The Hotel End

Hello. All Carling Cup Round Four stuff in here please. That's the draw, reaction and everything else. Thanks. It's to save 15 different threads being created, 4 of which all just giving the draw itself and nothing else.
Any other threads set up will be deleted.

 :)

If it's away Karl, how about hiring a hotelenders bus?

I'm sure you'd fill it.

I did one to the last boro game. Unfortuanately about 15 people decided not to turn up or pulled out at the last minute before paying, plus the problems withthe law were getting silly. They just kept changing what they wanted us to do all the time. Still can't moan too much, they let us in the Cherry Tree at 11. Not quite the 10.40am it was the year before but nevermind. Plus thereisn't much time before the next round (week of October 25th)

I'll happily put my name forward now however (with at least a 'plus 1') to any early doors booze buses going to the 4th round  8)

Oh yes, with a possible + 6.

I'm hoping we get someone decent "train" wise this time though. I'm hoping to be able to come back on it rather than having to cage a lift back like at Anfield. Arsenal/West Ham would do.

I'm fairly convinced that we will get either number four or number 6.

No thankyou!!! Looking through the list though, only away at 1, 2 or 8 would do it for me!!

BTW....anyone going to put a quid or two on us to win the Trophy?? Only 500/1 outsiders!!

Where did you find those odd's? Ladbrokes only has us at 150/1

corals

150/1 is amazingly short odds for Northampton Town to win the League Cup, bookies are running scared! ;D

Anybody else thinking the Leicester looked really, really beatable last night? Them please. :D

would be happy with that, still fancy Old Trafford though!

Getting nervous for the draw now....really really want a good draw.

The likely event is one of Brentford of Cobblers will get a really good draw and the other a relatively rubbish one....lets hope we get the good un!

8/9 vs 10 please!

12.15 due start

1 Arsenal
2 Villa
3 Birmingham
4 Brentford
5 Burnley
6 Ipswich
7 Leicester
8 United
9 Newcastle
10 Cobblers
11 Stoke
12 Swansea
13 WBA
14 Hammers
15 Wigan
16 Wolves

The bad news is there are a lot more teams that would be classed as a s*** draw than a good draw.

Also a lot more teams than id of expected that seem beatable especially at home!

Or each other... :P

Has it started yet?!

Dunno i'm stuck at work....anyone?!?

Someone please help those of us stuck at work! The tension is unbearable

Just about to start

Ipswich away.

s***e draw.

f**k

Urgh. I demand a re-draw with round balls!

I'm not to unhappy, it could have been worse, it could have been better.

Exactly, it's certainly winnable.

Rubbish draw. We deserved better.

Did anyone see the disappointment in the club staffs eyes?

Probably the worst draw really. Brentford - could have won it. Anyone else - good money. Worst of both worlds with this one. Gutted.

Ipswitch Away. s***.

Worse than Wigan away in front of 5,000 people? Worse than a long trek to Swansea?

Get real people, its an ok draw, nothing more and nothing less.

I think its scuppered any tv coverage though.

Oh well, United in the quarters at Old Trafford it is then

You never know with keane but guess they'll play their full team what with it being one game from the quarters?!

Wednesday was our night. Draws like that don't come round too often, which is why they're special when they do. That draw today emphasises it.

Ipswich = new ground for me and possibly quite a few others, and if it's half as good as the last two rounds it'll be worth going to. Not expecting a win but we will doubtlessly put up a good fight again.

Yup...it was like "ohh, after beating Liverpool?"  :(

We would have lost to Brentford, but maybe would have been on TV...

Oh well. It's allrriighhtt.

After Liverpool I said to my old man Im not to bothered about who we get now as Liverpool was everything I could of asked for.
Ipswich away in my eyes isn't all that bad, It's not to far away and Im sure it will be a close match.

The last time we played Ipswich was in the League Cup on a Tuesday night (1975?).  I was 15, skived off school and hitchhiked to the game.  We lost 5-0 depsite John Farrington hitting the bar before they scored, the team froze on the night.  I got a lift back on Dave Simmons' townhall coach which got bricked and had nearly every window smashed.  Revenge would be oh so sweet.

It's actually further than u think, google says 2hrs 25 mins

Its pretty s*** if were being honest. Won't be many home fans there, they will proberly play their full strength team. If we were going to get one of the s***ty teeams from that list, you wanted them at home so we may have been on TV/ may have had a better chance of winning. No chance of getting their by train for most people as well. Couldn't have been much worse really, only Swansea/Wigan maybe Burnley away. But ah well, its safe to say Wednesday was our night and we can't complain, but if we go out to Ipswich it will all be a bit of a come-down.

Stand corrected, we played them over two legs a few years later.

Not that further than i thought, i estimated 2 hours  ;)

One woman there seemed really excited and joyfully shouted out "Ipswich!!".

That was funny.

Not the worst draw to be honest and it could be live on TV. Glad it's away too as we always play better in the cup away against better teams, Again, no pressue so we can just enjoy it. This is a complete bonus game for us. We beat Liverpool at Anfield which was our cup final and an experience we will all probably never experience again in our lifetime.

It could have been worse and of course could have been much better. I've never been so another ground to tick off and it gives us an easier passage to the final than it could have been.......
We last played them in the League Cup over 2 legs in 1987. Think the first leg was 1-1 at Portman Road and we lost 4-2 after extra-time at a very wet County Ground in the 2nd leg. Glenville Donegal scored our 2nd.

