1974–75 Northampton Town F.C. season

Northampton Town
1974–75 season
Chairman	Neville Ronson
Manager	Bill Dodgin Jr.
Stadium	County Ground
Division Four	16th
FA Cup	Second round
League Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Paul Stratford (15); All: Paul Stratford (16)
Highest home attendance	7,275 vs Lincoln City
Lowest home attendance	2,482 vs Newport County
Average home league attendance	4,179
	← 1973–74 1975–76 →

The 1974–75 season was Northampton Town's 78th season in their history and the sixth successive season 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 25 April 1975.^[1]

Name	Position	Place of Birth	Date of Birth (Age)	Apps	Goals	Previous club	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Alan Starling	GK	Dagenham	(1951-04-02)2 April 1951 (aged 24)	185	0	Luton Town	June 1971
Defenders
Gary Anderson	RB	London	(1955-10-20)20 October 1955 (aged 19)	11	0	Tottenham Hotspur	March 1975
Wayne Cegielski	CB	Tredegar	(1956-01-11)11 January 1956 (aged 19)	11	0	Tottenham Hotspur	March 1975	Loan
John Gregory	U	Scunthorpe	(1954-05-11)11 May 1954 (aged 20)	105	2	Apprentice	Summer 1972	N/A
John Moore	CB	Harthill	(1943-12-21)21 December 1943 (aged 31)	16	0	Luton Town	August 1974
Alan Oman	FB	Newcastle upon Tyne	(1952-10-06)6 October 1952 (aged 22)	96	3	Apprentice	October 1970	N/A
Stuart Robertson	CB	Nottingham	(1946-12-16)16 December 1946 (aged 28)	102	9	Doncaster Rovers	Summer 1972
Barry Tucker	FB	Swansea	(1952-08-28)28 August 1952 (aged 22)	112	1	Apprentice	August 1970	N/A
Ray Tumbridge	LB	London	(1955-03-06)6 March 1955 (aged 20)	11	0	Charlton Athletic	March 1975	Loan
Midfielders
Billy Best (c)	U	Glasgow	(1942-09-07)7 September 1942 (aged 32)	142	33	Southend United	Summer 1973
Dave Carlton	CM	Stepney	(1952-11-24)24 November 1952 (aged 22)	70	5	Fulham	October 1973
Derrick Christie	W	Bletchley	(1957-03-15)15 March 1957 (aged 18)	19	0	Apprentice	January 1974	N/A
John Farrington	W	Lynemouth	(1947-06-19)19 June 1947 (aged 27)	36	3	Cardiff City	Summer 1974
Graham Felton	W	Cambridge	(1949-03-01)1 March 1949 (aged 26)	275	26	Apprentice	September 1966	N/A
Robin Wainwright	CM	Luton	(1951-03-09)9 March 1951 (aged 24)	35	5	Millwall	February 1974
Forwards
Jim Hall	FW	Northampton	(1945-03-21)21 March 1945 (aged 30)	64	10	Peterborough United	January 1975
Malcolm John	FW	Bridgend	(1950-12-09)9 December 1950 (aged 24)	43	8	Bristol Rovers	March 1974	Free
Gary Mabee	FW	Oxford	(1955-02-01)1 February 1955 (aged 20)	36	13	Tottenham Hotspur	August 1974
Paul Stratford	FW	Northampton	(1955-09-04)4 September 1955 (aged 19)	108	32	Apprentice	Summer 1972	N/A

Competitions

Division Four

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
14	Torquay United	46	14	14	18	46	61	0.754	42
15	Barnsley	46	15	11	20	62	65	0.954	41
16	Northampton Town	46	15	11	20	67	73	0.918	41
17	Doncaster Rovers	46	14	12	20	65	79	0.823	40
18	Crewe Alexandra	46	11	18	17	34	47	0.723	40

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	15	11	20	67	73	0.918	41	12	6	5	43	22	30	3	5	15	24	51	11

Last updated: 3 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	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H
Result	L	L	L	W	D	D	W	W	W	W	W	L	D	W	L	W	L	W	D	W	D	L	W	L	D	D	L	L	L	W	L	D	L	L	L	L	W	L	W	L	D	D	D	L	L	W
Position	23	23	24	19	20	22	16	16	11	9	5	10	8	6	6	4	6	6	5	5	6	9	6	8	7	7	10	11	13	10	12	12	13	14	18	18	15	18	14	16	13	14	13	13	18	16

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

Matches

Win Draw Loss

17 August 1974 (1974-08-17) 1	Brentford	1–0	Northampton Town	Brentford, London
15:00 BST	A.Woon			Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 5,147

24 August 1974 (1974-08-24) 2	Northampton Town	1–2	Bradford City	Northampton
15:00 BST	B.Best			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,408

31 August 1974 (1974-08-31) 3	Reading	3–2	Northampton Town	Reading
15:00 BST			B.Wagstaff o.g.' P.Stratford	Stadium: Elm Park Attendance: 5,464

6 September 1974 (1974-09-06) 4	Northampton Town	3–0	Darlington	Northampton
19:30 BST	Mabee P.Stratford D.Carlton			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,003

