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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	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

Source: rsssf.com

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

Last updated: 2 February 2024.
Source: ^{[citation needed]}

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	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	A
Result	L	L	D	D	D	D	L	L	W	W	W	L	L	L	W	W	D	L	D	D	D	L	W	D	W	W	W	L	L	W	W	L	L	W	L	L	D	L	D	W	W	W	D	W	L	L
Position	24	23	23	24	24	24	24	24	22	17	15	17	19	22	20	17	16	16	16	16	16	18	17	15	16	14	15	15	16	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	17	17	13	13	13	13	14	14

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

Matches

Win Draw Loss

9 August 1969 (1969-08-09) 1	Crewe Alexandra	2–0	Northampton Town	Crewe
15:00 BST				Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 3,813

23 August 1969 (1969-08-23) 2	Port Vale	4–1	Northampton Town	Burslem
15:00 BST	J.Green K.Wookey B.Gough E.Magee		G.Felton	Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 4,809

26 August 1969 (1969-08-26) 3	Northampton Town	0–0	Oldham Athletic	Northampton
19:30 BST				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,357

30 August 1969 (1969-08-30) 4	Northampton Town	1–1	Lincoln City	Northampton
15:00 BST	P.Neal			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,026

6 September 1969 (1969-09-06) 5	Hartlepool United	1–1	Northampton Town	Hartlepool
15:00 BST			J.Fairbrother	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 3,090

13 September 1969 (1969-09-13) 6	Northampton Town	1–1	Darlington	Northampton
15:00 BST	P.Hawkins			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,922

17 September 1969 (1969-09-17) 7	Peterborough	1–0	Northampton Town	Peterborough
19:30 BST				Stadium: London Road Attendance: 8,557

20 September 1969 (1969-09-20) 8	Swansea Town	3–2	Northampton Town	Swansea, Wales
15:15 BST			P.Hawkins N.Townsend	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 6,660

27 September 1969 (1969-09-27) 9	Northampton Town	4–1	Newport County	Northampton
15:00 BST	J.Fairbrother G.Felton F.Large		T.Cooper	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,665

30 September 1969 (1969-09-30) 10	Northampton Town	3–1	Notts County	Northampton
19:30 BST	J.Kiernan F.Large F.Rankmore			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,609

4 October 1969 (1969-10-04) 11	Bradford (Park Avenue)	1–2	Northampton Town	Bradford
15:00 BST			J.Fairbrother F.Large	Stadium: Park Avenue Attendance: 2,555

8 October 1969 (1969-10-08) 12	Workington	2–0	Northampton Town	Workington
19:15 BST				Stadium: Borough Park Attendance: 1,738

11 October 1969 (1969-10-11) 13	Northampton Town	0–1	Wrexham	Northampton
15:00 BST				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,994

18 October 1969 (1969-10-18) 14	Aldershot	5–2	Northampton Town	Aldershot
15:00 BST			G.Felton F.Rankmore	Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 5,747

25 October 1969 (1969-10-25) 15	Northampton Town	2–0	Southend United	Northampton
15:00 BST	G.Felton F.Rankmore			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,154

28 October 1969 (1969-10-28) 16	Northampton Town	3–0	Workington	Northampton
19:30 BST	J.Fairbrother F.Large			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,243

1 November 1969 (1969-11-01) 17	York City	1–1	Northampton Town	York
15:00 BST			J.Fairbrother	Stadium: Bootham Crescent Attendance: 4,808

8 November 1969 (1969-11-08) 18	Northampton Town	0–1	Chester	Northampton
15:00 BST			A.Tarbuck	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,659

22 November 1969 (1969-11-22) 19	Northampton Town	1–1	Brentford	Northampton
15:00 BST	J.Fairbrother		G.Dobson	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,315

25 November 1969 (1969-11-25) 20	Northampton Town	1–1	Colchester United	Northampton
19:30 BST	J.Kiernan 9'	Report	M.Brown 27'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,256 Referee: R Weedon

13 December 1969 (1969-12-13) 21	Darlington	2–2	Northampton Town	Darlington
15:00 BST			J.Fairbrother	Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 2,063

20 December 1969 (1969-12-20) 22	Northampton Town	0–1	Hartlepool United	Northampton
15:00 BST				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,979

26 December 1969 (1969-12-26) 23	Northampton Town	2–0	Port Vale	Northampton
15:00 BST	F.Rankmore			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 7,522

27 December 1969 (1969-12-27) 24	Lincoln City	0–0	Northampton Town	Lincoln
15:00 BST				Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 7,866

17 January 1970 (1970-01-17) 25	Newport County	0–2	Northampton Town	Newport, Wales
15:00 BST			J.Fairbrother	Stadium: Somerton Park Attendance: 2,280

31 January 1970 (1970-01-31) 26	Northampton Town	3–0	Bradford (Park Avenue)	Northampton
15:00 BST	R.Fairfax D.McNeil F.Rankmore			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 12,972

18 February 1970 (1970-02-18) 27	Northampton Town	2–1	Scunthorpe United	Northampton
19:30 BST	J.Fairbrother F.Large			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,635
Note: Fixture was previously postponed on February 2, 1970.^[1]

21 February 1970 (1970-02-21) 28	Chester	2–1^[2]	Northampton Town	Chester
15:15 BST	D.Draper J.Clarke o.g.'		E.Ross	Stadium: Sealand Road Attendance: 3,782

23 February 1970 (1970-02-23) 29	Northampton Town	1–2	Crewe Alexandra	Northampton
19:30 BST	F.Rankmore			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,315
Note: Fixture was previously postponed on February 14, 1970.^[1]

