To keep you entertained during these times I’m going to be taking you down memory lane and having look back at the 1986/87 championship winning season.
The 1986/87 season was an unforgettable season of football at the Cobblers. October saw Keith Gorman and Irving Gernon joined the Cobblers on loan from Ipswich. Graham Carr was awarded ‘Bells’ manager of the month for September. On October 11th the Cobblers match vs Stockport was called off as the hatters had six players ill.
October 4 - Northampton Town 4 Aldershot 2
PHIL Chard emerged from a KO blow to spearhead a revival just when it looked as if six goals at Halifax would be followed by anti-climax. Despite missing a first-half penalty, the full-back got his fifth goal of the season to snap the Cobblers out of a mid-game sag. And it took him just one goal away from equalling a full-back scoring record for the club, dating back to the Sixties and held by two men - Theo Foley and John Mackin. He looked out of the game when he was 45 pole-axed in the second half. Physio Denis Casey had to bring him around, and the loudspeaker had even announced the imminent appearance of substitute Russell Wilcox.
A concerned Graham Carr emerged from his touchline seat to join the anxious throng to be told by Chard. 'There's no way I'm coming off. And a few minutes later - to the cheers of the crowd - Chard was back in the fray. To even greater cheers a few more minutes later, Chard was on hand to put away a Trevor Morley flick.
That made it 3-2 and the Cobblers never looked back. Morley and Richard Hill (2) scored the other goals to make it 22 from the opening nine League games. Early on defensive errors had let in the Shots for goals from Tommy Langley and Mike Ring. Incredibly Carr had been able to use the same 11 players for each of those nine games, But that was about to change. For the game at Cambridge, Carr decided it was time to introduce Russell Wilcox. "Bob Coy had done very well for us, but I thought we would be even better with Russell in the side. He is an exceptional player on the ground," said Carr.
October 17 - Cambridge Utd 2 Northampton Town 3
A MEMORABLE display against a side that at the time - mid-October - suggested they would be in the promotion race. It also marked the Football League debut of Russell Wilcox, lining up with Keith McPherson, who had been on loan to Cambridge the previous season when the Cobblers rattled in five. Wilcox for Bob Coy was the first change made by the Cobblers in the league - some 10 games into the season. Over 6,200 fans made it the biggest game crowd wise – since Kevin Keegan had taken Newcastle United to Abbey Stadium in his farewell season for the Magpies and gave it a great atmosphere. Mark Cooper and David Crown exposed the Cobblers in the first half, but McPherson's header sandwiched in between gave them hope for the second half.
The pace never slackened for the entire 90 minutes, and the last 45 were monopolised by the Cobblers. A dubious penalty, scored by Phil Chard, for a trip on Trevor Morley brought the scores level, but there was no doubting the class and quality of the 71st-minute winner. Reed robbed Lindey Smith before finding Morley, whose exquisite turn and shot was in the Dalglish mould. A jubilant, beaming Graham Carr saluted the payers and the fans at the end in a mutual show of delight, although it had almost been ruined in the last minute when Cambridge hit the post.
October 22- Northampton Town 4 Burnley 2
The once-great Burnley, now languishing as a very modest division outfit, were gunned down by a volley of goals from a side averaging very nearly three a game. Trevor Morley scored twice for the first time in a Cobblers shirt, Richard Hill got the last and Ian Benjamin hammered a real gem.
The Benji goal delighted Carr delighted Carr. “No-one was more pleased than me to see that one go in,” Beamed the Cobblers Boss. “It is always the same names who get the headlines, but this goal will give him a bit of confidence."
It came amid speculation that Carr was about to sign a new striker, which turned out to be the first of many false alarms. "Any new striker will have to fight for his place," insisted Carr. Benjamin had been plagued with back problems, but Carr enthused: "He has been feeling the injury but he hasn't missed a single training session."
For the first 30 minutes, the game was goalless. But then the Cobblers burst into life with three goals before the break - two from Morley and the classic from Benjamin. A pass from Warren Donald swept over to the far side of the penalty area, where Benjamin, with cool panache, drove a first time shot past Joe Neenan, best known perhaps for being Ian Botham's sidekick during a rumpus at a Scunthorpe nightclub some years earlier.
Veteran Leighton James and Ashley Hoskin repaid the Cobblers for their generosity,
and Hill raced through for his ninth goal of the season to make it super entertainment
for the 5,716 fans.
Make sure you keep an eye on our social media for many more looking back articles plus much more. Keeping you entertained during this time. Much of this information has been found from Frank Grandes records and Northampton Chronicle and Eco.
