1982–83 Northampton Town F.C. season

Northampton Town
1982–83 season
Chairman	Neville Ronson
Manager	Clive Walker
Stadium	County Ground
Division Four	15th
FA Cup	Third round
Milk Cup	Second round
Football League Trophy	First round
Top goalscorer	League: Steve Massey (20); All: Steve Massey (25)
Highest home attendance	14,529 vs Aston Villa
Lowest home attendance	1,706 vs Aldershot
Average home league attendance	2,594
	← 1981–82 1983–84 →

The 1982–83 season was Northampton Town's 86th season in their history and the sixth successive season in the Fourth Division. Alongside competing in Division Four, the club also participated in the FA Cup, League Cup and Football League Trophy.

Players

As of match played 14 May 1983.^[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 22)	11	0	Millwall	March 1983
Mark Kendall	GK	Nuneaton	(1961-12-10)10 December 1961 (aged 21)	15	0	Aston Villa	Summer 1982
Defenders
David Beavon	FB	Nottingham	(1961-12-08)8 December 1961 (aged 21)	2	0	Tsuen Wan	March 1983
Adrian Burrows	CB	Sutton-in-Ashfield	(1959-01-16)16 January 1959 (aged 24)	53	5	Mansfield Town	August 1982
Wakeley Gage	CB	Northampton	(1958-05-05)5 May 1958 (aged 25)	154	9	Desborough Town	October 1979	£8,000^[2]
Ian Phillips (c)	LB	Cumnock	(1959-04-23)23 April 1959 (aged 24)	54	1	Peterborough United	August 1982
Paul Saunders	U	Watford	(1959-12-17)17 December 1959 (aged 23)	141	5	Watford	July 1978
Barry Tucker	FB	Swansea	(1952-08-28)28 August 1952 (aged 30)	273	7	Brentford	October 1982
Midfielders
John Buchanan	CM	Dingwall	(1951-09-19)19 September 1951 (aged 31)	209	34	Cardiff City	September 1981
Peter Coffill	CM	Romford	(1957-02-14)14 February 1957 (aged 26)	84	5	Torquay United	July 1981	£5,000^[3]
Peter Denyer	W	Chiddingfold	(1957-11-26)26 November 1957 (aged 25)	170	34	Portsmouth	July 1979	P/E
Mark Heeley	W	Peterborough	(1959-09-08)8 September 1959 (aged 23)	110	6	Arsenal	March 1980	£33,000
Billy Jeffrey	CM	Helensburgh	(1951-02-10)10 February 1951 (aged 32)	9	2	Blackpool	March 1983
Maurice Muir	W	London	(1963-03-19)19 March 1963 (aged 20)	16	0	Apprentice	April 1980	N/A
Adam Sandy	U	Peterborough	(1958-09-22)22 September 1958 (aged 24)	113	8	Wolverton Town	February 1980
Gary Saxby	U	Clipstone	(1959-12-11)11 December 1959 (aged 23)	114	14	Mansfield Town	August 1980
Forwards
Frankie Belfon	FW	Wellingborough	(1965-02-18)18 February 1965 (aged 18)	8	2	Apprentice	April 1982	N/A
Steve Massey	FW	Manchester	(1958-03-28)28 March 1958 (aged 25)	72	30	Peterborough United	February 1982
Dave Syrett	FW	Salisbury	(1956-01-20)20 January 1956 (aged 27)	45	16	Peterborough United	June 1982

Competitions

Division Four

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
13	Chester City	46	15	11	20	55	60	−5	56
14	Bristol City	46	13	17	16	59	70	−11	56
15	Northampton Town	46	14	12	20	65	75	−10	54
16	Stockport County	46	14	12	20	60	79	−19	54
17	Darlington	46	13	13	20	61	71	−10	52

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Results summary


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	12	20	65	75	−10	54	10	8	5	43	29	+14	4	4	15	22	46	−24

Last updated: 10 February 2024.
Source: ^{[citation needed]}

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	H	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	A
Result	D	D	D	L	W	L	W	L	D	W	L	W	L	D	L	L	W	D	D	W	L	D	D	D	W	W	L	L	L	L	W	L	L	L	L	W	D	L	L	W	L	D	W	L	W	W
Position	9	12	15	21	12	14	5	14	15	11	13	11	14	10	12	16	12	12	14	13	15	16	16	17	15	13	13	15	16	16	16	16	16	19	20	16	17	18	19	16	18	17	16	18	16	15

