# 1996–97 Northampton Town F.C. season

The 1996–97 season was Northampton Town's Centenary season in their history and the seventh successive season in the Third Division. Alongside competing in Division Three, the club also participated in the FA Cup, League Cup and Football League Trophy.

## Players

    As of match played 24 May 1997.
| Name | Position | Place of Birth | Date of Birth (Age) | Apps | Goals | Previous club | Date signed | Fee |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| Stuart Brock | GK | West Bromwich | (1976-09-26)26 September 1976 (aged 20) | 0 | 0 | Aston Villa | 27 March 1997 | Free |
| Billy Turley | GK | Wolverhampton | (1973-07-15)15 July 1973 (aged 23) | 3 | 0 | Evesham United | 10 July 1995 | Free |
| Andy Woodman | GK | Camberwell | (1971-08-11)11 August 1971 (aged 25) | 118 | 0 | Exeter City | 10 March 1995 | Free |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Ian Clarkson | RB | Solihull | (1970-12-04)4 December 1970 (aged 26) | 56 | 0 | Stoke City | 2 August 1996 | Free |
| Lee Colkin | LB | Nuneaton | (1974-07-15)15 July 1974 (aged 22) | 117 | 4 | Apprentice | 31 August 1992 | N/A |
| John Frain | LB | Birmingham | (1968-10-08)8 October 1968 (aged 28) | 17 | 1 | Birmingham City | 24 January 1997 | Loan |
| Lee Maddison | LB | Bristol | (1972-10-05)5 October 1972 (aged 24) | 66 | 0 | Bristol Rovers | 22 September 1995 | £25,000 |
| David Rennie | CB | Edinburgh | (1964-08-29)29 August 1964 (aged 32) | 43 | 4 | Coventry City | 5 August 1996 | Free |
| Ian Sampson | CB | Wakefield | (1968-11-14)14 November 1968 (aged 28) | 147 | 13 | Sunderland | 5 August 1994 | £30,000 |
| Ray Warburton (c) | CB | Rotherham | (1967-10-07)7 October 1967 (aged 29) | 156 | 14 | York City | 4 February 1994 | £35,000 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Ali Gibb | RM | Salisbury | (1976-02-17)17 February 1976 (aged 21) | 48 | 2 | Norwich City | 5 February 1996 | £30,000 |
| Roy Hunter | CM | Saltburn-by-the-Sea | (1973-10-29)29 October 1973 (aged 23) | 85 | 7 | West Bromwich Albion | 2 August 1995 | Free |
| Dave Martin | CM | East Ham | (1963-04-25)25 April 1963 (aged 34) | 14 | 2 | Leyton Orient | 11 October 1996 | Free |
| Danny O'Shea | CM | Newington | (1963-03-26)26 March 1963 (aged 34) | 87 | 0 | Cambridge United | 23 March 1995 | Free |
| Sean Parrish | LM | Wrexham | (1972-03-14)14 March 1972 (aged 25) | 47 | 9 | Doncaster Rovers | 2 August 1996 | £35,000 |
| Dean Peer | CM | Wordsley | (1969-08-08)8 August 1969 (aged 27) | 78 | 3 | Walsall | 22 August 1995 | Free |
| Michael Warner | CM | Harrogate | (1974-01-17)17 January 1974 (aged 23) | 11 | 0 | Tamworth | 31 May 1995 | Free |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Mark Cooper | FW | Watford | (1967-04-05)5 April 1967 (aged 30) | 46 | 10 | Barnet | 2 August 1996 | Free |
| John Gayle | FW | Bromsgrove | (1964-07-30)30 July 1964 (aged 32) | 14 | 3 | Stoke City | 10 February 1997 | £25,000 |
| Neil Grayson | FW | York | (1964-11-01)1 November 1964 (aged 32) | 141 | 34 | Boston United | 19 June 1994 | Free |
| Garry Thompson | FW | Kings Heath | (1959-10-07)7 October 1959 (aged 37) | 52 | 6 | Cardiff City | 10 February 1995 | Free |
| Christian Lee | FW | Aylesbury | (1976-10-08)8 October 1976 (aged 20) | 45 | 9 | Doncaster Rovers | 13 July 1995 | Free |
| Jason White | FW | Meriden | (1971-10-19)19 October 1971 (aged 25) | 92 | 18 | Scarborough | 15 June 1995 | £35,000 |

