COMMENT: Outstanding Goode can become a Cobblers legend after winning Player of the Year award

Centre-backs have become no strangers to winning awards at the Cobblers in recent seasons.

Zander Diamond was named Player of the Year in 2017, followed by Ash Taylor in 2018 and then Aaron Pierre 14 months ago. All three were rightly rewarded for excellent seasons - to varying degrees - but this year's top dog has taken things to a whole new level.

For Cobblers fans, confirmation that Charlie Goode has been voted Player of the Year for 2019/20 will go down as the least surprising piece of news all year. Town's captain won with a resounding 58 per cent of the vote, well clear of Sam Hoskins (13%) and Nicky Adams (12%).

Hoskins and Adams, plus the likes of Scott Wharton, Jordan Turnbull and Callum Morton, all made key contributions during Northampton's promotion charge that culminated in last month's Wembley win, but not to the same extent as Goode.

Goode is the fourth successive centre-back to win the award - John-Joe O'Toole was the last non-defender to be voted POTY in the title-winning season - and he is arguably the most deserving of the four.

For one thing, at just 24, he is the youngest of the quartet. It is sometimes easy to overlook Goode's age because he often performs well beyond it. In theory, though, he still has his best years ahead of him.

He's also been an inspirational figure, both as a captain and a leader, in helping the Cobblers win promotion back to Sky Bet League One. Handing the armband to a young player with limited experience of captaincy was a risk by manager Keith Curle last summer, but it has proven to be a masterstroke.

Rather than be burdened and daunted by the extra responsibility, Goode has thrived on it and his game, as a result, reached new heights. He was excellent on loan during the second half of 2018/19 but has improved markedly since, helped by his role as the team's leader. He is not afraid to take control and bark out orders to his more senior team-mates

As an out-and-out defender, Goode possesses so many impressive qualities. His aerial dominance is obvious and he will never shirk a tackle, but he's also no slouch for a centre-back, as he showed at Wembley when keeping up with Jayden Richardson, Exeter's sprightly wing-back, on more than one occasion.

The stats speak for themselves. According to WhoScored, Goode made more blocks and more clearances than any other defender in League Two last season, while only James Hanson (7.47) ended the campaign with a higher average rating (7.45).

Most importantly, though, the very best players step it up for the big games, when the pressure is really on. There can be no disputing that Goode, following two faultless performances in the play-offs, did just that. He was magnificent at Cheltenham Town and a rock against Exeter City.

He also played a role in three of Town's four goals at Wembley and this is a part of his game that sometimes gets overlooked. While he's clearly a very good defender, he's also no mug with the ball at his feet - and he's got one hell of a long throw on him too.

There was a passage of play at Whaddon Road in the semi-final that typified his all-round quality. He produced a stunning, goal-saving challenge at one end before 90 seconds later whipping in a superb cross to pick out Vadaine Oliver at the other.

Now that Cobblers have promotion in the bag, it will be interesting to see what happens next.

Goode will no doubt attract interest from higher divisions but he still has two years left on his deal and would be in no hurry to leave given how the Cobblers, and Curle in particular, have resurrected his career. Two years ago he was on the fringes at Scunthorpe United, now he has Championship clubs, and maybe even one or two in the Premier League, keeping an eye on him.

Goode was a star for the Cobblers as they won promotion back to League One. Hang around for a little longer and he could become a club legend.