Who was that then? Holmes? Who will have gone for a club record fee and to a side that is aiming for the Championship? Realistically, how likely did you think it was that he'd star 16/17 playing against Fleetwood at Sixfields?
 Apart from him you have Adams, a bit part in the second half of the season. The rest were loans- not our players. Unless I've forgotten anybody and it doesn't matter if I have because he didn't draw up the retained list.

Hello again everyone, had a good summer?!
Marquee
Drawing up the retained list was one of RP's first tasks at the club within 2-3 days of starting the job, please get your facts straight!?

Did I miss something? I thought the fee for Ricky Holmes was "undisclosed" (as they always were throughout the reign of our old friend Mr Cardoza..... alarm bells ringing yet for anyone?!) which IMO was a PR disaster and own goal for the new owners of NTFC. If it was a club record fee, I am sure it would have been disclosed, as it would have been universally acclaimed as inevitable good business by NTFC supporters as the player himself wanted to leave. Far more likely it was a much lower transfer fee than the fans would have expected, and hence a backlash would have been the outcome if KT had of released the figure.
Lack of financial transparency is not a good thing for our club in the post Cardoza era. If the amount was a hefty sum, then why not disclose it? It's very difficult to see any positive motive for the non-disclosure; I sincerely hope it wasn't because ......it was either a very low amount, or ....because key people at the club may not be comfortable with absolute transparency in terms of the sums of money being put into and taken out of the club?

Ref. Adams being a bit part player......he has now been promoted out of league 2 in both of the last 2 seasons, and played almost 40 games in each season. Coincidence? Or maybe he's just sh*t lucky?!

As for Charlton "aiming for the Championship".... have you not been keeping up to date in the past couple of years?! Charlton are in complete meltdown. The owner is allegedly quite a "character" who likes to dabble in picking and signing the players, hence CW not accepting the job there. They sold 2 of their best players last week in fact.

Regs "the other players being loans".....I think Danny Rose was offered a contract to stay here? (IMO he got better and better as the season wore on and will be hard to replace) John Marquis and Collins were not even offered terms to stay I think?
As for those on here saying we should "wait until the end of August to see who else we sign...." ...... which players exactly do you think are going to be free agents towards the end of August?!?! (Certainly not the most sought after ones, that's for sure!) Are you not aware the season starts next Saturday?!? If I was a half decent player, I would want to be signed up to a team several weeks ago, not waiting around unemployed and missing some of the season without a club!!?
One of CW's triumphs last season was in making his signings early in the summer, and then having the whole of preseason to work with the players and get across his ideas and playing style to them.

As a neutral, I thoroughly enjoyed this match tonight,  it was entertaining in lots of different ways. Good luck to Wimbledon in the Finals, and I hope Bayo gets to go out on a high by playing and winning  at Wembley this time around.
Somebody should really be lining up Bayo long term for a TV pundits job, as his enthusiasm is infectious, he's quick witted and he always used to speak a lot of sense when interviewed during his time here.

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/10287446/accrington-2-2-afc-wimbledon-2-3-agg

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/10287444/akinfenwa-im-a-handful

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/10287448/ardley-proud-of-team-spirit

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/10287466/holloway-has-minto-in-stitches

As I said to Barton Cobbler at the end of season dinner.....

Ref. AJ Leitch Smith
No thankyou.. We need more pace the higher up the leagues we go, and from watching him play against us for Crewe a few times, he was one of Crewe's slower players, and from what I remember, was so left sided/footed, he could barely stand on his right leg!   

I understand Bayo is going to be Director of Football

I know you are always chuckling at all the "Bayo Lovers" on here Wrigleys, but when you have finished your chuckling, Bayo seems to be running riot for Wimbledon after coming on as a sub tonight in the play offs 2nd leg...You never really lose it, eh? (Especially if you never had any pace to lose in the first place!)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/36165398

I for one hope they get through, and hopefully Bayo gets the Wembley fairy story his career has deserved...(and which the Clown (Aidy Boothroyd) denied him (and us all) of 3 years ago.   

Probably my 50p on Bowyer...

With all the possibilities out there as the next Cobblers manager, why exactly would you choose Gary Bowyer?
 
Not saying he wont turn out to be a successful manager eventually, but he has done nothing so far which would lead anyone to believe he would be successful at Northampton?