Surely Keane's not going to underestimate us, considering that when we almost got that Sunderland scalp two years ago he described it as 'the worst night of my career'. They're probably going to play a full first team Only confort is that Ipswich have had some easy draws so far and have struggled through, so maybe we can carry on the reign of upset kings.

Maybe their keeper can drop the ball at Holts feet and it can be like Reading all over again.

We won at Anfield.....Portman Road will hold no fear  ;)

Gutted. Worst draw possible with the exception of Swansea away. Let's hope for a bigger team in the quarter-finals.

I think we'll be on as the only League 2 representatives but even if we're not the regional TV programmes will be wetting themselves at the prospect.

Gotta expect Newcastle v Arsenal will be on i guess....

Straight shoot out between Birmingham v Brentford or Ipswich v Cobblers.....

IMO Birmingham were already on v Rochdale...therefore ours wins!

Roy Keane "rested" eight players in the last round, I wonder whether he'll dare do the same against us?

I could have gone there on the train but we'll be in bastard Turkey that week!

sh*te draw, but like I said, for whatever reason we play with alot of freedom away from home against Champ/Premiership teams, so I don't think we should fear them in any way.

Infact, this 'Oh Liverpool was a once in a lifetime' thing is bollocks. Cmon people, it's a chance for us to get to the Quarters. Fcuk Ipswich, we can beat anyone now. Our name is written on this cup.

 ;D

Happy days, I won't need to use any holiday and be home in time for the highlights  ;D

Indeed we did! I went to both legs, we got a credible 1-1 draw away there, great atmosphere in the Away end, which was terraced and split down the middle with some type of curtain and a line of old bill! I think the home game too ended 1-1 after 90 minutes before they scored 3 times in extra time and Gelnville Donegal pulled a late consolation back!

McKenzie will be up for it

make it plus 2

So how far is Ipswich? I've seen the 2 1/2 hours thing, but people i spoke to said about an hour and a half.

Also, Ipswich is a decent draw, why should the players fear them? Sammo has to drum it into them that we win and we're in the quarter finals

Cant see that at all. We certainly wont take as many as we took to Anfield and there wont be that many carrot crunchers there.

f*** all this s*** draw business..
we had a massive team and it was liverpool at anfield.
lets f***in go to portman road and beat 'em. this is winnable man, f***in npton could be in the quarters.

Precisely

can't believe we're in the last 16. the quarters? hell yeah!

It depends where you start from.

Starting from the County Ground?

Only 1 1/2 hours from my house  ;D

and how fast you're going as well.

Coach ;D

you obviously have the internet, so why don't you use a thing called google maps

Well, as i pointed out to begin with, i've heard differing times, so i asked.

::)

I've only every been to Ipswich once but that was via Milton Keynes and Watford. In a lorry. So I dunno how long it takes.

Could be worse, could be better

But i'll be going ether way, how many times does a club like us get even a chance to get into the quater final? If someone had said to us you've got Reading then Liverpool, you'd expect us to be out by now.

Let's go there, expect nothing, like we did at liverpool, play to enjoy...and if we go out we go out.....we've done ourselvs proud already

How long is a piece of string?

But from County ground on a bus should be just under 2 1/2 hrs, in a Car should do it just under 2hrs. unless you hit Cambridge at rush hour in which case add at least another 1/2hr to that time.

It's over 100miles and the A14 can be a b*tch of a road at any time of the day

takes me about an hour and 15 mins to get from Wellingborough to Bury, it's about 40 mins from Bury so around 2 and a quater to 2 and a half hours from Northampton.

Actually, when you look at the full draw for this next round, and realise that TV usually chooses 2 games - one for Tuesday, one for Wednesday - our game at Ipswich looks a good bet for the TV audience. That would make our "take" of money well above what we got out of the Liverpool game.

Desperate for this to be a tv game. There's not going to be a way I can get to Ipswich. Unfortunately it's just too far for me and I won't be able to get the time off work to stay over in Northants. Plus it means loads of money for the club.

Newcastle v Arsenal is most likely to be shown on TV. Knowing how Sky loves Man Utd, and even though it's just a bog standard Prem match, I wouldn't be suprised to see Man Utd v Wolves as the other game.

Just to compare both teams fixtures prior to the 4th Round Match;

Cobblers

Chesterfield (H)
Macclesfield (A)
Cheltenham (A)
Hereford (H)
Oxford (A)

Ipswich

Reading (A)
Leeds (H)
Coventry (H)
Watford (A)
Nottingham Forest (A)

I firmly believe that if we go into the game on the back of a decent run, confidence will be sky high and we would go into the Ipswich game with so much belief.

In contrast, Ipswich have a very tough run in before the match, with the possible exception of Coventry at home. A few defeats there and they could slip into mid-table and be out of form. Confidence would be low, and all of a sudden the thought of playing gian-killers Northampton Town might not be so pleasant.

It could have been a better draw, but at least we didn't get Brentford away which seemed on the cards.

Still the only Cobblers team I've seen at Portman Road is the Youth Team..... so another full tick.

It is win-able and we deserve to get one over on Keano after the Sunderland floodlight robbery!

