The Fishy - Grimsby Town FC

Question of the Week

Who will go down?







Cobbler Crowe
Cobbler Crowe

Northampton Preview

By: Richard Hubbert
Date: 28/10/2005

IT’S back to the bread and butter of League Two football this weekend when Town travel to the Sixfields Stadium to face the team they beat to gain promotion at Wembley in 1998.

Home > 2005-2006 Season > Previews > Northampton (a)


The Opposition

Overview
Colin Calderwood's Northampton have enjoyed a decent start to the 2005/06 campaign, currently lying in 6th place in League Two. Last season the Cobblers narrowly missed out on promotion, after they lost in the Play Off semi-final against Southend in May. This season meanwhile, like Town, Northampton have been better on their travels than at home - winning away at the likes of Carlisle, Macclesfield and Rushden.

Their Squad
Northampton have perhaps one of the strongest squads in the division. Among them of course is ex-Town utility man Jason Crowe who left Blundell Park in the summer. Ex-Forest defender Chris Doig joined Crowe in the summer after a previous loan spell at the Sixfields last term. Veteran midfielder Ian Taylor, who has played over 400 professional games also joined from Derby County. Josh Low cost the club £100,000 from Oldham in 2004 while Gavin Johnson arrived at the end of August after a brief three month spell with Boston United. In attack, they can rely on the goals of Scott McGleish (left), while Junior Mendes is on a month's loan from Huddersfield Town.

Key Player
Andy Kirk. Played for the reserves in midweek and will hope to go straight into the starting eleven after being sidelined through injury since August. The ex Boston striker was signed for £300,000 last term and netted seven goals in seven league starts for the Cobblers. This, combined with his tally for Boston meant he scored 25 times in League Two last season - underlining his threat to defences across the country.

Recent Form

TownNorthampton
LNewcastle (LC)(h)0-1
LOrient(h)0-1
WCheltenham(a)4-0
LMorecambe (LDV)(h)1-1 (3-4p)
LWycombe(h)0-1
Currently 3rd in League Two.
LStockport(a)2-4
WNotts C (LDV)(h)5-2
WOxford(h)1-0
DBristol R(a)0-0
DDarlington(h)0-0
Currently 6th in League Two.

Top Scorers

TownNorthampton
Kalala5
Reddy4
McGleish7
Taylor4

Team News

TownNorthampton

  • Town will take a check on the fitness of Tom Newey, Michael Reddy and Jean Paul Kalala who were all doubts before the match against Newcastle on Wednesday.

  • Depending on the fitness of Andy Parkinson, boss Russell Slade could decide to rest Calvin Andrew. Gary Croft will miss out once again after being sidelined for the last few weeks with a knee problem.
  • Fred Murray, Luke Chambers and Ashley Westwood all remain on the sidelines with long term injuries.

  • Scott Cross’s fitness is in doubt after he took a knock in a reserve team fixture this week.

  • Defender David Hunt sits out after he was sent off last weekend at Edgeley Park

  • Striker Andy Kirk will definitely be among the substitutes after his long awaited return from injury, but Colin Calderwood could even be tempted to start him despite playing only one reserve game.

  • The Cobblers boss has hinted he could deploy a three man attack with Kirk, Scott Mcgleish and ex-Mansfield winger Junior Mendes.
  • Probable Teams

    TownNorthampton
    1Steve Mildenhall
    2John McDermott
    3Tom Newey
    6Justin Whittle
    4Rob Jones
    15Gary Cohen
    8Paul Bolland
    7JPK Kalala
    22Calvin Andrew
    19Gary Jones
    9Michael Reddy
    1Lee Harper
    2Jason Crowe
    6Chris Doig
    16Sean Dyche
    20Pedj Bojic
    11Eoin Jess
    7Ian Taylor
    19Martin Smith
    18Gavin Johnson
    9Scott McGleish
    29Junior Mendes

    Subs

    TownNorthampton
    14Terry Barwick
    11Andy Parkinson
    10Martin Gritton
    4Simon Ramsden
    18Ciaran Toner
    8Andy Kirk
    10Josh Low
    31Mike Poke
    14David Rowson
    25Scott Cross

    Head to Head

    Town have lost more than they have won against the Cobblers - although the Mariners won the most important game in 1998! The first meeting was in the FA Cup in 1914, but generally the two sides have met in the basement division. In the last 13 meetings, no-one has won by more than one goal, which suggests Saturday will be a tight fixture.

    P 28 W 12 D 3 L 13 F 37 A 47

    Northampton Head-to-Head (49th on The Opposition Ladder)

    Last Meeting

    Town last met Northampton earlier this year at Blundell Park, with the Mariners losing 2-1. The Mariners started well and Michael Reddy netted after 22 minutes to give Town a half time lead. But goals from Scott McGleish and Trevor Benjamin in the second half gave the Cobblers all three points. Most Town fans will remember the game for Ashley Sestanovich being sent off after coming on as a substitute just four minutes previously. It was to be his last outing for Grimsby Town

    Grimsby Team: Williams, Ramsden, Forbes, Robert Jones, McDermott, Pinault, Crowe, Bull (Young, 56), Parkinson (Sestanovich, 79), Reddy, Gritton
    Subs (not used): Fraser,Coldicott,Mansaram

    Northampton Team:Harper, Chambers, Westwood (Bojic, 45), Willmott, Jaszczun, Low, Rowson, Williamson, Smith (Hearn, 46), McGleish, Benjamin
    Subs: (not used) Youngs,Bunn,Sabin

    Sent Off: Sestanovich

    Attendance: 3,774    Report

    Prediction

    A 1-1 draw.

    1-1

    Recent Predictions

    GamePredictionScorePoints
    Morecambe1-01-10
    Cheltenham1-14-00
    Wycombe2-20-10
    Shrewsbury2-00-00
    Notts Co1-04-01
    Boston2-11-10
    Spurs1-21-00
    Torquay2-23-00
    Peterborough1-01-03
    Chester1-12-10
    Reader's POMs

    Directions

    Click on the link for directions to Sixfields (left).

    Pubs

    Click on the link for pubs around Sixfields.




    Add To Facebook


    This site is by the fans, for the fans, and we will consider articles on any subject relating to the Mariners whether it be related to current news, a nostalgic look back in the past, a story about a player, a game or games in the past, something about Blundell Park or football in general. Click here to submit your article!


    Related Stories


    Forum Latest
    Thread TitlePostsLatest Post
    David Artell Interview Dn35 Podcast18mariner9129/03 07:37
    No Docks Stadium4Yarborough Vaults29/03 07:36
    TV Games/Upcoming Fixtures4SiteBot29/03 03:30
    Prediction Thread Barrow A33Norseman28/03 23:36
    Dn35 podcast drinking game6MarinerWY28/03 23:26
    Just Back 170diehardmariner28/03 20:03
    New Training Ground.!!57Sigone28/03 19:38
    Youth players out on loan21diehardmariner28/03 16:54
    "Beat the Clock"  Barrow22Grantham_Mariner28/03 15:18
    Bradford KO time?4JK4728/03 13:13