The Hotel End

Burslem Saturday. Can't be any worse than our last visit there.

Thought it would be a score draw Saturday and predicting the same this week.

Recommended The Bulls Head if anyone is looking for an away friendly boozer, with BBQ (recommend the oatcakes!)

https://www.titanicbrewery.co.uk/our-pubs/the-bulls-head/

Decent away day in Burslem. One of my favourites. The locals can be a bit feisty though...

Nail on the head!   ;)

I'm a fan of this trip too. 4 of us heading to Stoke for a couple of hours before cabbing over to the already discussed Bulls Head.

Looking forward to this and stopping off at STONE for the necessary refreshments.

I wouldn't mind seeing a line up like this if McCormack isn't 100% fit:

                Cornell
H-J    Goode     Wharton  Martin
              Turnbull         
   S.McWilliams    Lines
Adams             A.Williams
                Smith

With Adams swapping between wings like he did last weekend.

That’s a solid option but I can’t see KC dropping Warburton just yet .

Definitely Turnbull, would like Warburton to get a run so would swap him for Williams or possibly Lines and push Williams alongside Smith?

Seems good - but really Morais should be in lieu of Williams

Good point Evers, on reflection so would I .

Agreed.
Warburton should be eased in as he has jumped up 2 leagues, the fans will be on his back if he keeps starting but doesnt score, we need to be sensible and patient with him.

turnbull is not a central midfielder

morias (whoever mentioned him) isnt playing again for us

Turnbull is the natural replacement for McCormack, but our midfield looks weak defensively.
Lines needs to step up as he was really disappointing on Saturday.
I would play Warburton just off Smith, but would have no issue with Williams starting.
Morris has to be in the squad, but I just cannot se it .... Perhaps KC will surprise us !

Hope that Turnbull gets in ..... somewhere!

Couldn’t agree more old boy.

I thought some of Turnbull's best performances last season were in the DM role

So did I, just in front of the back four.

So could it be that by default McCormacks injury takes us down a path the consensus is happy with? That lad has got talent, we all know it and to Curlios credit he brought him in from the cold. Given we are hopefully not leaving a gaping hole by pulling him out of the back four (which I don’t believe we are) this could be a happy coincidence? Dare I say a season changing moment even at this stage?

Bod (not the eighties Chinese weirdo!) bar at Stoke station too!

Absolutely! Can't believe he isn't making the squad.

Turnbull is one of our best players along with Moaris, Curle seems to think Hoskins is better though.

I’m totally staggered why Turnbull hasn’t started .........

f*** is all this Turnbull love come from? He's clumsy and slow.

I've only seen him play a couple of times admittedly, but I definitely wouldn't call Turnbull 'clumsy' based on those appearances. Calm & assured more like.

Anyone with eyes in their head and a brain between their ears can see that Turnbull is a high-quality player at this level. Dean Austin decided to drop him though... wonder what happened to him?!

Turnbull just in front of the back four was critical during our unbeaten run(s) last season.

He isn't.

You're yet to praise any of our players so far this season, Alex.

Pinch of salt.

i think we could do better for the money he is on

Sacre Bleu!

For what its worth looking at all the figures from last year, Turnbull our performed the rest of our midfield in several areas. He was better than JJOT, Mcwilliams and Foley in long pass accuracy, % of his tackles won, loss of possession, ball recoveries. So basically he was an effective sitting midfielder. He performs solidly in every category. I am guessing the reason he didnt start is because McCormack performs better than all our midfield in pretty much every category over the last 2 years hence him starting.

Goode very good on Saturday.

Martin good.

McCormack good.

McWilliams good.

With respect, it's the money you think he's on. I thought he was our Player of the Season last year, so he's worth whatever we're paying him in my view.

All well and good, and I think Turnbull is decent there too, but it'll be Watson that replaces McCormack on Satdee.

