There’s a lot of mystery around Sixfields at the moment as the transfer window brings about a signing that Stuart Gray claims will excite the Cobblers fans and make us very happy. David Cardoza echoed these words but we still do not know the identity of the mystery man. I take a look at the rumours flying around in this week’s Midweek Review and look back on our first win of 2008.
When Daniel Jones struck in the third minute of the game at Gillingham with a delightful free kick, any Cobblers fan would be forgiven for thinking that we would need another one to have a chance of taking home the points. It had been seventeen games since we last kept a clean sheet, way back in October at Oldham but aided by the increasingly impressive Brett Johnson we fought out a solid display and held on for a massive win.
Johnson is winning more and more good reviews as the weeks go on and surely we will be offering the youngster a contract at the end of this month when his current deal runs out.
Some negatives despite the win were the missed opportunities at the other end but once Adebayo Akinfenwa gets fit again and perhaps another name is added up front we’ll be taking those chances and moving up the table. Hoobs returns this week against Orient and to say we’ve missed his presence during his three game ban would be very much an understatement.
Mystery surrounds the latest Cobblers signing that Stuart Gray is lining up as the transfer window rolls on. Talk is that we are about to smash our current transfer record of £165,000 (Josh Low in 2003) to sign someone that “the fans will be very excited about” and someone who will lead our line for years to come. Some of the rumoured players are…
Simon Cox: Signed on loan last season at Sixfields and helped us to safety with some vital goals. Has been on loan at League One rivals Swindon Town for the first half of this season and a proposed permanent move to the County Ground seems to have stalled. Cox has scored eight times for Swindon this season and could represent good value.
Darren Huckerby: The Norwich man has scored just three times for Norwich this season and may be persuaded to drop down a division.
Leon Clarke: Hit eight goals in sixteen starts whilst on loan with Southend earlier this season and could be wrestled away from Sheffield Wednesday. At 22, he is the perfect age to be leading the line.
Malcolm Christie: Rumours have been flying about that the former Middlesbrough man could be on his way to Sixfields but his current position of being without a club rules him out of any move for a fee.
Kenny Deuchar: The good doctor is back in the Gretna first team after a loan spell here last season but could still be persuaded into a move to English football full time.
Carl Cort: Last seen at Leicester, the former Wimbledon man could be a good signing at our level but at the age of 30 may not be the age to lead our front line for years to come as Gray is claiming.
And the outsiders…
Andrei Shevchenko: Unsettled at Chelsea, the Ukranian would certainly excite the Cobblers fans. He may have to take a wage drop though.
Stan Collymore: Not doing much at the moment and could be somewhere at the back of Stuart Gray’s old contact book.
Neil Grayson: Still playing in non-league and a return for Larry would be like Keegan going back to Newcastle for the Cobblers’ faithful!
The rumours are bound to continue right up until the end of January but it seems that Gray and Cardoza have lined up something major…whether it pleases the Cobblers fans as much as it seems to please them we wait to see!
So it’s Orient this Friday night and under the floodlights we could move nine points clear of the drop zone before the others try to play catch up on Saturday. If we can establish that big a gap for a few weeks we can start to look the other way and aim higher. Orient seem to be back on form after a bit of a slump took them down the table a bit so they’ll be tough opposition and their Sixfields record is impressive.
But the return of Hubertz could be just at the right time and he’ll surely go right back into the starting line-up with Bowditch now back at Ipswich. With two home games in the next week we could possibly pull well clear of danger. The word “possibly” should be the big word there though!
Up The Cobblers!
Danny
When Daniel Jones struck in the third minute of the game at Gillingham with a delightful free kick, any Cobblers fan would be forgiven for thinking that we would need another one to have a chance of taking home the points. It had been seventeen games since we last kept a clean sheet, way back in October at Oldham but aided by the increasingly impressive Brett Johnson we fought out a solid display and held on for a massive win.
Johnson is winning more and more good reviews as the weeks go on and surely we will be offering the youngster a contract at the end of this month when his current deal runs out.
Some negatives despite the win were the missed opportunities at the other end but once Adebayo Akinfenwa gets fit again and perhaps another name is added up front we’ll be taking those chances and moving up the table. Hoobs returns this week against Orient and to say we’ve missed his presence during his three game ban would be very much an understatement.
Mystery surrounds the latest Cobblers signing that Stuart Gray is lining up as the transfer window rolls on. Talk is that we are about to smash our current transfer record of £165,000 (Josh Low in 2003) to sign someone that “the fans will be very excited about” and someone who will lead our line for years to come. Some of the rumoured players are…
Simon Cox: Signed on loan last season at Sixfields and helped us to safety with some vital goals. Has been on loan at League One rivals Swindon Town for the first half of this season and a proposed permanent move to the County Ground seems to have stalled. Cox has scored eight times for Swindon this season and could represent good value.Darren Huckerby: The Norwich man has scored just three times for Norwich this season and may be persuaded to drop down a division.
Leon Clarke: Hit eight goals in sixteen starts whilst on loan with Southend earlier this season and could be wrestled away from Sheffield Wednesday. At 22, he is the perfect age to be leading the line.
Malcolm Christie: Rumours have been flying about that the former Middlesbrough man could be on his way to Sixfields but his current position of being without a club rules him out of any move for a fee.
Kenny Deuchar: The good doctor is back in the Gretna first team after a loan spell here last season but could still be persuaded into a move to English football full time.Carl Cort: Last seen at Leicester, the former Wimbledon man could be a good signing at our level but at the age of 30 may not be the age to lead our front line for years to come as Gray is claiming.
And the outsiders…
Andrei Shevchenko: Unsettled at Chelsea, the Ukranian would certainly excite the Cobblers fans. He may have to take a wage drop though.
Stan Collymore: Not doing much at the moment and could be somewhere at the back of Stuart Gray’s old contact book.
Neil Grayson: Still playing in non-league and a return for Larry would be like Keegan going back to Newcastle for the Cobblers’ faithful!
The rumours are bound to continue right up until the end of January but it seems that Gray and Cardoza have lined up something major…whether it pleases the Cobblers fans as much as it seems to please them we wait to see!
So it’s Orient this Friday night and under the floodlights we could move nine points clear of the drop zone before the others try to play catch up on Saturday. If we can establish that big a gap for a few weeks we can start to look the other way and aim higher. Orient seem to be back on form after a bit of a slump took them down the table a bit so they’ll be tough opposition and their Sixfields record is impressive.
But the return of Hubertz could be just at the right time and he’ll surely go right back into the starting line-up with Bowditch now back at Ipswich. With two home games in the next week we could possibly pull well clear of danger. The word “possibly” should be the big word there though!
Up The Cobblers!
Danny
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