1996–97 Northampton Town F.C. season

Northampton Town

1996–97 season
Chairman	Barry Ward
Manager	Ian Atkins
Stadium	Sixfields Stadium
Division Three	4th
FA Cup	First round
Coca-Cola Cup	Second round
Auto Windscreens Shield	Semi Final (S)
Top goalscorer	League: Neil Grayson (12) All: Neil Grayson (12)
Highest home attendance	7,342 vs Watford
Lowest home attendance	3,519 vs Hull City

Players

As of match played 24 May 1997.[1]

Name	Position	Nationality	Place of birth	Date of birth	Apps[2]	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Stuart Brock	GK		West Bromwich	26 September 1976 (aged 20)	0	0	Aston Villa	27 March 1997	Free
Billy Turley	GK		Wolverhampton	15 July 1973 (aged 23)	2	0	Evesham United	10 July 1995	Free
Andy Woodman	GK		Camberwell	11 August 1971 (aged 25)	99	0	Exeter City	10 March 1995	Free
Defenders
Ian Clarkson	RB		Solihull	4 December 1970 (aged 26)	45	0	Stoke City	2 August 1996	Free
Lee Colkin	LB		Nuneaton	15 July 1974 (aged 22)	99	3	Apprentice	31 August 1992	N/A
John Frain	LB		Birmingham	8 October 1968 (aged 28)	56	2	Birmingham City	24 January 1997	Loan
Lee Maddison	LB		Bristol	5 October 1972 (aged 24)	55	0	Bristol Rovers	22 September 1995	£25,000
David Rennie	CB		Edinburgh	29 August 1964 (aged 32)	43	4	Coventry City	5 August 1996	Free
Ian Sampson	CB		Wakefield	14 November 1968 (aged 28)	126	10	Sunderland	5 August 1994	£30,000
Ray Warburton (c)	CB		Rotherham	7 October 1967 (aged 29)	135	11	York City	4 February 1994	£35,000
Midfielders
Ali Gibb	RM		Salisbury	17 February 1976 (aged 21)	41	3	Norwich City	5 February 1996	£30,000
Roy Hunter	CM		Saltburn-by-the-Sea	29 October 1973 (aged 23)	70	6	West Bromwich Albion	2 August 1995	Free
Dave Martin	CM		East Ham	25 April 1963 (aged 34)	12	0	Leyton Orient	11 October 1996	Free
Danny O'Shea	CM		Newington	26 March 1963 (aged 34)	80	1	Cambridge United	23 March 1995	Free
Sean Parrish	LM		Wrexham	14 March 1972 (aged 25)	51	9	Doncaster Rovers	2 August 1996	£35,000
Dean Peer	CM		Wordsley	8 August 1969 (aged 27)	93	4	Walsall	22 August 1995	Free
Michael Warner	CM		Harrogate	17 January 1974 (aged 23)	20	0	Tamworth	31 May 1995	Free
Forwards
Mark Cooper	FW		Watford	5 April 1967 (aged 30)	41	10	Barnet	2 August 1996	Free
John Gayle	FW		Bromsgrove	30 July 1964 (aged 32)	44	7	Stoke City	10 February 1997	£25,000
Neil Grayson	FW		York	1 November 1964 (aged 32)	120	31	Boston United	19 June 1994	Free
Garry Thompson	FW		Kings Heath	7 October 1959 (aged 37)	50	6	Cardiff City	10 February 1995	Free
Christian Lee	FW		Aylesbury	8 October 1976 (aged 20)	38	7	Doncaster Rovers	13 July 1995	Free
Jason White	FW		Meriden	19 October 1971 (aged 25)	77	18	Scarborough	15 June 1995	£35,000

Competitions

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
2	Fulham	46	13	5	5	41	20	12	7	4	31	18	+34	87	Promoted
3	Carlisle United	46	16	3	4	41	21	8	9	6	26	23	+23	84
4	Northampton Town	46	14	4	5	43	17	6	8	9	24	27	+23	72	Promoted through play-offs
5	Swansea City	46	13	5	5	37	20	8	3	12	25	38	+4	71	Participated in play-offs
6	Chester City	46	11	8	4	30	16	7	8	8	25	27	+12	70

Source:
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	20	12	14	67	44	+23	72	14	4	5	43	17	+26	6	8	9	24	27	−3

Last updated: 26 April 2020.
Source:

