Fortunately the game's loss was showbiz's great fortune But the current chairman, David Cordoza, a 33-year-old property developer, has insisted on continuity. The oleaginous chat-show host and entertainer, who came to Northampton as an evacuee during the Second World War, was briefly on Town's books after the hostilities. "He never really made any impact as a footballer," said Grande. Fortunately, the game's loss was showbiz's great fortune.The present incumbent at Sixfields Stadium - Town's home since 1994 - Colin Calderwood, the former Spurs centre-half, who replaced Martin Wilkinson as manager of the Third Division side in September, is Northampton's fourth manager in a year. There was also a great camaraderie, like Wimbledon had in later years," explains the club's historian, Frank Grande, who has been following Northampton for nearly 50 years. "The problem was that the directors at the time were all local businessmen who didn't have the kind of money to maintain First Division football."Grande, a postman, has penned five books on his subject, which may be considered a heroic effort considering that his club spent an inordinate amount of time in Division Three South. His works include Des O'Connor's Contribution to Midfield Artistry. but it will be a target for me not to concede eight!"The truth is that, unless you are Tony Blair, who apparently once recalled being present at Newcastle's St James' Park before he was born, nostalgia tends to be lost on you. That's why, when you broach the events which took place at Northampton's three-sided County Ground on 7 February, 1970, it doesn't actually instil fear in today's host players.They were also probably unaware of Northampton's brief flirtation with the ?te, having ascended from the Fourth Division to the First, in the Sixties.
Joe Mercer, manager of Manchester City at the time, said that "the miracle of 1966 was not England winning the World Cup, but Northampton reaching Division One". "It became a joke among the lads: if you wanted to speak to him, it would take you a week walking past his office before you got the courage to knock on the door," says Westwood, who desperately hopes to recover from a calf injury in time to play today."When I spoke to him eventually, Sir Alex told me he wanted me to sign for another two years. Promoted with champions Newcastle to the First under the management of Dave Bowen, who would later take charge of Wales, they returned the following season, descended to the Third the season after that and by 1969 were back in the basement."Dave Bowen was a good manager, with a shrewd business brain, who saw talent in players, got the best out of them, and then sold them on at a profit. 'Yes, sign your contract and go', and then all of a sudden the fee's £500,000! Eventually, it was settled at a tribunal, and the fee was £80,000. He [Sir Alex] thought it [the fee] was wrong, but we shook hands afterwards. |
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