TT No.55: Andrew Gallon - Tue 11th September 2007; Raunds Town v Northampton Spencer; UCL Premier Div; Res: 0-1; Att: 90 (h/c); Admission: £4; Programme (30pp): £1; FGIF Match Rating: **

If Northants truly is, as it claims, the Rose of the Shires, then Raunds must be more thorn than petal. One of the biggest drawbacks of stepping further and further down the non-league ladder to watch your football is that the clubs are located in places with less and less for the visitor to see. Raunds, however, once known as the home of the army boot, plumbs new depths. A town so lifeless, you can walk through its centre almost without realising you have done so.   And yet those sepia-toned photographs from yestercentury always seem to depict the likes of Raunds as vibrant, independent places, full of people who, pulling together, show remarkable civic pride in building worthwhile, fulfilling communities. How did it all go so badly wrong? Perhaps the increased mobility of the population is one answer. Raunds is surrounded by post-1970 housing estates. Few, I imagine, of their residents will be from the town originally. A sense of purposeful unity is hard to engender and sustain among those not steeped, generation after generation, in an area.. Or maybe the lights of nearby Northampton and Peterborough are simply now too bright to outshine.   The end result is a kind of dying; and a High Street with, if you want more than a takeaway meal, a bet, a pint or a Lottery ticket, nothing to offer. The Fifteenth Century parish church of St Peter, raised up on a mound, its elegant spire - at 202 feet, the second tallest in the county - a landmark for miles around, gazes sadly upon the sleepers below. Construction workers are winding down for the day in the middle of the main thoroughfare. Surely something to bring wakefulness to Raunds? No. The Square (it's actually triangular) is going to be a paved area edged with trees. Nothing more.   This apathy seems to have spread to the football club. Raunds, once in the Southern League, are now bottom of the United Counties League Premier Division. Look for the clues: the run-of-the-mill programme's editorial runs to a mere 51 words, and there's not a peep from either the manager or the chairman; the prices board outside the turnstile is still advertising the FA Cup tie from 10 days ago; the dark and deathly social club, which takes an age to open, has just two small areas of club memorabilia, as if years of history have been airbrushed away; there is a public address system but no-one can be bothered to announce the teams - or anything else, for that matter; and the fans can barely raise themselves to back their favourites - the teams (and I don't exaggerate) run out to total silence.   But then the Shopmates have been cut off from the town since 1991, when they moved to purpose built but bland Kiln Park. This is familiar new ground territory; the edge of reason.. It's on the northern extremity of Raunds, alongside the link road to the A45, beyond the last of the homes and close to the large Warth Park industrial estate. Not the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, then.   A big, metalled car park gives access to the relatively impressive red-brick frontage. The main entrance is to the right, the social club (complete with picket-fenced, picnic-tabled outdoor area) in the middle and the turnstile to the left. Once through, you find yourself in the north-west corner. All the facilities are on this near - west - side. Three separate areas of cover, looking rather like speedway pits or bike sheds, shelter slightly raised areas of hardstanding, with a broad strip of concrete in front.. These look out on to the town half of the pitch, which slopes a little towards the north. Amidships are the dressing rooms, above which the board/hospitality rooms boast the only real elevated view. The players emerge from a door and clack across the concrete between swinging metal gates. To the side of a refreshment hatch is a small, whitewashed directors' box and then the main stand, offering six rows of alternating red and black, tip-up, plastic seats. The roof is shallow but, unaccountably, needs two lines of supporting pillars, making column-free viewing impossible for those not right at the front. There is another small area of 'bike shed' cover before you reach the turnstile.   A hardstanding path runs round the rest of what is a surprisingly undeveloped venue. Behind the southerly goal, a broad strip of floodlit grass provides space for training and warm-ups. To the rear of the trees runs Brick Kiln Road - hence the ground's name, I guess. Turf on the east side rises (but not steeply enough for spectators to see over the substantial dugouts) to a line of conifers. The spire of St Peter's can be glimpsed in the south-east corner. It's the only thing to notice away from the confines of a functional and disappointing ground. The A45 roars behind the shrubs at the open north end. The floodlights are mounted on corner masts, with six lamps on each pylon.   To cap a fairly dreary experience, the game, too, is a bit of a stinker, deadened further by the antics of an irritatingly fussy referee. Raunds (motto: Play to Win) have yet to gain a victory in the league but have had successes this season in the FA Cup and FA Vase while Northampton Spencer are unbeaten in the three UCL outings their knockout competition commitments have allowed. The visitors are pretty much on top throughout. Of the first half, it's least said, soonest mended. The second period, thankfully, features a modicum of action, though we have to wait until six minutes from time for Chris Kirby, all on his own at the back post, to sidefoot the only goal for the Millers following a fast break down the left flank. A shame, in some respects, because 0-0 would have been entirely appropriate.   Finally, join me now in sparing a thought for the teenagers of Kamp-Bernhofen. This German town is twinned with Raunds, which probably means its youngsters get to spend a fortnight in this supine corner of Northants. And to think I gave Stewarts & Lloyds a miss because I feared Corby would be too depressing!

contributed on 12/09/07