Looking for Mr Perfect...

With the recent departure of Gary Johnson from his position of manager of Northampton Town it has left the Cobblers looking for a new leader. At the moment nobody has a true idea of who that might be, although there are two clear front runners in Colin Calderwood and Nicky Forster. Both of these managers are at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of experience, one has got promotions on his CV and has managed 100's of matches, the other is new to management and it is almost impossible to form an opinion on his management style based on cold hard facts.

Having spoken to lots of fans about who they might want, there is no overwhelming favourite this time around, which may be a good thing considering Gary Johnson, or as I affectionately call him - Coco The Clown, was a massive fans favourite for the job after the sacking of Ian Sampson and look where Coco has taken us, almost out of the football league!
What sort of criteria is needed to be the next Cobblers manager? I have heard all the following things listed by fans, young, ambitious, experienced, level headed, play good football, have good connections, excite the fans, have a good name, don't be like Coco, be organised and numerous more. Now to be honest there is no manager with all of that, it's just not possible to find someone that ticks every single box so whoever David Cardoza plumps for is therefore going to be a risk. If he chooses an old experienced guy who has fallen from grace a bit and is looking to resurrect his career then there will be obvious comparisons with Gary Johnson. If he picks a young up and coming manager who has had relative success in non league then there is the risk that he won't be able to handle the pressure of taking a club from the lower reaches of League 2 and turning them into a decent outfit.

 
The current man on everyones lips is Nicky Forster, now he has had an amazingly short career as manager which has totalled just 28 games, 21 for Brentford and 7 for his current club Dover. Is that enough to say he is a great prospect and someone we should trust to turn the fortunes of our football club around? I'm not sure it is, certainly considering Dover are relatively well off at their level and should challenge for honours no matter who is manager, his time at Brentford was a success but it was only on a caretaker basis, there are some massive question marks over his management ability and it would be one helluva a risk BUT maybe that is a risk we need to take?
As for Calderwood, he was a massive success during his spell here last time, yes he played quite boring football but it was effective and something I would be happy to see come back if it meant we started winning games again! The problem with Calderwood is he would split the fan base which is not a good thing, also I think it is pretty clear he fancies the job of Chris Hughtons tea boy at Birmingham.

David Cardoza has such an unenviable task here, perhaps the biggest appointment of his leadership as chairman of Northampton Town, he deserves some success which is probably why he is trying to persuade Calderwood back, the only true manager he has had success with. Get this appointment wrong and we could be facing a derby with Kettering Town next season, providing Kettering make it through the season of course, seems Imran Ladak is doing his best to alienate their supporters, perhaps the curse of Nene Park is striking once again?

We need a manager who is going to buy into the Northampton Town experience, a manager who is prepared to flirt with 50p Lil, a man who is willing to do his Christmas shopping in Poundland, someone who will drink at the King Billy with his leathers on, someone who will moan his arse off at every little thing and someone who doesn't mind being disappointed by broken promises.

Someone who buys into the Northampton experience is someone who will be successful for our football club. Coco the clown never bought into the experience, there was never any connection between the fans in the town and Coco, except for us wanting to through pies at his fat face which is hardly the basis of a good relationship. The new man must also be the worlds greatest football manager otherwise he will get pelters from our impatient fans, so we aren't asking for much are we?!
In an ideal world whoever takes over the helm will just be given the criteria of steadying the ship this season and then having a push for the play offs next season, we have to accept that there will be no quick fix, we are almost at the lowest possible place for a league club to be. We have to be realistic and accept that at the moment we are about as good as Renford Rejects, with the right man in charge we could eventually be as good as The Hurricanes but it is going to take time to sort out this god forsaken mess that Coco the Cunt has got us into. Either way it promises to be an exciting and bumpy ride, strap yourselves in and get ready...

The Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game.

In a break from normality this blog update is not Northampton Town related, my love of the Cobblers is not questionable, however I actually fell in love with football as a game itself before I gifted my heart to the Cobblers and I wanted to put into words my thoughts on the current state of the most popular game in the world.
It is a rather poignant time to blog about this as the big news this week is another awful decision by Sepp Blatter and the FIFA hierarchy, I am of course talking about the decision to deny England to wear poppies on their shirts for the friendly v Spain. Wearing a poppy to remember fallen heroes should not be in question should it? I cannot fathom the decisions made by the people at the top of the tree, is Blatter to blame? Should the FA stick two fingers up to FIFA and go ahead and put Poppies on the players shirts despite FIFA's restrictions?

