APL PREVIEW –
NORTHAMPTON TOWNThis is just a preview of the game on Tuesday, the APL is in limbo until we get the forum under full steam, more on that as we get it.
Looking back at last night’s fixture against AFC, I’ll be honest I’d have taken a draw before we kicked off, a few minutes in and that was all forgotten, I just wanted to crush them.
I must say as a man we wanted it, it showed in every player, no weak links, everyone had a job and did it, and did it well. I thought we looked very comfortable in the 1st half as we coped with their A game plan of playing it long down the flanks, how they beat Blackburn last week is beyond me, they are so one dimensional.
It’s a job to pick a MOTM, there were so many hero’s all over the park, as much as I’d love to give it to Nicholls I’m not going to, and while I’m talking about Nicholls, it seems that more and more are recognising him as a top talent and joining his fan club. I’m not going to get carried away, Lee will make mistakes, every keeper does, and when it happens, I want you to remember the penalty save and the elation you felt.
I could easily have given it to Willow for a brilliant performance, but I’m going for Cal Brittain, at such a tender age, and with such venom in the home support, he never shirked his duties or went missing, I thought he was superb. Neilson has all season championed Brittain, and I think we are all realising he has a great future in the game.
Anyway, as Robbie said, its just 3 points.............yeah right, its 3 beautiful points, but we now move on to Tuesday and get on with the business of moving up the table.
Oh, joy of joys it’s a midweeker against our six fingered neighbours, rip the form book up, it means little or nothing, it’s a case of who is up for it, who wants it more, who has the stomach for the fight, and of course the return of old players in the shape of Revell, Powell and Bowditch, who will be itching to get one over on us, and with Jimmy now at the helm, he is bound to give them a runout at some stage.
Four straight defeats saw former manager Justin Edinburgh shown the door and the Wobblers fortunes have changed somewhat under the guidance of JFL winning his first two games against newly promoted Doncaster, and Portsmouth, although they have come unstuck against promotion hopefuls in the shape of Wigan & Bradford lately, and they come to us on a run of 4 games in 10 days, so we live in hope that it might just tip things in our favour.
THE SEASON SO FAR – NORTHAMPTON TOWNCurrently Northampton sit in 20th place with a record of
PLAYED 9, WON 2, DRAWN 1, LOST 6, GF 8 & GA 15, with 7 points to their name.
Their record with the most recent shown last is as follows.
Shrewsbury 1 Northampton 0
QPR 1 Northampton 0 (EFL CUP)
Northampton 0 Fleetwood 1
Charlton 4 Northampton 1
Northampton 1 Peterborough 4
Northampton 1 Cambridge Utd 1 (EFL Trophy) Northampton won 5-4 on pens.
Northampton 1 Doncaster 0
Northampton 3 Portsmouth 1
Southend 2 Northampton 2
Wigan 1 Northampton 0
Northampton 0 Bradford 1
THE MANAGERJerrel “Jimmy” Floyd Hasselbaink aged 45 years and born in Paramaribo, Surinam.
He started his playing career as a striker back in 1984, breaking into first team football some 6 years later with Telstar in Holland. He went onto play for AZ, Campomaiorense, Boavista, Leeds Utd, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Middlesbrough, Charlton and finally Cardiff, hanging up his boots in 2008.
He played 591 times scoring 251 goals, and some 23 International games for the Netherlands scoring 9 goals.
In 2013, he became the manager of Royal Antwerp (Turned down new deal), then Burton Albion (Walked when top of LG 1), QPR (Sacked), and now Northampton on a three-year deal.
His managerial record stands at
GAMES 139, WON 61, DRAWN 40, LOST 38, that’s a 44.0%-win ratio.
THE MASCOTClarence the Dragon will be flag waving, give him some stick people.
