The Hotel End

No excuses KC concerning team formation!
No excuses KC concerning team selection!
No excuses Cobblers players!

if fit:

                          Cornell

J. Williams Turnbull Pierre Buchanan

                            Foley

       McWilliams           Elsnik

                             Bridge

                       Sordell Morias

KC stop tnkering and then play the team for AT LEAST six games (if fit) to get continuity!

There’s absolutely no point in trying to second guess KC - there’s no way he’ll move away from the 5-3-2 and Ash Taylor will definitely play. We’ve just got to pray that Turnbull and foley are fit but either way we’re not getting anything from Lincoln, very unlikely to get anything other than a point at tranmere.

Personally, I think we should try and go 4-5-1 for a few games to get some solidity back.

Has Jay Williams ever played right back? You may as well play Cam McWilliams there, at least he knows the position.

I’m pretty sure Jay Williams is a right back... Or was at youth level.

He effectively played at RB last week against Morecambe and did 'OK' up against Ellison.

Foley won't be back. Hope not to see Facey, Taylor or D Powell anywhere near the team sheet.

Not having been tainted by yesterday's performance, thanks to the weather, I am looking forward to going to both Tranmere and Lincoln and coming back with at least two if not four points...  ;D

I agree with that apart from KC has just got rid of Dolphin who was a credible alternative at right back.
Every time Taylor plays we seem to be all over the place at the back, never want to see him play for us again.

Hopefully Ben Pringle won`t tear us a new one for the second time this season

Not forgetting 20 goal top scorer James Norwood

Curle is under real pressure here .
If we get stuffed , and that is a distinct possibility , he will be left looking for a result at Lincoln .
He had better shape up with a solid side that stands up to the battle.
I would certainly play Buchanan in a straight back 4.
Hopefully Pierre and Turnbull  in the centre with two defensive midfielders in front of them , depending on who is fit between foley , JJOT , Williams and MacWilliams .
A nil all draw would do nicely

Jay hasn't played right back, but he hadn't played midfield until he got in the 1st team. By far and away his best position is centre back.

No he isn't/ wasn't.

But with Curle... possibly will be!

Fair point.

I agree that Williams is a centre back firstly and foremostly .
However , I think the worry is his physical size and strength at an early age in this division , particularly with regards to winning balls in the air.
Don’t misunderstand me though , it’s something to build on and a lot of it is timing . However it’s a danger when you are up against it performance wise

Williams and our younger players need an old head alongside them.  Dyche made Chambers and Carlisle made Langmead.

We havnt got any minders,  like Bayo looking after Jacobs

I think Williams is being restricted by the fact he is wearing a kit that is at least two sizes too small for him

How he hasn’t split his shorts is a miracle  ;D

Tonight there is only 1 question:

1. Why are footballers and football managers always defrauding the taxman?I
B. Are we going to be tonked tonight?

Answers on a post card.
1) Greedy B'stards
B) Yes 3-1.......at best

Mysterious Curle, don’t want to play 3-5-2 (but we almost certainly will).

Ah the old 5-5-0 formation.

Was going to pay to watch it on iPlayer, but Curle's team selection has made me not even click a mouse button. Thats how poor it is. He's making it really hard to be on his side atm

Hoskins as the lone striker?? You couldn't make this sh1t up!!

A Williams and Morais on the bench, Sordell "not risked" after playing his first game since November on Saturday!

5 loanees brought in in the window yet only 2 of them start tonight!!

What a d*ck head Curle is turning out to be !!
A team without any forwards but with wing backs .
He must be sh*tting himself we get stuffed.
If we get thumped after this selection he needs to clear off

That is one s*** team selection!! Probably win 2 0

Well looking at that team selection, 6 defenders, 3 midfielders and one non-scoring striker, Christ knows how they will line up. I'm not sure what the final score will be but I predict Northampton 0, so I should be half right.

