Big city lights don't bother me

Despite growing up nowhere near London, and having no affiliation with it whatsoever, I support Arsenal. I don’t have any family that support them. Why do I? Because they are the first team I watched on TV, and fell in love with them. But I grew up in Northampton. Which means, naturally, I hold a soft spot for them too. And since I’ve moved away, that spot has increased.

I’ve been to a number of Cobblers games, and if you don’t know them, they are one of those teams that will rarely do anything for a couple of years, then suddenly have a decent season, as was the case two years ago before last season’s flirtation with relegation (that rhymes). They are the Walsall of League Two, if you will. What a drab comparison that is.

Their recent moment in the spotlight was defeating Liverpool at Anfield in the League Cup on penalties in 2010. The respective managers that day: Roy Hodgson and Ian Sampson. One currently manages England, the other resigned from Corby Town. I’ll let you figure out which is which. David N’Gog played (and scored) that game, too. Remember him? It’s rare that Northampton get any glory, but when they do, they get it at Anfield. That Abdul Osman, he silenced the Kop.

Since then however, it has been League Two mediocrity. I remember back in about 2007, when they briefly climbed into League One and were playing the likes of Leeds United and Nottingham Forest. In fact, in 2007/08, they finished 9^th in League One, and Bournemouth got relegated to League Two. How times have changed.

I went to the Forest away game in 2007, when Northampton lost 1-0. It was my first away game, even though I was in the Forest end. I went to the play-off final in 2013, when the Cobblers were completely outplayed by Bradford and got destroyed, losing 3-0. That was only my second game that season.

The season after (ie last season), I didn’t go to a single Northampton match. I don’t know why. Really, I don’t. Last season was when I went to a really random selection of matches (Wigan vs Zulte Waregem in the Europa League, Manchester City vs Watford in the FA Cup, Scunthorpe vs York on the final day of the League Two season). It was a year that Northampton struggled, just avoiding relegation out of the Football League on the final day. Phew.

This year however things have changed. I’ve moved up north to Huddersfield to attend university. And I miss Northampton. It’s home. Don’t get me wrong, Huddersfield is great, and the team is in the Championship, something the Cobblers could only dream of at the minute. But it isn’t my local team. It never will be.

Other people on my course, and they’ve come from Scunthorpe, Rotherham, Derby, Peterborough. They all support their local sides. And when we go to our lecture on Monday, it’s always “good result for Northampton at the weekend” or “bad result for Northampton at the weekend,” and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love to talk about them. I’ve even managed to go to a game this season, going to Mansfield away on John Joe O’Toole Day. I haven’t been to a home game yet, but when I’m home over Easter, it is my number one priority. And I cannot wait.

Northampton Town I’m proud to be.

Here's a stupid idea that might just work

Mauricio Pochettino should be appointed England manager if Roy Hodgson decided to step down for whatever reason. “That’s silly” I hear you cry, but give me a minute to explain why it just might work.

The reason why it seems stupid is because he’s foreign, and despite being in charge of Southampton for over a year now, can’t speak a word of English (to the media anyway). When we had Fabio Capello in charge, he stated how hard it was to communicate with the players in particular because of the language barrier; he had to learn English in order to take them forward according to the FA. But it shouldn’t matter if they can speak English or not, as long as they get the team playing well and getting results. However, it’s more than that now.

There is intensifying pressure on the English clubs to produce English talent and play that talent in the first team because the FA feels it will benefit the English national side. Big money acquisitions from abroad such as Mesut Ozil and Willian at the start of the season hasn’t really helped that cause, no matter how good they may be. One manager has so far defied the rest by playing English players, young English players that need games at the top level. That man is Mauricio Pochettino.

Southampton has a famed academy which is responsible for producing the likes of Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Leon ‘Simply The’ Best. The academy long proceeded Pochettino, and the way the club nurtures its youngsters also long proceeded Pochettino. What Pochettino has done differently to the other managers however is two things. Firstly, he’s managed to tie the majority of them down to new contracts, with Adam Lallana signing a new five year contract last season, Luke Shaw signing a five year deal at the start of this season, as well as convincing Calum Chambers and Rickie Lambert to commit their future to the club under his tenure. The second thing is he is able to give them Premier League experience, something only Nigel Adkins has been able do to. The thing that distinguishes Pochettino from Adkins though is that three Southampton players have received international recognition with England under Pochettino’s regime, so he must be doing something that Adkins failed to do. The fact that Rickie Lambert was called up despite being 31 also shows that the style of football Pochettino plays pays dividends for everyone involved, not just the young players.

