1977–78 Northampton Town F.C. season

Northampton Town
1977–78 season
Chairman	Bob Brett
Manager	John Petts; (until January); Dave Bowen; (caretaker); Mike Keen; (from February)
Stadium	County Ground
Division Four	10th
FA Cup	Second round
League Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: George Reilly (21); All: George Reilly (22)
Highest home attendance	8,041 vs Watford
Lowest home attendance	2,278 vs Halifax Town
Average home league attendance	3,517

The 1977–78 season was Northampton Town's 81st season in their history and the first season back in the Fourth Division following relegation the previous season. Alongside competing in Division Four, the club also participated in the FA Cup and League Cup.

Players

As of match played 29 April 1978.[1]

Name	Position	Place of Birth	Date of Birth (Age)	Apps	Goals	Previous club	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Carl Jayes	GK	Leicester	(1954-03-15)15 March 1954 (aged 24)	27	0	Leicester City	November 1977
Jeff Parton	GK	Swansea	(1953-02-24)24 February 1953 (aged 25)	30	0	Burnley	Summer 1975
Defenders
Steve Bryant	LB	London	(1953-09-05)5 September 1953 (aged 24)	74	2	Birmingham City	December 1976
Tony Geidmintis	RB	London	(1949-07-30)30 July 1949 (aged 28)	18	0	Watford	February 1978	£8,000
Steve Litt (c)	CB	Carlisle	(1954-05-21)21 May 1954 (aged 23)	22	0	Minnesota Kicks	September 1977
Dave Lyon	CB	Altrincham	(1951-01-18)18 January 1951 (aged 27)	6	0	Cambridge United	October 1977
Peter Mead	LB	Luton	(1956-09-09)9 September 1956 (aged 21)	39	1	Luton Town	August 1977
Stuart Robertson	CB	Nottingham	(1946-12-16)16 December 1946 (aged 31)	237	23	Doncaster Rovers	Summer 1972
Midfielders
Billy Best	U	Glasgow	(1942-09-07)7 September 1942 (aged 35)	271	56	Southend United	Summer 1973
Derrick Christie	W	Bletchley	(1957-03-15)15 March 1957 (aged 21)	136	17	Apprentice	January 1974	N/A
John Farrington	W	Lynemouth	(1947-06-19)19 June 1947 (aged 30)	170	19	Cardiff City	Summer 1974
David Liddle	CM	Bedford	(1957-05-21)21 May 1957 (aged 20)	32	2	Apprentice	July 1977	N/A
Don Martin	U	Corby	(1944-02-15)15 February 1944 (aged 34)	252	81	Blackburn Rovers	November 1975
Andy McGowan	CM	Corby	(1956-07-17)17 July 1956 (aged 21)	111	14	Apprentice	June 1975	N/A
Kim Wassell	W	Wolverhampton	(1957-06-09)9 June 1957 (aged 20)	7	0	West Bromwich Albion	September 1977
Keith Williams	CM	Dudley	(1957-04-12)12 April 1957 (aged 21)	49	3	Aston Villa	February 1977
Forwards
Keith Bowen	FW	Northampton	(1958-02-26)26 February 1958 (aged 20)	1	0	Apprentice	Summer 1976	N/A
Jim Hall	FW	Northampton	(1945-03-21)21 March 1945 (aged 33)	136	35	Peterborough United	Summer 1975
George Reilly	FW	Bellshill	(1957-09-14)14 September 1957 (aged 20)	72	24	Corby Town	June 1976
Paul Stratford	FW	Northampton	(1955-09-04)4 September 1955 (aged 22)	188	61	Apprentice	Summer 1972	N/A

Competitions

Division Four

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
8	Reading	46	18	14	14	55	52	+3	50
9	Torquay United	46	16	15	15	57	56	+1	47
10	Northampton Town	46	17	13	16	63	68	−5	47
11	Huddersfield Town	46	15	15	16	63	55	+8	45
12	Doncaster Rovers	46	14	17	15	52	65	−13	45

