The Keith Curle Derby Notts Northampton

[AFaceInTheCrowd]

Our decline begun when we sacked Keith Curle with many failing to accept we were a club that had hit a glass ceiling.

Fast forward and if we are able to resemble a football team for the second week running. Stranger things have happened down the lane. Harold Shipman attending games and the appearance of Sven and the chairman whipping his cock out for example. Then we have a realistic chance of climbing out the bottom 2 for the first time since November. My god that's depresssing but in all honesty it feels like we've been there since the season kicked off and we stopped being mid table by the virtue of alphabetical order and our name begins with an N.

If you are going to beat us please don't lure us into a false sense of security like Exeter did that was cruel. Least we had the good grace to wallop 3 in at Stevenage before half time so their fans could apply the two goal rule early on and clear off back to the pub to enjoy their Saturday.

Should be more optimistic but there's been so many false dawns where we have let the fans down badly after a win I'm not getting carried away.

How are Cobblers fans enjoying Keith the Chiefs interpretation of entertaining football?

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

False Dawn FC

“It’s the hope that kills you”

 

[Deepcut Cobbler]

He's doing a job this season, we're waiting for his imaginative summer transfer activity on our limited budget in anticipation of the expansive, attacking and entertaining football which will take us back to the Third Division next season.

 

[LongEatonPie]

I really hope you don't "express yourself" on the pitch Saturday.
Obviously must win for Notts, but we haven't at home since Mansfield mid February, since then we have Drew 2 Lost 2 and only scored 1 goal. Last season at home is what kept us up the top until the last month.

The frightening thing is we only have 2 home wins since mid December!

Having said that in the last 10 games we are 8th in the form table, Northants 9th which is surprising. Worried as they have done quite well away recently.

 

[Buxton Vale]

Northampton looked like they were on the beach last week, and if they play the same you could get the 3 points. However, you could get a team desperate to make up for that performance. Northampton have had a decent season so I'd call it a draw.

 

[jacobncfc]

I liked Curle, built a really good team on loans but maybe got a bit too cute in the next transfer window and just couldn’t set a team up to play at home. Some of the away performances under him were absolutely superb though, wasn’t it basically an entire calendar year before he lost his first away game?

On this, fuck knows. We are completely unpredictable.

 

[Vanni]

Good luck Notts. I dont want to jinx it but looking at your fixture list, this match seems to me to be one of easiest/winnable (call it what you want) games out of the lot.

 

[Deepcut Cobbler]

I liked Curle, built a really good team on loans but maybe got a bit too cute in the next transfer window and just couldn’t set a team up to play at home. Some of the away performances under him were absolutely superb though, wasn’t it basically an entire calendar year before he lost his first away game?

On this, fuck knows. We are completely unpredictable.

That sounds familiar to what is happening in the majority of away/home performances this season whilst he has been in charge.
Most of our best results/performances have been away from home.

 

[Optipez]

Long time ago now but have to say, Northampton were equally as dire as us at their place in October.
What's the chances of us failing to score for four successive home games?

 

[valefan16]

Northampton looked like they were on the beach last week, and if they play the same you could get the 3 points. However, you could get a team desperate to make up for that performance. Northampton have had a decent season so I'd call it a draw.

Curle absolutely battered them after the game in the press and apparently had them in early every day for training so hopefully from our POV they are at it! Although hope Notts survive overall come May.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Good luck Notts. I dont want to jinx it but looking at your fixture list, this match seems to me to be one of easiest/winnable (call it what you want) games out of the lot.

You can’t jinx it we beat Stags, FGR and Carlisle both seats yet lose or fail to beat Macc, Cambridge , Vale , Cheltenham

You can’t predict anything with Notts with any certainty. Other than the last result was a false dawn no matter who we play

 

[jacobncfc]

Good luck Notts. I dont want to jinx it but looking at your fixture list, this match seems to me to be one of easiest/winnable (call it what you want) games out of the lot.

Doesn’t really work for us - our only wins in the last six months have been against Tranmere, Forest Green, Mansfield, Carlisle and Stevenage. Also taken points off Lincoln, Bury and Colchester in that time.

