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..

The Curious Case of the Cobblers, The Councillor and the Chronicle.

I don't know what my aims are for writing this besides essentially venting my anger at what is a desperate situation. I don't know if it is me trying to genuinely seek answers, or if its me grieving for what now seems like the oncoming inevitable death of something that I love very much. 

To anybody that knows me, they'll know that the thing I love very much is the Cobblers. The often ridiculed, unloved step child of Northampton sporting teams, often held up as living breathing evidence of failure in sport by tweed wearing, Range Rover driving toffs who enjoy status and power rather than honour and decency (my opinion obviously).

Such is the position of the Cobblers within this town, I have come to expect, almost with routine consistency the queue of “businessmen” with questionable acumen lining up to stick the boot in on the thing I love in the hope of making a quick couple of quid. By the way, a spoiler - if a businessmen turns up looking to buy a football club there is a fair chance that they are either an idiot, a criminal or sometimes both.

Let’s not forget Northampton Borough Council, seemingly hell bent on a mission to turn Northampton Town into a continuously grimmer cess pit, fit for ridicule on the national stage. A town centre that would make a great setting for a documentary on how to successfully get a buzz from sniffing petrol, shown at 11.30pm on Bravo in 2001 a channel which was discontinued in 2011, coincidentally as every elected council official should have been as well (you can decide what I mean by that).

But ultimately what can I do to stop the Borough Council, an organisation that from the outside looks as if it is operated in a similar manner to the mafia, or any other organised crime syndicate. They always have, and seemingly will always be a law unto themselves. I also struggle to see how I personally am ever going to hold David Cardoza, or whoever the next poor gullible sod he has convinced to buy the club off him (if they do exist) accountable? Regardless of how weak Cardoza now appears, I am guessing he will probably not see the sort of justice that he deserves.

That’s why I worry about what I am about to say. I want the Northampton Chronicle and Echo held as accountable as the rest of them. This is not an attack on Jeremy Casey, or Jeff Lake, both of which I have a great deal of admiration and respect for, or even the new dedicated Cobblers reporter whose name escapes me. This is a direct appeal to the editor, David Summers. I am very concerned that the lack of reporting of the situation at the Cobblers might be a direct result of David Mackintosh holding a considerable amount of influence over the output of the Chronicle and Echo.

Now I understand that this sounds like we are flying deep into lunatic conspiracy theory territory, but I struggle to see the Chron's logic for the position they have taken over the past couple of years.

A few Chron journalists have said that they were unable to lift the lid of things at Sixfields, but not for the want of trying due to the elusive Cardoza's unwillingness to answer direct questions. However, look how quickly things have unravelled under what I would consider very mild pressure from the Supporters Trust. A relatively muted protest against Cardoza has resulted in the council calling in the £10.25 million loan, the HMRC issuing a winding up petition against the football club, and today a very public statement from the Buckingham Group which seems to contradict Mr Cardoza's version of events. 

Now I would agree that the Trust is probably better placed to lobby the Chairman and that yes, maybe they were better placed to launch the protests that led to the former two aspects. The latter however, was obtained by the Trust simply contacting Buckingham. Why on earth were the Chronicle not doing this?

The Chron seem to have been beaten to every story by somebody else over the course of this saga. Whether it be the Herald and Post’s Tom Reed admirably ringing up business's in India to see if it is them who was supposedly buying us, or fans themselves finding the enigmatic Grossman family on private jets to Paris through Instagram. I would argue that over the course of the past 4 months, the situation at Sixfields, is what the people of Northampton have wanted to read about.

Thats why I find it very very strange that on 21 September 2015, David Mackintosh was the subject of what was titled a "special report" about him adjusting to life living in London. I am not joking, here it is right here, if you fancy giving the Chron some advertising revenue,

http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/local/special-report-new-life-in-a-new-town-for-former-northampton-borough-council-leader-1-6967922

Now, I would hope we can all agree - none of us care how David Mackintosh is getting on living in London. I would bet that his own family don't care how he his getting on in London, they're probably just pleased he isn't living at home anymore knocking drinks on the carpet and building multi million pound bus stations that aren't fit for purpose, or selling priceless Egyptian artefacts and losing our museums they're accreditation, or even opening up Abington street despite heavy public opposition, or leaving his pants on the landing, and so on and so forth.

So why at a time when the hot political scandal of the decade is unfolding out in south west of the town are they running these stories?

