Who should replace Edinburgh?

Justin Edinburgh was sacked as boss of Northampton Town on Deadline Day, the move was not exactly unexpected but now the question everyone is asking, who does Kelvin Thomas go to in order to replace him?

It is vital that Kelvin Thomas gets it right, he has made two appointments since taking over and none of them have worked out. There is added pressure to make sure the correct appointment is made due to the investment from Chinese company 5U Sports, who will be expecting success from the side.

THE CONTENDERS

JIMMY FLOYD HASSELBAINK

The former QPR and Burton Albion boss is seen as a popular choice amongst the Cobblers supporters. Hasselbaink had a dream start to his managerial career in England when he took over at Burton Albion, taking over from Gary Rowett. He was taking over a team already doing well in League Two and he helped along their success as they won the League Two title. Following on from that season Hasselbaink helped lead Burton Albion to the top of the League One table. He left Burton in December 2015, whilst they were still top of League One, and took over at Championship side Queens Park Rangers. At the time they were 11th in the league and just two points off the play offs. He endured a tough start to his QPR career and it took him just over a month to get his first win as Manager, all in all he led QPR to a 12th place finish, some 14 points off the play offs. Hasselbaink did not last long in the following season at QPR as he was dismissed from his role in November 2016 with QPR occupying 17th place.

So, could Jimmy Floyd be a good fit for Northampton? There are plenty of reasons as to why Cobblers fans would like to see Hasselbaink at the club, one of the main reasons is that he knows League One and had success before leaving Burton. He is passionate and is already a fan favourite to take over. He likes his teams to play attacking football as well, something Northampton fans have been longing for ever since Chris Wilder left the club. There are however a few concerns that come with this appointment, he had success with Burton, but he took over a team full of confidence and were already doing well and competing. When he took the QPR job they were not in the same postion as Burton, QPR did not have players full of confidence and challenging for titles. This is a concern as he will be taking over a Northampton Town side who are currently lacking confidence.

 

STEVE COTTERILL

Steve Cotterill is another name in the frame for the Northampton Town job. Cotterill has a lot of managerial experience spending most of his career as a Manager in League One and the Championship with numerous clubs such as Nottingham Forest, Bristol City and Portsmouth. One of his best spells as a Manager came when he was the gaffer at Bristol City where in the 2014/15 season he won the League Two title and the Football League Trophy (formerly the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy now known as the Checkatrade Trophy). Bristol City and Cotterill were the first to achieve this since Birmingham City in 1995. In this season Cotterill was also named as LMA Manager of the Year. Cotterill struggled with Bristol City in the Championship, partly to do with a lack of investment, and was sacked 256 days after he had led them to the second tier of English football. Cotterill has been out of work as a Manager for a while with Bristol City being his last managerial role to date. He has however had a short spell at Birmingham City as Harry Redknapp’s assistant at the end of the 2016/17 season but decided against extending his stay.

At Bristol City Cotterill was known to play a fluid brand of football and was against the long ball approach to the game. Again, this would be something that Northampton fans would love to see their team play, although he likes to play attacking football it has been known for Cotterill to have a shaky defence but adopt the “if you score 3, we will score 4” approach. An entertaining approach, but a risky one too.

 

PAUL TISDALE

Paul Tisdale is another name that has been thrown in to the ring about the vacant managerial post at Northampton. Tisdale has been at current club, Exeter City, since June 2006 following a successful six year spell as Manager of Team Bath, a University team which made it in to the first round of the FA Cup under Tisdale’s stewardship. Since he has been at Exeter City Tisdale has led them to two promotions and they came in consecutive years. In 2007/08 Exeter were promoted to League Two from the Conference via the play offs and the following season they were promoted to League One after finishing second, therefore going up automatically. Following the success of that season Tisdale was named League Two Manager of the Year. In their second season in League One, the 2010/11 season, Tisdale guided Exeter to their highest ever finish as they came 8th in League One. The following season Exeter were relegated to League Two as they finished 23rd. Ever since then they have been in League Two as a mid table side that will put up a fight for the play offs every other season, last season Exeter reached the play offs but fell short, losing to Blackpool in the final.