Source:

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
46	17	13	16	63	68	0.926	47	9	8	6	32	30	26	8	5	10	31	38	21

Last updated: 2 February 2024.
Source:

League position by match

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A
Result	L	D	W	W	L	W	W	L	W	D	L	L	W	L	W	D	L	L	D	W	D	L	W	D	L	D	L	W	L	L	D	W	D	L	D	D	W	L	L	W	D	W	W	W	D	W
Position	23	17	9	5	9	8	7	10	6	8	9	12	8	9	9	9	12	15	14	13	14	16	10	13	15	15	15	15	17	17	18	16	17	17	17	16	14	17	18	16	16	13	11	9	9	10

Source: 11v11.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Win Draw Loss

20 August 1977 (1977-08-20) 1	Brentford	3–0	Northampton Town	Brentford, London
15:00 BST	B.Lloyd A.McCulloch S.Phillips			Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 5,492

22 August 1977 (1977-08-22) 2	Southend United	0–0	Northampton Town	Southend-on-Sea
19:30 BST				Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 3,693

27 August 1977 (1977-08-27) 3	Halifax Town	0–1	Northampton Town	Halifax
15:00 BST			S.Bryant	Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 1,869

3 September 1977 (1977-09-03) 4	Northampton Town	1–0	Torquay United	Northampton
15:00 BST	D.Christie			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,889

9 September 1977 (1977-09-09) 5	Southport	3–1	Northampton Town	Southport
19:30 BST			S.Robertson	Stadium: Haig Avenue Attendance: 2,677

13 September 1977 (1977-09-13) 6	Northampton Town	2–1	Stockport County	Northampton
19:30 BST	J.Farrington G.Reilly			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,880

17 September 1977 (1977-09-17) 7	Northampton Town	5–3	Hartlepool United	Northampton
15:00 BST	D.Martin G.Reilly S.Robertson			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,499

24 September 1977 (1977-09-24) 8	Wimbledon	2–0	Northampton Town	Wimbledon, London
15:00 BST	B.Holmes 35' P.Summerill 38'			Stadium: Plough Lane Attendance: 3,236

27 September 1977 (1977-09-27) 9	Northampton Town	3–1	Huddersfield Town	Northampton
19:30 BST	B.Best G.Reilly		T.Gray	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,942

1 October 1977 (1977-10-01) 10	Scunthorpe United	2–2	Northampton Town	Scunthorpe
15:15 BST			D.Martin	Stadium: Old Show Ground Attendance: 2,711

4 October 1977 (1977-10-04) 11	Darlington	2–0	Northampton Town	Darlington
19:30 BST				Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 1,729

8 October 1977 (1977-10-08) 12	Northampton Town	0–2	Reading	Northampton
15:00 BST				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,861

11 October 1977 (1977-10-11) 13	Northampton Town	3–1	Rochdale	Northampton
19:30 BST	D.Christie G.Reilly		S.Melledew	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,965

14 October 1977 (1977-10-14) 14	Crewe Alexandra	3–2	Northampton Town	Crewe
19:30 BST			B.Best D.Christie	Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 2,807

22 October 1977 (1977-10-22) 15	Northampton Town	1–0	AFC Bournemouth	Northampton
15:00 BST	G.Reilly			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,479

29 October 1977 (1977-10-29) 16	Rochdale	1–1	Northampton Town	Rochdale
15:00 GMT	O'Loughlin 72' (pen.)		J.Farrington 90'	Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 1,198

5 November 1977 (1977-11-05) 17	Northampton Town	2–4	Newport County	Northampton
15:00 GMT	D.Christie D.Martin		H.Goddard J.Emanuel R.Walker	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,568

12 November 1977 (1977-11-12) 18	Doncaster Rovers	4–2	Northampton Town	Doncaster
14:00 GMT			J.Hall A.McGowan	Stadium: Belle Vue Attendance: 2,688

