Thetownend.com

Arguably among our best players this season have been Matty Taylor and Marc Richards, both surplus to requirements at Northampton Town.......who are currently 22nd in Div 3.

I'd argue their loss and the reason why they dropped so low. Matty Taylor and Marc Richards goals alone would get them both in a fair few L1 squads. Working hard to keep fit at their age (in football terms) is second to none. I'd put a question mark over Taylors defensive abilities these days but as an out and out left winger, no doubt.

I really like Taylor for his commitment and attitude but football is a physical game and time catches up with you. I wonder if his crossing, which can be good, is nevertheless a predictable tactic that opposition teams can cope with. For the last few games all we've done is get it to him for a cross and usually the defenders are back to deal with it. I believe his crosses have been of increased quantity but of diminishing quality.

In the last couple of home games he hasn't looked up before crossing.

Your measure is bollocks.  A couple of reasons, firstly we should finish in the top half, pretty average but not poor.

Secondly maybe Cobblers might not have got in bother if they'd made better use of Taylor and Richards.  No it's more likely that Hasselbaink made a number of poor decisions, coupled to some bad luck.

  For example he took Yaser, whose not played a league game since September, we know that despite a talent his attitude isn't great especially in a struggling side.  Also an indicator that he wanted to play in style ill suited to English lower league football.  Dutch coaches have a pretty poor record in England.

 His misfortune was only have John Joe O'Toole fit for about half the games.... any Cobblers fan will tell you with O'Toole they tend to do OK without him they struggle.

A poor squad is something like Chesterfield who recruited Brad Barry....

You seriously think we'd have faired any better than the likes of Northampton had we been in Div 3 with this squad? Even our top triers, like Mullin and Norris are devoid of genuine talent and imagine our defence against Wigan and Blackburn!
It's not as inept as a Ken Beamish squad I grant you, but poor it is.

Your example is bollocks. Kasim was signed by Justin Edinburgh.
Hasselbaink became the manager at the start of September, played Kasim for a couple of games and quickly dropped him.

This squad was built for Div 4. If Power wanted to be in Div 3 then the time for building a Div 3 squad was last year. Cobblers managed staying up with Richards and Taylor.

This is the crux of the biscuit.... Building a squad capable of playing in Div 3 when you're in Div 4 either costs or takes time

Lou Macari couldn't do it first season, but he could start to lay foundations, work out the established players he wished to keep like  Charlie Henry, Dave Hockaday, Andy Rowland... then add in some of his own Colin Gordon, David Cole, Peter Coyne, Chris Ramsey... then in the second season get in quality like Colin Calderwood.  Now we know CC was acquired using illegal methods so this isn't an option for the next gaffer.

Wyndham... thanks for flagging up the Kasim error.  Cobblers visit Walsall on Saturday.  A massive game  :)

We've managed to put a squad together for Div 4 last season and this.

and hopefully next .......

Hopefully, but we'll have to wait and see on that. As was posted t'other day on curent form since Flitters left we're comfortably in the drop zone.