1986–87 Northampton Town F.C. season

Northampton Town
1986–87 season
Chairman	Derek Banks
Manager	Graham Carr
Stadium	County Ground
Division Four	1st
FA Cup	Third round
Littlewoods Cup	First round
Freight Rover Trophy	First round (s)
Top goalscorer	League: Richard Hill (29); All: Richard Hill (33)
Highest home attendance	11,138 vs Cardiff City
Lowest home attendance	3,558 vs Torquay United
Average home league attendance	6,316
	← 1985–86 1987–88 →

The 1986–87 season was Northampton Town's 90th season in their history and the tenth successive season in the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in Division Four, the club also participated in the FA Cup, League Cup and Associate Members' Cup.

Players

As of match played 9 May 1987.^[1]

Name	Position	Place of Birth	Date of Birth (Age)	Apps	Goals	Previous club	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Peter Gleasure	GK	Luton	(1960-10-08)8 October 1960 (aged 26)	223	0	Millwall	March 1983
Alan Harris	GK	Nuneaton	(1969-04-13)13 April 1969 (aged 18)	0	0	Nuneaton Town	Summer 1986	£15,000^[2]
Defenders
Bobby Coy	CB	Birmingham	(1961-11-30)30 November 1961 (aged 25)	20	0	Chester City	20 August 1986
David Logan	LB	Middlesbrough	(1963-12-05)5 December 1963 (aged 23)	15	1	Mansfield Town	20 February 1987
Keith McPherson	CB	Greenwich	(1963-09-11)11 September 1963 (aged 23)	76	5	West Ham United	23 January 1986	£10,000^[3]
Graham Reed	RB	Doncaster	(1961-06-24)24 June 1961 (aged 25)	88	2	Frickley Athletic	Summer 1985	£6,000
Russ Wilcox	CB	Hemsworth	(1964-03-25)25 March 1964 (aged 23)	41	4	Frickley Athletic	30 June 1986	£15,000^[4]
Midfielders
Paul Bunce	W	Coalville	(1967-01-07)7 January 1967 (aged 20)	2	1	Leicester City	27 March 1987
Phil Chard	U	Corby	(1960-10-16)16 October 1960 (aged 26)	95	21	Peterborough United	19 August 1985
Warren Donald	CM	Hillingdon	(1964-10-07)7 October 1964 (aged 22)	95	9	West Ham United	4 October 1985	£11,000^[5]
Dave Gilbert	W	Lincoln	(1963-06-22)22 June 1963 (aged 23)	53	12	Boston United	Summer 1986
Richard Hill	CM	Hinckley	(1963-09-20)20 September 1963 (aged 23)	103	52	Nuneaton Town	Summer 1985	£10,000
Aidy Mann	W	Northampton	(1967-07-12)12 July 1967 (aged 19)	96	6	Apprentice	May 1984	N/A
Eddie McGoldrick	W	Islington	(1965-04-30)30 April 1965 (aged 22)	48	6	Nuneaton Town	Summer 1986	£15,000^[6]
Forwards
Ian Benjamin	FW	Nottingham	(1961-12-11)11 December 1961 (aged 25)	161	68	Peterborough United	Summer 1984
Glen Donegal	FW	Northampton	(1969-06-20)20 June 1969 (aged 17)	1	0	Apprentice	January 1987	N/A
Trevor Morley (c)	FW	Nottingham	(1962-03-20)20 March 1962 (aged 25)	95	29	Nuneaton Town	Summer 1985	£20,000^[7]

Competitions

Today League Division Four

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Northampton Town	46	30	9	7	103	53	+50	99	Division Champions, promoted
2	Preston North End	46	26	12	8	72	47	+25	90	Promoted
3	Southend United	46	25	5	16	68	55	+13	80	Promoted
4	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	24	7	15	69	50	+19	79	Participated in play-offs
5	Colchester United	46	21	7	18	64	56	+8	70	Participated in play-offs

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	30	9	7	103	53	+50	99	20	2	1	56	20	+36	10	7	6	47	33	+14