League position by match

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H
Result	L	W	D	D	D	L	L	D	W	L	L	W	L	W	W	W	L	D	W	D	L	W	D	W	L	W	W	W	W	L	L	D	W	D	L	W	D	L	L	W	W	D	W	W	D	W
Position	17	10	11	10	12	16	19	20	15	16	21	16	20	14	13	10	12	12	10	11	15	10	11	7	10	6	5	6	5	6	7	8	8	9	10	8	8	10	10	9	6	6	5	5	6	4

Source: Rothmans Football Yearbook 1997-1998
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss

17 August 1996 1	Wigan Athletic	2–1	Northampton Town	Wigan
15:00 BST	Sharp  50' Lancashire  56' Biggins  73'		Cooper  28' O'Shea  40' Peer  50'	Stadium: Springfield Park Attendance: 2,499

24 August 1996 2	Northampton Town	3–0	Mansfield Town	Northampton
15:00 BST	Rennie  36' Hunter  53' Cooper  85'		Sale  81'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,162 Referee: Carl Finch

27 August 1996 3	Northampton Town	1–1	Mansfield Town	Northampton
19:45 BST	Rennie  85'		Jack  4'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,128

31 August 1996 4	Scarborough	1–1	Northampton Town	Scarborough
15:00 BST	Bennett  76'		Lee  85'	Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 2,520

7 September 1996 5	Barnet	1–1	Northampton Town	Chipping Barnet
15:00 BST	Devine  55'		Lee  6'	Stadium: Underhill Stadium Attendance: 2,982

10 September 1996 6	Northampton Town	0–1	Leyton Orient	Northampton
19:45 BST			Chapman  90'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 3,994

14 September 1996 7	Northampton Town	1–2	Cambridge United	Northampton
15:00 BST	Sampson  63'		Hyde  32' Richards  58'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,584

21 September 1996 8	Cardiff City	2–2	Northampton Town	Cardiff
15:00 BST	Philliskirk  18' Middleton  83'		Cooper  87' Hunter  89' (pen.)	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 4,124

28 September 1996 9	Northampton Town	3–0	Brighton & Hove Albion	Northampton
15:00 BST	Hunter  27' (pen.) Lee  30' Gibb  54'			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,402

1 October 1996 10	Chester City	2–1	Northampton Town	Chester
19:45 BST	Flitcroft  55' Noteman  79'		Grayson  72'	Stadium: Deva Stadium Attendance: 1,791

5 October 1996 11	Northampton Town	0–1	Fulham	Northampton
15:00 BST			Conroy  54'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 6,171

12 October 1996 12	Exeter City	0–1	Northampton Town	Exeter
15:00 BST			Lee  29'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,002

16 October 1996 13	Scunthorpe United	2–1	Northampton Town	Scunthorpe
19:45 BST	D'Auria  80' Hope  90'		Sampson  16'	Stadium: Glanford Park Attendance: 2,079

19 October 1996 14	Northampton Town	2–1	Colchester United	Northampton
15:00 BST	Parrish  45' Grayson  55'		Fry  41'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,119

26 October 1996 15	Northampton Town	3–1	Darlington	Northampton
15:00 BST	Grayson  52' Warburton  61' Parrish  90'		Naylor  15' Roberts  41'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,123

29 October 1996 16	Hartlepool United	0–2	Northampton Town	Hartlepool
19:45 GMT			Grayson  1' Parrish  22'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 1,254

2 November 1996 17	Swansea City	1–0	Northampton Town	Swansea
15:00 GMT	Torpey  67'			Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 3,335

9 November 1996 18	Northampton Town	1–1	Carlisle United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	Parrish  52'		Conway  59' Hayward  80'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,682

19 November 1996 19	Doncaster Rovers	1–2	Northampton Town	Doncaster
19:45 GMT	Schofield  54'		Warburton  1' Rush  61'	Stadium: Belle Vue Attendance: 1,030

23 November 1996 20	Northampton Town	2–2	Rochdale	Northampton
15:00 GMT	Hunter  2' White  69'		Farrell  66', 68'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 3,836

30 November 1996 21	Darlington	3–1	Northampton Town	Darlington
15:00 GMT	Shaw  46' Roberts  73', 77'		Cooper  39'	Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 1,030

3 December 1996 22	Northampton Town	2–1	Hull City	Northampton
19:45 GMT	Stant  7', 23' (pen.)		Darby  57'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 3,519

