Thetownend.com

Must win game

Well is says official and DRS is a good man so I'll go with it.

3-1 and a crowd of 9,521

Brave man Dean. We better win.

2-1 defeat

Oh and they are very confident about turning us over.

I've got a bad feeling about this. 2-1 defeat.

SSWS power may have only been for home games, today we'll find out if the whole thing was just a load of bollocks or not.

2-1 win Benson Ferry

Must win game etc etc.

Robbed, ha ha yeah they very, very nearly got a draw.

Well win lose or draw we will still be at least 2 points clear come 5pm.

Northants are playing for their league survival so it won't be an easy game by any means, even though they seem fairly safe in the table a run of good results by other teams will put them back in the shit.

I don't know how Flint is gonna cope with Akinfenwa's lightening pace.

If Flint stands on the left of Akinfenwa they will look like the number 10 :D

 :D

I've got a bad feeling about this. Sir didn't start thread

Try to stay positive 3-0

Think we will rediscover a bit of good form today and play well, so going for a 2-0 win. De Vita to start up front with Benson.

Rooney won't start you can guarantee. Paolo wasn't happy with him at Morecambe.

They are rather confident aren't they? Cheeky monkeys.

I will stick my neck out and say...

1-0 Benson

Although this would amount to a major surprise for Cobblers fans - and Reg ;)

Northampton are shite.

4-0 to the Town. Benson with 2 of them.

Shockwaves etc :D

A Nathan Thompson start today?

It's going to be a close one - 2-1.

Caddis to make a surprise return on the bench.

Reckon Crewe could take over 7th today

B'mth have got Udders today, I'm tempted

Looking at the table Northampton are as good as safe - so hopefully their players will be thinking about their holidays

They've lost 1 in the last 8 games.

Just checked. Their past 10 games... Won 6,drawn 3, lost 1.

They're on a good run.

2-0, Benson and Risser. We will get a penalty today and will have to be on our toes as they will bombard us with long throws.
Hoping for and should be an attendance  at least 9,000.

Must admit I would expect 9,000+ crowd today probably closer to 9,500 IMO.

3-1 Ferry, Connell and Benson with Northampton scoring first. 8,900 attendance.

We will definitely win as we always do when I take non-Swindon fans with me to the CG!

We're not exactly struggling are we? I expect the to be w6, d 3, l2 in their last 11 at full time.

Over last 8 Torquay bettered them, and we have 1 less point than them.

http://stats.football365.com/dom/ENG/D3/oform.html

Over last 6 the are bettered by: Torquay, Crawley, Crewe, us, Shrewsbury, D&R and Aldershot.

http://www.footballformguide.net/form/npower-league-2

So 2-0, despite DRS attempts to ruin it.

3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses in the last 6....they have had 3 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in the same time so they are actually on a better run of form than us!

Fucking mugs thinking they can turn us over at home. I hope we smash them and remind them why we're top of the league and they did their best to spend next season in non-league.

4-0 Town. Benson hat trick. Promotion all but confirmed by 5pm.

Yeah I was aware that they arent the best team currently, I thought it was a bit forward to state such a fact!

2-1 STFC

3-0

Yeah sorry, should have changed that quote name. I'll do it now...

I think we'l play like champions today and win comfortably 3 or 4-1 with Thompson scoring his first Town goal.Rooney was shocking on Saturday but then so were Connell and Murray so hopefully if Storey is fit he can get a run out

I think their confidence is probably justified as they are in decent form and ours is a bit ropey. If this was away I'd say we'd lose but at Fortress CG, I'll go for a draw. 2-2.

Edit: just checked stats an they're practically the same so 3-1 Town.

Yes, it's the visit of the League's 86th placed team that always has me quaking with trepidation.  Fair play to Boothroyd for turning them around.  Remember listening to his interview leaving Sixfields on NYE and he said that he would bring improvements there...and he has.  But some perspective, please.  Anything other than a win for us would be an upset.

Just saw the time DRS started the thread. I take it all back :)

Also, will we be seeing Smith in goal today? Fods just tweeted:


Its a match day thread, so lets have some match day speculation :)

We should win this really. Regardless of the form they are in we should be looking to beat every team at home. We're so close now. A win today and another result elsewhere in our favour could see us virtually up.

Is it conspiring against us?  SSWS going AWOL and Foderingham ill.

Hopefully if he can't play, it won't upset the defence line too greatly?

I have to say I'm not feeling as confident as I'd like.  Hereford at home keeps popping into my mind.

It makes me laugh that other teams say they should win because they are 'in good form'. We've played and beat plenty of teams 'in good form', there's a reason we're top of the league.

Reckon we may see ritchie and caddis on the bench today as a little kick up the ass to those who underperformed

Hope so. Bring them on in the 2nd half if we need to.