Its not the first time the Chron have run questionable "news" stories (vanity stories which are essentially public appearances and not news) on Mr Mackintosh, in fact they have published 11 (including the above) over 2014 and 2015, which I am sure you can appreciate was the two preceding years to his election as MP last May.  

Here they are, if you fancy looking them up

25/03/15 David Mackintosh hands out Saints shirts to disadvantaged children 

8/1/15 David Mackintosh sleeps rough 

1/9/15 David Mackintosh does the Ice Bucket Challenge

27/8/15 Spends day with ambulance service

24/3/15 Opens a MacDonalds

8/10/15 Blindfolded walk up Abington Street

20/2/15 Putting up some signs (seriously)

22/9/14 Looking round the museum (which he would later put at risk)

23/8/14 NOMINATED FOR ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE (in caps as it is my personal favourite)

15/10/15 Mackintosh nominates his favourite curry for a regional award.

I think this is all extremely odd. 

The thing that upsets me is that the Chronicle is an institution in my household, and through all of this I feel that I can no longer trust them. As stated, I expect businessmen to stiff me, I expect the council to stiff me, but I always counted on the Chron to be there to fight the battles we couldn't, to expose these sort of things, to work for the people of the town to ensure that we were correctly informed so that if these situations arose we were ready for them. 

I was prepared to forgive them for a lot of it, as I know that they are understaffed as a result of going to one day a week. The printed medium is a dying art and I can only imagine how stretched they are, but when supporters, with full time jobs that don't involve investigative journalism are doing your job for you, something is very wrong. The Buckingham statement for me, is the final straw.

I do not believe I hold any influence over Cobblers fans. I was once called a shameless self promoter who once put Darren Carter on ebay (whilst I am a shameless self promoter, I never put Darren Carter on eBay that was Neil Egerton and to be fair, it worked). I sometimes get so drunk at Cobblers games I add an extra B in to Cobblers when spelling their name aloud. I might not be the best person to take direction from, but I have began to question the role the Chron play and if they best represent me as a Cobblers fan, and more importantly a Northamptonian. 

I would urge all Cobblers fans to consider if they still represent them as individuals and as a fan base in 2015. 

I would urge everybody to support the good work that Tom Reed does and continues to do at the Herald and Post.

I would urge everybody to support the Hotelenders fanzine, for something more balanced and informative than the clubs website, social media or match day programs.

I would urge you all to join the Trust at www.ntfctrust.co.uk

But I would urge you to consider if the Chron continues to deserve your readership.

I won't write another one of these for a while because I have bored myself, and no doubt bored all of you.

Up the Cobblers

Jake Moore

 

 

 

 

 

 

David Cardoza Q & A

Another week in the soap opera that is Northampton Town and another week of rumours, counter rumours and general shenanigans. 

I was lucky enough to speak to Cobblers chairman, David Cardoza, about the numerous rumours currently flying around. It should really be applauded that the chairman of the football club is so easily contactable and willing to engage with fans - I can't imagine Roman Abramovich providing the same service to Chelsea fans. That said, I can't imagine Chelsea fans have much to moan about. 

David Cardoza Q & A :

Interviewer : What is your response to the rumours that building contractors Buckinghams haven't been paid to the tune of £1.5 million and that Northampton Town have had to let staff go to stave off the threat of administration?

David Cardoza : We have heard about these rumours circulating.  We have located the initial Facebook comment that started this and will be taking legal action against this person as well as anybody else that has carried this on. There can be nothing more damaging to our club than starting these totally unfounded and vicious rumours. These people will be named and shamed in court. We have just appointed a new Chief Exec, head of sales and marketing and various backroom staff. We have more staff on our books than I can remember.

Interviewer : It looks like building work has stopped again, the back walls of the East Stand have only been partially built and nothing has happened since?

David Cardoza : We expect to have this situation resolved this week.

Interviewer : The lack of signings lately is due to money issues?

David Cardoza : What lack of signings! It is only the middle of June. We expect to have 2 new goalkeepers, a centre back, centre midfielder and a new striker. It will be the strongest squad I can remember.

Interviewer : The land behind the East Stand has been valued for far less than originally thought, is that correct?

David Cardoza : Rubbish. We have always known what the land is worth.

So there you have it, a couple of issues cleared up, a couple of more questions need asking....it sure as hell will be an interesting few months.

FANCY A BEER WITH PAT GAVIN?

