Northampton Town: Carlisle can lead safety dance
Cobblers V AFC Wimbledon, football action.
AIDY BOOTHROYD’S search for a leader of men at Northampton is over.
Clarke Carlisle is here and is the man to lead the Cobblers to Football League safety. Quite simply put, Carlisle is the missing piece in the puzzle.
Boothroyd has slowly been changing attitudes and personnel at Sixfields since his appointment as manager on November 30 - only five of the team that started against AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday were at the club under Gary Johnson – but Town have been in dire need of a captain to lead them over the winning line.
A situation highlighted by the glut of late goals they have conceded since the former Watford, Coventry City and Colchester United manager joined.
On Tuesday night, however, they found that man as Carlisle led the Cobblers to a 1-0 win over the Dons at Sixfields - the first home win for five months and a first clean sheet since the victory at Wimbledon on September 13th.
Installed as captain on his debut, Carlisle was both the tower of strength and the calming influence it was hoped he would be, as he dominated the aerial battle and threw his body in when needed, coupled with a constant barking of instructions to those around him. He was immense.
Where he went, others followed, and Carlisle was the major reason why the Cobblers finally picked up a second win in 19 attempts.
Such is the respect in the Cobblers ranks for Carlisle –a former Premier League player and a man dubbed Britain’s most intelligent footballer – he even led the post match warm-down, skipping around the Sixfields pitch, arms aloft, punching the air and cheering in an outburst of pure joy that had his Town counterparts in stitches, and drew plenty of stick from his team-mates.
“It’s magnificent,” said Carlisle on the win.
“As a professional you pride yourself on winning games, you pride yourself on being part of success.
“When you win a game, no one can take that away from you.”
Perhaps the most surprising element of all to Carlisle on Tuesday night was how much the win meant to a man who has played in the Premier League, and is still on the books of npower Championship club Burnley.
But in reality you would expect nothing less from a true professional, a leader of men and a man destined to become at new Sixfields favourite.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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kefalloniacobbler
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 12:50 PMFantastic to see the feelgood factor. It's only one win and long overdue, but hopefully they will build on it against Macc. The Chron report seems to suggest that the clean sheet was a bit fortuitous, but maybe a bit of luck was due.
Love Child
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 12:14 PMI never thought I would end up supporting Carlisle, if we survive sign him full time Captain and Player Coach
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