14 September 1974 (1974-09-14) 5	Lincoln City	2–2	Northampton Town	Lincoln
15:00 BST			P.Neal pen.'	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 3,113

21 September 1974 (1974-09-21) 6	Northampton Town	3–3	Shrewsbury Town	Northampton
15:00 BST	P.Stratford B.Best D.Carlton			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,001

24 September 1974 (1974-09-24) 7	Northampton Town	2–0	Doncaster Rovers	Northampton
19:30 BST	Mabee J.Buchanan			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,269

28 September 1974 (1974-09-28) 8	Torquay United	0–1	Northampton Town	Torquay
15:00 BST			R.Wainwright	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 3,004

1 October 1974 (1974-10-01) 9	Northampton Town	3–0	Workington	Northampton
19:30 BST	P.Stratford			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,783

5 October 1974 (1974-10-05) 10	Rotherham United	1–3	Northampton Town	Rotherham
15:00 BST			Mabee D.Carlton	Stadium: Millmoor Attendance: 4,934

11 October 1974 (1974-10-11) 11	Northampton Town	4–1	Stockport County	Northampton
19:30 BST	P.Stratford J.Buchanan M.John Mabee			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,846

18 October 1974 (1974-10-18) 12	Newport County	2–1	Northampton Town	Newport, Wales
19:15 BST	E.Woods P.Passey		P.Stratford	Stadium: Somerton Park Attendance: 2,149

21 October 1974 (1974-10-21) 13	Rochdale	2–2	Northampton Town	Rochdale
19:30 BST	G.Cooper S.Horne		G.Mabee R.Wainwright	Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 1,379

26 October 1974 (1974-10-26) 14	Northampton Town	5–1	Swansea City	Northampton
15:00 BST	P.Stratford Mabee J.Farrington R.Wainwright			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,096

28 October 1974 (1974-10-28) 15	Mansfield Town	3–0	Northampton Town	Mansfield
19:30 GMT	R.Clarke C.Foster T.Eccles			Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 5,310

1 November 1974 (1974-11-01) 16	Cambridge United	3–4	Northampton Town	Cambridge
19:30 GMT	B.Baston B.Shinton		Mabee D.Carlton P.Stratford	Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 3,589 Referee: Derek Richardson

5 November 1974 (1974-11-05) 17	Northampton Town	0–1	Rochdale	Northampton
19:30 GMT			T.Whelan	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,695

9 November 1974 (1974-11-09) 18	Northampton Town	2–0	Chester	Northampton
15:00 GMT	B.Tucker pen.' R.Wainwright			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,240

15 November 1974 (1974-11-15) 19	Southport	0–0	Northampton Town	Southport
19:30 GMT				Stadium: Haig Avenue Attendance: 1,851

29 November 1974 (1974-11-29) 20	Northampton Town	3–0	Crewe Alexandra	Northampton
19:30 GMT	Mabee P.Stratford			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,037

7 December 1974 (1974-12-07) 21	Exeter City	2–2	Northampton Town	Exeter
15:00 GMT			R.Wainwright B.Best	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,497

21 December 1974 (1974-12-21) 22	Barnsley	5–1	Northampton Town	Barnsley
15:15 GMT			P.Stratford	Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 2,666

26 December 1974 (1974-12-26) 23	Northampton Town	1–0	Lincoln City	Northampton
15:00 GMT	P.Stratford			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 7,275

1 January 1975 (1975-01-01) 24	Hartlepool	2–0	Northampton Town	Hartlepool
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 5,178
Note: Fixture was previously postponed on December 28, 1974.^[2]

4 January 1975 (1975-01-04) 25	Northampton Town	0–0	Brentford	Northampton
15:00 GMT				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,735

11 January 1975 (1975-01-11) 26	Northampton Town	1–1	Exeter City	Northampton
15:00 GMT	B.Best			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,104

18 January 1975 (1975-01-18) 27	Crewe Alexandra	3–1	Northampton Town	Crewe
15:00 GMT			Mabee	Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 1,859

1 February 1975 (1975-02-01) 28	Chester	4–1	Northampton Town	Chester
15:00 GMT	D.Lennard T.Owen J.James pen.'		J.Hall	Stadium: Sealand Road Attendance: 5,209

8 February 1975 (1975-02-08) 29	Northampton Town	1–2	Cambridge United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	J.Farrington		T.Horsfall	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,126

11 February 1975 (1975-02-11) 30	Northampton Town	3–0	Scunthorpe United	Northampton
19:30 GMT	S.Robertson J.Hall			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,079
Note: Fixture was previously postponed on January 25, 1975.^[2]

15 February 1975 (1975-02-15) 31	Scunthorpe United	2–1	Northampton Town	Scunthorpe
15:15 GMT			B.Best	Stadium: Old Show Ground Attendance: 1,975

22 February 1975 (1975-02-22) 32	Northampton Town	1–1	Southport	Northampton
15:00 GMT	J.Hall			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,320

28 February 1975 (1975-02-28) 33	Northampton Town	0–3	Reading	Northampton
19:30 GMT				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,039

