Following the recent Fans Forum at Latimer Park on 21st July 2025, we have created a transcript of the event shown below which, will not only act as a record of the event, but also provide fans who could not attend with an insight as to the Q&A exchange.
Fans Forum Transcript
19:00 | Chairperson George Akhtar (GH), Director of Football Fabian Forde (FF), First Team Manager Simon Hollyhead (SH) and Skipper George Forsyth (GF) enter Poppies Bar and take their seats.
19:05 | Paul Cooke (PC) introduces everybody.
19:06 | Head of Security addresses match-day security. “We can’t put fans in the Morrisons End when segregated due to logistics and getting fans in and out. The reason we keep home fans in after is it is easier and quicker to get away fans out and into cars/buses rather than home fans hanging around (like Telford game previously).
We spent roughly £40k on policing and fines in the 2024-25 season. This is money we could spend on a new stand or other improvements – even some new players.
This is our club lets call out any trouble-makers – we are operating a zero-tolerance policy moving forward and we want to cut this bill down.
The police do it on a points system so the more trouble that is reported in the season the more likely they are to flag it up as a policed game. Every incident home or away goes against us in relation to that. We are governed by the Police and the SAG and pretty much have to do what they tell us do so we need to sort this out please.
Please report anything you see – you need to tell us and we can sort it.”
19:17 | Paul Cooke asks SH on first impressions:
“It’s been fast moving and an exciting 3 weeks. I’m aware of the expectation and what the club means to everyone. We’re going in a good direction and I can’t wait until the 9th of August.”
PC: How far off is the final squad?
SH: “We’re looking at probably another 3 players to add into the group plus 4 ‘training players’ giving us a squad size of around 21/22.”
SH: “We’ve got great communication between us (GA, FF, SH). Player recruitment is a bit more difficult than normal – players want more money than ever at all levels. We have to be deliberate with what we go for and make sure we get the right players.”
PC: George (Forsyth) will be captain?
SH: “Yes, he’s a natural leader. He was the unanimous choice.”
GF: Really happy, it’s my 3rd spell here. The club has come a long way since my first and second spells. I was envious watching last season and hearing from Dan Jarvis and Dan Jezeph how good it was. I’m excited for the season ahead.”
19:25 | Question from the floor…”How’s the injury George.”
GF: “Fine.”
19:26 | Question from the floor…Dave Singh asks “Simon, can you give us a brief update on Callum Powell.”
SH: “He hasn’t trained yet; he’s undergone a lengthy rehab to a serious injury. We all want him fit but we have to be patient – it seems to be slightly worse than we originally thought but we are hopeful to have him training soon – he’s back running next week. We’re in constant communication with each other.”
19:29 | Dave Singh again. “You haven’t announced your backroom staff yet”
SH: “The staff have been working together for the last 3-4 weeks. Focus is on recruitment & training – they will get announced shortly.”
19:32 | SH: “We will have a sports psychologist this season as well as an analyst, scouts, full-time physio and the coaching staff itself. “
19:34 SH “If everybody is connected – this is gonna be bloody powerful!”
19:37 | Question from the floor…”Are we a victim of our own success with prize money last season, and do players take advantage of this.”
SH: “In initial conversations with players it’s easy to work out a players motivation. If its money then it generally won’t work. The financial situation is important and has to be fair but we are priding ourselves on having a good dressing room where all players are motivated to get promotion.”
19:40 | Question from the floor…”Do you have a list of targets?”
SH “Yes, of course – we are being very deliberate in our recruitment. They must fit into the way we play and be the right character.”
19:44 | SH on specific recruitment “Another defender, a midfielder and another at the top end of the pitch. With Callum still recovering – if we’re going to be attacking, we need to have options on the bench.”
19:45 | Question from the floor…”Are we looking to work the loan market?”
SH: “Yes! Absolutely. Once we have a spine in place we will exploit it – FF was talking to a club today regarding this.
A lot of the parent clubs want an immediate recall so we have to make sure we get the right ones.
