We’re just four weeks away from the big kick off and NTFCUnofficial now brings to you the first of seven special preview articles as we look at all of the Cobblers’ opponents for next season in detail and check out who are the players to watch in League One. We start off with AFC Bournemouth, Brighton and Hove Albion and new boys Bristol Rovers.
AFC Bournemouth
Nickname: The Cherries
Ground: The Fitness First Stadium
Capacity: 9,600
Manager: Kevin Bond
KEY MEN: Former England international Darren Anderton has a wealth of experience under his belt and it could well be needed as the Cherries look to avoid another battle against the drop. Jo Kouffor’s free transfer from Brentford could be key, especially with the popular James Hayter leaving for Doncaster Rovers for £200,000.
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Neil Moss, Ryan Pryce, Gareth Stewart
DEFENDERS: Karl Broadhurst, Sean Cooper, Warren Cummings, Josh Gowling, Callum Hart, Shaun Maher, Russell Perrett, Neil Young
MIDFIELD: Darren Anderton, Marcus Browning, Stephen Cooke, James Coutts, Stephen Foley, Danny Hollands, Tareq Khalil, Josh McQuoid, Michael Standing
FORWARDS: Curtis Allen, Jo Kouffor, Steve Fletcher, Brett Pitman, Conal Platt, Sam Vokes
Transfers In: Russell Perrett (Luton Town) FREE
Jo Kouffor (Brentford) FREE
Transfers Out: James Hayter (Doncaster Rovers) £200,000
Stephen Purches (Leyton Orient) FREE
Eddie Howe (Released)
Last Season: In 2006/07, Bournemouth struggled to make any sort of impact on League One and were dragged into the relegation fight, only surviving late on in the season with a 19th place finish.
The season began in dismal fashion as The Cherries lost 3-0 at home to Chesterfield, with Cobblers new boy Colin Larkin included in the scorers on that day for the Spireites. The home form would improve though and they won their next three home games. But it was on their travels where Bournemouth were really struggling, having to wait until the return game with Chesterfield in February before picking up their first away win! This win was followed by a bumper 5-0 thrashing of Leyton Orient at The Fitness First Stadium but inconsistent form including a 3-1 Sixfields defeat kept them in the running for relegation.
The three games following defeat to the Cobblers proved to be the key to keeping the Cherries in League One as they defeated Millwall, Tranmere and fellow strugglers Rotherham United in March. Despite picking up just three points from their final six games, Bournemouth breathe again in League One.
The fans’ view on next season, with AFC Bournemouth Mad’s Andy Burton….
What was your season like in 06/07?
That's easy - largely rubbish with some truly dreadful football being played at times! Some of the dross served up was more deserving of non-League football and not League One!
Which summer signing are you most looking forward to seeing?
We've only made one signing so far - Perrett on a free from Luton Town. So will have to wait and see who else we get in.
What are the expectations for the 1007/08 season?
Another relegation scrap!
Brighton and Hove Albion
Nickname: The Seagulls
Ground: The Withdean Stadium
Capacity: 6,960
Manager: Dean Wilkins
KEY MEN: Nicky Forster should add some fire power to Brighton’s attack after his £75,000 move from Hull City. The former Reading man hit five Championship goals last season and his pedigree could be a major part of Albion’s season. Young Jake Robinson also poses a threat with his pace whilst Paul Reid can pull the strings in midfield.
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Richard Martin, Michael Kuipers, John Sullivan
DEFENDERS: Andrew Whing, Georges Santos, Sam Rents, Kerry Mayo, Joel Lynch, Adam El-Abd, Guy Butters, Chris Breach, Adam Hinshelwood
MIDFIELD: Alexis Burton, Scott Chamberlain, Dean Cox, Tommy Elphick, Wes Fogden, Tommy Fraser, Alexandre Frutos, Dean Hammond, Doug Loft, Charlie Oatway, Paul Reid
FORWARDS: Nathan Elder, Nicky Forster, Joe Gatting, Gary Hart, Alex Revell, Jake Robinson, Bas Savage
Transfers in: Andrew Whing (Coventry) FREE
Nicky Forster (Hull) £75,000
Transfers Out: Paul Hinshelwood (Torquay) FREE
Last Season: Brighton had a topsy turvy time of things last season and only sealed their safety with a 2-0 win at Sixfields late on in the campaign.
Starting with seven points from their opening three games, the Seagulls then had a steady run up until September where four defeats in a row plunged them into the bottom half. There followed a spell of Albion taking 13 points from a possible 15- the only dropped points being the dour 1-1 draw with The Cobblers at the Withdean.