Surely better to choose a manager who has achieved some level of success with at least 1 or 2 different teams? (or achieved success in his first managerial role)
COYC!!

Is this a serious question? Money in the bank making it easier to set a playing budget, more guaranteed bums on seats making meaning less empty seats, meaning floating fans are more likely to pre-book tickets well in advance etc etc

The only concern is the number of under 7 (free tickets) that are given out, especially if the kids don't come to all of the games. We had a number of sell outs last season with people unable to buy tickets, but a number of the free season tickets seats remained unoccupied.

I 100% agree with you on the free season tickets for under 7's and its something I have been thinking about since around Xmas....
Its a nice idea (and good for long term attracting of future fans...) if capacity of the stadium is not a problem... but with our small ground, if we have some sustained success, then I wonder if it is workable.....

"Someone I know" whose young nephew joins him in attending 5-6 games per season was even thinking of buying one of these tickets just to guarantee a spare seat for some of their buddies at higher profile games where we are likely to sell out in advance...so there would be 17-18 matches where he pretty much knew this child's seat would be empty at the time he was buying the season ticket!!  (his adult buddies would then have to pay to upgrade the ticket) and if nobody wanted the seat then "it hadn't actually cost him anything, well now had it?!? "(He's not the sharpest tool in the box, so I am sure if he thought of that, then lots of others will have too!  ) Kind of annoying if you are a Cobbler through and through to think that there may be hundreds of seats "reserved" in this way by people not paying anything upfront to reserve them, and if you can't be a season ticket holder due to personal circumstances, then even more annoying to know you could well miss out on attending some matches, because these people have reserved seats for free, and yet they remain empty for quite a lot of matches!!

I agree with you on CC but he definitely didn't release Richards after the play-off loss at Mansfield.

Razor
I stand corrected!  (2 out of 3 right then as he definitely released the other 2 together with 60% of the team as I couldn't believe someone doing that when you have just gone 16 unbeaten or whatever it was to the end of the season!)
Did he release Marc Richards sometime the following season? (or maybe it was after CC had left altogether?... the years are starting to blur into one!!....)
Cheers!

I am more than a little suprised that Martin Allen has not been mentioned, he was a poular choice before Wilder was appointed, also what about Lawire Sanchez?

Martin Allen is definitely good at organising teams defensively, and he does seem to be "effective" but we would all need to buy tractors, and wear wellingtons to attend sixfields as we wouldnt be playing any football whatsoever!!!

My Gillingham supporting friend said when MA won the league with them, he doesn't remember a time when so many supporters were not on board, due totally to the style of play!!

Perhaps I have missed something but Marc has also played under Colin Calderwood.
Should Brighton not go up through the playoffs ( they have a mountain to climb after last Friday's reverse against Sheffield Wednesday), there is a man who knows the club well and still lives in the area, rather different to CW'S insistence to commute over 4 hours each day.
Experience at a higher level, including the Premiership, Championship and League One..a good coach and a real gentleman.. Colin fits the bill well.
OK we have to put to one side his close ties With DC  and his sudden departure last time BUT this team is considerably more promising.
Shout me down if you like but CC is quality and could help to urge our present players to a yet higher level, besides his contacts enabling us to fill in any obvious gaps.
Enough said for now.. except "What are his existing odds?"

Did you attend any matches under Colin Calderwood?!?  
The style of football we played was agricultural at best?!
Even when we were winning, it was almost always 1-0 and I remember thinking countless times during matches under him that I never remembered a time of supporting the Cobbs when we were doing so well, and yet I enjoyed the matches so little!!

Also, I never understood why, at the end of every season, CC insisted on having a massive player clearout?? We went a lot of matches unbeaten up to the Mansfield play-off loss, and a few days later he released Marc Richards, Chris Hargreaves, Paul Trollope and a host of other experienced players who it seemed had started finally gelling together. Each summer therefore we had to voluntarily start a major rebuilding job!!?

Also, wasn't it CC who released Lee Williamson after the Southend play off loss (he didn't even get onto the pitch in either of those matches, despite being a substitute, and who I still maintain was one of the most complete midfielders I ever saw play for NTFC!!) He joined Rotherham on a free, and within the year he was signed by Watford for over £1 Million, which was particularly galling as he was superb for us, but I presume must have had some personality clash with CC?!?! He went on to have a pretty good career with Watford for a few years mostly in the championship.

I don't know about Chris Powell but currently on oddschecker Hope Powell is 14/1.

