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
	← 1997–98 →

Players[]

As of match played 24 May 1997.^[1]

Name	Position	Place of birth	Date of birth	Apps^[2]	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Stuart Brock	GK	West Bromwich	(1976-09-26)26 September 1976 (aged 20)	0	0	Aston Villa	27 March 1997	Free
Billy Turley	GK	Wolverhampton	(1973-07-15)15 July 1973 (aged 23)	2	0	Evesham United	10 July 1995	Free
Andy Woodman	GK	Camberwell	(1971-08-11)11 August 1971 (aged 25)	99	0	Exeter City	10 March 1995	Free
Defenders
Ian Clarkson	RB	Solihull	(1970-12-04)4 December 1970 (aged 26)	45	0	Stoke City	2 August 1996	Free
Lee Colkin	LB	Nuneaton	(1974-07-15)15 July 1974 (aged 22)	99	3	Apprentice	31 August 1992	N/A
John Frain	LB	Birmingham	(1968-10-08)8 October 1968 (aged 28)	56	2	Birmingham City	24 January 1997	Loan
Lee Maddison	LB	Bristol	(1972-10-05)5 October 1972 (aged 24)	55	0	Bristol Rovers	22 September 1995	£25,000
David Rennie	CB	Edinburgh	(1964-08-29)29 August 1964 (aged 32)	43	4	Coventry City	5 August 1996	Free
Ian Sampson	CB	Wakefield	(1968-11-14)14 November 1968 (aged 28)	126	10	Sunderland	5 August 1994	£30,000
Ray Warburton (c)	CB	Rotherham	(1967-10-07)7 October 1967 (aged 29)	135	11	York City	4 February 1994	£35,000
Midfielders
Ali Gibb	RM	Salisbury	(1976-02-17)17 February 1976 (aged 21)	41	3	Norwich City	5 February 1996	£30,000
Roy Hunter	CM	Saltburn-by-the-Sea	(1973-10-29)29 October 1973 (aged 23)	70	6	West Bromwich Albion	2 August 1995	Free
Dave Martin	CM	East Ham	(1963-04-25)25 April 1963 (aged 34)	12	0	Leyton Orient	11 October 1996	Free
Danny O'Shea	CM	Newington	(1963-03-26)26 March 1963 (aged 34)	80	1	Cambridge United	23 March 1995	Free
Sean Parrish	LM	Wrexham	(1972-03-14)14 March 1972 (aged 25)	51	9	Doncaster Rovers	2 August 1996	£35,000
Dean Peer	CM	Wordsley	(1969-08-08)8 August 1969 (aged 27)	93	4	Walsall	22 August 1995	Free
	CM	Harrogate	(1974-01-17)17 January 1974 (aged 23)	20	0	Tamworth	31 May 1995	Free
Forwards
Mark Cooper	FW	Watford	(1967-04-05)5 April 1967 (aged 30)	41	10	Barnet	2 August 1996	Free
John Gayle	FW	Bromsgrove	(1964-07-30)30 July 1964 (aged 32)	44	7	Stoke City	10 February 1997	£25,000
Neil Grayson	FW	York	(1964-11-01)1 November 1964 (aged 32)	120	31	Boston United	19 June 1994	Free
Garry Thompson	FW	Kings Heath	(1959-10-07)7 October 1959 (aged 37)	50	6	Cardiff City	10 February 1995	Free
Christian Lee	FW	Aylesbury	(1976-10-08)8 October 1976 (aged 20)	38	7	Doncaster Rovers	13 July 1995	Free
Jason White	FW	Meriden	(1971-10-19)19 October 1971 (aged 25)	77	18	Scarborough	15 June 1995	£35,000

Competitions[]

Division Three[]

League table[]

Pos	Team v t	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	Promoted
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	Participated in play-offs

Source:^{[citation needed]}
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:^{[citation needed]}

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 (1996-08-17) 1	Wigan Athletic	2–1	Northampton Town	showWigan
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 (1996-08-24) 2	Northampton Town	3–0	Mansfield Town	showNorthampton
15:00 BST	Rennie 36' Hunter 53' Cooper 85'		Sale 81'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,162 Referee: Carl Finch

27 August 1996 (1996-08-27) 3	Northampton Town	1–1	Mansfield Town	showNorthampton
19:45 BST	Rennie 85'		Jack 4'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,128

31 August 1996 (1996-08-31) 4	Scarborough	1–1	Northampton Town	showScarborough
15:00 BST	Bennett 76'		Lee 85'	Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 2,520

7 September 1996 (1996-09-07) 5	Barnet	1–1	Northampton Town	showChipping Barnet
15:00 BST	Devine 55'		Lee 6'	Stadium: Underhill Stadium Attendance: 2,982

10 September 1996 (1996-09-10) 6	Northampton Town	0–1	Leyton Orient	showNorthampton
19:45 BST			Chapman 90'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 3,994