Source: 11v11.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Win Draw Loss

28 August 1982 (1982-08-28) 1	Wimbledon	1–1	Northampton Town	Wimbledon, London
15:00 BST			D.Syrett	Stadium: Plough Lane Attendance: 1,703

4 September 1982 (1982-09-04) 2	Northampton Town	1–1	York City	Northampton
15:00 BST	S.Massey			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,257

7 September 1982 (1982-09-07) 3	Northampton Town	1–1	Chester City	Northampton
19:30 BST	G.Saxby		J.Thomas	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,171

11 September 1982 (1982-09-11) 4	Hartlepool United	2–1	Northampton Town	Hartlepool
15:00 BST			W.Gage	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 947

19 September 1982 (1982-09-19) 5	Northampton Town	7–1	Bristol City	Northampton
15:00 BST	D.Syrett S.Massey P.Denyer			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,967 Referee: Ken Salmon

21 September 1982 (1982-09-21) 6	Northampton Town	0–3	Bury	Northampton
15:00 BST				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,792

24 September 1982 (1982-09-24) 7	Stockport County	0–1	Northampton Town	Stockport
19:30 BST			S.Massey	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 1,621

28 September 1982 (1982-09-28) 8	Northampton Town	0–1	Swindon Town	Northampton
19:30 BST		Report	P.Rideout 34' (pen.)	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,706 Referee: Gilbert Napthine

2 October 1982 (1982-10-02) 9	Northampton Town	1–1	Aldershot	Northampton
15:00 BST	S.Massey			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,706

10 October 1982 (1982-10-10) 10	Northampton Town	1–0	Tranmere Rovers	Northampton
15:00 BST	S.Massey			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,433 Referee: Alf Grey

16 October 1982 (1982-10-16) 11	Torquay United	3–1	Northampton Town	Torquay
19:30 BST			B.Wilson o.g.'	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 2,015

19 October 1982 (1982-10-19) 12	Northampton Town	2–1	Colchester United	Northampton
19:30 BST	P.Denyer 46' A.Burrows 88'	Report	I.Allinson 85'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,955 Referee: Trevor Spencer

23 October 1982 (1982-10-23) 13	Hull City	4–0	Northampton Town	Kingston upon Hull
15:00 BST				Stadium: Boothferry Park Attendance: 4,317

30 October 1982 (1982-10-30) 14	Northampton Town	0–0	Peterborough United	Northampton
15:00 GMT				Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,284

2 November 1982 (1982-11-02) 15	Rochdale	2–0	Northampton Town	Rochdale
19:30 GMT	G.Keenan 42' N.Hamilton 63' B.Williams 87'		D.Syrett 87'	Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 1,019

6 November 1982 (1982-11-06) 16	Scunthorpe United	5–1	Northampton Town	Scunthorpe
15:00 GMT			S.Massey	Stadium: Old Show Ground Attendance: 3,412

13 November 1982 (1982-11-13) 17	Northampton Town	2–1	Blackpool	Northampton
15:00 GMT	P.Denyer			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,893

28 November 1982 (1982-11-28) 18	Northampton Town	3–3	Darlington	Northampton
15:00 GMT	S.Massey pen.' A.Burrows			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,599 Referee: Alan Seville

18 December 1982 (1982-12-18) 19	Hereford United	1–1	Northampton Town	Hereford
15:00 GMT			S.Massey	Stadium: Edgar Street Attendance: 1,679

27 December 1982 (1982-12-27) 20	Northampton Town	4–0	Crewe Alexandra	Northampton
15:00 GMT	A.Burrows S.Massey G.Saxby F.Belfon			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 7,494

28 December 1982 (1982-12-28) 21	Mansfield Town	2–0	Northampton Town	Mansfield
15:00 GMT	D.Caldwell J.Matthews			Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 2,843

1 January 1983 (1983-01-01) 22	Northampton Town	2–2	Port Vale	Northampton
15:00 GMT	S.Massey D.Syrett		E.Moss B.Newton pen.'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,618

3 January 1983 (1983-01-03) 23	Bury	1–1	Northampton Town	Bury
19:30 GMT			D.Syrett	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 3,398

15 January 1983 (1983-01-15) 24	Northampton Town	2–2	Wimbledon	Northampton
15:00 GMT	P.Brady P.Saunders			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,290

22 January 1983 (1983-01-22) 25	Bristol City	1–3	Northampton Town	Bristol
15:00 GMT			I.Phillips D.Syrett S.Massey	Stadium: Ashton Gate Attendance: 4,874