Tisdale is known to play a passing style of football, something that could work at the Cobblers, especially because of the central midfielders at the club, this style would suit players such as Matt Crooks and Matt Grimes perfectly. Tisdale has done a remarkable job at Exeter City on limited resources, throughout his time there he has only ever paid one transfer fee. This shows that he is smart in the transfer market and he will look after the Cobblers money if he were given it. Tisdale is another popular choice amongst Northampton supporters due to his playing style and the success he has had on the budget he has at Exeter.

 

DANNY COWLEY

Danny Cowley is a popular choice amongst Cobblers supporters with his name in the ring before Justin Edinburgh was appointed. Danny Cowley’s managerial career has mainly been spent in non-league with Braintree Town, Concord Rangers and Lincoln City. Cowley has had success everywhere he has been and a big part of that is working with his brother, Nicky, who has been Assistant Manager at every club he has been at. Cowley spent 8 years at Concord Rangers, during that time he got the club from the Essex Senior Football League to the National League South and in his last season in charge he was able to take Concord to the FA Cup 1st Round. In 2015 Cowley took over at National League side Braintree Town and took them to the play offs in his one and only season, in the play offs they lost Grimsby Town over 2 legs. The following season he was appointed Manager of Lincoln City. In his first season he took them to the FA Cup quarter-final beating Premier League side, Burnley, along the way. His success did not stop there, he won the National League title with two games to spare and they returned to League Two. They have had a respectable start to life in League Two and currently find themselves in 13th place after four games.

Cowley would be an interesting appointment and one that would go down well with all of the Cobblers fans. One of the main positives in appointing him is that he has been successful in every job that he has taken. He is also currently managing a team that is doing well so he will be able to inject some fresh ideas in to the team as he knows what is needed in order to be a success. One thing that may be a concern is that Cowley has never managed at this level before, but everyone has to start somewhere.

 

CHRIS POWELL

Chris Powell is also in the running to become the new Cobblers boss. He has managed in League One and the Championship. He best known for his spell in charge of Charlton Athletic where he was able to get them back to the Championship. Following promotion Powell managed to lead Charlton to a more than respective 9th place finish in the 2012/12 Championship season. The following season was not so successful though with Powell finding himself out of job after getting the chop from the Charlton board with Charlton languishing at the bottom of the table. Another reported reason for the termination of his contract was that he did not play players that controversial owner Roland Duchatelet bought to the club. In September 2014 Powell was back in football, this time with Huddersfield Town but only lasted just over a year after being axed in November 2015. That was the last managerial post the Chris Powell has held, he became Assistant Manager to Nigel Pearson at Derby County in May 2016 and had a brief spell in caretaker charge before Derby appointed Steve McClaren. Powell is known to like to play football with the ball on the floor and is against the long ball approach, keeping the ball on the floor will suit the Cobblers players down to the ground, especially the quick attackers such as Billy Waters and Leon Lobjoit.

Chris Powell fits the bill for the Cobblers in the way that he likes to play but he has been out of the game for a while, other than his short spell as Assistant at Derby. The fact he has been out of the game for a while may concern a few but the fact is, the style that he has used in the past has been proven to be successful, but that was now years ago and the game has changed a lot since.

 

What do you think? Let me know! Tweet me @JamieDuncan1998

 

 

Who should stay and who should go?

There are a clutch of players who are out of contract at Northampton Town in the summer, here I give my opinions on who should stay and who should go.

ADAM SMITH- STAY

Adam Smith is a player that has become a crucial part of the team since joining from Leicester City at the start of last season. At the age of 24 he is only going to improve in the future. Adam Smith has been one of the best Cobblers keepers of recent times and although during the current season he was dropped by ex boss Rob Page during a poor run of form he has come back in to the side in the same form as last season, if not better. Justin Edinburgh is clearly getting the best out of Smith and he seems to be enjoying his football. I would offer him a 3 year deal, possibly with a release clause in order to keep him happy.

