1975–76 Northampton Town F.C. season

Northampton Town 1975–76 football season

Northampton Town
1975–76 season
Chairman	Neville Ronson
Manager	Bill Dodgin Jr.
Stadium	County Ground
Division Four	2nd
FA Cup	First round
League Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: Jim Hall (21) All: Jim Hall (22)
Highest home attendance	9,548 vs Reading
Lowest home attendance	3,675 vs Bradford City
Average home league attendance	6,416
← 1974–75 1976–77 →

The 1975–76 season was Northampton Town's 79th season in their history and the seventh successive season in the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in Division Four, the club also participated in the FA Cup and League Cup.

Players

As of match played 23 April 1976.

Name	Position	Place of Birth	Date of Birth (Age)	Apps	Goals	Previous club	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Jeff Parton	GK	Swansea	(1953-02-24)24 February 1953 (aged 23)	5	0	Burnley	Summer 1975
Alan Starling	GK	Dagenham	(1951-04-02)2 April 1951 (aged 25)	229	1	Luton Town	June 1971
Defenders
Dave Carlton	U	Stepney	(1952-11-24)24 November 1952 (aged 23)	105	6	Fulham	October 1973
John Gregory	U	Scunthorpe	(1954-05-11)11 May 1954 (aged 21)	153	5	Apprentice	Summer 1972	N/A
Stuart Robertson	CB	Nottingham	(1946-12-16)16 December 1946 (aged 29)	149	16	Doncaster Rovers	Summer 1972
Barry Tucker	FB	Swansea	(1952-08-28)28 August 1952 (aged 23)	161	2	Apprentice	August 1970	N/A
Midfielders
Billy Best (c)	U	Glasgow	(1942-09-07)7 September 1942 (aged 33)	189	41	Southend United	Summer 1973
Derrick Christie	W	Bletchley	(1957-03-15)15 March 1957 (aged 19)	41	1	Apprentice	January 1974	N/A
John Farrington	W	Lynemouth	(1947-06-19)19 June 1947 (aged 28)	77	7	Cardiff City	Summer 1974
Graham Felton	W	Cambridge	(1949-03-01)1 March 1949 (aged 27)	286	27	Apprentice	September 1966	N/A
Don Martin	U	Corby	(1944-02-15)15 February 1944 (aged 32)	181	68	Blackburn Rovers	November 1975
Andy McGowan	CM	Corby	(1956-07-17)17 July 1956 (aged 19)	43	4	Apprentice	June 1975	N/A
Forwards
Jim Hall	FW	Northampton	(1945-03-21)21 March 1945 (aged 31)	110	32	Peterborough United	January 1975
Steve Phillips	FW	Edmonton	(1954-08-04)4 August 1954 (aged 21)	34	7	Birmingham City	October 1975	£5,000
Paul Stratford	FW	Northampton	(1955-09-04)4 September 1955 (aged 20)	140	48	Apprentice	Summer 1972	N/A

Competitions

Division Four

Main article: 1975–76 Football League § Fourth Division

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Promotion
1	Lincoln City	46	32	10	4	111	39	2.846	74	Division Champions, promoted
2	Northampton Town	46	29	10	7	87	40	2.175	68	Promoted
3	Reading	46	24	12	10	70	51	1.373	60
4	Tranmere Rovers	46	24	10	12	89	55	1.618	58
5	Huddersfield Town	46	21	14	11	56	41	1.366	56

Source:

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
46	29	10	7	87	40	2.175	68	18	5	0	62	20	41	11	5	7	25	20	27

Last updated: 9 April 2020.
Source:

League position by match

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Ground	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H
Result	D	W	L	W	W	D	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	D	W	L	W	L	W	D	W	L	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	D	L	W	W	D	D	W	W	W	D	W
Position	13	5	15	8	3	4	3	3	3	5	3	3	3	2	1	1	1	2	2	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	1	2	2	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2

Source: 11v11.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Win Draw Loss

Huddersfield Town v Northampton Town

16 August 1975 (1975-08-16) 1	Huddersfield Town	1–1	Northampton Town	Huddersfield
15:00 BST	T.Gray		B.Tucker	Stadium: Leeds Road Attendance: 3,595

Stockport County v Northampton Town

22 August 1975 (1975-08-22) 2	Stockport County	1–3	Northampton Town	Stockport
19:30 BST	I.Lawther		J.Hall J.Farrington	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 3,032

Barnsley v Northampton Town

30 August 1975 (1975-08-30) 3	Barnsley	3–1	Northampton Town	Barnsley
15:15 BST	M.Butler J.Peachey		J.Hall	Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 3,525 Referee: Don Shaw