On the flip side, we’ve taken a grand total of two points from Cheltenham x2, Grimsby, Morecambe, Cambridge, Port Vale, Yeovil and Macclesfield. Which were both 0-0 draws at home.

 

[AdamStag]

Doesn’t really work for us - our only wins in the last six months have been against Tranmere, Forest Green, Mansfield, Carlisle and Stevenage. Also taken points off Lincoln, Bury and Colchester in that time.

On the flip side, we’ve taken a grand total of two points from Cheltenham x2, Grimsby, Morecambe, Cambridge, Port Vale, Yeovil and Macclesfield. Which were both 0-0 draws at home.

Long as you get the points it doesn’t matter who against, we’ve a great record against the top sides, but a dodgy record against crap sides like yourselves, Yeovil port vale etc

 

[Enzo Scifo's Right Foot]

Yup. That’s often the case in lower league football . One minute your manager is praised to high heaven as promotion looks assured , the next he’s back to being a joke and a perennial choker ! And the cycle continues .

We are a talented squad who have been awful pretty much all season drifting from laughably bad to beating promotion hopefuls .

I’ve given up trying to work us out and predicting anything.

 

[Wooderson]

Another crunch home game for us... having somehow managed to drag ourselves back into the mix from being seemingly doomed a few weeks ago, we now have an excellent chance to get out of the drop zone for the first time since November, with Yeovil immediately above us on goal difference having a tough game at Swindon.

The problem is we've been pretty lacklustre at home recently, with no goals in the last three. I think the players are feeling the pressure a bit in front of their own fans, as opposed to away where we have been much better.

Northampton are neither going up nor down, which could be to our advantage. Their result last week at home to 10 man Vale had a very end-of-season air to it. We just have to be wary of a reaction though, as Curle ripped into the players following that.

Another tense afternoon at ML awaits!

 

[Deepcut Cobbler]

https://www.onefootballforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/the-keith-curle-derby-notts-northampton.21528/

Can these be merged?

 

[Wooderson]

Ah sorry, missed that

 

[Deepcut Cobbler]

Ah sorry, missed that

 

[Wooderson]

A lot of comments on the Northampton board along the lines of ‘why should I bother turning up when the players won’t’, (most of those that are coming seem to be travelling for the piss up!) and suggestions that because a few are out of contract and won’t be around next season they won’t really try too hard.

Obviously we hope that bears out, but is that how you see it Deepcut?

 

[Deepcut Cobbler]

A lot of comments on the Northampton board along the lines of ‘why should I bother turning up when the players won’t’, (most of those that are coming seem to be travelling for the piss up!) and suggestions that because a few are out of contract and won’t be around next season they won’t really try too hard.

Obviously we hope that bears out, but is that how you see it Deepcut?

We've sold out our 818 allocation with many more stating that they will now be PotD.
We saw a reaction after a previous terrible home performance. (7pts from the next 3 away games following a 4-0 home drubbing to ColU earlier this year).
We'll have to see what reaction we get to this one.

 

[Optipez]

Exciting, nail biting second half . Feared the worst with the sending off but bizarrely the more changes Curle made the less threatening the Cobblers became.
We really needed the three points today but under the circumstances it felt a hard earned point gained.
The ref was utterly crap, the sending off was just about the only thing he got right.

 

[jacobncfc]

Take the point under the circumstances, some very close shaves at 2-2.

Thought the red card was wrong personally as the Cobblers player had taken an incredibly heavy touch and I don’t think was going to get on the end of it anyway. Either way, very stupid from Schofield to just drag him back.

 

[Wooderson]

Funny one, got to be happy with a point at 1-2 down with 10 men (would have been delighted with it had Swindon held on), but feels like a little like a missed opportunity - at 11 v 11 I’d have fancied us to possibly win it against a Northampton team who knocked it around quite nicely but didn’t look massively interested,although we were pretty poor first half.

But then one calamitous moment from Stubbs and Schofield and a goal from the resulting free-kick pretty much ended our chances of victory (we hardly ever win when a man down), so in those circumstances a draw is a pretty good result.

 

[Enzo Scifo's Right Foot]

It’s far too many missed opportunities combined with being in relegation zone all season and as such we deserve to go down

Good point in the circumstances but another must win home game we’ve failed to win