2000's part 1
Relegated, Promoted back to Conference at first attempt
The 2000-2001 season started badly for Morris and Kettering, four defeats from the first four matches and not a single goal scored by the Poppies, the supporters feared the worst, a season-long struggle and then relegation from the Conference was on the cards. The first win of the season came ironically, against Kingstonian, but the Trophy winners were also in for a season of struggle and Poppies lost the next game to Hayes, things were now beginning to look very bleak for Kettering Town.
The poor results continued and Morris' support from the fans grew increasingly fragile as the club slumped to the bottom of the table, confidence in his managerial abilities was fading fast and only the Chairman and an increasingly smaller number of supporters refused to see the inevitable conclusion if he was allowed to continue as manager.
Morris had one last throw of the dice, hoping another FA Cup run could turn the season around, as by now the home attendances were hovering just over the 1,000 mark. A 0-0 away draw in the 1st Round of the Cup brought Hull City to Rockingham Road for a replay and Kettering won 1-0 courtesy of a Matt Fisher goal in front of 3,358. Ironically it was to be Kettering's last win for almost three months.
Bristol City were the hosts for the 3rd Round tie and proved too strong for the Poppies with Darren Collins scoring Kettering's goal in a 3-1 defeat in front of 7,641 at Ashton Gate. It was back to the reality of the league struggle and stumbling into the New Year with seven defeats in a row, including the final humiliation of being dumped out of the FA Trophy at the first hurdle 3-0 by Histon.
The Trophy defeat was the last straw for many Kettering supporters, angry at what they saw was the lack of intervention by the club Chairman/owner Peter Mallinger, as rift between the manager and players had already come to a head, with several missing from the teamsheet in the debacle at Histon. The Chairman's reply was to dismiss the protests by the Poppies supporters as being 'a noisy few', but worse was to come.
As the 'noisy few' grew in number and the protests became more high profile with the news media covering demonstrations at the ground by a dedicated group of Poppies fans, the Chairman refused to remove Morris and Kettering lost two more league matches, the latter, a 5-1 hammering by Morecambe at Rockingham Road. That was the final straw for club and fans and even the Chairman had finally had enough, Morris departed Rockingham Road leaving the club rooted at the foot of the table, the love-affair between Kettering Town and Peter Morris was irreparably over.
Shutt to the rescue, almost .. but Kettering are still relegated
The club was in dire straits both on and off the field, and needed a miracle to save them from the drop, when Carl Shutt stepped forward with the help of captain Colin Vowden to try to rescue Kettering from relegation. The size of the task was brought home to Shutt in Kettering's next match, another 5-1 hammering, this time away to Dagenham & Redbridge, it was indeed going to take a miracle at this late stage of the season. Shutt certainly had chosen to take his first steps into football management the hard way.
Shutt was new to club management, a vastly-experienced Football League player, including a League Championship medal with Leeds Utd, however he was taking over the hot seat for the first time and it proved to be a baptism of fire for the Yorkshireman. Despite eight wins and three draws from their last sixteen games, Kettering paid the ultimate price and were relegated from the Conference, finishing in 20th position.
Many supporters feared the worst for Kettering after being relegated from the top-flight of non-league football for the first time in almost 30 years and with the club's financial difficulties well documented, things looked pretty bleak for the future of Kettering Town Football Club in the new millennium.
Shutt begins task of regaining Conference football for Kettering
Carl Shutt's mission at the start of his first full season in management was clear, take Kettering Town straight back into the Conference at the first attempt. On paper and to the vast majority of supporters, it didn't seem too difficult a task, especially as Burton Albion had conveniently moved across into the Unibond Premier League and after all, we had retained virtually the same squad of players that we'd had in the Conference the previous season.
The season started off well with two wins and the supporters confidence grew that all was going well with their master plan, unfortunately the situation changed rapidly as Kettering lost four league games on the trot to set the supporters questioning the commitment of the players to regaining their Conference place and whether Shutt really could get them back on track.
Shutt immediately brought in Lee Howarth to strengthen the defence and it paid instant dividends as Kettering went 15 matches before their next league defeat and emerged as one of the handful of DMPL teams equipped for a serious challenge for the title race as the festive end-of-year period arrived.
A brief distraction appeared in the shape of a victory over Conference side Stevenage Borough in the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round Replay, but the run was short-lived after a 6-1 hammering at home by 3rd Division Cheltenham Town allowed the players and supporters to 'concentrate on the league' again. As the season crept into the New Year there appeared only four teams in contention, with Tamworth taking over the role as main title rivals to Kettering Town.