Northampton Town v Bradford City

5 September 1975 (1975-09-05) 4	Northampton Town	4–2	Bradford City	Northampton
19:30 BST	D.Christie J.Gregory S.Robertson A.McGowan		J.Cooke G.Ingram	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,675 Referee: Colin Gardner

Darlington v Northampton Town

13 September 1975 (1975-09-13) 5	Darlington	0–1	Northampton Town	Darlington
15:00 BST			J.Gregory	Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 3,788

Northampton Town v Swansea City

19 September 1975 (1975-09-19) 6	Northampton Town	0–0	Swansea City	Northampton
19:30 BST				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,428

Northampton Town v Workington

23 September 1975 (1975-09-23) 7	Northampton Town	2–1	Workington	Northampton
19:30 BST	P.Stratford B.Best		Murray	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,677

Torquay United v Northampton Town

27 September 1975 (1975-09-27) 8	Torquay United	0–1	Northampton Town	Torquay
15:00 BST			B.Best	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 1,919

Northampton Town v Doncaster Rovers

3 October 1975 (1975-10-03) 9	Northampton Town	2–1	Doncaster Rovers	Northampton
19:30 BST	J.Hall P.Stratford		L.Chappell	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,155

Tranmere Rovers v Northampton Town

10 October 1975 (1975-10-10) 10	Tranmere Rovers	2–0	Northampton Town	Birkenhead
19:30 BST	J.James R.Moore		N.Davids	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 4,808

Northampton Town v Lincoln City

18 October 1975 (1975-10-18) 11	Northampton Town	1–0	Lincoln City	Northampton
15:00 BST	P.Stratford			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,566

Northampton Town v Brentford

21 October 1975 (1975-10-21) 12	Northampton Town	3–1	Brentford	Northampton
19:30 BST	J.Farrington B.Best		T.Scales	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,225

Scunthorpe United v Northampton Town

25 October 1975 (1975-10-25) 13	Scunthorpe United	0–2	Northampton Town	Scunthorpe
15:00 BST			P.Stratford	Stadium: Old Showground Attendance: 1,965

Northampton Town v Watford

1 November 1975 (1975-11-01) 14	Northampton Town	3–0	Watford	Northampton
15:00 GMT	J.Hall G.Felton S.Phillips			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,656

Rochdale v Northampton Town

3 November 1975 (1975-11-03) 15	Rochdale	0–2	Northampton Town	Rochdale
19:30 GMT			S.Robertson P.Stratford	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2,995

Cambridge United v Northampton Town

8 November 1975 (1975-11-08) 16	Cambridge United	0–1	Northampton Town	Cambridge
15:00 GMT			J.Hall P.Stratford	Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 5,560

Northampton Town v Southport

15 November 1975 (1975-11-15) 17	Northampton Town	1–0	Southport	Northampton
15:00 GMT	J.Farrington			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,089 Referee: Eddie Hughes

Bournemouth v Northampton Town

29 November 1975 (1975-11-29) 18	Bournemouth	0–0	Northampton Town	Bournemouth
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Dean Court Attendance: 5,890

Northampton Town v Crewe Alexandra

6 December 1975 (1975-12-06) 19	Northampton Town	2–1	Crewe Alexandra	Northampton
15:00 GMT	J.Hall A.McGowan		Bowles	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,705

Exeter City v Northampton Town

13 December 1975 (1975-12-13) 20	Exeter City	0–0	Northampton Town	Exeter
15:00 GMT				Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,394

Northampton Town v Exeter City

20 December 1975 (1975-12-20) 21	Northampton Town	3–1	Exeter City	Northampton
15:00 GMT	J.Hall S.Phillips		A.Beer	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,212

Hartlepool United v Northampton Town

26 December 1975 (1975-12-26) 22	Hartlepool United	3–0	Northampton Town	Hartlepool
15:00 GMT	K.McMahon D.Smith			Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 5,070

Northampton Town v Newport County

27 December 1975 (1975-12-27) 23	Northampton Town	3–0	Newport County	Northampton
15:00 GMT	S.Phillips S.Robertson J.Hall			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 8,448

Reading v Northampton Town

3 January 1976 (1976-01-03) 24	Reading	1–0	Northampton Town	Reading
15:00 GMT	G.Barker			Stadium: Elm Park Attendance: 10,139

Northampton Town v Barnsley

10 January 1976 (1976-01-10) 25	Northampton Town	5–0	Barnsley	Northampton
15:00 GMT	D.Carlton S.Robertson J.Hall B.Best			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,132

Swansea City v Northampton Town

16 January 1976 (1976-01-16) 26	Swansea City	1–1	Northampton Town	Swansea, Wales
19:30 GMT	G.Bray		A.Mayes	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 3,656

Northampton Town v Darlington

24 January 1976 (1976-01-24) 27	Northampton Town	3–2	Darlington	Northampton
15:00 GMT	S.Robertson J.Hall		S.Holbrook S.Webb	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,135

