1984–85 Northampton Town F.C. season

Northampton Town
1984–85 season
Chairman	Neville Ronson; (until April); Derek Banks; (from April)
Manager	Tony Barton; (until April); Graham Carr; (from April 14)
Stadium	County Ground
Division Four	23rd (re-elected)
FA Cup	Second round
Milk Cup	First round
Freight Rover Trophy	First round
Top goalscorer	League: Ian Benjamin (18); All: Ian Benjamin (19)
Highest home attendance	4,815 vs VS Rugby
Lowest home attendance	942 vs Chester City
Average home league attendance	1,826
	← 1983–84 1985–86 →

The 1984–85 season was Northampton Town's 88th season in their history and the eighth successive season in the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in Division Four, the club also participated in the FA Cup, League Cup and Associate Members' Cup.

Players[edit]

As of match played 6 May 1985.^[1]

Name	Position	Place of Birth	Date of Birth (Age)	Apps	Goals	Previous club	Date signed	Fee
Goalkeepers
Peter Gleasure	GK	Luton	(1960-10-08)8 October 1960 (aged 24)	116	0	Millwall	March 1983
Defenders
Michael Barnes	CB	Reading	(1963-09-17)17 September 1963 (aged 21)	25	1	Reading	August 1984
Mark Bushell	FB	Northampton	(1968-06-05)5 June 1968 (aged 16)	1	0	Apprentice	April 1985	N/A
Wakeley Gage	CB	Northampton	(1958-05-05)5 May 1958 (aged 27)	253	22	Desborough Town	October 1979	£8,000^[2]
Russell Lewis	CB	Blaengwynfi	(1956-09-15)15 September 1956 (aged 28)	104	6	Swindon Town	Summer 1983
Brian Mundee	LB	Hammersmith	(1964-01-12)12 January 1964 (aged 21)	81	4	AFC Bournemouth	Summer 1983
Geoff Scott	CB	Birmingham	(1956-10-31)31 October 1956 (aged 28)	22	0	Middlesbrough	September 1984
Paul Shirtliff	FB	Hoyland	(1962-11-03)3 November 1962 (aged 22)	29	0	Sheffield Wednesday	Summer 1984
Midfielders
Paul Bancroft	CM	Derby	(1964-09-10)10 September 1964 (aged 20)	17	0	Derby County	July 1984	Free
Neil Brough	W	Daventry	(1965-12-22)22 December 1965 (aged 19)	13	0	Apprentice	December 1983	N/A
Steve Brown	CM	Northampton	(1966-07-06)6 July 1966 (aged 18)	15	3	Apprentice	May 1983	N/A
Phil Cavener	W	Tynemouth	(1961-06-02)2 June 1961 (aged 23)	32	7	FK Karlskrona	August 1984
Warren Donald	CM	Hillingdon	(1964-10-07)7 October 1964 (aged 20)	11	2	West Ham United	March 1985	Loan
Austin Hayes	W	Hammersmith (ENG)	(1958-07-15)15 July 1958 (aged 26)	78	14	Millwall	August 1983
Aidy Mann	W	Northampton	(1967-07-12)12 July 1967 (aged 17)	45	3	Apprentice	May 1984	N/A
Keith Thompson	W	Birmingham	(1965-04-24)24 April 1965 (aged 20)	10	1	Coventry City	March 1985	Loan
Ray Train (c)	DM	Bedworth	(1951-02-10)10 February 1951 (aged 34)	54	3	Oxford United	March 1984
Forwards
Frankie Belfon	FW	Wellingborough	(1965-02-18)18 February 1965 (aged 20)	93	17	Apprentice	April 1982	N/A
Ian Benjamin	FW	Nottingham	(1961-12-11)11 December 1961 (aged 23)	52	19	Peterborough United	Summer 1984

Competitions[edit]

Canon League Division Four[edit]

League table[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion
20	Southend United	46	13	11	22	58	83	−25	50
21	Halifax Town	46	15	5	26	42	69	−27	50	Re-elected
22	Stockport County	46	13	8	25	58	79	−21	47
23	Northampton Town	46	14	5	27	53	74	−21	47
24	Torquay United	46	9	14	23	38	63	−25	41

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results summary[edit]


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
46	14	5	27	53	74	−21	47	10	1	12	32	32	0	4	4	15	21	42	−21