Last updated: 6 April 2020.
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	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A
Result	D	W	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	D	L	D	W	W	D	W	W	L	W	L	L	W	L	W	L	W	D	D	W
Position	7	4	4	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Source: Rothmans Football Yearbook 1986-87
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Win Draw Loss

23 August 1986 (1986-08-23) 1	Scunthorpe United	2–2	Northampton Town	Scunthorpe
15:00 BST	S.Cammack L.Hunter		R.Hill G.Reed	Stadium: Old Show Ground Attendance: 2,302

31 August 1986 (1986-08-31) 2	Northampton Town	1–0	Torquay United	Northampton
15:00 BST	I.Benjamin			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,558

6 September 1986 (1986-09-06) 3	Rochdale	1–2	Northampton Town	Rochdale
15:00 BST	S.Taylor		I.Benjamin P.Chard	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1,606

14 September 1986 (1986-09-14) 4	Northampton Town	2–1	Peterborough United	Northampton
12:00 BST	T.Morley P.Chard pen.'		D.Gregory	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,517

17 September 1986 (1986-09-17) 5	Northampton Town	2–0	Tranmere Rovers	Northampton
19:30 BST	E.McGoldrick R.Hill			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,873

20 September 1986 (1986-09-20) 6	Swansea City	2–1	Northampton Town	Swansea, Wales
15:00 BST	S.McCarthy I.Love		P.Chard	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 6,902

27 September 1986 (1986-09-27) 7	Northampton Town	2–1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Northampton
15:00 BST	T.Morley R.Hill		A.Mutch	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,713 Referee: M James

30 September 1986 (1986-09-30) 8	Halifax Town	3–6	Northampton Town	Halifax
19:30 BST	P.Brown R.Holden D.Longhurst		W.Donald R.Hill pen.' I.Benjamin P.Chard	Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 1,034 Referee: Ken Lupton

4 October 1986 (1986-10-04) 9	Northampton Town	4–2	Aldershot	Northampton
15:00 BST	R.Hill T.Morley P.Chard		T.Langley M.Ring	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,304 Referee: Kelvin Morton

17 October 1986 (1986-10-17) 10	Cambridge United	2–3	Northampton Town	Cambridge
19:30 BST	M.Cooper D.Crown		K.McPherson P.Chard pen.' T.Morley	Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 6,283

22 October 1986 (1986-10-22) 11	Northampton Town	4–2	Burnley	Northampton
19:30 BST	T.Morley 29', 37' I.Benjamin 43' R.Hill 66'		L.James 64' A.Hoskin 85'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,718

25 October 1986 (1986-10-25) 12	Northampton Town	3–2	Hereford United	Northampton
15:00 BST	T.Morley I.Benjamin R.Hill		S.Phillips S.Devine	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,336 Referee: David Elleray

27 October 1986 (1986-10-27) 13	Stockport County	0–3	Northampton Town	Stockport
19:30 BST			R.Hill T.Morley	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 1,729

1 November 1986 (1986-11-01) 14	Hartlepool United	3–3	Northampton Town	Hartlepool
15:00 GMT	R.Hogan pen.' K.Dixon R.Wilcox o.g.'		P.Chard pen.' R.Hill	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 1,657

4 November 1986 (1986-11-04) 15	Orient	0–1	Northampton Town	Leyton
19:30 GMT			I.Benjamin	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 3,496 Referee: John Martin

8 November 1986 (1986-11-08) 16	Northampton Town	3–1	Preston North End	Northampton
15:00 GMT	I.Benjamin K.McPherson R.Hill		S.Taylor	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,537 Referee: Jim Ashworth

28 November 1986 (1986-11-28) 17	Crewe Alexandra	0–5	Northampton Town	Crewe
19:30 GMT			I.Benjamin K.McPherson R.Hill	Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 2,331

2 December 1986 (1986-12-02) 18	Northampton Town	4–0	Exeter City	Northampton
19:30 GMT	T.Morley E.McGoldrick R.Hill			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,639

13 December 1986 (1986-12-13) 19	Northampton Town	2–2	Wrexham	Northampton
15:00 GMT	R.Wilcox I.Benjamin		J.Steel	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,070