Macwilliams

I think Watson will replace Warbur'  &  Turnbull will replace McCormo'
Morais ought to be on the bench. Hoskins will almost certainly play(I think :-\ )

Don’t you mean Morias?    ;)

Slightly over the top! I like Turnbull as player and he should be in the side - if only to replace McCor’.  The term high quality is of course your PO but I would hesitate to laud him as high quality? Regards  How he managed to be on the side lines for so long sets the conspiracy theories going.

with respect, its the money you think that i think he is on.

for what he is being paid, he should much, much better for us.

to us, he isn't worth what he is being paid.

How much a week is Turnbull on then, compared to everyone else in the squad, or similar players in the league?

This argument means nothing without figures, or at least figures you believe to be true.

St Albans.

Sacked by Boadicea not so long ago!

Anyone an idea of how many we've got going tomorrow?

Wasn't that Colchester?

NAT did a more recent job back in 96 time!  ;D

Me and some mates. Some other mates, guy from Nantwich and a few others, some I know, some not...sooo...475!

The affray?

So....Can we whack the Vale?

Probably - unfortunately some people think the behaviour of so called football idiot hooligan firms is both funny and something to be proud of.

Saddo o so offended trying to take a cheap dig again...try and have some balls and say it directly to me eh!

Ok - here’s direct - I think your post that laughs at the antics of a Northampton firms antisocial and disgusting behaviour is pathetic - you also have form for such idiotic adoration making similar comments about such activities at Lincoln.

Another loss and a step closer to Curly Wurlys departure
2-0 Vale

Bang on Doc I’m going 3-1 Vale.

Early days but I don’t have a good feeling - which actually is a good thing as I’m normally wrong on any predictions for NTFC  :)

I think we'll revert to 3-5-2 today, and maybe only use the 4-2-3-1 at home?

                           Cornell

               Wharton Goode Turnbull

Adams                                          Martin

              McWilliams Lines Watson

                   Warburton

                                  Smith

Think Warbs deserves another start if Morias is not going to get a look in, he looked neat and tidy on Saturday and could play some nice intricate stuff. God knows what we will end up with though.


Would be nice to get some points (even one) on the board today.

I think he will go defensive because he won’t want to lose two on the bounce at the start of the season against teams we should be competing against .
I think he will play  4 4 11 with Warburton behind Smith.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see a midfield of Adams , Lines, Macwilliams and Watson with Hoskins dropped .
It won’t work and we will lose without scoring .

 ;D

Not forgetting London (LO) and reckon Towcester took a hit too! Lincoln offred stiff resistance but lost a lot of fans travelling to Colchester ; ambushed by Coolio and the boys!!

Do you both have to be so misrable? Sounds like Feelgood is suffering  mood swings....again.

Doom and gloom after 1 game. That's the spirit.

Vale 3 Cobblers 1.

Alec.

0-2 to the Cobblers
Hoskins getting both goals and Cornell saving a penalty.

Arnold

Hall
Goode
Wharton
Marton

Watson
Lines

Adams
Warburton
Hoskins

Smith

I’m going 2-0 to the teyn, although 10 minutes ago I was going for us to lose 3-0. I’m all over the place?

I've just walked out my backdoor and now I cant find my front door Melbourne.

Subs; Cornell, Turnbull, A.Williams, Pollock, S.McWilliams, Morias, Bunney.

Sam Hoskins makes his 150th appearance for the Cobblers.

It's a strong bench.

That’s a very good bench indeed .

Very odd to leave Cornell in last week, who does nothing wrong and then gets dropped.

Mysterious Curle indeed.

Good to see Junior back on the bench, at least we have a different type of striker to bring on.

Get a grip Melbourne, get a grip!

This is an epidemic!

They say that a player has his shooting boots on. What is the equivalent for headers? Whatever it is Harry needs it!

Any sign of the Doc...is he on his rounds again Baldy?

I understand he's in his clinic today. He's a busy man and he does a good job.

Texas would be a poorer place without him. That's for sure.

He's the greatest!

1-0 Vale, Amoo from a corner

Sack 'em all!!!

1-0 Vale.
Zonal marking at fault again?

s***e marking yet again

I blame Dr. Feelgood. Part timer!

We are bottom of the league

Currently and not just by goal difference..

30 mins gone and we look a poor side - early days but looks like a long season.

Get used to it!!