Last updated: 30 January 2024.
Source: ^{[citation needed]}

League position by match[edit]

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	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	A	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	H	A	H	A
Result	L	L	L	L	D	L	L	W	L	L	W	W	L	L	L	W	W	L	D	L	L	W	L	W	L	L	L	L	L	L	L	D	L	L	L	L	D	W	L	W	W	W	W	D	W	W
Position	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	22	21	21	22	22	21	18	21	19	21	23	19	20	18	18	20	23	23	23	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	22	22	23

Source: Rothmans Football Yearbook 1985-86
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches[edit]

Win Draw Loss

25 August 1984 (1984-08-25) 1	Exeter City	5–0	Northampton Town	Exeter
15:00 BST	o.g.' R.McDonough R.Pratt J.Sims			Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 3,166 Referee: Les Burden

1 September 1984 (1984-09-01) 2	Northampton Town	1–3	Chesterfield	Northampton
15:00 BST	A.Hayes pen.'			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,554

8 September 1984 (1984-09-08) 3	Darlington	4–0	Northampton Town	Darlington
15:00 BST	C.Airey 5' 64' J.Hannah 14' D.McLean 55' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 1,110

15 September 1984 (1984-09-15) 4	Northampton Town	0–1	Halifax Town	Northampton
15:00 BST				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,437

18 September 1984 (1984-09-18) 5	Northampton Town	0–0	Rochdale	Northampton
19:30 BST				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,653 Referee: Danny Vickers

22 September 1984 (1984-09-22) 6	Chester City	1–0	Northampton Town	Chester
15:00 BST	O.Brown			Stadium: Sealand Road Attendance: 1,845

29 September 1984 (1984-09-29) 7	Northampton Town	1–3	Colchester United	Northampton
15:00 BST	A.Hayes 24' B.Mundee 64'	Report	N.Parkinson 70' T.Adcock 74' K.Bowen 78'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,595 Referee: John Martin

1 October 1984 (1984-10-01) 8	Port Vale	0–3	Northampton Town	Burslem
15:00 BST			F.Belfon P.Cavener A.Hayes	Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 3,235 Referee: Allan Banks

6 October 1984 (1984-10-06) 9	Northampton Town	0–2	Scunthorpe United	Northampton
15:00 BST				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,813

13 October 1984 (1984-10-13) 10	Southend United	2–1	Northampton Town	Southend-on-Sea
15:00 BST			F.Belfon	Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 2,265

16 October 1984 (1984-10-16) 11	Wrexham	0–3	Northampton Town	Wrexham, Wales
19:30 BST			I.Benjamin W.Gage	Stadium: Racecourse Ground Attendance: 1,748

20 October 1984 (1984-10-20) 12	Northampton Town	4–0	Aldershot	Northampton
15:00 BST	I.Benjamin W.Gage			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,864 Referee: John Hough

27 October 1984 (1984-10-27) 13	Blackpool	2–1	Northampton Town	Blackpool
15:00 BST			A.Mann	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 3,577

3 November 1984 (1984-11-03) 14	Northampton Town	0–1	Bury	Northampton
15:00 GMT				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,240

6 November 1984 (1984-11-06) 15	Crewe Alexandra	3–2	Northampton Town	Crewe
19:30 GMT			F.Belfon I.Benjamin	Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 2,154

10 November 1984 (1984-11-10) 16	Northampton Town	4–0	Swindon Town	Northampton
15:00 GMT	I.Benjamin W.Gage A.Hayes pen.'			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,274

23 November 1984 (1984-11-23) 17	Tranmere Rovers	1–2	Northampton Town	Birkenhead
19:30 GMT			F.Belfon I.Benjamin	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 1,899

1 December 1984 (1984-12-01) 18	Northampton Town	0–3	Hereford United	Northampton
15:00 GMT				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,523

15 December 1984 (1984-12-15) 19	Hartlepool United	0–0	Northampton Town	Hartlepool
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 2,207

22 December 1984 (1984-12-22) 20	Mansfield Town	2–0	Northampton Town	Mansfield
15:00 GMT	D.Caldwell			Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 2,207

26 December 1984 (1984-12-26) 21	Northampton Town	0–3	Peterborough United	Northampton
15:00 GMT				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,350