29 January 1983 (1983-01-29) 26	Northampton Town	3–1	Hartlepool United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	D.Syrett S.Massey			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,181

1 February 1983 (1983-02-01) 27	Halifax Town	2–0	Northampton Town	Halifax
19:30 GMT				Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 1,927
Note: Fixture was previously abandoned on December 3, 1982.^[4]

5 February 1983 (1983-02-05) 28	Northampton Town	2–3	Stockport County	Northampton
15:00 GMT	M.Patching A.Burrows			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,982

12 February 1983 (1983-02-12) 29	Aldershot	3–0	Northampton Town	Aldershot
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 1,761

19 February 1983 (1983-02-19) 30	Tranmere Rovers	2–1	Northampton Town	Birkenhead
15:15 GMT			D.Syrett	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 1,466

26 February 1983 (1983-02-26) 31	Northampton Town	2–0	Torquay United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	G.Saxby S.Massey			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,817

1 March 1983 (1983-03-01) 32	Colchester Uniteds	3–1	Northampton Town	Colchester
19:30 GMT	I.Allinson 25' (pen.) J.Hull 56' T.Adcock 66'	Report	S.Massey 2'	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2,501 Referee: Mike Taylor

5 March 1983 (1983-03-05) 33	Northampton Town	1–2	Hull City	Northampton
15:00 GMT	W.Gage			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,879

12 March 1983 (1983-03-12) 34	Peterborough United	2–0	Northampton Town	Peterborough
15:00 GMT				Stadium: London Road Attendance: 3,778

15 March 1983 (1983-03-15) 35	York City	5–2	Northampton Town	York
19:30 GMT			S.Massey pen.' B.Tucker	Stadium: Bootham Crescent Attendance: 2,802 Referee: Peter Willis

20 March 1983 (1983-03-20) 36	Northampton Town	2–1	Scunthorpe United	Northampton
15:00 GMT	W.Gage A.Sandy			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,634 Referee: Tom Bune

26 March 1983 (1983-03-26) 37	Blackpool	0–0	Northampton Town	Blackpool
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 2,054

2 April 1983 (1983-04-02) 38	Northampton Town	1–2	Mansfield Town	Northampton
15:00 BST	P.Saunders		D.Caldwell	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,988

4 April 1983 (1983-04-04) 39	Crewe Alexandra	1–0	Northampton Town	Crewe
15:00 BST				Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 2,197

10 April 1983 (1983-04-10) 40	Northampton Town	3–1	Halifax Town	Northampton
15:00 BST	J.Buchanan B.Jeffrey			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,208

16 April 1983 (1983-04-16) 41	Chester City	2–1	Northampton Town	Chester
15:00 BST	J.Allen P.Manns		B.Tucker	Stadium: Sealand Road Attendance: 1,267

19 April 1983 (1983-04-19) 42	Northampton Town	1–1	Rochdale	Northampton
19:30 BST	B.Tucker 90' (pen.)		M.French 27'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1,728 Referee: John Moules
Note: Fixture was previously postponed on February 15, 1983.^[4]

23 April 1983 (1983-04-23) 43	Northampton Town	2–1	Hereford United	Northampton
15:00 BST	A.Sandy S.Massey			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,071

30 April 1983 (1983-04-30) 44	Darlington	2–0	Northampton Town	Darlington
15:00 BST				Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 1,042

8 May 1983 (1983-05-08) 45	Swindon Town	1–5	Northampton Town	Swindon
15:00 BST	J.Quinn 27'	Report	S.Massey 8', 75' P.Denyer 18' D.Syrett 68' B.Jeffrey 70'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 3,554 Referee: David Letts

14 May 1983 (1983-05-14) 46	Port Vale	1–2	Northampton Town	Burslem
15:00 BST	B.Newton pen.'		P.Coffill B.Tucker pen.'	Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 6,761

FA Cup

20 November 1982 (1982-11-20) First round	Northampton Town	2–2	Wimbledon	Northampton
15:00 GMT	A.Burrows P.Denyer			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,627

23 November 1982 (1982-11-23) First round (r)	Wimbledon	0–2	Northampton Town	Wimbledon, London
19:30 GMT			P.Coffill	Stadium: Plough Lane Attendance: 2,097

11 December 1982 (1982-12-11) Second round	Gillingham	1–1	Northampton Town	Northampton
15:00 GMT			G.Saxby	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,054