The run-in to the DMPL Championship Title
As the championship battle entered into the final run-in stage, it came down to a two-horse race, with Tamworth having a slight edge over Kettering who struggled to cope with their growing injury problems and it was the sheer determination of Poppies manager Carl Shutt who kept the club's hopes alive after several setbacks.
Going into March, Kettering won four matches on the trot taking them within goal difference of the Lambs at the top of the table, but two shock defeats saw them slip back again before two wins at Easter steadied the ship and restored some much-needed composure. Another surprise defeat at home to Newport IoW looked to be the end of Kettering's title chances and the supporters, already on edge, were beginning to lose faith in the chances of a quick return to the Conference.
Two matches later and it was Tamworth who suffered the jitters having two drawn games, with Kettering securing two vital away victories that again had them within goal difference of the top of the table and now there were just two games remaining for both teams, one home and one away.
Kettering's excellent 4-1 victory at home over Weymouth was surpassed (score-wise) by Tamworth's 5-1 win over relegated Salisbury City and with each team having just one away game remaining, Tamworth were ahead of Kettering only on goal difference. After a rollercoaster of a season for Kettering Town, it was going right to the wire and with the Lambs +2 up 'goal difference' over the Poppies, even a win in their final away game might not be enough for Carl Shutt's men to secure the championship.
The title race goes down to the wire at Tiverton
To say the atmosphere at Tiverton Town for Kettering's final game of the season was tense is a vast understatement, a large travelling contingent of Poppies supporters were forced to endure not only 90 minutes of nail-biting whilst watching their own team's progress, but also the heart-stopping updates filtering through from Cheriton Road, where Folkestone Invicta were putting up a real fight against Tamworth.
The memories of that day will surely be etched forever in the minds of all the Poppies supporters, management and players alike as the final whistle sounded, Kettering had won 2-1 and within seconds the crowd erupted into frenzied celebration as the news was confirmed, Tamworth had only managed a 3-3 draw and Kettering Town were the DM Premier League Champions 2002.
Carl Shutt had pulled off a minor miracle. Having almost rescued the club from relegation after taking over at the latter part of that fateful previous season, the Poppies manager's sheer determination and refusal to admit defeat, even more impressively in his first full season of management, had carried Kettering Town Football Club back up into the Conference.
Kettering's return to the Conference is short-lived
Once the euphoria of Kettering's triumphant return to the Conference had finally faded it was down to the difficult task of consolidating a place back in the top-flight of non-league football at the start of the 2002-03 season. The preseason buildup had not gone well for Kettering, losing out 2-0 to Dorchester Town at home in the DM Championship Shield was perhaps an early indication of the problems Carl Shutt faced in his attempt to restore some of the club's status after the humiliation of two season's previous.
A mediocre start was quickly followed by several defeats and it wasn't long before Kettering were languishing at the bottom of the Conference and already looking likely relegation candidates. With no money made available for manager Carl Shutt to bring in players, matters quickly turned worse when the chairman announced he wouldn't be able to pay the players wages and effectively the club was in breach of contract.
By the time the middle part of the season came around, Kettering's playing squad had been decimated by several departures, notably promising midfielder Richard Butcher, who opted to join Lincoln City and last season's top scorer Dale Watkins who struggled to regain his previous season's goalscoring form. A humilating 5-0 hammering at Rockingham Rd by Hastings Utd in the FA Cup put paid to any thoughts of a much-need prize money boost and the 5-3 loss on penalties to Altrincham put paid to any hope of FA Trophy success early into the New Year.
The seemingly inevitable relegation was finally confirmed with four matches still remaining and led to the sacking of manager Carl Shutt, with Kettering finishing the season rock-bottom of the Conference, embarrassingly 14 pts behind the team above and at least 16 points from safety, recording arguably one of their worst seasons in the history of the club and certainly during their Conference tenure.
Despite increasingly vocal protests from the understandably frustrated and disillusioned supporters and two rejected attempts from the Supporters Trust to purchase the club, Poppies chairman Peter Mallinger stubbornly refused to give up control of the club and duly appointed Dominic Genovese as manager for the coming season. Kettering opted to join the Rymans (Isthmians) Premier League for the coming 2003-04 season instead of the expected return into the DMPL and once again face the daunting task of trying to make a quick return to the Conference at the first attempt.