3-1 Town..with the beast Aknfenwa scoring the obligatory back to haunt you kind of goal.


Not so haunting this time though as i fancy us to win easy today,Gutteridge is a tidy player for them though on his day.

Try concentrating on those 16 home wins (and 16 clean sheets) instead  ;)

I was going to say 2-0 but if Fods is ill then I can see us conceeding. If I was them I'd just hit the ball long and high and have Akinfenwa jumping at Smith if his feet can leave the ground.
Apparently Jacobs their left winger is bang on form but I don't think that will be enough for them.

Still haven't quite got my head around our home form this season, being so good is rather alien when supporting Swindon  :D

2-0 tough win, but a win nonetheless.

RIP SWSS.

Hope the Town scrape a win today in his memory.

I know he missed his thread starting appointment.  But a bit of a leap to assume he's dead?!   ;D

Gutted to be working today rather than going to this.

Think it'll be a draw, and a useful 4 points out of the Easter weekend.

3-1. Back from China for the end of the season and I will not be disappointed. :D :D :D

I'd expect Cobblers fans would expect to win, a view I share....all the factors are in their favour...DRS has started the thread, due to the sad demise of SSWS....it's going to be wet and windy, ideal conditions for a hoofball outfit like Cobblers. Think we've been remarkably lucky this season with conditions, can't recall too many matches played in typical Div 4 sweeping Atlantic depression atmosphere.

I echo these sentiments.

On the bright side, my late season surge up the Prediction League is going well, up to sixth now, hoping to beat the 2nd place finish from a few years ago.

1-1 draw today.

It sells papers.

Must win game. Still deciding whether to risk the journey, got a major case of the shits.

0-1.

Butt plug?

For the third game in a row i'll go for the same prediction!

Bostock + Benson in a 2-1 win...

It's not a "must win game"!! If we lose 6-0 we are still top of the league, with game hand and plenty more chances to win promotion.

No it is.

Lose today and we're in big trouble.

So, now we've established SWS is dead - RIP and all that shit - how did he die?

Too much information  :wtf:

I can confirm I'm not dead..
Just a memory fuck up from myself..

However I can pretend to be dead if it helps...

Imposter

Should we fail to win, you might be as unpopular as DRS, so perhaps a new identity might be in order.

Big issue of the day for me is, who's going to replace Gary Rose on twitter?

If we lose there might not be the need for the pretending part ;)

you're a day late, Jesus.

If we don't lose we may win or draw

We'll let you know what's required at 5pm  ;)
!
Did you feel slightly sick when you logged on and realised your error?  I can sympathise slightly, as I've been confused what day it is since Thursday

Yeah, combined with the twitter mentions..

Being sober before game day is a bad thing!

Disgraceful, mind you I'm not sure what day it is either

Apparently a Matchday!

Andy Warren: @AndyWarren_

Today is Monday 9th April.

Happy to help :)

Noooo

Agreed. The back four has just kept 3 clean sheets in a row. Why change it?

You should feel privileged that so many have come to rely on you and are concerned about your wellbeing.

This could be a blessing in disguise, as you would have started the thread sober.

2-0 win, Benson and Ritchie to win it.

If we lose its all SSWS fault :)

Oh no we're all doomed. Even though we have lost numerous games this season  :hmmm: :suicide:

Did they come round your house on Friday with a bag of nails....massive Friday night....then find yourself all alive again and confused? I predict you will move on to a higher place after 5pm.

6-0 Win, Benson with 4 and Holmes with 2. Crowd of 9743.

So is any one doing proper STFC tweets then? I've just realised I quite miss Gary Rose's.

You're quite a cynical fuck aren't you.

Interesting little interview with Shaun and Andy King earlier :hmmm:

Town: Foderingham; Devera, McCormack, Flint, McEveley; Rooney, Ferry, Risser, Holmes; Benson, Murray
STFC subs: Bostock, De Vita, Connell, Smith J, Thompson

With todays line up PDC has given them a bollocking so we could see one of the best performances of the season, 4-0 town.

Interesting line-up. First time we've had wingers on their right sides this season iirc.

Interesting to see Ritchie off, yet Rooney on?

Again no Cox.

Why is Thompson involved in the line up again? Anyone else notice that he was the one challenging for the header than Morecambe almost scored late on last match. I do not rate this chap at all.

Ritchie is injured and missed the last game also

Keep up at the back.

Does not make sense

Maybe you meant 'when' instead of 'than' and it would make sense.
Even still, how you can 'rate' a player based on 'one crap header' is beyond me.

Paolo knows best.

Better than being a thick fuck

Now that depends.

Wasn't being cynical anyway. Was tounge in cheek

It's not just that header obviously, he wasn't all that great when he came on at Barnet and was even worse against Dagenham earlier this season.