ZANDER DIAMOND- STAY

Zander Diamond is the longest serving player in the current team. He was signed back in 2014 on loan from Burton to help the Cobblers in their fight for survival in League Two. Following a successful fight Diamond signed on a permanent deal in the summer. Diamond has been one of the most consistent players this season and has played most games this season alongside Lewin Nyatanga or Gabby Zakuani. He is a good leader, team player and popular member of the squad. At the age of 32 he is not getting any younger so I would offer him a one year deal with the option of a second.

GABRIEL ZAKUANI- STAY

Zakuani has arguably been the best defender for Northampton this season when he has been in the squad. He has missed a lot of football this season through injury and international call ups. When he has been playing he has been an outstanding performer and has become a fan favourite in the process. When he was signed by Rob Page in the summer he signed a one year deal with the option to extend by a further year. Despite his injury troubles I believe it is well worth activating the contract extension.

MARC RICHARDS- STAY

Marc Richards is currently in his second spell at the club and is a firm favourite with the fans and squad as well as being club captain. At the time of writing he is joint top goal scorer with 12 goals. At the age of 34 he is coming to the end of his career but is still playing at a level high enough to be in and around the squad. I believe next season he will become more of a squad player and think he should be offered a new one year deal. In the last 2 seasons he has finished as the clubs top scorer and is on the way to making it 3 years in a row as the clubs top scorer which shows he still has something to offer.

EMMANUEL SONUPE- GO

Emmanuel Sonupe was a summer signing by Rob Page following a successful trial after being released by Tottenham Hotspur in the summer. It just has not worked out for the youngster at Northampton, he has not been given an opportunity and when he has been given a chance he has never really taken it. He is currently out on loan at Vanarama North side Kidderminster Harriers who are currently chasing promotion to the Vanarama National League. Although Sonupe is still young at the age of 21 he has not shown anything to suggest he is ready to make the jump to League One football, although he may do in the future.

JOHN-JOE O’TOOLE- STAY

John-Joe O’Toole has become a cult hero at the Cobblers following a slow start to his career at the club. He had a poor first season that ended with him being put on the transfer list but he turned it around the following season becoming the clubs player of the season as they romped to the League Two title. He is currently 28 years old and is hitting his prime. With 12 goals this season he is the joint top scorer with Marc Richards at the time of writing which is a brilliant effort from midfield in what has been a struggling team. I would offer John-Joe a two year deal to stay with the club in order to secure his services during the prime of his career.

NEAL EARDLEY- GO

Neal Eardley joined the club in January this season on a contract until the end of the season, he has been a fairly consistent performer and is a harsh casualty. With two right backs currently at the club Eardley was only bought in to cover the injured Brendan Moloney and Aaron Phillips. With both now back to full fitness the club cannot afford to pay for 3 right backs to be at the club. He has done well when he has played but I would let him go at the end of the season and stick with Moloney and Phillips who are under contract for next season.

MATTY TAYLOR- STAY

Matty Taylor joined the Cobblers at the beginning of the season following winning promotion to the Premier League with Burnley. He has been a model professional and although he is not the same player he used to be he has made some vital contributions to the team through his outstanding set pieces. He has scored 8 goals and provided 11 assists for his team mates with most of them coming from his set pieces. Although he does not have the legs anymore at the age of 35, he does guarantee the team goals through his dangerous set pieces and deserves to be offered a new one year deal.

PAUL ANDERSON- GO

Paul Anderson signed for the club in the summer on deadline day from Bradford City. He was a regular under Rob Page but has had to wait for his chance under the new gaffer. Since he has come in to the side for Justin Edinburgh he has done well and impressed. The only reason I have put him down to leave the club in the summer is that he will be being played out of position. With Edinburgh preferring to play a 4-4-2 narrow diamond formation there are no wide players. He has played well at the tip of the diamond but this is by no means his preferred position, he has made a decent goal scoring contribution to the team this season however, netting 7 times in all competitions.