21 December 1986 (1986-12-21) 20	Northampton Town	3–1	Lincoln City	Northampton
15:00 GMT	D.Gilbert pen.' E.McGoldrick I.Benjamin		G.Lund	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 7,063 Referee: Keren Barratt

26 December 1986 (1986-12-26) 21	Southend United	0–4	Northampton Town	Southend-on-Sea
15:00 GMT			R.Hill I.Benjamin W.Donald D.Gilbert	Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 8,541

28 December 1986 (1986-12-28) 22	Northampton Town	4–1	Cardiff City	Northampton
15:00 GMT	I.Benjamin D.Gilbert pen.' T.Morley R.Hill		C.Pike	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 11,138 Referee: Malcolm Cotton

1 January 1987 (1987-01-01) 23	Northampton Town	3–2	Colchester United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	I.Benjamin 50' T.Morley 56' D.Gilbert 86' (pen.)	Report	T.Adcock 52', 63'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 8,215 Referee: D Vickers

3 January 1987 (1987-01-03) 24	Exeter City	1–1	Northampton Town	Exeter
15:00 GMT	S.Biggins		R.Hill	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 4,331

24 January 1987 (1987-01-24) 25	Northampton Town	5–0	Rochdale	Northampton
15:00 GMT	P.McMenemy P.Chard E.McGoldrick R.Hill			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,484

31 January 1987 (1987-01-31) 26	Peterborough United	0–1	Northampton Town	Peterborough
15:00 GMT			I.Benjamin	Stadium: London Road Attendance: 7,911

6 February 1987 (1987-02-06) 27	Tranmere Rovers	1–1	Northampton Town	Birkenhead
15:00 GMT	I.Muir		R.Hill	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 2,583

14 February 1987 (1987-02-14) 28	Northampton Town	0–1	Swansea City	Northampton
15:00 GMT			C.Pascoe 87'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 8,288

21 February 1987 (1987-02-21) 29	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–1	Northampton Town	Wolverhampton
15:00 GMT	M.Holmes		P.Chard	Stadium: Molineux Stadium Attendance: 9,991

24 February 1987 (1987-02-24) 30	Torquay United	0–1	Northampton Town	Torquay
19:30 GMT			W.Donald	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 1,780

27 February 1987 (1987-02-27) 31	Northampton Town	1–0	Halifax Town	Northampton
19:30 GMT	I.Benjamin			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,351

4 March 1987 (1987-03-04) 32	Northampton Town	1–1	Hartlepool United	Northampton
19:30 GMT	I.Benjamin		R.Hogan	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,470

11 March 1987 (1987-03-11) 33	Northampton Town	1–0	Scunthorpe United	Northampton
19:30 GMT	T.Morley			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,352

14 March 1987 (1987-03-14) 34	Northampton Town	3–0	Cambridge United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	D.Gilbert pen.' pen.' R.Hill			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,201

17 March 1987 (1987-03-17) 35	Burnley	2–1	Northampton Town	Burnley
19:30 GMT	A.Hoskin 39' J.Gallagher 70'		C.Henry	Stadium: Turf Moor

21 March 1987 (1987-03-21) 36	Northampton Town	2–1	Stockport County	Northampton
15:00 GMT	P.Chard		W.Entwistle	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,466

3 April 1987 (1987-04-03) 37	Preston North End	1–0	Northampton Town	Preston
19:30 BST	G.Brazil			Stadium: Deepdale Attendance: 16,566

8 April 1987 (1987-04-08) 38	Hereford United	3–2	Northampton Town	Hereford
19:30 BST	S.Phillips S.Spooner O.Kearns		P.Chard T.Morley	Stadium: Edgar Street Attendance: 2,758

12 April 1987 (1987-04-12) 39	Northampton Town	2–0	Orient	Northampton
15:00 BST	D.Gilbert K.McPherson			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,711

17 April 1987 (1987-04-17) 40	Colchester United	3–1	Northampton Town	Colchester
19:30 BST	R.Wilkins 39' N.Chatterton 57' (pen.) R.Hedman 76'	Report	D.Logan 15'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3,676 Referee: Colin Downey

