Chapter 9 – ‘Short But Sweet’
They think its all over. It is now!!!!!!!!!!’
 Those famous words from Kenneth Woolstonholme in the summer of
1966 not only aptly described England’s World Cup Win, but also the
end of the Cobblers dream. By that summer, the Cobblers had been
relegated from the First Division, and were on the slide back to
where they had come from, and most pundits believed where they
should have stayed.
But lets go back to happier times, i.e. August 1965, when the
trip began and the Cobblers opened their one and only season in
England’s, and some would say, the World’s top division of football.
The welsh wizard’s first problem was how to strengthen the team
to be able to complete with the big boys.
As the Reporter Ken Jones said,
 Dave Bowen in the short space of four years had taken the team
from the bottom to the top, on a budget that would hardly have
covered the laundry bill at Old Trafford, and in the process he
turned in a profit.’
‘Bowen asked the Board what his transfer budget was going to be.
The answer was £25,000. Sorry they said we can’t raise anymore.
Even in 1965, £25K would not buy you a First Division Player.’
 Apart from the lack of funds, the facilities left much to be
desired, and Bowen joked many times about sealing transfers at
nightfall. If you coughed in the manager’s office, dust fell from a
sloping ceiling. Remarkably, Colin Bell who later became an English
International, was almost persuaded by Bowen to sign. Trouble was,
said Dave on many occasions, that Colin came here in broad
daylight.’
The Cobblers started their season with a short tour taking in
Scotland and Austria. They beat St Mirren 2-0 and drew 2-2 against
the Champions of Austria Rapid Vienna. They returned to play a
friendly against local rivals Leicester City, and got whopped 6-1.
That should have been a clue to the future, but we were still on
cloud nine and failed to recognise it.
The season commenced in front of a crowd of 48,479 against
Everton at Goodison Park. We were beaten 5-2. Although, some pundits
tried to be kind, the general view was that the Cobblers were tired,
sorry, beaten and bewildered and were totally out of their depth.
 The best they could achieve in the early part of the season was a
series of draws, notably against Man U and Arsenal. I well remember
standing on the Terraces at Highbury on a midweek night, and seeing
my old friend from Kingsthorpe Grove School, Jim Hall, score to earn
the Cobblers a gallant draw. Some hefty defeats were sustained,
before the first win finally arrived against Bobby Moore’s West Ham
at the County Ground, with a goal from Ken Leek in the 80th minute.
For a time George Hudson, a popular signing from Coventry City,
was looked upon as a salvation when he conjured up a 2-1 home
celebration against mighty Leeds United.
 Hopes of survival remained high, and indeed, had the season
started on 1/1/66 Cobblers would have finished well up the league.
Alas, the last five months of 1965 had done for them. That stunning
4-2 home defeat by Fulham, also threatened with relegation, was to
be the final nail in the coffin. To make matters worse, Cobblers
were relegated with the highest number of points since records
began, and in any other season would have survived with points to
spare.
Who knows what would have happened had the Cobblers stayed in the
First Division:
- Would I have moved away from Northampton?
- Would I have married that girl from the Chelsea home game?
- Would my offspring have supported Notts Forest ?!!!!
- Would I have retired at 50 to spend my ill-gotten gains?
- Would I have written this anorak series of articles?
- Would Margaret Thatcher have become Prime Minister?
- Would Big Brother have existed?!!!!
- Would the world have ended by now?
 Who knows!!!! Who knows!!!
The only think I know was that 1957-1966 was a magical time!!!!!
The End
Did I hear a sigh of relief? |