Horrendous selection, Taylor and Facey (both so not on form) Turnbull one of better defenders in midfield and Hoskins I can't score in a brewery and Bridge who's not a striker. Sordell didn't even make the bench. KC is clueless just as the Carlisle fans have said....we should be considering his posistion.....

He knows how to baffle his own players that Curley fellow.

He has got to be trying to get sacked with that selection. It can be the only explanation

With the free scoring Super Sam leading the attack we have nothing to worry about. Lord help us!

Thought the same

How long was the contract he was given?

No Jay Williams in the squad either.

Super super Sam.

Hahahahahhahahahhahahahahhahahah Football has no logic at all

Yessssss. Get in!!!

The Hoskmeister!!!!

Well played Sammy!!

Keith Curle is a football genius

;D

Bout feckin time!

The Good Lord has heard my prayers.  Subtle man management by me there!!

6th sense!

Football eh.

Wish I had put a quid on Sammy hat trick now.

If there was a team selection that could hang on for a 1.0 win , this is it !
Have a bet on tranmere at 3/1 to come back though

hes the greatest

Its all Tranny

1-1

Normal service resumes.

Maybe not. 

Where are you, Lord?

Surely nobody thought a defence with Ash Taylor in was going to keep a clean sheet

i did and dont call me Shirley

Im starting to get a very bad feeling here

More chance of winning the euro millions jackpot

I don't know whether to laugh or cry with that missed Hoskins chance.  :-\

It must be time to bring on Daniel Powell ?

It's never time to bring on Daniel Powell.

Boooooooooooo!

We’re doing ok, just look a little bit over powered defensively. System wise it just doesn’t look like it adds anything and is nothing more than an additional burden to cope with. That’s my view from 10,000 miles away watching on my iPhone anyway.

1-2 get in

Hoskins...again!!!

Yeeeesssss!!!!!!  ;D

 ;D

who'd have thought that would happen...get on!

1-2HT

The Hoskmiester with a brace.
Hes shut a few people up.
 ;D ;D ;D

Second goal was a header!! How sh1t must Tranmere be to let him score with a header!!  ;D

Hat trick is looking good...

Praise the Lord!  It's a miracle - Hoskins 2!!

What a finish that was, me bowl of Cheerios has ended up in me lap.

And on the seventh day .... Jesus descended and there was a miracle on Earth ...
Sam Hoskins is the Chosen One

It was pure fluke  ;D but I'll take it, we are getting pumped down the wings especially down Buchs side.
I will bet my bollox they will score at least another.

Christ in worried now!

Either that must be totally shocking ut Sammy not had had some hypnotherapy. Either way, lets hope we can hold on this time and I can but a euro millions ticket!

Super Sam looked totally shocked after the second, hat trick anyone?

The great TO said it was a clever well taken goal; why the negativity?

What chance a Williams for Hoskins halftime swap?..  ;D

Really, the view from my iPhone suggested an overhead kick?

You have lost it at the moment!

Smudger said the same on Numpty.

I've got it on I Follow and replayed it about 5 times  ;D It was a volleyed back heel lob. Absolutely amazing goal. Without doubt our goal of the season. And believe you me, I do not rate Sam Hoskins  ;D ;D

Fair fuc*ing play to him. Outrageous goal.

Hoskins is having a blinder - he's picked up on their dodgy central defender Monthe and harried him into making numerous mistakes. Curle's defensive plan is proving to be rather effective, however we need to make sure their overlapping fullbacks are being tracked by our wingers - even if that means their central midfielders having the time and space to shoot from distance in the middle (back Cornell to save it from distance).

Thought Facey was pretty sloppy. Joe Powell done very little to suggest he should be in the team over Elsnik. Good subs to replace tired legs later on though. Mustn't concede early!

I am sure the commentator said it was via Hoskins foot. But GPC said a header! Glad you know what is going on Melly!

