Weeks came and weeks went by and the Cobblers stumbled on. After a steady start with plenty of promise, a cup run of some distinction, the boys in Claret lost their way.
After the joy of winning at Anfield, our season never got going again. Our manager Ian Sampson, was relieved of his duties following a desperate run of drawn games, topped with an unbelievable home loss to Burton Albion.
Our messiah arrived, (two days later), in the shape of Gary Johnson, (good record of getting the best out of lower league sides), and seemed to be welcomed by the majority, (you can't please all the people all of the time).
GJ then proceeded to import some new faces in order to inject new life and enthusiasm into the squad. Despite their best efforts we still had to wait till the penultimate game of the season at home to Stevenage to secure our future as a football league team.
Our last game of the season, away to Morecambe resulted in another win and we now find ourselves on a 5 match unbeaten run heading into next season! Northampton Town rose to the dizzy heights of 16th in League Divison Two! Lincoln and Stockport were relegated to the Conference!
The stress of the relegation dog fight was evident for all to see and feel during our run in, however the celebrations after the Stevenage win were something akin to winning the cup final. It's only joyous relief but it was a great feeling and a pleasure to see so many people smiling at the end of the season.
There is undoubtedly a lot of work for the manager to do during the close season and it looks like he is going about it decisively. The cull has started with 9 players so far being released. This means that the transfer rumours have begun in earnest with people anticipating who's coming in. It's amazing the influence of games such as Football Manager and Championship Manager have imprinted the understanding that you can give someone a call and they'll come and play for you!
My son goes off to music college in September and will not be around in body to witness a promotion season! At least he now understands what supporting a real team is all about. It's not having loads of money, it's not having world class players, it's not having a carpet for a pitch - It's about having heart and soul. You can't adopt that and you can only get it from your hometown team, you're born with it and I believe he will always be a proud cobbler! (It didn't take him long to ask me to get him a season ticket for Charlton Athletic next season though! No Chance)!
I already had my ticket for next season before we'd confirmed our status, and look forward with eager anticipation to the roller coaster ride that is being a football fan. Same seat, (told everyone in the shop it was lucky!), same voice, same commitment, same dreams.
So what delights can we add to next season's agenda then; League two will be joined by Swindon Town, Plymouth Argyle, Bristol Rovers and Dagenham & Redbridge from League 1, along with Crawley Town and one other from Luton or AFC Wimbledon from the Conference. (I hope it's Wimbledon as it will be the beginning of another fairytale story following the franchise debacle that allowed them to become the MK Dons).
I reckon Crawley will be made favourites for promotion, (they are the Man City of the non league), and will have a strong squad. We'll be up there somewhere, (I said that last year and will continue to do so every year).
Come on Cobblers.......Come On!!!!!
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