last week" Young warned. "The Nuneaton side had only just started up and we were only the second side they had faced. But tomorrow we face a Oxford side that have been together for a few years now and will provide us with a much tougher test. Looking at their past four results they are a side that score a few goals but also concede a few to so that is something we will be looking to exploit".

And the AFC boss is just asking that his players give their all like they did in the Nuneaton game. "The attitude of all the players in the Nuneaton game was first class" Young commented. "We need more of the same tomorrow and i am sure i will get that. If we lose because they are a better side than us on the day but every player has given his all then i can't ask any more. But i think we might be able to get at them and that's what i will be asking the players to do. It is going to be a tough game we know that but one we are ready for and looking forward to".

AFC Poppies (from) Parker, Sanders, Armour, Curchin, Pope, Colson, C.Kirk, Goodwin, Mark Knight, Ridley, Lund, L.Smith, R.Kirk, Wright, Laundon, M.Kirk, Burnside, Dent, Douthwaite, Sutherland.

All players to meet at the KTFC car park no later than 8.30am.

AFC Poppies will head to Oxford on Saturday with a different looking squad to the one the recorded a 8-0 victory over Nuneaton Town on Sunday. AFC will be without captain Garry Smith, Sunday's man of the match Terry Baines, Vice-captain Nick Smith, Wayne Munton, Jamie Wells, David Armour, Matt Kirk, Ryan Kirk, Niall Smith and Fergus Gallagher. They could also be without Ross Patrick, Craig Turnbull and Jacob Sanders. Add to that assistant manager Andy Tolton also can't travel it has made a already tough game look even harder.

Manager Darren Young said "obviously being without up to 13 of the squad that performed so well on Sunday is a major blow. But of course i understand that certain players have other things on but at least all those that can't attend have given me plenty of notice". Young now looks likely to give games to the likes of Lee Wright, Wayne Laundon, Luke Smith and Mel Ridley who were all subs against Nuneaton.

"It opens the door for one or two to come in and show what they can do" Young added. "I know that whoever starts will give it their all and will play with pride and full commitment and hopefully will give me a few things to think about for the next game. We will just train as normal on Thursday then Friday i will see what my final squad is and take things from there".

One boost for AFC Poppies was the news that Dez Goodwin is available after having to miss the Nuneaton game due to work commitments. "It's a plus having Dez back in the squad" Young admitted. "Dez has a presents about him and as one of the more senior players in the squad his experience will be needed in what will be a pretty young squad."

Young also admitted the squad could have up to 4-5 new faces in it Saturday. "I needed to get players in quickly and have got 3 lads Ryan Dent, Andrew Douthwaite and Jimmy Burnside coming along to play and also have another two players that should be coming along as well. So numbers wise we should get around the 15 mark which when you consider we could be 13 down from Sunday is still a great turn out".

Young said all he wanted to see was commitment from whoever plays on Sunday. "As manager all i can  ask for is that every player goes out and gives all he can. If on the day that is still not enough and Oxford are better than us then that can't be helped. If we lose the game but lose it with everyone giving all they can than whilst i hate losing i can't ask for more if every player has given his all"

Pictures from the Nuneaton game are now in the "In Action" section.

AFC Poppies strolled to a easy 8-0 victory over the supporters team from Nuneaton Borough in their first game. It was a game that AFC controlled for large amounts of the game and a game they maybe should have won by a far bigger margin.

AFC showed greater skill and fitness levels than their Nuneaton counterparts who to their credit never gave up and battled away well for the full 90 minutes.

Manager Darren Young commented after the game "It was a fantastic start and every player gave their all. They all took on board what myself and Andy had to say to them before the game and in the end went out and recorded a sound victory. Now we train again on Thursday before we make the trip to Oxford next week. That will be a very hard game but a game i am looking forward to after todays performance".

All at AFC Poppies would like to thank Ben Bruce and his Nuneaton team for coming down to play us today.

The AFC scorers were Mark Knight (3), Mel Ridley (2), Luke Smith, Jamie Wells, Terry

AFC Poppies line up was..........