20 April 1987 (1987-04-20) 41	Northampton Town	2–1	Southend United	Northampton
15:00 BST	R.Hill K.McPherson		R.Cadette	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 7,383 Referee: Joe Worrall

26 April 1987 (1987-04-26) 42	Lincoln City	3–1	Northampton Town	Lincoln
15:00 BST	J.Gilligan W.Gamble P.Chard o.g.'		E.McGoldrick	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 4,012

29 April 1987 (1987-04-29) 43	Northampton Town	2–1	Crewe Alexandra	Northampton
19:30 BST	D.Gilbert pen.' R.Hill		P.Bodak	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 8,890

4 May 1987 (1987-05-04) 44	Cardiff City	1–1	Northampton Town	Cardiff, Wales
15:00 BST	E.Curtis		I.Benjamin	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 4,012

6 May 1987 (1987-05-06) 45	Aldershot	3–3	Northampton Town	Aldershot
19:30 BST	I.McDonald A.King G.Johnson		D.Gilbert I.Benjamin T.Morley	Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 3,377

9 May 1987 (1987-05-09) 46	Wrexham	1–3	Northampton Town	Wrexham, Wales
15:00 BST	S.Buxton		P.Bunce T.Morley	Stadium: Racecourse Ground Attendance: 2,709

FA Cup

16 November 1986 (1986-11-16) First round	Northampton Town	3–0	Peterborough United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	E.McGoldrick D.Gilbert pen.' I.Benjamin			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 9,114 Referee: Jim Ashworth

5 December 1986 (1986-12-05) Second round	Southend United	4–4	Northampton Town	Southend-on-Sea
19:45 GMT	R.Cadette R.McDonough		W.Donald R.Hill I.Benjamin	Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 7,412 Referee: Ray Lewis

16 December 1986 (1986-12-16) Second round (r)	Northampton Town	3–2	Southend United	Northampton
19:45 GMT	I.Benjamin D.Gilbert pen.' pen.'		G.Pennyfather R.Cadette	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 10,603 Referee: Ray Lewis

21 January 1987 (1987-01-21) Third round	Newcastle United	2–1	Northampton Town	Newcastle upon Tyne
19:30 GMT	P.Goddard 3' A.Thomas 68'	Report	R.Hill 67'	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 23,177

Littlewoods Cup

25 August 1986 (1986-08-25) First round 1st leg	Gillingham	1–0	Northampton Town	Gillingham
19:30 BST	M.Weatherly			Stadium: Priestfield Attendance: 2,948

3 September 1986 (1986-09-03) First round 2nd leg	Northampton Town	2–2	Gillingham	Northampton
19:30 BST	B.Coy I.Benjamin		T.Cascarino	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,724 Referee: Howard Taylor

Freight Rover Trophy

Group 2
Team v t e	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Gillingham	2	2	0	6	0	+6	6
Northampton Town	2	1	1	3	1	+2	3
Notts County	2	0	2	0	8	−8	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

16 December 1986 (1986-12-16) Prelim round (s)	Gillingham	1–0	Northampton Town	Gillingham
19:30 GMT	H.Pritchard			Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 2,046

5 January 1987 (1987-01-05) Prelim round (s)	Northampton Town	3–0	Notts County	Northampton
19:30 GMT	R.Hill D.Gilbert A.Mann			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,578

26 January 1987 (1987-01-26) First round (s)	Fulham	3–2	Northampton Town	Fulham
19:30 GMT	K.Achampong G.Barnett J.Marshall		P.Chard I.Benjamin	Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 2,080