Not long home from work and had only seen Sky Sports text coverage

"Goal! Tranmere Rovers 1 Northampton Town 2 Sam Hoskins header from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by David Buchanan"

WTF, the worlds gone mad. Just got in and not only are we winning but sammy's scored twice. I need a lie down. ;D

Seriously? He has previous when it comes to shots from distance.

This defensive 541 shape is working a treat! I hope KC takes heed from this with the following games.

Can they hang on for half of one hour?

Yes. I'm watching on iFollow and we are currently restricting them well.

The Hoskmeister will get a hatrick. Its written in the stars.

Jupiter will collide with Mars.

Death, taxes and John-Joe getting yellows  ;D

JJOT booked

Mars will collide with Uranus.. ;D

Blimey, we're winning. Unbelievable.

Seem it on SSN, utter fluke, but great goal!

Hoskmeister off for Powell.
Motm today

Daniel Powell coming on... down to 10 men then.

That's fxcked it, down to 10 men powell on >:(

Whats with Sam and the fire extinguishers?

Taylor's missed headers have given Tranmere a few chances. Need to get rid of him at the end of season.

Pierre booked..horrible last 6 mins coming up

Why wait? Keep him away from the 18.

Powell will score on the breakaway and our evening will be complete!!

Mcwillow off injured.
Mo on

Facey booked

5 mins of added.

Squeaky Bottom Time

Last min goal anyone?

I'll take one by Junior.

Norwood was your man!

1-2 FT..thank fook

We'll win this league now, easy.

+1

;D

Amazing stuff, well done both Sammy and Curlio!

We can still make the playoffs.......

I shouldn’t think KC is very happy - he was trying to get the sack there .....

I should have said plagiarism!

Well I'll go to the foot of our stairs

Ok 2-1   ;D
Well done Sam, everyone on here believed in you

Brilliant - makes up for Saturday's abject performance!!

Ive always said we should stick with Sammy

Yup, well played Sam

Great result, especially after the last week or so. I have to say our game management in extra time was frustrating. 3 times we had possession and just handed it on a plate back to Tranmere and invited pressure when all we had to do was keep it simple. I’ve only brought it up because I broke 3 pencils.

Cornell must have been man if the match. He was apparently useless on Saturday when he let in 4 but today only 1 against his average of 1.7.

Get in Dai

As I have repeatedly said , Hoskins needs to play up front because he is a threat .
Admittedly I would never have thought as a lone striker mind you .

 

Smith said all played well particularly the defence with Taylor earning some plaudits. Cornell  also did well.

Frank you are going to have a field day with a few on here!

Their fans bemoaning an excess of loan players causing them to look disjointed!!

Danny Cowley seen in the crowd scouting his next opponents....

Great result!

Enjoy the win, let it go, he played well today.

Watched on IFollow, Cornell did well but Taylor looks full of errors. Goode and Pierre looked far more comfortable. That was essentially a backs to the wall performance on a difficult pitch. 

I didn’t know if it was shrove Tuesday or Ashbox Wednesday Evers? I’ve discovered that watching a game on your iPhone when you’ve lost your glasses is never conducive to quality punditry.

I can imagine the bloke that is a few seats from me (a Hoskins admirer, who is always giving “unconstructive criticism”) having a coronary tonight, with the goals he has scored tonight!!

Hopefully a few more please mr Hoskins, to shut the git up!!

A lesson learnt tonight, not to be too reactionary after one result, bad or good. i tried to keep a level head after Satdee but got drawn into all the doom and gloom. I'm chuffed with tonight's result but won't be calling KC or Hoskns the messiahs. It is a great result however in the context of the season. If we can pick up any kind of result at Lincoln it would be a massive bonus.
Fair play to the loyal travelling contingent tonight. You got your just rewards.

Just seen the highlights. Hoskins 2nd was a complete fluke but who's complaining! 'bout time we had some good fortune. Took his first well though. Hopefully give him some confidence in front of goal.