Brighton reached the FA Cup Third round after a huge 8-0 win over Northwich and a 3-0 victory over Stafford but were beaten by the previous seasons’ winners West Ham United in round three. The rest of the season saw a brief flirtation with relegation but the Seagulls were just good enough to escape the claws of League Two.
BRISTOL ROVERS
Nickname: The Pirates/Gas Heads
Ground: The Memorial Ground
Capacity: 11,916
Manager: Paul Trollope
KEY MEN: Rickie Lambert, a £200,000 signing from Rochdale in August of last year will always be a danger if Rovers keep him fit. Lambert hit ten goals last term from midfield and will be looking to make his name in the higher league. There’s also the threat of two ex-Cobblers players in the Rovers’ line-up with Chris Carruthers and Richard Walker both looking to make a mark against us.
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Steve Phillips, Mike Green
DEFENDERS: Ryan Green, Jo Jacobson, Craig Hinton, Steve Elliott, Byron Anthony
MIDFIELD: Sammy Igoe, Stuart Campbell, Rickie Lambert, Chris Carruthers, David Pipe, Andy Sandell, Chris Lines, Sean Rigg, Craig Disley, Aaron Lescott, James Palmer
FORWARDS: Richard Walker, Andrew Williams, Lewis Haldane, Josh Klein-Davies
Transfers In: David Pipe (Notts County) £50,000
Joe Jacobson (Cardiff City) FREE
Andrew Williams (Hereford United) FREE
Transfers Out: Scott Shearer (Wycombe) FREE
Last season: Rovers were promoted last season via the playoffs following a 3-1 Wembley victory over Shrewsbury Town. Despite losing three of their opening three games including a 4-1 opening day reverse at Peterborough United, Rovers steadied themselves in the opening few months of the season before staging an almighty rise up the League Two table in the second half of the season.
Following an appearance at Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Final (2-3 defeat in extra time to Doncaster Rovers), the Pirates really started to move up the league and finished the season with an eight game unbeaten run.
Victory over Lincoln City on the final day of the season meant that Rovers would play them again a week later in the playoff semi-finals and a convincing 7-4 aggregate victory confirmed their place in the final. Shrewsbury Town would be their opponents and despite an early Stuart Drummond goal for the Shrews, Rovers proved too strong and Richard Walkers’ double strike along with a late third from Sammy Igoe meant that Bristol Rovers join League One next season.
The fans view…a look ahead to next season with “Wembley_Gas” of the brfcreturn.com website…
- What was your season like in 06/07?
Did not look like being great for the first few months..then we got an inkling of what we could achieve in November when we went on a 6 game winning streak (4 league and 2 Cup). By morning of Saturday 17th March it looked like all we had to look forward to was a trip to Cardiff in the JPT as we were lying 17th in League 2 with 11 games left.
We won 3 and lost 1 prior to Cardiff, then after putting up a great show at the Millenium but losing in extra time by the odd goal in 5 the players seemed to decide that they liked the big match atmosphere and wanted another one. April 2nd saw the appointment of a new chairman (from within) and he was to remain unbeaten in his new job as we completed 5 more wins and two draws to steal into one of the play off places. Even then we were 4 mins (+injury time) away from finishing 8th before tucking away the goal that confirmed Hartlepool would finish L2 Runners-up and we would extend our season.
After being the only home winners in the first leg of the divisional play-offs we were treated to top-drawer fare at Sincil Bank where Lincoln played just as much blinding football as we did but a) our defence was slightly more assured than theirs and b) big holes opened up late in the game as they had to chase the game. So having invaded Cardiff we were able to complete our tour of national stadia with an appearance against the Shrews at the new Wembley. They had 3 major performers missing from their line up whilst we could not play one of the squad that got us there which may well have contributed to the outcome. Yet in all honesty they were much nearer their peak than we were near ours but they had no finisher on the end of their moves and we had Richard Walker.
Thus we completed our 6th straight win …cue 40,000 in Blue and White having a party with a hi-ho silver lining in North-West London.
- Which summer signing are you looking forward to seeing the most?
Of the new arrivals I'd have to say Andy Williams because it has been a long protracted process getting him in - clearly the management have seen something they like. However, the key signings of the summer were that both Steve Elliott and Richard Walker were able to resist the temptation of pastures new.
- What are the expectations at the club for 07/08?
The management do not just want to make up the numbers and there has been significant investment to improve the contracts of several players and bring in new recruits that cost a fee.
Most fans view the early part of the season as crucial. It will be hard to play catch-up after Christmas on a "foreign field" so to have points on the board and confidence in the tank come January is the priority.
Certainly on paper we are not automatic promotion material and sneaking into the play-offs again may be a bridge too far this time round - but we'll be aspiring to those aims otherwise what is the point of being there at all? At the start of last season I expect Bradford, Chesterfield, Brentford and Rotherham were all setting their sights higher than the bottom 4!!!!