I think this could be a massive opportunity for the English FA to win over disillusioned fans, there is generally a poor view of them by English football fans due to strange decision making and an under performing England team. If the Football Association were to go ahead and say 'fuck it' then they would have the whole support of the country and it would help long term relations between fans, players and officials and could lead to a wave of optimism on the basis that those in charge of the game in our country are still in touch with Joe public. I note that FIFA have advised the referee to postpone the match v Spain if we have poppies displayed on the shirts, so what? Again the FA could earn massive kudos from the public, let the ref postpone the game, refund the tickets of those that have paid to watch the meaningless friendly and offer them a half price ticket for the next home match. In principle it is a beautiful idea but there is not a chance in hell of that happening and you know why? Money. The bastards in charge of football have lost sight of what is right and wrong and can only see huge £££ signs.

Take the decision to take the World Cup to Qatar, FIFA bleat on about taking the game around the world which in a roundabout way does make sense but the Qatar decision was down to one thing, money. Those money grabbing greedy fuckwits at FIFA would probably sell their own penis if it meant they could get a suitcase full of cash. FIFA/UEFA spend too much time pontificating about irrelevant and minor things and fail to deal with some massive issues actually wrong with the game at the moment, namely things such as diving which is at an all time high, technology is something football has been crying out for in the last 10 years or so but still they drag their feet on that front as well. Money is currently turning the beautiful game into an ugly monster and is the route of all evil in our beloved game, certainly in the higher echelons anyway. The wages and transfer fees being bandied around at the highest level are beyond comprehension, they should never have been allowed to spiral out of control and it is something UEFA could have ultimately spotted and done something about, but nothing has been done and it will continue to get worse. The Carlos Tevez saga pretty much sums up everything that is wrong with football at the top level, lower down the leagues I'm thankful that football still has beautiful moments. Tom Bender who suffered a horrific injury while playing for Accrington was inundated with well wishes from football fans, a beautiful thing to see and pleasing that he has made a full recovery. Billy Sharp played for Doncaster days after the loss of his son, that takes some massive bollocks and to see him score a goal and reveal a shirt saying 'That's for you Son' was one hell of an emotional moment and the polar opposite of Carlos Tevez attitude.

I guess I am just annoyed by the way football is going and it makes me even more pleased to support a minnow such as Northampton Town, free from corruption and generally free from the poisoned parts of football, it does however make me sad that Cobblers are shit. I have so much more to say on this matter but wanted to scribe a few bits for now and will improve and write more when I have more time.

A Date With The Manager

Once again just another quick update regarding the recent email correspondence between myself and Northampton Town FC.

Gareth Willsher who is head of media at NTFC has spoken to manager Gary Johnson on my behalf and Gary has agreed to a informal chat over coffee with 3 or 4 fans and myself. This is a chance to help improve relations between GJ and fans and it is a worthwhile exercise. From my point of view, the more communication between club and fans and the more feeling of 'all in it together' can only be a good thing.

Gareth Willsher has asked me to contact 3 or 4 fans who would be appropriate for such a meeting. This is a chance to have an open and frank discussion with the manager of our football club, it isn't a chance to abuse him as that isn't going to achieve anything. Hopefully fans will gain something of an insight into Gary Johnson and an understand of how his mind works and how much he wants NTFC to succeed. Also Gary Johnson should realise from the open and frank discussions that there is no witch hunt and that we all want him to succeed, the only reason his decisions and tenure has been questioned so much is due to the will for the club to be successful.
I have a few people in mind who would be suitable to ask but am willing to consider anyone who would be interested in getting involved. There are no dates set yet, that is something to confirm once attendees are confirmed.
If you want to be involved then either contact me on Twitter - @TheEdgeyMole or e-mail me on kettcobb@hotmail.co.uk.

I must finish by congratulating firstly Gareth for being so open and honest and for arranging this with Gary. Also GJ deserves some plaudits for this as he could easily have run a mile, especially after I and many others called for his head at some point.

I really hope this helps the club in some way as we are all so desperate for NTFC to be successful.

Any thoughts or comments welcomed as always.

Cheers

Latest Email From NTFC..

