Football Season Review

Having only won promotion to League One last summer, Northampton managed to beat the drop rather comfortably and the majority of their fans will be pleased with that. The Cobblers started the season with an air of uncertainty surrounding them after losing highly-rated manager Chris Wilder and star man Ricky Holmes, but they started reasonably well, opening the season with a run of draws and then starting to add wins. They were a very difficult side to beat early in the season and played some good football but were unable to maintain that early form, as a run of defeats midway through the season seeing them drop down the table and dangerously close to the relegation zone. The board showed patience with Rob Page, first giving the under-fire manager a vote of confidence in a meeting, but things did not really change after that and they decided to part ways with the former Port Vale boss, with Justin Edinburgh, who became available following his dismissal by Gillingham, taking over. Edinburgh got the Cobblers back to their best - their early home form under him was impressive, while there were also several games in which they dropped points due to their poor penalty record. In the end, Edinburgh's efforts were enough to comfortably steer them clear of danger and he will now have the summer available to make the squad his own, with a top half finish likely to be Northampton's goal next time around.

Player of the Season: John-Joe O'Toole