I watched on I Follow tonight and actually thought we played quite well. The 5-4-1 formation worked a treat 2nd half and Tranmere really didn't have an answer to it, a couple of scares , but on the whole , a good professional performance and looked pretty comfortable. Didn't see that result coming , so a good £10 spent. Sam will get the plaudits and rightly so, yet Goode and Turnbull were also excellent tonight. Football is great again.

Both commentators said it was a great goal particularly Smith who commented his goal was well crafted and taken. You say it was a fluke the commentators thought otherwise.  Opinions....Opinions  - so difficult who to believe :-X

Well done SS and thks for your report.

I too was on I Follow. I thought we were quite poor first half,surrendering possession far too easily. Second half however we too me appeared to be in control.inthe end a good battling performance.

To m eyes the system was 3 4 2 1

I'm glad that I didn't resist paying for I Follow after having serious doubts over the line up. It was a good team performance and a very welcome 3 points at a place which we've not won at for over 30 years. Certainly 3 more points than I expected us to come away with this week.  :)

Two much needed things tonight, two goals for Hoskins and three points for Cobblers. A great result at a place we rarely get anything and puts us in great spirits going into Saturday's game at Sincil Bank

Travelled over from my Liverpool home to see only my second Cobblers game of the season and was impressed by a gutsy performance.

Stand out players for me were Hoskins, Turnbull, Mc Williams,and Goode and JJ made a big difference when he came on the second half. Timing of the two goals was crucial in us winning the game and considering we played the whole game without any height up front we managed to absorb a lot of pressure and still managed to look dangerous on the break.


On the minus front we looked weak at wing back where Facey and Buchanan looked vulnerable on a one to one defensive situation. Taylor was caught out a few times dithering on the ball and again on a one on one situation looks poor.


My take from afar based on what I saw last night and what I have gleaned from listening to live commentary from Radio Noddy is that depite his constant tinkering with his starting line up Curle has steadied the ship and is worth persevering with.He has been left with a legacy of poor recruitment over the years since Wilder left and he deserves persevering with.Saw Lincoln play at Everton in the FA cup, Akinde is an obvous threat and Goode looks like the man to deal with his threat, apart ffom Akinde they are a threat from set pieces so we will need to cut out giving away needless free kicks and in this spect Facey worries me I would prefer McWilliams played at right wing back in his place.

Wow. Play Hoskins in his natural position where he's trained all his career, and he ends up scoring twice. My conclusion therefore is you play players in their natural positions?

Football management is simple really isn't it?

just got the other 9 outfield positions to sort out then now

probably right...........he has probably worked out he is the fall guy for KT to take the heat off him!!

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/teams/northampton-town/11629226/tranmere-1-2-northampton

Judge it for yourself. But you're mad if you think he meant that...

Undoubtedly a fantastic result last night for which, quite rightly, the team and manager are getting some credit.

However, I don't want this to be yet another flash in the pan. I just really want them to follow it up with another good performance (if not result) at Lincoln, because one win or good performance every now and then still doesn't cut the mustard. We've only really put together any decent form during new manager bounces in recent history, and that really needs to change this time. For that reason I'm still not comfortable that we're out of a relegation battle, but there's certainly a lot more breathing space.

It was also good to see Sammy finally given a go in a central role. For me he's been utterly wasted out on the wing for getting on for two years.

His two most decent spells have come in central roles for us, as a striker under Wilder, and as an attacking midfielder behind the strikers under Rob Page. He's been shunted out on the wing for too long just because he's one of the few players we have with pace, even though he quite clearly doesn't have the attributes for the role. From now on he should be considered for those two roles only.

Danny Cowley seen in the crowd scouting his next opponents....
[/quote]

Waste of a journey. Saturday's side will obviously be completely different!  ;D

It can be lucky to go in, but still mean it. Thats my view on it.

Exactly this - he clearly intended to do it so it wasn’t a fluke, I don’t dispute that if he tried it 50 times he probably wouldn’t score many so in that respect there was a big element of luck to it but he deserves that luck for all the work he puts in. It’s a bit like with Cornell, people who are anti-Hoskins will continue to pick fault with anything he does. I’m just pleased for him and it is a bit of a two fingers to those who laughed at his air shot the other week.