If there’s one thing that Pochettino is guilty of however, it is that he has slightly given in to the money game, splashing out in the summer on foreign talent such as Victor Wanyama, Dejan Lovren and Dani Osvaldo, who has since been shipped out on loan to Juventus. Despite this however, the home-grown talent still have places in the team, with the exception of Wanyama initially taking the place of Jack Cork in the centre of midfield, a position Cork has since won back. He will give the talent coming through a chance of playing in the first team, even if it is in one of the cup competitions or five minutes from the bench; the experience is vital no matter what competition it may come in. Sam McQueen, Sam Gallagher and Harrison Reed all made their first team debuts this season, while Calum Chambers has become a regular starter at right back under Pochettino.

Pochettino’s future is in doubt too due to the departure of Nicola Cortese, so what the end of the season holds for Pochettino is up in the air at the moment. If Pochettino isn’t involved in the England setup in the future (which is very unlikely as it is), his Southampton players have to be recognised more. Lallana, Lambert and Rodriguez already have been recognised, but I’m talking about the likes of Luke Shaw and Jack Cork who have been incredibly impressive this season. Shaw is a regular player for Southampton, whilst Ashley Cole has been sitting on the bench for Chelsea, with Mourinho preferring Cesar Azpilicueta at left back. It’s one thing for the FA to say that English players should be playing more, but they have to pick the ones that are playing, and not overlook them for ones that are sitting on the bench. It’s common sense.

Pros and cons of: Rickie Lambert for England

After England's drab 0-0 in Ukraine yesterday, question marks have been raised about Rickie Lambert's ability to lead the line for England. I weigh up the pros and cons of selection the Southampton forward.

PRO: He's in form

It always bugs me when a player is called up purely on their reputation. Take James Milner for example. Yet to start a game for Manchester City this season, but Roy Hodgson insists on selecting him for his squad, and playing him too. Andros Townsend would have been a better choice to play, being more direct and, bringing it back to the title, in form. Lambert's performed admirably during Southampton's current tenure in the Premier League and faces his biggest task this season, to be able to compete with other quality strikers for a place in the team after his side's acquisition of Roma and Italy striker Dani Osvaldo/Johnny Depp for a club record fee. His battle is made even greater considering that Mauricio Pochettino has previously worked with Osvaldo at Espanyol, and is therefore likely to favour him to Lambert, but with Lambert being in form, he can continue to lead the Southampton line. Maybe not the England line, except when it's against Moldova. At home.

CON: He's too old

Rickie Lambert is 31 years of age. I know there are older players in the England setup, ie Gerrard and Lampard, but 31 is quite old to suddenly break into the England team. Can he do a job? Yes, yes he can but he doesn't have the pace that other strikers like Danny Welbeck and Danny Sturridge have, and he's no Wayne Rooney, but then again, nobody is. Let's say that there are no injuries in the England camp. The four strikers that I would pick, permitting that they are playing regularly, would be Rooney (27), Sturridge (24), Welbeck (22) and Defoe (30). Despite Defoe being the elder statesmen of the four, Rooney is the most experienced at international level. All of their international careers started very early on in their lives, with Rooney earning his first cap at 17, and Defoe when he was 21. Some strikers in recent years have only managed one cap after being selected late on in their careers, most notably Kevin Davies and Bobby Zamora, and who could forget Jay Bothroyd. Maybe Lambert can buck the trend.

PRO: He brings more qualities to the team

He can pick out a pass like it's nobody's business. He can hold the ball up too. And most importantly, he can score. 2 in 3 for England so far only begins to tell the story of his qualities. His penalty record is phenomenal. 32 from 32 for Southampton so far, something England badly need in a tournament, is a convincing penalty taker, and that's what Lambert is. He's used to playing as the prominent striker at Southampton, so can hold the ball up and bring his team-mates into play, but doing it when the pressure's really on at international level is a different ball game. Andy Carroll can do the same thing for England and West Ham, has more experience, and is younger too. But Rickie Lambert has a cooler name. And a better range of passing, which could prove to be vital in his quest for selection.

CON: He plays for Southampton

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with that. I rate Southampton's chances this season, they're my dark horse. However, the pattern has been down the years that England will only pick players that play for Manchester United and City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Everton and Liverpool, basically the big teams, and Everton. Just look at Adam Johnson. An England regular whilst at Manchester City, regardless of if was playing or not, before moving to Sunderland in search of first team football, and hasn't figured in the England team since his move. Peter Crouch said that he still hopes to regain his place in the England team as a Stoke City player. Good luck with that Pete mate. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Stewart Downing after his move to Upton Park, because his England career has been on the back-burners for a year or so. Lambert will have to have a similar or even better campaign than last year to try and claim a place in the World Cup squad, permitting that we qualify. I mean, he was the only outfield player in the squad to play Moldova and Ukraine that didn't play for the clubs mentioned above. Sort it out Roy. Lambert for England?