My introduction to Northampton Town was perhaps a little irregular. My dad wasn’t really a football fan and my mum, hailing from Southend, obviously supported West Ham! This meant opportunities to go to live games were relatively few and far between. Awestruck by the sheer talent of John Barnes, my team of choice as a seven-year-old was actually Liverpool. I was aware of the existence of the Cobblers, of course, but probably thought they weren’t up to much.
My first ever live game was a school trip to Wembley in March 1990 to watch England Schoolboys take on France in the Smiths Crisps Cup. Damned if I can remember the score, but according to the programme, it’s likely that both Martin Smith and Jamie Forrester played that day! Andy Turner too. Clearly the universe was doing its best to put the Cobblers in my path!
I loved football. So much so that my Nana had to knit player after player for me. I had an Ian Rush and obviously a John Barnes – and I have no doubt that other grandmothers somewhere in the world have also knitted those players, but I did perhaps have one that is completely unique. My first senior game was when my Grandpa took me to see Southend United vs Exeter while I was down there visiting and I was captivated by another number ten who, like John Barnes, seemed head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch. As a result, when I got back to Northampton, the next player to roll off the Far Cotton production line was none other than Ian Benjamin: I bet there aren’t many of those knocking around. That game also featured two other future Cobblers: Dave Martin and Dean Austin!
Over the next couple of years I went to a few games at the County Ground with either my Dad, or with my best friend Dave and his older brothers, Mark and Ben. They were proud co-owners of a pet named “Eddie McGoldfish” and are probably the two people that my Dad and I have to thank for our Cobblers affiliation. While I have quite clear memories of the Hotel End, I can’t quite remember specifically what my first game was or, indeed, exactly which ones I attended. That said, I am pretty certain I was there the last time children were allowed to sit on those raised wooden benches, as during a game a stray clearance totalled some poor child who I think ended up being hospitalised (or at least very severely dazed). Although my attendance during the early 1990s was sporadic, the games I get to seem to be ones that were significant enough to get mentioned from time to time: I was definitely there for the 5-1 win against Mansfield (that was then followed up by a 0-7 defeat at Scunthorpe) and I was at Sixfields for the game against Fulham that was delayed by a hole in the pitch under where the Rugby goalposts had been.
I think the first season I attended games with any regularity was 96/97, although my Dad still had to be persuaded to take me. Everything changed after Wembley though: even he was hooked. I don’t think we missed more than a couple of games in 97/98 as the obsession well and truly started to kick in.
After THAT semi-final second leg at Sixfields, the headteacher at my school had gotten wind that I was planning on skipping lessons to queue for Wembley tickets when they were released. My mum taught at the school and was duly summoned to his office. Expecting to be read the riot act for condoning such irresponsible behaviour in what was actually my GCSE year, she was rather shocked when he sheepishly enquired whether my Dad, my mate and I had enough ticket stubs to get a ticket for him too as, understandably, skipping school on a Wednesday morning wasn’t really an option for him. (We did, as it happens. Two of his friends, too.)
My father, now fully converted by this stage, sprung for season tickets in 1998/99. I persuaded him to retain these even while I was away at University where, happily, I also got a very regular flow of (funded) away games to watch either at the Memorial Ground or Ashton Gate. We moved seats about four years later, but the names I’d had affixed during 2002/03’s appeal remain on G51 and G52 to this day, as I discovered when attending a pre-season fixture last year. My season tickets actually only ‘moved out’ the year after my girlfriend (now my wife) moved in!
The brainwashing of my five year old began about three years ago. He now says “boo” as a reflex if I say “Peterborough” to him, while he went through a phase of telling everyone his favourite player was John-Joe O’Toole – something that always raised a chuckle in a Little Kickers class filled with parents of toddlers draped in MESSI, RASHFORD, AGUERO or RONALDO shirts.