You keep going on about KC team selection but apart from selecting Hoskins up front it seemed a reasonable side. It all worked on the night! Please consider clarifying yr concerns?

I'm not picking fault with Hoskins, but there's no way he's going for goal from there with his back to goal! Unless his first goal has given him such immense confidence that he thinks he's Van Basten. More likely he's flicking it on to whoever was in the box.

Yep agreed, although despite the goal last night, there are question-marks over his natural finishing ability. We don't have the most patient of crowds if he goes through a dry spell up top.

That said, he was sh*t hot right before his knee injury.

We’ll have to agree to disagree - there wasn’t anyone else in the box and he’s playing as a lone forward so I don’t know who he was supposed to be flicking it to. It was a speculative effort but I’m sure he  intended it as an effort on goal.

I agree he is most definitely worth persevering with. Yes, the form has been patchy of late but to come in and get 30 points from 21 games (which is top ten form)is a decent turnaround when you consider our position when he took over. He’s managed to do this with what I still firmly believe is a very average squad, the majority of which was not put together by him. If we can finish around mid table he’ll deserve lots of credit in my opinion.

Happy to agree to disagree, but will point out there is another player in the box (Powell) who I reckon he's aiming for. If Hoskins meant it and it boosts his confidence then that's only a good thing.

If you meant well simply agree it was a good goal , then at least you will be consistent with the commentators.

Thks for report interesting comments too.

I don't agree with that, but Irchy and I have agreed we each have differing opinions and have moved on, an alien concept to you. Why don't you offer your opinion on the goal having seen the highlights rather than rely on radio commentators?

Because he was on fire last night!!

Great win

And really pleased for Hoskins. I don't think anyone can begrudge him those goals. He always puts it in but doesn't often get the rewards. He's got his shortcomings and is very frustrating and imho, wouldn't be a first pick if we had better options.

But I guess we don't right now. If Curlio has finally found Sammy's best position.... well let's hope he gives him a proper shot there and doesn't play him in goal on Saturday.

Good post agreed

 ;D ;D ;D

I still dont agree with your opinion particularly as it is based on a poor quality video which you supplied. How on earth one can make a judgement from a video film which lacked any close up facility is beyond me.
I also support Irchys comment on the goal, plus the commentators and the Chron Video which heralded it as a great. As for moving on as you put I dont accept your churlish comments on Hoskins goal; you clearly have a one side opinion on the player and although the evidence is clearly against you simply dig in and at best offer a mild snipe on "alien concept".

Absolutely agree .
I don’t think anyone has animosity towards Hoskins and most really wish him on to do well .
I’m really pleased for him .
I thought he was easily our biggest threat against Morecambe despite not scoring . Curle then moved him to wing back .
Hopefully he will stick with him up front with Bridge behind him where he too has been effective .
Knowing Curle though , Hoskins won’t feature against Lincoln whatsoever .

Twitter quote from @James_Chron NTFC

Asked Curle last night about Hoskins building on his two goals. His reply? "Knowing me I'll probably drop him at the weekend!" 😂
10:29 AM - 6 Feb 2019

Interesting comments from Fez but I have seen Hoskins put in reasonable shifts on the right wing; however clearly it is not his natural position. Strangely Wilder played in the right wing. Against Tranmere last night he confirmed his natural position as an striker; somehow it payed off; on his own too against much bigger defenders.                                                                                                          

KC has to stick with the same formation and bulk of the players against Lincoln. The only change I would make is to drop Powell and bring in JJOT.
Playing with 6 out and out defenders last night showed, and where as we had a couple of moments, we did look much more solid. Doesn't matter about playing one up front, just Hoof the ball up to Sammy to make a nuisance of himself then flood the midfield to pick up the 2nd ball. JJOT, McWilliams and Turnbull are all combative and should win a fair share of balls and along with Bridge, the midfield can hold on to possession too. I have been super impressed with Bridge in particular, dont think he gave the ball away once yesterday (corners werent great admittedly). Hope KC keeps playing him centrally where he can get on the ball and make things happen - currently our most dangerous and consistent player.