14 September 1996 (1996-09-14) 7	Northampton Town	1–2	Cambridge United	showNorthampton
15:00 BST	Sampson 63'		Hyde 32' Richards 58'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,584

21 September 1996 (1996-09-21) 8	Cardiff City	2–2	Northampton Town	showCardiff
15:00 BST	Philliskirk 18' Middleton 83'		Cooper 87' Hunter 89' (pen.)	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 4,124

28 September 1996 (1996-09-28) 9	Northampton Town	3–0	Brighton & Hove Albion	showNorthampton
15:00 BST	Hunter 27' (pen.) Lee 30' Gibb 54'			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,402

1 October 1996 (1996-10-01) 10	Chester City	2–1	Northampton Town	showChester
19:45 BST	Flitcroft 55' Noteman 79'		Grayson 72'	Stadium: Deva Stadium Attendance: 1,791

5 October 1996 (1996-10-05) 11	Northampton Town	0–1	Fulham	showNorthampton
15:00 BST			Conroy 54'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 6,171

12 October 1996 (1996-10-12) 12	Exeter City	0–1	Northampton Town	showExeter
15:00 BST			Lee 29'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,002

16 October 1996 (1996-10-16) 13	Scunthorpe United	2–1	Northampton Town	showScunthorpe
19:45 BST	D'Auria 80' Hope 90'		Sampson 16'	Stadium: Glanford Park Attendance: 2,079

19 October 1996 (1996-10-19) 14	Northampton Town	2–1	Colchester United	showNorthampton
15:00 BST	Parrish 45' Grayson 55'		Fry 41'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,119

26 October 1996 (1996-10-26) 15	Northampton Town	3–1	Darlington	showNorthampton
15:00 BST	Grayson 52' Warburton 61' Parrish 90'		Naylor 15' Roberts 41'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,123

29 October 1996 (1996-10-29) 16	Hartlepool United	0–2	Northampton Town	showHartlepool
19:45 GMT			Grayson 1' Parrish 22'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 1,254

2 November 1996 (1996-11-02) 17	Swansea City	1–0	Northampton Town	showSwansea
15:00 GMT	Torpey 67'			Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 3,335

9 November 1996 (1996-11-09) 18	Northampton Town	1–1	Carlisle United	showNorthampton
15:00 GMT	Parrish 52'		Conway 59' Hayward 80'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,682

19 November 1996 (1996-11-19) 19	Doncaster Rovers	1–2	Northampton Town	showDoncaster
19:45 GMT	Schofield 54'		Warburton 1' Rush 61'	Stadium: Belle Vue Attendance: 1,030

23 November 1996 (1996-11-23) 20	Northampton Town	2–2	Rochdale	showNorthampton
15:00 GMT	Hunter 2' White 69'		Farrell 66', 68'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 3,836

30 November 1996 (1996-11-30) 21	Darlington	3–1	Northampton Town	showDarlington
15:00 GMT	Shaw 46' Roberts 73', 77'		Cooper 39'	Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 1,030

3 December 1996 (1996-12-03) 22	Northampton Town	2–1	Hull City	showNorthampton
19:45 GMT	Stant 7', 23' (pen.)		Darby 57'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 3,519

14 December 1996 (1996-12-14) 23	Lincoln City	1–1	Northampton Town	showLincoln
15:00 GMT	Ainsworth 67'		Rennie 33'	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 2,702

20 December 1996 (1996-12-20) 24	Northampton Town	1–0	Hereford United	showNorthampton
19:45 GMT	Grayson 77'			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,238

26 December 1996 (1996-12-26) 25	Leyton Orient	2–1	Northampton Town	showLeyton, London
15:00 GMT	Channing 6' Inglethorpe 79'		Grayson 22'	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 4,492

28 December 1996 (1996-12-28) 26	Northampton Town	2–0	Barnet	showNorthampton
15:00 GMT	Sampson 40' Cooper 81'			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 5,060

1 January 1997 (1997-01-01) 27	Northampton Town	4–0	Cardiff City	showNorthampton
15:00 GMT	Warburton 16' Jarman 42' (o.g.) Cooper 54' Grayson 69'		Eckhardt 47'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,416

18 January 1997 (1997-01-18) 28	Northampton Town	5–1	Chester City	showNorthampton
15:00 GMT	Rush 21' Cooper 24' Warburton 45' Sampson 48' Grayson 82'		Noteman 28'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,434

25 January 1997 (1997-01-25) 29	Northampton Town	3–0	Hartlepool United	showNorthampton
15:00 GMT	Grayson 44', 45', 48'			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 5,093

1 February 1997 (1997-02-01) 30	Carlisle United	2–1	Northampton Town	showCarlisle
15:00 GMT	Conway 47', 60'		Clarkson 59' Lee 77'	Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 5,271

8 February 1997 (1997-02-08) 31	Northampton Town	1–2	Swansea City	showNorthampton
15:00 GMT	Lee 59'		Brayson 23' Penney 85' (pen.)	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 6,178