My cynical fuck comment wasn't meant to be offensive  ;D

He looked out of his depth against Barnet as well in all fairness.  I can see him getting a few more run outs as a sub so Paolo has a chance to assess him to see if he has a future with us.

I'm sure he will be on the football scrap heap come may. Another lad through the system then not getting the breaks. Feel for the lad personally regardless of whether he is good enough or not

My thick cunt comment was  ;)

 :eek:

The ref should suite us today, Stuart Attwell.

Has Cibocchi upset Paolo as well

Think we just have a new left back?

not even on the bench since wembley tho

crewe 2 up already

Crewe 2-0 up already, piling the pressure on the pox.

Chesterfield could be relegated today.

Good to see Andy Warren providing Gary Rose style twitter commentary

Shrews winning.

Crawley losing

Haha excellent!

Torquay winning.

Torquay winning

Oxford losing!

Current results have the Pox out of the play-offs, brilliant!

Holmes sounding lively so far

Tut, tut all these duplicate posts, what will arriba think?

Holmes is sounding lively so far.

Homles getting a lot of praise from the commentators

Needs to work on his spelling though.

What's his twitter account name?

@AndyWarren_

Tut, tut all these duplicate posts, what will arriba think?

I can only hear Homles' name

Hi all. TEF seems a bit sick today. Is it still 0-0?

Yeah think so NMH

It's sounded like a right load of bollocks so far.

Dont think Ive heard Ferry mentioned yet-tells you what kind of game this is!

Couple of text updates from the BeeB

Ben Tozer takes a shot from 20 yards. Save by Neal Kitson.

Shot by Michael Jacobs. Neal Kitson makes a save

Doing a good job for us that Kitson chap

Who is Neal Kitson?

Well, that was an exciting half

According to the Beeb, a good few of those short corners again

I was just thinking that very same thing - or Risser either  ??? Sounds like we've been playing into the wind this half so hopefully the second half will be better.

Their keeper.

Noton keeper-being bombarded by his own players it would seem!

Sounds pretty uninspiring so far but as we know, we tend to get better as games go on.

The short corners need to stop mind!

Conditions not conducive to sexy football. We have the wind in the second half though, we'll be fine. Risser clearly playing to counter the aerial threat, which he's done well so far, not great on the ball but play has bypassed him and Ferry largely.

Sir Kenneth of Stroud inducted into the Hall Of Fame.

After the last short corner Flint ran over to berate Rooney & tell him to put it in the fucking box.

As for the game, it's quite even. We have had the better of possession & created more chances, but they probably got closest to scoring.

If we can get the ball down & play a bit more I believe we will win this.

Sounds like an early bath for Rooney again

De Vita on for Rooney.

Holmes 1-0

wooooooo!!!

 :wotjump: THANK. FUCK.

Sounded as if it came from nothing. Cross went straight in.

holmes has been a superb signing

Get in!

Yes!!

Get in Holmes!!  :D

jonah

Has he? Not sure about that.

Just nip out to the garage for a smoke and we score

Gettttt Innnnnnnnn

Creepy have equalised

Pox drawing.

Dunno how to feel about Pox scoring! Actually hope they get a draw to keep Torquay off our tails!

Still hope Torquay come up with us because of Ling and Taylor.

Jonah

Crawley winning grrrr.

We know its you jonah mate!

Would rather Crewe got the final play off place, we still have a game in hand over Torquay

Wouldnt catch me doing that !

We need another, think I'll go for another smoke in a mo

I am named after the great former ST midfielder Tom Jones....

Ah just seen what you meant!!

Scummers 2-1 up!!

Bummer...

Montano the scorer too!

Who said that?  ???

8 points clear.

fuck yeaaaaaaah

Fuck me I thought Benson was going to walk there ???

Going for a smoke now

lets all laugh at Gillingscum

Just get it in the net you cunts  :crash:

1 more and I'll be a happy boy, I'll go and have a cigarette, we always score when I'm smoking...

on comes Connell

Bit worrying this - they are all over us at the mo'

Yeah, but maybe a bit late. Murray?

yep

AAAAAAAAGH!!!!

GET. IT. IN. THE. NET  :crash:

Smith for Risser

Wonder whether Bostock will ever actually play?

Austin scores for Burnley....

Been doing well of late

he came on at Wembley and looked very rusty

Been doing well all season. Before and after his shoulder injury.

He wasnt helped by us playing hoofball at that stage.

Wonder whether he is just cover for this season or whether it is with half an eye on next year?

Pox 2-2

torquay equalise

Pox 2-2

possibly-obviously PDC prefers him to Cox

Good news

Shame we're still only 10 ahead of Crawley.

We'll have to win on saturday, and Crawley to lose.

FT GET IN

get in. good result

Another 3 points. Didn't sound good though. I can't remember the last time we played really well.

Great stuff. One more win and we're up.