14 December 1982 (1982-12-14) Second round (r)	Northampton Town	3–2	Gillingham	Northampton
19:30 GMT	S.Massey F.Belfon			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 4,209

8 January 1983 (1983-01-08) Third round	Northampton Town	0–1	Aston Villa	Northampton
15:00 GMT			M.Walters 34'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 14,529 Referee: Tony Ward

Milk Cup

31 August 1982 (1982-08-31) First round 1st leg	Millwall	0–2	Northampton Town	New Cross, London
19:30 BST			D.Syrett G.Saxby	Stadium: The Old Den Attendance: 2,947

14 September 1982 (1982-09-14) First round 2nd leg	Northampton Town	2–2	Millwall	Northampton
19:30 BST	S.Massey			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,855

5 October 1982 (1982-10-05) Second round 1st leg	Northampton Town	1–1	Blackpool	Northampton
19:30 BST	S.Massey			Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,490

26 October 1982 (1982-10-26) Second round 2nd leg	Blackpool	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Northampton Town	Blackpool
19:30 GMT			D.Syrett	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 3,219

Football League Trophy

14 August 1982 (1982-08-14) Group G	Norwich City	3–0	Northampton Town	Norwich
15:00 BST				Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 1,801

16 August 1982 (1982-08-16) Group G	Mansfield Town	1–2	Northampton Town	Mansfield
19:30 BST			D.Syrett S.Massey	Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 1,485 Referee: Arthur Robinson

21 August 1982 (1982-08-21) Group G	Peterborough United	5–2	Northampton Town	Peterborough
15:00 BST			P.Denyer D.Syrett	Stadium: London Road Attendance: 2,192

Appearances and goals

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	11	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11	–	–
GK	Mark Kendall	11	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	3	–	–	15	–	–
DF	David Beavon	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–
DF	Adrian Burrows	43	–	4	5	–	1	3	–	–	1	1	–	52	1	5
DF	Wakeley Gage	40	–	3	5	–	–	3	–	–	2	–	–	50	–	3
DF	Ian Phillips	42	–	1	5	–	–	4	–	–	3	–	–	54	–	1
DF	Paul Saunders	34	–	2	1	–	–	4	–	–	3	–	–	42	–	2
DF	Barry Tucker	37	–	4	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	38	–	4
MF	John Buchanan	32	3	2	5	–	–	3	–	–	2	1	–	42	3	2
MF	Peter Coffill	30	3	1	4	1	2	1	2	–	1	–	–	36	6	3
MF	Peter Denyer	25	9	5	4	–	1	4	–	–	1	1	1	34	10	7
MF	Mark Heeley	20	2	–	3	–	–	4	–	–	3	–	–	30	2	–
MF	Billy Jeffrey	9	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9	–	2
MF	Maurice Muir	10	1	–	2	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12	2	–
MF	Adam Sandy	5	2	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5	2	2
MF	Gary Saxby	26	2	3	5	–	1	3	–	1	3	–	–	37	2	5
FW	Frankie Belfon	2	4	1	–	1	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	5	3
FW	Steve Massey	42	–	20	5	–	1	4	–	3	3	–	1	54	–	25
FW	Dave Syrett	37	1	12	1	–	–	3	–	2	3	–	2	44	1	16
Players who left before end of season:
GK	Neil Freeman	22	–	–	5	–	–	3	–	–	–	–	–	30	–	–
GK	Richard Key	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	–	–
DF	Paul Brady	11	1	1	4	–	–	3	–	–	3	–	–	21	1	1
MF	Martin Patching	6	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6	–	1
FW	David Buchanan	3	2	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	4	2	–
FW	Steve Perrin	4	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	2	–	–	6	1	–

References

^ Rothmans Football Yearbook 1983/84, p.252.
^ Focus on Wakeley Gage, Chester City v. Burnley matchday programme, 5/10/85, p. 13
^ Jones, Trefor (1996). Watford Football Club Illustrated Who's Who. p. 58. ISBN 0-9527458-0-1.
^ ^a ^b "1982/83 Division 4". ntfcmemorabilia.weebly.com. 12 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.

Books

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

[1] Rothmans Football Yearbook 1983/84, p.252.

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

[3] Jones, Trefor (1996). Watford Football Club Illustrated Who's Who. p. 58. ISBN 0-9527458-0-1.

[postponed_games-4] "1982/83 Division 4". ntfcmemorabilia.weebly.com. 12 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.

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