Following a dismal home defeat to Walsall, we meet the Saddlers once again this weekend looking to turn the form around and scrape through to the F.A. Cup Third Round. Four league defeats in a row has taken us right back down to the dangers of being just above the relegation zone and things need to start turning quickly.
Just a few short weeks ago, back at the end of October, the Cobblers had just recorded their first away win of the season in a smash and grab effort at Oldham. That win kept us in the top half and talk was of a push for the playoffs. What a difference a month makes. Our only win of the month came against Darlington in the cup replay and league form has dipped dramatically as we crashed to four straight defeats.
One very worrying aspects of these defeats is that we havn’t managed to score once in all four games, going down 1-0 to Southend, Bristol Rovers and Crewe and then 2-0 to Walsall on Saturday. Andy Kirk seems to have suddenly lost his shooting boots but can’t be entirely to blame for the lack of goals and it just shows how dependant we’ve become on the front man.
Dean Bowditch could be a very good loan signing from Ipswich and given a good run in the side could produce the flair we’re so desperately missing at the moment. Giles Coke played again in the reserves yesterday and may even make the bench on Saturday. We’re very much in need of some sort of creativity in attack as the ball seems to go sideways far to often in the middle of the park. Alex Russell has done a good job for us and his experience will be missed but perhaps we need a bit more of an attacking option in there.
One option would have been Sam Aiston and having seen him come off the bench and do well at Crewe, I thought that his time had finally come under Stuart Gray to get a chance in the first team. So it was with great surprise that Aiston was loaned out to League Two’s bottom side Wrexham last week. With a distinct lack of invention from midfield, Aiston at least had something different to take on a player.
Walsall came and did a job on us far too easily on Saturday and we have to somehow pick ourselves up again for the cup tie on Saturday. Football works in strange ways and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we were to beat the same side this weekend but from what we’ve seen it will be a very tough afternoon. The potential passage through to Round Three should lift the players and fans and hopefully we get a better result this time around. If the game goes to a replay, the teams will be sick and tired of each other by the time the replay happens!
What is needed now is for Stuart Gray to show his managerial know how and lift the players. Fans are getting worried about the rest of the season and Gray has a real job on his hand over the Christmas period to turn this poor form around. January will be a big month for transfers I would imagine and Gray will surely once again be delving into his contacts book. But until then we must remain behind the team and believe that we can turn it round.
With three of the top six teams to play in the next three league games, it won’t be an easy time at all!
Up The Cobblers!
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