Hello again old beans, It has been goodness knows how long since I last wrote anything on here and to be honest it has turned out like most new starter blogs, defunct. However I do intend to try and resurrect this blog and impose my thoughts on anyone who is willing to read them.
Obviously not a particularly good situation for NTFC at the moment which led to me sending another email to the club, their reply is shown below. I haven't included my initial email to them as in brutal honesty I'd had a couple and it was very much inane rambling, I did mean every word I wrote though. Anyway kudos to Gareth for the response, although a VERY 'media' response it is still much appreciated and the words make sense and are good to hear, hopefully they will follow up on the idea of a meeting with Gary Johnson and a few fans, I will chase them next week about that.

The email response :

Hi Neil

Thanks for your email and we appreciate your comments.

We also really appreciate the patience and support of the supporters as we all understand that results have not been good and we are not where we expected to be in the league table. It is a trying time and we do not take for granted those who turn up and pay their money to support the team.

In that situation both the club and the manager will receive (and rightly so) criticism. It is the other side of the coin that brings praise for both the club and the manager when things are going well.

We appreciate there are no witch hunts and no agendas, just a frustration at the current situation and a willingness for the team to do well (or at least much better!)

The situation can/will only improve with some wins. Whatever else the club says or does, only some good results will remove the current feelings of disappointment and allow everyone to look forward with a more positive outlook.

We also appreciate that the expectation not currently being met increases the level of negativity, disappointment and criticism but again the only thing that will change that is better results.

Your suggestion of a meeting with some supporters is well received. I will take this up with Gary next week. Usually on a Friday we just allow the manager to focus fully on the following day's match, but I will raise the issue with him next week.

Thanks again for your email and your comments.

Kind regards

Gareth Willsher
Head of Media
Northampton Town Football Club

Email Response From NTFC....

I had a reply from NTFC regarding my email, I have shown it below and it is word for word, clears a few things up but also brings to light some interesting things that need more discussion when I have time.

I'd like to add how much appreciated it is that the club replied and also how quickly they replied, could easily have just ignored it. That is the beauty of supporting a club at this level, you feel like you have a voice.

As always, forever support NTFC no matter what is going on.

Hi Neil

Thanks for your email, and please don't apologise for the rambling. It is always good to hear from supporters and I will make sure your email is passed on to the coaching staff.

A lot of the points you raise are difficult for me to answer, they are obviously footballing decisions made by the manager and his staff although I can hopefully explain a few of them for you.

On the issue of Bayo and Savage up front, when Jake Robinson dropped out before kick off on Saturday there was no real other option, none of the other strikers are fully match fit or have the match sharpness and so that was probably the only option at the 11^th hour. And on the issue of left backs, Nana and Ashley Corker have both been struggling with injuries, but such is the hectic nature of the start to the season it has often been the case of playing who is 'least' injured.

Football is of course a game of opinions, and trust me, no one is more disappointed with the results of the last week than Gary. He would not be making any decisions out of anything other than a desire to turn things around and to get us moving up the table. He would not be choosing or not choosing players for any other reason than a genuine belief than the side we are selecting gives us the best possible chance of winning the game and of playing in the style he wants us to play in.

After the post match team talk, that in itself took a while on Saturday, the players themselves held a long meeting in the dressing room after the game on Saturday. That too shows their determination to turn things around and to improve results/performances. There is a willingness and determination to make that happen.

Even looking back on Saturday we lost because of two silly individual errors. Annoying, frustrating and disappointing, but you would hope they would be the easiest things to eradicate, it is not as if we are getting outplayed every week.

On the subject of Shaun Harrad, Gary obviously saw Shaun for the last dozen or so games of last season and came to the conclusion that he was not a key figure in his plans moving forward. Things can change in football but that was/is Gary's view. Over the summer, the club invested in the squad, and the intention since the end of last season was to find Sean another club, which may now have happened. The thought behind this is, as you will appreciate, Shaun is a high earning player at the club,  and there was no point in having such a high earning player on the books using up such a fair percentage of the budget who was not going to be a key figure in the manager's plans. With that in mind it was felt to be in the best interests of all parties that Shaun was given the chance to move on if the opportunity arose.

Thanks again for your email and your support.

Kind regards

Gareth Willsher
Head of Media
Northampton Town Football Club

Letter to NTFC..

Below is an e-mail I have sent to NTFC, of course it probably won't get read by the club but it made me feel a bit better :)

Gareth,

Firstly I appreciate you don't have a say in team matters etc, but perhaps you could pass this on to somebody that does?