We'll have nothing to lose when we go there. The pressure's all on them. They'll look right mugs if we beat them. We've done our bit already. We're the toast of the country at the moment. I just wish I would be in the country when we play them. First time abroad in 7 years.

My main problem with this is Keane. Any other manager and they might be a bit blasé about us but he won't be after the Sunderland thing.

Oh - and stick it on the Tuesday please.

Both Newcastle and Man Utd play on the Sunday before the week of the cup - so expect those games to be on a Wednesday night - They won't show two games the same night (I don't think), so they will need to pick a Tuesday night game. I think our's will be on a Tuesday as neither ourselves or Ipswich will be playing on the Sunday before...

I don't think it'll be on the TV. If we were at home it might have been.

There's a few all-premiers***e ties and those will get priority. As much as we'd like to think otherwise, no armchair neutral wants to watch Ipswich vs Northampton ahead of an all-Prem tie or the ManUre game.

If, as has been said before tat both Newcastle and United games will be on the Wednesday, there aren't many other standout telly games for the Tuesday, so i reckon its either us or Brentford

So am I but thats only because its on the coast so I should get some decent fish n chips

Potentially plus 3 now

This game is capturing the imagination!

I'd have +1, possibly +4

You're too young for pubs.

16 soon ;D

I don't think otherwise.

I'll be stunned of Suffolk if it's a Live game.

I'll also be stunned of Suffolk if we're pre half way through the highlights programme.

I'm happy with the draw. Liverpool was undeniably special, but the Reading experience was almost up there, and a more private affair. A repeat of that would be fine with me.

Sky are showing the ManUre v Stoke game on the Sunday....so as well as meaning the Man U v Wolves game and the West Ham v Stoke games should be on Wednesday night, hopefully it mean that niether of those games will be featured! Man City v Arsenal is live on the Sunday too, so Newcastle v Arsenal will also move to Wednesday and looks sure to be the chosen game for that night.
Aston Villa dont have a Sky showing at all in October, so it wouldnt surprise me if Villa v Burnley was chosen for the box, failing that Wigan v Swansea has the "Martinez connection" so that could be a factor.
Also add in the probability that Brum and Villa won't play at home in the same night, so it looks like 4 games Tuesday and 4 games Wednesday

I'm not so sure about this.

I agree with you about us going in full of confidence but I think I'd prefer it if Ipswich were doing well after those games. It would be more likely then that Roy Keane would be tempted to rest a few of his first teamers against us then to give them a rest and keep them going for a promotion push. If that happens... who knows

Our game isn't on tv.

Man Utd v Wolves on Tuesday (confirmed)

Newcastle v Arsenal (to be confirmed soon)

Kin' joke!

The whole point of the cup is the underdog against the bigger boys. It should have been our game and Brentfords being shown live as they are "real" cup ties. Newcastle at home to Arsenal kids and Man U at home to Wolves reserves like last season.

Brentford and ourselves need the TV money. The big boys don't!  >:(

Still, should bump up the attendance at Portman Road. Date and ticket details should be confirmed soon.

More people want to watch Man Utd vs Wolves Reserves and Newcastle vs Arsenal's kids than Ipswich vs Northampton. Sky are not a charity, they won't put on the games of whoever needs the money most, it'll be the games that'll get them the highest viewing figures.

It's been confirmed we play Tuesday 26th October at 7.45pm

No fair but its not Sky's fault. I blame the two chaps that did the draw on Saturday... Oh wait, don't they work for Sky?

How many tickets will they give us and how many do you think we will sell?

1,900 with an extra 800 if needed. I reckon we'll do well to bring 2,000 to be honest.

I really didn't see that coming, but that shows how silly I am to have assumed that Man Utd wouldn't want to play Sunday and then Tuesday... then I remembered that money (SKY) runs the game these days and so they control who plays ans when!

The most irritating thing will be watching Alex Ferguson complaining about the Sunday then Tuesday thing... when clearly if it wasn't for the SKY money he and his team wouldn't be in the position they are in (along with a number of other very rich clubs!)....

I still feel that although we may not all agree that we have a chance of beating Ipswich, if we did surely that would be where you'd want the cameras to be? :-(

f*** sky, their loss

They might show up in the quarters!

I guess like someone else pointed out, you'll get more people watching Manure v Wolves than Ipswich v Cobblers.

Sky are pretty s***e at picking the best games for tv in cup competitions anyway.

For once, I do not agree with Sky's choice. The Newcastle game I can understand, but I reckon ours has by far the more potential of the others and they generally do one on Tues., and one on Wed. We'll just have to prove them wrong, again! 

We'll never know, they have never tried anything different. People fed on seeing the same sides week in, week out, with coverage all over the place. You'd think they'd like a change.

The fa cup draw is on Sunday 24 oct at 1pm.Busy old week and we play on sat 6th nov.

Some bright spark obviously pointed out that Sky could leave their cameras and studio in place for 48 hours rather than pack everything up and go elsewhere! Man Utd v Stoke on Sunday lunchtime then Man Utd reserves v Wolves on Tuesday night!
Sky might as well just show every single Man Utd game bring as their viewing figures are so important to them!

It's a rubbish choice to put Man U v Wolves on. Man U were on in the 3rd round, so were Arsenal for that matter. The cup is all about the romance and the possible unexpected results. That is a rubbish choice. As for more people wanting to watch Man U reserves v Wolves, I am not so sure. We see enough of Prem sides as it is. I would much rather see Prem or Champ clubs vs League One or Two in the hope of an upset. It's garbage but I guess we will just have to wait for the quarters to be on telly - or the FA Cup.