Happy with three points

Sergio Torres sent off.

Nah Crawley have to lose theirs as well. Although our superior goal difference means it's still almost impossible.

Well that was the aural equivalent of pulling teeth.

But we won. Thank fuck.

 :wotjump:

Holmes:
- Goal: Tried to whip it in and it crept in at the far corner
- Knew that they were on form and that it would be difficult.
- Did the job that you would have expected from a team at the top of the league

Just to stop Arriba getting angry, Nomoreheroes, you can do the paolo di canio summary honours  :D

OK, so if we win on Saturday, and one of Torquay or Crawley lose, we're going up!!!!!

Rather you did it mate. Am overseas and this is costing me a fortune!

Haha okay!  :D

We no longer have to worry about Southend or Cheltenham, they can't catch us !

So we can all support Southend against the Yellow filth, without any nagging doubts !
(I would have done anyway, but I know there are those on this forum that don't despise them as much as they should)

Just for you 'alton' on the Hotel End Northampton forum who said:

"I can't see beyond a win for us at Swindon. We were robbed at our place and there is no team better than us right now. It's just a question of how many."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX7wtNOkuHo

Paolo di Canio:

- We are close, shouldn't switch off now. Can celebrate in the next few games
- Started much better than last game. Good discipline, good quality. But not easy in this moment of the season, playing a lot of games in a row. But we were professional, gave their best and we won which is the most important thing
- Our fitness levels are paying dividends, we are much fitter in the second half compared to other teams. But we are tired as well, it has been 8/9 months since pre-season.
- Will expect a better performance next game, we have plenty of time to recharge
- Very happy for Holmes, good quality.
- Akinfenwa has scored 18 goals, our top scorer has 11 goals, 9 in the league. But Paolo prefers our way. Prefers to have strikers that score 10-12 goals who are not selfish. Those that sacrifice themselves and work hard, defend well etc.
- Praises our defence, even during times of injury. Constant switches of the back four, but continues to do well.
- Wes is a fantastic goal keeper, but he hasn't had to work hard that much in the 22 games or so.
- 41 games, 22 clean sheets. The hard work ethic of our players is the special recipe for our defensive success. We are unique in the league in that respect.
- To the most pessimistic fans who still don't think Swindon will go up: They must be so negative, even in life. But the job is not yet done. However, he is very sure that they will go up.
- Told players before the game that he doesn't want to just win the game, but he wants to do something special. Something really special.

Good summary. I thought the above was a pretty stupid question from Chris Wise though. Is there really anyone who actually doesn't think we're going to go up?

Holmes wants 2 promotion medals (1 from Southampton as well)

Smooth

Thought we were solid if unspectacular. Mopped up most of their threats and when they did get through we got in good blocks and Wes made a couple of good saves.

Well left by Murray for the goal, just did enough to distract the keeper.

We're practically up. What a fucking great feeling.

Decent enough win, though we missed quite a few good chances which would have made it more comfortable.

De Vita looked really really good when he came on. Wouldn't go as far to say he changed the game, but we looked a lot more balanced after he replaced Rooney.

Akinfenwa is fat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxGMfwNMusQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxGMfwNMusQ)

I wouldn't want to watch that each week at Northampton....Hoof...Long-throw...Hoof.

Simple on Saturday. If we win and Crawley or Torquay lose...we're going up.

That's the Aidy Boothroyd way :nod:

Is the hand gesture towards his father, or implying we're going up?

Marvellous day. We are promoted in all but being confirmed. Oxford now have a real fight to maintain their place in the top 6. And there was a great banner in the Town End of PDC holding his scarf high:)

As for the game (condensed), started well, was a real battle against the elements, lucky goal and Akinfenwa made me smile when he laughed at the pie chant.

Thought Risser did well disrupting them today, Ferry was quality first half, the back five were solid. Benson was Benson, Murray ran them quite well. De Vita added steel on the left, not that Rooney was poor.

Erm, that is a jumbled way of saying a very satisfactory day indeed.

Well done guys, another win for you.

I didn't go to the game but it sounds like it was pretty even.

I don't think that alton was being 100% serious with his post on The Hotel End about us definitely winning. No fan honestly thought we were going to definitely win, you're top for a reason. What we do have is a new confidence that we can cause any team problems. We very nearly beat you in December when we missed a 1-on-1 and you went straight down the other end and scored. We had a vastly inferior team to the one we have now, so we were reasonably confident we could cause you some problems.

Anyway, good luck for the rest of the campaign, although I doubt you need it because you're practically there! Either way, if Paolo continues to put as much passion into managing you as he did when he ran down the Sixfields touchline you should do fine in League One!

Good luck guys :)

The De Vita song was genius!

For those of us not in the TE, what was it?

Share?

Share?

I'm not in the TE.