1. Craig Parker
2. Simon Colson
3. Jamie Wells
4. Craig Curchin
5. Garry Smith (c)
6. Wayne Munton
7. Ross Patrick
8. Nick Smith
9. Mark Knight
10.Terry Baines
11.Seb Lund

Subs...(All used)

Mel Ridley
Luke Smith
Jacob Sanders
Lee Wright
Ryan Kirk
Niall Smith
Wayne Laundon
Matt Kirk
Fergus Gallagher
David Armour
Craig Turnbull

Managers MOTM - Terry Baines, scored a great goal and was fantastic all game. Closely followed by Mark Knight and Jamie Wells.

On the eve of the midlands derby supporters match between Kettering Town and Nuneaton Poppies boss Darren Young has branded his Nuneaton counterpart Ben Bruce as "Clueless".

Young was reacting to comments made by Bruce on the website Taking Liberties where Bruce claimed the Kettering team and management were arrogant and they knew just what to expect from the AFC Poppies team on Sunday. Young laughed that off by saying "So were are arrogant in Ben's eyes ?. Oh well so be it. I look at it as a case of as a manager at least i have a squad of players that allows me to be arrogant. Ben has a squad of players that when he talks about them sounds like he has been quoting a Don Howe book of management".

Young was also puzzled by Bruce's comments that he "knows about Kettering" and "they will have no surprises on Sunday". Young added "Just how does Ben claim that he knows all about us ?. He claims he knows all about us by reading our player profiles. Well if Ben can get to know all about how a team will play, line up and about the players in my squad by reading a few player profiles then he is a fantastic manager who maybe his beloved Scotland should take on as manager. In truth his comments are laughable and have made him sound pretty clueless. I see them as smacking of pure desperation on Ben's part".

Young finished off by saying "I have made sure that most our squad have seen Ben's comments. If non of them were fired up for Sunday believe me they really are now. In a way i should be thanking Ben because his comments have made my team talk for Sunday a whole lot easier."

After training tonight manager Darren Young named a 20 man squad for Sunday's first game of the season against Nuneaton. The squad was also without 5 players as Darren Young (hernia), mark Severn (illness), Dez Goodwin (Work commitments) and unavailable pair Matt Knight and Mel Ridley were all unable to take part. The team has been picked and will be told the the squad on Sunday before the game.

The squad is...

Craig Parker, Garry Smith, Jacob Sanders, David Armour, Lee Wright, Seb Lund, Luke Smith, Jamie Wells, Craig Curchin, Mark Knight, Wayne Laundon, Simon Colson, Ryan Kirk, Craig Turnbull, Nick Smith, Matt Kirk, Ross Patrick, Wayne Munton, Niall Smith, Fergus Gallagher.

Kick off is at 11.30am and all players are asked to be at the Glebe between 10.30-10.45am and bring £3 for match subs.

Pictures from last weeks training session involving John Dempster and Luke Graham are now in the In Action section.

Today myself and Andy went up to the ground to collect 20 red shirts for the supporters team to play in.

We had thought we would be receiving a new kit as told to us by Tony Turberville. But due to Tony leaving the football club this would no longer be the the case. I found this out on Monday and at that time we were in effect "kit less". But i contacted Ken Samuel and between Ken and Kevin Meikle they donated 20 red Kettering shirts. At the moment the shirts have the Kettering badge on them but no numbers or sponsor at the moment but that is something myself and Andy will be working on to try and find a sponsor to be able to have their logo on the front of the shirts as well as numbers on the back.

Also at the moment we are without Shorts and socks for the kit but i have already today made two enquires to people regards getting shorts and socks and things on that front are looking very promising.

Myself and Andy would both like to thank Kevin, Ken, Imraan and the club for the kind donation of the 20 shirts.

Training is again this week taking place on Thursday 7th August at The Glebe with a 6pm start.

With only four sessions left before our first game against the supporters team from Nuneaton the training will be stepping up a extra pace now as we begin to start to sort out team formations and positions. It would be good to see as many players as possible at training.

Manager Darren Young has today spoken about how pleased he has been with the progress that has been made by AFC Poppies in the four weeks since the team was formed. Young is pleased with all aspects both on and off the pitch and admitted he can't wait for the teams first game against the Nuneaton Borough supporters team in four weeks time.