8 March 1975 (1975-03-08) 34	Doncaster Rovers	2–0	Northampton Town	Doncaster
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Belle Vue Attendance: 5,319

22 March 1975 (1975-03-22) 35	Darlington	2–0	Northampton Town	Darlington
15:00 BST				Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 1,582

25 March 1975 (1975-03-25) 36	Northampton Town	0–2	Mansfield Town	Northampton
19:30 BST			K.Griffin G.Hodgson	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,846

28 March 1975 (1975-03-28) 37	Northampton Town	2–1	Barnsley	Northampton
19:30 BST	B.Best J.Farrington			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,594

31 March 1975 (1975-03-31) 38	Shrewsbury Town	6–0	Northampton Town	Shrewsbury
19:30 BST				Stadium: Gay Meadow Attendance: 4,315

1 April 1975 (1975-04-01) 39	Northampton Town	3–0	Hartlepool	Northampton
19:30 BST	M.John B.Best			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,758

5 April 1975 (1975-04-05) 40	Swansea City	1–0	Northampton Town	Swansea, Wales
15:00 BST				Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 1,591

9 April 1975 (1975-04-09) 41	Workington	2–2	Northampton Town	Workington
19:15 BST			P.Stratford B.Best	Stadium: Borough Park Attendance: 1,455 Referee: Ted Jolly

12 April 1975 (1975-04-12) 42	Northampton Town	1–1	Rotherham United	Northampton
15:00 BST	J.Gregory pen.'			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,714

15 April 1975 (1975-04-15) 43	Northampton Town	1–1	Torquay United	Northampton
19:30 BST	A.Oman			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,658

18 April 1975 (1975-04-18) 44	Stockport County	1–0	Northampton Town	Stockport
19:30 BST				Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 1,978

23 April 1975 (1975-04-23) 45	Bradford City	2–1	Northampton Town	Bradford
19:30 BST			M.John	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 1,697

25 April 1975 (1975-04-25) 46	Northampton Town	3–2	Newport County	Northampton
19:30 BST	P.Stratford D.Carlton B.Best		J.Parsons E.Woods	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,482

FA Cup

23 November 1974 (1974-11-23) First round	Torquay United	0–1	Northampton Town	Torquay
15:00 GMT			J.Gregory	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 2,659

14 December 1974 (1974-12-14) Second round	Rotherham United	2–1	Northampton Town	Rotherham
15:00 GMT			P.Stratford	Stadium: Millmoor Attendance: 4,741

League Cup

20 August 1974 (1974-08-20) First round	Northampton Town	1–0	Port Vale	Northampton
19:45 BST	S.Robertson			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,688

10 September 1974 (1974-09-10) Second round	Northampton Town	2–2	Blackburn Rovers	Northampton
19:30 BST	P.Neal o.g.'			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,706

18 September 1974 (1974-09-18) Second round (r)	Blackburn Rovers	1–0	Northampton Town	Blackburn
19:30 BST				Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 5,706

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	Alan Starling	45	–	–	2	–	–	3	–	–	50	–	–
DF	Gary Anderson	11	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	–
DF	Wayne Cegielski	11	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	–
DF	John Gregory	41	–	1	2	–	1	3	–	–	46	–	2
DF	John Moore	14	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	16	–	–
DF	Alan Oman	21	–	1	2	–	–	–	–	–	23	–	1
DF	Stuart Robertson	31	–	1	2	–	–	1	–	1	34	–	2
DF	Barry Tucker	38	–	1	2	–	–	3	–	–	43	–	1
DF	Ray Tumbridge	11	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	–
MF	Billy Best	46	–	9	2	–	–	3	–	–	51	–	9
MF	Dave Carlton	31	1	5	1	–	–	2	–	–	34	1	5
MF	Derrick Christie	12	2	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	14	2	–
MF	John Farrington	34	–	3	2	–	–	–	–	–	36	–	3
MF	Graham Felton	10	1	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	13	1	–
MF	Robin Wainwright	23	8	5	2	–	–	1	–	–	26	8	5
FW	Jim Hall	5	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	–	4
FW	Malcolm John	21	7	4	2	–	–	–	–	–	23	7	4
FW	Gary Mabee	29	3	13	1	–	–	2	1	–	32	4	13
FW	Paul Stratford	44	–	15	2	–	1	3	–	–	49	–	16
Players who left before end of season:
GK	Stuart Garnham	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–
DF	John Clarke	4	2	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	5	2	–
DF	Tom Kilkelly	2	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	2	–
DF	Phil Neal	10	–	2	–	–	–	3	–	1	13	–	3
MF	John Buchanan	11	–	2	–	–	–	3	–	–	14	–	2

References

^ Rothmans Football Yearbook 1975/76, p.270.
^ ^a ^b "1974/75 Division 4". ntfcmemorabilia.weebly.com. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.

Books

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

[1] Rothmans Football Yearbook 1975/76, p.270.

[postponed_games-2] "1974/75 Division 4". ntfcmemorabilia.weebly.com. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.

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