## Competitions
### Nationwide Football League Division Three
#### League table

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 2 | Fulham | 46 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 72 | 38 | +34 | 87 | Promoted |
| 3 | Carlisle United | 46 | 24 | 12 | 10 | 67 | 44 | +23 | 84 | Promoted |
| 4 | Northampton Town | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 67 | 44 | +23 | 72 | Promoted through play-offs |
| 5 | Swansea City | 46 | 21 | 8 | 17 | 62 | 58 | +4 | 71 | Participated in play-offs |
| 6 | Chester City | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 55 | 43 | +12 | 70 | Participated in play-offs |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 26 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 | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | W | D | D | D | L | L | D | W | L | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | D | W | D | L | W | D | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | L | D | W | D | L | W | D | L | L | W | W | D | W | W | D | W |
| Position | 17 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 15 | 16 | 21 | 16 | 20 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 |

#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss

#### Play-offs
### Appearances, goals and cards

| Pos | Player | Division Three | Division Three | Division Three | FA Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Trophy | League Trophy | League Trophy | Play-offs | Play-offs | Play-offs | Total | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| Pos | Player | Starts | Sub | Goals | Starts | Sub | Goals | Starts | Sub | Goals | Starts | Sub | Goals | Starts | Sub | Goals | Starts | Sub | Goals | | |
| GK | Stuart Brock | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| GK | Billy Turley | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| GK | Andy Woodman | 45 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 4 | – | – | 3 | – | – | 3 | – | – | 56 | – | – | 1 | – |
| DF | Ian Clarkson | 45 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 4 | – | – | 3 | – | – | 3 | – | – | 56 | – | – | 8 | 1 |
| DF | Lee Colkin | 1 | 5 | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | 3 | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 11 | – | – | – |
| DF | John Frain | 11 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | 3 | – | 1 | 17 | – | 1 | 2 | – |
| DF | Lee Maddison | 34 | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 40 | 1 | – | 5 | – |
| DF | David Rennie | 42 | 1 | 4 | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | 2 | – | – | 3 | – | – | 51 | 1 | 4 | 2 | – |
| DF | Ian Sampson | 43 | – | 4 | 1 | – | – | 4 | – | – | 3 | – | – | 3 | – | 1 | 54 | – | 5 | 11 | – |
| DF | Ray Warburton | 35 | – | 4 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | 3 | – | 1 | 42 | – | 5 | 1 | – |
| MF | Ali Gibb | 6 | 12 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 9 | 14 | 1 | 1 | – |
| MF | Roy Hunter | 26 | 10 | 6 | 1 | – | – | 4 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 3 | – | – | 35 | 10 | 6 | 6 | – |
| MF | Dave Martin | 10 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | 2 | – | – | – | 12 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – |
| MF | Danny O'Shea | 32 | 3 | – | 1 | – | – | 4 | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 38 | 4 | – | 4 | 1 |
| MF | Sean Parrish | 37 | 2 | 8 | 1 | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | 1 | 44 | 3 | 9 | 11 | – |
| MF | Dean Peer | 7 | 14 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | 3 | – | 9 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| MF | Michael Warner | 1 | 8 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 9 | – | – | – |
| FW | Mark Cooper | 37 | 4 | 10 | 1 | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 42 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 2 |
| FW | Claudio De Vito | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| FW | John Gayle | 7 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 1 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 3 | – |
| FW | Neil Grayson | 38 | 8 | 12 | 1 | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | 2 | – | – | 3 | – | – | 47 | 9 | 12 | 6 | – |
| FW | Christian Lee | 12 | 17 | 7 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 2 | 2 | – | – | 1 | 2 | – | 16 | 20 | 9 | 1 | – |
| FW | Garry Thompson | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – |
| FW | Jason White | 16 | 16 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 3 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 20 | 21 | 2 | 1 | – |
| Players who left before end of season: ||||||||||||||||||||||
| DF | Ryan Kirby | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – |
| MF | Chris Burns | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7 | – | – | 1 | – |
| W | Neil Lyne | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | – |
| W | Matthew Rush | 14 | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 15 | – | 4 | 1 | – |
| FW | Allan Smart | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| FW | Phil Stant | 4 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 1 | 2 | – | – |