Four games unbeaten and a strike partnership that’s beginning to really gain momentum. Is this really the Cobblers that we’re watching? It almost seems to be too comfortable at the moment as we break into the top half of the League One table but confidence is high going into the clash at high flying Tranmere Rovers this weekend.
Now is not a time to be getting carried away. Cobblers fans have surely learned from the past never to get too excited about a run of form or a glimpse of the upper reaches of the table. We certainly can’t be shouting about that we’re about to make a surge on the playoffs or the top two. But to our credit, most opinions I’ve been hearing this week have been cautiously optimistic rather than overly optimistic. The fact that we’re now four points clear of the bottom four must be met with more delight than the issue of being two points from the playoffs.
I know that sounds a bit gloomy but realistically we need to be ensuring safety first and foremost this season. Then we can start looking ahead further up the table and begin to wonder if those playoffs aren’t too much of a big step away after all.
The win over Huddersfield was as impressive a result as you would find over this weekend in League One yet once again we are overlooked in the main headlines by the Leeds resurgence and the fact that Forest actually won a game to follow us up the table. The lack of coverage on the Cobblers could be welcome, though, and Staurt Gray isn’t the type of manager to jump into the public eye. I’m sure he’s happy to sit in the background and surprise one or two people as the season gets going.
Andy Kirk and Poul Hubertz once again combined well and both pitched in with a goal in the Huddersfield victory and long may their partnership flourish. I heard from a Millwall fan this week that whenever their striker, Ben May, got the ball at the weekend, fans were singing Hubertz’ name! It’ll be interesting to see Hoobs return to his old stomping ground at Millwall on Tuesday night.
The tribunal for the transfer of Giles Coke heard this week that we must pay Mansfield up to £70,000 for the midfielder. This could become a bargain purchase if Coke lives up to his billing on his return from injury, especially as only a small amount of the fee is payable immediately and the rest based on appearances. The 20% sell-on clause that Mansfield insisted on shows how highly they rate the player so let’s hope we see him in a Cobblers shirt sooner rather than later.
Looking ahead to the weekend and we face one of the toughest trips we’re likely to come across this season as we head to Tranmere. Rovers lie second in the table at the moment and are likely to stage their usual bid for the playoffs and beyond this season. If the Cobblers can come away from that game with the unbeaten run stretched to five game then we’ll have done extremely well.
So as September comes to an end we’re looking OK in mid-table and starting to perform like we did in the second half of last season. Ian Henderson and Joe Burnell look like they’re on the comeback trail so that can only help a Cobblers side looking to maintain that good run of form.
We all know that a couple of defeats this week could send us right back down the table and a couple of wins could catapult us from nosebleed territory to sheer heart attack territory of the top six but either way we shouldn’t be getting to downhearted/excited (delete as applicable) just yet.
Up The Cobblers!
Now is not a time to be getting carried away. Cobblers fans have surely learned from the past never to get too excited about a run of form or a glimpse of the upper reaches of the table. We certainly can’t be shouting about that we’re about to make a surge on the playoffs or the top two. But to our credit, most opinions I’ve been hearing this week have been cautiously optimistic rather than overly optimistic. The fact that we’re now four points clear of the bottom four must be met with more delight than the issue of being two points from the playoffs.
I know that sounds a bit gloomy but realistically we need to be ensuring safety first and foremost this season. Then we can start looking ahead further up the table and begin to wonder if those playoffs aren’t too much of a big step away after all.
The win over Huddersfield was as impressive a result as you would find over this weekend in League One yet once again we are overlooked in the main headlines by the Leeds resurgence and the fact that Forest actually won a game to follow us up the table. The lack of coverage on the Cobblers could be welcome, though, and Staurt Gray isn’t the type of manager to jump into the public eye. I’m sure he’s happy to sit in the background and surprise one or two people as the season gets going.
Andy Kirk and Poul Hubertz once again combined well and both pitched in with a goal in the Huddersfield victory and long may their partnership flourish. I heard from a Millwall fan this week that whenever their striker, Ben May, got the ball at the weekend, fans were singing Hubertz’ name! It’ll be interesting to see Hoobs return to his old stomping ground at Millwall on Tuesday night.
The tribunal for the transfer of Giles Coke heard this week that we must pay Mansfield up to £70,000 for the midfielder. This could become a bargain purchase if Coke lives up to his billing on his return from injury, especially as only a small amount of the fee is payable immediately and the rest based on appearances. The 20% sell-on clause that Mansfield insisted on shows how highly they rate the player so let’s hope we see him in a Cobblers shirt sooner rather than later.
Looking ahead to the weekend and we face one of the toughest trips we’re likely to come across this season as we head to Tranmere. Rovers lie second in the table at the moment and are likely to stage their usual bid for the playoffs and beyond this season. If the Cobblers can come away from that game with the unbeaten run stretched to five game then we’ll have done extremely well.
So as September comes to an end we’re looking OK in mid-table and starting to perform like we did in the second half of last season. Ian Henderson and Joe Burnell look like they’re on the comeback trail so that can only help a Cobblers side looking to maintain that good run of form.
We all know that a couple of defeats this week could send us right back down the table and a couple of wins could catapult us from nosebleed territory to sheer heart attack territory of the top six but either way we shouldn’t be getting to downhearted/excited (delete as applicable) just yet.
Up The Cobblers!
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