28 February 1970 (1970-02-28) 30	Northampton Town	4–0	Aldershot	Northampton
15:00 BST	J.Fairbrother F.Large E.Ross			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,833

2 March 1970 (1970-03-02) 31	Northampton Town	2–0	Exeter City	Northampton
19:30 BST	G.Felton F.Large			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,974

7 March 1970 (1970-03-07) 32	Brentford	1–0	Northampton Town	Brentford, London
15:15 BST	A.Cocks			Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 7,292

9 March 1970 (1970-03-09) 33	Chesterfield	2–1^[3]	Northampton Town	Chesterfield
19:30 BST			D.McNeil	Stadium: Saltergate Attendance: 9,624

14 March 1970 (1970-03-14) 34	Northampton Town	3–1	Grimsby Town	Northampton
15:00 BST	J.Fairbrother J.Kiernan D.McNeil			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,537

17 March 1970 (1970-03-17) 35	Scunthorpe United	1–0	Northampton Town	Scunthorpe
19:30 BST				Stadium: Old Show Ground Attendance: 3,090

21 March 1970 (1970-03-21) 36	Exeter City	1–0	Northampton Town	Exeter
15:00 BST				Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 4,981

27 March 1970 (1970-03-27) 37	Southend United	2–2	Northampton Town	Southend-on-Sea
15:00 BST			J.Fairbrother	Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 6,359

28 March 1970 (1970-03-28) 38	Northampton Town	0–1	Chesterfield	Northampton
15:00 BST				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,740

31 March 1970 (1970-03-31) 39	Northampton Town	2–2	York City	Northampton
19:30 BST	E.Brookes J.Fairbrother			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,128

4 April 1970 (1970-04-04) 40	Oldham Athletic	0–2	Northampton Town	Oldham
15:15 BST			J.Fairbrother	Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 5,774

6 April 1970 (1970-04-06) 41	Colchester United	0–3	Northampton Town	Colchester
19:30 BST		Report	D.McNeil 24', 43', 50'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,776 Referee: L Sinkins

10 April 1970 (1970-04-10) 42	Northampton Town	4–1	Swansea Town	Northampton
19:30 BST	J.Fairbrother G.Felton F.Large			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,104
Note: Fixture was previously postponed on January 10, 1970.^[1]

14 April 1970 (1970-04-14) 43	Northampton Town	2–2	Peterborough United	Northampton
19:30 BST	J.Fairbrother			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,732

18 April 1970 (1970-04-18) 44	Grimsby Town	0–1	Northampton Town	Cleethorpes
15:00 BST			J.Fairbrother	Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 3,445
Note: Fixture was previously postponed on November 29, 1969.^[1]

24 April 1970 (1970-04-24) 45	Notts County	2–0	Northampton Town	Nottingham
19:30 BST				Stadium: Meadow Lane Attendance: 2,456

27 April 1970 (1970-04-27) 46	Wrexham	3–0	Northampton Town	Wrexham, Wales
19:15 BST				Stadium: Racecourse Ground Attendance: 9,965

FA Cup

15 November 1969 (1969-11-15) First round	Northampton Town	0–0	Weymouth	Northampton
15:00 BST				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,005

19 November 1969 (1969-11-19) First round (r)	Weymouth	1–3	Northampton Town	Weymouth
19:30 BST			F.Rankmore J.Fairbrother	Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 4,500

6 December 1969 (1969-12-06) Second round	Northampton Town	1–1	Exeter City	Northampton
15:00 BST	P.Neal			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,227

9 December 1969 (1969-12-09) Second round (r)	Exeter City	0–0 (a.e.t.)	Northampton Town	Exeter
19:30 BST				Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 8,930

15 December 1969 (1969-12-15) Second round (r2)	Exeter City	1–2	Northampton Town	Swindon
19:30 BST			F.Large D.McNeil	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,494 Referee: David Smith

12 January 1970 (1970-01-12) Third round	Brentwood	0–1	Northampton Town	Brentwood
15:00 BST			J.Fairbrother	Stadium: Ongar Road Attendance: 5,320

24 January 1970 (1970-01-24) Fourth round	Tranmere Rovers	0–0	Northampton Town	Birkenhead
15:00 BST				Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 7,590

27 January 1970 (1970-01-27) Fourth round (r)	Northampton Town	2–1	Tranmere Rovers	Northampton
19:30 BST	F.Rankmore G.Felton			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 16,142

7 February 1970 (1970-02-07) Fifth round	Northampton Town	2–8	Manchester United	Northampton
15:00 BST	F.Large D.McNeil		G.Best B.Kidd	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 21,771 Referee: Peter Baldwin

League Cup

13 August 1969 (1969-08-13) First round	Oxford United	2–0	Northampton Town	Oxford
19:30 BST				Stadium: Manor Ground Attendance: 7,158

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	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

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "1969/70 Division 4". ntfcmemorabilia.weebly.com. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
^ Ralph Houldey (27 February 1970). "City's first home win since boxing day". Cheshire Observer. p. 3. Retrieved 13 September 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Eric Todd (10 March 1973). "Archer starts rally". The Guardian. p. 23. Retrieved 13 September 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

Books

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

[postponed_games-1] "1969/70 Division 4". ntfcmemorabilia.weebly.com. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.

[2] Ralph Houldey (27 February 1970). "City's first home win since boxing day". Cheshire Observer. p. 3. Retrieved 13 September 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] Eric Todd (10 March 1973). "Archer starts rally". The Guardian. p. 23. Retrieved 13 September 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

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1969–70 Northampton Town F.C. season