So then, it's nearly over and we are out the bottom two for first time since September thanks to the son of god and my new hero, Ivan Toney.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that we as fans played a huge part in Saturdays result, because we were loud, we were boisterous and more importantly we were unified.

 

Everybody seems to think that the battle is over and whilst it looks better than it has done, it only takes us to lose to a side who have been top half most of the year and for Wycombe to beat a side who is bottom of the league and we're consigned to trips to the middle of nowhere on a Tuesday night.

In Dagenham we gave 110%, on Saturday we need to give a minimum of 150%. Yes it is possible before one of you smart arses pipe up.

So, here is the plan...

We start at 10am in the 'Moon on the Square'. This makes us visible to the rest of the teyn and people will realise that Northampton people do care about the football club. It also means we can sing about cobblestones while being on cobblestones, the madness.

 

 

 

Then at 11am we move on to the 'Sevens' (Red Rover) - hopefully if we pack it out we can get a Liverpool Street atmosphere going in there, nothing naughty and just some good old singing and support for the club we love.

Final stop is at 12pm and down to Carrs Bar for one final push, if you joined us in there for Portsmouth you'll know it takes only 8 people to make a noise in there, so imagine if we can get 50+ in there, it will be bloody raucous. 

 

At 3pm we go and sing our way to safety - we don't stop from 5 minutes before the game until the game has finished.

 

Two other things to mention....

Bring scarves, flags, beach towels, confetti the lot - ESPECIALLY SCARVES, a lot can be done with a scarf. You can swing it round your head and pretend you're a Spanish ultra, you can throw it in the air if Chris Wilder tells you to, you can throw it at your mate if Chris Wilder tells you to, you can even attempt suicide with it if we are relegated - (please don't try this at home etc)

BRING A SCARF. BRING A SCARF. BRING A SCARF. BRING A SCARF.

#scarvesforlaughs

Finally, (and I'll say it quietly in case it doesnt happen) we may have got the man himself Pat Gavin to come down and have a beer with us. Seeing as we're using his name, lets not let him down with a poor turnout or a poor atmosphere. Let us show him how much we all appreciate his fantastic deriere.

 Hopefully we'll have done enough to retain our Football League status, whatever happens though I'll see you all in the Sixfields Tavern for a debrief and planning for next season - whatever division we are in. This movement does not stop.

 

 

If anybody needs anything, please get in touch and I'll do my best to sort it. Search the hashtag on Twitter if needs be.

 

#gavinitlarge

**This blog post was brought to you by @snake_moore (that is his Twitter handle, his real name is Louise)**

The Pat Gavin It Large Movement

OK so as it stands the Cobblers are fucked. We've just been beaten 3-0 at probably the worst possible time and we've all royally got the arse. 

So heres what I reckon we should do (and this movement is a democracy so if you think its shite im open to suggestions), a three point plan that hopefully works better than a 5 year plan.

Portsmouth on Easter Monday : Lets get as many people as possible in Carrs bar at 1.30 until kick off - I know none of us like Cardoza much these days (me for the past 6 years) but I reckon it would be a good symbolic gesture, that ultimately we control the club, a message to let him know - if he did things correctly he could have this sort of thing going all the time. We get that shitty bar rocking for 90 minutes prior to the REAL 90 minutes, then we all go and PAY ON THE GATE at the North stand we fill that stand to the brim if we can and we try and be as loud as we possibly can for 90 minutes, louder than Cheltenham. Hopefully we can still get to safety following this game.

Dagenham away : we all meet at the station at 8am, we all head down together to Dagenham and take over whatever pub we can nearest the ground right up until kick off, I hear Neil can source a big flag for these sort of things, Karl if you're about maybe you can source some claret/white flares. We then do exactly what I hope we will have done against Portsmouth (not that I doubt we will for a second) and hopefully after the game we can still reach safety.

Oxford Home : ultimately this will be our cup final this year if everything goes to plan. For this one I think we should do the ultimate and deliver on one of Cardoza's many failed promises. We create our own fan village. If Coventry City can stand at the top of our hill and arse about and fight each other every sunday then I can't see why we cant stand at the bottom of the hill together drinking beers and singing some songs. Jeff Lake can paint peoples faces and all sorts. Obviously this won't work if there is 10 people, but if there are hundreds it will look great. I might even bring a rubbish gazebo. If we do face major opposition from the club over this then we will obviously have to rethink it, but for now that is the first part of the plan for this day. Second part is to once again get in the north stand and sing our hearts out one final time.

