1969–70 Northampton Town F.C. season

Northampton Town

1969–70 season
Chairman	Eric Northover
Manager	Dave Bowen
Stadium	County Ground
Division Four	14th
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: John Fairbrother (23) All: John Fairbrother (25)
Highest home attendance	21,771 vs Manchester United
Lowest home attendance	2,979 vs Hartlepool United
Average home league attendance	5,594
← 1968–69 1970–71 →

The 1969–70 season was Northampton Town's 73rd season in their history and the first season back in the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in Division Four, the club also participated in the FA Cup and League Cup.

Players

As of match played 27 April 1970.

Name	Position	Nat.	Place of Birth	Date of Birth (Age)	Apps	Goals	Previous club	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Kim Book	GK		Bath	(1946-02-12)12 February 1946 (aged 24)	41	0	Bournemouth & B A	July 1969
Gary Knibbs	GK		Northampton	(1951-03-10)10 March 1951 (aged 19)	0	0	Apprentice	July 1969	N/A
Defenders
Eric Brookes	FB		Darton	(1944-02-03)3 February 1944 (aged 26)	52	1	Barnsley	July 1969
John Clarke	CB		Northampton	(1945-10-23)23 October 1945 (aged 24)	89	0	Apprentice	July 1965	N/A
Ray Fairfax	FB		Smethwick	(1941-11-14)14 November 1941 (aged 28)	97	1	West Bromwich Albion	July 1968
Brian Knight	U		Dundee	(1949-03-28)28 March 1949 (aged 21)	13	0	Huddersfield Town	October 1969
Phil Neal	U		Irchester	(1951-02-20)20 February 1951 (aged 19)	39	6	Apprentice	July 1968	N/A
Frank Rankmore	CB		Cardiff	(1939-07-21)21 July 1939 (aged 30)	93	15	Peterborough United	August 1968	£12,000
Neil Townsend	CB		Long Buckby	(1950-02-01)1 February 1950 (aged 20)	34	1	Apprentice	September 1968	N/A
Midfielders
Bernie Fagan	W		Houghton-le-Spring	(1949-01-29)29 January 1949 (aged 21)	8	0	Sunderland	July 1969
Graham Felton	W		Cambridge	(1949-03-01)1 March 1949 (aged 21)	114	9	Apprentice	September 1966	N/A
Peter Hawkins	LW		Swansea	(1951-11-09)9 November 1951 (aged 18)	19	3	Apprentice	July 1968	N/A
Joe Kiernan	CM		Coatbridge	(1942-10-22)22 October 1942 (aged 27)	259	13	Sunderland	July 1963
Barry Lines	W		Bletchley	(1942-05-16)16 May 1942 (aged 27)	295	50	Bletchley Town	September 1960
John McGleish	CM		Airdrie	(1951-12-18)18 December 1951 (aged 18)	0	0	Apprentice	November 1968	N/A
Dixie McNeil	W		Melton Mowbray	(1947-01-16)16 January 1947 (aged 23)	25	8	Corby Town	May 1969	£5,000
Eric Ross	CM		Belfast	(1944-09-19)19 September 1944 (aged 25)	43	3	Newcastle United	August 1969
Eric Weaver	W		Rhymney	(1943-07-01)1 July 1943 (aged 26)	71	9	Notts County	December 1967
Forwards
John Fairbrother	CF		Cricklewood	(1941-02-12)12 February 1941 (aged 29)	109	44	Peterborough United	February 1968
Frank Large	CF		Leeds	(1940-01-26)26 January 1940 (aged 30)	139	59	Fulham	August 1969

Competitions

Division Four

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
12	Scunthorpe United	46	18	10	18	67	65	1.031	46
13	York City	46	16	14	16	55	62	0.887	46
14	Northampton Town	46	16	12	18	64	55	1.164	44
15	Crewe Alexandra	46	16	12	18	51	51	1.000	44
16	Grimsby Town	46	14	15	17	54	58	0.931	43

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	16	12	18	64	55	1.164	44	11	7	5	41	19	29	5	5	13	23	36	15

League position by match

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss

FA Cup

League Cup

Appearances and goals

Pos	Player	Division Four			FA Cup			League Cup			Total
		Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals
GK	Kim Book	32	–	–	9	–	–	–	–	–	41	–	–
GK	Gary Knibbs	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
DF	Eric Brookes	42	–	1	7	2	–	1	–	–	50	2	1
DF	John Clarke	44	–	–	9	–	–	–	–	–	53	–	–
DF	Ray Fairfax	39	–	1	9	–	–	1	–	–	49	–	1
DF	Brian Knight	9	3	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	10	3	–
DF	Phil Neal	10	3	1	–	3	1	1	–	–	11	6	2
DF	Frank Rankmore	45	–	7	9	–	3	1	–	–	55	–	10
DF	Neil Townsend	13	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	13	–	1
MF	Bernie Fagan	6	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	8	–	–
MF	Graham Felton	43	1	6	9	–	1	1	–	–	53	1	7
MF	Peter Hawkins	9	2	2	–	–	–	–	1	–	9	3	2
MF	Joe Kiernan	41	–	3	8	–	–	1	–	–	50	–	3
MF	Barry Lines	7	5	–	1	–	–	1	–	–	9	5	–
MF	John McGleish	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
MF	Dixie McNeil	19	–	6	5	–	2	1	–	–	25	–	8
MF	Eric Ross	33	2	3	8	–	–	–	–	–	41	2	3
MF	Eric Weaver	14	2	–	4	–	–	1	–	–	19	2	–
FW	John Fairbrother	46	–	23	9	–	2	1	–	–	56	–	25
FW	Frank Large	40	–	10	9	–	2	–	–	–	49	–	12
Players who left before end of season:
GK	Des McPartland	6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	–
GK	Gordon Morritt	8	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	9	–	–

References

Books

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