Hang on, I've got half of you saying United will play their reserves and the other half saying Fergusson will moan at playing twice in 3 days. Make your minds up! Unless you reckon he'll play the second string in the prem game too

Fair enough....gives us a bit more of a chance as there are probably 500 Cobblers fans who wouldn't have bothered going if it was live on TV. An obvious blow to the bank balance but that makes little difference to your average fan.
To be fair to Sky, they were never going to pick us, unless we had one of the big teams or a home draw with a better chance of an upset.
Let the (non televised) giant killing commence!  ;D

Ferguson probably won't even bother to be at the game (like at Sc***horpe in the last round!)

If you look on the games that Manchester United have played this season on one channel or another I think you'll find 90% of them have been live on tv :-\ Money talks I guess ???

On one hand, i'm surprised.

On the other I'm not, Man U was always going to be on, no other team even exists in SKYS world.

Thjey have the most fans in the country, put them on the tv and you'll get higher viewing figures.
Get high viewing figures and you can sell advertising space for more money.
Sell advertising space for more money and you'll have a bigger profit margin at the end of the year.
Make a large profit and you're laughing.

I thought we had the most fans in the country  :P
since last Wednesday all of ours plus all of Everton's plus all of Man U's plus all those Liverpool fans who said "I'd rather support you than that shower of sh*te"

Carling Cup rules state that the away team can take an allocation of 15% of the total capacity of the ground. This would equate to 4500 if necessary in this case.
This rule can only be broken if there are serious safety concerns to consider!

Although I've been before, I'm looking forward to this game, I particularly want to see what they've done to the ground since my last visit. When you consider how inbred they are down there, the family stand must take up half the capacity!

Suspect we will take around 2,000?

lol, and extra-wide spaces in the car park for tractors and combine harvesters!

Reckon we'll 3000 or so if we can. i know 2 that want to come that didn't go to liverpool. so the crowd should still be alright. who wants to drive a minibus there? :)

Now it's sunk in I'm actually looking forward to this.  Gutted it wasn't one of the biggies but glad it wasn't Swansea, Wigan etc.  I'm sure Brentford wouldn't have wanted us either.

Never been Portman Road either so there is always the pull of going to such a wonderful place... ;D

im well up for this trip,cobblers away .Cup game.Beer,pies and a good old sing-along,bring it on.
£10 on the cobblers to win 2-1,Easy ! Easy!

Ticket details now available
http://www.ntfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10425~2169428,00.html

£17:50 for season-ticket holders and £20 for non-season ticket holders? Er? Is that right? Are they allowed to do that?

Bit disappointed that it's not a bit cheaper to be honest, I know the club want to maximise profits but I wouldn't have thought it will be a big crowd at all now.

And wait... now we have to have a Hereford stub too? Again, it's going to be a tight squeeze to get in with only 4,000 tickets available...

Are people really going to be rushing out to get a Hereford ticket?

Sure we are, Ipswich are a much bigger club than Liverpool  ???

But seriously.

http://www.itfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10272~2169728,00.html

Seems to confirm that season-ticket holders get in cheaper, is that actually legal?

We have done this before for other cup games?!??!

They've cocked this one up imo.

They won't sell all 4,000 anyway imo, so why not have them on general sale from the start? Very few people are going to be fooled into parting with money for a Hereford ticket to guarantee their Ipswich ticket, and I think we'll only start to shift decent numbers of Ipswich tickets after the 16th when they're on general sale.

http://www.itfc.co.uk/page/MatchTickets/0,,10272,00.html

Actually scrap that, just seen Ipswich's normal prices, bleedin' hell when did football become so fecking expensive?  :o

I think we'll do well to sell 2000-2500 and I don't think there will be too many people buying a Hereford ticket just to secure an Ipswich ticket before the general sale. The club have sold tickets for different prices for season-ticket and non season-ticket holders before. I guess that's one of the benefits of purchasing a season ticket.

I'm pretty sure Ipswich have the most expensive season ticket in the country as well (one of their corporate ones that costs £2k or something).

In fairness they can probably get away with fleecing their fans, I can't imagine there's anything else worth doing of a Saturday afternoon down there. ;D

My season ticket is paying for itself already

Tractor racing/Carrot picking competitions/Spud chucking, whole list of entertainment in the suffolk area Nut.

It was cheaper for ST to get in for the Brighton game, they've done it for years...have you lot only just noticed??

I think people will be far more concerned about getting Oxford tickets than getting an Ipswich one.

Which go on sale on the same day as Ipswich tickets!

I'd be very surprised if we sell more than 2,000.  Which is what we took to Upton Park for a second leg when we were getting much bigger attendances and we were defending a 2-0 first leg advantage.   As for linking an Ipswich ticket to the Hereford game, so much for "our supporters were fantastic" from DC.  Only if you're paying in effect 40 quid for a ticket. 

Hopefully nobody is "fooled" into buying a Hereford ticket just to get an Ipswich ticket...... I think it worked well for the club doing it for the Southend/Liverpool game despite it not even being needed in the end, what with plenty of tickets to go round, even to the extent that you could pay on the day. I wonder how many people felt "let down" that they bought tickets they didnt need to in the event.