I dont know about you lot but supporting the Cobblers is something we should all be immensely proud of, not ashamed! Whilst we all know that some of us are clueless and some of us are too happy to accept mediocrity and that some of us are too quick to criticise Emile Sinclair for panicking whenever he touches the ball, we all made a decision at some point in our lives that it would be far too easy to support Man Utd, Arsenal or chelsea. We decided to support our home town club because it meant more to us to do that. Our dads did, or our mums did, or our grandparents did. FUCK, WE COULD HAVE SUPPORTED THE SAINTS FOR CHRIST SAKE. 

If this fails and we go down, at least WE went down fighting. I am not a travel club, I am not the trust, I am not a supporters club, I am bloke who wants to give it one last throw of the dice with like minded people. Like i said if you reckon this is shit but you want in - tell us, lets talk about it and lets work something out.

If these are our last three games in the Football League lets make them special, or we can make them the first 3 games of a different era.

PS i will get 'I always deliver' tattooed on me on May 4th if we stay up.

****This blog update is written by Jake Moore, an ardent Cobblers fan, a huge supporter of Boyzone and a general legend in the area - find him on Twitter @snake_moore ****

A letter to Northampton Town FC

Hello Gareth,

I write this email after one of the lowest days I've ever had supporting Northampton Town FC. I'm not after a reply but all I'd ask is that you show this to the players and management of the club....

I chose not to go to the game today, probably for the first time ever I actually decided not to spend my money on going to the match? Why? The pain, the hurt, the inevitable disappointment.

I've been supporting the Cobblers for twenty years now, that is two thirds of my life. The one constant in my life has been going to watch Northampton, when having tough times at school I used to look forward to that weekend release of going to cheer on Cobblers, when having a shit day at work it's the thought of 90 minutes away from reality that keeps me going. I work hard to support my loving family and to enjoy my life, I choose to spend my money following Northampton Town FC as much as possible, it's a choice because I love it. Why do I do it rather than choose to support Man City or Chelsea? I'll tell you why, because it's my home town - I'm proud of my town and I'm proud of my club and it is my club, us supporters make the club, we are the club. We were here before any of you came along and we'll be here after you've all gone. We have formed special friendships with fellow fans, there have been relationships, weddings, babies all thanks to Northampton Town FC. It's one of the greatest clubs in the world - maybe not in stature, money or ability but to us it is without question one of the best. Why do we feel like that? Because we bloody love the club, we've invested our life in supporting the side through thick and thin - this is why we'll never walk away, despite feeling like we want to on numerous occasions.  We're proud of where we come from, we're proud of our home town and we want to spread the word to the world that little old Northampton is our town, our football club and by god we fucking love it.

What does Northampton mean to you? Fuck all? Pay packet? Just another club? None of you have been here long enough to really love the club - maybe apart from Kelvin ' Thundercock' Langmead, who I might add bloody well epitomises everything about Northampton a Town FC - some of you probably don't care what happens to the club, some of you probably don't care about this message - guess what? It's time to care. What does it matter to you if we get relegated? You'll still get a half decent wage with decent working hours and lots of perks, you'll pick up another club if the worst does happen. You'll get over it before you're on the plane to Vegas with your bro's, it won't matter to you. You'll still have money to get another sleeve tattoo or to buy another 9 pairs of trainers. You'll still be able to get that big exhaust on your car. You'll be at another club next season, a new contract, new perks, new start - not a care in the world!

What about us fans of Northampton? Will we get over it? No. Will we hurt all summer and into next season? Yes. Will we shed tears? Yes. Do we wish we could do more to halt this seemingly non stop slide into football oblivion? Yes of course we do.

What's the point of me sending the message? I'll tell you - we've got 6 games left of the season, just 6 games. The cliche is that they're all cup finals but they're not, they're just 6 games against sides of similar ability to ourselves. We need one big unified push to save this football club from relegation. I don't care if you hate the club, your team mates, the manager, the chairman or even Clarence - fuck it. We don't have time for petty things, now is the time to play for each other, to play for the supporters and show some big fucking balls. None of you are bad footballers, hey none of you are great footballers either but you have moments where you make us sit up and think 'fuck me, they have got it in them' - we need those moments more than ever over the next 6 games. Expend all your energy trying to save this football club, chase down every ball, harass and hurry every single opposition player - I saw you do this against Southend with my own eyes, Emile you were a man possessed, get that fucking fight back - grow some fucking balls. All of you, every block, every tackle - throw yourselves into it, defence take the pledge 'thou shall not pass'. Strikers, Don't be afraid to shoot, don't be afraid to miss, don't listen to us if we sound frustrated - it's because we care. You can fucking well do this.