Players who know this league are invaluable – we have to be careful some loan players have never played men’s football before.”
19:46 | Question from the floor…”Why don’t we see many U18 progress into the 1st team?”
SH: “I obviously can’t speak for the previous teams but it’s a massive jump from U18 to 1st Team men’s football – sometimes lads playing men’s football at 16,17 are in a better position than young players coming from academies.
We will have 3/4 training players this year that we can help develop during the season”.
19:49 | Question from the floor…Bob Brown asks, “How does the pitch affect your tactics?”
GF “I’ve never seen so much grass on it! It’s a decent size. I’ve got no doubts we can move the ball around on that pitch – at Banbury we played a certain way but we didn’t have Jamar Loza and Leon Lobjoit on the pitch! We had to be a bit more defensive at times. He’s (Simon) not a defensive manager.
19:51 | Bob “Is it a strict budget or is it flexible?”
GA “We’re working to a budget! Rob McGreavey makes sure we do! Last season we were able to increase it due to the crowds and cup success. We need your support because that can allow us to potentially improve as the seasons goes.”
19:53 | George and Fabian take the spotlight.
19:54 | GA: “There’s been a lot of noise – but transparency is the best way.
I want to thank all the sponsors who have committed to this season, thank you to Naheed (Commercial Manager) this gives us a platform, all the volunteers.
Recruitment wise, I was hoping to have a quiet summer as we didn’t expect to managerial change. Fabian has played a huge part in advertising and interviewing – thanks to Fabian.
Welcome the new committee members Tom Isaacs, Ross Patrick, Yousef and Paula Conde.
The FA Cup generated 200K – for the cup games the gate money is split in half for play offs its split 3 ways (opponent & league).
Huge investment into the squad last season.
20% of the Prize Money went to the First Team players – they deserved it.
£40,000 spent on electrical work.
The Gym roof collapsed and various other improvements.
£110,000 went into the pitch & the ‘Green’ new stand (which we now own) (Drainage, Irrigation, CCTV, Changing Room improvements, Poppies Bar)
The new scoreboard has been funded by sponsorship – not club funds. It’s an opportunity to bring in further revenue.
It’s important that I give this breakdown so fans can see.
Every penny from the FA Cup run is getting ploughed back into the club.”
20:00 | Question from the floor…”When will season tickets be available for collection?”
GA: “At the Basingstoke game – 2nd August”
20:01 | Question from the floor…”Will live football be shown in Poppies Bar?”
GA: “TNT Sports confirmed and we’re in talks with Sky Sports. We want to make Poppies Bar a 7-day venue – we can’t just rely on match days. It’s your club please come.
Last year we spent £25,000 on Sky Sports & TNT and it wasn’t used – it was down a drain. There is no point in paying that if no-one comes in. We’re prepared to pay it this year again, 6-month initially and let’s try and fill the club during the week”.
20:03 | Question from the floor…”Any debts at the club?”
Rob McGreavey “Only the Covid bounce-back loan which almost every club has.”
GA “There’s a chance it may get written off as well. Absolutely no debt at the club”
20:04 | Question from the floor…”How’s the 4G pitch coming along?”
GA: “Last year we spent £12,500 with JPP on searches, planning and architectural drawings. We need to do the final searches but it’s not money we have available right now. Once the season starts, we can take the final 2,3 steps. The application process will take 9 months – we will be sending tenders out early so we’re in a wonderful position. We currently pay £75k a year to rent external pitches.
Once we have our own 4G we’ll not only save the 75k – but we’ll also bring in extra with rentals. It’ll be a game changer.”
20:07: | Question from the floor…Inaudible question regarding returning to Kettering.
“I won’t bullsh*t – we’re having advanced talks with the council – the council see the value of the club back in the town but we cannot wait for them so we’ll continue to make this our home and if the opportunity comes up, we’ll take it. We have people who are willing to invest in a stadium if and when it comes to it. We want this to be more than a football club – it should be a community hub and this will help us with our case.