It was to the tune of New Kids on The Block - 'The Right Stuff' but with De Vita sung at the end.

What Nice Bloke Really said.
When I was told the scum was winning I shirked that a Town fan could find that acceptable. Still it takes all sorts I guess

From another lazy twat that wasn't at the game today. Thanks, nice post

That's been a town end staple for quite a while :)

There was only one side that looked like they were going to win that.. and that was us.

Wes didn'nt really have a decent save to make, whilst we missed about three very good chances to kill the game off.

I pity you having to watch that hoofball shite every week.

Come off it, he made two top notch saves. We were the better team, but not by a mile.

EDIT

What Nemo said.

Sorry arriba!!!!

It's funny that you make an assumption that we play like that every week. We can play a variety of ways now, including as you put it 'hoofball'. In fact, people have only started questioning the way we play since we started picking up results. Strange that :)

When we were playing nice, easy on the eye football and ended up losing, people were very quick to congratulate us on the way we played.

Given the choice, I'd rather win and piss people off than play pretty football and get compliments after losing.

Of course, having both would be ideal, but we've essentially had to build a new squad from February to keep us in the league and we aint going to get both.

He ate all the pies, he ate all the piiiieeees, Akinfenwa, he ate all the pies.....

He just stood and laughed, which is the best way to deal with it.

-----
I also agree with Benzel who agreed with Nemo.

I thought Northampton played alright. Had they been more composed with a couple of chances near the end, then they could have easily gone home with a point.

They were basically like a shitter version of Crawley. Just hoofing and looking for long throws and free-kicks. Utter shite.

Indeed. The save he made in the second half was pure class.

Macca was deservedly awarded man of the match. A couple of months ago we had 5 contenders for player of the season - now there's only one. Not sure what's up with Rooney at the moment, he hasn't played well since Homles arrived (perhaps that's why).

The crowd were quiet today and the game had a mid-table end of season stroll feel about it. A very big 3 points though.

Big queues for Aldershot tickets before the game. Glad I got mine  :)

Think that's harsh. They tried to get the ball out wide fairly often, but we dealt with it well and they were left lumping it forward as there was no other way through. If they scored, it was almost certainly going to come from a set piece, but I think that's a compliment to our defensive work to stop them playing. I've seen much worse efforts from Boothroyd sides.

Tough game today. It's clear why Northampton have been on a decent run. They were organised (largely due to having Clarke Carlisle at the back, but Langmead is a solid player too), very compact and had a plan to nullify our our attacking threat which largely worked. Whilst keeping a high line, they forced us to go either direct to Benson or Murray (which their back two dealt with) or go wide to our wingers. Bar a couple of occasions, Rooney and Holmes were predictable, and their full backs showed them the line time and again. Our goal perhaps justifies playing Holmes on the wrong side, but I can't help thinking he and Rooney would have been more effective on their natural flanks today given how Northampton were set up.

Onto us. The back five looked very comfortable - as we have come to expect. This season's success is predominantly down to them - and the defensive effort of the team generally. 22 clean sheets is absolutely unbelievable. Flint is as good a lower league stopper you are likely to come across. McCormack is just a cut above everything else on the pitch - his anticipation is simply brilliant.

In midfield, Risser and Ferry struggled to take control of the game as they were outnumbered in the middle and were well closed down. That said, Risser did what he could to break up play and Ferry did all he could to get his foot on it and create. The issue was with the wingers today - they could and should have been our main outlet but, as I've mentioned, the 'wrong-footed' wingers were ineffective. It may narrow us to our defensive benefit, but tthe benefit is outweighed but the way it restricts us going forward. Yes, our came came from a 'cut-in' cross, but given the amount of the ball Holmes had, more balls should have gone into the box.   

Benson, as has been said, was Benson. Murray was Murray. Nippy, but without the pace or ability to make that translate into goals or chances for others. I am quite excited of the prospect next year, outside interest pending, of Caddis and Ritchie supplying a forward line of Benson in poacher-mode, and a pacy striker with the strength and movement to scare defenders. Now Paolo, go and find that player.

Good day at the office.

By the way, that's now 17 clean sheets in 21 home league games.

 :D

Really? He is always solid but the signings of Holmes and Rooney have shown the quality we lacked earlier in the season on the left of the pitch. I like him and he has scored some good goals this season but I think he will be off in the summer.

Almost over the line, been a great effort by all involved this season.

de vita was terrible hence paolo giving an earful at full time

De Vita was not terrible in my eyes. He made a terrible pass but I thought he game much more fight than Rooney.

It's all about points at this stage.

Staggering over the line like a pissed up drunk with a kebab in hand!

Gills away for the title.  Imo

Certainly hope so. I can only make Plymouth, Gills and Bradford now. If I miss anything big at Aldershot or Port Vale I'll be gutted! Plus winning the title in front of Gills fans would be fantastic! Asked the guy in the ticket office about that game, and he said they haven't got tickets yet because of consultations with police. If we get a restricted allocation because a few pikeys want a fight I'll be less than impressed.