Appearances and goals

Pos	Player	Division Four			FA Cup			League Cup			League Trophy			Total
Pos	Player	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals
GK	Peter Gleasure	46	–	–	4	–	–	2	–	–	3	–	–	55	–	–
GK	Alan Harris	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
DF	Mark Bushell	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
DF	Lee Carter	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
DF	Bobby Coy	15	2	–	–	–	–	2	–	1	1	–	–	18	2	1
DF	David Logan	15	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15	–	1
DF	Keith McPherson	46	–	5	4	–	–	2	–	–	3	–	–	55	–	5
DF	Graham Reed	36	1	1	4	–	–	2	–	–	2	–	–	44	1	1
DF	Russ Wilcox	34	1	1	3	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–	40	1	1
MF	Paul Bunce	1	1	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	1	1
MF	Phil Chard	39	1	12	3	–	–	2	–	–	1	–	1	45	1	13
MF	Warren Donald	41	–	3	3	–	1	1	–	–	2	–	–	47	–	4
MF	Dave Gilbert	45	–	8	3	–	3	2	–	–	3	–	1	53	–	12
MF	Richard Hill	45	–	29	4	–	3	2	–	–	3	–	1	54	–	33
MF	Aidy Mann	7	1	–	1	1	–	1	–	–	1	2	1	10	4	1
MF	Eddie McGoldrick	35	4	5	4	–	1	2	–	–	3	–	–	44	4	6
FW	Ian Benjamin	46	–	18	4	–	3	2	–	1	3	–	1	55	–	23
FW	Glen Donegal	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	1	–
FW	Trevor Morley	37	–	16	4	–	–	2	–	–	2	–	–	45	–	16
Players who left before end of season:
DF	Irvin Gernon	9	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	13	–	–
MF	Keith Gorman	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	2	–
MF	Charlie Henry	4	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	1
MF	John Millar	1	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	4	–	–
MF	Mark Schiavi	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–
FW	Paul McMenemy	4	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	2
FW	Paul Sugrue	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Fee
Summer 1986	CB	Bobby Coy	Chester City
Summer 1986	W	Dave Gilbert	Boston United
Summer 1986	GK	Alan Harris	Nuneaton Town	Joint £15,000
Summer 1986	W	Eddie McGoldrick	Nuneaton Town	Joint £15,000
30 June 1986	CB	Russ Wilcox	Frickley Athletic	£15,000
20 February 1987	LB	David Logan	Mansfield Town

Loans in

Date from	Position	Name	From	Date until
November 1986	LB	Irvin Gernon	Ipswich Town	January 1987
November 1986	W	Keith Gorman	Ipswich Town	December 1986
January 1987	LB	John Millar	Chelsea	January 1987
January 1987	FW	Paul McMenemy	West Ham United	February 1987
February 1987	AM	Charlie Henry	Swindon Town	March 1987

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Name	To
Summer 1986	RB	Paul Curtis	Corby Town
Summer 1986	CB	Russell Lewis	Kettering Town
August 1986	FW	Paul Sugrue	Newport County
September 1986	AM	Mark Schiavi	Cambridge United

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date until
March 1987	W		Aidy Mann	Torquay United	End of Season
	FB		Lee Carter	Gravesend & Northfleet

References

^ Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.
^ Joint buy with Eddie McGoldrick
^ "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics - Keith McPherson". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
^ Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2002). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2002/2003. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press. p. 438. ISBN 978-1-85291-648-0.
^ "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics - Warren Donald". www.westhamstats.info. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
^ Joint buy with Alan Harris
^ Paul Newman (21 November 1986). "Non-League Football: Troubled Nuneaton face a fight for survival". The Times.

Books

Beesley, Mark (2011). Champagne Cobblers: Northampton Town 1986-87. London: Desert Island Books. ISBN 9781905328949.
Grande, Frank (1997). Northampton Town F.C.: The Official Centenary History. London: Yore Publications. ISBN 978-1874427674.

[Rothmans1987-88-1] Dunk, Peter, ed. (1987). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1987–88. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-356-14354-5.

[2] Joint buy with Eddie McGoldrick

[3] "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics - Keith McPherson". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 4 November 2013.

[Hugman2002-03-4] Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2002). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2002/2003. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press. p. 438. ISBN 978-1-85291-648-0.

[5] "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics - Warren Donald". www.westhamstats.info. Retrieved 24 January 2024.

[6] Joint buy with Alan Harris

[7] Paul Newman (21 November 1986). "Non-League Football: Troubled Nuneaton face a fight for survival". The Times.

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