If you, as players, do the above then you will have absolutely 100% support from us supporters - we can save this football club and we can do it together, at the moment it seems only one side cares - Time to change it guys, time to stand up and be counted. We'll be there every inch of the way with you, at every game you'll see us in our numbers, you'll hear us screaming, shouting, singing and willing you to gain the points needed. 

It's time to collaborate and achieve greatness. You've got 6 games to become heroes - in our eyes. Please take that chance with both hands - fuck it if your elsewhere in the summer or next season, I don't give a shit and nor should you - at the moment you're employed by Northampton Town FC.

I ask you one thing, Save my club from relegation to non league, please.

Many Thanks

Neil

The Final Countdown

48,600 seconds, 810 minutes, 13.5 hours, 9 games. Whatever way you look at it, time is running out for Northampton Town to secure their Football League safety.

Cobblers currently sit on 38 points which is officially 3 points from safety but with goal difference as it is then you're looking at 4 points at least to get out of the relegation zone. We could spend hours looking over other teams form and fixtures to try and work out what the results will be and what we need to do to be safe but what's the point? As crazy as it may sound but the end outcome is still in the hands of Northampton Town. Pick up enough points and they won't get relegated, simple as that.

Too much emphasis is put on other sides and what they are doing when in reality it doesn't fucking matter. Cobblers simply need to pick up 14 points to secure safety. How can they do it? I've no idea, I think we'll only get 12 more...

Morecambe (a) - Draw

Wimbledon (h) - Win

Bury (h) - Lose ( Clive Platt with the winner )

Accrington (a) - Win

Burton (h) - Draw

Wycombe (a) - Lose

Portsmouth (h) - Lose

Dag & Red (a) - Win

Oxford (h) - Draw

That is of course just my personal opinion. I genuinely think it will come down to the final game v Oxford and we'll most likely need to win the game.

This blog update is very much like the cobblers season to date - a fucking mess-  so sincere apologies but bear with me.

One thing that needs addressing if we are to have any chance at all is the lack of goal threat, this has been an issue all season, here are a few startling stats for you :

Average Goals Per Game - 0.81

Failed to Score - 43% overall (58% for away games)

How can we solve this issue? There are two glaring issues that could be addressed. A stinking lack of creativity from centre midfield = bring in a creative little wanker on loan. Ravenhill is great as the annoying little fucker that breaks up play but by god his passing and shooting is atrocious. Carter has improved ten fold over the last month but he's not going to create chances from nothing due to his style. There is a school of thought that Connell could be the creative one and I wouldn't disagree, if he is used that way then use a loan signing to address the other situation, goals. Bring in a selfish prick that lives to score - hell, pluck one from non league if needs be, someone that is going to stick their head where it hurts when required. What about Emile Sinclair I hear you ask? Well, it all depends if Emile fancies it or not doesn't it? He can be brilliant but equally he can be lazy and disinterested - part of this may well be de-motivation due to the lack of service? Although I'd argue that we put a fair amount of balls into the box and more often than not he is nowhere to be seen.

As supporters, the time has come to lay down your spears, lay down your protest banners, stop tweeting negatively, refrain from posting angrily on MySpace and offer full and conditional support to the club you love. Once the season is over then any agendas can be picked up again. Take Tuesday night - I wasn't at the game thankfully but by all accounts when the MOM announcement was made for Chris Hackett there was laughter and booing. Step back for a moment and imagine what kind of effect it may have on the player? Sixfields can actually be quite a hostile environment for our own players, that's not right is it?

I don't have an issue with the odd boo at the end of the game if a performance warrants it but when it's targeted towards individual then it's not a good approach. Yes the season has been shit, yes we pay our money, yes we are entitled to our opinion but there is a time and a place. I'd suggest if you're the type that booed the MOM announcement then maybe don't go again this season? If you love your club you'll realise it's for the right reasons. The more support the better? Not always.

I love a moan like the best of them and I'm also one fickle bastard when it comes to football but this club and David Cardoza do not deserve to be playing in the conference.