As for this game.....this ruse is certainly not needed, and for me leaves a bitter taste! Instead of being able to sell tickets at a steady pace over the next 4 weeks, now they're faced with a mad rush (?) from Monday 18th till close of business on the 25th.

And now they've even taken it a step further by trying to link tickets for an away league game to a non-attractive home game. Even less time to sell those Oxford tickets!! Its fleecing the fans, pure and simple! Surely someone could have seen that there is no way on this earth that we will sell all our allocation for Oxford, then all our allocation for Ipswich just 3 days later!

Makes perfect sense to do this with the Oxford tickets; we've only got an initial allocation of 1,000 I believe, and another 1,000 if (when) we sell all of those. We may well come close to selling out so at least this way, those who desperately want to go can secure their ticket before the "mad rush" to grab the few hundred remaining tickets on general sale. Unlike the Ipswich game, I can see the logic behind this.

Non season ticket holder who can't go to Hereford.

Already bought one ticket for a game I couldn't go to this season, there's no way NTFC are getting more money for nothing.

Problem is, most of my friends I go away games with are Season Ticket holders, so the chances are I'll end up sitting with people I don't know at Ipswich now.

Not if your friends wait until they go on general sale. There really, really shouldn't be any difficulty getting tickets for this one, we've got 4,000 if we need them, that's more Cobblers fans than we get for an average home game nowadays.

My concern with Ipswich is that they're saying Under 16's must have an adult with them. Now i go with someone my age, what am i supposed to do?

Go with an adult.

I'm not overly bothered as I want to go to the game, would just rather sit with my mates.  I'm not going to make them queue with the great unwashed.

As i previously stated, i go with someone my age, not an adult. So i'm a bit stuck there



Anyone wanna be my adult? ;D

My stance is the same as Steve Riches...

If you are a regular fan of the Cobblers then you get first pick. Simples. If not, you take your chance and get a ticket when they go on general sale.

I reckon the crowd will be 20,000 plus and we will take well over 3000. Its a MASSIVE MASSIVE game ffs. A place in the quarter finals at stake. IF we were to win we are only two games from Wembley. If we cant sell out a game like this then we don't deserve a football club in the town!

3 games, semi is a 2 legged affair

I will be stunned if we take more than 2,000. We're incredibly unlikely to get to Wembley and although for Ipswich it's also quite unlikely, they'll fancy their chances of getting to at least the semis- a two-legged tie against Man U or Arsenal would be hugely lucrative for them. So they will almost certainly field a full-strength team and Roy Keane will have them fired up for it. Two and a half hours each way on a Tuesday night to play at an average Championship ground and almost certainly lose isn't the kind of tie that'll draw in 3,000+ in my view.

We will see mate.

It depends if people look at the opposition or look at the match itself and the rewards for winning it. I agree with what you say about Ipswich - but what about us? IF we were to win then we are only 1 match away from mega money.

I would say that most of our regular support will be up for going to a last 16 fixture of a major cup competition. The last time we achieved that was back in 1970 - thats how BIG it is.

Well I'm a season ticket holder but because there are 7 of us going and only 3 are season ticket holders, we'll have to all wait until they go on general sale as we want to sit together. We're not going to sell out, why couldn't season ticket holders be allowed to purchase as many tickets as they like?

I don't agree with the Hereford add-on either, there's no need for it.

If you can't go to Hereford, have a word with the club, see if you can link it to another game. They did say to talk to them before you started moaning about any problems.

Same as that, I've got a season ticket but none of the 3 others I'm going with do so it'll be genny sale for me as well

As stated already..Ipswich will be no probs getting tkts. I'm a STH...but will wait so two or three of us together. Oxford is another issue. Regardless of Ipswich..we are very likely to be hitting the 2000 limit for the Kassam...where I want a few tkts for...Not buying into this Hereford thing..my brigade are generally away only!

Between the clubs
Ipswich Won 11
Cobblers Won 10
Draws 10
Last time we played a R.keane side ,we lost on Penalities!
Get ur Bum on a seat towards Ispwich and support your local club.
Its like a fun fair ride dont let it stop,Last 8 of a cup competition!!!!!!!!!
COME ON THE TOWN!

I just dont see it happening! It might depend on our league position and performances over the next few games. There is no way we will sell out all 2000 for Oxford AND all 4000 for Ipswich, not with the games just 3 days apart and both being away from home with the extra expense that that brings. A trip to Oxford for a mid-table league two game hardly whets the appetite no matter how near they are geographically. The two games also come a few days before payday for a lot of people.

I can see 1200-1500 at Oxford and 2000-2500 at Ipswich.

And as for this "Tying-in" with other fixtures.....theres a dangerous precedent being set here, we could end up with every future all-ticket game being tied to another game.....its not happened before, and it really shouldnt be happening now!

I will be at both games, but I am a true supporter so I wouldn't expect anything less from myself to be honest

I sense using bold font is talking down to people, or signifiying some sort of superiority...whatever.  Regardless of whether I'm a STH - and I make no secret that I haven't been for a couple of seasons - or if I choose to go to Hereford or not, for many fans who might attend the vast majority of games (and I know some who are only watching us away from home) linking the purchase of tickets in this way I find thoroughly distateful  Just my opinion.  I'll happily sit with the Ipswich fans and celebrate when we score just as I did at Anfield.   