Couldn't disagree any more, I thought he done well.

On the plus side, taking 10 points from the last 12 has been phenomenal. Particularly when Caddis and now Ritchie are AWOL.

Talking of Caddis, he said Plymouth wasn't impossible but didn't want to rush it like he did for Wembley. So sounds like he's a couple of weeks off.

Absolutely: we've lost a lot of attacking threat without those two but our defence has been solid as anything and we owe our continued success to that.

Not a great win but it will do. Results are the only thing that matter now. We just didnt get going but i think that waa mostly down to Northampton pressing us and not allowing us to play. I thought they were decent enough and probably deserved a point. As for us its only a matter of time before we see a P next to our name now. Could even be Saturday (fingers crossed).

Wish i'd never said anything now,due to the reactions from it to be honest.  :doh:
The posts i was on about and have aready explained were the numerous ones during games saying 5 mins left-oxford score-hit the bar etc etc. People having a similar view in threads isn't the same.

I thought we played well today and for once were quick off the blocks. I didn't think that much of Northampton - their only threat was from set pieces. Fods did make two good saves. Thier keepr made a very good save down by his post in the first half.
The one thing we didn't do very well was get the ball into the 6 yard box. Rooney looks half the player he was and Holmes seems to need a lot of time  We missed three very clear chances in the second half after we'd gone 1 up.
The defence was very good with Macca a deserved MOM - some of his long passes were just slightly out from being Hoddlesque. Risser and Ferry did pretty well in the middle but up front and out wide I didn't think we were that great.
All in all though a well deserved win and we're not at our best.  

Haha I know man, I'm only playing.

Defence was good yet again
De Vita was really good (apart from that wayward pass and shit attempt on goal), much better than Rooney
Homles was good and frustrating in equal measure
Murray cannot stay onside or anticipate Benson's flick ons (which he seems to win almost every time)
Risser was Risser... broke up play one minute, then let it bounce/played a fucking awful ball the next, still not won over
Ferry, McCormack and McEveley played some exquisite balls at times today
Northampton seemed to mix hoofball with some decent stuff, nowhere near as hoofy as i expected from a Boothroyd team
I wish we'd stop using the one tune for all our songs at the moment
Still loving Di Canio's post-match routine!

Fair to say we werent at our best today but got the 3 points which is all that matters!
Rooney doesnt seem like he wants to be playing atm, De Vita looked better when he came on apart from one awful pass!

Wouldnt be surprised to see Northampton challenging for play offs next year, big strong team and played a little bit of football as well.

1 home goal conceded since Fods arrived - Amazing.

Today we did what we needed to do. I think we had an extra couple of gears if we would have needed them but we won ugly & that is the sign of champions. I would rather take 5 more 1-0's like today than 3 5-0's & 2 defeats. We will win this league, but we may just crawl over the line but we will win this league.

Good workmanlike performance...but that is all,not a great match to watch at all.
Devera again i thought played really well but we need a shit hot striker to buzz alongside Benson.

We did well in the first half against that awful wind.   At times during the game we seemed to get dragged into Northampton's hoof ball - not pretty at all.  And for gods sake, sort out the corner taking.  Wasteful constantly.

Certainly not a spectacular game, but we did enough and ground out another 3 points. Promotion is so close now, we can almost touch it.

Seen some really good games this season, Today's wasn't one of them!

But... I'll be more than happy to win the next 5 in similar fashion.

Rooney's like a shit Ritchie. But with a catchy surname.

Mcormack should get player of the season if there's any justice in the world.

I thought De Vita was good when he came on.

De Vita is one of the best technical players we have at the club, his close control is superb, can kill a ball and take a man on with ease. He is certainly a better option than Rooney.

You made it then Hertha, any after effects?

Don't usually bother voting but will do so this year to give Alan! the best shot at it.

At the moment he is but Rooney was a breath of fresh air in his first few games - the most direct player I'd seen in ages.

I'm surprised Devera has hardly been mentioned.  He was outstanding, and got in more attackinbg positions today showing that he can control and run too - if not quite as smartly as Caddis.  i would have given him MoM myself.  

I'm on the pro-de Vita side today.  he spoiled it towards the end with a poor pass, and then just looking for a foul (which really riled PdC).

And I thought Murray was effective in the first half and actually linked quite well with Benson, but steadily lost it in the second half.

Great celebrations at the end.....

Finding the butt plug strangely pleasureable...

I guess the Gills fans were right about him drifting in and out of games. We thought they were just being bitter  :D

Think Rooney will be getting a dose of the pre season Di Canio training methods at the seasons end....good player and will be shit hot when fully fit....which i dont think he is at present.