Basically it obviously isn't going to plan at the moment on the pitch which is a massive shame as the club finally seems to be doing things right off the pitch, bar the kit debacle ;) I wanted to share my shock at some of the recent decisions, namely the decision to sell Shaun Harrad. This guy is probably the closest thing we have to a fox in the box, yet Gary Johnson seems incapable of giving him a chance, even when fit in pre season he only got bit part game time. From the outside looking in it seems Gary Johnson is just getting rid of the players that were here before him, he's even benched Michael Jacobs now as well. This is not the way to connect with the supporters, yes things were bad last season but there is no need to get rid of every single person around before Johnson. 

Gary Johnson probably feels like the fans hate him, not true at all, we all want him to succeed, however, he is going about things totally the wrong way and to be brutally honest it seems to us fans that he has 'lost it' . I don't care that he used to manage the fen dwellers, i couldn't care if he was an alien if he was doing a good job. However, he isn't. He is doing a very bad job. The biggest most frustrating thing with Gary Johnson is it seems to be his way or the highway, no common ground. Why hasn't he tried two up front when it is clear Bayo up front on his own isn't working? Although he tried Bayo and Savage up front on Saturday which was never going to work in a million years. What has happened to the total football he promised, the ball has spent more time in the air than on the floor. Why didn't he sign an experienced defender rather than gorge himself on pretty footballers, we did not need Davies AND Robinson, one or the other would have been fine. Why does he insist on persisting with Tozer in midfield? Why does he keep playing different left backs? How on earth can he justify signing Bas Savage and then selling Shaun Harrad, how is that a decision of a sane man? He clearly wants Purcell out of the club as well, another who would be a great option up front but oh no don't worry we've got Bas Savage. That isn't a personal attack on Savage by the way, Savage had a decent game on Saturday, just Purcell and Harrad are both better than him.

It isn't my club of course, David Cardoza owns the club and us as fans have a lot to thank him for. My suggestion would be to do one of two things, either get rid of Gary Johnson now or back him till xmas. I'm not a huge fan of sacking managers as I feel players should shoulder some responsibility as well, however in this instance there is one main man to blame, Gary Johnson. Also I prefer continuity as sacking managers is obviously expensive and disruptive, however Peterborough were bold enough to sack Gary Johnson pretty quickly when they realised it wasn't working, why shouldn't we do the same? In conclusion I'd be happy to see Gary Johnson leave the football club as he has got us in a right old mess, I accept the season is only 5 games old but we have gone backwards in those 5 games. 

Whatever David Cardoza chooses we will support the club, you'll get the odd numpty who will scream abuse no matter what of course but most of us are sensible enough to support the team no matter what is happening, doesn't mean we are happy or agree with the management though.

Apologies for the rambling, hope it gets passed on to someone to have a read of, probably a decent idea of how the fans currently feel.

Cheers

Neil 

Pre Season Panic...

It has been a while since I wrote a new blog post, most probably feel that is a good thing, however for my one loyal reader, here are my latest musings on all things Northampton Town related.

There seems to be an air of doom over Cobblers at the moment due to very poor pre season results. Some of the doom is well placed, other parts are just mindless over reactions. We are yet to win a pre season game, in fact we have only drawn one and lost the rest, the draw being against Oxford City and it was mainly a reserve fixture.

I will explain why I feel a bit concerned, it has nothing to do with the results because you often see odd pre season results and they are not really important, unless you get bum snaffled 7-0 or something. My biggest issue is that Gary Johnson has assembled a squad of his own picking and it seems to have too many 'mights' in the squad. By that I mean players that might come good but equally might be awful. The players in question are Lewis Young, Ashley Corker, Nana, Sam Walker, Nick McKoy, Byron Webster and John Johnson.

I suspect the last two names on that list will raise a few eyebrows, let me explain why I included them. They are both unproven centre backs who, in my opinion, both need an experienced centre back alongside them and at the moment the partnership just is not working. That isn't to say that they are both bad players, far from it. It might come good eventually, it might not, can we afford to bumble our way through the first part of the season with a shaky centre back partnership? At the time of writing we still don't have an experienced centre back and that is a glaring mistake from Gary Johnson.

Ashley Corker seems such a strange signing, at one point it looked like we might have Aziz Deen-Conteh on loan from Chelsea. That seems to fall through so we sign John Johnson's mate who has been playing at a low level of non league. Again, he might come good but the performances so far suggest he is probably going to end up getting replaced by a loanee.

