Football Season Guide

Northampton are coming from a season that saw them win League Two with relative ease thanks to an impressive run of form that they had in the second half of their campaign. However, the Cobblers, who are back into the third tier following a six-year absence, were victims of their own success in a way, as they lost their highly-rated manager Chris Wilder, who joined boyhood club Sheffield United, as well as Ricky Holmes, the hero of their promotion push, who has joined Charlton. However, the Cobblers have made a promising managerial signing in Rob Page, who has done well with Port Vale over the last season and a half, while their list of new men includes several proven players at this level, such as Gabriel Zakuani, Paddy Kenny, Aaron Phillips, Alex Revell and Harry Beautyman. Their squad is hardly a youthful one, with many players who have previous League One and Championship experience being among their ranks, but their greatest area of concern is the attack, as they have two veteran strikers in Revell and Marc Richards, as well as Sam Hoskins, who has so far struggled for goals whenever getting a chance to play in the third tier. However, despite all this, the Cobblers will be expected to stay clear of trouble - they have a decent side, a manager proven at this level and a decent home following. League Two champions have rarely struggled to stay up over the recent years, and they will be hoping to stay clear of danger.