Alan's a shoe-in for POTY by the sounds of it, what about most improved/surprise package?

Devera must be worth a shout for that.

In regards to player of the year i am still going with Caddis.I think results may have glossed over just how much we have missed him.

Fods for me....just.

Oh yeah, just in case anyone missed it:

Swindon give Palace money for Foderingham and offer them the honour to play us during Pre-Season.

We are the good guys.

McCormack easily POTY for me. Dont get me wrong others have been very good like Fods, Caddis and Ritchie but McCormack hasn't had a bad game for ages and he has had to step into different roles and positions throughout the season. He's been class.

Pretty poor game but very happy to get the 3 points.

We defended really well again, McEverley is really growing on me, looks like a really good player. McCormack solid as usual, probably POTY for me as well. De Vita looked really good when he came on, shame he couldn't put that one away near the end.

Don't mind how we win games at this stage of the season, as long as we win them. Would be nice to wrap it up next weekend.

Torquay face Southend.
Crawley face Wimbledon.

Potential losers there?

Did I hear a New Kids on the block Da Vita song??

Apparently so.

Southend have the most away wins in the division :hmmm:

The Green Army are very confident about Saturday and also reckon they will sell out their away allocation !! 3,200 ?! Yeah right.

http://www.pasoti.co.uk/talk/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65753

Been around for a while but it hasn't caught on where he hasn't played much.

To be fair they always take a fair few here. They have always been well supported away from home.

Yeah I agree but sell out ?

Hopefully we've just given them the Arkells corner.

I'm with you to a point. Its between him and macca for sure. Just think macca edges it but that might be because caddis aint played or a while, so isn't there doing what he has all season.

Quite fancy Plymouth as a car jobby, but would rather save my cash for Vale on the train. We'll see what the week brings I think

:Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

Surely on the wind up?

Not so sure about that - De Vita does have good close control and works hard, but he does not have the pace and confidence of Rooney, he is not as direct - he is more tentative. He is an option for us but Rooney has the greater potential.

I think that his opening few games aside, Rooney has very much flattered to deceive so far in his town career. De Vita can kick the ball with both feet too

Have to disagree, he's a decent player who has been very valuable for us this season. Thought he did well again today.

Pleased with the result, another clean sheet and 4 more points needed to guarentee promotion (hopefully Crawley slip up next weekend and we take the win!)

Prediction of Plymouth promotion and Pikies champions is still on!!!

Thought Attwell did a good job today, not many comments about the ref which is normaly a good sign. Their players tackle near the dug outs was only marginally worse than Bensons a couple of minutes later so I'm glad he only gave a yellow card for both of them as some refs would of shown red. Thought They looked more dangerous when Akinfenwa went off, he was asking to come off after about half an hour but it looked like Hoofroyd told him to stay on. Scrappy game but three points made up for it.

Agree with that - the ref had a pretty good game. Only decision I remember him getting wrong was when Murray challenged their CB and the ball went out - it was either a corner or a foul. Think he saw the goal kick as a compromise.

Hoofroyd......genius

Why thank you  :)

Barely noticed the ref today thinking about it so must have done a decent job! Makes a change from the usual dross we get

Don't milk it cunt!

That's exactly what I said at The time Reeves, a corner or a foul but not a goal kick. He could or should of also booked their player at the end for throwing the ball away but didn't, instead just used his common sense.

Will be great if we go up on Saturday just as the Pox drop out of the playoffs.

 :clap:

Good win today, Northampton were certainly 'competetive' but we were the better side for sure. It's good to see that we can win and play well without (arguably) our best two players in Ritchie and Caddis. Thought McCormack was a worthy MOTM great confidence and aggresion to deal with Akinfatwa. Thought Risser also played well, did what he had to do. Won a lot in the air with a few vital tackles. Murray & De Vita also had good games again today IMO. Murray was intelligent and played a few great flicks. His chest off to Benson for the goal was a highlight. De Vita worked hard and his technique was superb, first touch was very good. Ran with direction & purpose, dissapointing finish from his chance though...

Cant believe Hoofroyd's comments, 'we arent far from where Swindon are' was the jist of what he said. - Get real mate. His side were far inferior in both possesion, knowledge and individual quality. I lost count of the amount of long balls and missed touches. Whereas we passed the ball well, controlled the game and never looked in trouble. Although Wes did make a few good saves.

Overall, good day and another step towards the title. Oh! And Ben Tozer is shit. One million pounds my arse...

26 clean sheets in 53 games overall this season, pretty much 1 in 2.

That is the reason we are top of the league. Top stuff!

I thought De Vita was better than Rooney when he came on as well

Northampton were a strange mix of shite and an ugly effectiveness. Can see how they've pulled away from the bottom. It aint pretty but a lot of league 2 teams will struggle to beat a team that big and organised. That said both of their full backs were responsible for 20 yard 1st touches out of play  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick: The left back in particular was a talentless lump

23 for the season in the league equals the club record from 68/69 still with 5 games to go!