Were the commentators watching with binoculars to get such a close view on it then? You seem obsessed with first impressions of goals rather than watching replays. Can you please provide the Chron video with a better angle?

I have no real opinion on Hoskins, and can't remember offering anything negative about him on his form this/last season apart from stating facts on his goal scoring/assist, so your argument of a "one sided opinion on the player" falls flat. I already said that if he meant it then it's sure to boost his confidence which is great for the team.

EDIT: I just saw the video on the Chron site which is taken from the club's Youtube page. The goal highlights are exactly the same as what I provided earlier; no zooming in, different angle etc. You say "How on earth one can make a judgement from a video film which lacked any close up facility is beyond me" yet you are judging the goal on the exact same footage and the herald it as great! You truely are a nutcase, I cannot waste anymore time on you and hope others follow suit!

The Sky presenters this morning were impressed by Sam's second goal and said something like 'if Aguero had scored that goal we would be talking about it for weeks'.  That's good enough for me.

I am glad you edited out your last sentence; the rest of your argument is fine although again you are not prepared to give Hoskins the common courtesy that he actually meant it.  Anyway we all move on ::). I just hope KC plays the Chron Star man in a Central Forward position again and not in goal!

I think this has been pointed out elsewhere, but how many games has Sammy played centrally since he came back from that injury?

IMO he offers an awful lot to this XI. Shame about his conversion rate.

Amazed at the amount of sniping on this thread between certain parties, after what was an entirely unexpected three points.

Only one person knows if he meant it or not.

You cant move on at all can you; always the self justified comments to suit yr argument. The Chron Video was much better quality than you supplied. I didnt herald the goal as great one; the Chron one did!  Then you offer abuse as part of your argument and incidentally provocative patronising comments.

Fantastic result, and so important to get it at a despondent time. Well done to SuperSam - really hope it can turn a corner for him. Always had the pace and the effort - if he can start getting some end product too then that's great all round.

I called the win on Facebook, We do better against the top teams ala Carlisle.

We need teams to try and control the game and play out from the back for us to punish them.

It doesn’t matter if he meant the goal or not - give the bloke a break he deserves some luck .
It’s all very well quoting his games to goal ratio but very often he has had to play out of position and certainly not as a striker.
Let’s hope this gives Sam some confidence and he can become prolific .

Its good to see some 'old' posters returning to the Forum with messages of support.

I cant see what else he would be attempting, It was a desperate flick towards goal and it went it. Fluke but intentional

Great stuff 8) -  if only an international player scored that goal we would be hailing him as a football genius.

His first goal shows he has real ability up front. Good strength to hold off and turn the much larger defender and pace to burn to round the other. His stockiness/low centre of gravity and speed remind me of Aguero, if he had a better finish on him he'd be a quality League One striker. Hoepfulyl gets another chance up top on Saturday.

+1

Well Sky, Martin Smith and now our very own Jake Robinson seem impressed.It did slightly remind me of his flick to Junior re MK.

Im pretty sure Ronaldo would have claimed it as deliberate and he would be lauded as a genius. Either way the lad scored lets give him credit.

Itching for the 'Harder games to come' thread.

Flick to Junior was a fluke and completely unintentional, I guarantee that he was trying to take it under control or at best flick it on to himself. If it was intentional to flick on to Junior then he really is a genius.
Goal last night, not a fluke... meant to at least put it in the danger area because what else was he trying to do? It would have been more impressive if he spotted Powell at the back stick.

Agree with Pedj

He meant that, otherwise it's the worst bit of intended control ever. whether he expected it to go in is one thing but I'm pretty sure he was going for goal.