29 December 1984 (1984-12-29) 22	Northampton Town	3–1	Torquay United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	P.Cavener pen.'			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,496

1 January 1985 (1985-01-01) 23	Stockport County	4–2	Northampton Town	Stockport
15:00 GMT			I.Benjamin R.Lewis	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 1,726

5 January 1985 (1985-01-05) 24	Northampton Town	5–2	Exeter City	Northampton
15:00 GMT	I.Benjamin P.Cavener pen.'		J.McNichol T.Morgan	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,475

12 January 1985 (1985-01-12) 25	Chesterfield	2–1	Northampton Town	Chesterfield
15:00 GMT			P.Cavener pen.'	Stadium: Saltergate Attendance: 3,759

1 February 1985 (1985-02-01) 26	Colchester United	4–1	Northampton Town	Colchester
19:30 GMT	R.Hedman 63' T.Adcock 70' K.Day 72' N.Parkinson 83' (pen.)	Report	B.Mundee 85'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,314 Referee: Tony Ward

16 February 1985 (1985-02-16) 27	Rochdale	3–0	Northampton Town	Rochdale
15:00 GMT	D.Thompson 40' B.Diamond 56', 86'			Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 1,228 Referee: Neville Ashley

23 February 1985 (1985-02-23) 28	Bury	3–1	Northampton Town	Bury
15:15 GMT			M.Barnes	Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 2,938

26 February 1985 (1985-02-26) 29	Halifax Town	1–0	Northampton Town	Halifax
19:30 GMT				Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 1,009
Note: Fixture was previously postponed on January 25, 1985.^[3]

2 March 1985 (1985-03-02) 30	Northampton Town	0–1	Blackpool	Northampton
15:00 GMT				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,860

5 March 1985 (1985-03-05) 31	Northampton Town	0–4	Wrexham	Northampton
19:30 GMT				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,223 Referee: Darryl Reeves

9 March 1985 (1985-03-09) 32	Aldershot	0–0	Northampton Town	Aldershot
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 1,955

17 March 1985 (1985-03-17) 33	Northampton Town	1–2	Southend United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	F.Belfon			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,702

19 March 1985 (1985-03-19) 34	Northampton Town	0–2	Chester City	Northampton
19:30 GMT			S.Rimmer R.Greenough	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 942 Referee: Allan Gunn
Note: Fixture was previously postponed on February 9, 1985.^[3]

22 March 1985 (1985-03-22) 35	Scunthorpe United	2–1	Northampton Town	Scunthorpe
19:30 GMT			I.Benjamin	Stadium: Old Show Ground Attendance: 2,024

30 March 1985 (1985-03-30) 36	Northampton Town	1–3	Crewe Alexandra	Northampton
15:00 GMT	I.Benjamin			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,264

2 April 1985 (1985-04-02) 37	Peterborough United	0–0	Northampton Town	Peterborough
19:30 BST				Stadium: London Road Attendance: 2,482

9 April 1985 (1985-04-09) 38	Northampton Town	4–0	Stockport County	Northampton
19:30 BST	I.Benjamin S.Brown W.Donald A.Mann			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,426 Referee: Danny Vickers

13 April 1985 (1985-04-13) 39	Swindon Town	2–0	Northampton Town	Swindon
15:00 BST				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,642

15 April 1985 (1985-04-15) 40	Northampton Town	2–0	Hartlepool United	Northampton
15:00 BST	W.Donald B.Mundee			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,181

17 April 1985 (1985-04-17) 41	Northampton Town	1–0	Port Vale	Northampton
19:30 BST	W.Gage			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,311

20 April 1985 (1985-04-20) 42	Northampton Town	2–0	Tranmere Rovers	Northampton
15:00 BST	I.Benjamin S.Brown			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,581

23 April 1985 (1985-04-23) 43	Northampton Town	2–1	Darlington	Northampton
19:30 BST	I.Benjamin K.Thompson			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,838

27 April 1985 (1985-04-27) 44	Hereford United	1–1	Northampton Town	Hereford
15:00 BST			S.Brown	Stadium: Edgar Street Attendance: 3,266

30 April 1985 (1985-04-30) 45	Northampton Town	1–0	Mansfield Town	Northampton
19:30 BST	R.Train			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,350

6 May 1985 (1985-05-06) 46	Torquay United	0–2	Northampton Town	Torquay
15:00 BST			I.Benjamin R.Lewis	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 1,181