Breakfast in St Louis and the Cobblers are losing! Happy Days!

One good move by Adams pushing it out to Hoskins for the cross - so obviously that went straight to the keeper......

We have looked poor defending set pieces throughout pre season .
It’s not been sorted out in training and it’s basic stuff to coach.

;D Don't you just the Cobblers!

Better last 15 minutes

1-1 Ryan Watson. HT.

Get in there!!!

Was just about to sign in and say still no goal.

So clearly down to me we score

Just when we were thinking we couldn't even buy 'un
We get the equaliser - nice one Ryan

Well played Was.

Tom Pope puts the ball in the net after a mistake by Goode, but it is flagged for offside.

Arnold off with a hamstring injury, Cornell on.

Joe Bunney on, Joe Martin off.

Now Amoo hits the crossbar! Cobblers hanging on...

Matt Warburton off, Junior Morias on.

FT: Port Vale 1-1 Cobblers

Great save from Cornell at the end by the sounds of things.

There you go you see, I was about right with the score

Curle appears to be playing the 4231 which I and many others have advocated (I’d still argue it’s the best fit for our squad). His major mistake today IMO was in dropping both Turnbull (again) and Cornell, meaning that the back five were all effectively new players lacking in mutual understanding. I would say this lack of familiarity more than the zonal marking system per se is largely to blame for us conceding two goals from corners.


Further forward, Hoskins vs Morais is a red herring. What is needed is for us to sign a Holmes style attacking midfielder to compete with Warburton (still finding his league football feet ) ans Hoskins whose lack of end product continues to be an issue.

Overall, not a disastrous start given the toughish opposition and the challenge of embedding so many new signings (although as I say imo trying to do this with the back five is in itself an error). However, we all know that things need to start improving fairly quickly.

Horrendous goal to concede. Completely unmarked

Improvement needed and quick.

J'aime les cordonniers.

Where was the breakfast?

Was in St Louis a couple of months back... Cobblers shirt at the Cardinals v Cubs game!  ;)

Drury Plaza at the Arch, only a couple of blocks from Busch Stadium, Cardinals v Pittsburgh last night, thought about it but as I’m a Rays fan it would be strange watching a game not involving them!!

Curle under massive pressure, loose to Macc and the knives will be out.

Mack the knife? Not really, 3 games in...  And it's lose, not 'loose' (wo)manwork...   ;D

So the Port Vale manager thinks we should have had a couple of.players sent off. It's a comment which infuriates me. What about his player who committed by far the worse atrocity of the game and did not even get a word from the referee. I refer to the injury on our keeper. Their player was rightly given offside and the whistle went but he nevertheless went in feet high on our keeper catching on the thigh putting him out of not only this game but possibly future ones as well. Askey should be apologising for his players action not trying to point fingers at ours.

What a joke on the quality of sound on NTFCs post match interviews. Why did they not do the interviews in doors away from the wind as the content of the interviews they made with Curle and Watson were virtually inaudible. The same issue applies at Sixfields pitch side interviews as well surely this problem can be readily sorted out by doing interviews in a better environment. it is not rocket science

I don’t remember asking for your pointless comment pal.
We were very lucky today, needs to be a big improvement fast.

Thought we battled well,Watson  had a good game as did the ever reliable Goode.
I personally think we should have done better with their goal, header straight down the middle of the goal.
We seem to let the opposition run at us without challenge and then have a shot! no wonder the keper goes nuts at the defence and midfield.
I fully expect us to escape the drop, we have signed some good players in the window, but we need 4 more ASAP.
Curle unfortunately isn't going to last the season,  he'll be gone and everybody knows it.
We will lose to Macc this week and I think the next game will be his last with the cobblers crowd finally turning against him.
We are one of the bigger clubs in this division defiantly in terms of budget and attendance, there is no way we should be worried about relegation.
A more experienced manager would make a difference in terms of motivation and set up
With the current set up we will be safe, we have had a lot of easier games against teams in and around us.
Curle's record as manager is the worst I can remember, boring side wards passing no penetration conceding just about every game.
IMHO he will be gone in the next few weeks.