The manager said "It is all going a lot better than if i am being honest thought it would. We have been given the full backing of the club and it's good to know that Imraan and Kevin will help us out in any way they can. On the pitch the commitment of the players to training has been first class. We have had three training sessions so far and in two of those sessions we had players traveling up from Bristol and Brighton just to train, that for me is fantastic commitment".

Young also spoke of how well the players have taken to the the training. He added "I think when we first started a few of the lads thought we were just going to be turning up to have a hours kick about and that would be it. But in each session we have done a lot of running to start off with and followed that on with a lot of ball routines before ending with a 25 minute two touch only game. Every player has took part and completed the training and not one of them have moaned and have trained with a smile on their faces and to have both John Dempster and Luke Graham take our training session last week was fantastic".

Young then went on to admit that there are still 11 places up for grabs in the team for the clash with Nuneaton. "The Nuneaton game is four weeks away and i will spend the next 3-4 sessions trying to asses every player before i put together a starting eleven. There are some very good players who some may think are odds on to be in the starting side. But for me commitment is just as important as ability and i will be looking for people to be telling me in training "look Darren i want to be in your team" and those that do will be well on their way to getting that shirt. I want us to enjoy our football and have a laugh together at training but i also want us to be serious in everything as i have always been a person who hates losing and if i thought we were just going to turn up to go through the motions and have a mess about and get hammered every game i would end my involvement with the team. But the attitude in training so far to me suggests the players are fully committed to this and want to do their best in every game."

Talking about his teams first opponents Nuneaton Borough Young said he will be expecting a tough match but would only be worrying about his own team. He said "They like us are a new supporters team, they did play one game last season and suffered a very heavy defeat to Blyth Spartans. But i won't pay to much notice to that result. Ben (Bruce) has got a few new players playing for him that never played in the Blyth game and they to like us are training and by the time they come here they will have played at game at Hinckley whilst we will be going into it playing together for the first time. But i have seen enough so far in training to see that we have some good players who will be capable of causing them problems. I know a few of the Nuneaton lads and leading up to the game there is bound to be a bit of banter knocking about. But for me when that whistle blows all banter will end and i will have eleven committed players wanting to win the game".

The first AFC Poppies match against Nuneaton Borough Supporters team will take place on the 31st August 2008 at The Glebe. Kick-off for this match will be 11.30am.

First Friendly Announced -

AFC Poppies have today announced their first friendly match. We will be taking on the supporters team from Nuneaton Borough at home on Sunday 31st August 2008. Kick-Off time and venue are to be announced soon.

We are also close to announcing another friendly for Sunday 17th August, again that will be a home match.

Kettering Town FC have given it's full support to AFC Poppies. After training last night manager Darren Young met with Chief Executive Tony Turburville and Tony told how the club will be buying us a home and away strip as well as allowing us full use of the changing rooms and showers at The A-Line Arena before and after training. Tony has also said he will help out as best he can in regards to anything else we may need.

I am sure that i speak for all the lads by saying thank you and how we really appreciate the support the club and Tony have offered to us.

Last night the first AFC Poppies training session took place at The Glebe. A healthy turnout of around 14 players took part and the early signs were good. Training will again take place this coming Thursday, again at the Glebe with a 6pm start.

AFC Poppies have today announced the date of the teams first training session. A get together has been arranged for Thursday 17th July 2008 from 6pm at the Glebe playing fields in Weekley Glebe Road Kettering.

Manager Darren Young said "It will be more a informal training session to allow the players to meet up with each other. I understand that certain players live away from Kettering and others may have to work but it would be good to see as many players there as possible. Also if any of the players know anyone that would be interested in popping along they are more than welcome to bring them along".

New Manager names number 2 -

AFC Poppies player/manager Darren Young has named Andy Tolton as his assistant manager. Tolton who is known on the Poppies chatterbox as striker 127 has previous managerial experience in the Northampton Sunday league.

AFC Poppies boss Darren Young said "I have known Andy for years and he was my first choice to help me out". "I hope to sort out a team meeting within the next fortnight where i will be able to get more information on the players". "Yes we want to have fun, yes i am willing to give up my time to make this happen but on the understanding that as well as having fun we take it as serious as we can".