Nana only just snuck onto my list, 95% of the time each game he is absolutely fine. The remaining 5% is the mistakes he makes, he is sure to make 1 or 2 serious mistakes each game that lead to a goalscoring chance for the other team. Fantastic athlete, as is Corker. That seems to be the issue with Gary Johnson, he has forgot to sign people that can actually defend, good news is though if we get involved in a team race, we'll fare pretty well.

Nick McKoy hasn't looked to bad this pre season actually, he is probably only on the list because he looks a bit of a gormless twat, sure he is a lovely fella though. Still the jury is out, he might come good.

Lewis Young, a guy who couldn't get a game for Forest Green last season. Famous brother plying his trade for Man Utd, perhaps he is struggling to cope with having such a famous brother? Another 'might' signing. Stunned to see him playing as back up for Nana at right back, however reports are he has done quite well in that position so far.

Sam Walker is only really included because goalkeeper is a very important position and at the moment he looks no better than Chris Dunn, who was ridiculed by most NTFC fans but then secured a move to Championship club Coventry. The biggest problem with Walker is lack of experience, a few bad results and our whole defence could end up just shouting madly at each other during games with none of them knowing what is going on! Equally they could turn into the best back 5 unit in the league, it's another 'might'.

Is it all doom and gloom? Personally I don't think so. As an attacking unit we seem quite slick, yes we haven't scored many goals in pre season. However in brutal honesty the flashier players, Davies, Bayo, Robinson etc don't seem to have been giving their all in the friendly matches, that is honestly how I've viewed it. I think going forward we will be absolutely fine and will score goals, providing Gary Johnson is willing to use the 442 formation as well as 4231. If he insists in using 4231 in every single game then we won't get promoted. He needs to have a plan b and he needs to be willing to use it. That was Ian Sampson's downfall, he rarely had a plan b and had no tactical nous whatsoever, of course he is still a legend, before everyone cries that I have taken Lord Sammo's name in vain.

It looks like we will probably sign Marin Pozgain and Lumbardh Salihu, both from Austria, although apparently originate from Croatia. Pozgain is 17 and seems to be classed as an attacking midfielder, not really sure we need another in that position, however if he is as good as Peter Johnson thinks then why not sign him? Salihu is a striker aged 18 who is apparently rated as better than Pozgain, with Harrad being injured for 3/4 weeks then another striker is needed so this ties in nicely. I believe there is some red tape to sort out before they sign but the deals should be completed soon. It would be lovely if we were to sign an experienced centre back but i think that ship has sailed and if anyone else comes in they will most likely be young loanees from prem

So in short there are a few issues that need addressing, however that is what pre season is for. They have two weeks to turn into a team capable of promotion, can they do it? Yes they can. Will they do it? No fucking idea.

A more upbeat post will be made after we trounce Wycombe 5-0 on Saturday in our final friendly!

Cheers for reading and feel free to call me a twat in the comments bit below :)

Attack is the best form of defence...

Gary Johnson loves a good footballer and loves a good burger or three. This probably goes some way to explaining some of his signings for Northampton Town this summer. Arron Davies, Jake Robinson and Paul Turnbull are all good footballers and can use the ball well, hence Johnson signing them up, he will no doubt enjoy kicking a ball around his garden with them. Adebayo Akinfenwa is an absolute unit and there is no doubt that he would be willing to enjoy numerous burgers with the gaffer while watching re-runs of The A-Team. I snapped Bayo while on holiday over the summer, he was quite happy to pose for the picture.

Regarding serious thoughts about the current squad then you can only be optimistic can't you? We have some real quality in the team and players that can and will cause problems to opposing defences. My only real worry at the moment would be we are a bit light in defence but i am sure Johnson will be in the process of organising a new keeper, left back and additional centre back cover.

In fact regarding the left back position there is the possibility of Aziz Deen-Conteh joining on loan from Chelsea, it was confirmed from a football agent that we have made an offer for his services. That said, according to Gary Johnson we have 10/11 left backs currently on trial, one of which is possibly Aaron Lescott if you listen to some reports. Lescott would have more experience than Deen-Conteh however personal opinion is that Deen-Conteh would fit our planned style more and certainly would be a more exciting addition. You'd think with us having David Lee as our assistant manager this may give us some extra hope at landing Deen-Conteh over other clubs, Lee is of course an ex Chelsea defender, nicknamed Rodney for his resemblance to Rodney Trotter.