15 February 1997 (1997-02-15) 32	Rochdale	1–1	Northampton Town	showRochdale
15:00 GMT	Deary 44'		Rush 9'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1,988

22 February 1997 (1997-02-22) 33	Northampton Town	2–0	Doncaster Rovers	showNorthampton
15:00 GMT	Cooper 12' Grayson 41'			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,577

1 March 1997 (1997-03-01) 34	Hull City	1–1	Northampton Town	showKingston upon Hull
15:00 GMT	Darby 24'		Dewhurst 74' (o.g.)	Stadium: Boothferry Park Attendance: 3,495

4 March 1997 (1997-03-04) 35	Brighton & Hove Albion	2–1	Northampton Town	showHove
19:45 GMT	Reinelt 23' Peake 81'		Peer 89'	Stadium: Goldstone Ground Attendance: 4,943

8 March 1997 (1997-03-08) 36	Hereford United	1–2	Northampton Town	showHereford
15:00 GMT	Williams 54' Foster 90'		Parrish 9' Lee 13'	Stadium: Edgar Street Attendance: 8,043

15 March 1997 (1997-03-15) 37	Northampton Town	1–1	Lincoln City	showNorthampton
15:00 GMT	Hunter 90' (pen.)		Holmes 65'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 5,266

22 March 1997 (1997-03-22) 38	Mansfield Town	1–0	Northampton Town	showMansfield
15:00 GMT	Eustace 83'			Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 2,596

29 March 1997 (1997-03-29) 39	Northampton Town	0–1	Wigan Athletic	showNorthampton
15:00 GMT			Lowe 90'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 5,914

31 March 1997 (1997-03-31) 40	Torquay United	1–2	Northampton Town	showTorquay
15:00 BST	Jack 28'		Parrish 17' Sampson 19'	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 2,336

5 April 1997 (1997-04-05) 41	Northampton Town	1–0	Scarborough	showNorthampton
15:00 BST	Hunter 54' (pen.)			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,854

8 April 1997 (1997-04-08) 42	Cambridge United	0–0	Northampton Town	showCambridge
19:45 BST				Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 4,412

12 April 1997 (1997-04-12) 43	Fulham	0–1	Northampton Town	showFulham, London
15:00 BST			White	Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 11,419

19 April 1997 (1997-04-19) 44	Northampton Town	4–1	Exeter City	showNorthampton
15:00 BST	Parrish 44' Cooper 47', 53' Gayle 71'		Rowbotham 90' (pen.)	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 6,400

26 April 1997 (1997-04-26) 45	Colchester United	0–0	Northampton Town	showColchester
15:00 BST				Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 5,956

3 May 1997 (1997-05-03) 46	Northampton Town	1–0	Scunthorpe United	showNorthampton
15:00 BST	Parrish 74'			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 6,828

Play-offs

11 May 1997 (1997-05-11) Semi-Final 1st Leg	Cardiff City	0–1	Northampton Town	showCardiff
12:00 BST			Cooper 70' Parrish 77'	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 11,369 Referee: John Kirkby

14 May 1997 (1997-05-14) Semi-Final 2nd Leg	Northampton Town	3–2	Cardiff City	showNorthampton
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 (1998-05-24) Final	Northampton Town	1–0	Swansea City	showLondon
15:00 BST	Frain 90'			Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 46,804 Referee: Terry Heilbron

FA Cup[]

17 November 1996 (1996-11-17) 1st round	Northampton Town	0–1	Watford	showNorthampton
15:00 GMT	Rowbotham 32'		Bazeley 71'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 7,342

League Cup[]

20 August 1996 (1996-08-20) 1st round 1st leg	Cardiff City	1–0	Northampton Town	showCardiff
19:45 BST	Dale 54'			Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2,294

3 September 1996 (1996-09-03) 1st round 2nd leg	Northampton Town	2–0	Cardiff City	showNorthampton
19:45 BST	Cooper 21' Lee 62', 78'			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 3,567

18 September 1996 (1996-09-18) 2nd round 1st leg	Stoke City	1–0	Northampton Town	showStoke-on-Trent
19:45 BST	Worthington 50'			Stadium: Victoria Ground Attendance: 6,093

24 September 1996 (1996-09-24) 2nd round 2nd leg	Northampton Town	1–2 (a.e.t)	Stoke City	showNorthampton
19:45 BST	Gayle o.g.'		Sheron 100', 108'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 5,088

Auto Windscreens Shield[]

4 February 1997 (1997-02-04) 2nd round (S)	Northampton Town	1–0	Luton Town	showNorthampton
19:30 GMT	Rush			Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 4,201

11 February 1997 (1997-02-11) Quarter Final (S)	Plymouth Argyle	1–2	Northampton Town	showPlymouth
19:30 GMT	[[]]		Martin Gayle	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 1,499

18 February 1997 (1997-02-18) Semi Final (S)	Colchester United	2–1	Northampton Town	showColchester
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
Pos	Player	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		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[]

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

[Rothmans1997-98-1] 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

[1]

[2]

[3]