On a not unrelated topic, whatever happened to the Ask Ant thread?  I'd like to ask Ant when did he last not sit in the directors' box home or away?

Who's rattled your cage? Bold font was used in an attempt to separate the different thoughts in the posting. If you want to read anything else into it I'd say you have a problem!

Often on here we get criticism of the so-called "glory hunters" who only want to watch the big games, they don't worry me one way or the other, I can understand why the big one-off games get a bigger gate, we'd probably be surprised if it didn't happen...but at least if the cub links purchase of a "biggie" ticket with bread-and-butter one, it's the "glory hunters" who mainly get done. The extra cash benefits the club and all regular followers. There is of course the moral argument on whether any club is right to insist on linking the purchase of one ticket with the purchase of another; it's up to the relevant football authorities to ban such moves if they feel it's wrong, but given that the game is riven with the acquisition of the God of money from the grass roots up, I bet they dare not stop the gravy train. I don't like it but I understand why it is felt to be necessary.

But that's the point, why should the club "do" anybody?

Surely the whole point should be to make the day as pleasurable as possible in the hope that they may beccome a more frequent follower, NOT leave a nasty taste in the mouth feeling they've been "done".

These people are not just supporters, they are voters as well and as such may be needed at a later date to increase the pressure on the council with regard to our ground development.

I suppose the club could answer that if it first links a "biggie" ticket sale with an "ordinary" one, it rewards the people who turn up to the "ordinary" game...so if there's an eventual shortage of "biggie" tickets, at least those regulars who went to the "ordinary" game have been rewarded. It doesn't always work this way, because at least 1,000 people bought a ticket for the Southend game and just binned it, so they could get a Liverpool ticket.
It'd be interesting if someone on here could come up with a universally-loved and fair way to sell "biggie" tickets that are fewer than the number of people who want them. I doubt if anyone will argue with the "Season ticket holders first" rule, but, then what after that?
If you have any new ideas that would get universal acclaim then please forward them to the club, I'm sure they'd welcome fresh thinking that is logical.

There is nothing wrong with "Season Ticket Holders First" and everyone else second.....its always been that way! Like I said...its a dangerous precedent being set, and if you're saying that season ticket holders are the only "non-glory hunters" and you have to, in your words, do everyone else, then you've gone too far down the road in my opinion.

What an opportunity to make new friends.  Can I recommend Tyler as your new friend - he's not as beardy as some I could mention.

Tyler - just verify he's got a CRB before you go meeting up with strangers off the internet. ;)

How about a loyalty scheme that is run from the start of the season, based on ticket purchases, and club shop sales. For example, on FA cup third round, after season tickets, and members, anybody that makes a certain number of ticket purchases, e.g. 6, or 5 and a replica shirt. Anybody that makes 2 purchases at a time can purchase 2 big match tickets and so on.

Thinking about it more, you could offer club shop discounts for a full card, as you only really need to have 12 stamping spaces on the card. It rewards loyal supporters that can only get to 12 home games a season.

A good idea, the club would just need a computer program to keep reliable data on each person. If you have a track record of being a regular customer, you should get priority, that's for sure.
I have sympathy for those who are dedicated fans but can't get to games regularly...it isn't necessarily a contradiction. When I was playing sport each Saturday I put that first when there were clashes with Cobblers' games, and I think that's what youngsters should do...sport is important if you can play it. That left me only able to see the Cobblers on midweek evening games and on those occasions when we played on Sundays. Now, of course, with 2 knackered knees I'm not playing so can attend nearly all games!!

Doesn't solve the problem of friends sitting together though?

I bet that if you culd come up with a fair system to solve that problem, the club would be interested to hear it...indeed, a lot of us would!

In relation to this thread...problem solved. We'll never take 4,000 to Portman Road on a Tuesday night so waiting for general sale is the answer to that one. Should help creat an even better atmosphere.

But looking at the bigger picture, I'm afraid I disagree with you Steve. The club had every right to try and coin in a few extra pennies for the Liverpool game. But to then carry this on for a less glamourous tie seems quite over the top to me. And where will it stop? I know dozens of folks like Insider who have been regulars in the past, including my dad. Now he didn't go to Anfield, comes to one or two away games a year and a handful of home games. I don't think he should be expected to pay £40 to us play at Ipswihc.

To put my position into perspective, I am a long-term STH and go to around 95% of away games so I hold no bias in terms of supporting the 'fair-weather' fans.

Unreserved seating, agree it with Ipswich, job done.

I can't, there isn't one.

By Jove! I do believe he's got it!

Should be ticket stub holders from previous games/seasons like they tell you all the time ::)

I am a regular supporter, at least once a season.  ;)
I couldn't get to the Liverpool match but as long as I am able to get a ticket next to my STH Dad for the final at Wembley, either Carling, FA or play-off, I am sure that I could make that my one for this season.... :P

Villa work on a database system such that after STs the people who've bought the most tickets in a prior period get first priority.  Their database must be pretty efficient, other clubs like Everton ask you to keep all your ticket stubs during the ocurse of a season.  That way people who attended before a cup run started rolling get rewarded for their support.  And surely that's the way it should be?  Unlike this linking of future games which only encourages people who will go the biggie and are highly unlikely to return.  The arrangement now is a bit like a chip shop telling you that you can have a piece of fish for 3 quid, but only if you buy chips and peas for £3.20. 