Now that WOULD be an inspirational appointment!!?   

Alton
I sincerely hope you are right and I am wrong!!   

I like your JJ "bipolar" theory!! hahahaha!!!   

Think Sir Chris will reward Ricky for getting him this dream job with at least a 2 or 3 year contract, on probably 2 or 3 times the money as at NTFC. He was rapidly becoming one of my all time favourite Cobbs, but I guess its better to burn out than fade away!!! 

Thats with hindsight. Of course we dont have that with any of the others.
Like to see a thread from 2/12 years ago when he was appointed.

Well.... I remember we all thought "Why on Earth has CW come ...here...!?!?"
(Considering he had just got Oxelona up out of the Conference and was 5th in the league at the time he jumped ship...?!)

He had never "failed" anywhere as a manager.
The others on the list have all failed at least once (some more than once!!) and have relegations etc on their cv's.
I tend to agree with bri77 ref the lack of inspiration in the list.

Can we wait until the middle of next week to speak to Neil Ardley if Wimbledon don't go up?
What's Gary Monk doing now? (always impressed with how he carried himself)

I reckon Wilder wil bide his time, after all he's inheriting a squad that finished 11th in League One, so I doubt any of our players will be head and shoulders above those he already has. If any of ours perform well in the early season he may come knocking in January.

Alton
Maybe, but since Sheffield have sacked managers in 3 of the previous 4 seasons for getting beaten in the play offs, Sir Chris won't have a lot of time, and he can't really wait and see!!   

Goalkeeper
Moloney, Diamond, McDonald, Left Back
O'Toole(?), Byrom
Adams, D'Ath, Winger
Richards

I still think that's a very solid starting XI, potentially. Don't think the 'heartbeat has gone' at all. We just need to bring in the right players to replace the ones we'll potentially lose. Have some faith.

Ok buddy, we will have to agree to disagree.
Richards is 33 and has just had both Achilles tendons operated on for tendinopathy. He is not going to be the force he was, as much as I hope otherwise.
D'Ath doesn't offer too much going forward any more.
That means you are relying on Nicky Adams for 100% of our attacking prowess in your team!

We only had Smith by chance, he's spending a year here on parole. Anybody that expects him to see his full contract out is naive.

+1

You Nancy-boy.

[Aside from Smith, Holmes, Buchanan and possibly O'Toole, I don't think there's too many of our current squad likely to be following him to be honest.]

None of those are a high enough calibre for Sheffield United. Aside from Smith, Holmes, Buchanan and possibly O'Toole, I don't think there's too many of our current squad likely to be following him to be honest. Three or four good signings and the right managerial appointment and we can still compete at the right end of League One next season. I honestly believe that.

"Aside from Smith, Holmes, Buchanan and possibly O'Toole, I don't think there's too many of our current squad likely to be following him to be honest" ........ Ahem...Does that actually leave ANY of our current squad?!?!?! 

Hate to disagree with you NTFC nut but I suspect Danny Rose might even already be on his way, (based purely on how highly CW spoke about him and the fact he would also be FOC. A shame, as he really started to come into his own towards the end of the season, and started to have a much bigger influence on games.)

This is what I am so so so very worried about......You don't just easily replace players like that, as quite a lot of people seem to infer in their comments on here?!?!? Each of them could lay claim to being amongst the best, if not the best player in their positions at the Cobblers in the last 30 years, so how EXACTLY do you think we are going to replace players of that ilk, without several Million £'s to buy them, and more £'s again in high wages to entice them?!?

....I would be amazed if CW doesn't try to sign Ricky Holmes. Calling him "the magician", and telling others he was "the best player at the club" and from his interviews, he obviously likes him on a human level. I suspect CW could well toss in an opening bid of around £500K and see if KT bites. He is worth much more to us than any buying club because of his age, but then again, if you were Ricky, he loves playing for a manager who gave him such freedom to play, and I don't believe he could have played as well in his career for his previous teams as he simply wouldn't be playing in the lower leagues if he had. He has 1 year left to run on his contract, so if he doesn't go in the summer, surely a much lower bid will secure him in the transfer window at Xmas, as he would leave for free next summer.

JJ is a tricky one.....Again from his interviews, it sounds like CW didn't get on with him that well on a personal level, but he has to respect what a fantastic season he has had and if he could maintain that in League 1, he could rule the roost again in that league as he has League 2. A year or two younger than Ricky, so suspect the bid would have to be at least as high, if not higher?