Other people at the other trial days have been Mark Cooper a left back from Blackburn and Alex Dyer....our ex midfielder who was released last summer and went on to be player of the season for Wealdstone. I've also heard another player who was released this summer by Gary Johnson had asked to return, sworn to secrecy on that one though I'm afraid.

Gary Johnson has built an attacking team and it is clear he intends to have a right go this year and try and get us promoted, if it all clicks then we could storm the league, however in brutal honestly there are bound to be trials and tribulations along the way and I'd predict a play off place at the moment. However a couple more signings could change that....

You have to think Crawley Town will be favourites for the league title this year, they have spent out quite big and in fairness they have spent well. That however does not change the fact that Steve Evans is a wanker, however i suspect it won't be long until he is carted off again and it all goes pedro mctong. You can't buy the Police Crawley! Although i suppose technically they could invest in Metropolitan Police FC...

Regarding other teams that could and should be up there...Swindon Town are going to be a bit of an unknown, some very interesting signings, i suspect a lot will depend on how the Italian contingent adapt to League 2 football. Gillingham seem to be slowly but surely making some decent additions and the same goes for perennial bottlers Shrewsbury Town. Bristol Rovers will certainly be a force, they have made some cracking additions, not least Scott McGleish who some of our fans still masturbate over no doubt. Good lower league striker for sure, he is not the messiah though as some Cobblers fans made out. Oxford are bound to be another team up there and the list could actually go on and on...it seems like it will be a much much better league this time around and you probably won't see the likes of Accrington Stanley making the play offs, that said there is bound to be one surprise team that has a superb season....

Anyway I have probably bored you enough with my inane ramblings, cheers for reading and feel free to add any comments even if it is just to abuse me, if you're a hot lady though then you are welcome to declare your love for me, or just show me your tits.

UTC

It's MY club....

It has been a while since I have penned some rubbish words, so welcome back to those that have been eagerly awaiting a new blog, yes I am talking to my one and only single reader, thanks mum, keep telling me I'm your favourite and I won't put you in that home,yet.

Thought I'd have a little muse over the whole 'support your local club' debate as I've been thinking about it a lot lately, what with Rubbish & Dustbins finally dying. Shall we take a moment to mourn them or shall we crack open a beer and celebrate? Excellent decision, I'll have a bottle of Estrella Damm please, cheers. Yes i drink Estrella Damm as it makes me feel like I'm on an all inclusive holiday in Spain, I also walk around my house in Bermuda shorts, flip flops and take the piss out of Germans.

Anyway, let me tell you the reasons why I support Northampton Town and not one of the big teams in the Premier League. For starters NTFC really are my local club, I live no more than a mile from the ground, so that has a big bearing of course.
One of the main reasons though is because it feels like my club, I feel a part of it, I feel like I'm appreciated as a fan. Where as with the much bigger clubs obviously there are so many more thousands of fans than it must be impossible to get that same feeling, the sense of community. It must feel like you are just another number, just another numpty following the hordes.
Take the Man Utd fans for example, when they were protesting against the Glaziers with all their green and yellow scarves, half of them had the new kit, that is the intelligence of Premier League fans.

Another main reason is because it really feels like as a fan of NTFC I have a say in what goes on at the club. Take the appointment of Gary Johnson as manager, our chairman David Cardoza pretty much said he showed Gary Johnson all of our messages on www.thehotelend.co.uk about how much we wanted him as our manager and that sealed the deal. You wouldn't get that happening at a Premier League club, the fans don't count one iota. Look at the recent appointment of Alex McLeish at Aston Villa for instance, the club have totally ignored the fans. Although i actually feel McLeish will do well for Villa but he is never going to be properly accepted is he?

NTFC haven't just listened to us the fans regarding the managerial appointment though, oh no! Much more important things have been taken on board and implemented thanks to the fans, such as the type of beer in the supporters bar, the colour of the metal gates between stands, the prospect of a supporters village which should incorporate a big marquee selling beer and possibly a hog roast each game.
Also the kits each season are voted for by the fans so generally most are happy each time and will buy the shirt, where as in the Prem you don't get a choice, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd kits are just decided by the clubs. Take the Liverpool 3rd kit this season, fans hate it because it has a slight bit of blue on it, not taking on board that it is actually a very nice kit.  Everton play in blue of course so i guess no Liverpool fan ever wears anything blue, not even blue thongs, nothing whatsoever.