My Ipswich STH colleague tells me that NTFC have taken the full allocation already for the game.  She's having her seats moved to another part of the ground.  I assume therefore that Ipswich don't force the club to buy all the tickets in advance othewise DC might end up with some egg on his face.

Tyler would you like Uncle Tyro to hold your hand ???  :-*  :o  :D  ;)

The trouble with unreserved seating is that capacity has to be reduced by 10% to allow for the gay buffer.

the thing is, we already have a similar system in place! Each "customer" of the club has a reference number.....they always ask for my name and address when I buy a ticket and they match it up to my 5 figure account number before issuing the tickets. I'm sure someone at the club could see who had bought what tickets to what game if they could be bothered to look!

What on earth is the gay buffer

The gap people leave when they don't want to sit right next to the person already sat down.

Is that similar to the gap you leave at the urinals if someone is already there?

Cue the George Michael jokes?  :P

 ;D :o I know of this practice but never knew it had a name

This comment is wrong in so so many ways.

I hope we get walloped so we can get sone focus on our awful league form.

???

hmm, not so sure I agree with you there

Me neither infairness, I just knew what he must be referring to when talking about unresered seating.

I don't see too much wrong with what the club are doing. Tickets will reach general sale, so anyone who buys a hereford ticket for the sole purpose of a  Oxford and/or Ipswich ticket really needs to look at themselves rather than the club's policies, exactly the same as Southend/Liverpool tickets. I don't mind the club doing extra money making activites to be perfectly honest, even though they are more lilkely to affect me know as a non STH, although i am a member.

Actually this raises another point, why any of our fans who moan about having to spend more money when going to bigger games by buying other tickets don;t get a membership is beyond me. It costs less and gives your a greater priority. if your not willing to spend the £10 on a membership which goes to your club, then in my view you don't have much of an argument when the club try to make money from the bigger games which, naturally attract more fans.

Its a tightrope the club have to walk though, as if they don't try and make money, then no doubt you would get some fans/business people of saying the club isn't being run well, and when theres no investment in the squad people will moan etc.

Funny that, i sorted something about 10 minutes before you posted :D

Me neither - we didn't play that badly today just because we're still in the cup - they're separate things

Anybody still think I was being ridiculously negative saying we've got next to no chance of an upset? Anyone who does their homework on us and takes us seriously is very likely to beat us; we're not a difficult side to contain, and as with all League Two defences, ours will make errors.

The anti-climax of drawing Ipswich after the Liverpool game, plus poor league form/low confidence, means I can't see the lads raising their game as much as they have in previous rounds. And even if they do, so long as Ipswich give it 100% it won't matter how much our boys give.

I'd seriously consider resting the Thorntons, McKays, Jacobses etc for this game if I was Sammo. We need them fit for the league games.

Yep.

A Roy Keane side, at full-strength, not taking us lightly and high on confidence in the Championship play-off zone with a potential two-legged tie against Arsenal or Man U to fight for, will be the toughest opposition we've faced yet in the Carling Cup imo.

Both sides know the scale of the reward on offer and Ipswich will feel they have a very good chance of at least a semi-final appearance, if not Wembley. We need to hope they'll be complacent, sit off us and let us play our game like Reading and Liverpool did, but I just can't see it to be honest. They'll be well up for this. I don't think progression here really depends on whether our lads can see past this tie, or how well they acquit themselves, unless Ipswich fail to give 100%. If they do give 100%, it shouldn't matter how we play, the end result should be the same regardless, just the scoreline may be a bit different.

NTFC Nut:

The REASON you are so wrong in your viewpoint of football is because it is the very nature of "Anything can happen" that makes us keep going game after game after game. Sure Ipswich SHOULD win. So SHOULD Brighton, Reading and Liverpool, they are/were all in higher grade divisions. But the fact is, you never know. 10 minutes into the game, Herbert could break free from a long clearance, get brought down in the box, keeper sent off, Cobblers go 1-0 up and suddenly the odds would be evens on us going through. That could happen, so could a host of other possibilities. I reckon if we went to Ipswich every week over the next 20 weeks, we'd lose 17 times, draw twice, win once. The thing is, you nevber know in which game that win could come, it could even be the first.

Although I'd hate to be you, I can see some advantages in your pessimitic way of thinking. Obviously it must be nice never to be disappointed, but also think of the financial advantages. You'll never need insurance for a start because the odds are your home wont get destroyed by a plane hitting it and you wont die before you reach pensionable age. You can win a fortune on football betting because you know the result of a lot of games every week. In fact, thinking about it, you must be a millionaire by now. How about you invest some of those winnings in the Cobblers.

That tactic hasn't exactly worked for Liverpool.
Mind you, judging by the Blackpool result I wish they'd put their first team out, we would have thrashed them.

Nut, is the real reason you don't want us to progress is that you are going on Holiday on League Cup Final weekend?

I'm rather thinking we might be the first Conference team to play in Europe!

Of course I want us to progress!!!!!!  ::) Can you imagine the revenue we'd get if we got even as far as the semis and a two-legged, televised tie against ManUre or Arsenal? It would set us up financially for years!