Buchs is such a consistent, steady player and a leader, only weakness being his slight lack of pace. Difficult to know if CW will come in for him also, but I wouldn't be surprised....

Smith....I think is destined to return again to higher leagues, and I don't think Sheffield Utd would be able to tempt him this summer. (At least if I was advising him, I would tell him to hold his ground and wait for a championship club or higher to come in for him...)

So I think we could well lose 3 of the 4 you mention to Sheffield this summer, plus Danny Rose.

And you have then taken the heartbeat out of our team. 

We go from being a team who you would be disappointed if they didn't make the play offs next season, to being a team whose main aim will be to avoid coming straight back down to league 2. And that's not pessimism, but realism.

And to all those who say, "Ah, well, if we raise a million or two through the sale of those players, we can re-invest it in new players" .......Well, I suspect KT might want to recoup some of his £4 million outlay so I am sure the majority of that money would go on the running of the club and finishing the East Stand.

And then me-ducks, we are back to square one, exactly where we started when DC took over the club. A nice little ground holding 7,700 people, and a motley collection of has-beens, nearly-beens and the odd youth team gem who gets sold after 20 appearances for the club for an "undisclosed fee"

Bugger!!! 

All these players that Chris Wilder may sign from us and nobody has mentioned Rod McDonald? Worth a punt for a top end league one side of have thought?

Definitely good enough IMO (and improving all the time), but the fact that CW offered him an extended and improved NTFC contract only a couple of months ago makes me wonder if CW rates him as highly as us? (as I am sure Sir Chris knew in his bones that he might be off to fry bigger fish in the Summer ,as has transpired...)

Sentimentality has nothing to do with it.

This is by far the best group of players we have had since 1986/87 and in RH and JJ O'T we have 2 of the best players in their positions I have seen in that time.

I just don't want to see them rifled from right in front of our noses when for a few fleeting months it seemed like we might be able to progress and build something, and not sell all the best players like in the aftermath of 1987, and return to the basement division and return to travelling to see us lose 7-0 at Sc***horpe etc.

We don't have the resources to be able to just shrug off things so easily if our championship winning team were dismembered.

Hence I would be slightly aggrieved if Sir Chris did this, since it would condemn me once again to having to watch inferior players playing Sunday morning football. Call me selfish! 

[but I do feel at this stage of my career it is one I need to explore]

Patronising windbag, full of your own importance , forever lecturing people on here that you know better. You are an insult to most people's intelligence on here. Go back to Oxfords board and bore them silly.

Evers,
I am sorry if I have permanently offended you.

You asked;

"Has he? If there is a link please let me know?"
to someones assertion that;
"the problem we have if Wilder does not go to CAFC .is that he has publicly stated his intention of seeking a job elsewhere"

So I posted the link and the statement where Sir Chris says "My relationship with the chairman and the fans is going to make this a very difficult decision, but I do feel at this stage of my career it is one I need to explore,"

My exasperation was that you either had already read the BBC report and didn't comprehend it, or that you just had not actually read any of the news reports surrounding this issue, despite posting on The Hotel End every day and undoubtedly a Cobblers fan.

I am sorry again and I will try my best not to get so exasperated in future.

Has he? If there is a link please let me know.

Dear Evers,
I think I might have to stop looking at The Hotel End because I find your daily unbelievably ignorant posts incredibly annoying!!! (I am sorry to be rude and all that, and I apologise for my outburst!!     )

Have you not been hearing the news, or reading anything on the internet about this at all?!?!? (like every other topic that comes up on here....!)

"My relationship with the chairman and the fans is going to make this a very difficult decision, but I do feel at this stage of my career it is one I need to explore,"

taken from;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36249639

So Chris is saying that at this stage of his career, he needs to think about a BIG move to a much BIGGER club if he is ever going to make it on the BIG stage. He is saying that he feels we are not BIG enough. Maybe in terms of facilities, resources or maybe just his wages, but whichever way you look at it, he is saying we are not BIG enough and he is getting itchy feet.

Does that explain the situation to you any more clearly? I would love him to stay and sign on those players out of contract etc, but he has publicly stated that he needs to explore leaving for a BIGGER club, hence it is unlikely that he is suddenly going to do a 180 and decide that he is 'appy to stay put at NTFC for too much longer.