Football Season Review

Northampton suffered relegation after just one season back in League One. After coming up via the play-offs the Cobblers made a solid start and by mid-December they sat 14th in the table. However, a run of just one victory in 11 games dropped them into the relegation zone and led to the sacking of manager Keith Curle in February. Jon Brady was appointed caretaker boss and although performances improved, the run of results needed to pull them out of trouble didn’t materialise and they were relegated after the penultimate game of the season. Northampton were not short of effort and hard work but they lacked quality in attacking areas. They were the second lowest scorers in the division, managing only 41 goals in their 46 league games. They went on a run of failing to score in 10 out of 12 games. Ryan Watson was an impressive midfield performer alongside Shaun McWilliams. Watson finished as the club’s top scorer with eight league goals. The Cobblers were decent defensively since the start of 2021, keeping 10 clean sheets in 25 games, with Lloyd Jones and Fraser Horsfall forming a good centre-back partnership. January loan signing Peter Kioso was a reliable figure at right-back. With the permanent appointment of Brady, Northampton have stability going into next season. They have the ingredients of a decent side but desperately need to add some more goals.

Player of the Season: Ryan Watson