I'm just saying I think progress here is very, very unlikely, possibly even more unlikely than winning the Liverpool game was. If our league position is still looking shaky in a couple of weeks I'd rather not risk some of our more important players in a game like this one. We've still got a chance of doing well in the league, maybe even challenging for a play-off spot, if we can add a couple of jigsaw pieces to the squad (like we did mid-season in the last campaign). We shouldn't put our league campaign at risk to slightly increase our small chances of progressing to the next round of the Carling Cup.

Brilliant! Thats 3 loans a season for 3 years! Fantastic!

See we have those half & half scarves being produced for this game , I can understand commemorating our match at Anfield but poxy little Ipswich! seems like we have little or no self respect, what next, engraved Tin pots showing a Cobblers fan with cap in hand  head bowed in awe at playing in dreary Ipswich. ;D

Where are the Hartlepool v Northampton JPT scarves?

I've got a couple if you want one?  :P

Oi don't go giving them away, they're meant to be my Christmas presents.  I deserve them - don't you know I was there?

Talking of Christmas presents, those mugs are definately going to get bought next time I'm down your way (don't laugh, it could well happen before the end of the month).  I have a friend up here who has a season ticket at Anfield who would really appreciate one as a special memento of this season.  If she's really lucky, she might get a commemorative relegation one as well. ;D

Sold over 1000 tickets. I didn't even know they were on sale yet!

Anyone care to guess how many we'll take? I'll go for 2350

I'm sure that will include the hundreds given to sponsors!

The club are making a right dog's dinner of the Ipswich ticketing.  Between now and the Hereford game, there are unlikely to be many sales at all, since the STHs probably already have theirs, and I doubt many people will buy a Hereford ticket just to get an Ipswich ticket.  So general sales won't start until after the Hereford game, which in effect means general sale doesn't start until Monday 18th.  Which in turn makes it difficult for people to arrange time off work and book coaches and the like.  I sincerely hope they haven't bought the full 4,000 ticket allocation as I cannot see more than 2500 being sold.  Meanwhile, Ipswich put their tickets on general sale on Monday.

I'd be suprised and very pleased if we sold 2500 tickets.

I really don't get the half and half scarves. They should be banned

Just ordered my half n half for Hereford next saturday.
 ;D

The Ipswich game is an exciting tie, I don't understand the lack of enthusiasm on here for it, HOWEVER those who ridicule the 50/50 scarf must be right, I can't see any reason for it at all. Liverpool is one of the few big all-enduring names, Ipswich isn't. 
I want us to win at Portman Road and the club deserves a big following, it is still one of our biggest games for many years and a win (unlikely but possible) would propel us into unheard-of publicity and give us a massive financial boost. I wish the moaners could get real about that.

"Massive financial boost" is all well and good as long as some of it gets spent on the team! We knew we had a boost coming with the Liverpool game before the transfer window closed.....what happened? We signed a player on a free who hadnt played a full game in ages. We know we've got a further boost coming with the Ipswich game.....what happens? We sign a winger who by all accounts was offered to us on a plate for nothing too!
Everyman and his dog can see where the shortcomings are in the squad, and with less than 90 days to go until the transfer window opens up again it is now possible to sign players on a three month loan deal with a view to becoming permanent in January. With the reported £200k windfall from the Liverpool game, and potentially the same again from the Ipswich game i'd hope a large proportion of it can go on squad improvement to enhance the team and get us out of the pickle we find ourselves in in our league status.
Unfortunately my fear is that this just wont happen......the money will be banked to pay running costs, despite remember the Chairman saying we'd be at break-even status by the end of the season long before we pulled Liverpool in the Cup. After that windfall the chairman said that the £200k would ensure all our bills were paid and we'd basically be breaking even ready for next season!!! Will the same thing be said again after the Ipswich game?

I'm pretty sure there were people outside Sixfields selling Northampton/Southampton 50/50 scarfs last year when we played them in the FA Cup.

If that's the case why have the club opted to link tickets for Portman Road to the Hereford?  It's a petty, cynical and money grabbing move.  This is a tie where the club should done everything possible to sell the allocation to give us the best support possible with a quarter final beckoning.  They might even have persuaded a few armchair fansd back for some other league games (e.g. buy an Ipswich ticket and get a fiver off a midweek night game).   I question why therefore you think the club "deserve" a big following.  They'll get exactly what they deserve with a 2000 or so following.

Are you suggesting the Chairman is secretly lining his own pocket?

I agree, the Ipswich game should be used as an incentive for 'once in a while' people to go to league games rather than the other way round. They missed that trick with Liverpool, it would have been a great idea to persuade them to come to future games rather than try to force them to go to a game beforehand.

No i/m not suggesting that....his pockets lost their lining a long time ago! I'm merely pointing out facts!! The chairman himself said we'd made 200k, and that from a 22k crowd at £20 a pop......I expect something similar at Ipswich so to see no transfer spending in the January window and no relaxation of the tight wages budget would IMO be hugely disappointing!! And as I say...thats MY fear of what will happen!

..Not to mention the not inconsiderable rake in from souvenir spin offs!

i know of 4 non season ticket holders going with me who have no intention of going to the Hereford game so when it comes down to it, it'll be an ipswich ticket from NTFC or one from portman road on the night. Either way, they'll be getting in.

Fair point, so you are worried the Chairman will pocket the difference?

According to Ipswich's site it looks as if we have the entire top tier of the Cobbold Stand.

Got my tickets however rather annoying i could not order on phone and had to take in voucher B