19 November 1977 (1977-11-19) 19	Northampton Town	1–1	Barnsley	Northampton
15:00 GMT	G.Reilly			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,131

3 December 1977 (1977-12-03) 20	Swansea City	2–4	Northampton Town	Swansea, Wales
15:00 GMT			D.Christie J.Farrington D.Liddle G.Reilly	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 4,735

10 December 1977 (1977-12-10) 21	Northampton Town	1–1	York City	Northampton
15:00 GMT	D.Martin			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,108

26 December 1977 (1977-12-26) 22	Watford	3–0	Northampton Town	Watford
15:00 GMT	B.Downes A.Mayes B.Pollard			Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 15,056

27 December 1977 (1977-12-27) 23	Northampton Town	2–1	Grimsby Town	Northampton
15:00 GMT	D.Martin B.Tucker			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,518

31 December 1977 (1977-12-31) 24	Northampton Town	1–1	Aldershot	Northampton
15:00 GMT	J.Farrington			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,598

2 January 1978 (1978-01-02) 25	Newport County	5–3	Northampton Town	Newport, Wales
15:15 GMT	H.Goddard B.Clark Jones		J.Farrington G.Reilly	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 7,160

14 January 1978 (1978-01-14) 26	Northampton Town	2–2	Brentford	Northampton
15:00 GMT	G.Reilly		A.McCulloch	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,050

28 January 1978 (1978-01-28) 27	Torquay United	2–1	Northampton Town	Torquay
15:00 GMT			G.Reilly	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 2,443

4 February 1978 (1978-02-04) 28	Northampton Town	1–0	Southport	Northampton
15:00 GMT	Mead			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,374

25 February 1978 (1978-02-25) 29	Northampton Town	1–2	Scunthorpe United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	D.Christie			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,952

28 February 1978 (1978-02-28) 30	Northampton Town	0–3	Wimbledon	Northampton
19:30 GMT			R.Connell 23', 44' S.Parsons 30'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,643

4 March 1978 (1978-03-04) 31	Reading	0–0	Northampton Town	Reading
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Elm Park Attendance: 2,443

6 March 1978 (1978-03-06) 32	Stockport County	1–2	Northampton Town	Stockport
19:30 GMT			D.Liddle G.Reilly	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 3,358

11 March 1978 (1978-03-11) 33	Northampton Town	0–0	Crewe Alexandra	Northampton
15:00 GMT				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,842

14 March 1978 (1978-03-14) 34	Northampton Town	1–2	Halifax Town	Northampton
19:30 GMT	J.Farrington			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,278
Note: Fixture was previously postponed on January 21, 1978.[2]

17 March 1978 (1978-03-17) 35	AFC Bournemouth	1–1	Northampton Town	Bournemouth
19:30 GMT			A.McGowan	Stadium: Dean Court Attendance: 2,221

21 March 1978 (1978-03-21) 36	Northampton Town	0–0	Southend United	Northampton
19:30 GMT				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,431

25 March 1978 (1978-03-25) 37	Grimsby Town	0–1	Northampton Town	Cleethorpes
15:00 GMT			A.McGowan	Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 5,077

28 March 1978 (1978-03-28) 38	Northampton Town	0–2	Watford	Northampton
19:30 GMT			I.Bolton A.Mayes	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 8,041

1 April 1978 (1978-04-01) 39	Aldershot	2–1	Northampton Town	Aldershot
15:00 GMT			D.Martin	Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 3,353

4 April 1978 (1978-04-04) 40	Huddersfield Town	0–1	Northampton Town	Huddersfield
19:30 GMT			S.Bryant	Stadium: Leeds Road Attendance: 3,488

8 April 1978 (1978-04-08) 41	Northampton Town	0–0	Doncaster Rovers	Northampton
15:00 GMT				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,793

11 April 1978 (1978-04-11) 42	Hartlepool United	0–2	Northampton Town	Hartlepool
19:15 GMT			A.McGowan	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 2,844
Note: Fixture was previously postponed on February 9, 1985.[2]