A 'more experienced' manager would make a difference.....AMAZING comment!.
There is not many with more experienced unless you are going to dig some up who are 6 foot underground!

Yes Curle plays in a one dimensional way,
Yes we need more pace going forward,
Yes Hoskins needs dropping,

BUT changing managers has NOT worked previously!!!

Stayed at the hotel next door! Yes, next to the Arch, look across at Busch Stadium. Second game against Cubs (day of Champions League Final) was halted in fifth innings (threat of storms)...resumed at 11.30 pm, finishing at 1.30am ffs!  :o
No, I didn't stay for it!  ;D

I remeber my first game at the White Sox. Went to many extra innings and finished gone midnight.

Can't really believe I am reading this.

Does any more weight need to be added to this debate?
Unless they do something that is glaringly obvious which deliberately damages the team, crucifying anyone for a genuine mistake does not only affect their morale, but almost certainly the rest of the team

So what are you doing about the situation? Some posters quote theory as fact but do not come up with a likely workable alternative to the current mess
The midfield did not help because they did not make any runs in advance of Hoskins.

Not a bad report at least you took the trouble to post one. To me it is a pity you found time to launch a mild personal attack on KC . In the scene of things not sure if punters will be interested in such comments on KC?.

.... but were you there?

My amateur opinion would be suggest to KC he plays McWilliams and Lines as the holding midfielders and give balance to the midfield by playing Morgan Roberts instead of Hoskins.
Warburton needs to play closer to Smith to take advantage of the crosses of Adams and Roberts..............EASY!!!

Wow, just wow.

Game 1 = Curle don't know his best team.
Game 2 = Lucky to get a point Curle be under pressure if we lose Game 3.

No support for Curle, not many realistic suggestions of needing time for the new signings to gel, not many realistic suggestions of needing at least 10 games before we can honest and reasonably judge it.

This guy is a very experienced manager, some people seem to actually want us to fail just to get him gone.

Is it Racism? I can't help but wonder if people think that because Jimmy Floyd was black and didnt do well here that Keith Curle doesnt deserve a fair chance.

Perspective, we have played some good stuff and made chances, we have defended well at times, there are things we need to improve on... but its not a case of being rubbish and creating nothing... to me things just need to click into place and when they do we will reap the rewards.

Lets get behind the team and the manager and stop being spoilt expecting to win every game when we havent even invested heavily enough in the squad to justify winning every game.

How many 2019/2020 previews had us down as promotion candidates?  how many had us down as play off candidates? None. Zero. 0.  Guess thats why people think its a crime that we havent won the first 2 games.

Why have you introduced a racism angle?

I agree with everything you've said here, apart from your odd comment about racism. As far as I recall, most if not all of us agreed that Rob Page was incompetent, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was incompetent, and Dean Austin was incompetent. Their racial backgrounds were irrelevant- they were all just terrible managers with very few redeeming professional qualities!

I back Curle- he still needs time to sort this team out after a massive summer upheaval. I'm not happy with a couple of his tactical decisions (Turnbull should definitely be starting, and Hoskins nowhere near the starting XI) but at the moment I'm still satisfied that he is the best man to take our club forward.

Seriously? Absolutely moronic post. ::)

I think I have finally heard it all now. For some very random, inexplicable reason you have felt it necessary to introduce racism into a match report with not a single shred of evidence. Seriously, are you completely mad?

I thought we played very well in parts on Saturday, Hoskins didn't really carry any threat but I thought the team worked hard and looked to be finding their way together.

Defending set pieces needs work but Curls must now see the problems that are evident with the new players.

+1 another one of Franks embarrassing creations.

According to the PV match reports the result was a fair one; that we were combative side! They described our centre backs as huge!  The PV reports dont support Manny boyo view of the game who inferred he was at the match. Slight element of doubt on that as he is not normally a great away supporter. So I take his view point on the game/KC as opportunistic comment to support his argument ref KC.I agree that Turnbull should be playing but not necessarily on Hoskins. I agree he is not ideal but at the moment do we have anyone better in the role he plays? With the anti Hoskinites their argument appears flawed when a succession of managers seem to think he should be in the staring X1.
Some of the criticism KC inow facing is very similar to that aimed at Wilder!!