His first one was a pretty decent finish too. Skin the CB, slot it past the keeper.

He should take huge confidence from that and so should Curlio....

Completely agree with others who have said about Hoskins best form coming whilst playing centrally. I guess people see his pace and automatically assume he would be good as a winger but he lacks the trickery or crossing ability to really perform well there. Where as end under Page and end of last season he was able to utilise his pace far more effectively against slow CB's (which most are at this level).

If he is going to be playing it needs to be centrally (cue starting at RWB next game!)

There has been a suggestion on here that he did in fact spot Powell on the far post and his flick maybe was intended for said player. Whatever the justification for/of the scorers intention or not, the general opinion from reliable sources is that it was a good goal. The Video recordings are not sufficiently close up to make meaningful judgement but common sense suggests you (can) go along with those actually there such as the Commentators(incl. Sky) etc. The Video Recordings (some) can be misleading to put it mildly. As the fat lady says its all about opinions if you can call some them as such.

at the end of the day, the idea is to get the ball into the goal, and he has!

Well played Was.

Just got back. Really good performance, 1st half we were pretty awesome, Hokins  looked fantastic and caused real problems,Turnbull and Bridge  bossed the park and. 1st goal their keeper had a mare( through his legs) but fair play to Hoskins for creating the opportunity, if you dont shoot you dont score etc etc.
Hoskins goal was thanks to perfect forward play. Thought there goal  was perhaps poor closing down,
2nd half was a  really backs to the wall, we still played the odd neat interchanges,but never looked in any real danger. Then the Hoskins moment( he will remember forever)
Taylor got a fair bit of stick from the lads i was sat near but to be honest i thought he did his job pretty well, i wouldn't say anyone had a bad game to be fair.
McWilliams is such a prospect, he still has a long way to go, still picks the wrong option from time to time but the potential of the kid is amazing.

Ash, like Cornell and Hoskins suffer from preconceptions fans have about them (rightly or wrongly) and have their weaknesses/ errors magnified greatly at times.

Lucky but intentional would probably convey it better.

But Agreed, if a top striker scored that the intetnet would be losing its mind.

Completely agree with all of this. We were very physical last night and that's what you have to be in this division. Our youngsters are not quite ready for this IMO and so shouldn't figure again until we're safe. The Bridge comments are spot on. Holds the ball well, has a really good touch and technique. I think he could become a really big player for the Cobblers. Nice to see McWilliams playing well again. Turnbull, Goode and Pierre also excellent. With these players consistently in the side + Foley to come back and hopefully the rediscovery of Hoskins, we can have a bit of optimism again. Let's see if we can back it up on Saturday. Consistency always seems to be our main problem.

Unfortunately Bridge is one of those that is out of contract in the summer - I hope that something can get sorted out.

Bloody M6...

"Two poor teams on show tonight, not much from our lads to get excited about and as for them and their idiotic fans definitely a horrible lot."

Taken from their forum. Some Tranmere fans did question the post. Seems said petal was upset by 'constant' bad language and "You Scouse bastard' chants! Think I heard it chanted once by around five fans... great that he could hear us at all!  ;D
 

Great battling display, you know that we are on it when you see Daniel Powell successfully slide tackling an opposition player on the edge of our box in the last five minutes of a game.
Excellently taken goals from Super Sammy, a lot of emotional support to him from the players and a great sense of emotion and relief from the travelling support. We were/are all willing him to do well for us and put the final touches to his tremendous work rate and that was reflected in the stand.  He gave their two CBs the runaround all game, they must have been glad to see the back of him in the 79th.
Good performances all round in what was a surprising selection and line-up; in addition to Sammy, special mentions to Bridge who was integral and involved in most  of our play, Cornell for a couple of decent saves to keep us in it (although his kicking was unusually off in the difficult and swirling conditions), Turnbull, Goode and Joe Powell were all not far off in the performance stake. 
JJOT when he came on for the last half hour performed well and made us look more solid, just hope that it's not long before he is fit enough to both start and complete 90 minutes if that is what he is back to.
Enjoyable evening, hopefully Saturday brings more of the same...