SkyBet League One: MK Dons V Northampton Town

stadium:mk, Saturday 21st January, KO:15:00

This game sees Justin Edinburgh takes charge of his first game as Manager of Northampton Town. The new man will no doubt want to get off to a winning start in front of an expected 3,000 strong away following. In the reverse fixture Northampton won 3-2 in front of the Sky Sports cameras thanks to goals from Harry Beautyman, Alex Revell and an exquisite Matty Taylor free kick.

Times have changed for both clubs however, with both MK Dons and Northampton having different managers in place. The Dons sacked Karl Robinson and replaced him with Robbie Nielson from Hearts. They go in to this game with just one injury, former Cobblers player and top scorer Dean Bowditch. The Cobblers will still be without Brendan Moloney, Aaron Phillips, Paul Anderson and Gabriel Zakuani.

Northampton however, go in to this match hoping for a positive result following a poor run of form that saw Rob Page and his backroom team pay the ultimate price. It is unknown how Northampton will line up with the new man in charge but new signing Keshi Anderson is expected to take some part in the game.

Northampton will be hoping for Justin Edinburgh to make an instant impact to break them out of this appalling run of form which has seen them slide down the table following 10 defeats in 12 games. It remains to be seen if players such as Alfie Potter and Raheem Hanley will be bought in from the cold. With spirits back up the main challenge is to bring back the confidence in the players as well as trying to stop the defence conceding late goals. One thing that will be sure, the players have to impress to get a place in the team at the weekend will have had to impress and will be a sign of the future. Will he go for pace out wide with Sam Hoskins and Gregg Wylde or will he continue to play Matty Taylor on the left where he impressed against Scunthorpe. Will he play one up top or will he play two up top, all will be found out on Saturday.

PREDICTED LINE UP (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper- Adam Smith

Right Back- Neal Eardley

Centre Backs- Zander Diamond & Lewin Nyatanga

Left Back- David Buchanan

Right Midfield- Sam Hoskins

Centre Midfielders- John-Joe O’Toole & Hiram Boating

Left Midfield- Matty Taylor

Strikers- Alex Revell & Keshi Anderson

BENCH- David Cornell (GK), Rod McDonald, Raheem Hanley, Harry Beautyman, Gregg Wylde, Jak McCourt, Marc Richards

PREDICTION

MK Dons 0-2 Northampton Town

What can Northampton fans expect from their new Manager?

The wait for Cobblers fans is over. Justin Edinburgh has been named as the new man in charge on a two and a half year deal. This appointment comes just 10 days after he was sacked by Gillingham and just 4 days after the sacking of Rob Page.

It appears to be a solid appointment from the club who were after a new man following a poor run of form which has seen an alarming slide down the table. Edinburgh has done enough in his interviews to impress Chairman Kelvin Thomas despite being sacked by Gillingham just 10 days ago. The new manager has an impressive 41% win percentage over almost 400 games as a Manager and is someone who has worked there way up the footballing ladder having previously managed Billericay Town (as a player manager), Fisher Athletic, Grays Athletic, Rushden & Diamonds, Newport County and Gillingham.

The main success in Edinburgh’s career is getting Newport Town in to the Football League. Whilst at Newport back in 2014 he was approached by Northampton as he was seen by former Chairman David Cardoza as the man to save the clubs league status although he turned down the approach and the Cobblers went on to appoint Chris Wilder from Oxford United. He did however leave Newport the following year in February 2015 after being approached by Gillingham, when he left Newport County were in 6th place in League Two. He came in to Gillingham when the club were just 2 points above the relegation zome and guided them to a 12th placed finish.

Following the news of his appointment I spoke earlier to Gillingham fan Sam Davis and asked him a few questions about what the fans can expect from their new manager. The first thing I asked was about the style of play that Edinburgh liked to implement in his teams. Sam said “He likes his players to get the ball on the ground, he is not a fan of the long ball approach”. This is music to Northampton fans ears who have recently grown disillusioned with their teams style of play which saw them knocking the ball up to the striker from their own half. Sam also told me that at Gillingham Justin Edinburgh preferred to use a diamond 4-4-2 or a 3-5-2 but would occasionally play 4-3-3 so it is fair to say that he will not be afraid to change things if they are not working or depending on the opposition.