My Cobblers XI
Goalkeeper – Welch
We’ve of course had a couple of rotters, but for the most part have been blessed with some really superb goalkeepers: Mark Bunn and Lee Harper are among my favourites, and I was big fan of both Matt Duke and Adam Smith but there are two that stand apart even from this illustrious crowd and it took a coin toss to choose. There’s probably nothing I can write about Woody that hasn’t been written before, but I think the best, most reliable goalkeeper I’ve seen is Keith Welch – completely unflappable and almost unbeatable one-one-one.
Right-back – Clarkson
When I think of the talent we’ve had over the years, I always find it hard to believe we’re stuck in basement division, hoping to stay in it as often as we have a chance of getting out it. Players like Ian Hendon, Brendan Moloney, John Johnson, Jason Crowe and Gregor Robertson all ran my choice close, but my #2 has to be Ian Clarkson and I consider myself privileged to have borne witness to exactly 50% of his career goals.
Left Back – Frain
Another coin toss. David Buchanan will be remembered as a club legend and I very much hope his Cobblers story will have some more chapters in the future. To maintain such a consistently high level of performance over 100+ consecutive games is probably not something I’ll see again and the commitment he shows to the club, even now he has left, is incredible. In fact, the only thing he isn’t is John Frain. Apologies – Sir John Frain. And I just can’t not select John Frain.
Centre backs – Sampson and Warburton
I consider this a real feast or famine position during my time. We’ve had some incredible, incredible players in this position and we’ve had some who I still cannot believe managed to earn a living as a centre back. I could easily have selected Sean Dyche, Luke Chambers, Chris Doig, Charlie Goode or Zander Diamond here, but – and spot the pattern here – I’m going with Sampson and Warburton. With better distribution and, in the case of Razor, fewer serious injuries, they could have played in the Premier League. If we’d kept that pairing together in late 1998, we’d never have been relegated in May 1999 and who knows what we could have gone on to achieve.
Midfield – O’Toole
I’m only going with one in the middle. My team will play direct with wingers feeding a front three. However, I’ll have John-Joe O’Toole in the centre, protecting the back four and starting us off. In the likely event of him serving a suspension, though, I can relax knowing I could happily call on Ian Taylor, Roy Hunter, Dean Peer, Sean Parrish, Chris Hargreaves or James Hunt to fill in.
Wingers – Hodge and Smith
I can’t quite believe that I’m leaving out Michael Jacobs and Ricky Holmes but I have to if I want to include Martin Smith and John Hodge. I don’t think I need say anything to justify including Sunderland’s “Son of Pele” but John Hodge may raise a few eyebrows. Let me explain! Although I don’t think he came anywhere close to fulfilling his potential, I don’t think he was used or appreciated properly while with us. He was a prodigious but mercurial talent – by some distance the most skilful dribbler and the best crosser I’ve ever seen and on his day, he was completely unplayable.
He bought me a beer once, too. Ahead of one of his final games my Dad and I arrived at our seat to be presented with two players’ lounge passes by the chap in front of us. It turned out he’d been given them by John Hodge and asked to pass them to “the two lunatics who keep chanting my name when I warm up”. After the game, he bought us each a beer and thanked us for our support.
Strikers – Akinfenwa Seal McGleish
Three up top for me. Two obvious and perhaps one wildcard, but I would not want to have my life depend upon shutting these three out for ninety minutes.
Scott McGleish could – and did – do everything. He could score any which way you care to imagine. I’m still annoyed that we sold him.
Adebayo Akinfenwa – need I say more? We lost that play-off final an hour before kick off when Boothroyd couldn’t get over himself and dropped him. It was obvious from 2pm that his days were numbered, but the way I felt hearing that announcement at Wembley, I’d have sacked him there and then. Bayo was so much more than just a big lump though – with ball at feet he was as good as any striker I’ve seen.
My final choice may divide opinion. And believe me, it’s not easy to overlook players like Richards, Corazzin, Howard, Sabin, Forrester or Toney. Harder still to leave out Marco Gabbiadini, but when David Seal was in the mood, he could finish anything. I still think if we’d used him properly things could have been different. So did he – my mate and I tracked him down at Mangotsfield United a few years later. (No, the hair wasn’t for a bet, although I probably should try and claim it was!)