I guess the reason why it is different at lower leagues is because the clubs really have to listen to the fans if they want to maximise their income whereas at the bigger conglomerate clubs it really doesn't matter what they do because if one sheep stops going then another sheep will turn up in their place. These clubs have fans worldwide, millions of them, the amount of money they earn from merchandise must be amazing. It is totally another world at the top level of football. Take the players wages, a fair few on 100k a week, utterly detached from the real world. However in the lower leagues the players are more like joe public, they have mortgages to pay etc so it is much easier to relate to them.

So what I am saying is all Premier League fans are wankers and the lower league fans are far superior....ha! Of course that is not fully true, however I could never follow a Man Utd, Liverpool or Arsenal type club, it is just not in my character or personality, always back the underdog is my style.
Some say what happens if NTFC ever become massive and make it to the Premier League.....honestly I would enjoy the ride and welcome it of course, however you cannot beat travelling away to stand on a rainy terrace with 200 other die hards.

Long live the Football League.

Thanks for reading by the way and yes I realise this weeks blog is kind of rambling and has no real substance, however, isn't that the point of a blog? When a website/newspaper rings me up and offers me a writing job, then and only then will I start structuring my work, so stop judging me you bastards!

Out with the old, In with the old....

There is only one place to start this time around, the return of a cult hero...

Frank Bruno, Godzilla, Gigantor, The Tractor, Fatty Fatty Boom Boom, yes i am of course talking about Bayo. I have heard him called all of those things before at games, probably sums up some of our fans more than anything else of note, felt I'd share those names with the world though.

There is no doubt that the return of Adebayo Akinfenwa has captured the imagination of Cobblers fans with seemingly 90% over the moon and 10% wishing we hadn't gone back for sloppy seconds. My personal opinion is that a club of our size and current position would find it impossible to find someone else that can bring what Bayo brings to the table, and no i don't mean four bargain buckets and twelve chocolate gateaux.

With Bayo you have got someone who can hold the ball up, who can score goals, who can relieve pressure from the defence and it takes two defenders to stop him therefore leaving space for other players to take advantage of. He won't move around the pitch much but surely Gary Johnson would have known that before signing him? Without question i am pleased to see Bayo back and he will make an improvement on our forward line from last year.
The biggest issue when we had Bayo before was not having a Plan B, this time i trust GJ to have one, otherwise it is quite likely we will fail to gain promotion, again.

I appreciate i haven't mentioned Bayo and his fitness issues.....he played 44 times for Gillingham last season, what is to discuss?

Regarding other additions to the squad, it seems pretty certain Nana will return. He will be a good player to have in the squad however I'd be a little worried if he was intended to be in the starting eleven.
I've also heard Ben Tozer is supposedly having talks with NTFC, which in my opinion is good news. Tozer got a lot of unfair flak from our support, he definitely is a decent player at League 2 level. Perhaps Johnson sees Tozer as a future defensive midfielder, where he excelled in the last couple of games. Either way he will be a good addition if he decides to join.
Michael Mcindoe has held talks with NTFC and is a player of unquestionable talent, lets hope the package we have offered him fits the bill and he signs on the dotted line.

There seems to be a certain part of our support that are hoping for Gary Johnson to fail, maybe it is because of his P*sh connections, maybe it is because he is a porker, however i am pretty sure it is because some people blame him for us almost losing our League status.

May i take this opportunity to suggest we all get behind Gary Johnson and the team, it can and will make a difference. Johnson inherited a team and squad already on a downward spiral, he didn't help things by throwing his 'grenades' around the changing room, but as he said himself, he's never been in that position before. It was all new to him and he dealt with it the way he felt best, if you ask him now he will admit he made mistakes. He is a proven manager at this level, trust in his judgement on players and the style of play and support the club fully and it can and will be a fun, successful season. I appreciate you never can please everyone, christ you get some w*nkers that moan when they have won the lottery!
 Gary Johnson is by far the best manager Northampton Town are going to get at this level. When Johnson was announced as our manager i had an e-mail from the club secretary at Wolverhampton Wanderers simply saying 'What a coup for Northampton' , this pretty much sums up most of the feeling inside the footballing fraternity.