Following on from that question I asked him where did it all go wrong for him at Gillingham? He told me that he seemed to lose the dressing room with Sam saying that “the players didn’t seem interested in playing for him, with some of the loan signings looking like they didn’t want to be there”. Following on from this I asked about Edinburgh’s favoured transfer policy, seeing if he is a big fan of using the loan market. Sam told me that “he likes using his loan players as he did not have the budget to attract better players to suit his style of play on permanent contracts”.

With a slightly larger playing budget than at Gillingham it remains to be seen if he will favour the loan market in the short time he has to get players in but Northampton fans can be hopeful of improved performances on the pitch with a more attractive playing style. How will he get on? Only time will tell!

Are you happy with the appointment of Justin Edinburgh? Let me know by tweeting me! My Twitter handle is JamieDuncan1998 with a link to my profile also at the bottom of the page!

 

SkyBet League One: Northampton Town V Scunthorpe United

Sixfields Stadium, Saturday 14th January, KO: 15:00

In the reverse of this fixtures the Cobblers produced one of their better performances of the season even with Matty Taylor being sent off. It is fair to say that many fans are not currently optimistic of another good performance this time round, a lot has happened since that 1-1 draw back in October.

This will be the first game of the season without Rob Page, who was relieved of his duties after the Bristol Rovers mauling. At the time of writing this article it will be Page’s assistant Paul Wilkinson in the dugout who has taken caretaker charge of the team. The Cobblers also have some problems within the team as well although the defensive issues have been eased with the signing of right back Neal Eardly on a contract until the end of the season. Northampton will head in to this match without Gabriel Zakuani who is on international duty with the DR Congo at the African Cup of Nations. Also missing will be Paul Anderson who suffered a gash to his leg in the loss to Bristol Rovers whilst Brendan Moloney and Aaron Phillips remain out injured.

In better news though Lewin Nyatanga will once again be available after recovering from illness and is expected to partner Zander Diamond at the heart of the Northampton defence. Hiram Boateng is expected to keep his place in the team after he was the only player to emerge with any credit whatsoever after the heavy defeat last week. Meanwhile JJ Hooper has returned to Port Vale following the conclusion of his loan spell.

The Cobblers are currently on a poor run of form that has mustered up 9 defeats from their last 11 games. Scunthorpe go into this game in much better form sitting pretty in 2nd place after a run of just 3 defeats in their last 13 games. It is hard to predict how the team will line up against Scunthorpe as obviously it will not be Rob Page picking the team so it remains to be seen if he follows a similar way in picking the same formation with the same players or if he will bring in some of the fringe players to see if they can make an impact. Players such as Harry Beautyman and Alfie Potter have a point to prove, especially Beautyman after being hauled off on the stroke of 30 mins last week.

Can this week be the turning point for the Cobblers under caretaker Paul Wilkinson remains to be seen, but all players will be heavily motivated in order to prove themselves to any prospective managers that may be sitting in the stands.

PREDICTED LINE UP (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper- Adam Smith

Right Back- Neal Eardly

Centre Backs- Lewin Nyatanga & Zander Diamond

Left Back- David Buchanan

Central Midfielders- Hiram Boateng, Matty Taylor and John-Joe O’Toole

Left Wing- Gregg Wylde

Right Wing- Sam Hoskins

Striker- Alex Revell

BENCH- David Cornell (GK), Rod McDonald, Raheem Hanley, Jak McCourt, Harry Beautyman, Alfie Potter, Marc Richards

PREDICTION

Northampton Town 1-3 Scunthorpe United

 

SkyBet League One: Oxford United V Northampton Town

The Kassam Stadium, Monday 26th December, KO: 15:00

One of last seasons rivalries will be reignited on Boxing Day in a fixture that sees Northampton Town visit the runners up of League Two last season, Oxford United. Northampton will be looking for a win to reignite their season while Oxford are currently unbeaten in their last 8 games. This will no doubt be a tough test for the Cobblers up against a team who are going well and will be playing with confidence.

