Life is a Rollercoaster - Part 1

How can you even begin to summarise the 46 game season Northampton Town have just experienced? Let's give it a go shall we...


I'm not going to dissect every single game or every single moment in the season as we'll be here all day and let's be honest, we've all got better things to be doing right now. I will however attempt to convey some of the emotions us fans went through during the season - this was definitely the most emotional season I have had since following the Cobblers since the mid 90s. Let's take a look at the key moments from this season and the impact they had :

Signing Adam Smith

I'll say this now, Adam Smith is the best keeper we have had in my time watching the club. He is by no means the finished article of course, the potential is staggering though. Thanks to the sex tape scandal, Chris Wilder managed to throw Adam Smith a lifeline and it turned out to be a masterstroke. During the first quarter of the season while we were still finding our feet, Smith turned in performances that were at times super-human. The one performance that really sticks in the memory is v Leyton Orient, where in truth, they battered us. Smith made save after save after save and was simply incredible. Throughout the season he hasn't been called upon as much, when needed he has generally been impeccable. The save v Portsmouth on Saturday was another one to his highlight reel of incredible stops. He made it into the Football League team of the year, the League Two team of the year and was recognised by his own team mates as player of the year. On top of all that, he loves winding opposition fans up and even riled someone up enough for them to throw a chair at him. Adam Smith is a bloody legend.


Altogether now, he shags who he wants....


The Beginning Of The End For David Cardoza


Things were rapidly unravelling for David Cardoza, the East Stand debacle had been rumbling on for over a year - a shambolic and quite frankly ridiculous situation which has been well documented in the national press. Fans had turned on him and his stewardship of the club, the majority had quickly realised what the minority had been stating for some time - David Cardoza is/was/always will be a fucking muppet of the highest order. I'm not going to give him the time of day and go into all the details of his years of ownership - needless to say the bloke is a c*nt. Actually I will list a few of the things which really pissed me off during his time...

Redevelopment Shambles
Treatment of Stuart Grey
Treatment of Ian Sampson
Constant Lies
Lack of Communication
Total Mothballing of Facilities
Treatment of Fans
Treatment of Local Press
Treatment of Staff


Thankfully he put the club up for sale, stating he was in discussions to sell to an Indian Consortium - this kept the wolves at bay for a month or so due to lots of rogue rumours about the consortium being billionaires - it actually turned out there basically was never a serious consortium from India at all. You couldn't really make it up.


It was around this time that I was genuinely concerned for the future of Northampton Town FC. The staff, players and management were not getting paid. The club wasn't paying any of it's bills because David Cardoza had decided he didn't want to and this led to a winding up order from HMRC. There wasn't only a concern the club could go into administration, there was a very real probability that the club would skip administration and just be liquidated. No more Saturday afternoons listening to the bloke behind me berate the linesman for no reason, no more Saturday afternoons of joyous celebrations when someone scores, no more Saturday afternoons of meeting up with the Cobblers family and chatting to like minded people - it didn't bear thinking about. Non football fans may struggle to understand that last bit, after all, it is just a game isn't it? Well yes on the face of it, it runs much, much deeper than that though. Friendships are formed, relationships are forged, marriages and families occur as a result of football. It isn't just a game, it is a chance to relax from the rest of our troubles and enjoy the company of people that are all in the same boat, the SS Cobblers. Whether it is at Sixfields or an away game, you meet people, you talk to people, you see old faces, you see new faces and lots of these people you wouldn't invariably meet in everyday life - following the Cobblers, or any other lower league team for that matter, brings a real sense of community and pride in your home town. The fact David Cardoza almost took that away from us is quite frankly scandalous.


Coventry away, Newport away etc..


These games will long live in the memory of those that attended. Why? They were charged with emotion due to the looming court case about the unpaid bills - We were going from game to game expecting each one to be our last. People were visibly emotional in the stands and some fans even chose to stay away because the couldn't handle the heartache - every single Cobblers supporter during that period was going through hell as a football fan, the one constant and the one release they have from daily life was in real and present danger of disappearing. This galvanised the team and the fans and a real bond was formed - there was a sense of unity that hadn't been witnessed before, we were all in this together. The staff were performing miracles to keep the club running, the team were performing miracles on the pitch and the fans were performing miracles in the level of support provided. Little did we know it but the foundations were being built for something truly remarkable to happen..

If you were at Coventry, Newport or Notts County I challenge you to think back to those games and not become emotional. Even at the home games where Sixfields is usually relatively quiet, the atmosphere and support when up 5 notches, the club needed its fans and blow me down with a feather and call me Lee Colkin, they stepped up to the mark like nobody could have expected.


Kelvin Thomas


Kelvin Thomas had proposed a deal to purchase the club and had agreed terms with the council regarding their loan, we had light at the end of the tunnel and it seemed like everything was going to be okay. We totally forgot how idiotic David Cardoza was and he threatened to ruin a deal with Thomas and stated he was talking to other interested parties - if you believe reports, Kelvin Thomas was 2 hours away from walking away from a deal due to David Cardoza playing stupid games, this would have resulted in the Cobblers going out of business. We had an impassioned plea from Chris Wilder after the Notts County game for David Cardoza to do the right thing and sell the club to Kelvin Thomas. It was a speech that will go down in the history of this football club because it was so passionate and absolutely spoken from the heart. Chris Wilder didn't speak just for himself that day, he spoke on behalf of the staff, the players, the fans and everyone connected with the club.

It had the right impact and Cardoza saw sense and agreed to sell the club. Kelvin Thomas was swiftly installed as the new chairman and he was a complete breath of fresh air - he didn't talk rubbish, he didn't provide false hope, he simply told the truth and didn't make stuff up. How were the fans feeling at this time? Overall I'd say it was a feeling of relief, the club was saved and we'd got rid of Cardoza once and for all. A real chance to move on and put the club on a stable footing was welcomed by all, Thomas did all the right things in his early days and has absolutely continued to throughout his reign so far. He is clearly a football man who understands how to run a club and can relate to the fans.


The Return of Ricky


Ricky Holmes. Ricky bloody Holmes. Where do you begin to describe the impact he has had this season? The team were performing well, then Ricky returned from injury and took us to another level. He has simply been incredible this season, the goals he has scored, the assists he has provided and he general all round play have been a joy to watch. Sometimes he tries to do too much, sometimes he has a quiet game, so what? With the talent he has and the ability he has to win a game from nothing, you have to accept that about him. His return really helped the momentum increase and solidify our position as genuine contenders. A great player and equally great hair to match, if only he was indestructible.

More to follow..