They do always have a good following but they have never brought more than about 2,000 to the County Ground, no way will they even get close to selling out.

Slightly disappointed with the attendance - lower number of home fans than recently, still, 4200+ season tickets are a good sign.

I thought Ferry was MOTM yesterday, although the back four put in a good shift as well.

We had the highest attendance in League 2 this weekend, and there were only 3 attendances in League 1 that were higher than ours (and 8 that were lower).  There are also only 6 teams in League 1 with a higher average attendance than ours; of the other 18, most are substantially lower.  We're doing OK!

Even though it wasn't a bad attendance for this league really I too was a little disappointed with the crowd figure, but also I had expected Northampton to have brought nearer double what they did considering it was a bank holiday game not too far away. They always used to bring a much healthier following in the past, often well over 1,000 even when they weren't doing too well in the league.

OOn reflection this could have been one of the games that could have had a special promotion on, say £20 match day ticket.  It's been a very expensive few weeks following STFC and a small offering may have gone down well.  Also would have probably brought a few more visiting supporters as well.

Ferry had a good game, as did quite a few on view yesterday but I thoughht Devera should have been in with a shout of motm, he has really matured into a useful player for us over recent games.

I was disappointed with the attendance but not surprised at £25 a pop. The last few games of the Sturrock promotion season we were getting 10k plus, with £10 tickets to watch the game on the Bank.

This board are the best we've had in years but they could do better on ticket policy. I'm sure PDC was disappointed to see so many empty seats yesterday.

Agree with this. PDC will have a difficult job selecting his preffered back four when Caddis is available again, nice problem to have though ! Alan Mac back in midfield ?

I'd move Devera into the middle and drop Flint. From what I've seen this season, Devera at his best is better than Flint at his best in my opinion

If Ritchie remains sidelined I'd be tempted to play Caddis as a winger and keep the back four as they are.

I'd llike to see caddis and Holmes played if Ritchie is injured longer than caddis. He may benefit as much as Ritchie does from extra overlap.

Who to drop is a difficult one. Devera is more composed on the ball, flint better in the air. Good though decision to have.

I'd agree, but also would say that Flint has played better for a consistant length of time so it is a bit of a headache.

Great to see Kenny and Jimmy back at the County Ground on Saturday. Read in the programme Jimmy was the first professional to refuse to play on a Sunday because of his strong Christian beliefs.  I still rate Kennys goal against Everton as one of the best ever at the County Ground. I was in the lower tier of the Shrivenham stand and watched it all the way into the top corner of the Town end ( except for a second when a pillar blocked my view  :) )

Shouldn't believe everything you read in the programme....Harold Fleming also refused to play on Sundays or other religious festival days like Good Friday and Chritmas Day.

Thanks Reg, I know what you mean about the programme as they have us down as losing 2-0 away at Barnet last Tuesday with a big L against the score.  :no:

I thought it was a good attendance, nearly eight and a half thousand town fans is good in this climate plus the crap weather, wembley hangover. Our attendances will improve next season no doubt in L1. We will get 11+ thousand on Saturday I reckon, they will bring at least 1500 I would imagine.

Under Sturrock we only had 3 attendances over 10k, one of those was before Christmas against Bristhole Rovers a crowd of 10,010 and the other 2 games we only opened the bank to Town fans for the Mansfield game (10,472 crowd) and the only other was the last game of the season when we had 14,731 against Walsall and they had the bank that day.

And both teams had everything riding on that game. The "problem" we have is promotion is pretty much done and dusted, I wonder if casual fans will save it for when we hopefully get the title after the Vale game.

I reckon every one of us on this forum would love to be there the day we get promoted. Though I reckon it'll be Aldershot and so I'll miss it :(

Swindon didn't ever play on a Sunday when Harold Fleming played

Looking forward to Bradford to be honest.....currently looking for fancy dress......me mate reckons i should go as a prick and save on paying for a costume ???

Don't believe everything reg says

Now I don't know who to believe  :hmmm:

I actually agree with you there. Luckily for me I will and I hope it won't drag on till Gillingham or god forbid Bradford cos I won't.

The point stands...Fleming was a religious man, and didn't play if a game fell on a significant Christian day. For example in 1911, Harold missed out on the win at Stoke on CHristmas Day, but played and scored in the return Boxing Day fixture.

That will do me Reg. I'm a believer.

You little Monkee....

" Then I saw your face "

I thought the song that had the large one smiling along was

He eats what he wants- he eats what he waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaants
Akinfenwa- he eats what he wants

To THAT tune.

That's such a cute song. With lil cutie pie Akinfenwa smiling. Awwww