Brentford v Northampton Town

31 January 1976 (1976-01-31) 28	Brentford	2–1	Northampton Town	Brentford
15:00 GMT	T.Johnson pen.' R.Cross		J.Hall	Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 4,110

Northampton Town v Rochdale

7 February 1976 (1976-02-07) 29	Northampton Town	1–1	Rochdale	Northampton
15:00 GMT	P.Stratford		T.Whelan	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,393

Northampton Town v Cambridge United

14 February 1976 (1976-02-14) 30	Northampton Town	4–2	Cambridge United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	P.Smith o.g.' A.Mayes S.Robertson		D.Simmons S.Spriggs	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5,969

Southport v Northampton Town

21 February 1976 (1976-02-21) 31	Southport	0–1	Northampton Town	Southport
15:00 GMT			J.Farrington	Stadium: Haig Avenue Attendance: 1,332

Workington v Northampton Town

25 February 1976 (1976-02-25) 32	Workington	1–0	Northampton Town	Workington
19:15 GMT	Murray			Stadium: Borough Park Attendance: 1,135

Northampton Town v Scunthorpe United

27 February 1976 (1976-02-27) 33	Northampton Town	2–1	Scunthorpe United	Northampton
19:30 GMT	A.Mayes D.Martin pen.'		D.O'Connor	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,804

Watford v Northampton Town

6 March 1976 (1976-03-06) 34	Watford	0–1	Northampton Town	Watford
15:00 GMT			J.Hall	Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 7,389

Doncaster Rovers v Northampton Town

9 March 1976 (1976-03-09) 35	Doncaster Rovers	0–4	Northampton Town	Doncaster
19:30 GMT			P.Stratford A.McGowan	Stadium: Belle Vue Attendance: 8,737

Northampton Town v Tranmere Rovers

12 March 1976 (1976-03-12) 36	Northampton Town	1–1	Tranmere Rovers	Northampton
19:30 GMT	S.Phillips		B.Mitchell	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 8,047

Lincoln City v Northampton Town

17 March 1976 (1976-03-17) 37	Lincoln City	3–1	Northampton Town	Lincoln
19:30 GMT	J.Fleming D.Krzywicki D.Smith		P.Stratford	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 13,880

Northampton Town v Bournemouth

20 March 1976 (1976-03-20) 38	Northampton Town	6–0	Bournemouth	Northampton
15:00 GMT	J.Hall B.Best P.Stratford			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,780

Crewe Alexandra v Northampton Town

27 March 1976 (1976-03-27) 39	Crewe Alexandra	0–1	Northampton Town	Crewe
15:00 GMT			B.Best	Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 2,865

Northampton Town v Huddersfield Town

3 April 1976 (1976-04-03) 40	Northampton Town	1–1	Huddersfield Town	Northampton
15:00 BST	S.Phillips		R.Belfitt	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 7,218

Northampton Town v Torquay United

6 April 1976 (1976-04-06) 41	Northampton Town	2–2	Torquay United	Northampton
19:30 BST	S.Phillips J.Gregory		L.Chatterley P.Kruse	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 6,263

Bradford City v Northampton Town

20 April 1976 (1976-04-20) 42	Bradford City	1–2	Northampton Town	Bradford
15:00 BST	J.Cooke		J.Hall	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 3,175

Northampton Town v Reading

15 April 1976 (1976-04-15) 43	Northampton Town	4–1	Reading	Northampton
19:30 BST	A.McGowan P.Stratford D.Martin		R.Hiron	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 9,548

Northampton Town v Hartlepool United

17 April 1976 (1976-04-17) 44	Northampton Town	5–2	Hartlepool United	Northampton
15:00 BST	A.Starling pen.' D.Martin pen.' S.Robertson		M.Moore K.Johnson pen.'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 7,555

Newport County v Northampton Town

20 April 1976 (1976-04-20) 45	Newport County	1–1	Northampton Town	Newport, Wales
19:30 BST	R.Jones		D.Martin pen.'	Stadium: Somerton Park Attendance: 1,728

Northampton Town v Stockport County

23 April 1976 (1976-04-23) 46	Northampton Town	4–0	Stockport County	Northampton
19:30 BST	P.Stratford D.Martin			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 7,680 Referee: John Homewood

FA Cup

Main article: 1975–76 FA Cup Brentford v Northampton Town

22 November 1975 (1975-11-22) First round	Brentford	2–0	Northampton Town	Brentford
15:00 GMT	G.Sweetzer			Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 6,640

League Cup

Main article: 1975–76 Football League Cup Watford v Northampton Town

19 August 1975 (1975-08-19) First round 1st leg	Watford	2–0	Northampton Town	Watford
19:30 BST	B.Downes B.Greenhalgh			Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 3,368

