Snow joke as ideal game is called off
Cobblers V Macclesfield called off due to a frozen pitch
It was disappointing to see Saturday’s game against Macclesfield called off – because there was three points there for the taking.
I was confident the Cobblers would get a result but unfortunately the weather put paid to that.
It was an ideal game to play because Macclesfield have lost five on the trot and the impetus of new signings would have been fantastic for Northampton.
Clarke Carlisle is a very intelligent person when you listen to him speak and in his public performances on certain shows.
He’s chairman of the PFA so he’s a highly intelligent and very experienced footballer.
I was fortunate enough to see him play a couple of weeks ago for Preston against Leyton Orient and he won’t thank me for saying this, but it wasn’t one of his better games.
But the attributes he’s got will certainly benefit the Cobblers. He can head the ball a mile in both boxes. He’s a weapon at set plays.
The game after the one I saw, he scored at Yeovil so he’ll be a threat on set plays and he’s got undoubted leadership qualities.
It’s a big boost and with him and his pairing with Kelvin Langmead in the centre of the defence is the kind of experience they need at the moment.
It’s a solid-looking side all over now. Everyone talks about a good spine, all managers want that, and I think he’s got it.
On paper, Aidy needs to start putting some wins together, he knows that. A draw is probably not good enough at the moment.
They’ve got a big game coming up on Saturday, at Dagenham. I don’t think it’s the easiest place to go but they’re not as strong as they were a couple of seasons ago.
They’ve lost some talented players in Paul Benson and Danny Green, who have moved on to different clubs.
I expect Dagenham to play a similar style, in turning the full-backs and getting the ball forward but their results show they’re not as effective as they were.
Northampton have got a chance. It’s a six-pointer, a draw is no good, and the Cobblers will be looking to take three points.
They need to win it, they don’t want to be losing it because the gap becomes bigger.
Six points is a big gap with games running out but with what Aidy’s assembled in January he should be quietly confident going into the remaining 18 games.
Had Aidy been around during pre-season and put the same squad together, I’d be confident the Cobblers would be challenging for a play-off place.
The chairman has done well again by putting his hand in his pocket and backing the manager. He should be applauded for that.
It’s a complete nightmare having games called off.
Especially if you’re in a good run because the games we had called off last Christmas we were going into having won two.
We had three games called off and it was a nightmare because we were desperate to play them.
It affects training as well because you have to go and search for different venues.
I’ve seen that the Cobblers have been training at Goals, which is a great facility, but it’s a five-a-side court and you can’t plan anything strategically in terms of your game plan.
You probably have to go and walk through things and Aidy will try to get his point across in terms of what he wants but it’s never the same as playing 11 v 11 where you can actually see it in action.
The weather disrupts quite a few things but we had a spell where we were going to Goals and we were winning so sometimes a change is quite good as well.
Aidy Boothroyd said recently that no one wants to leave the Cobblers.
It came after he decided to terminate the contracts of Ashley Corker and Paul Walker.
There will be more than one factor as to why players don’t want to exit Sixfields.
Money is obviously one then there’s distance to travel to a new club, a desire to prove the manager wrong and wives.
But I’m only surmising the factors, it will be different for each player.
The players that left, Corker and Walker, will have had little effect on the budget because they’re on minuscule wages, I would have thought.
There will be no great relieving of the wage bill with those two gone, and the same with the two Austrians Marin Pozgain and Lumbardh Salihu.
I can imagine with those four going it probably freed up half a player.
There have been a few players drafted in with press and fans guessing how much has been spent on the new faces.
But that’s all it can be, guess work, and if Northampton finish third bottom come the end of the campaign then whatever the new players cost it will be worth it.
If they don’t then will David Cardoza get applauded for trying? I don’t know.
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Weather for Northampton
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
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