The Cobblers can be confident going in to this one, performances haven’t been great and results have not been going there way but they seem to do okay against Oxford, doing the double over them last season, both 1-0 wins, the first coming at Sixfields with Northampton playing with 10 men following Jason Taylor’s red card but Adam Smith saved the penalty that Taylor gave away and Northampton went on to win it thanks to a Sam Hoskins goal. The reverse fixture was a Tuesday night game at the Kassam in what was a closely contested game with Northampton winning thanks to a penalty from captain Marc Richards.

The Cobblers may be on a poor run of form but not all hope is lost, although performances have not been great in all the games they have lost there has not been much in it, with 6 defeats in their last 7 games being lost by just the single goal. This shows that although they are not at their best it does encourage the fans that they have the ability to turn it around. In a few of those games the team were extremely unlucky to not take home any points and had they taken points in some of those games, especially Bolton and Gillingham, there would not have been many complaints coming from the opposition.

There may also be some added motivation in the dressing room coming from some of the title winning players of last season with Oxford manager still saying that he believes that Oxford were the ‘best footballing team in the division’. This is a bold claim that did not sit well with the supporters and the team duly proved Michael Appleton wrong by winning the league by a massive 13 points, as well as beating his Oxford side twice. There may be a few in that dressing room desperate to get one over Michael Appleton and his Oxford United side.

Going in to this game there are no fresh injury concerns for Northampton who could be boosted by the return of Zander Diamond following the news that the central defender was back in full training having recovered from a fractured cheek bone. JJ Hooper is still struggling with a thigh injury and has already been ruled out by boss Rob Page and right back Brendan Moloney is still out recovering from the operation on his knee.

 

PREDICTED LINE UP (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper- David Cornell

Right Back- Aaron Phillips

Centre Backs- Lewin Nyatanga & Gabriel Zakuani

Left Back- David Buchanan

Central Midfielders- John-Joe O’Toole, Matty Taylor and Sam Hoskins

Left Wing- Kenji Gorre

Right Wing- Paul Anderson

Striker- Alex Revell

BENCH- Adam Smith (GK), Zander Diamond, Raheem Hanley, Jak McCourt, Harry Beautyman, Alfie Potter, Marc Richards

PREDICTION

Oxford United 1-1 Northampton Town

WE GO AGAIN

SkyBet League One: Northampton Town V Rochdale

Sixfields Stadium, Saturday 17th December, KO: 15:00

On Saturday Northampton are back in action in League One following Tuesday nights embarrassment in the FA Cup. Doom and gloom currently surrounds Northampton at the moment with 4 straight league defeats until they defeated Port Vale last weekend but the gloom set back in following Tuesdays dismal 1-0 defeat. There are many questioning the managers ability and if he really is the right man to be leading The Cobblers. Those questions are fair considering  what was said by Mr Page at the start of the season, the “evolution not revolution” has been bouncing around recently. This is a fair point by many Cobblers fans as this years team is almost completely different compared to last years title winning team, the style of play has completely changed as well.

Anyway on to the game against high flying Rochdale. They currently occupy 5th place in the league and are on a fairly decent run of late with 3 wins in their last 5 games, two of those wins being 4-0’s. For this game The Cobblers will be without Zander Diamond who continues to recover from a fractured cheekbone, Brendan Moloney who is still recovering from surgery on his knee and JJ Hooper is also still struggling with a thigh injury although I doubt we will see him in a Cobblers shirt again after Port Vale confirmed that they will be recalling him in January. On the plus side John-Joe O’Toole has completed his two match ban for 10 bookings and is available for selection.