Now i didn't intend for this end on something of a Gary Johnson love in, no doubt people will be thinking i'm in love with the man and that he is my Buddha but......I just want my club to be successful and my opinion is that if Johnson can't take us to the promised land then who can?

Hope i haven't bored anyone too much there, feel free to leave comments as i've enabled those now....I will do a more improved interesting blog tomorrow when i have a little bit more time.....but felt i needed to give the fans something.....by fans i do of course mean my Mrs who is probably the only person who reads this and then tells me 'at least you tried'. Plus i must dash as i want to watch Louis Theroux Miami Mega-Jail.....

UTC and after today don't forget to FTP.

Welcome.....

Hello and welcome to my thoughts, musings and general bollocks on all things Cobblers.
 Most likely is that you are reading this because you're either bored or i've hounded you on a social media site to view it and make me feel worthwhile, so thanks for that, I knew I could count on you.

If you want to know anything about me then here is a brief overview. I am 28 years old, work in Insurance and have supported Northampton Town since early 1990's, before that time i was made to support the same team as my father, Oldham Athletic. Luckily i suppose, i saw their 'wonder' years in the newly formed Premiership, good times and I saw many good games and top players however it never felt quite right. I started going to watch the Cobblers and fell in love, literally fell in love with a football club, felt a bit queer, but it was definately love. I mean don't get me wrong, i didn't danger wank over NTFC or anything, but then you don't masturbate over the one you love do you? Anyway....

My first blog was intended to be a 'Don't Panic' to all NTFC fans....

So last season didn't quite pan out as we had all hoped, we had the massive high of beating Liverpool at Anfield and way too many lows. Perhaps the worst was being 3-0 up against Hereford at home only to lose 4-3, thankfully i was on holiday in Florida at the time. I must admit when finding out that scoreline i was insanely rude to a lady at Walmart, however she was American and probably deserved it.

After that result we kind of continued on a decline and not only did we flirt with relegation out of the Football League, we had a full on marital affair with it.

99% of fans were saying we need a total overhaul of the squad after last seasons nightmare......Gary Johnson seemed to agree and he released most of the squad. My personal opinion is he got every single keep or let go decision spot on. You could argue the case for a couple of them but there is no room for sentiment in football and you can't let sentiment cloud your judgement.

Take Leon McKenzie for example....he scored important goals for us and had a fantastic goal ratio....coming to the end of his career and had built a good rapport with the fans, sentimental decision would have been to keep him on.....non sentimental decision is to get rid of him, he won't play enough games and we can't afford to carry anyone in our small squad.

Abdul Osman and Liam Davis might think themselves a little bit unlucky, however when the chips were down these guys cared so little they were merely potatoes in a field. Certainly in Osmans case anyway, Davis perhaps a little less but then he only seems to start playing when his contract is running out and he is also rather injury prone.

They are the only contentious ones in my opinion, none of the others can really complain about being released and I still think Gary Johnson got all decisions spot on.

So who will come in and make up most of the squad, quite simply none of us have a clue. There is no real need to panic though, for the past few seasons we have had a big turnover of players, perhaps not to this magnitude but we almost lost our Football League status so by the grace of Martin Smiths left foot, it was needed. People may argue for stability, but surely we have failed with this bunch so if we go for stability then we will fail again?

I am hearing numerous fans asking why we have only signed one player so far and how we won't have a squad for next season.....are these the sort of fans who wake up in the morning and think 'i'll probably get run over today' ? Honestly, it is the 21st May, there is plenty of time before the players report back for pre season.
Most players that are being released from clubs at the moment still technically have contracts till July 1st, hence massives of signings being announced by all clubs around that time. Also i would say there is no point in GJ panicking and signing the likes of me and you just so we have a squad to keep some clueless fans happy. That said if you happen to ever read this GJ, i am ready and available, think of me as a similar player to Super Kevin Thornton, just a little fatter and less fit.

So my plea to my fellow NTFC fans for the moment is to not panic, sit back and enjoy the summer and enjoy the rumours flying around and have some trust in our manager that he actually knows what he is doing, afterall, he is the first proven manager we have appointed in a long time. If you still want to panic then i suggest you get drunk, twice. Then once more. Then phone the Samaritans.

I'll update some more thoughts in the next few days, this is a start though, let me know your thoughts. If you like this blog then great, tell people and get them to read it, if you hate it then great, tell people and get them to read it.

Cheers!