FORMER MANAGERSSyd Puddefoot, Dave Bowen, Bill Dodgin Jnr, Pat Crerand, Clive walker, Tony Barton, Graham Carr, John Barnwell, Kevin Wilson, Kevan Broadhurst, Colin Calderwood, Gary Johnson, John Gorman, Aidy Boothroyd, Chris Wilder, and the present incumbent who is the 44th Cobblers manager, although on research there are a few gaps, so it could possibly be more.
FORMER PLAYERSPlenty to choose from, so just a snapshot of Adebayo Akinfenwa, Ryan Amoo, George Baldock, Bobby Barnes, Jason Beckford, Marlon Beresford, Herbert Chapman, John Burridge, Mathias Kouo-Doumbe, Ron Flowers, Paddy Kenny, Clive Platt, Mark Randall, Paul Tisdale.
FORMER DONSFormer Don’s fans favourite Alex Revell, who played 17 games scoring 4 goals, Daniel “Marmite” Powell, who played 271 games for us scoring 46 goals, and “MK’s Goal Machine” Dean Bowditch, who played 227 games scoring 48 goals.
SHOOTERS BOOTSMatt Crooks with 3 goals in all comps.
CURRENT MATCH ODDS
Mk Dons
10/11 (BetFred) Draw
13/5 (Coral) Northampton
3/1 (Betfair)
FAMOUS FANSShaq O’Neil (NBA Star) and possibly Alan Carr (Chatty Man) son of former manager Graham Carr.
Last Time AroundSaturday January 21st, 2017 – MK Dons 5 Northampton 3
Team – Martin (Nicholls), Downing, Lewington, Walsh, GB Williams, Baldock, Aneke (Barnes), Potter, Upson, Agard (Muirhead), Maynard
Unused Subs – Rasulo, Powell, Brittain, Tshimanga
Goals – Agard 38’, Aneke 43’ & 56’, Wylde 61’, Own Goal 63’, Richards 71’, Barnes 79’, Richards 84’
Ref – Roger East (7 yellows)
Attendance – 12,300 (3,039 Cobblers fans)
HEAD 2 HEAD2016/17 – MK Dons 5 Northampton 3 (LG 1) – Agard, Aneke 2, Barnes, Own Goal.
2016/17 – Northampton 3 MK Dons 2 (LG 1) – Bowditch & Carruthers
2015/16 – MK Dons 3 Northampton 0 (FAC Replay)
2015/16 – Northampton 2 MK Dons 2 (FAC) – Own Goal & Maynard
2013/14 – MK Dons 2 Northampton 0 (JPT) – Bamford & Alli
2013/14 – Northampton 1 MK Dons 2 (League Cup) – Reeves & Banton
2012/13 – Northampton 1 MK Dons 0 (JPT)
2009/10 – MK Dons 3 Northampton 1 (JPT) – Wilbraham & Reeves 2
2008/09 – Northampton 0 MK Dons 1 (LG 1) – Wilbraham
2008/09 – MK Dons 1 Northampton 0 (LG 1) – Wilbraham
You’ve Got No HistoryLooking at Northampton’s history in a trawl back in the history pages, it strangely makes little reference to the financial troubles the club has fallen foul of in recent years, on the brink of a winding up order because of unpaid taxes, the club going into admin in the nineties, missing council money, legal battles, unfinished building work, alleged financial wrong doing with certain members of the Cobblers ownership.
Northampton were formed in 1897, after meetings between the town’s schoolteachers and local solicitor A.J. Darnell. They play their home games at the all-seater Sixfields Stadium, having moved in 1994 from the County Ground which they shared with the owners, Northamptonshire County Cricket Club.
They hold the record for the shortest time taken to be promoted from the bottom tier to the top tier and relegated back down to the bottom again, all in the space of nine years.
Cheers for now
WellDonNO PREDICTIONS PLEASE, OR IF YOU DO, ITS JUST FOR FUN, HOPEFULLY NORMAL SERVICE WILL BE RESTORED SOON.
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