The Cobblers have had a very productive week in terms of results, but it seems that the performances haven’t exactly been of the sparkling variety.
I wasn’t able to get to either the Plymouth or Bristol Rovers games, but was delighted when news filtered through about the 1-0 wins.
But there is a section of Cobblers fans that aren’t best pleased with how their team is playing at the minute, regardless of the positive results, and regardless of the fact the team are fourth in npower League Two, just one point off the automatic promotion places.
In the Chronicle & Echo this week, Town boss Aidy Boothroyd defended his team’s style of play, made no excuses for ‘winning ugly’, and I agree with him on that.
But I can also see the point of those that aren’t happy, the people that are paying out £20-plus every home game and going to Sixfields in search of entertainment.
But the fact is, in football, entertainment can never be guaranteed.
Even Barcelona and Real Madrid or Manchester United and Manchester City can serve up a pile of old rubbish on occasions.
And when those clubs do that, then all that matters is that they win, which they invariably do.
Do you think when Manchester United lift the Premier League crown in May their fans are going to be moaning about how badly they played in their 1-0 win over West Ham United the other week?
No, they are just going to revel in their team’s success.
And that is what Cobblers fans should be doing.
So to those people that aren’t happy, I would simply say this: Remember where the Cobblers were this time last year, when they were fighting for their very Football League survival.
The job that Boothroyd has done has been a remarkable one, and although the entertainment has dried up in recent weeks, I have been at plenty of games throughout season when there has been plenty to admire, plenty of goals, and stacks of entertainment.
Hopefully that entertainment will return, but if it doesn’t and the team keeps winning, I will take that every day of the week.
Bradford fans can be proud of their performance
I had my first experience of the ‘new’ Wembley last weekend, when I took in the Capital One Cup Final between Bradford City and Swansea City.
Now, I was a big fan of the old Wembley as a stadium, mainly for the immense history of the place and the memories of John Frain in 1997 and all that, but I always dreaded the getting there and the getting home.
And on that score, nothing has changed with the new Wembley.
In fact, if anything it’s worse.
I was on my coach for the trip home at 6.10pm on Sunday night, and got to Northampton services at 9.35pm.
It took almost two hours just to get out of the coach park!
As for the stadium itself, it is a beast (indeed, it might be too big), and it was a privilege to be there, even if the match itself was a non-event with Swansea literally in a different league to Bradford.
The Bantams supporters were absolutely brilliant though, and made the occasion a special one despite their team being outclassed on the pitch.
They made it clear they were proud of their team’s achievement in reaching the final, as they should be, and really made the most of their big day out.
It was just a shame for the 34,000 that travelled south that the players on the pitch couldn’t do the same.
But I just feel Sunday’s game was just a case of being one too far for Phil Parkinson’s men, and they simply froze on possibly the biggest stage any of them will ever play on.
Defenders could make life harder for brilliant Bale
I love watching Gareth Bale play football, he is the best player in the Premier League at the moment, and is currently in the form of his life.
He has scored a string of spectacular goals to push Tottenham Hotspur towards a top four finish and qualification for next season’s Champions League.
But I just can’t help feeling that Premier League defenders are making things a little too easy for the Welshman.
Now, when I was ambling around a football pitch in my younger days, I played a lot in defence and in midfield, and one of the basics was to ensure you tried to stop your opponent utilising his strengths, whatever they might be.
In Bale’s case, as well as his pace, power and balance, his main strength is a having a left foot that can make a ball travel like a bullet. And a pretty accurate bullet at that.
He has a decent right foot as well, but it’s not a patch on his left.
So, faced with a player like Bale, surely the first course of action is to ‘keep him on his right’, force him to go where he doesn’t want to go, not let him switch to his left so he can smack home a wonder goal, as he has been allowed to do in recent weeks against West Brom, Norwich City and West Ham United, and on countless occasions previously.
If you show Bale on to his right foot, and he still beats you with a bit of magic and scores a goal, then fair enough.
But come on defenders, at least make him beat you so he can set up that wonder strike... don’t just hand the opportunity to him on a plate!
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