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The 2008/09 season has been a testing time for the Cobblers. Pre-season hopes were of a play-off place yet Town find themselves struggling and in the relegation zone. Ok, a play-off place may have been overly hopeful but surely we could not have envisaged the fact that the Cobblers are in real danger of playing League Two football next season.
Stuart Gray, the manager, said recently that ‘the season starts here’ with the final six games remaining. 18 points are up for grabs, but how many do Northampton need for survival? In a season that has seen rivals Peterborough United and MK Dons do well, the Cobblers have slid down the pecking order after a fantastic start - joint top after two games.
Yet relegation is a distinct possibility for the Cobblers. A possibility that was ignored at the start of this season. The club is teetering on the edge of major financial troubles - something that has increased speculation regarding Cardoza’s commitment to keep funding the team. Financial matters were not helped when the Council refused to progress Cardoza’s stadium plans earlier this year.
Also the Cobblers have a young side (the case for the past couple of seasons) that needs the experience of the older players. This hasn’t happened, as Doig has struggled with injury all season, Constantine hasn’t made the grade, Holt has been learning a new position and Crowe has been positioned all over the pitch. How can they be responsible for leading the youngsters when they already have so much on their plates? The younger players have not had that experience on the pitch. This has been noticeable by the numerous amount of goals that have been given away as a result of little errors that wiser heads would not make.
The enthusiasm of the younger players served to fill the gaps at the start of the season, but as form and results dipped alongside a lengthy injury list, that disappeared and the players are arriving on the pitch lately looking like they’ve already been consigned to relegation. Add to that stories of a dressing room divide and that most of the players are out of contract come July; these are unhappy times at Sixfields.
No time like the present then to declare my belief that the Cobblers will not go down. There is too much talent in this side to let it reside in League Two. Jason Crowe has been the engine, Guttridge when on the pitch drives the midfield, Bayo Akinfenwa has delivered some truly inspirational performances and little Danny Jackman is consistency personified.
Also, Stuart Gray deserves his job security, because with no money to keep this club in League One and the troubles this season has presented, it will be an achievement of an understated magnitude.
Elsewhere, support has to go to Chris Dunn, at just 21 he is the first choice goalkeeper at Sixfields because he has to be. Yes, he has made his mistakes, most notably fumbling the winning goal in for Huddersfield at the Galpharm back in September and recently at Bristol to allow the Rovers three points. He has had to watch Cobblers favourite, Mark Bunn, who started the season in fine form, move to Blackburn on transfer deadline day in August. He watched Frank Fielding take his long-awaited starting place for three months, beat off the competition from Ron-Robert Zieler and suffered gibes over his kicking and aerial ability from some fans, to put in some decent performances of late. At Bristol, Chris pulled off a save from a Rickie Lambert lob that Bunny would be proud of.
I just don’t think Dunn has been helped out by his teammates this season. Doig and Hughes consistently fail to pass the ball back for him to clear when it is the safest option. Over the season, Dunn’s decision-making has improved tenfold, his kicking is reliable and his command of the area is now of a decent standard. Like everything in football - players, managers, tactics - they need time to work, time to get into a rhythm. Dunn has been chucked in the deepest of pools wearing gloves filled with lead, and he is still fighting, still striving, and still playing for the cause. Many players on the Cobblers wage book should take note.
Dunn’s and the Cobbler’s season would be for nothing if it wasn’t for Bayo. Relegation would have been a certainty without the big striker’s commitment. All Cobblers fans know this already - Akinfenwa could still prove to be Northampton’s saviour.
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