Northampton Town v Watford

27 August 1975 (1975-08-27) First round 2nd leg	Northampton Town	1–1	Watford	Northampton
19:30 BST	J.Hall		K.Goodeve	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,255

Appearances and goals

Pos	Player	Division Four			FA Cup			League Cup			Total
Pos	Player	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals
GK	Jeff Parton	3	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	5	–	–
GK	Alan Starling	43	–	1	1	–	–	–	–	–	44	–	1
DF	Dave Carlton	30	4	1	1	–	–	1	–	–	32	4	1
DF	John Gregory	45	–	3	1	–	–	2	–	–	48	–	3
DF	Stuart Robertson	44	–	7	1	–	–	2	–	–	47	–	7
DF	Barry Tucker	46	–	1	1	–	–	2	–	–	49	–	1
MF	Billy Best	44	–	8	1	–	–	2	–	–	47	–	8
MF	Derrick Christie	12	7	1	1	–	–	2	–	–	15	7	1
MF	John Farrington	36	2	4	1	–	–	2	–	–	39	2	4
MF	Graham Felton	8	2	1	1	–	–	–	–	–	9	2	1
MF	Andy McGowan	38	4	4	1	–	–	–	–	–	39	4	4
MF	Don Martin	28	1	7	–	–	–	–	–	–	28	1	7
FW	Jim Hall	43	–	21	1	–	–	2	–	1	46	–	22
FW	Steve Phillips	34	–	7	–	–	–	–	–	–	34	–	7
FW	Paul Stratford	30	–	16	–	–	–	2	–	–	32	–	16
Players who left before end of season:
DF	Gary Anderson	3	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	5	–	–
DF	Neil Davids	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	–
FW	Gary Mabee	–	1	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	1	1	–
FW	Alan Mayes	10	–	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	4

References

Rothmans Football Yearbook 1976/77, p.270.
Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.

Books

Grande, Frank (1997). Northampton Town F.C.: The Official Centenary History. London: Yore Publications. ISBN 978-1874427674.

Northampton Town F.C. seasons

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1899–1900
1900–01
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1974–75
1975–76
1976–77
1977–78
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1984–85
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1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
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1998–99
1999–2000
2000–01
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2006–07
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2010–11
2011–12
2012–13
2013–14
2014–15
2015–16
2016–17
2017–18
2018–19
2019–20
2020–21
2021–22
2022–23
2023–24
2024–25

1975–76 in English football

« 1974–75 1976–77 »

National teams

League competitions

Levels 1–4	Football League (First Division, Second Division, Third Division, Fourth Division)
Levels 5–6	Isthmian League (One, Two) Northern Premier League (level 5 only) Southern League (Premier, One North, One South)
Levels 7–9	Athenian League (One, Two) Cheshire County League (level 7 only) Eastern Counties League (level 7 only) Essex Senior League (level 7 only) Hellenic League (Premier, One) Kent League (level 7 only) Lancashire Combination (level 7 only) London Spartan League (One, Two) Midland Football Combination (level 7 only) Midland League (Premier, One) Northern League (level 7 only) South Midlands League (Premier, One) Sussex County League (One, Two) United Counties League (Premier, One, Two) West Midlands (Regional) League (level 7 only) Western League (level 7 only) Yorkshire League (One, Two, Three)

Cup competitions

FA cups	FA Cup (Qualifying rounds, Final) Charity Shield FA Trophy (Final) FA Vase
Football League cups	League Cup (Final)

European competitions

Club seasons
First Division	Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham City Burnley Coventry City Derby County Everton Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Middlesbrough Newcastle United Norwich City Queens Park Rangers Sheffield United Stoke City Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers
Second Division	Blackburn Rovers Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Bristol City Bristol Rovers Carlisle United Charlton Athletic Chelsea Fulham Hull City Luton Town Nottingham Forest Notts County Oldham Athletic Orient Oxford United Plymouth Argyle Portsmouth Southampton Sunderland West Bromwich Albion York City
Third Division	Aldershot Brighton & Hove Albion Bury Cardiff City Chester Chesterfield Colchester United Crystal Palace Gillingham Grimsby Town Halifax Town Hereford United Mansfield Town Millwall Peterborough United Port Vale Preston North End Rotherham United Sheffield Wednesday Shrewsbury Town Southend United Swindon Town Walsall Wrexham
Fourth Division	Barnsley Bournemouth Bradford City Brentford Cambridge United Crewe Alexandra Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Hartlepool United Huddersfield Town Lincoln City Newport County Northampton Town Reading Rochdale Scunthorpe United Southport Stockport County Swansea City Torquay United Tranmere Rovers Watford Workington

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