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Sammo wry

Northampton FanZoner Tom Reed welcomes a new leader

Posted: 13th October 2009 11:22

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Sammo wry

Sampson: 17 games for Sunderland

According to Cobblers chairman, David Cardoza, he had to sift through over 3,000 applications for the much sought-after position, one allegedly and a tad desperately from Stuart Gray, which was well-written but signed 'Stewie G', so thrown onto the no-go pile.

Northampton FanZoner Tom Reed
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Poor old Stuart Gray, nice bloke, solid player but now dumped onto the football scrapheap of head coaches that couldn't make the step up to head honcho, numero uno, directeur...manager.

Forgive me for coming over a bit Stuart Hall there (it happens to us all from time to time) but apparently the Cobblers players couldn't handle having a chief who had spent most of his years pounding the training pitches as a mere coach.

Instead of calling him 'boss' or 'gaffer' he'd be known as 'Stuart' or, 'Stewpot' (ok, I made the last one up) and didn't garner the respect and admiration that your more hardnosed managers do.

Can you imagine a player walking up to Sir Alex Ferguson and saying "alright Al, not too much running today, I had a skin-full last night"? Well, you probably would if you were Paul McGrath, but that's the exception rather than the rule.

Stuart Gray was a bit pally you see, the kind of manager that earned his oats as a journeyman footballer, knows every trick in the book and can empathise with his players.

The kind of bloke that, as a coach, would gently take the micky out of the manager along with the squad, which is all well and good until you become manager and start making jokes at your own expense.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, Stuart Gray was fired, the sacking having less to do with respect issues within the squad and more to do with the fact that his players were playing like clowns that have escaped the circus and taken up crystal meth.

And so to his replacement, an issue which saw the whole town of Northampton close for a two-day holiday so the inhabitants could debate who they wanted in charge. All the big names were mentioned, Louis van Gaal of FC Bayern Munich, Diego Maraputo of Boca Juniors, Oswaldo De Oliveira of Kashima Antlers and Mark Cooper of Kettering Town.

According to Cobblers chairman, David Cardoza, he had to sift through over 3,000 applications for the much sought-after position, one allegedly and a tad desperately from Stuart Gray, which was well-written but signed 'Stewie G', so thrown onto the no-go pile.

Deliberation

After many weeks of deliberation, soul-searching and research on Wikipedia to work out who all the applicants were, David Cardoza announced his decision. Northamptonians arrived en masse at the town hall where the chairman addressed the crowd from the neo-gothic balcony.

"Today is an historic day for the town, a day when elite sport and the pride of a populace combine to drive this ancient town to footballing greatness. Citizens...I give you your new leader..."

Crowd: 'Please say Jose Mourinho'

Chairman: "Ian 'Sammo' Sampson!"

What? You mean Ian Sampson, the bloke that has been coach at the club for years, the stalwart, the old hand, the bloke that is known everywhere and by everyone as "Sammo"? The exact same coach-turned-manager scenario as with whatshisface... Stewpot?

"Yes, I mean Sammo, King of the Nene, Northern grit and gumption personified, played 17 games for Sunderland I'll have you know"

With that, a 100,000 bemused locals slinked meekly back to their shoe-factory dwellings, confused yet faithful to the reasoning of their great leader.

In Japan, a 50-something Brazilian football manager, sat next to a telex machine, weeping silently...

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Comments (1)

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Joe Davies (Northampton Town fan) says...

I too am a bit underwhelmed by the appointment of Ssammo. Despite promising the job to the best person out there, it seems the chairman has gone for the cheap option. Understandable when you consider the amount of money he has lost on the club, and the forever ongoing frustration at lack of activity on the stadium front. However it is about time the Cobblers sorted their act out and get their apparent love for League Two out of their system. Starting last year as contenders for the play-offs in League One, to now find ourselves clinging on to league status is a bitter pill to swallow. Two years ago we were a league above the Posh, we now find ourselves two leagues below them - quite a turnaround. All I can say is I hope Sammo does well, and I am interested in his activity in the transfer window. Perhaps a few signings instead of costly loan players who are no better than what we already have might aid the cause. Things looked promising at the Rotheram game I went to, the players seemed to be responding, and two comebacks from 2-0 down is heartening, but they have to stop scrapping for last-gasp draws and start winning these games. Good luck Sammo, don't let us down. UP THE COBBLERS!

Posted 22:24 13th October 2009
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