Not just the marking at set pieces needs work - some of the marking even from relatively safe throw ins put us into dangerous positions - overall better than Walsall but we still look a long way off a promotion side.

Oh, hang on so you didn't go to the game and yet you have the temerity to post on the match thread? Tut very tut tut.

Which is what you do all the time!

How long have you been a fan? Cobblers fans get on the back of every single manager, expect instint success . Since the invention of the internet we can now spend the whole week moaning, winding ourselves up. Posting rubbish. Obviously this is not exclusive to NTFC, have a look at other team's Facebook pages and message boards,can quickly identify fans with the same characteristics. People moan because they love it, they know no different.

Anyone that talked of promotion on this site / social media during the early flurry of signings was always way off the mark and getting a little over excited.
We have brought in experience and a few winners but the age range will make those players injury prone.
Some of the other signings are quite average .
The zonal marking system allows attackers to run with momentum into positions where defenders are static. This happened on Saturday and the week before.
I said it would cost us 10 goals this season . The count is up to 2 in 2 weeks .

Agree, do you think Curly will change to man to man?

Their goalscorers starting position was next to Steve Arnold on the line, he moved out towards the six yard line then back in to attack the ball. All the while being watched by two defenders stood rigidly in their zone marking positions. Steve Arnold had no chance.

I've only seen the highlights but what struck me was the ball was headed on the six yard line (or possibly a little inside of it) and more or less directly in front of Arnolds starting position. Whilst I realize the scorer was in front of him, could he not still have come and punched/claimed it?

Just watched the goal and you're right. He takes about three steps away from Arnold to the six yard line and has an unchallenged header. If we had man marked and Arnold commands his six yard box, that wouldn't have been the so easy.

That’s correct .
But the attacker has momentum and the defenders don’t . It’s far too easy for the opposition and some of the blame has to be placed on the coaches because it is basic stuff .
Arnold definitely should have made more effort to punch it though .

Zonal marking may be brilliant, it may not. If KC is a fan that’s fine but if it doesn’t suit or sit comfortably with the players at his disposal then it should be cast aside. Bit premature for that perhaps, but I mention it because IMO this is where most managers fail. They get an idea and see it as a sign of weakness to change track, even when every man and his dog can see the bleeding obvious. If we struggle with this system and KC refuses to budge to prove everyone wrong then we’ll know we have another muppet on our hands. The real strength is in doing the right thing not the ego thing. That’s what I think anyway?

I’m not a fan of zonal marking but you’ can’t blame zonal marking for Port Vale’s goal. Smith didn’t do his job it’s as simple as that.

Smith didn’t do his job in a zonal marking role and Amoo drifted into space knowing no one would go with him . Basic stuff

The header was inside the 6 yard box, should have been keeper's ball.

Oh dear not another rush to blame the goal keeper

I’d have to see it again but my instant reaction was that (like last week) it was an outswinger which the keeper would have struggled to claim and that Harry Smith for 2 weeks running has lost his man.

The goal against Walsall was an out swinger headed in close to the penalty spot and Harry Smith was the nearest man. The goal against Port Vale was inside the 6-yard box, Chris Lines was the closest man, but I still maintain it should have been the keeper's ball.

Harry Smith has apologised for not picking his man up for the goal on Saturday so I think it’s fair to say that he has been culpable for both of the goals we have conceded so far - I’m not a big fan of zonal marking but when people make individual mistakes it doesn’t matter if you’re zonal or man to man. On the subject of smith he’s going to need to settle himself down a bit, while I’m completely sympathetic that he’s been given nothing by the referees in both games he needs to be “cuter” and not put himself in a position to be penalised (also known as the akinfenwa effect where the ref just sees his size and automatically assumes he is constantly fouling).

Got to agree with this assessment. Wonder what the general assessment of the goal would have been if Cornell had started?

It would have been Cornell’s fault.

It was Cornell's fault for not getting picked.

He was being saved for tomorrow against his hometown club?