14 December 1996 23	Lincoln City	1–1	Northampton Town	Lincoln
15:00 GMT	Ainsworth  67'		Rennie  33'	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 2,702

20 December 1996 24	Northampton Town	1–0	Hereford United	Northampton
19:45 GMT	Grayson  77'			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,238

26 December 1996 25	Leyton Orient	2–1	Northampton Town	Leyton, London
15:00 GMT	Channing  6' Inglethorpe  79'		Grayson  22'	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 4,492

28 December 1996 26	Northampton Town	2–0	Barnet	Northampton
15:00 GMT	Sampson  40' Cooper  81'			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 5,060

1 January 1997 27	Northampton Town	4–0	Cardiff City	Northampton
15:00 GMT	Warburton  16' Jarman  42' (o.g.) Cooper  54' Grayson  69'		Eckhardt  47'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,416

18 January 1997 28	Northampton Town	5–1	Chester City	Northampton
15:00 GMT	Rush  21' Cooper  24' Warburton  45' Sampson  48' Grayson  82'		Noteman  28'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,434

25 January 1997 29	Northampton Town	3–0	Hartlepool United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	Grayson  44', 45', 48'			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 5,093

1 February 1997 30	Carlisle United	2–1	Northampton Town	Carlisle
15:00 GMT	Conway  47', 60'		Clarkson  59' Lee  77'	Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 5,271

8 February 1997 31	Northampton Town	1–2	Swansea City	Northampton
15:00 GMT	Lee  59'		Brayson  23' Penney  85' (pen.)	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 6,178

15 February 1997 32	Rochdale	1–1	Northampton Town	Rochdale
15:00 GMT	Deary  44'		Rush  9'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1,988

22 February 1997 33	Northampton Town	2–0	Doncaster Rovers	Northampton
15:00 GMT	Cooper  12' Grayson  41'			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,577

1 March 1997 34	Hull City	1–1	Northampton Town	Kingston upon Hull
15:00 GMT	Darby  24'		Dewhurst  74' (o.g.)	Stadium: Boothferry Park Attendance: 3,495

4 March 1997 35	Brighton & Hove Albion	2–1	Northampton Town	Hove
19:45 GMT	Reinelt  23' Peake  81'		Peer  89'	Stadium: Goldstone Ground Attendance: 4,943

8 March 1997 36	Hereford United	1–2	Northampton Town	Hereford
15:00 GMT	Williams  54' Foster  90'		Parrish  9' Lee  13'	Stadium: Edgar Street Attendance: 8,043

15 March 1997 37	Northampton Town	1–1	Lincoln City	Northampton
15:00 GMT	Hunter  90' (pen.)		Holmes  65'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 5,266

22 March 1997 38	Mansfield Town	1–0	Northampton Town	Mansfield
15:00 GMT	Eustace  83'			Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 2,596

29 March 1997 39	Northampton Town	0–1	Wigan Athletic	Northampton
15:00 GMT			Lowe  90'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 5,914

31 March 1997 40	Torquay United	1–2	Northampton Town	Torquay
15:00 BST	Jack  28'		Parrish  17' Sampson  19'	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 2,336

5 April 1997 41	Northampton Town	1–0	Scarborough	Northampton
15:00 BST	Hunter  54' (pen.)			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,854

8 April 1997 42	Cambridge United	0–0	Northampton Town	Cambridge
19:45 BST				Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 4,412

12 April 1997 43	Fulham	0–1	Northampton Town	Fulham, London
15:00 BST			White	Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 11,419

19 April 1997 44	Northampton Town	4–1	Exeter City	Northampton
15:00 BST	Parrish  44' Cooper  47', 53' Gayle  71'		Rowbotham  90' (pen.)	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 6,400

26 April 1997 45	Colchester United	0–0	Northampton Town	Colchester
15:00 BST				Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,956

3 May 1997 46	Northampton Town	1–0	Scunthorpe United	Northampton
15:00 BST	Parrish  74'			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 6,828

Play-offs

11 May 1997 Semi-Final 1st Leg	Cardiff City	0–1	Northampton Town	Cardiff
12:00 BST			Cooper  70' Parrish  77'	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 11,369 Referee: John Kirkby

14 May 1997 Semi-Final 2nd Leg	Northampton Town	3–2	Cardiff City	Northampton
19:45 BST	Sampson  23' Warburton  68' Gayle  77'		Eckhardt  25' Fowler  36' Haworth  90'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 7,302 Referee: Uriah Rennie