https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/sport/football/feature-thrilled-hoskins-talks-through-his-wonder-goal-at-prenton-park-1-8800995

I notice that sordell’s out for at least 2 weeks with a slight medial tear to his knee (I’m pretty amazed that KC/the club have actually disclosed the nature of the injury as that’s clearly not their policy). A bit of a blow despite him not being sensational on Saturday - at least we’ve got morias, Williams and now super Sammy to cover and KC seems to fancy Daniel Powell as an emergency forward (to be fair he can’t be any worse up front than he is on the wing).

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Great write up - can sense yr relief at 3pts

A GOOG RESULT THIS. 3 POINTS, CLEAN SHEET AND THEY WERE TENTH! WELL DONE EVERYONE.

Interesting to study ATs post match interview with Tim Oglethorpe who showed some journalistic naivety in TO not realising that Taylor currently lives on the Wirral and commutes to Northampton on a daily basis enduring the grind of the M6.

His reaction to the question about him no longer being the match day captain spoke volumes about his attitude to being a Cobbler and his own self arrogance. Did not seem to care a jot about the captain's role and referred to the current captain as "Pierre" and did not address him by his Christian name, methinks no love lost there. He comes over as being very arrogant and over confident in his own ability, to me he plays as though he is a poor man's Beckenbauer but makes too many crucial mistakes to merit a regular place in Curle's starting line up going forward.


In terms of his future at the Cobblers, he has another season left on his contract and unlike the other high wage earners like Von Veen and Crooks who were shipped out I don't think Taylor will have too many takers wanting to offer him the sort of money he is on at the Cobblers. Best he can hope for is a cut price return to his native North West, maybe even back to Tranmere as based on what I witnessed first hand at Prenton Park on Tuesday night they are in need of some defensive reinforcements. In summary not over impressed with Taylor's commitment to the cause despite what he says in the public domain, an interesting challenge for Curle to try and shoe horn him out of the club.

I think it was 2-1  ;D

                  I MUST HAVE HAD A SENIOR MOMENT.METHINKS!

Sam’s “fluke” makes goals of the week on Soccer AM  ;)

Watched the game on i-player...

Firstly, Im going to give Sammy the benefit of the doubt. I reckon he meant it, and his first goal was rather good as well. Best overall display by a Cobblers striker in recent memory, Tranmere simply couldn't handle him. His miss was funny though!  ;D

I thought it was almost the perfect away performance. Other than the 20 minutes after we scored the first goal (where we got deeper and deeper ultimately culminating in their equaliser), we played some decent stuff, and in the last 20 minutes 'shut up shop' with good effect.

Id also add that its the first time this season where I've seen us 'properly battle'. I tweeted at 2-0 down on Saturday, that a good hammering is probably what we need to wake them up, get rid of the complacency etc...so I was strangely quite happy that we lost 4-0 instead of scrambling the game back to 2-1 and seemingly being 'unlucky'. Narrow defeats don't re-set the mind, a good battering does! Of course it can work both ways and thankfully we took the positives from it.

John Joe coming on was the real catalyst for the superb back to walls finale, he was right back to his old self, minus the pony tail of course. I also supported Powell coming on; we were not going to support a striker holding the ball up (Williams) because by that point we'd retreated and for once I didn't mind. So an outlet with pace was the best option. Each sub made good sense, which was refreshing.

Top work by players and manager. I looked at the line up and feared the worst. But it worked a treat. Hopefully we can build on it at Lincoln.

https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/sport/football/hoskins-delighted-as-he-claims-league-two-goal-of-the-month-award-for-february-1-8850292

Well done Super Sammy Hoskins...

Not entirely sure how it gets goal of the month...clearly a fumbling overhead lob that got lucky!
No complaints on the night though!  ;D