FA Cup[edit]

17 November 1984 (1984-11-17) First round	Northampton Town	2–2	VS Rugby	Northampton
15:00 GMT	R.Train T.Lee			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,815

21 November 1984 (1984-11-21) First round (r)	VS Rugby	0–1	Northampton Town	Rugby
19:30 GMT			W.Gage	Stadium: Butlin Road Attendance: 3,961

8 December 1984 (1984-12-08) Second round	Brentford	2–2	Northampton Town	Brentford, London
15:00 GMT			R.Train T.Lee	Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 4,449

17 December 1984 (1984-12-17) Second round (r)	Northampton Town	0–2	Brentford	Northampton
19:30 GMT				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,610
Note: Fixture was previously abandoned on December 11, 1984 due to snow.^[3]

Milk Cup[edit]

27 August 1984 (1984-08-27) First round 1st leg	Crystal Palace	1–0	Northampton Town	Selhurst, London
15:00 BST				Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 3,752 Referee: Ian Borrett

4 September 1984 (1984-09-04) First round 2nd leg	Northampton Town	0–0	Crystal Palace	Northampton
19:30 BST				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,979

Freight Rover Trophy[edit]

29 January 1985 (1985-01-29) First round 1st leg	Port Vale	1–1	Northampton Town	Burslem
19:30 GMT	O.Williams		I.Benjamin	Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 1,386

5 February 1985 (1985-02-05) First round 2nd leg	Northampton Town	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Port Vale	Northampton
19:30 GMT	F.Belfon		R.Earle	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,407

Appearances and goals[edit]

Pos	Player	Division Four			FA Cup			League Cup			League Trophy			Total
Pos	Player	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals	Starts	Sub	Goals
GK	Peter Gleasure	43	–	–	4	–	–	2	–	–	2	–	–	51	–	–
DF	Michael Barnes	19	–	1	4	–	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	25	–	1
DF	Mark Bushell	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–
DF	Wakeley Gage	42	1	4	2	1	1	2	–	–	2	–	–	48	3	5
DF	Russell Lewis	43	1	2	4	–	–	1	–	–	2	–	–	50	1	2
DF	Brian Mundee	32	1	2	3	–	–	2	–	–	2	–	–	39	1	2
DF	Geoff Scott	16	1	–	2	1	–	–	–	–	2	–	–	20	2	–
DF	Paul Shirtliff	27	2	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	28	2	–
MF	Paul Bancroft	15	1	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	16	1	–
MF	Neil Brough	3	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	4	4	–
MF	Steve Brown	14	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14	–	3
MF	Phil Cavener	28	–	7	1	–	–	2	–	–	1	–	–	32	–	7
MF	Warren Donald	11	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	2
MF	Austin Hayes	20	–	5	4	–	–	2	–	–	–	1	–	26	1	5
MF	Aidy Mann	36	2	2	4	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	41	2	2
MF	Keith Thompson	10	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10	–	1
MF	Ray Train	46	–	1	4	–	2	2	–	–	2	–	–	54	–	3
FW	Frankie Belfon	26	5	5	4	–	–	1	–	–	2	–	1	33	5	6
FW	Ian Benjamin	42	2	18	4	–	–	2	–	–	2	–	1	50	2	19
Players who left before end of season:
GK	Kevin Poole	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3	–	–
MF	Mark Hutchinson	1	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	2	1	–
FW	Trevor Lee	24	–	–	4	–	2	2	–	–	2	–	–	32	–	2
FW	Mick Perry	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4	–	–

References[edit]

^ Rothmans Football Yearbook 1985/86, p.252.
^ Focus on Wakeley Gage, Chester City v. Burnley matchday programme, 5/10/85, p. 13
^ ^a ^b ^c "1984/85 Division 4". ntfcmemorabilia.weebly.com. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.

Books

Grande, Frank (1997). Northampton Town F.C.: The Official Centenary History. London: Yore Publications. ISBN 978-1874427674.

[1] Rothmans Football Yearbook 1985/86, p.252.

[Focus_on-2] Focus on Wakeley Gage, Chester City v. Burnley matchday programme, 5/10/85, p. 13

[postponed_games-3] "1984/85 Division 4". ntfcmemorabilia.weebly.com. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]