15 April 1978 (1978-04-15) 43	Barnsley	2–3	Northampton Town	Barnsley
15:00 GMT			J.Farrington D.Christie G.Reilly	Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 3,434

22 April 1978 (1978-04-22) 44	Northampton Town	3–1	Swansea City	Northampton
15:00 GMT	D.Christie G.Reilly S.Robertson			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,865

25 April 1978 (1978-04-25) 45	Northampton Town	2–2	Darlington	Northampton
19:30 GMT	A.McGowan G.Reilly			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,181

29 April 1978 (1978-04-29) 46	York City	0–3	Northampton Town	York
15:00 GMT			G.Reilly K.Williams	Stadium: Bootham Crescent Attendance: 1,389

FA Cup

26 November 1977 (1977-11-26) First round	Tooting & Mitcham United	1–2	Northampton Town	Mitcham, London
15:00 GMT			D.Christie D.Martin	Stadium: Sandy Lane Attendance: 3,513

17 December 1977 (1977-12-17) Second round	Northampton Town	0–2	Enfield	Northampton
15:00 GMT				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,249

League Cup

13 August 1976 (1976-08-13) First round 1st leg	Southend United	2–3	Northampton Town	Southend-on-Sea
19:30 BST			J.Farrington G.Reilly K.Williams	Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 4,654

16 August 1976 (1976-08-16) First round 2nd leg	Northampton Town	2–1	Southend United	Northampton
19:30 BST	B.Best D.Martin			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,395

30 August 1977 (1977-08-30) Second round	Ipswich Town	5–0	Northampton Town	Ipswich
19:30 BST				Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 15,443

Appearances and goals

Pos	Player	Division Four			FA Cup			League Cup			Total
Pos	Player	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals
GK	Carl Jayes	25	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	27	–	–
GK	Jeff Parton	10	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	12	–	–
DF	Steve Bryant	39	2	2	2	–	–	3	–	–	44	2	2
DF	Tony Geidmintis	18	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	18	–	–
DF	Steve Litt	19	1	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	21	1	–
DF	Dave Lyon	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–
DF	Peter Mead	37	1	1	–	–	–	–	1	–	37	2	1
DF	Stuart Robertson	38	–	3	2	–	–	3	–	–	43	–	3
MF	Billy Best	33	1	2	1	–	–	3	–	–	37	1	2
MF	Derrick Christie	39	4	9	2	–	1	1	1	–	42	5	10
MF	John Farrington	44	–	7	2	–	–	3	–	1	49	–	8
MF	David Liddle	25	2	2	2	–	–	3	–	–	30	2	2
MF	Andy McGowan	30	2	6	–	–	–	2	–	–	32	2	6
MF	Don Martin	16	9	7	2	–	1	2	–	1	20	9	9
MF	Kim Wassell	3	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	4	–
MF	Keith Williams	25	3	1	–	1	–	3	–	1	28	4	2
FW	Keith Bowen	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
FW	Jim Hall	10	–	1	1	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	1
FW	George Reilly	44	–	21	2	–	–	3	–	1	49	–	22
FW	Paul Stratford	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–
Non-professional:
DF	Arthur Poppy	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–
Players who left before end of season:
GK	Stuart Garnham	11	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	12	–	–
DF	Barry Tucker	28	–	1	2	–	–	3	–	–	33	–	1
FW	Ray Haywood	3	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	4	–	–

References

Rothmans Football Yearbook 1978/79, p.270.
"1977/78 Division 4". ntfcmemorabilia.weebly.com. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.

Books

Grande, Frank (1997). Northampton Town F.C.: The Official Centenary History. London: Yore Publications. ISBN 978-1874427674.

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[1] Rothmans Football Yearbook 1978/79, p.270.

[postponed_games-2] "1977/78 Division 4". ntfcmemorabilia.weebly.com. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.