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!