AFC Rushden & Diamonds caught up with Ian White, the holder of Membership No.1, to gauge his reaction to his winning the draw and for his views on the future of AFC R&D.
“It was quite a shock to become AFC R&D’s Member Number 1”, says Ian. “I’m not used to winning raffles!”
For starters, Ian plans to get the No.1 sign, presented to him on the pitch, signed by all the players and manager and to keep it safe for quite a number of years. As Ian puts it, “We’ve got to start the history somewhere.”
Work commitments mean that Ian can’t attend as many mid-week matches as he’d like. But Ian is also looking forward to the 2012/13 season where – fingers crossed – AFC R&D will be able to field an adult side in the United Counties League (UCL), giving fans a team to watch on a Saturday. “Old habits die hard”, says Ian.
With the arrival of an adult team, Ian hopes that AFC R&D fans do not desert the Under-18 side next season. “There’s a tremendous amount of goodwill within the club fan-base. It’s quite exciting times. It’s still our club – everyone has an affinity with AFC R&D. People have been pleasantly surprised by the level of footballing skills on show within the Northamptonshire Senior Youth League.”
Ian ends with, “The amount of optimism within the club is incredible. Everyone involved with AFC R&D is to be complemented on that!”