Northampton are currently in 13th place and a win could propel the team back up the table and within touching distance of the play offs. If results go Town’s way then they could find themselves just two points off the play offs come 5 0’clock on Saturday evening. A win for Rochdale would solidify their position in the play offs and will stay 5th barring a win by a huge amount of goals for them.

David Cornell is set to continue in goal on Saturday following a good performance at Stourbridge with the back four also set to stay the same with Aaron Phillips playing right back, Nyatanga and Zakuani in the heart of defence and the vice captain David Buchanan continuing doing a stellar job at left back as always. I can see Page putting 5 in the midfield this week with Revell to start up top on his own and Richards settling for a place on the bench. I  think Anderson is in need of a rest as he hasn’t been up to scratch recently and I would personally like to see Lawson D’Ath come in to the side, someone with a point to prove. O’Toole should come straight back in to the side to play in the middle of the park along with Matty  Taylor and Sam Hoskins with Kenji Gorre playing on the left.

This is a massive fixture for Northampton, no doubt it will be tough but the ability in this squad is there, the real question is, will they get it right? Individual errors can no longer be accepted as an excuse, this is the squads chance to go out there and prove a point, it will also give us an idea if Page still has the dressing room.

PREDICTED LINE UP (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper- David Cornell

Right Back- Aaron Phillips

Centre Backs- Lewin Nyatanga & Gabriel Zakuani

Left Back- David Buchanan

Central Midfielders- Matty Taylor and John-Joe O’Toole

Right Midfielder- Alfie Potter

Left Midfielder- Kenji Gorre

Centre Attacking Midfielder- Sam Hoskins

Striker- Alex Revell

BENCH- Adam Smith (GK), Rod McDonald, Raheem Hanley, Lawson D’Ath, Harry Beautyman, Jak  McCourt, Marc Richards

PREDICTION

Northampton Town 1-3 Rochdale

 

ROB RETURNS

SkyBet League One: Port Vale V Northampton Town

Vale Park, Saturday 10th December, KO: 15:00

Back to the league following the disappointment of having the FA Cup game at Stourbridge called off. As it stands the Cobblers are currently winless in 4 games but there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The last four games Northampton have lost they have been in the game, only losing by the odd goal. There would have been no complaints from Bolton had Northampton snatched an equaliser, or even won the game.

Northampton visit a Port Vale side who have been struggling for consistency this term under Rob Page’s replacement Bruno Ribeiro and find themselves in 12th in the league. They have 7 wins, 7 defeats and 6 draws, two of those wins have been in their last 6 games but with only one defeat in those last games Northampton are going to be in for a tough game, not helped by the absence of key player Brendan Moloney. It was decided that surgery was necessary on his knee and he will be out for 6-8 weeks. This is a big blow for the team as Moloney has been one of most consistent performers this season, being solid defensively and offering a threat going forward. Aaron Phillips will be his replacement and after offering a solid performance against Bolton it is hoped he will be a more than able replacement. Zander Diamond is still out whilst he continues to recover from his fractured cheekbone and John-Joe O’Toole is serving the first of a two game suspension. JJ Hooper is still injured but would not be available to play anyway as he is ineligible against his parent club.

The Cobblers are in 17th place compared to Port Vale who are 12th but Northampton will go above them if they win on Saturday. Theoretically Northampton can go up to 11th on Saturday but we need to beat Port Vale by 7 goals and would need Charlton to lose along with a host of other games depending on it. Realistically they can get up to 12th if results go there way. Rob Page will have a few tough decisions to make for this one against his former club, the key decisions will be in attack and the goalkeeper situation. Does he drop Alex Revell? Revell has not been near the standard he was at the start of the season, although you could argue that the service hasn’t been there. Does he replace Revell with Richards? Rico also played for Port Vale and was their captain during his time there. Does he bring back Adam Smith in to the team in place of David Cornell?

Vale will be coming in to this match high on confidence after beating Hartlepool United 4-0 at the weekend in the second round of the FA Cup, this was their first win in four games. They are also playing at home which has been somewhat of a fortress with the majority of their points being earned at home. Vale will no doubt be wanting to get a win against The Cobblers to try and push on and get a run of wins going. Northampton will be eager to get a win on the board and stop the mini rot that is currently ongoing with manager Rob Page surely wanting to get one over his former team.

