As a young player I was oblivious to the fact that many of the players I had made my debut with were demotivated and seeking change. Later in life I realised that change is inevitable and you have to learn to adapt to it. Sadly, Northampton Saints had not been a club that liked change. However, with the advent of the league structure and the installment of the new committee, there was a new sense of hope that Northampton could become a force in rugby once again. Northampton town loved rugby. The Northampton faithful were entirely egalitarian. Whether you were a worker in one of the shoe factories or you were from the landed gentry, everyone loved the sport for what it gave the town. Even when Northampton was at the bottom of the second division, diehard crowds would be present to support their team.
One of the first acts of the new committee was to remove the committee room in the Sturtridge Pavilion. It was felt that this small room was elitist and represented a bygone era. It was restricted to use of the committee members (those that ran the club) for meetings and for entertaining visiting committee members on match days. Many clubs had these sorts of rooms in 1987 and they were traditionally an area where the players were forbidden access.
