# 1970–71 Northampton Town F.C. season

The 1970–71 season was Northampton Town's 74th season in their history and the second 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 1 May 1971.
| Name | Position | Place of Birth | Date of Birth (Age) | Apps | Goals | Previous club | Date signed | Fee |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| Kim Book | GK | Bath | (1946-02-12)12 February 1946 (aged 25) | 94 | 0 | Bournemouth & B A | July 1969 | |
| David Hill | GK | Kettering | (1953-09-28)28 September 1953 (aged 17) | 1 | 0 | Apprentice | August 1970 | N/A |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Eric Brookes | FB | Darton | (1944-02-03)3 February 1944 (aged 27) | 98 | 3 | Barnsley | July 1969 | |
| John Clarke | CB | Northampton | (1945-10-23)23 October 1945 (aged 25) | 139 | 0 | Apprentice | July 1965 | N/A |
| Ray Fairfax | FB | Smethwick | (1941-11-14)14 November 1941 (aged 29) | 138 | 2 | West Bromwich Albion | July 1968 | |
| Brian Heslop | U | Carlisle | (1947-08-04)4 August 1947 (aged 23) | 10 | 0 | Sunderland | March 1971 | |
| Phil Neal | U | Irchester | (1951-02-20)20 February 1951 (aged 20) | 59 | 8 | Apprentice | July 1968 | N/A |
| Alan Oman | FB | Newcastle upon Tyne | (1952-10-06)6 October 1952 (aged 18) | 2 | 0 | Apprentice | October 1970 | N/A |
| Frank Rankmore | CB | Cardiff | (1939-07-21)21 July 1939 (aged 31) | 126 | 19 | Peterborough United | August 1968 | £12,000 |
| Neil Townsend | CB | Long Buckby | (1950-02-01)1 February 1950 (aged 21) | 50 | 1 | Apprentice | September 1968 | N/A |
| Barry Tucker | FB | Swansea | (1952-08-28)28 August 1952 (aged 18) | 0 | 0 | Apprentice | July 1970 | N/A |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| John Buchanan | W | Dingwall | (1951-09-19)19 September 1951 (aged 19) | 3 | 0 | Ross County | October 1970 | |
| Graham Felton | W | Cambridge | (1949-03-01)1 March 1949 (aged 22) | 145 | 13 | Apprentice | September 1966 | N/A |
| Trevor Gould | CM | Coventry | (1950-03-05)5 March 1950 (aged 21) | 37 | 1 | Coventry City | October 1970 | |
| Peter Hawkins | LW | Swansea | (1951-11-09)9 November 1951 (aged 19) | 25 | 3 | Apprentice | July 1968 | N/A |
| Joe Kiernan | CM | Coatbridge | (1942-10-22)22 October 1942 (aged 28) | 310 | 14 | Sunderland | July 1963 | |
| John McGleish | CM | Airdrie | (1951-12-18)18 December 1951 (aged 19) | 3 | 0 | Apprentice | November 1968 | N/A |
| Dixie McNeil | W | Melton Mowbray | (1947-01-16)16 January 1947 (aged 24) | 76 | 22 | Corby Town | May 1969 | £5,000 |
| Eric Ross | CM | Belfast | (1944-09-19)19 September 1944 (aged 26) | 68 | 5 | Newcastle United | August 1969 | |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Keith East | CF | Southampton | (1944-10-31)31 October 1944 (aged 26) | 35 | 9 | Bournemouth & B A | July 1970 | £5,000 |
| John Fairbrother | CF | Cricklewood | (1941-02-12)12 February 1941 (aged 30) | 159 | 62 | Peterborough United | February 1968 | |
| Frank Large | CF | Leeds | (1940-01-26)26 January 1940 (aged 31) | 188 | 74 | Fulham | August 1969 | |

## Competitions
### Division Four
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 5 | Chester | 46 | 24 | 7 | 15 | 69 | 55 | 1.255 | 55 | |
| 6 | Colchester United | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 70 | 54 | 1.296 | 54 | Qualified for 1971 Watney Cup |
| 7 | Northampton Town | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 63 | 59 | 1.068 | 51 | |
| 8 | Southport | 46 | 21 | 6 | 19 | 63 | 57 | 1.105 | 48 | |
| 9 | Exeter City | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 67 | 68 | 0.985 | 48 | |
* ↑ The two teams who scored the most goals in each division, and did not qualify for Europe and were not promoted, qualified for the Watney Cup.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 63 | 59 | 1.068 | 51 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 39 | 24 | 34 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 24 | 35 | 17 |
Last updated: 8 March 2022. 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 | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H |
| Result | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | D | L | W | L | W | W | D | W | L | W | D | W | D | L | D | W | W | W | D | L | W | D | D | L | L | D | W | L | D | D | L | W | L | D | L | W | L | L | L |
| Position | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 |

#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss

### Appearances and goals

| Pos | Player | Division Four | Division Four | Division Four | FA Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Total |
| Pos | Player | Starts | Sub | Goals | Starts | Sub | Goals | Starts | Sub | Goals | Starts | Sub | Goals |
| GK | Kim Book | 45 | – | – | 2 | – | – | 6 | – | – | 53 | – | – |
| GK | David Hill | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – |
| DF | Eric Brookes | 38 | – | – | 2 | – | – | 6 | – | 2 | 46 | – | 2 |
| DF | John Clarke | 42 | – | – | 2 | – | – | 6 | – | – | 50 | – | – |
| DF | Ray Fairfax | 34 | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | 5 | – | – | 41 | – | 1 |
| DF | Brian Heslop | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | – | – |
| DF | Phil Neal | 18 | – | 2 | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | 20 | – | 2 |
| DF | Alan Oman | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – |
| DF | Frank Rankmore | 25 | – | 3 | 2 | – | 1 | 6 | – | – | 33 | – | 4 |
| DF | Neil Townsend | 15 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 15 | 1 | – |
| DF | Barry Tucker | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| MF | John Buchanan | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | – |
| MF | Graham Felton | 26 | 1 | 4 | – | 1 | – | 3 | – | – | 29 | 2 | 4 |
| MF | Trevor Gould | 35 | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 37 | – | 1 |
| MF | Peter Hawkins | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 2 | – |
| MF | Joe Kiernan | 42 | 1 | 1 | 2 | – | – | 6 | – | – | 50 | 1 | 1 |
| MF | John McGleish | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | – |
| MF | Dixie McNeil | 43 | 1 | 13 | 2 | – | 1 | 4 | 1 | – | 49 | 2 | 14 |
| MF | Eric Ross | 15 | 3 | 2 | 2 | – | – | 4 | 1 | – | 21 | 4 | 2 |
| FW | Keith East | 26 | 3 | 7 | – | – | – | 6 | – | 2 | 32 | 3 | 9 |
| FW | John Fairbrother | 40 | 2 | 15 | 2 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 2 | 48 | 2 | 18 |
| FW | Frank Large | 41 | – | 14 | 2 | – | – | 6 | – | 1 | 49 | – | 15 |