AFC Bournemouth
Nickname: The Cherries
Ground: The Fitness First Stadium
Capacity: 9,600
Manager: Kevin Bond
KEY MEN: Former England international Darren Anderton has a wealth of experience under his belt and it could well be needed as the Cherries look to avoid another battle against the drop. Jo Kouffor’s free transfer from Brentford could be key, especially with the popular James Hayter leaving for Doncaster Rovers for £200,000.
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Neil Moss, Ryan Pryce, Gareth Stewart
DEFENDERS: Karl Broadhurst, Sean Cooper, Warren Cummings, Josh Gowling, Callum Hart, Shaun Maher, Russell Perrett, Neil Young
MIDFIELD: Darren Anderton, Marcus Browning, Stephen Cooke, James Coutts, Stephen Foley, Danny Hollands, Tareq Khalil, Josh McQuoid, Michael Standing
FORWARDS: Curtis Allen, Jo Kouffor, Steve Fletcher, Brett Pitman, Conal Platt, Sam Vokes
Transfers In: Russell Perrett (Luton Town) FREE
Jo Kouffor (Brentford) FREE
Transfers Out: James Hayter (Doncaster Rovers) £200,000
Stephen Purches (Leyton Orient) FREE
Eddie Howe (Released)
Last Season: In 2006/07, Bournemouth struggled to make any sort of impact on League One and were dragged into the relegation fight, only surviving late on in the season with a 19th place finish.
The season began in dismal fashion as The Cherries lost 3-0 at home to Chesterfield, with Cobblers new boy Colin Larkin included in the scorers on that day for the Spireites. The home form would improve though and they won their next three home games. But it was on their travels where Bournemouth were really struggling, having to wait until the return game with Chesterfield in February before picking up their first away win! This win was followed by a bumper 5-0 thrashing of Leyton Orient at The Fitness First Stadium but inconsistent form including a 3-1 Sixfields defeat kept them in the running for relegation.
The three games following defeat to the Cobblers proved to be the key to keeping the Cherries in League One as they defeated Millwall, Tranmere and fellow strugglers Rotherham United in March. Despite picking up just three points from their final six games, Bournemouth breathe again in League One.
The fans’ view on next season, with AFC Bournemouth Mad’s Andy Burton….
What was your season like in 06/07?
That's easy - largely rubbish with some truly dreadful football being played at times! Some of the dross served up was more deserving of non-League football and not League One!
Which summer signing are you most looking forward to seeing?
We've only made one signing so far - Perrett on a free from Luton Town. So will have to wait and see who else we get in.
What are the expectations for the 1007/08 season?
Another relegation scrap!
Brighton and Hove Albion
Nickname: The Seagulls
Ground: The Withdean Stadium
Capacity: 6,960
Manager: Dean Wilkins
KEY MEN: Nicky Forster should add some fire power to Brighton’s attack after his £75,000 move from Hull City. The former Reading man hit five Championship goals last season and his pedigree could be a major part of Albion’s season. Young Jake Robinson also poses a threat with his pace whilst Paul Reid can pull the strings in midfield.
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Richard Martin, Michael Kuipers, John Sullivan
DEFENDERS: Andrew Whing, Georges Santos, Sam Rents, Kerry Mayo, Joel Lynch, Adam El-Abd, Guy Butters, Chris Breach, Adam Hinshelwood
MIDFIELD: Alexis Burton, Scott Chamberlain, Dean Cox, Tommy Elphick, Wes Fogden, Tommy Fraser, Alexandre Frutos, Dean Hammond, Doug Loft, Charlie Oatway, Paul Reid
FORWARDS: Nathan Elder, Nicky Forster, Joe Gatting, Gary Hart, Alex Revell, Jake Robinson, Bas Savage
Transfers in: Andrew Whing (Coventry) FREE
Nicky Forster (Hull) £75,000
Transfers Out: Paul Hinshelwood (Torquay) FREE
Last Season: Brighton had a topsy turvy time of things last season and only sealed their safety with a 2-0 win at Sixfields late on in the campaign.
Starting with seven points from their opening three games, the Seagulls then had a steady run up until September where four defeats in a row plunged them into the bottom half. There followed a spell of Albion taking 13 points from a possible 15- the only dropped points being the dour 1-1 draw with The Cobblers at the Withdean.
Brighton reached the FA Cup Third round after a huge 8-0 win over Northwich and a 3-0 victory over Stafford but were beaten by the previous seasons’ winners West Ham United in round three. The rest of the season saw a brief flirtation with relegation but the Seagulls were just good enough to escape the claws of League Two.