24 May 1998 Final	Northampton Town	1–0	Swansea City	London
15:00 BST	Frain  90'			Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 46,804 Referee: Terry Heilbron

FA Cup

17 November 1996 1st round	Northampton Town	0–1	Watford	Northampton
15:00 GMT	Rowbotham  32'		Bazeley  71'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 7,342

League Cup

20 August 1996 1st round 1st leg	Cardiff City	1–0	Northampton Town	Cardiff
19:45 BST	Dale  54'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,294

3 September 1996 1st round 2nd leg	Northampton Town	2–0	Cardiff City	Northampton
19:45 BST	Cooper  21' Lee  62', 78'			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 3,567

18 September 1996 2nd round 1st leg	Stoke City	1–0	Northampton Town	Stoke-on-Trent
19:45 BST	Worthington  50'			Stadium: Victoria Ground Attendance: 6,093

24 September 1996 2nd round 2nd leg	Northampton Town	1–2 (a.e.t)	Stoke City	Northampton
19:45 BST	Gayle  o.g.'		Sheron  100', 108'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 5,088

Auto Windscreens Shield

4 February 1997 2nd round (S)	Northampton Town	1–0	Luton Town	Northampton
19:30 GMT	Rush			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,201

11 February 1997 Quarter Final (S)	Plymouth Argyle	1–2	Northampton Town	Plymouth
19:30 GMT	[[]]		Martin Gayle	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 1,499

18 February 1997 Semi Final (S)	Colchester United	2–1	Northampton Town	Colchester
19:30 GMT	[[]] [[]]		Martin	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,975

Appearances, goals and cards

Pos	Player	Division Three[3]			FA Cup			League Cup			League Trophy			Total			Discipline
		Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals
GK	Stuart Brock	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
GK	Billy Turley	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–
GK	Andy Woodman	48	–	–	1	–	–	4	–	–	3	–	–	56	–	–	1	–
DF	Ian Clarkson	48	–	–	1	–	–	4	–	–	3	–	–	56	–	–	8	1
DF	Lee Colkin	1	5	–	–	1	–	1	3	–	–	2	–	2	11	–	–	–
DF	John Frain	16	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	19	–	1	2	–
DF	Neil Maddison	34	1	–	1	–	–	3	1	–	2	–	–	40	1	–	5	–
DF	David Rennie	45	1	4	–	–	–	4	–	–	2	–	–	51	1	4	2	–
DF	Ian Sampson	46	–	5	1	–	–	4	–	–	3	–	–	54	–	5	11	–
DF	Ray Warburton	38	–	5	1	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	42	–	5	1	–
MF	Ali Gibb	6	8	1	–	–	–	3	1	–	–	–	–	9	9	1	1	–
MF	Roy Hunter	29	10	6	1	–	–	4	–	–	1	–	–	35	10	6	6	–
MF	Dave Martin	10	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	2	12	2	2	1	–
MF	Danny O'Shea	32	3	–	1	–	–	4	–	–	1	1	–	38	4	–	4	1
MF	Sean Parrish	40	2	9	1	–	–	3	1	–	–	–	–	44	3	9	11	–
MF	Dean Peer	7	17	1	–	–	–	1	1	–	1	1	–	9	19	1	1	1
MF	Michael Warner	1	8	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	2	9	–	–	–
FW	Mark Cooper	38	4	10	1	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	42	4	10	7	2
FW	Claudio De Vito	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
FW	John Gayle	9	4	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	1	14	4	2	3	–
FW	Neil Grayson	41	8	12	1	–	–	3	1	–	2	–	–	47	9	12	6	–
FW	Christian Lee	13	19	7	–	1	–	1	–	2	2	–	–	16	20	9	1	–
FW	Garry Thompson	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–
FW	Jason White	17	17	2	1	–	–	1	3	–	1	1	–	20	21	2	1	–
Players who left before end of season:
DF	Ryan Kirby	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–
MF	Chris Burns	6	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	7	–	–	1	–
W	Neil Lyne	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	1	–
W	Matthew Rush	14	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	1	15	–	4	1	–
FW	Allan Smart	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–
FW	Phil Stant	4	1	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	1	2	–	–

References

1. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (1997). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1997–98. London: Headline Publishing Group. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-7472-7738-5.
2. Football League appearances only.
3. Includes play-off matches