PREDICTED LINE UP (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper- David Cornell

Right Back- Aaron Phillips

Centre Backs- Lewin Nyatanga & Gabriel Zakuani

Left Back- David Buchanan

Centre Midfield- Matty Taylor, Jak McCourt & Sam Hoskins

Left Wing- Kenji Gorre

Right Wing- Paul Anderson

Striker- Alex Revell

BENCH- Adam Smith (GK), Rod McDonald, Raheem Hanley, Harry Beautyman, Alfie Potter, Emmanuel Sonupe, Marc Richards

PREDICTION

Port Vale 1-2 Northampton Town

The Emirates FA Cup: Stourbridge V Northampton Town

War Memorial Athletic Ground, Sunday 4th December, KO: 14:00

The FA Cup Second Round. This round The Cobblers will travel to Stourbridge in what represents a huge chance to reach the third round and the hope of a big Premier League side in the third round however Rob Page’s Northampton Town team cannot be too complacent as this is also a fixture with potential to be a banana skin, especially given the form of the two sides coming in to this match.

In the previous round Stourbridge beat Whitehawk 3-0 in a replay following the previous 1-1 result whereas the Cobblers won 6-0 at home to Harrow Borough which was the Cobblers last win. With Northampton needing a win to lift the spirits after 4 defeats in a row Rob Page has already stated that he will play a strong team against Stourbridge, giving them the respect they deserve.

Northampton started life in League One well following promotion last year sitting in and around the play offs although with tough games recently they have failed to pick up points and within three weeks have gone from 6th all the way down to 17th. I think if you said to the fans at the start of the season they would be solid in 17th at this part of the season I believe many would have taken that but after having been further up the table and to come down so quickly there are a few worried fans, and rightly so. I’m in no way shape or form suggesting it is time for Page to go and the recent run have been against the better teams in the league but it is the style of football that have got the fans worried. When Page took over from Chris Wilder he told the fans to expect the same style of football and he said that he would be looking to make smaller changes rather than larger ones. In the last game against Bolton, only two players started who were part of last seasons title winning team. This is one of the main things that the fans are questioning, why are the stars of last seasons success sitting on the bench and not making the match day squad? Key players from last season such as Lawson D’Ath, Rod McDonald and Joel Byrom are struggling to make the match day 18 let alone a starting position. Rod McDonald played against Bradford in a forced change and put in a good performance but as soon as Lewin Nyatanga was cleared to play he was straight out the team again. With recent form and under performers in the current starting XI fans are calling for Page to give the fringe players a chance.

Although Page has said he would name a strong team for this game it is also an ideal opportunity to give the fringe players a chance to impress the manager and make their stake for a regular spot in the team. This is a game which could see Adam Smith being recalled following a spell out of the team, Aaron Phillips is set to continue at right back in Brendan Moloney’s absence. With Diamond injured Zakuani and Nyatanga are more than likely to continue in his place with Rod McDonald having to settle for a place on the bench. John-Joe O’Toole is missing for the next two games through suspension having already picked up 10 bookings for the season.

Even with a slightly rotated team I see the Cobblers picking up a win here as well as scoring a few goals which will get the players confidience and give the fans something to cheer about.

PREDICTED LINE UP (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper- Adam Smith

Right Back- Aaron Phillips

Centre Backs- Gabriel Zakuani & Lewin Nyatanga

Left Back- David Buchanan

Centre Midfield- Matty Taylor, Harry Beautyman and Jak McCourt

Right Midfield/Wing- Sam Hoskins

Left Midfield/Wing- Kenji Gorre

Striker- Marc Richards

BENCH- David Cornell (GK), Rod McDonald, Raheem Hanley, Paul Anderson, Lawson D’Ath, Alfie Potter, Alex Revell

PREDICTION

Stourbridge 1-4 Northampton Town