For now, this is our home.”
20:09 | Question from the floor…”George, please update us on the toilet block.”
GA: “An extra 2 toilet blocks are arriving next week. Eventually we will remove the ‘old toilets.’
20:09 | Question from the floor…”Any news on the lease?”
GA “We are waiting for the solicitors on this – as soon as we have an update, we will let you know.”
20:11 | Question from the floor…”The FA Trophy continues to be a disappointment – are we due a run?”
GA: “Of course we are. Last year the Farsley game affected it I think – we had injuries.
We want to win it of course.”
20:12 | Question from the floor…”Please explain why members will get no discount on matchdays on the new membership?”
GA: “We want to encourage traffic to the club on non-matchdays. We’re working with other companies that will offer members more – it’s something that a lot of people have asked for so we have delivered it. A shirt and a couple of non-matchday beers will recoup the £25. We will have further perks to add to this as well.
20:15 | Question from the floor… “What was the situation with Gary Graham’s departure?”
“I don’t want to go too far into it. Ultimately, Gary and Sara resigned and were never pushed. I don’t think the stuff online was great. They did a fantastic job running the bar and he’s always welcome. Sometimes social media makes things worse and 2+2 becomes 5.
We can’t force people to be here, players or staff.
This last week has been incredible – loads of volunteers have stepped up and created a great atmosphere so we must move forward.”
20:17 | Question from the floor…Ian Symington “Can we get more coverage for our youth teams in programme and website etc.”
GA: “A great question and I would love to see it. I’ll be honest, when I bought the club there was a lot of things not aligned and we are continually trying to improve that – so yes we will.”
20:20 | GA: “The fines are hurting us. The coins, behaviour are hurting the football club. When people rightfully ask “where’s the money gone” – this is a bit expense we need to stop. More fines lead to police which leads to even more expense. £40,000 is a lot to waste.
There were a few racial slurs last week which were very disappointing and it affects people. Every person is welcome at KTFC. We are a proud football club and we can’t condone this. We will be issuing a statement on this because we don’t want any hate at our club.”
20:23 | GA: “This January marks 50 years since the Kettering Tyres kit. We will be marking the occasion with a commemorative shirt and this will be put out the fans. We will be speaking to the FA to make sure we can wear this on the anniversary and we will be having a Gala event for the fans, players and associates to celebrate the anniversary.”
20:25: | FF: “I’d just like to touch on something Simon said. We are looking for a squad of 22 – 4 of these will be ‘training players’ that help fill the numbers at training and we will look to get these dual-regged to help their development and see how they get on.
This will tie in with the potential loan signings we will look to bring in.
Going forward we will have further forums with various members of the team and staff to keep communication regular and give the fans a chance to ask the manager and players questions throughout the season.”
20:28 |GA: “I’d just like to touch on ‘who picks the team’ rumours. Never once have we told a manager who to play, sub or anything like that. We have no control over that and do not want it. It’s a bit of a myth but I’d just like to put this one to bed.”
20:29 | SH: “Over the last 3 or so weeks I’ve had nothing but support from GA & FF. They always say to me “your call” on players. Let’s dispel that myth now.
I understand the passion and opinions in football. Please come and ask me after a game – there’s normally a simple answer for the questions you may have. It’s better than starting a rumour online.
I’m always happy to talk to fans before the game and after. I want to feel a connection between us all. If we stick together the whole way it’ll be horrible for opposition.
Sometimes a decision, injury or bad luck will go against us or even a piece of quality against us but if the players commit to the plan for 90 mins that’s all I can ask.
We are determined to be ready to compete for every minute of the game.
Me and my players will be available in the Poppies Bar after every game win or lose – come and chat to us.”
20:34 | Paul Cooke brings the night to a close. Thanks to everyone for their questions.
As an Addendum, the club’s owner George Akhtar adds that an additional figure of £9.5k has been paid to fix the collapsed gym roof and last season the club spent £20k buying players and agent fees.