BRISTOL ROVERS
Nickname: The Pirates/Gas Heads
Ground: The Memorial Ground
Capacity: 11,916
Manager: Paul Trollope
KEY MEN: Rickie Lambert, a £200,000 signing from Rochdale in August of last year will always be a danger if Rovers keep him fit. Lambert hit ten goals last term from midfield and will be looking to make his name in the higher league. There’s also the threat of two ex-Cobblers players in the Rovers’ line-up with Chris Carruthers and Richard Walker both looking to make a mark against us.
SQUAD:
GOALKEEPERS: Steve Phillips, Mike Green
DEFENDERS: Ryan Green, Jo Jacobson, Craig Hinton, Steve Elliott, Byron Anthony
MIDFIELD: Sammy Igoe, Stuart Campbell, Rickie Lambert, Chris Carruthers, David Pipe, Andy Sandell, Chris Lines, Sean Rigg, Craig Disley, Aaron Lescott, James Palmer
FORWARDS: Richard Walker, Andrew Williams, Lewis Haldane, Josh Klein-Davies
Transfers In: David Pipe (Notts County) £50,000
Joe Jacobson (Cardiff City) FREE
Andrew Williams (Hereford United) FREE
Transfers Out: Scott Shearer (Wycombe) FREE
Last season: Rovers were promoted last season via the playoffs following a 3-1 Wembley victory over Shrewsbury Town. Despite losing three of their opening three games including a 4-1 opening day reverse at Peterborough United, Rovers steadied themselves in the opening few months of the season before staging an almighty rise up the League Two table in the second half of the season.
Following an appearance at Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Final (2-3 defeat in extra time to Doncaster Rovers), the Pirates really started to move up the league and finished the season with an eight game unbeaten run.
Victory over Lincoln City on the final day of the season meant that Rovers would play them again a week later in the playoff semi-finals and a convincing 7-4 aggregate victory confirmed their place in the final. Shrewsbury Town would be their opponents and despite an early Stuart Drummond goal for the Shrews, Rovers proved too strong and Richard Walkers’ double strike along with a late third from Sammy Igoe meant that Bristol Rovers join League One next season.
The fans view…a look ahead to next season with “Wembley_Gas” of the brfcreturn.com website…
- What was your season like in 06/07?
Did not look like being great for the first few months..then we got an inkling of what we could achieve in November when we went on a 6 game winning streak (4 league and 2 Cup). By morning of Saturday 17th March it looked like all we had to look forward to was a trip to Cardiff in the JPT as we were lying 17th in League 2 with 11 games left.
We won 3 and lost 1 prior to Cardiff, then after putting up a great show at the Millenium but losing in extra time by the odd goal in 5 the players seemed to decide that they liked the big match atmosphere and wanted another one. April 2nd saw the appointment of a new chairman (from within) and he was to remain unbeaten in his new job as we completed 5 more wins and two draws to steal into one of the play off places. Even then we were 4 mins (+injury time) away from finishing 8th before tucking away the goal that confirmed Hartlepool would finish L2 Runners-up and we would extend our season.
After being the only home winners in the first leg of the divisional play-offs we were treated to top-drawer fare at Sincil Bank where Lincoln played just as much blinding football as we did but a) our defence was slightly more assured than theirs and b) big holes opened up late in the game as they had to chase the game. So having invaded Cardiff we were able to complete our tour of national stadia with an appearance against the Shrews at the new Wembley. They had 3 major performers missing from their line up whilst we could not play one of the squad that got us there which may well have contributed to the outcome. Yet in all honesty they were much nearer their peak than we were near ours but they had no finisher on the end of their moves and we had Richard Walker.
Thus we completed our 6th straight win …cue 40,000 in Blue and White having a party with a hi-ho silver lining in North-West London.
- Which summer signing are you looking forward to seeing the most?
Of the new arrivals I'd have to say Andy Williams because it has been a long protracted process getting him in - clearly the management have seen something they like. However, the key signings of the summer were that both Steve Elliott and Richard Walker were able to resist the temptation of pastures new.
- What are the expectations at the club for 07/08?
The management do not just want to make up the numbers and there has been significant investment to improve the contracts of several players and bring in new recruits that cost a fee.
Most fans view the early part of the season as crucial. It will be hard to play catch-up after Christmas on a "foreign field" so to have points on the board and confidence in the tank come January is the priority.
Certainly on paper we are not automatic promotion material and sneaking into the play-offs again may be a bridge too far this time round - but we'll be aspiring to those aims otherwise what is the point of being there at all? At the start of last season I expect Bradford, Chesterfield, Brentford and Rotherham were all setting their sights higher than the bottom 4!!!!
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